“Wheels introduced Deedee to the Rochas, but he has nothing to do with the other matters at hand.”
“Vengeance must be had. Smokey must be avenged,” states Bags.
The bickering begins.
Sean points at Bags and nods.
Talking them down is going to be hard. And I understand their need for vengeance, but I don’t believe the Rochas are the ones we need to be focused on. Convincing them of this is going to be next to impossible.
Diesel is at the far end of the table, he knocks on it, and I stare at him.
“Who has Lola? And why weren’t we told any of this earlier?”
“Lola isn’t my old lady. I thought it was personal, not club business.”
“Lola has been around this club for years. She might not be yours, but none of us have ever laid a finger on her. She might as well be yours,” states Diesel.
I nod. “Yeah. As for not telling you all, I thought I was handling it.”
“How’d Smokey die?” asks Arrow.
Sean answers, “I sent him to babysit Lola’s mother, Yvette Cartland. The Rochas went searching for her, he was there, and they gutted him.” Gasps sound around the room. “They left them on the table. He didn’t die quickly… it was slow and painful.”
Arrow’s face flushes red, and his nostrils flare. “You’re fucking joking?” He points at me. “And you don’t want to exact revenge?”
The room explodes as the arguments begin. I understand why they want to wage war, but this isn’t the right way. “Shut the fuck up,” I yell.
Bags stands, knocking over his chair in the process. “What kind of a president are you if you don’t want to kill these motherfuckers?”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Bags has always been loyal.
“If you want to challenge me, go ahead. But let me explain first.”
Bags picks up his chair and sits back down. “It better fucking be fucking good.”
“Tell you what, Bags, if you want the title, let’s vote. Until then, let me fucking explain.”
Cutter knocks on the table, and I cast a look at him. “Kyle has never led us astray. He’s been a fair president. How about we let him spell it out for us?”
If I ever needed reassurance that Cutter was on my side, this proves it. The scowl he’s giving Bags is enough to make any man squirm. Bags nods and glances at me expectantly as he avoids Cutter’s stare.
“Lola was taken Sunday morning by two men and a woman. Garry, her brother, Suzie, her friend, and a guy called Tommy. Her other brother, Ben, was involved, and we think her mother may have played a part in it, too.” I stare around the table, waiting for someone to say something, but they don’t, so I continue, “Later, on Sunday, I took Cutter and Sean to Lola’s mother’s house to get some answers. It turns out Lola has a son.”
“No fucking way, I did a background check,” says Diesel.
“You missed it,” states Wheels.
“There was nothing. I—”
“Diesel, I’d have missed it, too,” says Sean, cutting him off. “Let Kyle finish.”
“Lola’s son, Logan, told us about another guy. We followed up with him, and he pointed us to Lola’s mother. It turns out the Cartlands bought drugs off the Rochas and haven’t paid them back.”
Rocky clears his throat. “Doesn’t make sense. Why would the Rochas give them drugs without payment? They wouldn’t.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s a good question. Maybe they’d dealt with them before, and they led them to believe that we were involved somehow.”
“Everyone knows we don’t deal in that shit,” states Arrow as he glares at Wheels.
“This is the messy part. When I went to Yvette Cartland’s house, I didn’t believe she was telling me the truth, so I asked Sean to send Smokey to babysit her. The Rochas sent people to the house, and you have to remember they already thought we were involved, so finding one of us there only confirmed their suspicions, so they tortured and killed him. From the intel we’ve managed to gather, the Rochas are actively searching for Yvette Cartland and trying to make amends by helping search for Lola.”
“They killed my friend by accident?” asks Arrow in a quiet deadly voice.
Fuck! Even to my ears, it sounds insane, a total cluster fuck.
“Where’s the mother?” asks Bags.
“We don’t know. I put feelers out, but no one has come back to me yet,” replies Sean.
“There’s more.”
“More? Jesus, how much fucking more can there be?” asks Bags.
“The kidnappers phoned me. They want the club to pay their debt to the Rochas, and in return, they’ll give us Lola.”
