by Khloe Wren
I turned to Mac. “We need to deal with that fucker once and for all, you hear me?”
Moving his gaze from Rumble to me, he gave me a short nod. “Yeah, I know. I’ll start working on it.”
The look in his eyes told me that despite him not wanting to have anything to do with those fuckers in L.A. ever again, he’d step up and get it done. Before joining the Marines, Mac had gotten himself tangled up with the mob in L.A. He’d enlisted in the USMC to escape their hold on him. Thanks to his time with them, he had the contacts and the knowledge to pull this shit off. But first, we’d deal with this little Ice Rider problem.
“How many of you came down here?”
“Just us two.”
“And how long until you’re supposed to check in?”
“Weren’t given set times. We were to call in when we had the stuff. Where’s Tank?”
I stared at him for a minute, weighing what to do next. I could just kill the fucker now and be done with it, but I might need to ask him more questions, or use him for leverage, later.
“We’ll bring him in for you.”
With that I spun on my heel and left the room, expecting the other two to follow me. Once the door was shut, Tiny started.
“What the fuck, prez? Why’s he still breathing?”
“Calm the fuck down and think. Dead men can’t answer questions, and we might still need him. Plus, you don’t think letting him sit there watching his brother in a coma, with his face smashed in, not getting any medical aid, is gonna be worse torture than anything we can physically do to him? Save your strength, we’re gonna need it for this war that’s brewing.”
I saw the shudder go through Mac. I wasn’t entirely sure what he’d seen when he’d been overseas, but I knew it had left its mark. And hell, he saw with Zara on the daily how much a person’s mind could fuck them up.
I opened the door for Mac and Tiny to carry Tank’s limp body into the room with Rumble, keeping my gaze on the asshole as he saw what condition his brother was in. The agonized groan he let out was music to my ears. I didn’t say another word as my brothers exited the room and I shut the door. Didn’t need to. Our message was clear. Fuck with us, we’ll fuck you back. Harder.
Once we were back upstairs, I grabbed Bulldog before he could go anywhere.
“Call everyone in for church at five, like we were originally planning. I’ll be at the hospital till then.”
“On it, prez.”
Chapter 5
Ariel
I hated that Mommy was in the hospital, just like Momma had been. Momma died in a big white bed just like the one Mommy was now in. But she and Papa kept telling me that this was different, this was to make sure my little brother was going to be okay. Mommy was fine.
I wasn’t sure I could believe them until I heard Momma whisper in my ear that it was real. That she knew for sure that both Marie and the baby would be just fine. I didn’t understand how she knew, or how she managed to talk to me from heaven, but Momma had never lied to me. I knew she wouldn’t now. Not about something this important.
I wriggled in closer to Mommy, shifting my head so my ear was pressed against her chest. I loved being able to hear her heartbeat. The regular beat of it soothed me whenever I was upset. Right now, I could also hear my little brother’s heartbeat, thanks to this neat little machine Mommy had on her tummy. I couldn’t wait to meet him and spend lots of time imagining what he’ll look like.
Mommy ran her fingers through my hair and I hummed. My mind was still trying to process everything that had happened earlier. After the scary stuff had finished in the cafe, I’d been sure I was being left behind—forgotten—but I’d been wrong. Once I’d given in and gone to Cindy, she’d let me stay on her lap for a long time. She told me stories about her roller derby friends and had promised she’d teach me to skate if I wanted to. I did. Skating sounded like fun, but I wasn’t sure I could do what Cindy did. That sounded way too dangerous for me.
Then she and Nitro brought me to Mommy and Papa. They weren’t mad at me, like I’d thought they’d be. Instead, they were happy about what I’d done. Told me I’d saved Cleo and everyone else because I did what I did. That made me smile. It was me going for help that saved Mommy, my brother, Zara and Mercedes. I liked making them proud of me. It made me feel warm and happy inside and I wanted to stay right where I was.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah, angel?”
