by King, J. D.
"Moses, you're a brave man, bringing a hot number in here dressed like that. Even your old lady might have trouble backing the guys down."
Shaking his head, Moses answered. "I got nothing to worry about. She doesn't leave my side."
I figured that my best bet was to keep my mouth shut.
Jimmy stared right at my tits while he talked to Moses. "So what the fuck we gonna do about the Vandals?"
I suspected that Moses was mindful of his wire as he answered. "What's your call? You're on the front lines."
"I don't want to start nothin', but this shit has to end. I need some of the Wyoming territory, and I think we're gonna have to take it."
I wondered if the Sons were always so evasive. I figured that they probably got used to talking around subjects pretty quick -- talking around illegal behavior just in case they were overheard by the wrong person. I realized that it might be harder than I'd thought to get evidence on our recorders.
Moses nodded. "I get that you need more buyers, but we can't just go in guns blazing. We need to find a way to divide up the territory without getting people killed."
I realized that Moses might be the only one who knew about the arsenic-laced meth. I hadn't heard the conversation he'd had with Joker, so I didn't know exactly what he'd told him.
Jimmy didn't look happy. "Moses, you know I love you, and you know I loved your dad, but we gotta move on this. I can't vote with you guys tomorrow, but I'm gonna make sure Joker knows where we stand. I'm gonna sell crank where I wanna sell crank, and those motherfuckers in the Vandals can fuck off. I'll fucking put a bullet in every one of them if I have to."
Wow, I thought. So much for not saying anything incriminating.
Moses looked pissed. "Do what you gotta do, Jimmy, but I'm telling you. We can solve this problem without piling up dead bodies. I know we can."
Jimmy polished off his Budweiser. "Let's leave it for tomorrow. Who's a guy gotta fuck to get a drink around here?"
He leered at me, and Moses laughed as he stepped in between us.
"Not her, my man." He waved one of the girls over. "You take good care of Jimmy, here. He's a guest in our house, and I want you to treat him right, sugar."
The girl draped herself over Jimmy and led him to the bar. Watching the young woman walk away, realizing that she didn't get to choose who she slept with -- that she was nothing but a piece of ass to these guys -- gave me a new resolve. What the Savage Sons did actually hurt people. These weren't victimless crimes, and everyone in the room -- as far as I could tell -- deserved to be in prison.
Joker walked up to us, clearly a little intoxicated. "Moses," he said, as he draped his arms over both our shoulders. "What the hell was that phone call about last night? Why were you asking about who we had delivering our stuff to the girls?"
I looked at Moses, wondering how he'd handle the question. I knew that he wasn't going to want to tell Joker that someone -- probably the Vandals -- had delivered poison meth to Angel and killed one of the Sons' customers. I also knew that Moses would have to tell him at some point. I figured that the Sons would probably have the sense not to rush off in the middle of the night, especially after drinking and God knew what else, but I wouldn't have bet my life on it.
Moses met my eyes before he answered Joker. "It's a long story. I'll fill you and all the guys in at church tomorrow."
I needed to use the restroom, so I kissed Moses on the cheek and headed down the hallway. When I returned, Bug had joined Moses and Joker. God only knew what the three of them were talking about, but I was sure glad that Moses was wired. High level discussions were going to be key for our case. I wasn't sure if I should approach the group, because I was afraid that if I did, it might kill the conversation. It wasn't like I had friends in the room though. I looked around for someplace safe to stand, and I saw Sable at the bar, holding court.
I walked over to her. "Hey, Sable. Looks like the guys are talking business, and I didn't want to interrupt."
She looked me over and shook her head. "Smart and gorgeous. You might have a chance at hanging on to Moses, after all."
"Did you think I wouldn't?" I felt a little silly, but I was a little offended that Sable thought that I wasn't right for the sexy man across the room -- the one I couldn't take my eyes off.
"It's not easy, being an old lady, especially when your man's smokin' hot."
