“I was afraid,” Eden said. “I didn’t know what to expect if I came. Did I mess up bad?”
“No,” Trev said. “You didn’t mess up at all, sweetheart. You’re here now. Keep telling the truth.”
“Tell me about the shooting. Your friend was killed?”
“Close friend. Dimitrio. He was a good man.”
A good man? What the fuck did that mean?
Trev drank his beer, trying to keep his calm. Getting jealous over a dead guy would do nobody any good at all.
“They just shot?”
“Yeah,” Eden said. “They just shot him. Then they saw me and came after me. When they saw the letter and the picture…”
“Okay, okay,” Miller said. “You didn’t recognize them?”
“No,” Eden said.
“She remembers the laugh,” Trev said. “So we can run with that.”
“What are you going to do?” Eden asked.
“What do you want me to do?” Miller asked. “Want me to ask the cops for help?”
Miller started to laugh.
“What about my mother?” Eden asked.
“That’s enough for now,” Miller said. “I need to digest all this. I appreciate your honesty here, Eden. You can live through today. I’ll make sure the prospects bring you food, okay? Anything you want. Your father was a good man. A great outlaw. I think about him every single day. The man who replaced his seat…” Miller pointed to Trev. “This son of a bitch is a tough guy. Listen to him. If he’s kept you alive this long, I trust his decision.”
Christ…
Trev was basing his decision on his cock getting hard.
That was never a good thing.
Miller drank the rest of his beer. “Let me go talk to Gaige and we’ll get a game plan going here. This is going to get real dirty.”
“Why?” Eden asked. “I won’t say anything to anyone. If my father’s dead, then what do I care?”
“I want to believe you, but trust is hard to come by these days,” Miller said.
“Sweetheart,” Trev said, “what Miller means is that if someone did this because of Griffin being dead, it has a deeper meaning. Okay?”
“Like what?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Trev said.
“Maybe I will take a beer,” Eden said.
“Trev, get her a beer and then walk me out,” Miller said.
Trev got Eden a beer. He stared into her eyes for a few seconds and felt something connecting. She didn’t mean any harm. She was here on an honest mission with heartbreaking results. That wasn’t her goddamn fault.
Outside, Miller shut the door. He offered Trev a smoke and Trev declined.
“Fuck,” Miller said. “The club is going to shake up after this mess.”
“You think Griffin and Ripper’s old lady…”
“Years ago, brother. Years ago. But you know how Ripper is. We voted against him with some major deals. This blows back on us, this charter right here, it looks like we’ve been covering up Griffin’s secrets.”
“That won’t go over well.”
“And that attack? That’s desperation… someone looking for cash.”
“You’re thinking The Lost Men,” Trev said.
“Black leather, untouched.”
“Could have been anyone.”
“They saw the picture and letter. Where is the letter?”
“They burned it,” Trev said. “That’s what she told me.”
“She’s lucky she got out of there. Find out how. Give me everything on her, okay? I need to make some calls and figure this out going forward. Christ, we don’t need this. Internal stuff? That never goes over well. Charter to charter? Shit. Up in Daurian, they have as much influence as us. This could get really bad really fast.”
“One day at a time, Miller,” Trev said. “Focus on what we can.”
“What are you thinking? About her?”
“I don’t know. If she’s tied to Griffin, we owe him and her that much. The guy died in his leather cut. He took a bullet meant for you. The least we could do is show respect to his family.”
“Agreed,” Miller said. “Do me a favor, Trev. Take care of those two prospects, okay? I don’t want to make this into a scene. Normally I’d have Blaine do it, but he’s busy being a father. You’re the last true crazy outlaw around here.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Trev said. “I’ll leave them there and you can run an initiation with the other prospects. Then have Nate dump them in the water.”
“You know, you’d make a great President someday.”
Trev laughed. “Why, you got a target on your back?”
Miller patted Trev on the back. “Not as big as yours, brother. Not as big as yours.”
“Thanks, Miller.”
“Just don’t fall in love with her,” Miller said. “I need you tough and ruthless, the way I’ve always known you.”
Miller walked away, making it down two steps.
“Miller,” Trev said.
“Yeah?” Miller said without turning around.
He knows what I’m going to say.
“If this shit is true with Griffin…”