He let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s club shit.”
“Does it have something to do with the guy your neighbor was talking about?”
He leaned his hand on the side of the truck. “Yeah. Apparently, someone who looks like me is stirring shit up. Stuff that could get me killed.”
I stared at him in horror.
He went on. “If that isn’t bad enough, he somehow slipped into my apartment last night and planted the safe.”
“Whose is it?” I asked, nodding toward the back seat.
“Phoenix’s cousin’s. Devon. She owns the tattoo parlor attached to our clubhouse.”
“Was there anything else stolen from your apartment?”
“One of my cuts. Other than that, I don’t know yet.”
“What’s a cut?”
“This,” he said, touching his patched, leather vest. “I had a denim one and now it’s gone.”
“That’s strange, isn’t it? Why would he take that, of all things?”
“He’s someone who knows how much our cuts mean to us. Anyway, I’m going to drop you off and then head over to the clubhouse. But first, I need to go and park my bike in the garage. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay,” I said. “Be careful.”
“It’s not me who needs to be careful. When I find the guy who did this…” he laughed coldly and shook his head. “His ass is history.”
I understood he was pissed, but had he just threatened to kill someone?
Still thinking to myself, I got into the truck and watched as he started his bike and then drove it into the underground garage.
Chapter 24
Tarot
When I jumped into the truck, Peyton seemed unusually quiet.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, putting on my sunglasses.
She cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”
I started the engine. I could tell that she was nervous. “What’s on your mind?”
“We haven’t really discussed your gang in depth.”
I sighed. There she went again calling it a gang. “Babe, I’m not in a ‘gang’. I told you that. Gangs ride subways, jack cars, and rob little old ladies.”
“Sorry. Blame yourself. You fucked my brains out last night,” she replied wryly and smiled.
I laughed. “I did, didn’t I? And this morning, too.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, on a serious note—what did you want to talk about in relation to my club?”
“Are you… are you going to kill the guy who’s fucking with you?”
And there it was. The big question. One I couldn’t give her a straight answer for.
“All I can tell you is that… he’s going to get his ass kicked. Very badly,” I replied.
“I figured. But, you won’t kill him?”
I stared ahead at the road. In my world, guys were killed for less and this guy had targeted me. He’d also fucked with Devon. He was trying to cause a shit storm and would definitely be paying, once we found him.
“If you can’t tell me the truth, at least… don’t lie.”
All I could do was nod.
Silence.
“Well, then. I guess I know the answer,” she said, looking out the window.
“The truth is, I don’t even know the answer.”
Apparently, she didn’t.
Peyton turned back to me. “You should just call the police and let them handle things, so you don’t end up in jail.”
I groaned inwardly. Part of me was flattered that she was worried about my well-being. The other was reminding me that this was just another reason why I’d been single for so long—women were always worried about shit.
“And do what? Tell them that someone snuck into my apartment and gave me a safe full of money?” I said, turning the corner.
“You think there’s money inside?” she asked, shocked.
There’d been something sliding around inside. My intuition told me it was Devon’s cash, among other things. “Yeah.”
“I don’t get it. Why would they leave you cash?”
“To make it look like I stole it.”
“But, why?”
I hesitated to tell her, but then reminded myself—it was public knowledge that our clubs hated each other. And, she wasn’t letting up. “Another rival club. Have you heard of the Blood Angels?”
“Yes. Of course. They’re the ones framing you?”
“I’m pretty sure they’re behind it.”
She stared at me. “What are you going to do?”
“Whatever it takes.”
***
We drove in silence for a while and then Peyton changed the subject, fortunately.
“So, what do you guys do at the clubhouse?”
I shrugged. “Hold meetings. Shoot pool. Hang out.”
“Party like rock stars?’ she asked.
I smiled. “We don’t throw too many bashes. Our clubhouse isn’t equipped to hold many people and Devon would have a fit if anything were to get damaged. She’s one woman you don’t want to piss off.”
“That’s right. The tattoo parlor owner. I picture her to be kind of a bad-ass, from the way you’ve described her.”
“She can definitely hold her own,” I said with a slight grin.
“Did you two ever go out?”
“No. She’s Brass’s woman.”
“Brass?”
I told her who he was. “You’ll meet him at the barbecue, tonight.”
“Okay. What about club whores?”
I glanced over at her. “What about them?”
“Are they for real?”
“Yeah,” I replied. There were a few chicks who hung around infrequently, but always eager to please.
“Do they hang out at your clubhouse?”
“Once in a while,” I replied, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. “To be honest, I don’t mix with them,” I added. “The chicks I’ve come across have had too much baggage, emotionally and spiritually. It drains me just to be near them.”
“Because you’re psychic?”
“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I love to party as much as the next guy, but… when it comes to sex, I have to be careful. One night with the wrong woman can give me a two-week mental hangover.”