It was really creepy, but Sable actually sounded like competition. I couldn't imagine saying something like she had about a relative. "Well, I try to keep him happy, and he's told me how it is when he has to talk business."
"And it's worth your while to steer clear. The money's pretty good, huh?"
"Moses is helping me out a little, until I find a job."
Sable smiled, and the expression on her face wasn't a friendly one. "Oh, I bet he is."
I wasn't going to make waves, but I also wasn't going to put up with any shit. "We're kinda takin' care of one another, if you know what I mean. He's a beast in bed."
Sable rolled her eyes and held her hand up to stop me, as if she were offended by the conversation. "That's my nephew you're talking about," she warned.
I wasn't having any of it. "Well, I hope for your sake that it runs in the family." I winked at her and headed back over to Moses, hoping like hell that they were finished talking business.
Making eye contact with Moses as I approached, hoping he'd see the question in my eyes, I slid into the group next to him after he nodded at me. I leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Is it me, or is Sable crazy?"
He threw his head back and laughed, without bothering to explain to the men around him. "No, honey, it's not just you."
The rest of the evening was entertaining -- watching everyone get progressively drunker and louder -- but there wasn't much more that was useful as evidence. When Sable and Joker started going at it, I hoped that Moses would take the escalating argument as our cue to leave. When he finally grabbed my hand and led me out the door, I heard Sable suggesting that Joker go find himself a gang bang for the night, because he certainly wasn't going to be sleeping with her.
"Is that normal?" I asked as we hurried through the chilly parking lot to his bike.
"Unfortunately, yes. They love each other, but they can't stand each other. They're fought like that my whole life."
"Ugh. I don't know how they can stand it. I'd just move on."
"No argument from me." He got on his bike. "Get your ass on here, and let's get you home and naked," he said.
I complied immediately, looking forward to getting home and in front of the fireplace.
Chapter 32
Moses
I felt kinda bad. I hadn't thought about how cool the evening would be when I'd picked out Max's outfit., and I hoped she'd be warm enough on the ride home. I planned to get her warm the second we walked through the door -- after I got her naked, of course.
When I pulled into the garage, Max hugged herself and shivered.
"Sorry about the cold," I said, as I closed the garage door and led her inside.
"That's okay," she answered, with a smile. "I think between the fire and your hands, I'll get warm pretty quick. Okay if I change?" she asked, pretending like she needed my permission.
"Permission granted," I answered, sounding stern. "I'll get the fire started and get some blankets laid out."
I poured a couple of glasses of wine -- neither of us had had very much to drink at the club -- and I spread out some blankets and tossed some pillows to the floor, and when I turned at the sound of the bedroom door, my jaw nearly hit the floor.
The dominatrix look -- boots and black vinyl -- was gone, replaced with the softest, sexiest thing I'd seen in my life. She wore a nearly transparent peachy colored nightgown, so thin I could see her nipples and the tiny string bikini panties she wore underneath. She scrubbed off her makeup and looked more like herself -- her natural beauty far prettier than her made up cover look.
"Wow." It was all I could manage to
say. She looked classy and sexy all at the same time.
Max was walking toward me slowly, letting me get a good look at her when she stopped. "Shit. I forgot to check and see if Tombley called me back. Don't go anywhere." She went back into the bedroom and returned just a minute later. "No calls. Guess he hasn't listened to the message yet."
"Well then get over here."
"Yes sir. Think you can warm me up?"
"Absolutely certain."
Max came over to the fireplace, and I handed her a glass of wine. She took a sip and sank down to the floor next to me.
She turned her face up to me. "Perfect. You know, I still can't get over the fact that you're a rough biker ordering hookers around at the clubhouse, and here, you're sipping wine in front of a fire in a gorgeous home that you designed."
"What can I say? I'm a complicated guy," I laughed.
"You really are, and I have to tell you, Moses, I'm enjoying spending time with you, and that's a real surprise."
