Knox (Dead Souls MC Book 1)

by Savannah Rylan

  “Mr. Potter, what is the U.S. attorney hoping to get out of all this?” I asked.

  “He wants to get Knox to either turn on his club, or get someone else to turn on them,” Potter said.

  “So, you’re going to leverage a murder charge over his head to try and do it? I won’t allow you to do that,” I said.

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “We do have choices, Mr. Potter. Knox is, first and foremost, our client. And if there have been false charges brought against him, we will figure it out. We will be able to prove his innocence and your credibility with the public will be shot. You’ll look like a witch hunter and it’ll destroy whatever reputation you have in this community,” I said.

  “No one’s going to take pity on a biker,” he said.

  “But they will listen to reason,” I said. “And trust me when I tell you that the evidence we already have in our custody proves my client’s plea of self-defense. The more you hand us, the more it strengthens our case. The assistant U.S. attorney is attempting to leverage something last-minute, and you know what happens when we do things last minute.”

  There was a pause as Potter digested my words.

  “Things get messy,” I said. “You will be found out. I always figure it out. There will be no question I still have that isn’t answered to its fullest extent and there is no wool you’ll be able to pull over my eyes. There’s a reason Mrs. Lowen hired me and there’s a reason they trusted me with this case. I might look innocent, Mr. Potter, but I can assure you I am not.”

  A silence filled the room as my mind drifted to Knox. If I didn’t believe his innocence, I did now. There was a tone in Potter’s voice as he was talking. A tone that led me to believe that Shepard wasn’t really dead. They were holding circumstances hostage and making it seem as if someone Knox touched was dead in order to fuel the government’s agenda, and that wasn’t going to stand. Just like I wasn’t going to defend a guilty party, I wasn’t going to allow anyone to keep my client underneath their thumb with tainted evidence and false accusations.

  “They’re not innocent,” Mr. Potter said.

  “That’s not for you to decide,” I said. “In a court of law, the only thing that reigns supreme are facts.”

  I looked up at Rose as she crossed her leg over her knee, fully allowing me to take control of the phone call.

  “The facts are clear-”

  “Yes, they are. And when we’re done, Knox will be a free man whether you want him to be or not. You want to fight fair? Then bring facts. Because that’s all I’m bringing. If you have anything else to discuss about this case, you can give us a call. And if Rose and I don’t have permission to see a body and autopsy results in seventy two hours, I’m coming subpoena in hand to the county coroner’s office,” I said.

  Potter hung up the phone call and I put my head in my hands. This was a nightmare. My first day on the job and I was already swindled into some massive government conspiracy. They really wanted to take a man who was innocent of his charges and make him believe he was guilty so he’d roll over on his own gang to save his ass. There were two things wrong with that picture. One, Knox wasn’t guilty. It was hard for me to palette and it was going to be even harder to prove, but that phone call told me he wasn’t.

  And two? They assumed Knox was the kind of man to roll over on his friends. I didn’t know much about him, and I didn’t know what kind of soul he possessed, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

  Knox would never give up his club.

  “Where do we go from here?” I asked.

  Rose picked up her phone from my desk before she stood to her feet.

  “To lunch,” she said. “There’s this place on the corner I think you’ll enjoy.”

  “What will we do after lunch?” I asked. “There’s an innocent man sitting in jail because of the U.S. government.”

  “We haven’t proven his innocence yet,” Rose said. “Don’t lose sight of your rationale now. We’ll go get lunch, talk about anything that doesn’t have to do with this case, then come back with a fresh pair of eyes.”

  “But what about Knox?” I asked.

  I stood from my chair as Rose made her way to the door.

  “I know you still have a lot to learn about The Dead Souls, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that they’re resourceful. Knox can take care of himself. Our job is to prove what we’ve now figured out from that phone conversation,” she said.

  “Which is?”

  “The fact that our client is innocent.”

  Chapter 9

  Knox

  “And we meet again,” I said with a grin.

  “I have some information for you, and you’re not going to like it,” Monroe said.

  “What’s up, beautiful?” I asked.

  “Call me that again and I’ll remove your lips from your face. The prosecution in your case isn’t working alone.”

  “The hell does that mean?” I asked.

  “Gabriel Potter is working with the assistant U.S. attorney to build a RICO case against your club.”

  “The fuck?”

  “You have to tell me everything, Knox. This is serious. The assistant U.S. attorney is a bull in the courtroom. He knows how to sway a jury and cherry-pick them to suit his own needs. It’s psychological warfare with him, and the only thing we can do is bring as many facts to the table as we can.”

  “The hell they wanting me to do?” I asked. “And how the fuck, are you gonna get me outta here?”

  “First off, you need to shut that mouth. I’m not the one you’re upset with,” she said.

  “Well you’re the only one here for me to yell at, so I’m gonna yell.”

  “Calm your voice or I’ll get that guard to haul you off.”

  “You like watching a man being jerked around?” I asked.