She chuckled. “What about the other Old Ladies? Do they know about the club whores?”
“I don’t know. Probably. I can’t believe they’d be that naïve.” I sighed. “I try to stay out of my brothers’ personal lives. Some definitely sleep around. Is it any of my business? No. It’s the way life is in the MC world. And, I’ll be honest with you, a lot of the guys don’t look at women as equals, so they do whatever they want without feeling guilty about it. Coming from a household of females, I think it’s pretty horse-shit. But, I keep my mouth shut.”
She smiled. “Man, you really are a keeper.”
Smiling back, I grabbed her hand again and squeezed it. I hadn’t lied to her, but she was definitely the kind of girl who trusted too easily. Not that I’d ever set out to hurt her. I would never cheat, but, I would also never be able to be completely honest with her when it came to certain things. And that was pretty horseshit, too. But, an oath was an oath and the club always came first.
***
After I dropped Peyton off, I headed to the clubhouse. As I was carrying in the safe, I noticed Devon in the parlor. She was inking a wolf onto a young woman’s shoulder.
“Hey,” I called out to her.
Devon looked up. “You found it,” she said, putting down the needle.
“On the contrary.” I set the safe down onto one of the counters. “It found me. Where do you want it?”
“My office. I’ll be right back, Nina,” she told the woman, patting her arm and standing up. Devon followed me into her office. “What do you mean?”
Setting the safe down next to her desk, I explained everything.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. What a douchebag. I hope you boys ca
tch him.”
“We’re working on it.”
She crossed her arms under her chest and nodded toward the safe. “So, is my money long gone?”
“Actually, I’m not really sure. You’d better check.” I stood back and turned around to give her privacy.
Devon opened up the safe and sighed in relief. “They left it. Un-fucking believable.”
I looked back and found her pulling out a stack of bills.
She laughed dryly. “Who steals a safe and doesn’t take the money? I guess I should be grateful these guys are such morons.”
I knew the person behind this was far from being a moron. If one of my brothers had been over to help me move into my house the following week, and saw the safe… it would have been bad.
Devon began counting the bills.
“I’d better check in with Phoenix,” I told her.
She nodded. “Yeah, he’s been waiting for you. Thanks, Dom.”
“No problem.”
I stepped into the clubhouse and found him talking to two of the prospects. When he saw me, he walked over.
“So, where is it?” he asked.
“I put it in Devon’s office. She’s counting to make sure all of her money is still there. From the stacks of bills, it doesn’t look like anything is missing.”
He grunted. “No shit? Unbelievable.”
“Fuckers are still trying to implicate me. I bet their next move would be to call you anonymously and send someone over to my place to look for it.”
He smirked. “Looks like we’re one step ahead of them, then. I wonder if we can use this, somehow?”
“Maybe. It’s obvious they’re trying to divide us. If they think it’s working…”
“Exactly,” he replied. “If they think it’s working, we could really fuck with them and possibly set up a trap.”
I nodded. “What’s happening with that Facebook thing?”
“We have something set up, but you heard Tank. We can’t just go in there with guns blazing. It’s not the way they want us to handle it.”
He was right. We’d definitely be implicated and that would piss off the mother chapter. Shit would be hitting the fan from all ends.
“No, it’s not,” I agreed.
Phoenix stared off and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “If they think they’ve succeeded in splitting us up, they’d be the ones more vulnerable.” He looked at me. “You know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah. We need to use that.”
He sighed. “I know, but how?”
An idea came to me. I told him about it.
Phoenix nodded slowly. “You think Tank would go for it?”
“He wants this problem gone, too. Besides,” I grinned. “If there’s one thing Tank enjoys, it’s shit like this.”
***
A short time later, our meeting came to order and Phoenix filled the rest of the club in as to what was happening. Everyone was pissed that the Blood Angels were trying to frame me.
“Don’t worry, brother, we’ve got your back,” said Digger. “Nobody is going to get away with this shit.”
“Exactly,” said Phoenix. “Which is why we’ve come up with a plan to draw them out of hiding.”
“Good,” said Smitty.
Phoenix told them what we’d come up with.
“And Tank has agreed to it?” asked Smitty.
“Not yet. We’re going to call him, but I’m pretty sure he and his club will be willing to play along with it. They want this shit to stop almost as much as we do,” I replied.
“Before we do, however, we need to make sure everyone is on board. So, let’s vote on it,” said Phoenix.
We did and it was unanimous. We’d go after the Blood Angels by giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Chapter 25
Peyton
After Dom dropped me off at home, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and the club. I decided to call Stephanie to see if she had any dirt on the Gold Vipers.
“Hey, girl. What’s up?” she asked.
