by Avelyn Paige
Go through the file, Raze, and for fuck’s sake, when you confront her about it take someone with you or at least a gun. I know she’s the mother of you children, but the bitch needs to die for what she’s done. Your kids would be far better off without a woman like her in their lives anyway.
This brings me to my next point, my wife and boys. I need you to protect them, brother. Darcy and my boys were the best thing to ever happen to an old man like me. That woman showed me that even a fucked up soul like me could deserve a woman like her and to have a family. I’m not naïve enough to think that she won’t find someone else and for my sake, I hope it’s one of our brothers. I know that’s kinda fucked up, but I know with one of my brother’s by her side that she will be safe.
In this file, there’s two more letters that I need you to give to her and her new old man. I know it’s a sappy gesture, but I need them both to know I’m okay if she moves on, but even deep down I had hoped I ruined her for all other men.
Stay safe my brother and kill the bitch for me.
Jagger
P.S.
Promise me that if Darcy even starts looking in Slider’s direction, you crush his balls. That fucker may be pretty to the ladies, but I don’t want him anywhere near my girl.
“Fuck,” I exclaim as I slam the letter onto the desk. My wife is the fucking reason for everything that has gone down in the club, and I didn’t even know it. Was my vision so clouded by my feelings for her, or was I just that fucking stupid to think that my wife truly loved me? How could someone bring children into this world knowing that the relationship was all a fucking sham?
My hand slides across to the second and third envelope each with my name, taking care to leave the other two envelopes undisturbed until the time is right like Jagger asked. I rip both of them open and spill the contents on the desk. Photo after photo of my ex-wife with known members of the Manuel Cartel fall onto my desk quickly followed by page after page of bank transactions between an account in Maj’s name and an unknown account in Mexico. How in the fuck did she accomplish all of this and never get caught?
My mind wanders back to all of the new brothers we’ve welcomed with open arms over the years. How many of them have betrayed us? Thinking through the ranks of my own club, I know that I can trust each and every one of these men with my life since Jagger recruited almost all of them. If one of my closest brothers would have been suspected for being a traitor, Jagger would have told me. My wife was too smart for her own fucking good, and I am betting that these men are in the other chapters. My thoughts shift to the actions that will come to pass with this information and how our numbers may fall. We’ll need to be at full strength in order to take on the cartel while protecting our families at the same time. Their reach is far greater than ours, and it may come down to making a deal with the devil to come out of this alive.
Grabbing my phone, I send a quick text out to my brothers requesting them to come immediately, making sure to leave Hero out of the message knowing that he is still with Dani at Darcy’s house. I shoot a text off to Slider and verify that things are all clear at my house. Within twenty minutes, bike after bike rumbles into the parking lot as my brothers barrel into the door like their asses are on fire.
“Raze, what the fuck is going on?” Voodoo demands when he files into Church with Ratchet, Tyson, Hot Shot, Dirty, and two transfers from a disbanded chapter, Thrasher and Irons, hot on his heels. The amount of tension in the room is like being in the ring with a UFC champion with an undefeated record. One false move and the hair trigger will be tripped, sending the room exploding around us.
Sliding the open envelopes into the center of the table, each man grabs a photo and studies it. Voodoo instantly goes for the stack of bank transactions, his eyes moving back and forth across the information of the page. The room is in deafening silence when I slide the letter from inside of my cut and read it aloud to them, leaving out the personal note from Jagger. That information will stay with me for the time being since it didn’t involve the club. It was simply a last request from a man who knew his time was limited.
“You’ve gotta be fucking shitting me, Prez,” Ratchet blurts out. “You’re telling me that your old lady was a fucking Cartel spy and none of us knew it? This has to be some bullshit trick. Sure, Maj was a bitch for what she pulled with Dani, but a murderer and a manipulator? Come on. She was barely here. How did you even find this shit?”
Rubbing my hand against my bald head, I deeply sigh. “Jagger wrote a letter to Darcy with instructions on how to find this. She took off on her own, and Dani alerted me to her leaving. Found her in Tijuana in a shit hole bar along with that packet.”
“Shit, he involved her in this?”Ratchet asks. “Doesn’t that seem fishy to you, Prez? He never had that bitch here at all while he was still alive.”
My fists slam onto the table as every set of eyes snap to me.
“If you ever call her a bitch in front of me again, I will beat your ass myself. Darcy could have burned that letter and we’d never have found out about all of this bullshit until the cartel overran us and killed us all. She’s saving your ass while you’re condemning your dead brother’s widow.” I hold my hand up to silence Ratchet before his hate-fueled tirade continues. “Listen, Ratch. I know it seems so fucking far outta left field, but the evidence is there. It’s not like we can dig Jagger up and ask him for more proof. He’s fucking dead, and from what I see in front of me, my wife was the fucking reason.”
“What do you need us to do, Prez?” Hot Shot asks.
“For the time being, we’re on lockdown. I need someone to bring in all the women and the children or make sure they all get out of town safely. Have Ruby fill up the storeroom and prepare for at least a week or two. I need two men to collect my kids and take them to Darcy’s. Make sure they have all the shit they need to keep up with their school work.”
