Nobody in the clubhouse talked to anyone about anything, so we were caught off guard when Tony managed to manipulate Maverick’s girl, Hailey, to get information about the club. It cut deep. Maverick had it bad for Hailey, and no matter how many times she’d come and gone, he was always there for her. Hell, he didn’t even realize she’d gotten hooked on junk until it got bad, and even after that it took an overdose for him to finally be able to cut her off. Although we all knew he would never share club business, the whole situation had us all on edge.
The last time she called Maverick begging for money, he’d tried putting her off by telling her he was going on a run and wouldn’t be back for a week. Unfortunately, Hailey’s decision to give Tony that little tidbit of information had given him a five-day jump that nobody saw coming, and it had cost us… big. We’d come home early only to find that Tony and his crew had taken off with our money, and Hailey was nowhere to be found. It was a shit ton of fuckery.
They had to be found… all of them. We knew Tony was hiding, and we had eyes everywhere. It was only a matter of time before we found him. We started with their families. Unfortunately, none of them kept any strong family ties that we could pull intel from. They had kids like kittens, and too many baby’s mamas to count. Since we decided that cutting the head off the snake was our best option, Maverick, our Sergeant of Arms, and I have spent weeks searching for information on Tony’s whereabouts. When we came across the name of his sister, we both agreed she was our best lead.
“Has she said anything about Tony? Do you think she knows where he is?” Maverick asked.
“Nothing yet, but she’s opening up more every day. If she does know anything or he contacts her, I’ll get her to talk,” I told him confidently. I could tell she was beginning to trust me. A part of me felt guilty about misleading her, but in the end, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“You’ll find him. Once you put your mind to something, there’s no stopping you,” Maverick told me as his hand slapped against my back. “That’s why the Pres put you on this.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to find him, and he’ll pay for fucking with the club,” I told him as I slammed my empty beer bottle down on the counter. “He will slip up, and I’ll be there waiting when he does.”
From what I could tell, Allie hadn’t spent a lot of time with her brother recently. They’d both been in the foster care system, but growing up in separate homes had made them completely different people. She’d made a life for herself, while Tony fell deep into drugs, alcohol, and gang life. I’d been able to retrieve several emails he’d sent her over the past few years. It was obvious that Tony did what he could to keep his sister from his lifestyle, but whenever he got down on his luck, she was always the first one he’d reach out to. She always remained loyal to him. Even when she knew his life was spinning out of control, she was there when he tried to contact her. Her love for her brother never wavered, and I respected her for that.
He’d royally fucked up this time, and something in my gut told me that he’d try to contact her. Just like he always had, he’d come running to her when the shit hit the fan. I needed to get in contact with her, so when I saw the ad in the paper, I knew I had my in. I’d known that she worked for Child Services, but I didn’t realize that she was so invested in making things better for those kids. I had to admit, I liked that about her. It was one thing to work with them every day, but this was more than an ordinary house visit. This would help a lot of kids all at once, and she’d come up with the entire plan herself.
“If she knows something, you’ll get it out of her,” Maverick told me with confidence. “Just be patient.”
“Yeah, but it may be harder than I thought.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s… I don’t know, man. She’s just not what I expected,” I confessed. “Hell, I don’t know how to explain it.”
“I get it, brother. I’ve seen her picture. She’s a hot ass. I can see why you might get a little distracted,” he snickered.
“It’s not that. She’s just… different,” I told him. “I thought she’d be some kind of stuck up bitch. Hell, you’ve seen her… all dressed up in that fancy shit, business suits and high heels. I wasn’t expecting her to be so… whatever. It doesn’t matter. If she knows something about Tony, I’ll get it out of her.”
“Ha, wait a minute… sounds like she’s getting to you, brother,” Maverick prodded.
“Maybe, but it’s just a job. Finding out where that dickhead ran off to is my only focus,” I told him, but I knew it wasn’t that easy. I was a selfish bastard, and I wanted it all. Ultimately, I knew I had to deal with Tony, but Allie definitely had me thinking. I found myself in an impossible situation, and I had no idea if I could make it work.
“Whatever you say, man. Just be careful with all that. Remember, her brother is walking dead… nothing is going to change that. If you need any help, you know where to find me,” Maverick offered.
Maverick was a good man, one you could depend on. Unfortunately, he had a hard time believing that. He was still carrying around a lot of guilt from the shit that’d gone down over the past few months, but he never let that get in the way of the club. He was a brother that you could always depend on.