by KJ Dahlen
Zipper was at a loss. The man had a Russian accent for sure, as he almost growled the words. They’d tracked his laptop, then his phone? Who the fuck was this Yuri? “I’m nobody,” he replied.
“Well, you are gonna have a few visitors soon, Mr. Nobody.”
The call ended.
Zipper blinked his eyes several times and stared down at his cell screen. What the fuck? What hornet’s nest had he just tripped into?
He headed out the door and back down the hallway. This time without his laptop as he would not be using that ever again.
Without even knocking, he went straight into Deke’s office.
Gator had left but Deke looked up at him with a raised brow.
“Prez...I think we are in some deep shit,” Zipper announced.
Chapter Three
Deke stood from his desk. “What kind of shit?” He stared at his tech man and knew he’d never seen this look on his face before.
Zipper then told him what had just happened. With the search, the message, the call and the laptop imploding.
Deke slowly sat down then reached for his phone.
Zipper stood, as he looked too agitated to sit. So he waited.
Deke scrolled through his screen then tapped it. He waited...
“Yeah?” came a voce.
“Hey, Pappy.”
“Well Deke, you old dog, what can I do for ya?”
“We have something going on here.”
“Don’t you always?” Pappy Stone Matterson quipped.
“Yeah... no, it had been quiet for...” Deke shook his head. “Look, last week someone tampered with my bike.”
Silence.
Then, “What? The fuck you say?”
“I dove over the handlebars into a ditch, water cushioned my fall thank fuck, so...” He straightened little in his chair as his ribs were still wrapped tight. “Never mind. I lived.”
“Okay, so what gives? Found anything yet?’ Pappy asked with concern in his voice.
“Yes and no.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Deke then informed him, “Zipper got hacked while looking.”
“What? Well, fuck...”
“Yes and we got a name.”
“And it is? Or do you not want to tell me?”
“Yuri Anatoly.”
Silence again.
“Nah, there has to be a mistake,” Pappy replied. “He’s not the kind to do something like that.”
“You know him?” Deke sat forward with curiosity.
“I know of him. And what I know is he wouldn’t go after a man like that. Most likely, if he had a beef with you...” Pappy snickered. “You’d be face to face, looking through the barrel of his Makarov.”
Deke scoffed, as he knew he would also have a weapon if that scenario ever happened. “Well, seems he might not be after me, but the man who had my bike jimmied is after him.”
“Okay, okay. I’m hella lost here.”
“Some hacker warned Zipper, saying that someone wanted us both dead or something like that.”
“So you checked out Yuri...” Pappy paused. “Then your computer somehow blew up and you were hacked.”
Deke’s eyes widened. How the fuck did he know that? “Yeah, like that.”
“Well, I ain’t surprised.”
“And why is that?”
“Yuri is with Bratva, all the way man. They don’t tolerate searches and anyone looking, means trouble to them any way you slice it.”
Deke sat back and stared at Zipper. “We thought maybe...”
“No maybe about it. So, you are gonna get a visit soon and I mean fast. If I’m correct, it ain’t far between New York and Troy. They got jets too, so maybe it’s just a 20 minute flight if they hustled.”
Zipper watched him closely as he spoke then his head rose as he turned to look at the panel by the door. The red light was flashing. Then it buzzed. He stepped forward and tapped the button.
A voice came on, “Boss, we got trouble.”
Deke looked over at Zipper and the panel. “Well, shit.”
“They there already?” Pappy asked. “Damn, I wish I could see this meeting. Just play it cool Deke, they won’t shoot first, but if your men mess up...”
Deke sighed. “My men aren’t stupid. Okay, we’ll talk later...” He swiped his phone and was already out the door with Zipper on his heels. He dialed Gator as he strode down the hall. “We have visitors. Need guns topside and outside but not shaky fingers. We cannot have a shootout with these men.”
“Got the message, Prez.” Gator hung up without even a question.
