“Off the top of my head, get the rat out of your house. If it were me, I'd kill it just to be sure that it was gone, but I understand that I have less of an emotional attachment.” Mark looked directly at Danny as he spoke.
“Don't.” Buster spoke from behind Danny. “Don't give him what he wants.” Danny nodded sharply. “No way that Royal's going to let Miller dictate what to do with Nightshade. No way.” Buster sounded completely convinced, but Danny wasn't. Warning bells were going off inside of his head just from the smug smirk Missy shot his way.
“Emotions are running high, all around. If it will ease your mind Mark, Danny will take Amelia out of here right now. And we can sit down, try and come up with someone who would benefit by hurting Nightshade and Joseph.”
“It will ease my mind more if she's kept away. Right now, the cargo you've agreed to move is very valuable and highly illegal. I will not risk the police learning anything about it. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Yeah, it's going to be a fucking problem,” Danny replied even as Royal assured Mark it wouldn't be.
“Take Amelia home, Danny. You had to know that this was coming, you knew there would be consequences for her talking to Harris, even if she had the best intentions at the time.” The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. “I said take her home or I'll have someone else do it.”
Danny never imagined he'd be so close to telling Royal to go fuck himself. He opened his mouth but then Buster's hand fell heavily on his shoulder. “Don't.” Buster spoke in a tone low enough for only him to hear. “We'll deal with this at the table.”
“You say something, Buster? I couldn't quite hear you.”
“Just telling Danny he can take my truck, roads are supposed to be shitty tonight.” Buster squeezed his shoulder.
“Appreciate it.” Danny exchanged the keys for the Oldsmobile for Buster's Bronco. The weather was supposed to go south, no huge shock for winter in Detroit. Without saying anything else, he turned and headed back up the stairs.
Amelia was sitting on the edge of the bed when he returned, fully dressed with her messenger bag over her lap. Her hands were clasped, a sure sign that she was nervous. At the sight of her, Danny knew that she'd ignored his request to stay put. She'd sneaked out into the hall and heard every word said downstairs. “Amelia...”
“You don't have to explain. Technically, I don't even think you can. This is the part where I trust you, right? So, this is me, trusting you.”
“We should go now.”
“I figured that you were going to say that. I grabbed all my stuff.” She rose to her feet slowly. “This is going to be like a really fucked up walk of shame, isn't it?”
“Don't pay attention to any of them or anything that anyone says. The people who matter know the truth of what happened.” It was little consolation but to him, it seemed that Buster wasn't the only one who thought Royal was out of line. “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” she replied. “Let's just get it over with.”
The walk out of the bar was the longest that Danny had ever experienced. He knew that Amelia felt the same way because she'd squeezed his hand hard enough that he was almost sure that she had bruised him. He'd expected that someone would have a comment or that Royal would tell him to come back quickly but instead, they walked out to silence.
“Maybe you should go back in and I'll head home myself. Handle the club stuff. I know that there's club stuff, I'm not stupid. That guy in the suit gave me a serious case of the willies.”
“I'm not leaving you alone.”
“I'll call James and Paco, if he's around. I'll be okay.” Amelia turned to him and stretched up to place a kiss on his lips. “Just stay safe and whole. Please.”
“I will. Are you sure?” Danny knew that he was lucky Amelia understood not only the strength of his commitment to Nightshade as well as they way that they worked.
“I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure. Give me the keys.” She let out a small laugh. “Tell Buster I'll try not to crash the Bronco.”
“I won't be able to save you if you do,” Danny reminded her. “He loves that truck.”
“I know. I'll be safe and I'll text you.” She kissed him one more time and then headed for the truck. Danny remained in front of the building, watching as she pulled away from the curb and until he couldn't see the taillights any longer.