  Her eyes connected with mine as a grin spread across my cheeks. She looked hot today. Tight black pants and a free-flowing blouse. A suit jacket buttoned to accentuate that delicate waist she had and eyeliner that made her emerald eyes pop. Her hair was tied back into a low bun on her neck. Perfect for me to grab onto while those pouty lips of hers sucked my cock.

  “If you insist on imagining me in whatever positions you’ve got going on in your mind, you’ll rot in here,” Monroe said.

  I felt my grin falter as a smirk spread across her face.

  “I like a woman with instinct,” I said.

  “You better like a woman who gets you out of jail. Because right now, I’m all you’ve got,” she said.

  “Whatcha need from me?” I asked.

  “Everything you can give me, and you can’t hold back. Why the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is being used against you and your club. What you guys have gotten yourselves into? People who could vouch for your character in case we had to bring them onto the stand.”

  “You don’t already know this shit?” I asked. “Haven’t done your research.”

  “I want to hear it from you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m still learning how to figure out when you’re lying to me and when you’re telling the truth,” she said.

  “The hell you wanna learn that anyway?”

  “Because trust works both ways in this game.”

  “This ain’t a game.”

  “We have to play it like it is. Now you can tell me what I need to know, or you can stay here under threat,” she said.

  I drew in a deep breath as I settled back into my chair.

  “People think we launder money,” I said.

  “What channels do they think you use?” she asked.

  “They think we filter the money through the stores we own in town to clean it before we use it.”

  “Do they think you filter money through any other avenues outside of the town?”

  “They think we also hold it in our lodge in the woods surrounding the town ‘til the heat dies down off it.”

  “What else do
people think you and your club are capable of?” she asked.

  Her eyes were intense on mine, and I felt my walls slowly sliding down. There was no judgment in her eyes like there was the last time we talked. There was no heat in her voice or any kind of disgust in her eyes.

  Something had changed, and I wanted to know what.

  “If I tell you, you gotta tell me,” I said. “Information goes both ways.”

  “Then tell me what I want,” Monroe said.

  “Promise to answer my questions?”

  She clenched her jaw as I darted my tongue out to lick my lips. I saw her eyes drop to my lips for a split second and my cock started to lurch to life. Oh, she wanted this. The way her eyes sparkled when she looked at me and the way she leaned forward on the table. Trying to get closer to me even though we had to be on opposite sides of the table.

  I bet I could slip my fingers between her legs without the guards even noticing if she let me sit beside her.

  “Promise,” Monroe said.

  “People think we work with some badass families. They think we hide and clean their money for a price or some shit. I don’t know. It’s weird,” I said.

  “Anything else people think?” she asked.

  “Nah. That’s all I hear ‘round town. But it’s all bogus.”

  “Of course,” she said. “Always is.”

  “Far as people who can vouch for me, I got a whole club ready to step up to the plate,” I said.

  “I need people outside of your club.”

  “Do you count?” I asked with a grin.

  “I don’t know your character.”

  “I could make you familiar with it, if ya wanted”

  I watched her cheeks taint with a very lustful blush as she sat up and cleared her throat.

  “Do you have anyone you associate with outside of the club that could vouch for your character? You know, the kind of man you are?” Monroe asked.

  “Nope. Sorry.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “Haven’t spoken to her in years,” I said.

  “I take it you haven’t with your sister either?” she asked.

  It was the way she asked the question that threw my guard back up. My eyes hardened onto her as she studied me intently. Her eyes were dancing along my body, registering my every reaction to her statement as I tried to clear my mind. The last thing I needed was someone else finding out the truth about Canyon. I wasn’t gonna let someone drag her or my mother up to the stand to try and defend me.

  It would only make them targets.

  “You’re hiding something from me,” Monroe said.

  “I told you everything I know,” I said.

  “Not everything,” she said. “I know when people are hiding things.”

  “You had a lot hidden from you during your life?” I asked.

  “I’m the one asking the questions.”

  “And you promised to answer mine once I was done. Now I’m done, and it’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain.”

  “You aren’t done. I know you’re hiding something. What are you hiding from me, Knox?”

  “Plenty,” I said. “But it ain’t got nothing to do with this case.”

  I almost snarled at her. The hell did this woman think I was gonna do? I sure as hell wasn’t gonna tell her every little damn thing about my club. And if she thought I was gonna fucking tell her the truth about my family, then she could go throw herself off a damn cliff. I didn’t care how tight she thought her pussy was, there wasn’t a woman in the world worth having if it meant I had to spew that knowledge to her.

  I already had one rat bastard talking about my life already. I didn’t need another.

  “I take deals and promises very seriously, Mr. Knox,” Monroe said.

  “I like it when you call me that,” I said with a grin.

  “Until you can answer my questions in full, my end of your fun little bargain won’t be held up,” she said.

  “So, you aren’t gonna be a good little girl and answer my questions?”