“Can I stay here with you? Until you come home.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie—”
I sat up and looked her in the eye, as all the warm fuzzy feelings inside me vanished. She couldn’t send me away! “But you said I did good! You can’t send me away!”
“Ariel, you need to calm down and let me finish, because it’s not that simple. First up, I need you to understand that we will never send you away. It’s not dependent on your being good or bad, or anything else. I know you’re scared of something happening that’ll leave you alone, but that won’t ever happen. We love you and you’re part of our family. That family includes all the men and women in the Charon MC. You’ll never ever be left all alone again. So I need you to stop thinking we’re throwing you away every time something separates one of us from you, okay?”
Despite the fact my heart was still beating hard in my chest, I nodded. Not because I believed her, but because I wanted to hear what else she was going to say.
“What happened this morning in the cafe put a lot of stress on my body. Sometimes, when that happens to a woman who’s heavily pregnant, the baby decides they want out early. But it’s still a little early for him to be born. The doctors have given me medicine that has stopped him for now. But they’re worried if I go home, it’ll happen again and either he or I could get hurt. So, the doctors are keeping me here in the hospital until he’s born. Ariel, this room just isn’t big enough for you and Scout to stay here too. That means you need to go home with Scout each day, that way you’ll get to sleep in your own bed. And I promise, every day he’ll bring you in to visit me, okay?”
I’d listened carefully to every word Mommy had said. I understood she wanted me to go with Papa at night, and I could spend my days with her here.
I could live with that.
They weren’t leaving me.
I wasn’t going to be left on my own.
Scout
I hit the gavel on the table to call church to order. Bulldog had done well and had managed to get hold of basically everyone. There were a few missing, but brothers had jobs and families. Two were still serving overseas. Life happened, sometimes you couldn’t make it in. We all understood and accepted that. And Bulldog would make sure all those missing would be brought up to speed as soon as he could.
“Everyone shut the fuck up already, I’ve got places I need to be.”
Like with my wife and kids. I did not have the time or patience for bullshit today.
Within seconds I had silence, proving my brothers’ were smart men.
“Y’all were here when shit went down with the L.A. mob two years back, but I’ll give you a quick refresher. Silk’s dad, John Bennett was a piece of shit who’s still fucking haunting us from beyond the grave. Bastard kept ledgers of not just financial information, but locations and details of other stuff. Idiot also stole who knows how much money from the mob. No clue if he did the same with the other organizations he kept dirt on. Sabella, the head of the L.A. mob, was the only one who figured out what John was doing before his death. When John died in the 9/11 attacks, Sabella assumed the ledgers went with him, along with all traces of the cash he’d stolen. Two years ago, it was discovered John’s bag missed the flight and was still at LAX. When Silk got her father’s bag, it didn’t have just one ledger but six. L.A. mob, N.Y. mob, Satan’s Knights MC, Iron Hammers MC, Ice Riders MC and us. The L.A. one was the first we dealt with, handing it over to Sabella in order for him to leave Silk the fuck alone. That ledger had a key to a safety deposit box in it. That box had cash and a copy of the ledger in
it. Obviously, it wasn’t all the cash he’d stolen and it looks like Sabella is now trying to get his hands on the other boxes and the rest of his cash. Somehow the fucker figured out John had a book on the Ice Riders, so he sent them down here to collect it.” I paused to scrub a hand over my face before continuing.
“From what we know, the Ice Riders MC up in Boston got themselves in trouble with a cartel in New York. They went looking for dirt to use against the cartel and found Sabella, who told them about the ledger. Spun some bullshit that we were planning on heading up there to do fuck knows what, so they sent their boys down here to collect their ledger along with the key inside the thing. He told them if they hand the key over to him, in return he’d give them the dirt they need to deal with their cartel trouble.”
I glanced around the room at my brothers before continuing.
“Which leads us to what happened this morning. Two of the Ice Riders enforcers stormed Marie’s Cafe. They let the customers flee, but held Marie, Zara and Mercedes at fucking gunpoint. They held a fucking gun on my woman, against her belly. Threatened my unborn son.”
