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 FINN

DIRTY MISFITS #6
SAVANNAH RYLAN
Copyright © 2021 by Savannah Rylan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a
book review.
Created with Vellum
 CONTENTS

1. Finn
2. Sloane
3. Finn
4. Sloane
5. Finn
6. Sloane
7. Finn
8. Sloane
9. Finn
10. Sloane
11. Finn
12. Sloane
13. Finn
14. Sloane
15. Finn
16. Sloane
17. Finn
18. Sloane
19. Finn
20. Sloane
21. Finn
22. Sloane
23. Sloane
24. Finn
More Books by Savannah Rylan

About the Author

ONE
 FINN

I hated this house. Every time I walked through it, I was reminded
of all the terrible things that had taken place behind its front door.
The people that lost their lives and the blood stains that never saw
justice.
I thought about her. My ex.
And how I still wanted to wring her stepfather’s fucking neck.
“Hey. Finn.”
I heard Tanner’s voice and I turned away from the ocean view in
front of me.
“Yeah?” I asked.
He jogged up to me. “I called Summer’s sister, Sloane.”
I blinked. “And?”
“I need your help convincing the guys to let her help.”
I furrowed my brow. “Sorry, what?”
Tanner placed his hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s a shitty
position to put you in, but--.”
I shrugged his hand off. “You’re damn right, it’s a shitty position.”
“What’s a shitty position?” Archer asked.
Tanner glared at me. “You owe me. You know that.”
I stood my ground. “Why is it that every time you want to run my
ass through the wringer, you bring up the fact that you helped me
become a prospect? You know damn good and well they’re gonna
chew your ass off for this, and I’m not going down with you. Not this
time.”
 “Down for what?” Porter asked.
Tanner rolled his eyes. “Come on out of the woodwork, everyone.
We gotta talk.”
I turned back toward the ocean and thought about all of the
blood that had been washed away upon its shoreline. I thought
about all of the shadows and terrible memories that would strangle
me so long as we were in this house. It was because of those
shadows--because of those demons--that I couldn’t sell the house
off. Because believe, I’ve tried.
But, what was the use in telling the crew that?
Not like we had anywhere else to go.
“What’s going on? What’s the fuss about?” Brooks asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
Tanner cleared his throat. “We need help. More help than we can
provide for ourselves. So, I called Sloane.”
“Who the fuck is Sloane?” Porter asked.
I peered over my shoulder. “Summer’s sister. You know, the cop.”
The room fell silent and I felt their anger seeping from their
pores. Tanner nudged me, but I kept my back to them because I
sure as hell wasn’t gonna be roped into this fucking scheme. I didn’t
owe Tanner shit. Not after all of the messes I’d had to clean up ever
since I became a prospect with the Dirty Misfits.
He could clean this one up by himself.
“I’m sure you meant well,” Porter said as he tried to keep his
voice calm, “but bringing a cop into the mix right now really isn’t a
good idea.”
Tanner scoffed. “It’s the only shot we’ve got, and you know it.
We need someone from law enforcement on our side. Someone
who’s going to take some risks. And I believe that person is Sloane.
I mean, she works in the Special Victims’ Unit for crying out loud.
This is her arena.”
“In Santa Barbara, sure,” Brooks said with a shrug, “but not here
in Santa Cruz.”
Archer nodded. “Yeah, her jurisdiction is over four hours away.”
Tanner shook his head. “Not if she is granted special permissions
by the local department. Then, she can come and go as she
pleases.”
I sighed as I finally turned around. “It’s a shit idea, and you
know it. The only reason why you didn’t run it by us before you
placed that phone call was because you knew we’d all react this
way.”
Archer furrowed his brow. “Aren’t you supposed to be on his
side?”
I threw my hands into the air. “The man introduces me to the
crew and now I’m his bitch? You guys should know me much better
than that by now. I’ve been a prospect for almost two damn years.”
Brooks grinned. “Yeah, longer than any of us were.”
The guys chuckled, but I didn’t find it funny. They were always
teasing me about stupid bullshit and coming up with reasons as to
why I couldn't be made a “full member” yet.
I was a few steps away from leaving them all in the dust, to be
honest.
“Look,” Tanner groaned, “if we can get Sloane on our side, she
can get the cops to focus on the trafficking part of the case. That’s
where the focus needs to be. Taking down the Black Flags isn’t
about slaughtering them and pushing them out. It’s about stopping
their only source of revenue in the city. And you know we aren’t
equipped to take down a fucking sex and human trafficking ring.”
“I don’t know, he’s got a point,” Cole murmured.
“I don’t want that fucker in jail,” Porter glowered, “I want him
dead. I want to put a bullet between his eyes and watch him bleed
out at my feet.”
Brooks nodded. “Same. That jackass doesn’t deserve another
shred of the light of day.”
I pointed at the two of them. “That. That right there is what we
need, Tanner, not some fucking cop.”
Tanner snickered. “What is with you and the police? You still mad
that you got tagged and went to juvie?”
I growled. “You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,
so can it, Meathead.”
The room fell silent until Archer spoke. “If we kill Chops, you
know we run the risk of some other fucker in that crew retaliating
and causing more problems for us.”
Tanner nodded. “And if we get the cops involved, we can put the
whole damned club in jail and get them off the streets.”
Cole cleared his throat. “Then, if you want, I can pool together
my contacts on the inside and have Chops taken care of since they
won’t be able to retaliate after that.”
I shook my head. “Not you too, Cole. Come on.”
Brooks and Porter looked at each other, and it didn’t give me a
good impression of what was about to happen. But, once Porter
nodded his head, Brooks fell in line like the good little slut he had
become.
“All right. Let’s get her on our side,” he said.
Tanner turned to me. “Finn?”
I opened the sliding glass door I had been standing at. “Not like
my opinion matters to this group anyway. Do whatever the hell you
want.”
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me before walking
down toward the beach. I needed to get away from these meathead
assholes before I punched my fist through one of their throats. I felt
my anger mounting. I felt my heart surging out of control. And as
my heart rate skyrocketed, I stood at the edge of the water and
gazed out over the horizon.
As my mind pulled me back to memories I wanted to forget.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
She rushed to me and took me in her arms. “Let’s get you
upstairs. Theres’s a lot of--.”
I shoved her away. “A lot of what? Dad? Why are all these police
here?”
“Upstairs,” he said curtly. “Now.”
“No!” I exclaimed as I rushed down the hallway. “What’s going
on? Why are they all out back?”
I shoved my way through the crowd and knocked a police officer
on his ass trying to figure out what was happening. I smelled blood
before I set foot outside, and the second my eyes laid themselves
onto the scene out on the sand, I wanted to vomit.
 And as I bent over, hurling up the dinner I just had with my best
friend at the diner down the road, I felt the cold metal of handcuffs
come down around my wrists.
“What the--Mom!” I exclaimed.
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Melody Hartman,” the
officer said as he pulled me upright, “and I suggest you keep your
mouth shut while I read you your rights.”
I folded my arms over my chest and closed my eyes. If I
concentrated long enough, I could still smell her blood, still warm as
it dripped from the lifelessness of the rest of her. Bile crept up the
back of my throat. I felt like I was going to be sick. But, I swallowed
it down, refusing to let the guys see me as some sort of weakling
that couldn’t even handle his own damn memories.
Then, I heard footsteps behind me.
“You want to talk?” Brooks asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing to talk about.”
He sighed. “We know you don’t like cops.”
I looked up at him. “It’s not that I don’t like them. I just don’t
trust them.”
He nodded. “I know.”
I turned my eyes back toward the water. “And yet, here we are.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder. “We can’t stop doing what’s
best for this crew when one of our guys--.”
I shrugged off his touch. “I really wish you assholes would stop
touching me.”
He turned his gaze out toward the water as well. “Some of the
guys are ready to kick you, you know.”
I snickered. “Figures. Can’t handle a guy with a bit of balls
around here.”
“It’s got nothing to do with that, and you know it.”
“Then, why don’t you tell me what this is actually about?
Because for the life of me, all I’ve done is devote my time, my
sanity, and my talent to this crew for two damn years, and what the
fuck do I have to show for it?”
He slowly turned to face me and I felt his eyes drilling a hole into
the profile of my face. “Maybe start by thinking about someone
other than yourself for a change, and you’ll see us change around
you.”
Then, I turned my head to look at him. “Then maybe, you should
start with yourself. Because I’m pretty sure we got out of the
predicament we were in only a few days ago because I was selfless
enough to come back to the one place I told myself I’d never be
ever again.”
He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
I turned my back to him and started inside. “Earn my trust and
stop making shitty decisions, and maybe I’ll actually feel compelled
to open myself up to a bunch of guys that are ready to toss me to
the wind.”
And as I started inside, only one thought crossed my mind.
If they gave me the job of babysitting that pig, I’d have all of
their asses.
TWO
 SLOANE

“I’m gonna get you!” I exclaimed.