“Ratchet and I will go get them,” volunteers Dirty.
“I’ll get cracking on this unknown bank account and see if I can track it down. I’ll search for any bank records that may pertain to Maj and see where the money trail goes. It might take me a couple of days to hack into the banks, but I can do it.”
“What about Hero? Where is he in all of this?”
“He’s over at Darcy’s with Dani and the kids. I’ll be bringing him in as soon as we’re done here. I need a volunteer to watch Darcy’s house. The cartel may not know where she lives, but with the new baby and Dani being pregnant, I don’t want any of them within throwing distance of the club. It’s safer that they aren’t here for the time being.”
“I’ll go,” Irons says. “I’m too new for any of these Spanish fuckers to know who I am. I can blend in without them noticing me.”
“Thanks, man.”
“I’d do anything you ask, Prez, but what about the other chapters? Are we bringing them in?”
“I think we need to, but I think we need to limit the guys here to only the ones we’ve known for a while. I want to limit the information that may leak to the spies amongst us.” Turning to Voodoo, I call his attention back to me. “V, I need you to run background checks on all the new guys in the last twelve years. Start with the farthest chapters and work your way closer to home. Maj would have brought them in at a distance until she knew she could get away with it.”
“Sure thing, Prez. I’ll pull the membership records right now.”
I look to each of my brothers before rising from my chair.
“I know that this is the last thing we wanted to come kicking in our door, but we need to take care of this now. This club was meant to be a brotherhood, not a fucking means to an end for the cartel to clear their path farther into California. The shit’s about to hit the fan, and I need to know you are all on board with me.”
Each man nods his head in agreement and a sense of pride falls over me. My brothers are willing to stand beside me while we attempt to clean up the mess left behind by Maj and her family’s cartel. Killing Twisted Tribe
was one thing, but facing an entire cartel will be so much more. Ties and bonds will be tested and our families and friends are going to be put into the crosshairs in order to put this shit to rest. There are things we need to do and plans to be made to ensure that this club and our families will be taken care of if this shit goes south. My priority now is my own children’s safety as well as the added responsibility of Darcy and her kids. Jagger will haunt my ass until my last breath if I leave them unprotected, but I know she will fight me every step of the way. Too bad for her that I’m a hard man to say no to and don’t really give a shit about her opinions on my methods. One way or another, the kids will survive even if we don’t.
“Prepare yourselves, my brothers. We are at war.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. That bastard sent his kids over here?” I scream at Dirty while he unloads Harley’s suitcase onto the driveway. “I am not Raze’s halfway house for wayward children and pregnant women. I have my own kids to take care of. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have enough beds for everyone.”
“Prez’s orders so fucking deal with it. I don’t like being locked down any more than you do, but buck the fuck up, buttercup, because this shit’s happening whether you say yes or no.”
Dirty slams a second suitcase on the ground and shoves the tail gate of the Ford pickup truck closed with a boom that echoes off the neighboring houses. He reaches down for the suitcases without a word and heads toward the door, placing them inside before hearing Harley’s protests at her new confinement with Ratchet.
She sounds like her mother. This will be like going to Disneyland when the admission is free, crowded, hot, and every single person is grumpy as shit.
“If he seriously thinks I am going to babysit his wild child of a daughter, he’s delusional. Dani is one thing; she’s a friend. I have never met his kids and have no idea what to expect from them.”
Dirty’s hazel eyes narrow at me before he brushes past me on the sidewalk with Ratchet following directly behind him. He heads toward the unloaded pick-up truck before turning around to answer me. “You’re a mom, Darcy. I’m sure you can handle two more kids. Besides, Dani can help you.”
I scoff at his response. “Dani is the size of a fucking house and ready to pop at any second. The likelihood of her being any help to me is slim to fucking none. How do you expect me to feed all these mouths if I can’t fucking leave to get groceries?”
Ratchet steps up on the running boards and puts one foot inside the cab of the truck. “I’d stow that fucking holier than thou attitude if I were you, Darcy. If something were to happen to his kids, there will be hell to pay.” After delivering his threat, Ratchet slides into the cab and slams the door behind him.
What a fucking asshole. I knew he didn’t like me, but he seriously needs to start wearing a hat because no one likes to see a dickhead.
Dirty shakes his head yet again and opens the driver’s side door. “Aren’t you a southern girl, Darcy? I thought you all could garden and shit. I’m sure it’s in your debutante handbook or something,” Dirty says with a cocky fucking smile and a laugh.
“I lived in the city, shit for brains. Not the country. The closest thing to a green thumb that I have is buying lettuce from the friendly Mexican man down at the farmer’s market,” I retort while flipping him the middle finger, which only makes him laugh harder.
“Irons is watching the house and will bring over supplies. If you need anything else, tell him, and he’ll relay the information to someone at the clubhouse. Just behave, and this will all be over soon.” Dirty jumps into the cab of the truck and shuts the door just as the engine roars to life.
“Who in the fuck is Irons?” I yell back in return, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation.
