Page 55 of Outlaws' Dirty Secret

“Hold up. You had him in your house and you didn't fucking tell us?” The darkness in Dragon's voice sends chills racing through me. “He coulda fucking hurt you.”

“Okay, for starters, I don’t have to ask your permission to talk to people, and just to be clear it’s not like I invited him over for lunch. He just showed up.” I glare at the guys. Possessiveness can be hot, but there are limits. “He seemed a little… off, but he didn't do anything. Wanted to get his things and look around a little. He told me he used to be in the club but it got dangerous and he had to leave.” I feel a little bad saying this because they seem nice enough, but it’s what Tanner told me. “He said he had to hide out with her for a while to get back on his feet, and that when he left the club came for him. Killed his dog.”

“What the fuck?” Hellfire growls. “Nobody fucking came for Tanner and they wouldn’t have hurt his fucking dog. Clearly it ended up dead but it wasn’t us.” He draws a deep breath. “Tanner was older than me and had been around for a while when I joined. Back in the old days, the club was mostly just an excuse to fight, drink and fuck.”

I can't help myself. “Isn't that how it is now?”

Skyhigh laughs openly at that, and Blackout chuckles.

Hellfire glares at them until they shut up, then allows himself a chuckle of his own. “Yeah, but General was the one that pulled us together and wanted to get fucking organized. Maybe we're a little rough around the edges, but nothing like the chaos back then. I almost left as soon as I joined. It was intoxicating for a while, but it got old real quick. That's how I got so well along with General, 'cause we were looking for the same things. Tanner didn't like it. He was used to doing whatever the hell hewanted. He was unreliable, so when he left we didn’t give a shit.” He pauses. “The ones that mattered anyway.”

Bonnie leans forwards. “Is that what you remember? General made him choose after we lost Mercy and Hardtack. Couldn’t prove it was his fault, but he blamed Tanner for being sloppy.”

Hellfire turns, looking irritated to be surprised. “He was involved? I was still fresh off being sworn in. Nobody was sharing shit like that with me back then.”

She shakes her head. “General kept it quiet. People were pissed. If he made it clear he suspected Tanner’s slip up cost us lives, Tanner would be resting in pieces in the town dump. But he wasn't sure enough, and Tanner had been around since the start so he wanted to give him an out.”

“Fuck,” Hellfire and Blackout let out at the same time.

“Anything else you can remember, Willow?” Hellfire asks.

I run through the conversation in my head, viewing it through a very different lens. Tanner sounds like bad news, and he was in my freaking house while I was there alone. “He was a little too friendly if that makes sense, but no, nothing I could put my finger on. Dragon called when he was there and I told him he was my boyfriend and I was going to meet him at the club.”

Skyhigh quirks an eyebrow. “Just one boyfriend? What's wrong with me and Blackout?”

“For fuck's sake.” Hellfire glares at him. “Who you fuck on your free time is none of my damn business, but you fucking keep it out of my office, clear?”

Skyhigh salutes.

Biting my lip not to smile, I focus on the story. “When I said my boyfriend was in the Outlaw Sons, he got really cagey, but I thought that made sense after the story he told me. He knew details about the house, so it seemed truthful enough. Wait, do you want his number? I’ve still got it.” I pull my phone out of my pocket.

Hellfire yanks it out of my hand and dials. He listens in silence. “Fuck. Disconnected. Must've decided to burn that link before we caught on.

“So…” Dragon draws it out. “I get that there’s bad blood here, but why the hell is it all popping up now? The only real connection to our current problem is that his dog had the same name as the informant.”

Hellfire nods. “I know, which is another reason I called you in here. Bone finally got in touch. Brutus has new information and Bone played hard to get, forcing him to do the meeting in person because the last couple tips have gotten fucked up. I was just planning on grilling Willow about what she found, but if she’s actually seen him…” His hard eyes focus on me. “Can we trust her?”

All three of my men look insulted that he’d even ask.

“Of course,” Skyhigh answers.

I’m a little nervous about where this is going, but knowing the trust doesn’t just go one way feels really nice. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be there when Brutus shows up.” He holds up his hand when it looks like there might be a mutiny at the suggestion. “All you have to do is confirm if it’s him or not.”

“I don’t like it,” Blackout grumbles. Dragon nods in agreement.

“I’ll do it.”

“Hellfire, if it’s really Tanner, you know who you should call.” Bonnie sounds uncomfortable saying it and from the shadow that passes over Hellfire's face, there's probably a good reason.

He nods, but looks incredibly unhappy about it. “Motherfucker. Alright, everyone out.”

“Should I report to Chafik?” Skyhigh asks on the way out.

Hellfire shakes his head. “Not until after we know if Tanner’s our man.”

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