“No, no, no! Auntie Sloane, that’s not fair!” Cheyenne said as he
thrusted her hand out toward the television.
I threw my hands up in victory as the video game controller
tumbled to the floor. “She scores!”
My niece rolled her eyes. “You don’t score in Mario Kart, Auntie
Sloane.”
I stood to my feet and stuck my tongue out at her. “You’re just
mad because you can’t beat me.”
She grinned. “I could if we were playing Battle Royale.”
I scooped up my controller from the floor. “Oh, you’re on. I’ve
been practicing while you’ve been away here lately. I’m gonna
whoop your butt at that, too.”
My niece giggled with delight. “Over my dead body. Bring your
worst!”
I loved playing video games with my niece. I never got much
time to indulge the hobby anymore, but when she was with me I
always made time. We played a lot of the classics. You know, things
that aren’t too gory for an eleven-year-old’s eyes.
But, when she was done whooping my absolute ass in Battle
Royale, she fell back against the couch.
“When’s Mom coming back to get me?” she asked softly.
I set my controller down and snuggled against her. “In a few
more days. I promise.”
 She peered over at me. “You said that a few days ago.”
I nodded. “I know. But, I talked with her early this morning. She
couldn't talk for long, but she told me she’d be back for you in four
days. She even promised.”
She perked up. “Really?”
I tried my best to swallow down the lie as I nodded. “Really
really, CheyChey.”
She smiled brightly. “That gives me a few more days to kick your
butt in video games, then.”
I giggled as I sat up. “You are so on.”
I wasn’t sure how long we played, but I was glad when my
phone started ringing. We started playing while the sun was up and
by the time I got up to answer my phone it was dark outside. My
stomach growled out and I immediately got lightheaded. So, in the
process of rushing to get my phone, I grabbed some snacks and
tossed them at my niece.
“What the--Auntie Sloane!?” she called out.
I peeked around the corner. “I’m ordering pizza after I take this
call. Eat something. We haven’t eaten all day.”
I didn’t even bother seeing who it was because I figured it was
work. But, when I picked up the call, I was more than relieved to
hear my sister’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Hey there,” Summer said.
I looked around before I sneaked myself upstairs to have some
privacy. “Summer, what in the world? This girl’s been here for almost
two weeks now!”
“I know, I know, and things are absolutely crazy right now, I’m
so sorry.”
I needed to figure out what was going on. “Anything you want to
talk about? You know I’m always here.”
She sighed. “Look, I don’t agree with this at all, but…”
I hung onto her every word. “What’s going on? Because if I’m
going to be keeping Cheyenne any longer, I have to know what’s
going on. This is impacting my ability to work. She’s got school, for
crying out loud. What are you going to do about that?”
 “Then, shut up and listen, because this is going to take a while.”
As I leaned against the hallway wall upstairs, Summer started to
speak of things I’d only ever seen during the course of my career.
She told me about what she endured at The Body Shop and my jaw
almost hit the floor. She told me about how she helped some sort of
rogue vigilante crew on bikes take down some really mean, nasty
guys and I wanted to chop her fucking head off.
But, when she told me that Tanner was part of that crew and
they were officially holed up, waiting for shit to pass, I almost blew
through the goddamn roof.
“Sloane? You there?” Summer asked.
I swallowed as much of my anger down as I could. “I don’t--you-
-I can’t--.”
I couldn’t even speak, I was so angry.
“Sloane, I know you’re upset, but we need--.”
I quickly found my words. “He gets you into shit every single
time you two are together. You know that, right?”
She sighed. “Now isn’t the time to be fighting about Tanner.”
I lowered my voice. “He dragged you into what should be local
police business, has you holed up in your second safehouse because
the other one burned down to the ground, he ripped apart our
family once, and now you have the audacity to choose his side so
much that you drop your own fucking daughter off with me so you
can galavant off and be the damsel in distress at his side? And you
wonder why I’m pissed off!?”
“Can you shut up? I’m sure Cheyenne can hear you.”
“Good!” I exclaimed. “Because she deserves to know the truth
and not live in the fucking fantasy world you apparently never
stopped living in!”
“Can you just listen to me? I really have to ask you something.”
“Did you ever stop to think for one second as to what this might
do to your own child? Have you become so fucking selfish that
you’re willing to dump your offspring onto me just so you can go
impress some guy who got you pregnant and bailed?”
Summer yelled at me through the phone. “We need your fucking
help, and I’m the one asking for it!”
 I stormed into my bedroom and closed the door behind me.
“Help with what?”
“Promise to stop yelling if I tell you?”
I scoffed. “You lost the right to dictate how I react when you
dumped your daughter off at my doorstep because you wanted to
go play some sick version of “house.” Tell me what you need.”
She clicked her tongue. “I need you to get Cheyenne somewhere
safe so you can come to Santa Cruz and help us take this crew
down. They’re trafficking women, for crying out loud. They’re using
The Body Shop as a sex shop, essentially. It’s bad, and it’s only
going to get worse if we don’t do something.”
I felt steam coming out of my ears. “I’ll get CheyChey
somewhere safe, and then I’ll place a call to local law enforcement.”
“No, that’s not going to work. That isn’t what I’m asking you to
do.”
I shrugged. “It’s all I can do from here.”
“Which is why I want you to get her somewhere safe, so that you
can travel up here and actually help us.”
I scoffed. “And your precious Tanner can’t do anything about this,
I take it?”
“Will you get off his nutsack already?”
“No. I never will, because what he did to you was fucked up
beyond all reason and you know it.”
“You don’t even know half of what happened between us.”
I growled into the phone. “I know enough.”
Silence fell between us and I drew in a deep breath.
“Is he really worth all of this, Summer? I mean, really. Take a
good, hard look at where your life is right now. Is it worth it? Not
being with your daughter? Being on the run? Do you really want this
kind of a life?” I asked.
And when she didn’t hesitate, I almost died from shock. “This,
and so much more.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“I made a mistake leaving him all those years ago, and it’s a
mistake I won’t make again.”
 “So he can cause more problems in our family that we’ve tried so
hard to piece together?”
Her voice grew hard. “Look, I don’t know what the hell you have
against Tanner, but you know that Mom and Dad were to blame for
what happened between me and him. You know because we’ve
talked about it.”
“He should have used protection, Summer!” I shrieked.
She glowered at me. “I swear to fuck on high if Cheyenne hears
you, you’ll never see her again. You got that?”
My back straightened. “Last I heard, you were the one that
needed my help. Not the other way around.”
I heard her sniffling on the other end of the line and I knew I’d
relent. As much as I hated Tanner, I loved my sister even more. And
if she needed help--if this was the only way to keep my niece safe
for good--then I had no choice.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What do you need from me?”
Summer sniffled. “Are you serious? Really?”
I rolled my eyes. “I know I’ll regret it, but yes, really. What do
you need?”
She cleared her throat. “Local law enforcement isn’t doing
anything to arrest this crew. I know they know what’s going on
because some of their law enforcement are regular goers to The
Body Shop. I know because I’ve given several of them multiple lap
dances.”
“Not a picture I wanted, but great. Okay. So, why don’t they
arrest the guys if they’ve got proof of what’s happening?”
She lowered her voice. “Because I think the cops that pay for
services there are dirty, and that’s why they’re still roaming the
streets and doing what they’re doing.”
If there was one thing I hated, it was a dirty cop. Santa Cruz was
terrible for them, and it’s why California’s police departments had
such a bad rap on the street. My blood boiled at the mere idea of
dirty cops allowing something so heinous and so disgusting to go
down on their own turf.
So, I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled out my pen and
notepad from my bedside table.
 “Tell me everything you know, and don’t leave anything out. I’m
taking notes,” I said.
My sister rattled off everything she could. She talked me through
what the club had done and the little bit of evidence they had in
their possession. She told me about the undercover stings and the
corners she had been backed into. She told me everything she had
overheard and she even told me about the “new dancers” that
barely knew English and were scared out of their minds. She told me
how she took them to the police station, but she got a really weird
feeling while she was there.
Then, she said something that stood out. “Wait, wait, wait, back
up.”
Summer paused. “What is it?”
I furrowed my brow. “You said these girls didn’t speak English.”
“Right.”
“And you said they didn’t know what they were doing?”
“Also right.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Do you guys have any
proof that these girls were shipped in?”
Summer paused before she spoke. “Tanner’s nodding his head at
me. He says they’ve intercepted two containers of women at the
docks here in Santa Cruz.”
Jesus. Santa Barbara had been trying to bust a new trafficking
ring that had been pushing its way into the city limits because of
their lax docking protocols.
I wonder if the two things were related.
“All right,” I said as I slapped my notebook closed, “I’ll help.”
Summer sighed with relief. “Thank you. Thank you so, so very
much. Do you have someone Cheyenne could stay with until this is
all over?”
I closed my eyes. “I do, but you’re not going to like the
suggestion.”
“Who?” she asked.
I opened my eyes. “She could stay with Mom and Dad.”
And the second my older sister drew in a deep breath, I knew
she was about to verbally tear me a new asshole.
THREE
 FINN