My voice was a growl that echoed around the room. Rage coursed through me and I clenched my fists as I closed my eyes and tried to get a handle on it. Nitro stepped up to take over for me, for which I was grateful.
“The kids were there, too. Ariel and Cleo were both in the cafe. Ariel did us proud. Before the Riders even noticed they were there, Ariel had Cleo free of the play-pen and out the back door. She went through to Retro Funk and told Cindy what was going on. She called us in, and because of the early warning we got there and ended shit before things got ugly.”
He paused to look to me and I gave him a nod that I was good to take back over.
“Zara had an attack and hit her head when she fell, but she’ll be fine. It fucked with Mercedes’ head some but Tiny’ll make sure she gets back on track. The stress of it all sent Marie into early labor. We got her to hospital in time for them to stop it, but the Doc says my boy’s coming early. Marie’s gonna have to stay in hospital until he’s born and well, basically, they’re just trying to keep him inside for as long as they can while they pump Marie with drugs to make sure his lungs and other organs are fully developed in time.” I scrubbed my face again, wishing this shit was over with already, so I could get back to her. I hated having to leave her side at all right now.
“We have the two Riders downstairs and they’ll obviously be dealt with, along with the rest of their fucking club. We also need to find a way to shut down Sabella and his shit permanently. I’m open to suggestions.”
Mac lifted his hand and I gave him a nod to go ahead.
“Do you know which cartel they’re having issues with? If it’s one that’s linked to whichever family the ledger is about, we could use that and get them to help us deal with them.”
I stroked my beard for a minute, thinking it over before I responded.
“I don’t know, but we can ask the boys downstairs if we need to. But I’m not sure getting mixed up with a mob family or cartel is a good idea. Once they get their claws into a club, it’s hard to get the fuckers back out. But you got me thinking. There were a few guys I met a while back on a run we did with the BACA. Actually, we’ve done a few runs with them in the last few years and—”
Bulldog snickered and I shot him a glare.
“Oh, c’mon, brother. I know who you’re talking about, I’ve been on runs with them too, remember?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Wolf and I do not look like we’re fucking brothers. Yeah, we both have beards—”
“You don’t look like brothers, Scout, you look like fucking twins.”
I glared at my VP again. “Says the man who shares a name with one of them. Bulldog.”
Bastard just grinned at me, so I cleared my throat and got back on track. “Anyway, as I was saying before this fucking clown interrupted me—these men are from a club up in New York, the Satan’s Knights. I’ve spoken with their president, Parrish, a few times and he told me if we ever needed their help, to just give him a call.”
Arrow spoke up. “I spoke to a few of their guys on those runs too. They’re solid—fucking nuts—but solid guys. And I agree with Scout, I’d prefer deal with another MC than a fucking cartel. I think it’s worth making a call or two.”
I gave him a nod. “I’ll put a call in to Parrish once we’re done here. Mac, you, Tiny and Taz head down and ask that fucker if he knows the name of the cartel. Then I want you to go over those ledgers for Ice Riders and the N.Y. mob. I want you to know those fucking things by heart. You hear me?”
“Crystal clear, prez. I’ll get on it as soon as we finish here.”
“Come with me once we’re done, and I’ll get them out of the safe for you. They don’t leave the clubhouse, understand?”
“Yes, prez.”
“Right. Fucker told us it was just him and his buddy who came down here, but I don’t trust him, so keep your eyes and ears open and report back anything you notice. Nitro, sort the prospects out on protection detail for the women and our businesses. Not having a fucking repeat of this morning go down.”
“On it.”
“Great, then we’re done. We’ll have church again Friday as usual and see where we are then.”
With that, I cracked the gavel on the table then stood, more than ready to get back to my woman. Not that I could, just yet. I grabbed my phone from the locker and made my way to my office with Mac beside me. I made fast work of opening up the safe and retrieving the correct books before handing them over to Mac.
