Page 263 of Remiss
Ten minutes later, CJ offered to storm the hotel room, just as Ryan had. Once again, Uncle Christopher declined and started barking out orders and plans. Ryan had never seen such chaos in the conference room. Cellphones were ringing. Diesel, Narci, and Torrin carried in bulletproof vests and wheeled in a portable gun cabinet. Pops took a big map out of the closet in the conference room and spread it out on the table.
He pointed out businesses, houses, shrubs, and forested areas between the club and the motel and the motel and Aunt Kendall’s law office. A lot of hiding spots and places to plantexplosives existed. Maybe someone called Grant because he arrived amid the planning, strategizing, issuing extra guns, and putting their bulletproof vests under their T-shirts.
“Outlaw, are we leaving CJ, Ryan, Rory, and Grant?” Diesel asked.
“What?” Ryan and CJ chorused.
“You boys don’t have vests,” Narci said.
“And you not fuckin’ members,” Uncle Christopher reminded them, a warning in his voice.
“You take a shot to the fucking upper body, you can be killed or paralyzed.”
“Ryan, that’s your old man call. Grant, get the fuck home. Rory, CJ, it’s too fuckin’ risky—”
“Pops, I have to go,” Ryan said, his tone pleading. “Suppose she doesn’t recognize anyone else?”
“If she there or still fuckin’ breathin’,” Uncle Christopher snapped.
CJ clenched his jaw.
“They might have spare vests in the storage room on the last hallway,” Narci said.
“Can I look, Dad?” CJ asked.
“If they ain’t there, you not coming. If they are, call your ma. Tell her what the fuck’s goin’ on.”
“Okay, Dad.”
No one stopped Ryan, Rory, and Grant from following him, but instead of turning right and heading toward the hallway that led to all the other rooms in the club, CJ guided them outside, where he called Aunt Meggie and filled her in.
Whatever she said eased his tension because he ended with a smile.
“Tell Outlaw how you got the key, Rory,” CJ ordered, once he hung up. “It might speed this up so we can get to the motel. If he doesn’t think there’s a huge threat, we can go.”
Pursing his lips, Rory gave Ryan an uncertain look.
As much as Ryan wanted to help him because he’d somehow convinced Easton to help him, he couldn’t. He was in deep enough shit as it was.
Seeing he’d get no assistance from Ryan, Rory looked at Grant, who lifted his brows. What the fuck was wrong with Rory? Grant knew even less than CJ.
“I told you Bash gave it to me,” Rory finally said.
“Yeah, butwhy?” CJ pressed. “If you tell him everything, not only will we leave sooner, we might have a clearer picture and a better idea if she’s really there.”
“I don’t want to be responsible for…she’s there. I know it.”
“What aren’t you saying?” Grant asked. “There’s more to the story.”
“If I tell the truth, someone will die and that’s a shitty fucking reward for helping us get Molly back,” Rory snapped.
Those words confirmed Ryan’s suspicions that Easton helped. DeLuca was the only motherfucker with that much fairness.
CJ glanced between Ryan and Rory, cocked his head to the side and narrowed his green eyes, Outlaw’s mini-me slowly reemerging after weeks of hiding. “Was Uncle Johnnie the mediator?”
Sighing, Ryan glanced away and shook his head. He flinched at the heat of CJ’s gaze. It burned into him, and he was certain if he’d looked at his cousin just then, he would’ve been incinerated.
“Then it was Easton,” CJ guessed after a few moments of contemplation. “He’s a fucking Scorpion, right? Uncle Johnnie has never in his miserable fucking life sponsored and suddenly he’s bringing a motherfucker to the club?”
