“It’s your club.” The biker’s voice rose a notch. She was sure the bionic ear would have no problem catching the conversation at the raised levels. “You can do whatever the fuck you want. Tell Hawk, Viper and his boys to find a new haunt if you want to sell coke from your digs. We aren’t messing around. You want the coke, then run them out.”
Draven placed his fists on his hips as he looked to the ground. He no doubt worried what to do with the Sons, knowing it was their feeding ground. He couldn’t just run them out. He glanced back up. “I’m still a good deal from the state line. Why don’t I find a new place, somewhere closer to California?”
“You’re missing the point, stupid,” one of the other Devils spoke up. He walked around the barkeep and stood next to the blond. This one was damn near as wide as he was tall, his hair salt and peppered with a beard to match. “We want to bring coke into the Florence port. We smuggle it in from the ocean and we don’t have to ride the state highway. The Sons won’t be any wiser. Pull up your big boy panties.”
“There has to be another way. If I kick the Sons out of their normal hang out, they’ll get suspicious. They aren’t stupid. You want them snooping around?”
“He has a point, VP,” said yet another of the Devils.
The dirty blond must be the right hand of the OMC. He ran a hand through his hair. “You might be correct, ass wipe. Here’s the deal. We get you the nose candy, you sell it without the Sons’ knowledge. They find out you’re distributing, end of deal. We’ll find someone else. But you get us in Florence, find us some runners, and maybe we bring you up to street coordinator. You fuck with us”—he drew his finger across his throat—“and you go to a watery grave. Capeesh?”
Draven grumbled a reply she couldn’t quite catch, but it must have satisfied the VP. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “Fine. I’ll get you a kilo. You sell that, find me some street runners, and we’ll go from there. “
“When?” Draven asked.
“I’ll be in touch. We have to talk to our guys first, make the deal, and then we’ll call.” He poked a forefinger against Draven’s chest. “In the meantime, you keep the Sons off your back and out of your business. I hear your dealing with them and you’ll be on the six o’clock news. We understand each other?”
Draven nodded and stepped back again as the Devils mounted their bikes, and started the engines. Gravel flew, hitting the side of the metal building as they spun their tires and headed out of the parking lot.
Joe took off his headphones, a large smile pasted on his face. “Wait until you hear this!”
Cara nodded, not about to reveal she had heard every word. “Once we get back to the station, I’ll listen to it with the captain.”
He looked at her with concern. “You going to be okay with that?”
“I have to be.” Cara put the binoculars into their case. “I may not like the man much, but I can be a professional about this. The DEA wants us to work with him, then I will do what’s called for. Doesn’t mean I have to be nice, though.”
“No, you don’t.” Joe chuckled as he packed up his gear. “I’ll meet you back at the office?”
“Yeah. Give me fifteen. I’m going to check in with Kane first. Make sure he goes easy on Draven.”
Cara waited until she heard Joe’s car start, which he had parked a half mile down the road. When she heard the tires hit the asphalt, she took her things and headed for the back of the Rave. Draven had entered the club through the rear entrance. She was careful to stay to the wooded area and didn’t step into the clearing until she had the shortest path. Hitting the gravel, she ran for the back door. Her fast pace would be hard to detect by the human eye. Cara didn’t want to take a chance the Devils might have hung around a bit to keep an eye on the place.
Once inside, her gaze quickly adjusted to the darkness of the back room as her vampire sight allowed her to navigate easily around the furniture. She cracked opened the door to the inner bar and peered through finding Kane, Xander, and the prospects lounging by the bar with Draven.
“That went well, I think,” Draven said, a smile pasted on his face, looking a bit too cocky for Cara’s piece of mind. “They’re going to get me a kilo to sell.”
Cara stepped through the door, walked the short distance to the counter and placed her bag on it, drawing the men’s attention. “Draven, don’t let your ego get inflated. It may have gone our way today, but everything could turn to shit tomorrow. You let your guard down once and it’s lights out. You can’t afford to make a mistake with these guys.”