Arrow narrows his gaze at Wheels. “Are you involved? Did you jeopardize the club for your old lady?”
“You think I’d do that?” Wheels’ eyes bore into Arrow, then around the table. “This club is my life. You guys are family. Deedee is going through a rough patch, that’s all.”
“You do appear to have a pretty fucking good relationship with Cristiano,” says Sean as he leans back in his chair and cracks his knuckles.
“Who the fuck is Cristiano?” asks Bags.
“He’s the head of the cartel here in town,” I reply.
“Wait, Cristiano? A Latino who wears fancy fucking vests? He’s the head of the cartel?” asks Rocky.
“Yeah. How do you know that?” I ask.
“Because I’ve met him at Wheels’ house.”
Wheels’ eyes flick to me, then back to his hands that are resting on the tabletop.
“Wheels, is there more we should know?”
He squirms in his seat and pulls at the collar of his T-shirt around his neck. “It’s not what you think.”
Reaching out, I put my hand on his arm. “Now’s the time to tell us, brother.”
Hanging his head, he says, “Cristiano likes Deedee. He gives her a discount or sometimes a freebie if she…”
The room quiets at his meaning. Deedee’s been fucking Cristiano. All eyes are on him. No one can believe that he’d let her, or that he’d put up with it once he knew. Sean stares at me with his eyes bulging. Like me, we can’t believe that Wheels has been going this alone or that it’s gotten to this point.
In a measured, level voice, I say, “Deedee is a liability. She needs to go.”
Wheels nods. “I know, but she’s the mother of my children.”
“Are they yours?” asks Rocky.
Wheels eyes him sharply. “Yes.”
“I’m not trying to break your balls, Wheels. But how do you know?”
“It doesn’t matter if they are biologically mine or not. They’re mine.”
His meaning is clear, and I’m impressed with his outlook. Wheels and Deedee have two children, a boy and a girl.
“We’ll give Deedee a choice, rehab or shunning.”
“I’ve tried, Kyle. She goes for a day, maybe two, but it doesn’t stick.”
“Then, she’s out.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” Wheels replies honestly.
I understand how he feels. If someone asked me to choose between the MC and Lola, I’m not sure I could. I’d like to think I’d choose the MC, but if they’d vote against getting Lola back, I might just hang up my presidency.
“Rocky, you and Arrow go with Wheels and have a sit-down with Deedee. If she says no to rehab, help her on her way.”
“Wheels, I’m your friend. But regardless if she goes into rehab or not, Deedee needs to go. Do you want your kids growing up around a junkie, slut? One who shows you no respect. Jesus, Wheels, grow a set.” Rocky says all of this staring at his friend while Wheels avoids eye contact with the men sitting around the table.
Bags places his elbows on the wooden surface in front of him, clasps his hands together, and stares at me. “How much do the Cartlands owe the Rochas?”
“Sixty K.”
There are a few whistles around the table, and Bags shakes his head.
“I agree. We
need to get Lola back. But I don’t think we should pay for it. Is there another way?”
Sean nods. “I agree with Bags.”
“I didn’t realize we were taking a vote,” I reply icily.
“Man, I get it. She’s your woman, but you said that none of this makes any sense. Could Lola be in on it?”
My gut tells me no, but Sean is right. I don’t know the full story yet.
Arrow speaks up, “You said that the Rochas killed Smokey, but that it’s complicated. It doesn’t sound complicated to me. One of them killed one of ours. For me, that shit’s pretty simple.”
The others around the table nod their heads, and I know they’re running on emotions and not thinking it through. The Rochas are a ruthless, powerful, rich cartel. They have resources we don’t. If we start a war with them, we won’t survive.
I stand, so I can better take in the faces of my men.
My MC.
The MC that I built, bringing together a group of men who needed to belong to something greater than themselves. It was me who started the custom bikes and cars, me who purchased the land that the clubhouse is now built on. I need them to have my back, to stand beside me and help me through this difficult time.
