by Quinn, Vera
“The difference is that she married me voluntarily, all I had to do was ask.” I know that is going to stick in Cassius’s head for a while.
“You and I could be good for each other. You wash my back and I wash yours kind of thing. You’re a straight talker and I like that.” Cassius is trying a different angle, but I’m not about to fall for it.
“No. Sunshine stays clean of crews just like Rico’s club stays out of our territory.” I won’t waver on it.
“Fair enough,” Cassius says. “What did you mean about traitors?”
“Banger may have been put in our club by you to get intel, but he was also working for Rico. He got my brother hooked on drugs and blew up his family. Him and Kim together. We took our pound of flesh from Banger but Kim we just locked in a room until tonight.” I sum it up for Cassius.
“Banger still breathing?” Cassius asks.
“Yes, he’ll live. Two of my brothers are delivering them to your crib in Boulder as we speak. Our business is on the right side of the law. We may bend the laws, but we don’t break them unless we have no choice. We enforce the law in Sunshine.” Cassius and I are still staring each other down.
“Then we are square. Bethany is yours, and all my crew will be out of Sunshine as soon as I verify we have Banger and Kim. Be warned that Rico won’t let this go. He doesn’t know that I’m aware that he not only had a business deal with me for Bethany, but he also has one with Blade. Blade and I are not stupid men. There will be a price on Rico’s head as soon as I deal with a couple of traitors.” Cassius has no reason to tell me this. “Our business is completed, and I am going to enjoy the fried catfish and slaw this diner has. Good night, Krill.” Cassius waves to the waitresses. I get up and Whistler and I walk out of the diner. When we’re outside and standing by our bikes, I look at Whistler and he shakes his head.
“That went about as well as it could have,” Whistler says.
“If we can just believe Cassius. We have church first thing in the morning to update everyone and discuss what we do about Rico now,” I tell the brothers.
“Another day, another ass to kick,” Raven says as we mount our bikes. I just look forward to going home to my family.
Chapter Fourteen
Rico
The new prospect is going to find himself dead for waking me up at this hour. Last night’s party didn’t die down until after two this morning and it’s only a little after six now. This better be a life or death situation or the prospect’s life expectancy just declined. I pulled myself out of the bed and left Jinx there alone. That woman isn’t much to look at, but she can suck better than a Hoover and doesn’t shy away from me when I bring my knife out to play. I think the woman is a damn pain junky. She gets off on the cuts more than I do. I am dressed and I see Nutz coming out of his room and Blade is waiting at the end of the hall on us. This must be good for it to take us all.
“Did that fucking prospect tell either of you more than he did me?” I ask the two.
“Just said there was someone dropped off at the front gate, but he couldn’t tell who it was,” Blade says, looking at Nutz and not me. What the fuck?
“What the hell does that mean? Why doesn’t he just fucking ask the person?” Do they know what time it is? Neither man answers me as we walk through the clubhouse. The place is a fucking pigsty. Empty bottles and trash everywhere that doesn’t have a body lying there. I walk out the front door after the other two and get on my bike. I’ll be damned if I walk all the way to the gate this early in the morning. I turn and see that Blade and Nutz are already halfway to the gate. I gun my bike and go past the two idiots. I see the two prospects looking outside the gate. I park my bike and walk up to the gate to see what the two are looking at and the sight I see almost makes me hurls. The two bodies have been mutilated and the man has been burned. The woman has only half a face left but I know that other half of the face. It’s Kim, the woman that was working with Banger. I open the gate and walk outside with Blade and Nutz behind me. The two are sitting up but are slumped over. I kick the man and he falls over. There’s no doubt they’re both dead since Kim only has half a face and the man’s throat has been cut. I can’t recognize his face, but I know the tattoo on his right arm, it’s Banger. The Troubled Fathoms MC have crossed the line of breaking the law. I would bet this is the work of Raven. The man’s empty eyes show that he has no soul. All the men in the Troubled Fathoms can be ruthless but this kind of torture is more my style than Krill’s. I didn’t think Krill would let his club do something like this.