I made my way up to my bedroom and stared at the wall. My room

had been unchanged since I had been a teenager, and it made me
sick to my stomach. Pictures of me and Melody were strung up on
fairy lights, courtesy of my mother. And as I walked over to the
pictures, memories of laughter and milkshakes and movie theater
dates came rushing back.
Until he found me.
“Hey,” Tanner said.
I heard him close my door and I sighed. “Whatever it is, it can
wait.”
He walked up to me. “She’s pretty. Who is she?”
I turned to face him, ignoring the question. “What do you want?”
He peered over at me. “I wanted to come check up on you. You
kind of stomped your way through the house and the guys are
worried.”
“You can stop lying.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, so the guys aren’t worried. But, it’s not
like you really give a shit about us. That’s why you’re not a full
member yet. You’re still in a selfish mindset.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep from killing him.
“You wanna know why I don’t trust cops?”
He turned to face me. “Yeah, I think it would be pertinent to
know considering we’re about to be working with one.”
 My eyes gravitated back toward the pictures. “That girl? She was
a good friend of mine. And she was killed. And because she was
killed by a cop, he got off scot-free and someone else was framed
for her murder.”
I saw Tanner’s jaw drop open out of the corner of my eye. “Holy
shit, are you serious? Dude, I’m so sorry.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Save your apologies for the
poor schmuck that went down when her abusive stepfather
should’ve been the one in jail for it.”
Tanner sighed. “I can’t honestly say I trust them, either. I mean,
I don’t have a reason like that, but they’ve always sort of found a
way to screw me over because of the life I’ve chosen.”
I snickered. “Then, I can’t imagine why you’d agree to all of this.”
“Because this cop is Summer’s sister, and I know I can trust her.”
“Because you trust Summer? Or because you’ve met this cop?”
And when he didn’t respond, I clicked my tongue. “You guys
really are pussy-whipped, aren’t you?”
He gripped my leather jacket and spun me to face him. “You can
talk shit all you want, but you know this is our only option. Now, I
don’t agree with the decision the guys just made, but I’m
outnumbered and can’t do shit about it. So, until further notice,
you’re the one who’s watching over Sloane and keeping her safe.”
I blinked. “Sloane’s the cop?”
He released me. “Yeah. She’s the cop.”
I blinked again. “And after what I just told you, you really think
it’s a good idea that I’m the one to watch her?”
He sighed. “I know it’s a shit end of a shitty stick, but you’re the
best person to make sure she doesn't get her nose into stuff that
she shouldn’t.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, not only do you want me
watching her six, but you want me to make sure she doesn’t find
anything to bring down us along with those asshats.”
“Exactly.”
I drew in a sobering breath. “And you know this is a bad fucking
idea?”
“We don’t really have a choice, Finn.”
 My eyes whipped open. “You know they’re making me do this
babysitting because all of you guys are too pussy-whipped to take a
detail like this.”
He glared at me. “If you use that term one more time.”
I bucked up to him. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me that you guys
aren’t making these decisions that affect all of us with nothing but
your families in mind, and maybe I’ll walk back my statement.”
He shook his head. “One day when you have a family of your
own, you’ll understand.”
My eyebrows rose. “A family? You think that you and Summer are
a family? You think that Brooks and Porter, with their girls they
haven’t even been with for a year, are family?”
He loomed over me. “Summer is the mother of our child.”
“But that doesn’t make you a father, Tanner! Just because you
gifted your DNA to someone doesn’t make you a dad, and it
certainly doesn’t make you a fucking family!”
In a flash, his hand wrapped around my throat. He barreled me
against the wall, tightening his grip as we stared off with one
another. My nostrils flared with anger. I saw the need to kill wafting
behind his eyes.
And after smacking his hand away, I laid down the truth. “When
this is all over, if I’m not a full member of a crew I’ve dedicated the
last two years to? I’m out.”
Then, I brushed by him and made my way out of my childhood
bedroom.
“Does that mean you’ll do it?” Tanner asked.
I scoffed. “Not like a fucking have a choice now, do I? You know,
since I’m not shacking up with anyone and playing house.”
I charged my way down the stairs and I felt all eyes on me. I
walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge before
cracking it open and chugging it down my throat. I’d need all the
booze and sanity I could get for a job like this, especially if they
wanted me to play cover-up so we wouldn’t get arrested along with
the Black Flags.
And after chugging the beer, I looked around at the rest of the
guys staring at me.
 “Yes, I’ll fucking watch her. Now, stop staring,” I said.
Brooks came up to my side. “You have to watch her like a hawk.”
I tossed the empty beer can into the trash. “So we don’t get
arrested, I already know.”
Porter came out of the woodworks. “Seriously. She can’t find
anything that’ll take us down along with them.”
I shrugged. “Not my problem. I’ll do my best, but that’s all I’ve
got.”
“Our families are at stake here,” Archer said as he walked up
behind me.
I turned to face me. “Then, maybe you should’ve thought about
that before shacking up with someone while running the life you
have.”
“Finn,” Brooks said curtly.
I shook my head and turned around. “You don’t get to take that
Dad voice with me. I’m not your son, I’m not your pet project, and I
sure as hell am not your servant. I’ll watch the cop as best as I can,
and I’ll make sure she doesn’t get killed. But, that’s all I’ve got right
now since you guys don’t ever want to include me in the big
decisions that affect my life. So, get ready to have a taste of your
own medicine for once.”
I knew the guys were shocked at my attitude, but I didn’t give a
shit. They’d been railroading me and teasing me and mocking me for
two years now, and I was over it. I pulled another beer from the
fridge and pushed my way through the crowd of men I knew I’d end
up leaving behind after this was all said and done.
Because I was done with their horseshit just as much as they
were done with mine.
“Fucking cops,” I murmured.
I cracked open my beer and tried to find a room in the house
that didn’t house a terrible memory that would haunt me until we
got out of this place. But, the more I walked around, the more I
remembered just how tainted this house had become. It made me
sick to my stomach and it only caused me to chug my beer quicker.
Then, after leaving the empty beer can on a table in the hallway,
I made my way back outside.
 “So,” Brooks said as the guys piled out behind me, “we need to
start coming up with a plan on how to set up Chops and the Black
Flags.”
I snickered. “We get a cop on our side and you don’t even wanna
use her to do this shit right. Figures.”
“Shut up or get out,” Brooks growled.
I spun around on him. “Quit leading this crew with your heart
and lead with your head, then maybe we can talk. But this entire
time, I’ve reaped the consequences of you assholes judging this
situation based on family and not reason. So, I get to be angry. I get
to be upset. You don’t.”
Brooks charged me but Porter stepped in between us. Porter shot
me a look, but I only shot one right back at him. And after the
standoff was complete, Tanner stood behind me and led the
conversation.
“Finn’s got a point, and the reason why he’s upset is because you
guys won’t admit it. We’ve been backed into so many corners
because we’re playing it safe that now we’ve had to come onto turf
that isn’t ours just to stay safe. We need to start using bold strokes,
or we need to turn this over to the police.”
I sighed. “Finally someone gets it.”
Porter looked back at Brooks. “They’ve got a point.”
And after the rest of the guys got done agreeing, Brooks cleared
his throat. “We need to figure out what Sloane can know and what
she can’t know, because Finn’s biggest job will be keeping her
separated from the shit she doesn’t need to know about. So, let’s
draw those lines before she gets into town.”
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. But, if we’re really going to utilize
her to the best of her abilities, she needs to know everything that
the Black Flags and Chops have done. She needs to see the
evidence we’ve got.”
“Even if that evidence implicates us?” Archer asked.
I nodded. “But, us killing their members? All of our monetary
dealings? That stays away from Sloane. She doesn’t need to know
how we make our money or what we will do once this is all said and
done. All she needs to know is what’s pertinent to taking down the
crew.”
Tanner placed his hands on my shoulders. “I’m with Finn.”
Cole nodded. “Me, too.”
Archer grinned. “Despite the attitude, he’s always been the
logical one. I’m with him.”
And after Porter and Brooks got done staring at each other, they
nodded their heads.
Which concluded what was probably the quickest and most
efficient church meeting we’d ever had.
FOUR
 SLOANE

“You want to do what!?” Summer shrieked.

I winced as I pulled the phone away from my ear. I heard her
rattling off all sorts of things strung through with curse words I’d
never heard in my life. But, as I held the phone away from my ear, I
prepared the only argument I’d need in order to get her to see my
point of view.
“And another thing,” she said as I placed the phone back to my
ear, “you want someone to blame for who broke up the family? They
did. With their controlling ways and their asinine beliefs and their--.”
I grinned. “You’ve been telling people they’re dead, haven’t you?”
She paused. “Well, if that’s the assumption they make, then
that’s on them. They might as well be dead for the sins they’ve
committed anyway.”
I flopped back onto my bed. “And here I thought you weren’t a
religious person.”
“This is Mom and Dad we’re talking about! I don’t want their
influence anywhere near my daughter!”
“Do you want me to come help you get out of the mess Tanner’s
gotten you into? Or, do you want me to just take full custody of
Cheyenne now while you galavant off into the sunset with your biker
criminal?”
She sighed. “He’s not a criminal anymore than Mom and Dad are
criminals.”
 I sat up. “I’m not sure what that’s supposed to convince me of,
but this isn’t my problem. You’re the one who gave this man a
second chance. You’re the one who made the choice to get involved
in this.”
“I was already involved because these assholes took over the
strip club I worked at! And before you blame Tanner for making me
strip, I swear to fucking God you knew I enjoyed my job. I took that
job because I was good at it and because it made me feel good
about myself. You were the only one who felt shame about it. Not
me.”
I nodded. “Point taken, but that doesn’t negate the facts. If you
want Cheyenne safe, there’s no one that will keep her more safe
than Mom and Dad. And besides, they’re not as terrible as they once
were.”
She scoffed. “Over my dead body, they’re not.”
I shrugged. “We can have it that way if you don’t want to do this.
Because that’s what will happen without my help. Tanner will get
you and Cheyenne killed. Is that what you want? Because I know
you well enough to know that you wouldn’t have called for help
unless you had literally no other recourse of action. So, take it or
leave it.”
“Are those really your stipulations? You don’t help if Cheyenne
doesn’t go to Mom and Dad’s? They’re our abusers, Sloane.”
“Who have changed a great deal since you last saw them.
Sometimes, people have to hit rock bottom.”
“Don’t give me that low-down bullshit. They’re disgusting
individuals, and you know it.”
I stood to my feet. “Then, good luck elsewhere.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”
I heard her sigh on the other end of the line before she cleared
her throat. “I’m Cheyenne’s mother, and I don’t want them in her
life.”
I rolled my eyes. “They are her grandparents, Summer. They
should meet their only granddaughter at some point in time.”
“You might be able to forgive them for the shit they pulled, but at
one point in time they wanted me to abort Cheyenne. Did you know
that?”
I paused. “No, I didn’t.”
“Because I never told you. They wanted me to abort Cheyenne
because Tanner was the father and they didn’t want a pregnant,
unwedded daughter living in their house. And you want me to send
Cheyenne over to the people that wanted to abort her? Are you
serious right now?”
I pointed at the air as if she were standing in front of me. “You’re
the one that put yourself in this situation. You’re the one who sent
Cheyenne here. You’re the one that chose to go back with Tanner
instead of staying here with the only shred of family you still have,
and that was the selfish decision that you made. You don’t get to
play hardball anymore because I’ve usurped your right as mother
because you dumped my niece on my doorstep and compromised
my entire life just so you could go and be a hero by some dude’s
side that should’ve wrapped his willy twelve years ago. You don’t get
a say in this. Not when I’m the one spending weekends and holidays
with Mom and Dad, explaining why you guys aren’t there. Not when
I’m over at their house holding them while they cry after every
therapy session that practically rips them apart. You are no longer in
control, so get used to that now because it’s not changing until all of
this is said and done. Got it?”
There was a very long pause and I thought she had hung up on
me. But, when she sniffled, I heard her ask the one question that I
knew she would.
“They’re--in therapy?”
I eased myself back down onto the edge of the bed. “Yes,
Summer. They’ve been in therapy for almost five years now. I told
them it was the only way they’d ever stand a chance at getting you
back in their lives and meeting their granddaughter, and they didn't
fucking hesitate. People change, Summer. Sometimes it takes their
world falling apart, but they do change. And I can tell you straight
from the horse’s mouth that they have. They aren’t perfect, but no
one is.”
She sighed. “Do they still go to that stupid-ass church?”
 I shook my head. “They don’t go to church at all, to be honest.
Haven’t been ever since you ran away from home.”
“Wait, seriously?”
I snickered. “Seriously. When you ran away, their church
disowned them. Said that they were probably incapable parents if
their own God-given child didn’t want to stay with them.”
“They got excommunicated for their own stupid ways. How
delicious.”
“And to be honest? What other choice do you have? You can’t
just leave her with anyone else. I don’t trust anyone that much here
in Santa Barbara. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dirty cops I
work with on a daily basis. The only reason why I’m not bringing
them down is because I have no proof. None of them are watching
Cheyenne, and she’s not heading back home until this mess is
cleaned up. You’re backed into a corner, so just say “yes” so I can
pack our shit up and get on the road after I drop her off.”
“Wait, Mom and Dad are in Santa Barbara? Since when?”
I closed my eyes. “They moved here a few years ago. Right
around the time they started therapy.”
“Where do they live?”
“Is this you agreeing? Because I really need you to agree so I
can get to work.”
She clicked her tongue. “Yes, this is me reluctantly agreeing.
Now, where do they live?”
I smiled. “I’ll send you their address so you can keep it in your
phone. I’ll also send you their new cell numbers. Well, new to you,
not to me. I’ll let you know once I drop Cheyenne off and get on the
road. At that point, it’ll be about four and a half hours to your place.”
“Actually, I’ll send you the address of where we are. We’re
camping out in this massive house in a gated community that backs
up to the beach. It really is gorgeous. I’ll have the guys clear you
out a room with a view.”
I walked over to my closet. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll call you soon.”
“Sloane?”
“Yeah?”
 She sniffled. “You wouldn’t drop Cheyenne off with Mom and Dad
if they were the same, right?”
I snickered. “Hell, no. You should know me better than that by
now.”
She sighed with relief. “If anything happens to her--.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’ll whip my ass and all that nonsense.
Just know that the same goes for Tanner.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
I giggled. “We’ll talk soon.”
“Talk soon.”

