Page 65 of Savage in the Streets
“While that would be nice, like I said, snitches get stitches.”
“But I haven’t gotten to the cherry on top of the sundae.” Bailey smiles. “While I will not agree to marriage, I will support your leadership.”
For once, Bruce doesn’t have a smart-ass remark.
“All you have to do is tell us what you know about that woman,” she says.
Seeing her so confident in her negotiations is damn near erotic, but I shove all thoughts of her long legs and witty tongue aside to solve the matter at hand.
“You don’t get it, do you? This is the very reason why I was able to climb my way to the top of your granddad’s gang. Your father couldn’t be trusted.”
My brow furrows. “So the woman is a part of the Blood Angels? The part that’s loyal to Big Jim?”
“No,” Bailey says. “I would remember her if she was.”
Mabel moves from her seat to one next to Bruce. “You’re an idiot if you don’t help them out. By assisting Bailey, not only will you have your two greatest threats behind bars, but you’ll have the third greatest threat on your side, and if you choose not to, you’ll have two thugs out on the streets willing to do whatever it takes to bring you down. And just to emphasize how bad they are, one has no problem sending their daughter to jail, the other, his sister.”
“I couldn’t have made a better argument myself.” I shake my head, looking at Mabel with genuine admiration. “Maybe you should go into law.”
“I hear ya, believe me, I do,” Bruce says, “but that doesn’t solve my problem. If I talk to the cops, I’ll lose the Blood Angels.”
“Let’s just start with how you know the woman in the picture,” I say. “That’s not telling me anything incriminating.”
His eyes turn to steel. He’s not a man to crack.
“There is something else you should know about, Bruce,” Bailey says. “This all started about a year ago. Before they even contacted you. It was inevitable that I would eventually be taken down. The fact that they wanted us together means they were aiming to hurt you as well. Remove you from the game.”
A wave of anger lights Bruce’s face, and I know that we’ve gotten him on our side because he realizes that even if this plan didn’t coalesce, another one will.
“She’s Moxie’s mother,” he says glumly.
“Moxie’s mother…” Bailey mumbles under her breath.
“And who is Moxie?” Mabel asks.
“She’s a tramp that had her hooks in my father after my ma died,” Bailey says. “Moxie ran away from home when she was a teenager. What’s her mom doing in town?”
“Moxie’s father died, and her mom was left with a little money. Mox convinced her to move closer to‘reconnect,’but all she cared about was the green.”
“Wow,” I say, my brow lifting in surprise. “This just came together beautifully.”
Bailey cocks her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Aging mother comes into some money and is desperate to reconnect with her daughter. Gets swindled out of her inheritance by said daughter. Daughter convinces mother to implicate you in the crime, pleasing the man she rides or dies for.”
Bailey shakes her head as though she’s somehow shocked by the findings. “My father always treated Moxie like shit. I can’t believe she’d be stupid enough to involve herself in this kind of fraud.”
“I can. Men are scum,” Mabel snickers. “I’ve given up on them.”
“That’s because you ain’t met a man like me,” Bruce says with a seductive waggle of his brow.
I make a mental note to threaten him within an inch of his life if he tries anything with Mabel.
Bruce’s ice eyes narrow in on me. “Now, I don’t wanna hear my name in any of this shit—ya understand?”
“I hear ya,” I say back. “The connection shouldn’t be too hard to establish. I’ll have pressure applied on Moxie and her mother at the same time. One of them’s bound to sing.”
“So, do you think that’s enough to get me off?” Bailey asks, her face betraying her fear for the first time since Bruce entered the room.