“I was just curious,” I took a deep breath. “There’s a woman I work with who just started dating this guy who’s in the Gold Vipers—”
“Oh, God,” she said dryly. “Is she that desperate for a man?”
I laughed nervously. “Apparently. Anyway, what can you tell me about them?”
“Other than they’re bad news and she should run like hell? What else is there to know?”
“She’s falling pretty hard for one of the guys so I think it’s going to take more persuading than that,” I replied, pacing back and forth in my living room. “I mean, do they have any warrants out for them… or have you heard of any criminal activities that she should be aware of?”
“All I can tell you is that the gang here in St. Paul used to be called the Steel Bandits, until they joined up with the Gold Vipers. I think the term they use is ‘patched over’. Anyway, this was shortly after some trouble the Steel Bandits were having with another gang called the Blood Angels.”
“You mean club? Um, that’s what my friend said they prefer to be called.”
She grunted. “Sounds like she’s already brainwashed. Girl Scouts, pet owners, and bookworms have ‘clubs’. These guys ride around on motorcycles and intimidate people. They have rap sheets and have been to prison. Your friend is being hoodwinked, if you ask me.”
My stomach dropped. “So, you’re saying that the Gold Vipers are criminals?”
“Of course. They all are. The one thing about these bikers is that they’re able hide their activities better than the punks who sell drugs on street corners and force women to prostitute. Actually, I wouldn’t doubt if the Gold Vipers have hookers making money for them, too.”
The thought of Dom being a part of something like that made me sick to my stomach.
“You need to tell your friend that there are a lot of fish in the ocean; she deserves better than someone who needs to be in a gang to feel good about themselves.”
I sighed.
She went on. “Seriously, I don’t know why anyone would date a guy like that. How desperate is this woman?”
I closed my eyes. She was making me feel like such a loser.
“Anyway, my mother just pulled up to my driveway. We’re going shopping for flowers. How about we chat later?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Look, if you really care about your co-worker, you should try and talk her out of staying with this guy. If she doesn’t believe they’re dangerous, have her do some research about that Gold Viper club in Iowa. They’ve been connected to some deaths, just a couple of years ago. One girl who died was dating the president of the club. I think his name was Tank, or something. It was definitely very big news.”
“Will do.”
After we hung up, I opened up my laptop and began searching for the information she’d been talking about. What I found was disturbing. Not only had there been a string of deaths, but two of the deceased were related to Tank—his ex-girlfriend and his father. The information suggested that there’d been some retaliation against another club thought to be responsible—the Devil’s Rangers. There’d been several hits on the rival club, but no evidence to convict anyone of the crimes. I continued to read, and as I dove deeper into the history of the Gold Vipers, it was obvious Stephanie had been correct. They were a dangerous group and definitely knew how to cover their tracks.
Rubbing my eyes, I closed my laptop and shoved it aside. After everything I’d read, I knew if I continued my relationship with Dom, I’d be placing my life in danger. The strange thing was, it wasn’t enough to keep me from seeing him. I also didn’t really believe that Dom went around murdering good people or was involved with prostitution. Being with him was exciting, and as crazy as it was, I just wasn’t ready to give that up.
Chapter 26
Tarot
Phoenix and I talked to Tank on speakerphone and it didn’t take much persuasion to get him to back our plan.
“Okay, brothers, I’ll call a meeting with my club tomorrow and give them the heads-up. Tarot, you’re still flying out to see Ruby tomorrow, right?” he asked on the loudspeaker.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I should be back the following day.”
“Okay. I’ll see if I can get the guys to come out on Wednesday. I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good,” said Phoenix. “Thanks for doing this.”
“Brother, we’re in this together. Besides that, the fact that they’re trying to implicate Dom and drag us all into this really pisses the fuck out of me,” he replied.
“Yeah, it’s pretty shitty,” I agreed.
“You guys take care and I’ll get back to you tomorrow afternoon, Phoenix.”
“Sounds good,” he replied.
“Good luck tomorrow, Tarot. I know you must be going crazy with all this shit going on,” said Tank.
“Thanks,” I replied. “It’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure.”
“I bet,” Tank replied.
When we hung up with him, Phoenix reminded me about the barbecue.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there. I need to go home first and reinforce the locks on my door. I don’t want that asshole getting in again.”
“Good idea.”
***
An hour later, I was in the process of upgrading my deadbolt and strike plates, when my cell phone rang. It was Hannah Goodwin. I answered it right away.
“Hi, Dominic?”
“Yeah. What’s up?” I said.
She asked if I was still coming to pick up Ruby.
“I’m flying down there in the morning. Remember? You gave me your address.”
“Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind.” She sniffed. “You know, Ruby is getting to be a handful and the truth is… I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
How much of a handful could a six-year old be?
Luring the Biker (The Biker) Book 7 Page 9