When they went out through the lobby doors, Deke signaled the gate house with an arm motion to allow the vehicles in.
Two black SUVS pulled through. They pulled up close and parked. The windows were tinted so no one could see the occupants.
Deke looked up and over his shoulder.
He had six men with rifles trained on the vehicle.
Two more came from around the side of the massive building, one was Wiley the other was Gator. They were both armed.
“Damnit,” Zipper grumbled when he saw all the weaponry and the arrival of these unknown men.
Deke glanced over at him. “This was needed Baxter, so chill.”
Zipper nodded.
They stood waiting.
Two very large men stepped out of each SUV as if they were in perfect coordinated sync. They also had rifles which they promptly aimed at Deke’s the men on the roof.
Deke raised his hands in the air to show he had no weapon.
Zipper next to him did the same.
For a few moments...all was still.
Then the door to one of the SUVs opened.
A tall well muscled man that moved with a calculated grace stepped out. He walked over to where Deke stood. Nodding, he looked around after a brief glance at Zipper. “We need to talk,” he spoke in a slight accent.
“No shit.” Deke scowled. “But some notice of a parley would been nice.”
The man had the bluest grey eyes Deke had ever seen as he narrowed them at Deke then Zipper. “We gave you notice.”
Zipper grumbled under his breath.
The man slid his slate blue gaze over to him. “So you are Mr. Nobody, eh?”
Zipper looked over at Deke then back to the man. He nodded.
“Yes, well,” the stranger replied. “My men come with me and they stay armed until I feel it is not needed.”
“Is that your way of asking to come inside?” Deke crossed his arms over his wide chest. He was a little pissed at the ego this man had.
Two of the Russian guards advanced as Wiley took another step. The other two stood and took aim at the men on the roof.
The Russian leader raised his hands in the air. “Stoy vniz!”
Wiley stepped closer as did Gator, guns high.
The Russian guards lowered their weapons.
“Stand down!” Deke called out.
Wiley and Gator did so, though they looked angry like they didn’t want to leave Deke vulnerable.
The men all lowered their rifles but they all looked ready.
“We do not need a showdown,” the Russian stated.
“No we don’t. I’m Deke Tory, President of the Sin’s Bastards MC.” He stuck his hand out.
“Da, we know who you are,” the man shook his hand firmly.
“So are you Yuri?” Zipper finally spoke up.
The man laughed. “Nyet...No.”
“Then who are you?” Deke demanded wondering why this man showed up here instead of this Yuri guy.
“I am Nikoli Silvanic.” He gave a short nod. “I am close to Yuri.”
“Well, fuck!” Zipper exclaimed.
The two men looked over at him.
Zipper explained his outburst, “You own that string of East Coast Hotels the North Star, all five stars and you are...well, um.”
“Da? What am I?” Those piercing blue gray eyes centered on Zipper.
&n
bsp; He shrugged. “Second in command of the Bratva, right?”
“No. no...” Nikoli denied it as humor showed on his face. “I am just about third.”
All his men that stood close by chuckled a bit.
Zipper gazed around.
Deke shook his head. “Okay, we go inside now. This is too open out here.” He motioned for them all to go inside.
Wiley and Gator opened both glass doors. They all entered as, the men all filed in and halted on the marble floor.
Deke rolled his eyes. Yeah, it didn’t speak of power or Motorcycle Club. But he lived with it. But visitors were always stopped by this lobby.
Nikoli stared at the murals. “Who is the artist? I would love to have something like this in my hotels.”
Deke cracked a half smile. “My wife.”
Nikoli turned to look at him. “Very....” He again, stared up at the large cats. “Svirepyy.”
Deke’s brows furrowed.
Nikoli turned to look at him. “Fierce, brave. And she must be that as well.”
Zipper chuckled, so did Wiley and Gator.
Yeah she was and more.
Deke poked his tongue inside his cheek. “Yep, she is.” He motioned to the first hallway. He decided they needed to use the room they used for Church as his office was large but all these men were much larger.