“I believe this is what we should do.” I hold up a fist and then point in the air. “One… pay the ransom to get Lola back.” Murmurs go around the table, but I hold up another finger. “Two… find out who killed Smokey, request he be offered as compensation for us to do with as we please. We’ll never win a war against them.” I hold up a third finger. “Three… find Yvette Cartland and put her down. From everything we can gather, she’s the one who started this whole fucking mess.” I drop my hand to my side. “And finally… sever all ties with the Rochas and do right by Wheels’ kids.”
“Let’s vote,” announces Arrow. “All in favor of paying the ransom for Lola?”
No one, not even Sean, puts up his hand.
“So voted,” says Arrow. “All in favor of going to the Rochas with our dicks in our hands and asking if they’ll hand over the killer?”
Again, no one puts up their hand.
“So voted. All in favor of finding the junkie bitch, Yvette Cartland, and putting her down for getting us in this fucking mess?”
Everyone puts up their hands.
“So voted. And finally, all in favor of severing ties that I didn’t know we fucking had with the Rocha’s and helping out Wheels’ kids?”
No one puts up their hand.
Arrow looks at me. “We’ve voted, brother. War it is.”
Sean
Kyle is standing at the head of the table, a man defeated. Our MC is small. We don’t stand a chance in hell of defeating the Rochas, but there’s no way we can let Smokey’s death go unpunished. The Rochas, if they agreed to Kyle’s plan, would offer up a lower-ranking member of their organization, one who likely had little or nothing to do with Smokey’s death. I know Kyle is disappointed and will perceive this as a betrayal, but it’s not.
Clearing my throat, I stand beside Kyle. “The first thing we need to do is get Lola back.”
“You all voted that down, brother,” replies Kyle.
“No, we voted down paying the ransom. No one said anything about not getting her back.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “We will get her back.” I stare at the men around the table. “Kyle’s right. We won’t survive a war with the Rochas. We need to find Yvette Cartland. Smokey was killed in her house, so she might know who did it. That way, we can get the killer and her. Two birds, one stone.”
“Yeah, she might be able to identify the killer, but who gave the order? That’s the asshole I want,” states Arrow.
“Look, man, I get it. But if we do go to war, we’ll lose. Then all of that blood will be on your hands and the hands of every man at this table. The Rochas won’t only go after us. They’ll take out our families, too.”
The room goes quiet. Arrow has a scowl on his face, but his eyes betray his emotions. He knows I speak the truth. Bags sighs and leans back in his chair while Rocky sits straighter and stares directly at Kyle.
Kyle nods at me. “Sean is right.”
“It can’t go unpunished,” states Arrow.
“Agreed,” states Sean. “But we have to be smart about it. If we go at them head-on, we’ll lose. So, let’s play their game. For now, let’s work together, and then we’ll take them apart one by one. Make it appear like a series of accidents, so many that they pull out of our town, our state.”
“You’re a scary fucker, you know that?” says Cutter with a laugh.
I shake my head. That’s high praise coming from Cutter, considering he’s a psychopath.
Arrow nods. “Okay. I don’t like all this covert shit, but most of us have families. I don’t want any innocents getting caught up in this shit.” Arrow looks at Kyle. “So, Prez, what do you need me to do?”
“What do you need us to do?” counters Bags.
And just like that, Kyle, with my help, has won back his MC. I sit down, but Kyle remains standing. He takes in a deep breath and nods. As I take in his appearance, his exhaustion is self-evident by the dark circles that lay underneath his eyes, but I know he won’t quit until Lola is safe.
“First order of business is finding Yvette Cartland. Put feelers out. Let’s try and get her before the Rochas.”
“On it,” says Cutter, pulling out his phone. “Do we have a photo?”
Kyle nods. “Maybe, I’ll need to go through Lola’s things.”
Kyle opens the door and walks toward his room. I watch him go, and when I give my attention back to the men in the room, I find Bags studying me.
“What?”
“You’d make a good president.”
I shake my head. “No, brother, I wouldn’t. I want a war, that’s who I am, but Kyle is right. We won’t survive. I’d bring you all down with me.” I grin at him, and Cutter laughs.