I bent down and kissed her. I couldn't decide if I should respond to what she'd said or just get her naked. I wasn't exactly used to relationship discussions, but I realized that Max was the first woman that I'd really actually liked as a person, aside from the mind-blowing sex.
"I'm enjoying it too. More than I thought I would. I actually like having you here, Max, and not just because of the sex, even though that's fuckin' amazing. I like you."
Max sat up on her knees and put her hands on my thighs, leaning forward and kissing me hard. "Speaking of amazing sex," she said after she'd come up for air.
I reached up and brushed her nipples through her nightgown. I was just about to remove the unnecessary article of clothing when I saw headlights run across my back yard. A car was approaching my house, and there was no one I was expecting.
"Max, someone's here. Go get dressed quick. Meet me at the safe. Move!"
She did what I'd told her and I headed for the safe, mentally selecting the weapons we needed. I might be overreacting, but I didn't think there was anyway in hell that whoever had turned up my drive was bringing anything but trouble. Max joined me in no time, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She stopped at the safe and pulled on a pair of boots.
"I'm guessing by the angle of the lights that we have about ninety seconds before they're here." I offered her two handguns. "Pick."
She took them both, dead serious. "Plan?" she asked as she checked to make sure both were loaded and took an extra clip for each one. She shoved the clips in her back left pocket, put one gun in her back right pocket, and she kept the other in her hand, pointed at the floor.
I pointed to a corner of the room at what looked like a closet door. "Safe room's there. Reinforced steel. Nothing can get through. There's a landline phone so you can call out if you need to. If things go south, hole up there until the coast is clear or the cops show up."
Max nodded to show that she understood and we headed back out to the living room.
"Should we wait in here, or should we go outside?" she asked.
"I'll go out. You stay inside and in reach of the safe room until I tell you the coast is clear. Whoever's here isn't bothering to hide it. We may be okay." I was impressed with her calm, and I kissed her quickly as I headed out to the garage, hitting the button to open all three garage doors.
As the last door opened, I saw Tombley's SUV pulling up. I stowed my gun in the back of my jeans and stood where I was, waiting for him to get out of the vehicle. As far as I could tell, he was alone, and I was glad we had him outnumbered. It occurred to me that I hadn't thought to pull kevlar vests out of the closet, and I hoped that I hadn't made a fatal mistake. If I was right about Tombley, things could go bad in a hurry.
The car door opened, and Tombley stepped out, dressed in casual clothes, but still looking like a million bucks.
"Moses," he called as he waved. "Sorry to just drop in, but I tried to call Max back, and none of the calls went through. I was worried that something was wrong."
I realized that he could be telling the truth, but I didn't think he was. I decided it was safest to play along for a while. "No problem, man. She didn't say anything about a problem with her phone, but let's go ask her."
"Hold on a minute," Tombley said as he walked into the garage. "Max said something in her message about someone in the Vandals talking about me? What's up?"
I knew at that second that he was as dirty as I'd thought. Max hadn't said anything in her message about the Vandals. She'd mentioned Wyoming, but it was a big fuckin' state, and his mistake sealed it.
I didn't want to tip my hand, though, at least not until I had Max with me for backup. "I'm sure it was bullshit, but a girl I used to hang out with said something about a fed named Jeff who took kickbacks from the Vandals in exchange for protecting their territory from other MCs. Crazy, huh?" I opened the door to the kitchen and waved Tombley in. "Welcome."
Max stood in the doorway between my workout room -- the one with the safe room -- and the living area. I couldn't think of a way to tell her what I knew. I figured I'd just have to trust her instincts and hope that she could react quickly if necessary. I offered Tombley a glass of wine or a beer and tried to figure out what my best play was. What I wanted to do was fucking shoot Tombley, right then and there. He'd gone after the Sons to clear us out of the Vandals' territory, which meant that the war on the horizon was directly his fault. I had approached the FBI, but Tombley had used me for his own purposes.
I was fucking furious.
