Page 62 of Hawk

“He came here?” I’d expected him to get back to us with any useful information, not make the drive from Austin to Vesper. I didn’t know if that was good or bad news.

“Yeah, he’s in Wolfe’s office waiting for you.”

“All right then. I guess I’ll go see what he has to say.”

I went down the hall to Wolfe’s office. I gave a little knock so they’d know I was there, then pushed the door open. The grim expressions on both men’s faces told me I wasn’t going to be happy about whatever Chance had learned.

Chance stood up and held out his hand. “Hey, Hawk. It’s good to see you again.”

I shook hands with him, but I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “Did you find out anything that can help us?”

“I found out a lot, but you’re not gonna like it. Have a seat, and I’ll tell you what I know.”

I looked at Wolfe, and he nodded reassuringly. Whatever Chance knew, he’d already briefed Wolfe. I took my seat and drew a deep breath, steeling myself for the news.

“So, the Iron Jackals are neck-deep in all kinds of illegal business. They weren’t exactly clean, but it was pretty minor stuff up until about a year and a half ago. Some drugs, prostitution, guns. Typical biker gang shit.”

That tracked with what Mika had told me. “Until a year and a half ago. So what changed?”

“The gang’s leader, Razor Jack, died. A new guy took over, and he was more ambitious. He immediately started looking for new opportunities to make money.”

“And now?”

“Now, you name it, and they’ve got a hand in it. Running guns, and I don’t just mean selling a one-off to some street thug who needs a piece. I’m talking large gun shipments being trafficked through Mexico. Hardcore drugs, as well. But worst of all, they’ve gotten mixed up in a trafficking ring. They busted up the ring in New Mexico, but it’s like a Hydra. You cut off one head, and two more grow in its place.”

“Kat was able to find out about the ring in New Mexico, but she couldn’t find any evidence they were involved.”

“I’d be worried if she did. The task force has the investigation shut down tight. I had to call in some favors to find it myself. They knew the Iron Jackals were involved in something bigger than what was going on in New Mexico, so they let them go so they could find out what. What they didn’t expect was for them to fall completely off the radar. My inquiries were the first time anyone’s reported seeing them in months.”

“Why all the secrecy?” I asked.

“They know the sheriff there was involved, but they don’t know how deep the corruption runs, so they sealed that shit up tight. The last thing they wanted was for someone to tip them off that we were looking for them.”

“Okay, so what’s the plan now? Are they going to arrest the assholes or leave them out in society so they can harass Mika and any other people they decide to target?” I growled. I understood that there were choices that had to be made to build a case, but leaving a gang that was involved in gun running and selling humans was never okay with me.

Chance held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t involved in that decision. But to answer your question, they’re ready to arrest them at this point. The plan was to use them, not lose them, so they don’t intend to let them slip away again. That’s if we can find them.”

“Great.” Wolfe leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin as he stared at Chance. “So what do we do now to end this?”

“This really isn’t your problem, Wolfe. This is a federal investigation.”

I started to give Chance a piece of my mind, but Wolfe beat me to it.

“Like hell it isn’t. Mika is Hawk’s. That makes him one of us. If y’all had arrested them, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with, so yeah, it’s our problem now.”

His eyes flicked to mine, and I gave him a nod of thanks. It was one thing for Wolfe to support me when this seemed as simple as an abusive ex, but this was something else entirely, and wanting him to help with this was a big ask. It was good to know that Three Bears still had my back. Not that I really doubted they would.

“Listen, this guy seems pretty fixated on Mika, and that’s a problem for me. So we can either work together to get him off the streets, or I’ll do it on my own. It’s up to you.” I made eye contact with Chance and held it, making sure he knew I was serious.

“Hold up. What do you mean he’s fixated on Mika? I knew he’d harassed him and that you were protecting him, but fixated?”

I glared at him. I’d always liked Chance, but he was about to get on my nerves if he didn’t get with the program. “Butch found out where he lived and showed up there and threatened him. Then he had one of his guys following him around town, and that asshole tried to grab him off the street the other day. So yeah, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s fixated.”

“That’s a good thing, though,” he said.

“And just exactly how is it good that some asshole who’s involved in human trafficking is fixated on my boy? Because let me tell you, it doesn’t feel so good to me.”

“Just hear me out. Naturally, it’s not good that he’s fixated on him, but right now, we have no idea where he’s holed up or what he’s doing in Vesper. If he wants Mika bad enough to risk coming out of hiding, we can catch him, and then Mika will be safe for good.”

---