“This is going to be weird,” Cheyenne murmured.

I grinned as I drove to Mom and Dad’s place. “Well, you’ve been
getting their birthday and holiday cards, right?”
She snickered. “When Mom’s not trying to hide them from me,
sure.”
I tried not to let my anger boil over. “Well, they’re very excited to
have you come stay with them for a little while.”
“I’m going to have to repeat a grade, aren’t I?”
We pulled into the driveway and I peered over my shoulder. “I’ll
make sure that we do whatever it takes to get you caught up. I
won’t let this affect your schooling, okay?”
She sighed. “Okay.”
I put the car in park. “Now, grab your things and be prepared for
a lot of hugging and kissing. You’re their only grandchild whom
they’re meeting for the first time, so try to be kind to them. They’ve
lived a hard life.”
She started gathering her things. “Are they really as bad as Mom
thinks they are?”
I turned around in my seat. “What has she told you?”
She shrugged. “Not much. But, enough to let me know that she
ran away because of them.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “You trust me, right?”
 She nodded. “Yeah.”
“So, you trust that I wouldn’t just drop you off at anyone’s house,
right?”
Her face softened a bit. “Yeah.”
“Then, trust me that when I say that your grandmother and
grandfather are good people--at least, now they are--I mean that
with everything I am.”
She smiled softly. “Okay, Auntie Sloane.”
I winked at her. “All right, get your things and let’s get you
inside.”
The meet-and-greet was short and sweet. I took Cheyenne inside
where Mom and Dad rushed her with hugs and kisses to her cheek.
Dad had cookies baking in the oven and Mom already had a spread
on the table, complete with her favorite soda and snacks that I had
sent over to them in a text message list a little while ago. I watched
from the foyer as they led Cheyenne into the kitchen for lunch, and
when she looked back at me the smile that crossed her face warmed
my heart.
I knew she’d be okay, even if Summer didn’t think so.
“I love you, CheyChey.”
She sat down at the table. “Love you too, Auntie Sloane. I’ll see
you soon?”
I backed out the front door. “As soon as I can get back.”
I closed the door and steeled myself against the tears that
threatened to pour down my cheeks. Yes, there were still scars that
throbbed with pain every time I stepped foot into their house, but
little by little we were healing.
Well, as much as we could with the Summer-sized hole still
lingering over our heads.
Nevertheless, I texted Summer before I backed out of the
driveway and got on the road. She wanted pictures of Cheyenne
with Mom and Dad, but I wasn’t about to drive back just to take
some snapshots. We had work to do; work that involved keeping my
niece safe. And I took that very seriously.
So, I sped to Santa Cruz as quickly as legally possible before I
pulled up to a wrought iron gate.
 “Passcode?” the security guard asked.
I remembered back to one of Summer’s texts. “Forty-twenty-
one.”
The guard punched it in. “Name?”
“Sloane Riley.”
He punched something in on his keyboard. “All right, have a nice
evening, Miss Riley.”
“You too, sir.”
As I navigated my way through the neighborhood, the sizes of
the houses astounded me. But, my jaw physically dropped open
when I pulled up behind some bikes in a roundabout driveway that
sat in front of one of the biggest houses on the block.
I mean, since when did motorcycle gangs have mansions?
“Sloane!”
Summer’s voice hit my ears as I got out of my car, but Tanner
was right behind her in tow. I glared at him as my sister wrapped
her arms around my neck, and not once did I take my eyes off him.
Still, he tried his best. “Sloane, it’s good to see you again.”
My eyes fell down his body. “Wish I could say the same.”
Summer released me. “You promised.”
I rolled my eyes. “You too, Tanner.”
He chuckled. “It’s okay, she has every right to be angry.”
I grumbled. “You’re damn right, I do.”
Summer whispered in my ear. “Just be nice, okay? Please?”
I peered over at her. “You know I’m always nice.”
She barked with laughter. “Yeah, if a bed of nails is considered
nice.”
And for the first time in three years, my sister, myself, and Tanner
all laughed at the same time. Almost as if we were sharing a
moment. Almost as if none of this bullshit had ever taken place.
Almost, anyway.
FIVE
 FINN

