“Because of the information you said you had on them?”

“Exactly,” he said. “They’ve got problems with the feds, but they don’t want retaliation from the Scorpion MC.”

Just then Chopper bounded down the hallway from the bedroom and hopped up on the couch. I stretched my hand to scratch his head.

“So you’re going to destroy the information like Elias asked to get Jude back?”

Malachi looked at Alex and my stomach pitched. There was more to it than that. But this was Jude’s life we were talking about. Fuck.

“It’s not the information that Mal has that we’re focusing on,” Alex said. “Mal can make the deal free and clear. We’ve got plenty more to pin on Elias.”

“Then what?” My eyes pleaded with Alex’s. They were kind in comparison to Malachi’s.

“If we can figure out where Elias is holding Jude, we can finally get our man,” Alex said. “Jude running into Mateo actually helped our case because we were able to cross-reference intel. With all the government red tape, that just didn’t happen soon enough.”

Everything on my body felt so damn tight. My muscles, my stomach, my chest, my head. Like I couldn’t breathe. Like I wouldn’t breathe until I got Jude back.

“How can I help?” I asked for the second time. I was coiled so damn taut, I had to do something or I would spontaneously combust.

Malachi leaned over to whisper something to Alex and he nodded. Then Malachi looked at Jonas and Smoke as if they were communicating with their eyes. It made me realize how close this outlaw group was. Guess they had to be to deal with all of this heavy and dangerous shit.

Smoke walked over to the couch. “Follow me.”

I stood on shaky legs as he led me down the hallway to another room, which looked like an office. Again, the Disciples of the Road crest hung on the wall. There was a television on the other side of the table and Smoke reached for the remote.

“Have a seat, Cory,” Malachi said, moving into the room with Alex behind him.

“We’re going to show you my video call with Elias.”

“You recorded it?”

He nodded. “He needed to prove that he had the boy.”

Chapter Thirty-five

I pushed a shaky hand through my hair, ignoring the throbbing in my forehead.

“He’s arranged the meeting time and place to make the transfer,” Alex said. “That will be handled by his men. If we can figure out his location before then, we can get Jude back and shut him down at the same time.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “What do you need me to do?”

“I want you to tell us if you notice anything,” Alex said. “Anything at all. We suspect he might still be somewhere on the water. That’s new information for us. Like finding a needle in a haystack.”

The memory of that speedboat came flashing back to me.

“More than likely he sent his men out to grab Jude and then drove him back to his hideout.”

Smoke hit play and the screen came into focus. I swallowed down the horror that threated to claw up my throat. Jude was sitting in a chair, with his hands tied behind his back. His head faced downward, but I’d recognize him anywhere, even though he looked different. He had a bruised cheek and his hair had been shorn off.

“What happened to him?” I croaked wishing I could break through that screen and get to him.

“Elias cut off his dreads.” Smoke shrugged as if it were the most normal thing in the world. It probably was in their world. “It’s a show of dominance.”

Jude must have struggled, which would account for the injured face. Shit, what about the rest of his body?

Before I had time to process that, another imposing figure filled the monitor. It was unmistakably Elias. He was an attractive man with a commanding and almost regal presence. He had wiry black hair and a large build.

I shivered when he turned toward the screen as a thick, ugly scar that ran across his neck came into view. His eyes appeared black and hollow.

Then Elias spoke and I watched as Jude flinched at the sound of his voice.

“I need proof that you destroyed the evidence. That’s the only way we’ll return him to you,” Elias said. “Though I’m not clear why you’re so eager to get him back.”

“Not sure why he didn’t work out for you,” Malachi said in a clear voice on the recording. “No hard feelings. The boy’s been a strong recruit for us. You know as well as I do that good men are hard to find.”

Even though I knew what Malachi was saying was a lie, the idea of Jude being a Disciples recruit made my blood turn cold.

Elias stepped backward and grasped Jude by the neck so that he was forced to look at the camera. His eyes were lifeless jade stones and my stomach bottomed out.

“Good men, sure,” Elias said as he leaned down to stare into Jude’s eyes. “But loyal men are even harder to find. Hope this one doesn’t disappoint you.”

“His reasons for leaving your organization are his own,” Malachi’s voice rumbled and I flinched. “He’s never divulged any of your secrets. It was pure coincidence that he found us and we just so happened to have business dealings with you. As it turns out, running guns is a small world.”

Fuck did Malachi sound convincing. Had Alex not been standing there and had I not known the information that Jude shared with me about Elias and the club, I might’ve even believed him.