Danny hoped that whatever was going on wasn't a sign that Nightshade was changing. He'd always looked on in awe whenever they'd rode past his house as a kid. He spent a lot of time out in the yard, rain or shine, because his mother liked privacy when she got high or when she paid for the drugs on her back. No matter how long he'd been out there, seeing the riders going by had somehow made it better. When he was old enough to roam town, he'd end up at the bar more often than not.
Looking back, he realized that the guys must have felt sorry for him at first. Let him hang around and do little stupid off jobs so that he'd have money to eat with. Food had never been one of Mona Benson's priorities. Heat and lights hadn't been either. He must have been about twelve when he realized that he wanted to wear a Nightshade patch. He desperately wanted the close ties he saw among the guys.
Mona had laughed when he told her that one day, he'd be a member of Nightshade. She'd said that they'd never want a puny little fuck like him. After all, if his own mother didn't want him, why in the world would anyone else?
In the end he'd got his patch. The first chance he'd gotten, he'd gone to find Mona, who had been in a halfway house after a jail stint for stealing a police car. He'd never been more proud than to pull up on the bike he'd put blood, sweat and tears into with his new patch and cut. That pride had remained but he didn't have the heart to shove it in Mona's face like he'd intended. He'd found her a mess, without most of her teeth and with a face so wrinkled and full of acne that he barely recognized her.
She had recognized him, never commented on the cut or patch but had asked him for money. Sure the home gave her a roof and meals, but it didn't give her money for anything else. Mona had then gone off on a tangent about it being her constitutional right to be able to smoke a cigarette and buy a scratch off lottery ticket if that's what she'd wanted to do. Danny had left while she was still raving. He'd sought out the director of the halfway house and given him money for Mona's account and never looked back. That night he'd gotten piss drunk in the bar, barely able to get up off his barstool. It had been Buster, who'd sponsored his prospecting Nightshade in the first place, who had dragged him up the stairs, threw him in the shower and got the whole story out of him. He'd never forget what Buster had told him next.
He knew Mona. They all knew Mona, and she'd always been trouble. Selfish beyond all reason. She'd hung around the bar some but they really had no tolerance for addicts. Once she'd gotten too sloppy too many times, she'd been tossed out on her ass and told not to come back. When Danny had started coming around, they realized who his mother was and decided to look out for a kid who had no one else. They'd watched that kid grow up to be a man who they were proud to call Brother. Family was what you made of it, blood or otherwise. It was the people who saw you at your worse and didn't love you despite it, they loved you because of it.
Danny watched the door to the bar open. Royal walked out, lit a smoke and walked over to him. “I feel like I should be raising a white flag. I come in peace.”
“What the fuck was that back there?”
“It was the only way to keep our relationship with The Millers alive. You do understand how important they are to us?” Royal blew out a stream of smoke. “We all know that Amelia did what she did because we asked. No harm will come to her from us.”
“And how the fuck am I supposed to keep her safe when you just essentially exiled her?”
“Use Monroe. Paco and his friends. They're good guys. And this isn't forever. This is for now. If Joseph makes it, I intend to have a word with him about Mark. I've got the feeling that there's a rift between them.” Royal exhaled more s
moke. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”
“And if we can't?”
“If we can't, things will keep on as they are until Mark snaps and kills us all. Or Joseph could take offense during our talk and kill us all. If at all possible, I'd like to find the ending that leaves us alive, but make no mistake, we're standing on the raggedy edge.” Royal tossed the cigarette with a careless flick of his wrist. “We've got to do whatever it takes to keep from falling. Mark is just about to leave. We're at the table ten minutes after he does.”
“Sounds good.” Danny replied. “There's something else on my mind.” For the briefest of seconds he thought about telling Royal of Amelia's suspicion about Missy and of his own uneasy feeling about the level of joy she was getting from Mark Miller showing up, but he didn't. “Congratulations again on the kid.”
“Thanks. Got to admit, this was pretty out of left field. I didn't even think it could be possible, but here we are.”
“It doesn't replace Taylor. She's your first kid, even if Missy doesn't like it.”