“We’d all burn with you, brother.”
“Cutter, you would, but the others are smarter.”
The fucker grins at me again. I have no desire to be president. It’s bad enough being VP, I don’t have the patience Kyle has. He gets to know all the members and their families. He could tell you their kids’ names, wives, girlfriends, all that shit. Me, I like it simple, and I like Kyle in charge. My brother is the heart of this MC. I’m its protector.
“Is he all right?” asks Rocky.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Smokey’s body?” asks Arrow.
“The pit, in the shed. And we have a guy in the pit. He might be useful in tracking down Yvette. He’s her son.”
“So, Lola’s brother?” asks Arrow.
“Yeah. As for Smokey, we can give him a proper send-off out there. Do it Viking style.”
Arrow nods and one side of his mouth turns up. “He’d like that.”
“Yes, he would.”
Kyle
I’m sitting on the edge of my bed with a shoebox from the closet full of Lola’s trinkets and photographs. There are pictures of her and a baby, who I’m guessing is Logan. But it could be anyone. There’s one image where she’s standing with her arm around her mother’s neck, and they are both smiling. They are younger and look happy as they smile for the camera. There’s a knock at my door.
Sean pokes his head in. “You good, man?”
I hold up the picture of Lola and her mother. “Found a photo.”
Sean nods, sits beside me, and takes the photograph from my hand. “You need sleep, brother.”
“Later.”
Sean shakes his head. “Nope, now, or you’ll pass out. One hour. You can take that.”
“Sean, I’m not sure I can sleep.”
He opens his hand and has a pill in the palm of it. “Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Sleep.”
I chuckle. “Way to be forthcoming.”
Sean smiles. “Brother, you need sleep. You aren’t thinking clearly. That meeting we had just now, you nea
rly fucked yourself over it. Sleep. I promise I won’t let you sleep for more than an hour. There’s too much to do.”
“One hour!”
“You want some help?” Sean asks, holding out his hand with the pill in it.
“No, brother.”
Sean slaps me on my back and leaves the room. I fall back on the bed and peer up at the ceiling. My mind is filled with thoughts of Lola and how fucked up this mess is. I close my eyes, not expecting to sleep.
The next thing I know, Sean is back, tapping my leg. “Yo, brother, wake up.”
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I open my eyes. “How long?”
“Two hours.” I frown at him and sit up. “Yeah, I lied, and I didn’t see the point in you being up and around if we didn’t have anything. We’ve got a solid lead on Yvette, so let’s ride.”
“Did you sleep?” I stand and walk into the bathroom and splash my face with water.
“Nope.”
“You’ve been up as long as me, yeah?”
“Yeah, but I’ll sleep later.” Sean cracks his knuckles and tilts his head to the side. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?” I wipe my face off with a towel.
“Maddock, Cherie, Jamie, and Beth are here.”
“What the fuck?”
Maddock is my brother and Cherie is his woman. Jamie is my brother, and Beth is Sean’s.
“I rang Beth to check-in. She told Jamie, who—”
“Rang Maddock,” I finish for him.
“Yep.”
“Did you tell them everything?” Sean looks at the floor and nods. “Jesus, Sean.”
“Hey, technically I didn’t. I told Beth who told—”
“Shut up. Come on, blabbermouth, let’s talk to the family.”
Sean grins. “Mad is angry.”
“I don’t answer to Maddock.”
I walk back out into the clubhouse. Cherie is sitting on Maddock’s lap, Beth is next to Jamie, and Angus is with Logan and Lochlan over near the bar.
I point at Logan. “Get away from the bar.”
“Ahh, sleeping beauty awakes.” Laughs Angus.
I quirk an eyebrow at him, which makes him laugh harder. Maddock taps Cherie’s leg, and she moves so he can stand. He takes three steps toward me, opens his arms, and throws them around me. Then, in a low voice, so that only I can hear, he says, “Why didn’t you call?”
Spark of Hope: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 3: An MC/Band of Brothers Romance Page 9