Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Yes.”
“You said mostly… What else?”
“Her father belongs to the Dirty Angels MC.” Her mouth twisted. “Working for SVPD, I’m sure you’ve heard of them.”
Of course he had. He had lived in Shadow Valley with Jackie. When not on the task force, he worked there, too. You couldn’t live or work in that town without knowing about the Dirty Angels. Their territory included all of Shadow Valley and the surrounding area. That MC established themselves in the town back in the early seventies.
“The Angels and the Knights are close allies.”
“Now, yes, but they didn’t start out that way. The two clubs skirted each other for years. They didn’t become allies until the Shadow Warriors began to hit the Angels hard and heavy. Decades ago, they wanted Shadow Valley for their own but the DAMC had already claimed the area and weren’t giving it up without a fight. So, the Warriors created all the havoc they could. A lot of damage was done, and some lives lost. Some destroyed. But… I’m sure you’re aware of that, too.”
After decades of chaos, death, violence and prison sentences, some life-long, suddenly those Warriors suspiciously began to disappear. “I am. Not only because I dealt with some of that shit with work, but because Axel Jamison is my sergeant. Just like I know who your father is, I’m sure you know who he is.”
“The DAMC president’s brother. Axel decided not to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps like Zak did. Talk about two brothers taking two very different forks in the road.”
“Jamison isn’t only my supervisor, he’s also the president of my MC.”
Her eyes widened and he knew the exact moment she put two and two together. “Holy shit! You’re a member of the Blue Avengers?”
Nox tipped his head in answer. “Aiden Cross is also one of my MC brothers.”
“That’s right! He’s the cop who married Nash from the Dirty Angels.”
“He is.”
“Talk about opposites attract…”
Her father’s relationship hadn’t been the only one controversial, so had Cross and Nash’s. They hid it for a while. Not only because Cross had been in the closet at the time, but Nash had been hiding his bisexuality from his MC. Neither knew if they’d be accepted by their peers. Cross by his brothers in blue and Nash by his MC brotherhood.
“Damn,” she whispered. “How crazy is that? Our lives touch and we didn’t even know it.”
“Six degrees of separation, I guess.”
“It’s not even six degrees. It’s…” She shook her head. “How did our paths never cross before?”
They might have and he just hadn’t been paying attention. Once he met Jackie, unless he was dealing with one in his capacity as a police officer, he really didn’t notice other women. He had no reason to.
Jackie had been his everything.
“Speaking of opposites… Your father is the enforcer for an outlaw club, but your husband was a cop.”
“He was. But Mark died before my father and I repaired our relationship.”
“Did he mind you being with a cop? That your son’s father was law enforcement?”
One side of her mouth pulled up. “Of course. He also told me I could never be with one again.”
“And you listened?”
She laughed softly. “He can bluster all he wants but he doesn’t get to choose who I’m with. Just because he has an issue with law enforcement, doesn’t mean I do.” She tipped her head. “It’s the reason I took over the support group and previously ran a similar one in Pittsburgh. My father might not respect cops, but I do. Yes, some shitty ones are out there and quite a few racists ones, too, but Mark was one of the good ones. They do exist, even though they normally don’t get the spotlight like the bad apples do.” She shook her head. “And here I am explaining something to a damn cop sitting in my passenger seat that he already knows. Are you a good one or a bad one, Bradley Lennox?”
“I guess it depends on what side of the law you sit. If I’m there to help, you think I’m good. If I’m there to slap cuffs on you, you think I’m bad.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
He did. He’d seen good and bad throughout the years. It was on the good ones to out the bad ones, but that was not always easy or possible. “Besides your father, you mentioned two other scary people you know. Who are they?”
“Well, since we discussed our ties to the Dirty Angels, it should be no surprise when I mention their sergeant at arms.”
“Diesel Dougherty.” She was right. That one was no surprise. “And the other?”
“Like I said, less than six degrees separates any of us. So, you might know this man as well since he’s tied to—”
He cut her off with, “Ryan Mercer.”
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Is that Mercy’s full name? I never heard it mentioned before. If it’s said out loud, does it conjure him up out of the blue?” Her head swiveled back and forth as she glanced around the parking lot. “Should we duck down so we’re not seen?”