“Did you see who dropped these bodies off?” I look at the first prospect and wait for an answer.
“I was walking the perimeter,” he tells me. I look at the other one.
“I stepped around the guard shack and took a piss when I heard one of those low-riding cars pull up outside. It was Red, Lip, and Mouth of Cassius’s crew. I didn’t see Mouth, but it was his ride,” the prospect says.
“You just let them dump two dead bodies in front of our gates without stopping them.” The prospect opens his mouth to explain but I pull my gun and shoot him before he can. I don’t need stupid in my club and I just did the world a favor by ridding it of one more stupid person. The other prospect shuffles on his feet. That’s right motherfucker, be nervous, and it may not ever be you on the ground bleeding out. I look at the prospect.
“Get the other two prospects down here and burn these bodies out in the woods where we dump. Bury the ashes after they burn and be damn sure there is nothing left, or you’ll be joining them.” The prospect gets on his phone to get his help here. Blade is busy texting on his phone.
“I have someone coming to man the gate and a brother to go with the prospects to make sure the job is done right. This means either the Troubled Fathoms MC is working with Cassius or we have a price on our heads for double-crossing Cassius and his crew. They’ll try to pick us off one by one. You better find Bethany and Cage and bring them here, so they’ll be safe. I’m ready to claim Bethany. I’m tired of waiting.” Blade has an edge to his voice. I just need to find my bitch of a sister because it seems my dilemma of who is going to get her has worked itself out. We are going to be needing Blade and Nutz’s contacts.
“Then get your ass out there and find the bitch. It’s time to press Jen for answers. If anyone knows what Bethany is up to, it’s her. I need her to get on the phone with Cassius and get us some information on what he knows.” We don’t need Cassius as an enemy, but I guess that is impossible now. These bodies were a message. Horse and Skin walk up to the guard house and we leave them there with the three prospects to do the dirty work. Blade is on his phone the whole time we are walking back to the clubhouse. I text Jen to get her ass to the bar. Nutz is unusually quiet. That’s okay with me for now, I just need some answers from Jen.
I walk straight to the bar and grab a bottle of whiskey and a glass. Nutz goes behind the bar and starts that damn coffee machine and makes him and Blade a cup of coffee. Jen comes walking in with nothing on but a damn t-shirt. The woman has no sense at all walking around this damn clubhouse dressed like that and she has no damn shoes on.
“What do you want this early in the morning?” Jen whines.
“What haven’t you told me about Bethany? If anyone knows anything, it’s you. I want you talking to a lawyer today about the custody thing with Bethany. Cage is your son and I want him back here. I don’t know why you did this shit anyway. Who in the hell signs there kid over to someone else?” I ask the stupid bitch.
“I never wanted that boy to begin with, he was your brainstorm, remember? You wanted something to hang over the heads of the Troubled Fathoms MC. Then after Cage was born, you needed me to keep your business associates satisfied and happy. Bethany has raised Cage and is the perfect mommy type. She made sure the secret of Cage was kept quiet. I couldn’t keep tabs on her and spread my legs for every man that you brought to me, so I became the sister that you whore out and Bethany became Cage’s mom. Those papers are airtigh
t and the only way they can be contested is if Bethany is proved unfit as a parent and we both know that won’t be happening. She dotes on Cage. It’s sickening to watch,” Jen whines on.
“And that is the reason why you’re just a whore and Bethany is the woman that men want to keep,” Blade butts in. Then Blade looks at me. “Rico, it’s time that we talk, and I mean the truth this time.” I stare at the man.
“I’d watch that tone, Blade. I’ve had about enough for one morning.” It may be time for me to get rid of Blade. I’m in no mood for anyone’s mouth.