“I’ve been selling disco biscuits out of here for a few years until Kaleb made me quit. I made good profits for them in the past.” The barkeep shrugged. “Nose candy can’t be that much different.”
Cara wanted to slap some sense into him. “The difference is the X came from overseas. I’m not saying those guys aren’t dangerous. But the coke? That’s coming from the La Paz Cartel. They don’t play games. They think for one minute you aren’t on the up-and-up and you’ll be wearing cement shoes. They won’t sit you down for a chitchat, Draven. Suspicion of betrayal is enough for them.”
Draven poured himself a shot of whiskey from the bottle of Jack sitting on the counter and downed the fiery liquid. Cara detected the tremble of his fingers as he wiped the back of his hands across his lips. Good, she wanted him unnerved and to know exactly what they were up against.
Kane sat forward, gripped Cara’s forearm and pulled her between his spread thighs. “That’s why we will be there, mia bella. We won’t let anything happen to Draven.”
“The idea is to catch the cartel, Kane, more specifically Raúl Trevino Caballero.”
“You don’t have to remind me. No one wants to drain that piece of shit more than me.” He fingered a loose tendril of her hair, which had escaped her bun, before tucking it behind her ear. “You have to trust us. We won’t interfere unless it’s necessary and we won’t allow harm to come to Draven. We’re all in this. When it’s over, the DEA will have their men, with the exception of Raúl. The cartel will be crushed, and the Devils better hope they never step foot back in our state, or I’ll see every member drained.”
“You know they outnumber us by a great deal,” Cara reminded him. “I don’t relish losing any of you guys.”
“If I have to, I’ll bring in the Knights. Patching them over still isn’t out of the question for us. Red’s still a little pissed over losing the guns deal, but he and I still have a good rapport.”
“I don’t care how many of those bastards there are,” Alexander spoke up. “I’ll take on a dozen of those fuckers by myself. They may get some licks in, but by the time I’m done, they’ll be eating dust.”
Grigore slapped Alexander on the back. “I’ll be right there beside you, Xander. I’d be only too happy to lessen their numbers. Those rat bastards got nothing on us.”
Cara shook her head and smiled. It was amazing all their egos fit inside one club. “Look, I need to get back to the Sheriff’s Office. I’m supposed to meet with Captain Melchor.”
Kane’s grip on her tightened at Robbie’s mention. “You want me to take you? I can insist on being in any meeting with him.”
“Easy, big guy.” Cara placed a quick kiss on his lips. “He isn’t about to try anything, knowing not only did you threatened his family jewels when he arrived back in Lane County, but promised to dismember him. I think he believed you.”
“Good, because if he messes with you, I’ll carry through with my threat. The Criminal Investigations Department of the Oregon State Police will have a job opening and won’t have a clue what happened to their captain.”
“I’m sure you’d make sure he leaves Lane County in a box. But it won’t be necessary, Viper.” She winked at him. “Captain Melchor gets out of line, I got first dibs.”
“That’s my girl.” Kane palmed her cheeks and gave her a knee-melting kiss, tempting her to forgo the office. Breaking the kiss, he said, “Bu
t I’ll still want my pound of flesh from him once you’re finished.”
She stepped from Kane’s embrace and faced Draven. “You let us know the minute you hear anything. Don’t risk coming to me. Get the news to one of the Sons here at the club. They expect you to talk with them while they are here. You aren’t to speak to Kane or any of the Sons outside of the Rave, though. You have to keep up the guise you aren’t thrilled with them running you out of the drug business. If you need me when not here, then use the burner phone I gave you.”
Draven nodded. “Got it, Cara. I won’t fuck this up.”
“Good to hear.” She turned to Kane. “I’ll see you back at the house. You best be ready to make good on that kiss.”
Kane’s lips turned up. “I could do so right now—”
“Get a room,” Alexander grumbled while Grigore added a wolf call.
“Duty calls, babe.”