I heard them all giggling outside like nothing was happening and I
turned up the video game I was playing. Everyone else was either
on the porch or taking a dip in the ocean and it made me sick. We
were in the middle of the fight of our lives and we were doing dumb
shit like swimming and talking with cops.
But, when the door opened, I lost my boss fight because I
couldn’t pull my eyes away.
Tanner was the first to talk in with Summer right behind him. The
woman that came behind both of them, however, was absolutely
breathtaking. Her warm brown skin glistened in the lights of my
childhood home and her big curly hair hung down just past her
shoulders. She had high cheekbones and sat on top of a chiseled
jawline, and the slope of her waist told me she kept herself up in the
gym quite a bit. She had strong legs that walked tall with pride,
straightening her back and making her look as if she were gazing
down at the world from beyond the tip of her nose.
And when she turned to face me, her eyes glistened with an
almost yellow color that I couldn’t pull away from.
“Someone call for a cop?” she asked.
My attraction to her dissipated almost immediately, and I turned
back to my video game. “I didn't, no.”
The woman chuckled. “Cop hater. They’re a dime a dozen. Suit
yourself, then.”
“Finn,” Tanner said.
 I saluted him while still playing my game. “Sir, yes sir!”
I heard a beautiful little giggle and turned my head just enough
to see the cop--Sloane, I think her name was--giggling. Her smile lit
up her yellow eyes and her skin seemed flushed with the color of
happiness. It seemed so foreign and out of place, especially with
what we had been dealing with for the past few months.
I would have found it welcoming had it not been attached to the
one woman that would eventually take us all down. Hell, for all I
knew, she was here to find a way to pin all of this shit on us.
I had experience telling me that cops were good at that sort of
thing.
“Hey, you guys!” Tanner bellowed. “She’s here!”
But, when no one came running, he looked back over at me.
“Where the hell is everyone?”
I shrugged. “Scattered. Some are swimming. Some are eating.
Pretty sure Brooks is the one snoring upstairs.”
“He’ll go get the guys so we can introduce you,” Summer said.
“Won’t you, Tanner?”
I made a whip-like sound as my fingers pressed the buttons on
my game controller wildly, and if looks could have killed the entire
block would’ve been leveled. It was worth it, though. These guys
were pussy-whipped more than they’d ever admit, and it was
hysterical to watch these big, bad, muscly guys take orders from
people a third of their fucking size.
But, as the cop walked by, she murmured something only I could
hear. “All the best family men are.”
I looked up at her. “Good thing I’m not one, then, huh?”
She giggled and made her way into the kitchen, not bothering to
look back at me. And as Tanner went to round up the guys, I went
back to my game. They all congregated in the living room, looming
over me as I worked my way through another boss fight. But, as
Brooks walked up to the television, I paused my game.
“If you so much as even think about it, I’m done. Got it?” I
asked.
He stared at me. “We need to be a team right now.”
 I scoffed as I stood up. “Says the guy who doesn’t give a shit
about what anyone says if they don’t agree with him. You’re no
better than Chops most days.”
“Hey!” Tanner barked.
“Enough!” Summer exclaimed.
The room fell silent and I drew in a deep breath. I hated this. I
hated all of it. And now, I was stuck babysitting some half-wit-
woman who claimed to be a detective. Whatever. Figures that I’d
have to do their dirty work while they all slept soundly and got their
dicks wet every night.
Do you know how annoying it is to listen to multiple couples
grunting and groaning in the middle of the night?
I’d rather gouge my ears off the sides of my head.
“Now that we’re all here, I’d like to introduce you to my sister,
Detective Sloane Riley,” Summer said.
Sloane waved. “Pleasure.”
Brooks stepped forward and held out his hand. “The name’s
Brooks. I’m the President of the crew.”
She shook his hand. “So, you’re the one making the shit
decisions. Good to know.”
I would have died laughing if I didn’t have such a disdain for her
already.
Brooks cleared his throat. “Right, well, thank you for agreeing to
help us.”
She dropped his hand. “Make no mistake: I’m not here to help
you. I’m here to weed out dirty cops who seem to not want to do
their job when it comes to this issue you guys have gotten
yourselves wrapped up in.”
Tanner looked over at me and I simply shrugged. They were the
ones who wanted to bring this uptight bitch into the circle, so they’d
have to deal with the consequences. All I had to do was make sure
she didn’t get killed or take us down in the process.
Brooks cleared his throat. “Right, well, if you’ll follow me
upstairs, Porter and I have been working on a presentation to run
down all of what has happened and all of the evidence we’ve
gathered so far.”
 I grinned. “That what all that snoring was?”
Porter growled at me. “You better shut your fucking--.”
Sloane interjected, though. “He’s right. I heard you all the way
down the stairs when we first stepped inside. Don’t get upset with
him because he called you out. I don’t play that game, either.”
The room fell silent and I saw Tanner practically sweating bullets
over in the corner. But, as Brooks led us all up the stairs, we found
ourselves piled into the room him and Raven decided to occupy.
Which just happened to be my parents’ old bedroom.
I hung back and leaned against the wall while Porter flicked
through some bullshit powerpoint cast on a bare wall. I gazed out
the window while Brooks and everyone else filled her in on all of the
bullshit that had gone down up until this point while cautiously
sidestepping the bullshit that would easily implicate us along with
the Black Flags.
Until Tanner opened his fat fucking mouth.
“One thing you need to know about the operation we ran in The
Body Shop is the fact that I didn’t know Summer worked there.”
Sloane slowly looked over at him. “What?”
Tanner nodded. “Yeah. I ran into her after all those years, but I
had no idea she worked there. That’s how Summer and I
reconnected, if you’re wondering.”
“Tanner,” Brooks warned.
Sloane placed her hand on her hip. “So, let me get this straight:
you ran an illegal operation with firearms you probably didn’t
purchase legally either, and you just so happened to run into my
sister so you decided to rope her in on all of this?”
Tanner went to go speak, but I jumped in to try and salvage the
fucking conversation.
“I’m not sure how much you know, but one of our own was
beaten pretty badly by these guys. So much so that it put them in
the hospital.”
Sloane turned to face me. “You gonna give me a name so I can
get their account of what happened?”
I shook my head. “No, because it isn’t important. What’s
important to know is that we knew what the crew was up to because
of this person, so we went in and did what we could to get as much
information to pass onto the police as possible.”
She scoffed. “So, I’m just supposed to believe that you’re
working with the police in the area that just so happens to be dirty,
according to what Summer’s told me?”
All of the guys looked around at each other as I nodded. “Yes,
because that’s what happened. Believe it or not, cops like you use
people like us all the time to do their dirty work. The local police
wanted more info without blowing their own operation because they
know that there are dirty rats involved. So, they circumvent the rats
by using people like us so that when charges are brought forth, they
can implicate these assholes as well as the dirty cops.”
I was lying through my fucking teeth, but I’d always had a hell of
a poker face. It was how I kept the secret of Melody’s murder after
all these years, and I knew I could sway any pig of a cop to my side
so long as I kept eye contact.
Like my father always said, if you say something with
confidence…
Sloane pointed at me before turning back to Summer. “I like him.
Keep him on my detail.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
Sloane continued. “I need to get hooked up with the local police
so that I can get permission to operate within Santa Cruz borders.
I’ve already been in contact with the chief, and I’m supposed to
meet him in an hour. Got anywhere I can grab a quick bite before I
head out?”
I shrugged. “There’s a kitchen downstairs, but don’t ask me to
make you a sandwich.”
Sloane made her way for the door. “Someone email me that
presentation. Thanks.”
“Well?” Tanner asked.
I looked over at him. “What?”
He nodded his head. “Go with her. It’s your job to look after her.”
“She’s going to get a sandwich.”
He nodded. “And then she’s leaving this house, which means you
need to be with her.”
 I rolled my eyes and pushed off of the wall. “Whatever.”
I jogged out after Sloane and followed her all the way to the
kitchen. I watched as she opened cabinets and found what she
needed to put together a basic ham and cheese sandwich, then she
grabbed a soda from the cooler on top of the table. She cracked
open the can and chugged it back, and I couldn’t help but watch as
her throat bobbed with every swallow she took.
And after she crushed the can in her hand, she tossed it into the
trash.
“I take it you’re my babysitter?” she asked.
I nodded. “Pretty much.”
“I take it you tried to tell them that I wouldn’t need one?”
I shrugged. “Pretty much.”
Her eyes looked me up and down. “And you know I don’t need
anyone to go with me, right? Especially a prospect?”
I snickered. “Trust me, I don’t want to be here anymore than you
want to be, but here I am, so let’s make the best of it. Wait, you
know what a prospect is?”
She nodded before heading toward the front door. “I’m driving.
Let’s go.”
I followed quickly after her. “You know that me being a prospect
doesn’t mean I’m not capable of protecting you, right?”
She ripped the door open. “What are you protecting me from?
You guys have nothing to do with this, right?”
Shit. “Summer wants me on your ass. She’s worried something
will happen to you, and I don’t blame her. These Black Flags fuckers
are ruthless.”
“They usually are, yep.”
She unlocked her car. “Do they know about this place?”
I shook my head as I got into the passenger seat of her car.
“Nope.”
She dropped down into her own seat. “And you’re sure about
that?”
I nodded. “Very sure.”
She jammed her keys into the ignition. “As sure as you were
about the warehouse?”
 I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Just crank the damn engine
and let’s get this over with.”
She did as I asked, but then she turned to face me. “I know
more than you think I do. I know you guys aren’t sure what you do
and don’t know. I know you’re not really working with the police, but
I’m letting it slide for now because I don’t want my sister to watch
some guy she had a kid with be carted off to jail. But, I need you to
understand that whatever gatekeeping shit they’ve put you up to, it
won’t work. If you guys are in over your head, I will figure it out. If
you guys have done anything worth being arrested for, I will arrest
you. All of you. Even if it pisses my sister off.”
I stared into her eyes. “And just so you know, I’ll do whatever it
takes to keep you alive. Even if it means compromising your job in
the process.”
Her eyes danced between mine before she started backing the
car out of the driveway. “At least we understand one another, then.”
No, we didn’t understand each other at all.
And I had no plans on changing that anytime soon.
SIX
 SLOANE