“When you’re done, find Bulldog, Keys, Arrow or Nitro to lock ‘em back up again. I don’t want them to be left unattended at any time. Got me?”
“Yes, prez. I got it.”
After closing up the safe, I went and sat at my desk while Mac headed off. Once alone, I pulled my phone out, praying Parrish would be able to help us out. In the back of my mind I knew we’d have to send at least a few Charons up north, but I didn’t want to leave Marie while she was in the hospital. I definitely didn’t want to fucking miss the birth of my boy. I’d given this club my all for so long, surely, I was entitled to a few fucking weeks off to spend with my family.
Pulling up Parrish’s contact details, I hit dial and lifted the phone to my ear. Then cursed when it went through to voicemail. Ending the call, I dropped my phone to the desk then scrubbed my hands over my face as my thoughts continued to race. A knock on the door had me dropping my hands down and looking towards the sound.
“Hey, brother.”
Arrow came in and grabbed a bottle and two glasses before he sat down, placing everything on the desk between us before pouring a healthy serving of whiskey in them both. He took one and cocked his eyebrow at me until I reached for the other one. He waited until I took a swig before he spoke.
“When the time comes to head up north, I’ll take the lead. You need to stay here right now.”
I gave him a nod and took another mouthful before answering him. Normally a VP would go in the president’s place, but we both knew that wasn’t going to happen this time. “Bulldog’s arthritis is getting worse. He’s spoken to me about stepping down as VP. He doesn’t feel he can do the role justice with his health issues.”
Which fucking sucked. Bulldog had been my best friend and right hand for more years than I could count. I hated I couldn’t keep him by my side as VP, but we both understood an MC was a team. A machine that needed all its parts in order to function correctly. Arrow’s gaze didn’t miss a thing, and he had a sharp mind. So I wasn’t surprised when he read between the lines of what I wasn’t saying. “You already got someone in mind, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Yep. When the time comes to go north, it’ll be you and Mac taking the lead. I want you to watch him, throw things his way to see what he does.”
“You want me to test him? He’ll pass, I’m sure of it. He’s a good choice. He’s level-headed, cool under pressure. And he’s a fucking Marine so you know he can
handle himself in just about any situation.”
I finished off my drink. “Yep. I’d happily have him at my back any day. But we need to be sure, so dealing with the Ice Riders, then Sabella, will be his test. Once that shit’s all dealt with, we’ll vote him in.”
“Got a few prospects due to be patched in too, prez. I know we’ve had a lot of shit go down lately, but those boys have earned their top rockers time and again. They’re due.”
I nodded again. “Yeah, I know. Bash especially, but Keg and Jazz need to be patched in too. We’ll handle it all after this shit is done with. Have a big blow-out and celebrate in style.”
Chapter 6
Scout
My phone ringing woke me up way too early. With a groan I rolled over and snatched it off the table, wincing when I saw the clock. It was only six am. I’d slept like shit these past two nights without Marie beside me, but I couldn’t stay at the hospital. I had Ariel to take care of, as well as the club. Now my day had started before I was ready, and I knew this call from Tiny would be more bad news, meaning I would be in for another long, fucking day.
“What’s happened?”
“Tank went to meet his maker and Rumble ain’t happy about it. We need to deal with him.”
Fuck me. Just what I needed. “Yeah, he ain’t gonna tell us anything else. I’ll be there in twenty. Just shut the door and head upstairs. It’s soundproof so no one’s gonna hear him hollering. I’ll call Mac and bring him in with me. He’ll want to be there.”
Ending the call, I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After taking a piss and splashing some cold water over my face, I headed out to get dressed. There was no time for a shower, not that it mattered since I was pretty sure I was gonna need one later, anyhow.
Snatching up my phone, I dialed Mac.
“Hey prez. What’s happening?”
“We need to get to the clubhouse. I’ll pick you up in ten. Can Zara drop Ariel in to Marie at the hospital for me?”