“Cassius knows that Banger was not only working for him but you too, that’s a double-cross in Cassius’s eyes. Seems the club you said was too stupid to notice what Banger and that woman Kim were doing, weren’t so stupid after all. They found out who Banger is, and Bethany is now married to Krill. Cassius is assuming that Bethany and Cage are at the Troubled Fathoms’ clubhouse since he had seen the marriage license himself when Krill and Cassius had a little sit-down last night.” No! This can’t be true. They don’t have enough sense between the two of them. They have just fucked me royally. I knew it was a possibility, and the loss of Banger is nothing to me. Kim was a good fuck, but there are plenty of other women. The thing that bothers me is why Blade has been talking to Cassius without me knowing. Why do those two have their heads together?
“Don’t get any itchy fingers, Rico, or you will be the one left on the floor. I’m not some stupid prospect or drugged out like Grater. No, your explanation of what happened in your office with Grater didn’t fly with any of the brothers in the club. I also know that you not only promised Bethany to me but to Cassius as well. That leaves the both of us lied to by you. You’ve been using the club for your own gains and to your advantage, and that’s the reason that there will be church this afternoon to take a vote to take your patch and cut. The Spirit of Arms MC wants a new president and that president will be me. Don’t worry though, I have every intention of making Bethany a widow very soon so she can take her place as my ol’ lady. We’ll raise Cage as our oldest child. Oh, and by the way, Cassius has a twenty-five-thousand-dollar reward for your dead body. I decided to give you an out so you can run. There’s a thing about watching a man run for his life like the snake that he is, but Cassius wants Jen for payments owed to him by you for services rendered. I agreed and now Cassius and the Spirit of Arms MC have a working relationship. If I was you, Rico, I would get on your bike and put some miles between you and Cassius’s crew. Oh, that’s right, they are everywhere, that’s why you thought they could help you more than I could. Well good luck with that. Nutz, lock Jen in her room until Cassius sends someone for her,” Blade says maliciously.
“I should kill you where you stand,” I tell the man that I underestimated.
“You’ll be dead before you can get your gun in your hand,” Nutz says with his gun aimed on me.
“Rico, do something. Cassius will sell me to the highest bidder when he is through with me,” Jen whines. I don’t have enough time to worry about that whore. I move toward my room and I don’t look back. I have some money hidden in there and I will need my extra weapons. I can head south and then cut back north. I can get to Banger’s family and they’ll help me come back here and take Blade out. I will get my club back. I have one stop to make before I leave town and to pay back an old friend.
Chapter Fifteen
Krill
Church was put off until this morning and we are here early because everyone has jobs to get to. I pound my gavel for the meeting to come to order.
“I need to bring everyone up to speed on what has happened over the last couple of days. Dra is now in rehab and we will not be able to have contact with him for fourteen days. That’s the detox period, but after that he can have daily phone calls and visitation on the weekend. I expect all of us to do our part in the visitation. I know he screwed up, but he is a brother, regardless. Being a family means loving brothers through the tough times too. He will face his punishment when he returns. Is everyone on the same page with this issue? That’s how this club operates.” I look around the table and everyone nods their head in agreement. “Scout, did the trip go as planned?”
“Everything went smoothly. I will be visiting Dra every weekend after detox and anyone that wants to accompany me is welcome. Dra needs our support now.” Scout restates my thoughts.
“I’ll be going every weekend also,” I say again to drive the thought home to the brothers.
“I also need to let everyone that already doesn’t know that Bethany and I were married yesterday. I will be inking her this week and ordering her leather to make her my ol’ lady. Everyone knows she has been raising my son, so we made it legal yesterday afternoon.” I see smiles on a few of the brothers’ faces.
“That was fast, Brother. Are you sure that Bethany isn’t working with Rico? Did you have her checked out thoroughly?” Sanity asks.
“She is clean as a whistle. Never even had a parking ticket. She finished her high school education at home to take care of Cage and the woman has had no social life to find except that child. I went and talked to her neighbors and they all had good things to say about her and Cage. Most of the people that live in the apartment building are elderly people and they all had good things to say. The doors I knocked on that were more party people didn’t even know who she was. Bethany and Cage stayed to themselves until Rico or Jen would visit.” Bandy updates the brothers on what he found. “No checking account or credit cards and Rico paid the rent and utilities after Bethany quit her job to be a full-time caretaker of Cage. Until then, she had one job as a waitress in a small diner part-time. There’s either nothing there to find or you need to find a better man to find it.”