“You're real close to crossing a line.” Royal warned.
“Missy crossed a line tonight. How do you think it made Amelia feel? You stood there and let her call the new baby your first child.”
“Missy can say what she wants. I know the truth. I get where you're coming from, and I'll apologize to Amelia but right now, I can't say shit to Missy. She's older, the pregnancy has a few complications because of that. She can't be stressed or upset.”
Danny had a flash of Missy terrorizing the bar and everyone there because no one would be able to say anything and stress her out or they'd have to deal with Royal. She was a nightmare now. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but something must have shown. “Last thing I want to do is stress out a pregnant woman, but I also don't want Amelia being constantly upset.”
“There's little chance that she and Missy will see one another with Amelia not coming around the bar.”
Danny realized in that instant that Royal wasn't only attempting to placate Mark Miller by sending Amelia away. He was also doing it so that Missy wouldn't be stressed or upset. “Yeah. I guess that you're right. I'm going to head in. I've got to piss.” Without waiting for a response he walked back inside.
His first instinct was to head to the bar, but the sight of Mark Miller standing there sent him up the stairs to the bathroom. Danny was drying off his hands when he heard a knock. “One second.” He hung the hand towel back up and pulled open the door. “Oh, hey, Missy. It's all yours.”
“Actually, I was hoping that I could talk to you for a minute.”
Danny nodded. He couldn't exactly say no. “What's on your mind, Missy?”
“It was pretty shitty of the two of you to get engaged tonight,” she replied, anger flashing in her eyes. “Your old lady is just like her sister, isn't she? Trying to take what isn't hers. Tonight was my night and you ruined it.”
“We weren't trying to ruin anything.” Danny swallowed his anger back. “And I thought tonight was Train's night.”
“A night he wouldn't have needed if your bitch didn't have a big mouth. Seems to me she should consider herself lucky that whoever burned her truck and house didn't burn her, too. It would be too good for her.”
“You're going to want to shut up right now, Missy.” Danny didn't give a fuck about upsetting her or stressing her out. “You're going to watch the way that you talk about my old lady. You don't have to like her, but you will respect her.”
“She's a fucking rat. I won't respect a rat,” Missy replied. “Just like I wouldn't respect her fucking whore of a sister or her spawn.”
“You want to stop talking,” Danny told her. “You want to turn around and walk away.” Missy had, once again, gone too far.
“He thought that I didn't know,” Missy had lowered her voice to a near whisper. “But I knew, the wife always knows. And I waited and I watched and I learned so many things.” She let out a laugh. “And in the end, Fiona learned that I protect what's mine.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It's supposed to mean that bad things happen to whores and rats.” Missy took a step back, smiled. “One day, you'll see her for the problem that she is, and you'll thank whoever fixes it.” She headed down the stairs with her head held high, and she never once looked back.
“DANNY!” Edge shouted from downstairs. “We're at the table in five.”
<#<#<#
The door to the basement was locked, and finally Nightshade was alone. Danny couldn't remember a time when so many people seemed so eager to speak at once. Royal held everyone silent when he lifted his hands. “I know that you've all got an issue with the way that I handled things tonight. Let me speak first.” Silence followed, which Royal took for the agreement to hear him out that it was. “I know that you all are real fond of Amelia. Well, maybe not all.” He glanced at Train. “Fond of her or not, we can all agree that she went to Harris at our request and did exactly what we asked her to do.”
“That she did.” Buster spoke up. “And to show our thanks, we kicked her to the curb.”
“To please Mark, who may I remind you is pretty much our only source of club income at the moment, I sent Amelia away. Doesn't mean I liked doing it. Let me be clear, I didn't, but I will do whatever needs to be done for this club. Right now, we're forced to deal with the more unstable Miller, so we've got to thread lightly. We've got to keep him happy.”
“He's a fucking psycho.” Train, who had often been accused of being the same thing, shook his head. “And not in the warm and cuddly way, like me. He has no intention of keeping us around.”