I tried not to steal peeks of Finn as he sat in my passenger seat. He

smelled like oak trees and summertime, and somehow it reminded
me of the few good things that came out of my childhood. His
disheveled brown hair hung just above his boyish blue eyes, giving
him a childlike flair to the deep frown that curved itself along his
face.
I wondered what he dealt with that carved such a deep cavern
into his skin.
I knew he was only here to keep an eye on me, and that
annoyed me. I was officially working with the very people I threw
behind bars almost every day of my life and I could’ve killed my own
sister for putting me in this position. I love my sister, don’t get me
wrong, but she always used our shitty childhood as an excuse to do
shitty things.
And it made me furious.
“You gonna drive any faster than this?” Finn asked.
I furrowed my brow. “You mean, break the law and go over the
speed limit?”
He snickered. “People do at least five over all the time and never
get clocked.”
I shrugged. “They’ve never zoomed past me doing five over,
then.”
“You’re a detective. You don’t sit in a car all damn day with a
speed gun out the window.”
 “And you’re a punk little kid who rides a motorcycle. You
shouldn’t be committing criminal acts just to stay afloat.”
He chuckled. “You think you know me so well.”
I decided to peek over at him and give him a nice read so he
knew exactly what he was dealing with. “I know your childhood was
shit.”
He scoffed. “Everyone’s childhood is shit.”
I turned my eyes back toward the road. “I know that your
family’s dead.”
He didn’t say anything, so I continued.
“I also know that you didn’t repair things with them before they
died.”
He clicked his tongue. “Anything else, Crystal Ball?”
I shrugged. “That depends, do you want me to keep going?
Because you might not like what I have to say.”
When he didn’t respond back, I took that as my cue that I had
one-upped him. At least for now. And that was good because I
needed him to shut up. I needed to think, and I couldn’t do that
with people yapping around me all the damned time like the idiot
men in my precinct.
I wanted to ask Finn if he enjoyed playing the mysterious bad
boy role, but I held my tongue. He reminded me of the guys I ran
with when I was younger and rebelling against my parents that I
blamed for making my sister run away. He also reminded me of the
one bad boy I decided to trust with my heart at the tender age of
fifteen.
You know, before he shat on it and set the damned thing on fire.
“We’re here,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot of the police
station.
Finn unbuckled his seatbelt. “Great. Let’s make this quick.”
I parked the car. “Uh, what the hell are you doing?”
He looked over at me. “Coming inside with you.”
I shook my head. “Oh, no no. That isn’t how this works.”
“Well, it’s how it works with us. Now, come on.”
I reached open and grabbed his wrist before he could open the
door and tugged his ass back into his seat.
Another random document with
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 Afternoon Session
DR. EXNER: I have one further question concerning the
partisan regulations. The Prosecution brings the charge that you,
through Number 161 of the partisan regulations—that, Your Honors,
is in the document we used last, F-665, Page 130 of Volume II—
were responsible for the destruction of whole villages, and even of
the total population of villages in France. Will you please comment
on this?
JODL: I believe the opposite is true. Through Number 161, I
reduced the collective measures and collective punishments that the
Führer had decreed without restraint, to what was permitted by
Article 50 of the Hague Rules of Land Warfare. In this article
collective punishment is prohibited unless the entire population is
equally guilty in terror activities of any kind. Therefore, with this
Number 161 I did not order the burning down of villages, not even in
exceptional cases, but on the contrary I said that such collective
measures might be used only in very exceptional cases, and then
only with the approval of a divisional commander, for he would have
a tribunal and could make a judicial investigation.
I do not wish to trouble the Tribunal with any other merits of
mine, which may be read in this document. I discussed the good
treatment of the population; the necessity of leaving them the
necessaries of life, et cetera. I believe, at any rate, that this
document actually serves as a model of how this sort of war may be
brought within the scope of international law. I did this as I was
convinced that at that time the French Maquis movement, and also
the Tito revolt had gradually begun to develop into a regular war.
Now the case of the 2d SS Panzer Division is cited as an
example of things that I caused through this Number 161. I can say
only that the behavior of the SS Panzer Division is the responsibility
of its commander. I learned about it only months afterwards. I am
grateful to the French Prosecution for having submitted this
document, and I am grateful also for the statement that the Maquis
movement in the beginning was nothing else than franc-tireur
warfare, the heroism of which I do not dispute.
DR. EXNER: Now we shall turn to a different problem, the low-
level fliers. From Document 731-PS, Page 139 of the second
document book, and Page 144 of Volume II of my document book—
from these documents it can be seen that from various sources
proposals had been made as to the treatment of enemy airmen who
had made emergency landings. Can you tell us, first of all, the
reason for this, and what your attitude was toward these proposals?
JODL: I shall try to be as brief as possible. The reason was that
numerous reports had been received of people being attacked by
individual enemy aircraft contrary to international law. The Führer
demanded countermeasures, and that is the origin of the
memorandum 731-PS, Exhibit RF-1407. It is not a draft for an order,
still less an order. It is a note containing proposals made by the
Luftwaffe in that connection. There was no talk as yet about
lynching. The fact that I concerned myself with this problem at all
may find its explanation in the responsibility which, as I have
previously mentioned, I believed had rested with me since 1 May
with regard to questions of international law. The note which I wrote
on the document has already been read. I objected to one paragraph
—a case which I nevertheless considered entirely admissible
according to international law. This was later crossed out and
replaced by a statement that it was to be considered murder if one of
our soldiers landing by parachute was shot. I wrote this objection on
Document 735-PS. The concept of lynching...
DR. EXNER: I should like to state, for the assistance of the
Tribunal, where this passage is. The remark made by Jodl in his
handwriting is found on Page 144 of the document book. Various
proposals are made in this memorandum, and then Jodl adds “To
Number 3...”; and then there is a notation.
[Turning to the defendant.] Please comment on this.
JODL: My notation was: “Is the Foreign Office in agreement with
Number 3b?”—namely, that the shooting of our own airmen who
have been shot down and are parachuting to earth is to be
considered a mean terrorist act.
 DR. EXNER: This Number 3b is on the same page, at the top.
JODL: I just wanted to add that lynching was suggested in an
article by Goebbels, published in the Völkischer Beobachter. The
more I concerned myself with this problem, the more it was obvious
that nothing at all could be achieved with measures of this kind, for
one could never capture a guilty low-flying airman, for he would
either escape or he would be dashed to pieces on the ground. This
would only lead to a general murder of airmen. Therefore, I decided
—and I was in complete agreement with Field Marshal Keitel on this
point—to cause this entire action to fail. The Court can see that
between Document 731-PS, which was compiled on 21 May, and
Document 735-PS, 16 days had elapsed wherein nothing had been
done. When on 6 June I received a rather lengthy report, I noted on
it, “This is not sufficient; we have to start all over again; how can we
be certain that other enemy airmen will not be treated in the same
way? Should some legal procedure be arranged or not?” If I wrote
that, then, Your Honors, it is absolute proof, if you consider my
general method of work, that I had no other intention than to delay
and drag things out until the matter had solved itself. And I
succeeded in this case. No military authority issued an order. We did
not even go so far as to make a draft of an order. The only thing we
had were these scraps of paper. It has been proved, and it will be
proved further, that many months afterwards the Führer brought the
gravest charges against us, and against the Luftwaffe in particular, of
having torpedoed his order.
DR. EXNER: Now we shall turn to something entirely different.
The Chief of the OKW, in a letter written in 1941, called you and
Warlimont his representatives for collaborating with Rosenberg’s
Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories. That is Document 865-
PS, Exhibit USA-143. How did that work out in practice?
JODL: Not at all. Apart from one conference in 1943 dealing
with an appeal to the peoples of the East, I had no connection with
Rosenberg’s Ministry whatsoever. The only collaboration which took
place constantly was carried on by my propaganda division, for all
pamphlets which it compiled and which were dropped over Russia
were discussed first with the Ministry of the Occupied Eastern
Territories.
 DR. EXNER: Then why were you appointed at all? Why was
that necessary?
JODL: That was purely a matter of form, because Minister Dr.
Lammers wrote to each of the higher Reich authorities in general
asking that a deputy be designated; and so Field Marshal Keitel also
designated a deputy.
DR. EXNER: We shall now turn to something new. You have
been shown the rather strange Document C-2, Exhibit USA-90. It is
not contained in my document book, but the Court will remember it at
once. It is a compilation in tabular form in which certain incidents of
significance in international law are cited in the first column. In the
second column there are examples; in the third and fourth...
MR. ROBERTS: It is Page 163 in the big document book.
DR. EXNER: This is a diagramatic compilation which sets down
on one side a certain incident, and on the other enumerates the
consequences of this incident: its appraisal in the light of
international law, its use for propaganda, and so forth.
Will you explain how this came about? It is really a very strange
document. Twelve infringements of international law by our side are
set down, and, I believe, 13 infringements by the enemy.
JODL: I do not think this document is so remarkable after all. It
was compiled at the end of September 1938, shortly before the
Munich Conference. As I, in my department, did not know for certain
whether we would have an armed conflict or not, and as at that time
the stipulations of international law were not clear to us, I wanted, by
taking various examples, to find out from the experts on international
law what the present attitude was towards such infractions. Every
officer in my division then racked his brain to find an example, and
we tried to cover every branch of international law through some
specific instance. I consider it worthy of note that even then we
concerned ourselves with the conception of international law. There
can be no doubt whatsoever that I alone carry responsibility for
having thought out these examples. But if one were to take
exception to the reply to these examples, that is to the judgment on
the lines of international law or to justification according to the rules
of warfare, I can only say that this did not come from me; it
emanated from the office of Canaris. Apart from that, it shows a very
careful and noteworthy attitude toward international law, especially
concerning air warfare. At any rate, it was on a much higher level
than what took place in actual practice.
DR. EXNER: Therefore, was it the intention to commit these
infractions of international law?
JODL: Not at all, but as one conversant with the history of
warfare, I knew that there has never yet been in this world a war in
which infractions of international law did not occur.
If, perhaps, objection should be raised that quite at the end of
the paragraph there appears: “Explanation by the Propaganda
Ministry,” I should like to say that that comes at the end, after the
justification according to the laws of war and the judgment from the
standpoint of international law, and that Admiral Bürckner, who gave
the reply, himself referred to it—that propaganda could be put into
practice only after the aspects of international law had been clarified.
Moreover the whole answer was only a preliminary one, as first the
Foreign Office and the various branch chiefs of the Wehrmacht
would have had to be heard on the subject.
DR. EXNER: I asked for Admiral Bürckner as a witness on this
question, but it really seems to be too unimportant a matter, and I
shall therefore forego the calling of this witness.
[Turning to the defendant.] I want to ask you the following
question in this connection: What was your attitude in general as to
the limitations placed on the conduct of war by international law?
JODL: I recognized and valued international law with which I
was well acquainted, as a prerequisite for the decent and humane
conduct of war. Copies of the Hague Rules of Land Warfare and the
Geneva Convention were always lying on my desk. I believe that by
my attitude toward the Commissar Order, toward lynching, and
toward the intention to repudiate the Geneva Convention—bluntly
rejected by all Commanders-in-Chief and all branches of the
Wehrmacht, and by the Foreign Office—I have proved that I tried, as
far as it was possible for me, to observe international law.
Of course, there is a wealth of positive proof available. The
pertinent documents will probably be submitted by my defense
counsel. I will refer only to the behavior of the German Wehrmacht in
Norway, a matter in which I collaborated. I refer to the partisan
regulations...
DR. EXNER: I submit Document AJ-14, Pages 99 and 100 in
my document book, Volume I. These are special directives for
conduct during the occupation of Norway and Denmark, directives
which, therefore, were issued when those countries were occupied.
There are some very characteristic sentences contained in this
document, sentences which I should like to read. You will find on
Page 98, Figure I:
“The military occupation of Denmark and Norway is taking
place for the purpose of ensuring the neutrality of these
countries. The aim must be to carry this out in a peaceful
way.”
Then on Page 99, at the top it says:
“Directives for conduct in personal intercourse with the
Norwegian population.
“Every member of the Armed Forces must remember that
he is not entering enemy country, but that the troops are
moving into Norway for the protection of the country and for
the safety of its inhabitants.
“Therefore, the following is to be observed:
“I. The Norwegian has a strongly developed national
consciousness. Moreover the Norwegian people feel
themselves closely related to other Nordic peoples.
“Therefore avoid anything that might wound national honor.”
Figure 2 is also very characteristic. Then I shall turn to Figure 4:
“The home of the Norwegian is sacred according to the old
Germanic conception. Hospitality is offered generously.
Property is inviolable. The house remains...”
THE PRESIDENT: It is not necessary to read all of this. One
paragraph is enough to show the nature of the document, isn’t it?
 DR. EXNER: Then I will make mention of the remainder of the
document which I shall not read, and ask that the Tribunal take
official notice of this document.
Then there is a directive here, Document AJ-16...
THE PRESIDENT: But, Dr. Exner, that last document does not
appear to have been signed by the defendant, does it?
DR. EXNER: [Turning to the defendant.] What had you to do
with this document? Did you...
JODL: It is signed by Von Falkenhorst, but it is well known that
we—the Armed Forces Operations Staff and the staff of Von
Falkenhorst—comprised one unit for the Norwegian enterprise. I
participated in the drawing up of this document, and I submitted it to
the Führer and the Führer approved of it. There is even an entry to
that effect in my diary.
DR. EXNER: Then comes Document AJ-16, which I submit
herewith.
“Special directives for the administration and pacification of the
occupied areas of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.” This is Page
161, Volume II of my document book. I will quote only from Page 162
in order to save time. I will read perhaps the last sentence:
“International law must be strictly observed in every case.” But I
request the Tribunal to take judicial notice of the other regulations.
In this connection I should like to mention Document 440-PS,
Exhibit GB-107, in my Document Book 2, Page 164—Directive
Number 8 regarding the conduct of war, dated 20 November 1939. It
says in respect to the tasks of the Air Force—I will read the last
paragraph:
“Localities, especially large open cities, and industries are
not to be attacked without a compelling military reason,
neither in the Dutch nor in the Belgian-Luxembourg areas.