She turned, grabbed her bag from the bar, and walked through the storeroom door, raucous laughter following her. Men. They were nothing more than big kids, no matter how old they were. Cara opened the back door, peered out, then headed for the cover of the woods and where she had left her Charger, dreading facing off with the one man she’d rather walk over hot coals before holding court with.
* * *
Robbie Melchor sat at the end of the long table in the interview room of the Sheriff’s Office, listening to the recording of Draven’s meeting with the Devils. Joe sat adjacent to him, while Cara stood at the back of the room. The farther away she stood from the ass, the better off she was. One thing about her vampire DNA was she felt everything more acutely, including hate and loathing. The animal in her lay just beneath the surface, wanting to come out and tear into the man sitting at the opposite end of the room.
She drew in deep breaths through her nostrils, channeling the hate coursing through her veins. She remembered the day he raped her all too well, just like it was yesterday. Her skin crawled at the memory. They had dated, or rather she thought they were dating. Apparently to him she had been nothing more than a fuck buddy. In the end, the word “No” meant nothing to the scumbag. Robbie took from her what he expected was his right.
No one would take her word over his. Or so he had convinced her. He had been the golden boy in the department. So she kept her mouth shut, tolerated his presence only when necessary, then moved back to Lane County as soon as she was able. Robbie came back into her life a little over a year ago on another case, trying to pin the county’s murders on Kane and the Sons of Sangue. Once the truth came to light, Kane had chased his sorry ass out of the Sons’ state, and threatened his life should he ever step foot near Cara again.
Apparently, the DEA had wanted a familiar person to report back to them, someone who had been in the offices before, to raise less suspicion. Unlucky for her, Robbie had been their man. She no longer needed Kane to fight her battles for her, though. Cara could easily rip the man apart herself with little or no effort.
A smile graced her lips.
He wasn’t worth the trouble.
Once the recording finished, Cara stepped forward and circled the table. “DNA came back on the cut and blood we found on the boat. The DNA on the motorcycle vest matched that of the blood on the boat decking. We also found matching fingerprints to the two dead Devils. They were definitely on the boat at some time.”
“There were no drugs on the boat, Detective. What do we care about some spat within the OMC. Doesn’t concern us. Only shows you messed up.”
“It was a setup.” She bit back the urge to slap the shit out of the captain, knock the chip from his shoulder. “We believe they were testing Draven’s loyalty. If that’s the case, then I believe we’re getting closer.”
“Not close enough.” Melchor’s look told her he wasn’t impressed. “You two losers have been dancing around this for nine months. We want results already.”
Cara leaned down and braced her hands on the table next to him. His scent turned her stomach. “Good thing you aren’t working the case then, or Draven would be spitting out minnows.”
Robbie leaned back, lacing his fingers together over his chest. “What do I care what happens to your little drug dealer? We want results. If Draven isn’t the man to do it, then we’ll find someone else.”
“This late in the game? Good luck with that.” Cara grit her teeth as her fingers itched to wrap his throat. Once an ass, always an ass. “Your kind of strategy will never get results, other than a line of dead bodies. You let us do our job, and we’ll hand you and the DEA the cartel. You can even take all the credit as far as I’m concerned.”
“Why so generous, Detective?” His gaze studied her. “Why wouldn’t you want credit for bringing down one of Mexico’s cartel?”
“Because, Captain, you crush one, another springs up. The war on drugs is a never ending battle. One the Lane County Sheriff’s Office is ill equipped to take on.”
“So why is this one personal to you?”
Cara didn’t figure he’d be astute enough to wonder about why this case might be important. Not to mention it was none of his damn business. Joe had started this case. It hadn’t been hers to begin with, though she was eager enough to see it through.
“The DEA approached me,” her partner spoke up and saved her from having to answer him. “We were going to arrest Draven initially, hoped to get him to rat on his suppliers. Cara convinced us Draven wasn’t the real target, and arresting him would get us nowhere. If we wanted the real problem, and the DEA did, then we needed Draven on the streets, working the deal. We had knowledge that Raúl Trevino Caballero, kingpin of the La Paz Cartel supplied the Devils coke out of Peru. Getting the Devils to work with us wasn’t going to happen. Draven was another story. He already sold their ecstasy. So why not move to coke? Bigger profits.”