But I wanted to be smart. Thinking quickly as I poured a glass of Cabernet for Tombley, I decided that our best bet was to say whatever we had to in order to get Tombley out of the house. As long as he left, we could deal with our accusations without risking our lives. What I wasn't sure about was how he'd react if he knew for sure that we suspected him. I wasn't willing to risk my life and Max's to find out. I hoped like hell that she'd play it cool.
I walked into the living room to find Max and Tombley seated at the dining room table.
"So, the meth was laced with massive amounts of arsenic," Max told Jeff. "Mike and I started some preliminary investigation, but we're not at all sure that we'll be able to trace the purchase of the arsenic."
Tombley shook his head as he took the glass of wine. "These dealers are just despicable. If I ever forget why I do this job -- like on a Saturday night when I'm still working -- I just think about that. These people don't care who they hurt."
I sat down ad watched Tombley take a sip of the wine. He looked over at me, as if he were reevaluating me based on the way the wine tasted.
He put the glass down. "So Moses told me that some girl he knew said I'm getting paid off by the Vandals. Can you tell me exactly what she said?"
Max spoke first. "Moses was the one who talked to her. I wasn't there. He should explain."
"The girl and I go pretty far back, and she was just worried. She knows about all the bullshit going on between the MCs, and she didn't want me to get hurt or arrested. She said some guy named Jeff had been getting paid off for years, and kept other clubs away from the Vandals territory." I took a sip of wine and looked at both Max and Tombley. "Of course I thought it was bullshit, but we thought you should know -- just in case someone else in your office is taking bribes."
Tombley shook his head. "I appreciate your bringing this to my attention, but I've personally vetted every one of the people working this case. She must have been mistaken."
Max sighed, as if she were relieved. "I'm glad you didn't take this the wrong way." Her voice sounded odd to me, like she was pretending to be more naive than she really was. "I was worried that you'd be upset if we told you."
"Max, accusations like these aren't that unusual. When you're working these cases, dealing with low-life scum, they'll try to drag you down. It's important to refuse to be dragged down into the filth they live in." He leaned back in his chair, apparently satisfied with the discussion. "So tell me about how the case is going while I finish this delicious w
ine."
Max filled him in on the conversations we'd recorded that evening, and he seemed pleased.
She stood up to go get her wine from the living room. "And Moses was in Pueblo and Fountain today, getting some good....." Her voice trailed off as she saw Tombley sit up a little straighter.
I felt sick to my stomach. She'd just fucked up. Huge.
Tombley narrowed his eyes and looked at me. "Pueblo and Fountain? What were you doing there?"
I had no idea what he was going to do, and I tried to decide if I should reach for my gun. "I had to pick up a shipment of stuff from Mexico, and I just had an errand to run in Fountain for one of the Sons." I could see Max, frozen in the living room, and I hoped she was ready to draw if she needed to. I had a feeling that shit was about to fall apart.
He shook his head, and shifted in his seat.
I heard two gunshots, heard Max's scream, and felt my chest and shoulder on fire, pain taking over my consciousness. The last sound I heard was Max screaming my name.
Chapter 33
Max
April 7, 2013
"Okay, the recorder's on. Tell us again what happened after Tombley got to Moses' house. Take as much time as you need."
I looked around the room. My ASAC, Celeste, Denver's Chief of Police, Mark Billings, and the DA, Amy Weiland, faced me at the table. My attorney, who I'd known for all of three hours, Jerry Walker, sat beside me.
I sighed, exhausted, shell-shocked, and devastated. "Moses had figured out that Tombley had been taking kickbacks from the Vandals in exchange for clearing the Savage Sons out of the Wyoming meth territory. It was a win-win for Jeff: he built his cases with solid, inside information, and he got rich under the radar.
"I fucked up. I accidentally mentioned the fact that Moses had been in Fountain earlier that day. Tombley either knew that Moses had spotted him at the federal prison, or he just wasn't willing to take the chance. He shot Moses twice in the chest. I drew my gun and ran for the safe room. I didn't make it in time, Tombley entered the room, gun drawn, and I shot him."