—Signed Keitel.”
Did you also draft that?
JODL: I drafted that order.
DR. EXNER: Then we might refer to the regulations for fighting
partisans, a matter which has been discussed here also.
 JODL: And I should like to refer to something I believe I have
stated already, that I ordered an immediate investigation of the
Malmédy incident.
DR. EXNER: Did you constantly bear in mind the aspects of
international law where your orders were concerned?
JODL: I believe I have already stated that. I studied international
law very carefully in its bearing on my orders. I do not wish to detain
the Court with the knowledge I gathered from these regulations, for it
is only incomplete, but I should like to conclude by saying that owing
to the fact that there were no regulations governing air warfare,
deplorable confusion in definition arose—for instance between
rebellion and legal war force; between franc-tireur, bandit, and scout;
between spy and scout; demolition crews and saboteurs. Any time
with the help of aircraft a rebellion might be converted into a legal
war; and a legal war, on the other hand, might become a state of
rebellion. That is the effect that parachute troops and the furnishing
of supplies by air have had on international law.
DR. EXNER: In this connection, I should like to submit the
affidavit of Lehmann, Exhibit AJ-10 (Document Number Jodl-63).
This document has not been submitted to the Court because it was
only yesterday that the Prosecution declared itself in agreement with
the use of this affidavit. I believe it is the affidavit of the Judge
Advocate General, Dr. Lehmann. If the Tribunal will declare this
affidavit admissible, I can perhaps merely refer to it...
THE PRESIDENT: Where is it?
DR. EXNER: I submit it herewith but it has not been translated
yet, as we received permission for it only yesterday in Court.
MR. ROBERTS: As Sir David said yesterday there is no
objection to the affidavit, although there was no actual order granting
the affidavit of Lehmann. My Lord, it is very short, especially the
copy I had, and I think there is no reason to object to it.
DR. EXNER: Then, in order to save time, I shall just refer to it;
and I beg the Tribunal to read these statements of Dr. Lehmann.
They seem to me to be significant, as after all it is the highest jurist in
the German Wehrmacht, Judge Advocate General Lehmann, who is
giving information here.
 THE PRESIDENT: You had better give it an exhibit number.
DR. EXNER: Yes, AJ-10 was the exhibit number I gave it, Your
Honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
DR. EXNER: This gentleman mentions legal discussions, which
he had occasion to carry on with Jodl, and he gives us Jodl’s attitude
toward legal questions.
And now, General, in connection with crimes against the laws of
war there is one last question which comes to our attention.
Numerous entries in the war diary, orders, et cetera, are the subject
of serious charges against you. Did you have the possibility, before
you were captured, of destroying all this material?
JODL: Yes, between 3 May and 23 May I had time and leisure to
burn every piece of paper, but I gave instructions to my staff not to
destroy a single file, for I felt I had nothing to conceal. I handed the
complete files, and above all the especially important ones, all the
original Führer directives since 1940, to the American officer when I
was captured.
DR. EXNER: And now I shall turn to the alleged Crimes against
Peace. First of all we have to make it clear what posts you held
during this critical period. Tell us, please, what posts you held from
1933.
JODL: From 1932 to 1935 I was in the division which was later
called the Operations Division of the Army. From the middle of 1935
until October 1938 I was Chief of the Department for National
Defense in the Wehrmachtsamt, which was later called the OKW.
DR. EXNER: That means the Wehrmachtsamt was actually the
OKW?
JODL: Yes, later on. From October 1938 until shortly before the
Polish campaign I was artillery commander at Vienna and at Brünn,
in Moravia; and from 27 October 1939...
DR. EXNER: Just a moment please. 27 September?
JODL: No—August, rather. On 27 August 1939 I took over the
office and the tasks of Chief of the General Staff.
 DR. EXNER: Now, let us take that period. Did you concern
yourself with war plans in the years 1932-35 when you were in the
so-called Truppenamt?
JODL: At that time there were no preparations in the Operations
Division, except for combat directives for the improvised
Grenzschutz Ost (frontier guard East). This was a militia-like
organization, and preparations were made to evacuate the whole
German border in case of enemy occupation. That was all.
DR. EXNER: Had you anything to do with the proclamation of
general conscription?
JODL: No, I had nothing to do with that. I believe I heard about it
the day before.
DR. EXNER: What were your duties as chief of the Department
for National Defense from June 1935 to October 1938?
JODL: In this position I had to work out the operational strategic
directives according to the instructions of my chiefs, Keitel and
Blomberg. I had to study and to clarify the problem of the leadership
of the Wehrmacht; to prepare studies and exercises for the big
Wehrmacht maneuvers in 1937. I had to supervise the Wehrmacht
Academy; I had to work out drafts for laws in connection with the
general conscription order and with the unified preparation for
mobilization in the civilian sector, that is, of state and people. The so-
called Secretariat of the Reich Defense Committee came under me.
DR. EXNER: Tell us, please, what were you at that time? What
was your military rank?
JODL: I acquired that position while I was lieutenant colonel;
and in 1936—I believe—I became a colonel.
DR. EXNER: Did you take any part in the Reich Defense Law?
JODL: No, that law originated before I entered my office in the
Wehrmachtsamt.
DR. EXNER: But the Prosecution is accusing you of
participation in it on the grounds of a supplement which you made to
the Document 2261-PS, Exhibit USA-24, which is to be found in
Volume I, Page 9. In this document it says, “Attached a copy of the
Reich Defense Law of 21 May 1935...” The signature is Blomberg’s
and it is dated 24 June. Then comes a supplementary paragraph:
“Berlin, 3 September 1935. To the Defense Economic Group la, copy
transmitted, Signed Jodl.” What can you tell us about that?
JODL: Indisputably that is a valid Reich law of which I had to
transmit a copy to one of the other offices. I need not say more than
that.
DR. EXNER: You yourself did not participate in the drawing up
of the law itself?
JODL: No.
DR. EXNER: Were you a member of the Reich Defense
Council?
JODL: No.
DR. EXNER: Were you a member of the Reich Defense
Committee?
JODL: I was that automatically from the moment I took over the
direction of the National Defense Department. At the tenth session of
this meeting of experts, on 26 June 1935, General Von Reichenau
designated me as his deputy.
DR. EXNER: What was the purpose of this committee? This has
already been discussed, I believe, so please be as brief as possible.
JODL: In a few words: With this committee a unified
mobilization, not of the Army, but the mobilization of the State and
people, corresponding to military mobilization, was prepared. These
plans were laid down in the mobilization books giving final figures
and various stages of tension.
DR. EXNER: What were these various stages of tension?
JODL: We had learned about this from France and had adopted
it. The French had a system by which mobilization was carried out in
five stages according to the degree of tension existing.
THE PRESIDENT: Do we need the detail about this? Is it not
sufficient to say it was copied from France?
DR. EXNER: Very well.
[Turning to the defendant.] Perhaps you can tell us what this
meant; why we adopted this system of stages of tension? What was
the reason?
 JODL: The purpose was to have some means at our disposal—
as was customary all over Europe at that time—that would achieve
an intensified readiness for war before the public order for
mobilization was issued.
DR. EXNER: Did the Reich Defense Committee concern itself
with armament?
JODL: No. It did not concern itself with armament at all.
DR. EXNER: Did the Reich Defense Committee concern itself
with political plans or intentions?
JODL: It had nothing to do in any way with political problems.
DR. EXNER: But how about war?
JODL: It was concerned only with mobilization.
DR. EXNER: That means, a certain particular war...
JODL: Mobilization is a necessity for every possible war.
DR. EXNER: In this committee you concerned yourself with
mobilization books. Is that correct?
JODL: Yes. I believe I have already explained that. In these
books the details of all the chief Reich authorities were set down and
indexed according to degrees of tension.
DR. EXNER: What do you mean by chief Reich authorities?
JODL: I mean all the ministries.
DR. EXNER: You mean the civil authorities?
JODL: Yes, the civil authorities. And the preparations made by
them had to be brought into line with the preparations by the military.
DR. EXNER: What were the preparations in the demilitarized
zone?
JODL: The preparations in the demilitarized zones were
connected solely with evacuation, that is the surrendering of the
areas west of the Rhine in case of a French occupation.
DR. EXNER: I believe we have discussed that at length already,
and in this connection I should like to refer to Document EC-405,
Exhibit GB-160, Page 11 of my document book, the first volume,
where the tenth session is mentioned. You are accused of having
decreed the utmost secrecy concerning all these preparations,
which, according to your description, were of a purely defensive
nature. Why all this secrecy?
JODL: Keeping measures of this kind secret is taken for granted
all over the world. For us in Germany it was especially important, as
for years the civil authorities had no longer been accustomed to
concern themselves with military matters, and it seemed to me of
particular importance that in foreign countries no misunderstanding
should arise by, let us say, the capture of an order of this nature—a
very characteristic misunderstanding such as occurred in these
proceedings in connection with the “Freimachung” of the Rhine.
DR. EXNER: And why did you decree secrecy? So that foreign
countries would not be disquieted?
JODL: At that time we were even weaker than during the period
when we had an army of only 100,000 men. This army of 100,000
men had been broken up into hundreds of small groups. It was the
time of our very greatest impotence, and at that period we had to be
extremely careful to avoid any and all tension with foreign countries.
DR. EXNER: What were the military plans of those days?
JODL: I have already said that there were the combat directives
for the Grenzschutz Ost. I had also worked out instructions for the
commander in East Prussia in case he were cut off from the Reich
through a sudden attack by Poland.
DR. EXNER: Did you know of any German intentions of attack
at that time?
JODL: There was no thought or talk of that whatsoever.
DR. EXNER: Well, I should like to quote one sentence from the
twelfth session of the Reich Defense Council. It is on Page 14 of
Volume I of my document book, Document EC-407, Exhibit GB-247.
At that meeting Lieutenant Colonel Wagner of the OKH said—who
was he, by the way?
JODL: He later became Quartermaster General.
DR. EXNER: Lieutenant Colonel Wagner said:
“The outcome of the war”—that is, the last war—“has
resulted in a completely changed military and political
 situation in the case of a future war, namely the necessity
for waging it in one’s own country.”
He said that on 14 May 1936. What would you gather from this
sentence?
JODL: Of course, one can perhaps say...
THE PRESIDENT: Dr. Exner, surely it is a statement by
somebody else, and this statement speaks for itself. It is not a matter
that this witness can interpret to us.
DR. EXNER: Very well.
[Turning to the defendant.] Now, were you concerned with
armament in the Truppenamt, and later in the Department for
National Defense?
JODL: I personally had nothing at all to do with armament in the
real sense. That was a matter for the various branches of the
Wehrmacht—the Army, the Navy, the Air Force—and it was dealt
with and handled by their organizational staffs. The Commanders-in-
Chief discussed these matters with the Führer direct. But I hope, and
I will not deny, that my work in the General Staff contributed to the
reconstruction of the German Wehrmacht.
DR. EXNER: Your diary, 1780-PS, does not contain a word
about armament, and it seems obvious that at that time you did not
concern yourself with this problem. What were your thoughts and
ideas on the question of armament? Were you in favor of it?
JODL: At that time I was of the same opinion as my superiors;
and it was characteristic that on the day before the statement was
made that 36 divisions were to be formed, Blomberg as well as
Fritsch suggested to the Führer that only 24 divisions should be
formed. They feared a thinning down of the entire army. Perhaps
they also feared too stormy a foreign policy, based on forces existing
only on paper.
DR. EXNER: Please answer a question which appears to be
important to me: What were the deadlines in connection with the
armament in 1935?
JODL: Various stages were provided for. The first deadline set
was 1942-43. Most of the West Wall was to be completed by 1945.
The Navy’s plan of construction ran on to 1944-45.
DR. EXNER: At that time what did you consider the objective of
the armament?
JODL: Since it was not possible to achieve general
disarmament, the objective was to establish military parity between
Germany and the neighboring countries.
DR. EXNER: In this connection I should like to refer to a
document which has already been submitted—the 2-year report of
General George Marshall. This has already been submitted as
Raeder-19. I have a part of it here before me, a part which I
submitted under Exhibit AJ-3, (Document Jodl-56) Page 168.
Regarding the problem of rearmament, some sentences seem to hit
the nail right on the head.
In the second paragraph on Page 6, or rather the last sentence
there, we see:
“The world does not seriously consider the wishes of the
weak. Weakness is too great a temptation to the strong,
particularly to the brutal who scheme for wealth and power.”
Then on the next page there is another sentence:
“Above all we must, I think, correct the tragic
misunderstanding that a security policy is a war policy...”
Can you tell us, please, what the ratio of our military strength to
that of foreign countries was at that time?
JODL: In 1935, when we set up 36 divisions, France, Poland,
and Czechoslovakia possessed 90 divisions for times of peace, and
190 divisions for war. We had hardly any heavy artillery, and tank
construction was in its earliest stages. The conception of defensive
and offensive armament has been discussed here on various
occasions. It would lead us too far afield to go into that in detail. But I
should like to say only that as far as Germany was concerned, with
her geographical position this conception did not apply. The
disarmament conference too, after months of discussion, failed
because a proper definition for this conception could not be formed.
 DR. EXNER: I should like to quote from an expert, George
Marshall again, on Page 168 of my document book, from which I
have just quoted; and again just one sentence. It is in the first
paragraph: “The only effective defense a nation can now maintain is
the power of attack...”
Now, however, the Prosecution asserts that you should have
known that such a tremendous rearmament as the German
rearmament could serve only for an aggressive war. Will you
comment on this, please?
JODL: I believe this can only be explained as an expression of
military ignorance. Up to the year 1939 we were, of course, in a
position to destroy Poland alone. But we were never, either in 1938
or 1939, actually in a position to withstand a concentrated attack by
these states together. And if we did not collapse already in the year
1939 that was due only to the fact that during the Polish campaign,
the approximately 110 French and British divisions in the West were
held completely inactive against the 23 German divisions.
DR. EXNER: But tell us, when did intensive rearmament actually
begin?
JODL: Real rearmament was only begun after the war had
already started. We entered into this world war with some 75
divisions. Sixty percent of our total able-bodied population had not
been trained. The peacetime army amounted to perhaps 400,000
men, as against 800,000 men in 1914. Our supplies of ammunition
and bombs, as the witness Milch has already testified, were
ridiculously low.
DR. EXNER: In that connection I should like to read a diary
entry of yours, Page 16 of Volume I of my document book, which is
1780-PS, USA-72. On 13 December you said:
“After completion of project for L”—that is the
Landesverteidigung, National Defense—“Field Marshal
reports on state of war potential of Wehrmacht, indicating
chief bottleneck is inadequate stocks of ammunition for
Army—10 to 15 days of combat equals 6 weeks’ supply.”
 JODL: That is right, we had ammunition for 10 to 15 days of
combat.
DR. EXNER: Now I shall turn to the question of the occupation
of the Rhineland.
THE PRESIDENT: Let us break off now.
[A recess was taken.]