Brothers around the table began to nod in agreement. Chatter started, and Royal shut it down immediately. “Train is right. Mark has no long-term plan for us, but he's got a right-now plan. He's got another job for us. Moving something as usual. We're going to do the job. We're going to keep our eyes and ears open.”
“And then what?” Edge spoke up. “Miller said he'd kill everyone we loved. My sister has no part in this. I don't want what I do blowing back on her.”
“None of us want that. You can have her come in. She'll be safe here,” Royal told him. “We've just got to keep going like we are. When Joseph wakes up, I'm going to talk to him. All the cards on the table. Now, he might listen or he might kill me on the spot. We'll just have to see how it plays out.”
“No offense to the plan that you've worked so hard to come up with, but it sucks.” Buster spoke up. “Sounds to me like no matter which way you slice it, we're looking at toe tags. I might be crazy but how about we figure out a plan where we keep on breathing?”
“And what's your suggestion?” Royal demanded. “What's the play here, Buster?”
“We need a way to take Mark Miller down. He's out of control.”
“If we take him out before Joseph is well and Joseph finds out we're all dead.”
“We make it look like an accident or like another crew. Whatever it takes to get him out of the picture for good.”
“An accident wouldn't be that hard. He's high as a kite most of the time.” Ace sat up straighter in his chair. “Be easy if we can figure out who supplies his fixes. Swap or spike his stuff and he'll happily kill himself.”
“That's way easier said than done.” Train spoke up. “There's nothing quite like a bullet to the brain. Quick. Effective.” He paused and smiled. “Fun. We could always make it look like a suicide.”
“Or mechanical trouble, have his car crash,” Danny pointed out. “There are a lot of ways to get him gone.”
“It's not the right move,” Royal insisted. “We need to be smart about this.”
“Smart is staying alive,” Buster replied. “Let's not argue. Let's vote on it. Let's see who wants to kill Mark Miller and who just wants to sit around with their thumb up their ass waiting for death.”
“Those aren't exactly the choices,” Royal protested. “You all need to think, not just act.”
“I'm ask
ing for a vote.” Buster sat up straight in the chair.
“I'm seconding.” Rock spoke up, surprising them all, since he'd barely said two words around the table. Once the request was seconded, there would be a vote. It was one of the first rules of Nightshade.
“Fine. Let's vote. Majority will rule.” Royal was obviously not pleased and Danny didn't think the vote was going to change that. He knew how he was going to vote. Mark Miller needed to die so that they wouldn't.
Royal called for the vote and Danny was right, he didn't like the results. The only member of Nightshade who voted to back his play was Edge. “Majority rules. God help us all.”
Chapter Fourteen
Amelia never thought that she would miss going to the bar, but she did. She missed seeing someone who wasn't Monroe. James was essentially living in the downstairs bedroom at Danny's now, partially to keep an eye on her and partly because he really couldn't afford the rent on his apartment without his police salary.
It had become clear that he was never going to be reinstated to the force. Harris seemed to have settled into his position nicely and for now it seemed that she'd gotten her sights off of Nightshade. Amelia was pretty sure that this was just a lull and that Harris would turn up again with some new way to dig into them.
Amelia dialed Paco's number for the fifth day in a row, getting directed to his voice mail, which was too full to leave a message. Since she'd already sent a slew of texts, none of which had been returned, she just tossed the phone onto the table.
“Cabin fever?” Monroe questioned from where he sat by the window. He was always by a window. Always keeping watch. Amelia figured he must be as sick of looking at her as she was of looking at him, but he never complained, not once.
“Yeah, a serious case of it,” she admitted as she got to her feet. “I guess this will be the pace the living room portion of the day. I just wish we knew what the hell was going on.” It killed her a little inside every time Danny left. She was still so out of the loop when it came to what was going on with Nightshade. It scared her. It scared her more than she'd ever admit to him.
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