He rolls the window down just as he’s about to start out of the driveway and smiles at me. “One last thing before we leave. Harley’s a bit of an escape artist so if you have any duct tape or chains, you might think about strapping her down to a something that can’t be moved like a safe or some shit so she doesn’t sneak out.” Dirty snickers as he throws the truck in drive and peels out of the driveway.
Fuck me sideways. Just what I need. A house full of kids, a pregnant woman, and a Goddamn Houdini teenager. Fuck. My. Life.
Turning with a huff, I stalk back into the opened door, stomping like a spoiled child mid-tantrum. Was that necessary? Fuck no, but it made me feel a little bit better about my new domestic situation. Slamming the door behind me, everyone in the room jumps from the noise.
“Listen up,” I loudly exclaim. “This isn’t exactly an ideal situation, but we are going to make the best of it. This house isn’t built for this many people, so we’re going to have to bunk up. Dani, you’ll be in my room while you two,” I say, pointing to Raze’s kids, “will be sharing Colt’s room.”
Harley stamps her foot in disapproval, glaring at me with teenage angst and anger. Just looking at her you can see her teenage bitch fit rising up into her throat, ready to spew sass and hatred.
“I am not sleeping in the same room as my little brother. I need my own bed,” Harley demands, bringing her arms across her chest.
“Well, kiddo, you have two options, really. You can sleep in the same room as your brother, or you can pop a squat on the floor in my room with a four-month-old and a pregnant woman who will have to pee every twenty to thirty minutes.”
Harley’s eyes widen at the proposal before her brows furrow back into a teenage, angst-ridden scowl. I have no idea how kids know how to master the death stare at such a young age, but Harley has it down pat. I’m betting it comes from her mother.
“You can stop that little bitch glare anytime now, Harley. That shit doesn’t work on me. And before you try to pull a disappearing act, I want you to know that I’ve been warned about your tendency to wander off. So if you think that I am going to leave you to your own devices for even a second, you have another thing coming, sister.”
Harley’s anger reaches the boiling point and I can almost see the steam rolling out of her ears. Well, that or one of those Looney Tune characters I used to watch growing up. Just picturing Harley’s face as an infuriated Wiley Coyote’s brings a smirk to my face. Her glare intensifies, and I know that little smirk just tipped her over the edge. This should be fun.
“If my dad knew how you were treating me—” she begins.
Holding up my hand, I silence her rampage. “Your dad may call the shots at the clubhouse but this is my house, and I do not give a flying fart in space what he has to say about my rules. If you are going to be under my roof and in the sanctuary of my home, it’s my way or the highway. Do you understand me?”
Harley’s defiance lingers in the air, and she mumbles to herself.
“You might want to speak a little louder, Harley. It’s not polite to mumble.”
“I’ll stay with Ky,” she says with chagrin reverberating in her voice.
“Good. Now that it’s settled, Colt will show you both to your room. Dinner will be at five, and you’re to be in bed by nine,” I command as both of Raze’s kids sigh.
“Dad lets us stay up until eleven,” says Ky in nearly a whisper, “but, I understand Mrs. Kyle.”
It shocks me how different both of Raze’s kids are not only from each other, but from their parents. While Harley has seemed to inherit her mother’s need to constantly stir the shit pot and cause as much havoc as she can, Ky is quiet and fiercely loyal to whoever is in charge of him. Their looks are also startlingly different with Harley looking so much like her mother’s side of the family with her tanned skin, dark hair and eyes, but Ky is fairer skinned with bright-green eyes and dirty-blonde hair. While you can’t tell now with his shaved head, a dark mop of hair used to reside on Raze’s head where only skin now remains. If I remember correctly, Brent once told me that Raze’s family was Italian so Ky’s light coloring from a Hispanic mother and Italian father didn’t make sense to me, but sometimes rare familial traits only pop up from time t
o time in kids.
Colt interrupts my internal inspection of Raze’s kids and leads both of them down the hallway with their luggage scraping across the floor of the living room. As much as it will cost to buff those scuffs out of the hardwood, the sweet silence that lingers is worth the hassle and money. But, that silence only lasts a moment before a slow clap softly begins from the couch in the center of the room.
“Damn, girl. I didn’t know you had that in you,” Dani remarks. “I’ve never seen Harley back down like that, even to Raze. I think you could show him a thing or two about how to parent his kids. Hell, I want you to teach me how to keep these twins in line.”
“I hate that I had to lay down the law already with them, but Dirty warned me about Harley. I can’t let her get the impression that I am a pushover.”
Dani laughs as her hands rub her large belly.
“Darcy, I think the twins straightened up inside of me at your so-called laying down the law. They were kicking and moving around like kids on caffeine in there until you started yelling. I think you missed your calling as a drill sergeant.”
I flash a sideways smile at Dani before stepping into the kitchen to take stock of my groceries, taking note of what I will need to feed my new family of six and a half people with counting that extra half for Dani. Hell, I don’t even know what these kids eat or what they won’t eat. If Harley’s defiance from the first five minutes of being in my home wasn’t a sign of how well this will go, I’m sure if I feed them something they’re allergic to, it will skyrocket this arrangement from nails on a chalk board to walking over hot coals followed by a nice salt in the wound rub. How am I going to survive this without pissing Raze off and killing his kids?