DR. EXNER: General, when did you first hear of the plans to
occupy the Rhineland?
JODL: On 1 or 2 March 1936; that is to say about 6 days before
the actual occupation. I could not have heard of them any earlier
because before that the Führer had not yet made the decision
himself.
DR. EXNER: Did you and the generals have military objections
to that occupation?
JODL: I must confess that we had the uneasy feeling of a
gambler whose entire fortune is at stake.
DR. EXNER: Did you have legal objections?
JODL: No; I was neither an expert on international law nor a
politician. Politically speaking it had been stated that the agreement
between Czechoslovakia, Russia, and France had made the
Locarno Pact void, which I accepted as a fact at the time.
DR. EXNER: How strong were our forces in the Rhineland after
the occupation?
JODL: We occupied the Rhineland with approximately one
division, but only three battalions of that went into the territory west
of the Rhine; one battalion went to Aachen, one to Trier, and one to
Saarbrücken.
DR. EXNER: Three battalions. That is really only a symbolic
occupation, is it not?
JODL: Yes, and they acted only symbolically.
DR. EXNER: Did you do anything to avoid a military conflict
because of that occupation?
 JODL: There were serious reports which came from our military
attachés in Paris and London at the time. I could not fail to be
impressed by them. We suggested to Field Marshal Von Blomberg
then that perhaps he ought to discuss withdrawing these three
battalions west of the Rhine on condition that the French would
withdraw four to five times as many men from their borders.
DR. EXNER: Was that suggestion ever made?
JODL: Yes, it was made to the Führer, but he turned it down. He
rejected very bluntly General Beck’s suggestion that we should
declare that we would not fortify the area west of the Rhine. That
was a suggestion of General Beck’s, which the Führer turned down
very bluntly.
DR. EXNER: Did you think at the time that that action was
connected with any aggressive intention?
JODL: No, there could not be any question of aggressive
intentions.
DR. EXNER: Why not?
JODL: I can only say that, considering the situation we were in,
the French covering army alone could have blown us to pieces.
DR. EXNER: Do you think that the leading men had aggressive
intentions then?
JODL: No, nobody had aggressive intentions; but it is of course
possible that in the brain of the Führer there was already an idea that
the occupation was a prerequisite for actions to be taken later in the
East. That is possible; but I do not know, because I could not see
into the Führer’s brain.
DR. EXNER: But you did not see any outward signs of it?
JODL: No, none whatsoever.
DR. EXNER: Did you know of the so-called testament of Hitler
dated 5 November 1937 which has been presented here?
JODL: The first time I heard it read was here in Court.
DR. EXNER: What did you learn about it at the time?
JODL: Field Marshal Von Blomberg informed Keitel and Keitel
informed me that there had been a discussion with the Führer. When
I asked for the minutes I was told that no minutes had been taken. I
refer to my diary, Document 1780-PS, as proof of this. What I was
told was not at all sensational and hardly different in any way from
anything contained in general directives for the preparation of a war.
I can only assume that Field Marshal Von Blomberg at that time kept
these things to himself because he may not have believed that they
would ever be carried out.
DR. EXNER: Was there an operational plan against Austria?
JODL: There was no operational plan against Austria. I state
that most emphatically.
DR. EXNER: Now we come to Document C-175, a directive
which has the Exhibit Number USA-69. It is in Volume I; Page 18
and the following pages. It is a directive for the unified preparation of
the armed forces for war of the year 1937. The Prosecution quoted
Case Otto only from this directive, so that the impression was bound
to be created that the whole was a plan for a campaign against
Austria. Please explain what this directive means.
JODL: It was one of those typical standard preparations for war,
for every conceivable eventuality. Such directives had come out
every year in Germany ever since there was a General Staff and
general conscription. These theoretical military studies made a
distinction between two cases, namely cases of war which because
of their nature were politically probable or might be probable, and
cases which were improbable. As far as the former were concerned,
a plan of operations was to be drafted by the Army and the Air Force.
For the latter appropriate suggestions only were to be brought
forward. If the Tribunal would turn to Page 21 of the document, there
appears at the end of the page, Part 3, a sentence as follows: “The
following ‘special cases’ are to be considered by the High Command
in general without participation by regional authorities...” and among
such cases, on Page 22, is the special “Case Otto.”
DR. EXNER: On Page 18 of this document is a directive valid
from 1 July 1937 until, probably, 30 September 1938, that is a little
more than a year. That, in turn, replaces another similar directive
which is referred to in the first paragraph, which had been drawn up
for the same problems previously. Did you participate in discussions
on the Austrian case?
 JODL: No, I did not participate in any discussions.
DR. EXNER: It is said in the trial brief that on 12 February 1938
you had been at Obersalzberg. Keitel has already rectified that. Your
entry in the diary under 12 March 1938 is, therefore, based only on
an account which you received through Keitel; is that right?
JODL: Yes. It is merely a note on a brief account given to me by
General Keitel about that day, probably related a bit colorfully.
DR. EXNER: But then it says, evening of 11 February: “General
Keitel with Generals Von Reichenau and Sperrle at Obersalzberg.
Schuschnigg and G. Schmidt are being subjected to very great
political and military pressure.” In the English and French
translations it says that Schuschnigg and Schmidt are “again
subjected to very great political and military pressure.” This word
“again” does not appear in my German original.
Now, did you suggest deceptive maneuvers against Austria?
That is being held against you.
JODL: I did not suggest any deceptive maneuvers. The Führer
ordered them; and I do not think that they are illegal, because I
believe that in the gambling of world history, in politics and in war,
false cards have always been played. But the Führer ordered it and
that is stated in the entry in my diary. I supplied military information
and documents to Canaris as to where our garrisons were situated,
what maneuvers were taking place. Canaris elaborated them and
then released them in Munich.
DR. EXNER: What did you think was the purpose of...
JODL: I had been told that the purpose was to exert a certain
amount of pressure so that Schuschnigg, when he had returned
home, would adhere to the agreement made at Obersalzberg.
DR. EXNER: How long before the actual entry into Austria did
you know of such intentions?
JODL: On 10 March in the morning just before 11 o’clock I heard
of it for the first time.
DR. EXNER: And the entry took place when?
JODL: On the 12th. It was when General Keitel and General
Viehbahn, who was then temporarily Chief of Armed Forces