  “No. I’m going to be your good little lawyer and get you out of this mess. Then I’ll throw you to the government and see what they can do with you. I’m sure it won’t look very good to your club if you’re in the hands of the assistant U.S. attorney, even if you don’t intend on saying anything.”

  “Rose won’t allow that,” I said.

  “Rose isn’t here,” she said. “It’s only you and me. Trust, respect, and honor works both ways. You want it from me? You give it yourself.”

  The fire in her eyes was unmistakable. She was a force to be reckoned with, and I wanted her on my side. I watched her get up from the table, her body gliding across the floor in the flat shoes she was in. Her legs were strong and her shoulders were rolled back, and the confidence she walked with was tantalizing.

  I bet she was headstrong like that in bed, too.

  “Miss Williams?” I asked.

  I heard her stop walking as I craned my head back to see her.

  “I take family seriously. If it ain’t important to the case, I won’t tell you about them. Get used to that,” I said.

  Then Monroe turned on her heels and was out the door in a flash.

  Chapter 10

  Monroe

  I sat on the balcony of my apartment, overlooking the town of Redding. The sun was beginning to set and I’d long forgotten about the pictures in my lap. I tilted my glass of wine to my lips as the sun drenched my skin in a hot, dry heat I’d come to love. My mind kept running through the meeting with Knox. I knew he was withholding information, but I didn’t know what about. I didn’t like the fact that he was hiding from me. I didn’t like the fact that he was treating me as if I was some kind of common criminal. I was there to help him, and he didn’t give a damn that I was.

  All he cared about was some idiotic reputation.

  I closed my eyes and swallowed my wine as my mind drifted back to him. I could see his ocean blue eyes staring at me with that cheeky little grin on his cheeks. His brown hair was slicked back, but loose. Falling into his face and lending a boyish charm to his rugged features. The hair on his face had grown out, showcasing a stubble that made me smile.

  I chastised myself for smiling as I opened my eyes.

  In any other world-- and with any other man-- his confidence would’ve been alluring. I was a strong woman with very loud opinions, and most men couldn’t handle that. They either found me intimidating or too boisterous, which meant only a louder and more confident man could handle what I had to offer. I’d dated once during college. A man most people hated. He was cocky and arrogant and would always pick a fight simply to showcase how smart he was.

  But I loved it.

  I loved him, even though I knew he was going to break my heart.

  He was a playboy, and I got that. I knew his reputation for turning over women. It seemed he had a new girl every semester, but when he chose me I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough. He walked with his head held high and he always knew what he wanted. He was never afraid to take it and I was never afraid to give it to him. He showed me that being a powerhouse woman didn’t mean I had to sacrifice what I wanted in bed. Just because I was dominant in the courtroom didn’t mean I also had to dominate in my romantic life.

  He made the decisions on where we ate and when, and I loved it. He would surprise me with gifts and whisk me away on weekend retreats. The spontaneity he brought to my life made my law degree easier to obtain. That semester was the only semester I could remember not struggling in my classes.

  But just like every other girl, a new semester turned over and I was tossed to the side. My heart was broken and I was stuck picking up the pieces to try and glue it back together.

  Then I tried filling the rest of the gaping holes with as many classes as I could take.

  That man taught me a lot. Despite how badly I had been hurt by our breakup, he showed me I could have the best of both worlds. I could be a powerful woman and still be t
reated the way I wanted to be. He showed me that it wasn’t a disgrace to my feminist attitudes to want to be treated by a man if that was the choice I made for my life. My femininity was all I wanted it to be. That was the point. I could be loud and outspoken in my career and still come home and enjoy the dozen roses a man picked out for me before he pinned me against a wall and made me moan his name.

  I could have both of those worlds if I chose them for myself.

  I bet Knox could pin my entire body to a wall.

  I shook the thought from my head as I threw back the rest of my wine. The last thing I needed was to harbor feelings for some man in a jumpsuit. It didn’t matter that he had confidence and it didn’t matter that he was stubborn in all the ways I enjoyed. It didn’t matter that I enjoyed how loyal he was to his friends or how hellbent he was on protecting his family. He was my client and I was his lawyer, and that was the extent of our relationship.

  Though I got the feeling he wasn’t going to accept that.

  I couldn’t get the deal he had made with me out of my mind. What kind of client made a deal to get to know their lawyer better? Most clients I’d come into contact with during my education were only worried about saving their own ass or cutting deals for less jail time. None of them had ever been concerned with getting to know their lawyer.

  But Knox had been.

  And I liked that.

  The sunset over the horizon was beautiful. The cool night time air was descending onto Redding as I gathered up the pictures off my lap. Every time I turned around, Rose was sending me more information on this case. And the more I looked at it, the more I knew we’d be able to prove Knox’s innocence. I could see why it was taking the prosecution so long to turn over the evidence, though. They were probably seeing the pattern we were. With each piece of evidence they studied and claimed for themselves, it was another piece they would have to hand over. And if they were keeping track of patterns, they knew how bad this looked for them.

  They knew they were handing over Knox’s innocence to us.