Wiley and Gator again stayed right beside Deke, then they walked ahead the last few feet and opened the double doors. They never strayed too far from Deke, while their eyes never left the 2 bodyguards Nikoli had trailing him.
Again, upon entering the room, the men stared.
This was Deke and the Moore’s idea of a Church room.
It looked like a CEO boardroom with the U shaped fine mahogany table that seated at least thirty with office chairs that each cost as much as Deke’s old desk, yet their spawn logo that interlaced with the Sin’s logo sat on the wall behind the ornate table taking up a lot of wall space. Then there was a wall devoted to professional large prints of the families. All the kids and the women that were the Sin’s men’s families.
Nikoli stared at the logo with a raised brow.
Yes, this might be something this man couldn’t kin to. Deke concluded, as it was an MC thing.
Then Nikoli moved to the photo wall. His men followed closely and stayed around him like fat on butter.
He stood and braced his hands behind his back and studied the wall.
Deke noted the power the man emanated. It told of his ways. Yes, he was Russian and apparently well off, yet he wore an arrow shirt and dress pants, no tie, no jacket. His shoes weren’t prissy either as they looked like boots.
“This is...” He turned to look Deke in the eyes. “So admirable.” He glanced at his men. “Go and sit. These men have honor.”
The two guards stilled then did as he said.
Deke nodded at him to have a seat.
The group all sat.
“You must be wondering why this all occurred,” Deke began.
“Da, we do. Do you know Yuri?”
Shaking his head, Deke replied, “No. Never heard of him before today.”
Nikoli studied him as he tilted his head. Then his phone rang. He paused. “Please excuse...” He swiped the screen. “Da.” He listened for a moment. “Ok... I shall put this on speakerphone.” He set the phone on the table.
A voice came on, “Okay, we found this... Deke Tory is president of the Sin’s Bastards MC,” a male’s voice spoke. “He owns legitimate businesses. Has had some run ins with many bad individuals. He is married to Cassie Reardon, owner of the Redemption houses.”
“Yes! Wow,” a sweet melodic voice came on. “This Cassie is my hero. I already knew about her.”
Nikoli stared at the phone as his brows rose.
“Babe, this is on speaker,” the man’s voice said.
“So... He should know how kickass his wife is.”
Nikoli grinned and said, “Serenity, my dear, that man is sitting right here.”
“Again, I ask... so? He must know that his wife is a legend.”
Deke smiled. “I do, young lady.”
“So you two,” Zipper spoke up. “You fried my laptop?”
Silence.
“Umm, that would be me,” Serenity’s voice spoke softly from the speaker of the cell phone.
Deke looked over at Zipper.
Serenity went on, “I am sorry. We know who you all are now. I will replace it?”
Zipper shook his head. “Never mind that. You need to tell me how you did it. Did you send the virus with your message? Or did you hit the CPU when I typed back?”
Silence.
The man’s voice came back on, “We might share...if you tell us how you got on Nomer.com and managed to get a whole page on Yuri.”
Deke raised his head and gave Nikoli a curious look.
Nikoli spoke now, “So apparently, this man umm...” He raised his hand to Zipper.
“Zipper,” he inserted his name.
“Zipper? Oh wow, that is a good one,” Serenity replied.
Nikoli nodded, as he seemed to patiently navigate this Serenity girl. “Yes, he is their IT.”
“Damn good one too,” the other voice piped up.
“Not good enough though,” Zipper looked aggravated as he said this.
“Zipper,” Nikoli spoke. “I shall introduce you...This is Nicky my son and his wife, Serenity.”
“The honor is mine,” Zipper replied.
“So, what is the connection between me and Yuri?” Deke asked to get back to what was important here.
Nikoli stared at him. “You see, this is where I am also confused.”
“Apparently, you are both marked for death,” Zipper announced.
The men in the room all swung their gazes to him.
