Tank let out a ragged breath. “Then I got a problem, brother. And if Jagger finds out…”
“He won’t.” Holt clapped Tank’s shoulder. “Tell me what I can do. I’m here for you. Whatever you need, I’ve got your back. No matter what happens, that will never change.”
TWENTY-FIVE
TANK
Tank wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, but it didn’t do any good. Ever since he received Ella’s text, his body had been in stress overdrive. Heart-pounding, shirt-soaking, pulse-racing stress. If T-Rex hadn’t been there to keep him calm and take charge of the situation, he didn’t know what he would have done. Even now, in Hacker’s office—a small computer room at the back of the clubhouse, set up for the club’s IT whiz to deal with tech operations—he couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering.
“I’ve got bad news and I’ve got good news,” Hacker said, turning from the massive computer screen in front of him.
Tank glanced over at T-Rex and Naiya standing behind Hacker’s chair. They’d had no choice but to confide in the MC’s computer geek on his word as a Sinner not to share the results of his scan of Tank’s phone with Jagger or the rest of the club. Tank didn’t like putting Hacker in this position, but Hacker owed Tank a favor for the night he’d gotten drunk and knocked over Jagger’s bike. Tank had spent the whole night fixing the damage and now he was calling in his mark for keeping his mouth shut about the whole ordeal.
“Gimme the good news.” Although how much worse could it be? When he’d seen Ella’s email with the gas station video attachment, he’d almost handed in his cut right there. No way would Jagger let him stay in the club after he’d broken the rule about fraternizing with reporters. Add to that, taking the video in the first place without authorization, getting so pissed he forgot basic safety protocols and left his phone unattended and unsecured, and now putting T-Rex, Naiya, and the club at risk, he’d be lucky to be kicked out without some broken bones, maybe even his life.
Hacker, tall and lean with unnaturally bright green eyes, and the kind of face that sent the sweet butts into a swoon, ran a hand through his long hair. “She emailed the video to herself. I can hack into her email account and delete it. I can also find out if she’s sent it to anyone else.”
“And the bad news?”
“If she’s downloaded it, or if she sent it to someone else and they downloaded it, then it’s going to be more difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of it. And if she’s uploaded it to the Internet, then we’re shit out of luck.”
“I say we grab her. Bring her to the clubhouse and let Dax scare her a bit,” T-Rex said. “We’ll find out pretty damn fast who got it.”
“And you’ll find your way to a jail cell pretty damn fast once she goes to the authorities, as if you’re not headed there already.” Naiya snorted her derision. “She could have just put it on the news or sent it to the police, but she didn’t. So why not meet her at the rally like she’s asked. Find out why she took it and what she’s going to do with it. Then make a decision. It might be she’s planning to air it while she’s reporting on the bike rally unless you give her what she wants.”
“I don’t know what she wants.” Tank folded his arms. “And if I see her alone, feeling the way I feel right now, I might lose control. And she’s got this way of twisting words around…”
“You won’t be alone,” T-Rex assured him. “I’ll be with you.”
Emotion welled up in Tank’s chest. “Thought you had your own shit to do at the rally. You can’t be in two places at once.”
“The only place I need to be is at your back, brother. And it might be that the Sinners have a good plan I can go along with. While they’re setting it up, and taking care of my girl, I can be with you.”
It took a moment for T-Rex’s words to sink in, and when they did Tank’s heart seized in his chest. Was T-Rex really going to return to the club for him? Join with the Sinners instead of going after Viper alone?