“Bethany has been nothing but honest with me. I pay attention to what she says, and she has never slipped up and lied on anything. She brought Cage here and I have been trying to get visitation for over a year now. I’m grateful to her but I’m not a fool. I have been weighing everything that she has been telling me, checking and rechecking it. Cage has told me the same things she has. Cassius confirmed at our meeting last night that Bethany was telling the truth about Rico having her given to two different men just waiting on the best deal for him. That alone would have gotten her protection from the Troubled Fathoms MC. Our club won’t see a woman treated that way. I wasn’t asking permission to marry Bethany. I was just stating the facts. She’s mine and if she’s lying to me or has a hidden agenda then she will answer for that deception just like anyone else, but I will be asking the questions.” I look at Sanity to make sure he gets my message.
“You can’t blame me for asking the question. We had two traitors in our midst for months.” Sanity has just made my point.
“If it hadn’t been for Bethany, we would have never known that, or it would have in the least, taken us longer to make sure.” I look straight at Sanity.
“Point made,” Sanity says.
“Good. Now the meet with Cassius went better than I expected, but I’m still not sure we can trust anything the man says. We gave him Banger and Kim and he said that he and his crew would be out of Sunshine and that we were on good terms. Only time will tell but the principle at the high school said those cars that Cassius’s crew drives weren’t around campus so far today. I’ll take that as a good sign. Cassius did say that Rico would still be planning something. It seems the man has a backup plan with his VP, Blade, and his contacts with other clubs. Blade the vice president and Nutz the sergeant-at-arms were once independent nomads that worked with a lot of different clubs across the country. Brass, reach out to your contact in the Spirit of Arms MC and see if we can get a meeting on neutral territory just like we did with Cassius. If they want a war, then they can have one. We’ve spent too much time on this pissant club, and they have been a thorn in our sides for a lot of years. Years before my time. Trick and Dad could hash things out and there was no friction between the clubs but since Rico has been in charge, they keep bringing trouble our way. C
assius would have never been in Sunshine if it hadn’t been for Rico. It’s time Rico is neutralized with a long prison sentence or Cassius can take care of him.” The sooner the better.
“Have you heard from Maddie since she left? Did you arrange for some type of security?” Scout asks.
“Maddie hasn’t answered any of my texts, but I haven’t had time to give her a call. I did let her know in the text where Dra is at and that it will be two weeks before we can contact him. I did talk to Sarge and Maddie is at the ranch with Micah and him, so he has it covered, and they are all under his protection. If she goes to Dallas, then Tazer has her and if she goes to Oklahoma, then Devil says he has them covered. An escort will be on her in between any of the places. I also let Sarge know that if she decides to head home to give me a heads-up and I will meet them or come there to escort her and the children.” It’s not like Maddie to not answer my text so I am guessing that Maddie needs a few days to gather herself. I just hope she decides to give Dra another chance. I won’t interfere. It’s hard to watch a family fall apart, then again, I wasn’t here to watch it. I should have been and that is my burden to bear.
“I think Maudi, Cage, and Bethany should be on lockdown until we know what the fallout is going to be,” Scout speaks up and that’s already in place by me, but we will let the vote happen.
“I second it,” Brass speaks up.
“The move passes. All in favor?” Everyone raises their hand. “All against?” I go on, “The vote passes unanimously. That means that Maudi won’t be allowed to leave the clubhouse without two patched brothers with her at all times. I’ve spoken to Bethany and she knows that she and Cage are not to leave under any circumstances,” I let the brothers know.
“Is there any other business that we need to recognize at this time?” I ask the brothers.
“We have that protection run for the Swindell brothers at the end of the month that we still need to assign which brothers are going,” Bandy reminds us.