Nikoli stared at Deke. “And how do we know this?”
Deke sighed. “Last week someone tampered with my cycle and I took a not so pleasant dip, head over heels into a dammed ditch.”
Nikoli stared at him. “What day?”
Deke’s brows furrowed at the odd question. “Day?”
He nodded.
“It was Sunday,” a voice came from the doorway.
All the men turned.
Cassie stood there for a minute and took them all in then walked over to the CEO table.
Deke held still. He wouldn’t tell her she couldn’t be here. She deserved to know what was happening. He just felt truly uneasy about his family being known or seen by anyone he did not know well.
Nikoli stood as did his men.
“No, no boys.” She raised her hands. “Sit down. I’m not the queen of England.”
Deke wanted to say she was a queen, his. But he kept that to himself as he just stared at her.
She moved in and sat in one of the chairs. “Someone tried to kill my husband. He has 3 broken ribs and a concussion—”
“Slight,” Deke interjected. “A slight concussion.”
“Yeah, but you coulda died.” She turned to look at Nikoli. “I don’t know exactly who you are but if you can help to stop this threat I would decorate every damn hotel lobby you can come up with.”
Zipper took in a huge breath.
Her gaze shifted to him. “Yeah, ok. I was watching and listening in your Ops room Zip. Sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Deke supplied.
She bit her lip to trap her smile. “Okay, so I’m not.”
Nikoli spoke again, “Last Sunday, someone took a sniper shot at Yuri’s head.”
Deke swung his gaze over to him.
Nikoli nodded. “It happened when he was visiting us in NY City.”
“At your main hotel?” Zipper queried.
“Yes,” Nicky’s voice from the phone came on. “And he had to be good to do it. To even get within striking distance. Our security is tighter than a nun’s snat—”
SMACK.
The sound came over loud on the phone.
“Dammit, why did you do that?” Nicky ask
ed.
“Cassie is sitting right there, Nicky!” came Serenity’s voice. “Be respectful.”
“Oh, I have heard worse um...what’s your name again?”
“Serenity.”
“Nice to meet your voice, Serenity.”
“Oh, my gosh! Did you hear that Nicky?” Serenity gushed.
Deke was getting impatient over the niceties. He opened his mouth to try to get them all back on subject.
“We need to know what connects Yuri and Deke,” Nikoli beat Deke to the punch. “These two men have never crossed paths.”
“But apparently, this killer has crossed both,” Zipper supplied.
Deke sat quietly as his voice wasn’t needed.
The room got quiet.
“Well?” Nikoli asked. Then looked up at Zipper. “None of you hackers can find—?”
“Dad, I am not a hacker. You know we—”
“Tikho!” Nikoli stated with almost a growl. “These men’s lives are on the line here. We need the connection.”
“I haven’t had time to look since...” Zipper’s voice fell away. “The minute I started...” He glanced at Deke.
“We blew up your top?” Nicky asked.
“Yep,” he answered. “I got more toys to work on, so it’s ok and I will be on it.”
“Won’t help,” came Serenity’s voice again.
Zipper sat forward. “What?”
“It won’t do you any good,” Nicky’s voice supplied. “We have searched for an hour.”
“An hour?” Deke asked. “And you gave up?”
“No!” Nicky replied. “We never do that shit. It’s just that... together, there is no better...” he paused. “Hackers.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “No one better in maybe the whole world.”
“Yeah,” Serenity added. “And we found zero, zip, nada.”
“Nyet...” Nicky finished with some overly done Russian accent.
Nikoli raised his brow at this.
“You can look till your damn fingers turn blue, Zipper,” Nicky went on.
Zipper spoke, “But there’s always something. A string —”
“It isn’t there,” Serenity supplied. “Except for the fact that they both seem to know one organization. It was all we could find.”
Nikoli and Deke both asked, “What organization?”
Nicky cleared his throat and replied, “The Hell’s Fire Riders.”