Robbie thumbed through the folder in front of him. “What about this Ryder Kelley who disappeared? The DNA you mentioned found on a boat moored at the Port of Bookings-Harbor. Wasn’t he one of your informants?”
“One of the Sons of Sangue’s informants. Not ours,” Cara told him as she stood and walked around the table, putting the furniture between them.
“The way I see it, same difference.” Robbie held her gaze. “You’re fucking the leader.”
Cara grit her teeth to keep her canines in check. “We live together, if that’s what you’re referring to. My job and his position in the Sons doesn’t factor into our relationship.”
She wanted to wipe the smile off the captain’s smug face.
“You can’t tell me the two of you don’t pillow talk. You know what’s going on in their club, just as I believe he knows what’s going on here. As long as it benefits us in this case, I don’t give a fuck what you do with that degenerate.”
Joe grabbed her hand and stayed her as she growled and meant to walk back around the table. Good thing or she might have pinned him to the wall. Robbie might question her sudden found strength.
“Kane is a good man, regardless of what you think of his MC,” Cara said. “He doesn’t run drugs, or do illegal activities to support the Sons. He and Kaleb have a legit business they run as a team. The rest of the Sons work there and draw a paycheck. There is no reason for them to break laws unless it comes to protecting their own. I don’t see it any different than you protecting your own, Captain Melchor. Or taking what you think is rightfully yours even though it doesn’t belong to you. In that case, I’d say you’re the bigger degenerate.”
“Really? I called it mutual satisfaction.”
Joe increased his grip on her wrist. “Stand down, Brahnam. He’s not worth it.” He then turned to Robbie. “If you ever bring up your past, or treat my partner in a manner disrespectful to her person again, I’ll personally beat your ass black and blue. Not a law enforcement person in this county will take your side. I’m done sitting here quietly while you insult a woman I respect. You stick to business, Captain, and we’ll all get along fine.”
Robbie held Joe’s gaze, sayin
g nothing for several uncomfortable minutes. He cleared his throat and asked, “This Ryder Kelley? What happened to him?”
“Missing person,” Joe said. “No body was found.”
The captain ran a finger down the edge of the manila file. “Body of evidence suggests we won’t find him alive.”
“Maybe.” Cara shrugged. “Or maybe he’s hiding out for the time being. I’m sure if the Devils found him, he wouldn’t live long enough to give the DEA anything.”
Joe unplugged the thumb drive from his computer and slid it across the table. “You take that back to the men paying your paychecks and have it handed over to the DEA. You tell them these things can’t be rushed. Give us the benefit of the doubt and we’ll get them some rock solid evidence. Now take your sorry ass out of this office. When you come back, I expect to see a more professional side of you, you arrogant piece of shit.”
Robbie stood, glared at Joe, then snatched the thumb drive off the table. He looked back at Cara. “I’ll be back. Don’t think I won’t be expecting better results. Stop sitting on your fucking hands and get me what the DEA wants or I’ll see you’re both looking for new jobs.”
Cara watched him exit the room and slam the door behind him. “I think that went well, don’t you?”
Joe smirked. “What a waste of breath.”
Cara smiled and sat across from Joe in the seat Robbie vacated. “Thanks for sticking up for me. You didn’t need to. I’d hate to see your job put in jeopardy over some age-old shit not worth giving thought to.”
“Speaking of, how about we put all our shit to rest? The Sons may not be on the top of my favorites list, but Brahnam, you’re a class act. I need to trust you and your judgment. If you say Kane Tepes is a good guy, then I got to believe he is.”
She sobered, touched by Joe’s admission. “Thanks, partner. That means a lot. You have no idea how I missed our friendship.”
“It was never gone, Brahnam. Dormant maybe, but never gone.”
Cara leaned back in her seat and smiled again. “Good. Now, let’s catch these sons of a bitches.”
Gypsy: Sons of Sangue Page 22