“Aren’t I supposed to be watching Sakura?” I ask Damon, making sure he knows I’m not keen on leaving Sakura.
“Yeah, well, you seem to be watching her ass. Figured you could take a break and someone else can take over.”
“Excuse me?” I growl. No brother in here better think he can stare at her ass. If they do, I’ll do the same to them as I will to Lucian if he dares to fuck with her.
Damon raises his eyebrows, “You will take your ass wherever the fuck I tell you to. Hell, maybe I’m rethinking this assignment with Sakura. Who’d you suggest I put with her instead, Chaz or Dixon?” Chaz or Dixon? Is he serious? They’ll work their way into her pussy and use her like a whore.
“I’m sorry. I . . .” I go quiet for a moment while I divert my eyes over to the woman, “I have a thing for her, Prez, and all due respect. I don’t want anyone touching her. If they do, I might be liable to rip their hand off.”
“You claiming her, Mouser?” He asks lowly, planting his arms on the arm of the couch.
“Officially, not yet? Unofficially, anyone who touches her will have to deal with me. You catch me?”
“I got you. I’ll make sure the brothers know not to fuck with her. It’s not often a man claims a woman before he’s patched in.”
“I’m not an average man,” I gently remind him.
“True. Get your ass out on this run with Cobra. He saw something that was concerning and we need eyes out on the road.”
“You got it,” I say, rising from the couch. Cobra’s leaning directly next to the clubhouse door so I head over his way. “Heard we need to take a ride,”
“Damn straight. You need any ammo?”
“We gonna need it?” I ask Cobra.
He snickers and shrugs, “Depends how I’m feelin’.”
Shit. He’s the craziest fucker in this club, that’s for damn sure. The two of us walk out and get on our bikes. I assumed Cobra was gonna tell me where we were going, or what we were doing but his ass decided to speed off ahead of me. What a bastard.
Cobra and I head up the interstate until we’re just north of Coyote Springs and we hit a long stretch of desert. He makes a sharp left and I follow him down a gravel road until he stops and turns off his bike. I follow his lead, shut my ignition off and prop my kickstand, following him while he walks down the slight slope. However, I notice he’s crouching and almost ask until I see a group of motorcycles heading this way.
We’re elevated up a bit, so I look below us and see there’s a fire burning with a man standing a few feet away from it. He looks familiar and I swear I’ve seen him before. Fuck, I can’t remember where. I’m sure something will jog my memory soon.
“Wanna tell me what we’re doing?” I whisper to Cobra, kneeling down close to the ground so we’re not spotted.
“We’re just observing these fucks and seeing what my old man is up to.” He replies, pulling something from his pocket. It looks like a satellite dish hooked up to some earbuds and Cobra slides one into his ear and offers me the other. I take it, place it in my ear and listen.
Boots crunching on the stone below us can be heard like it’s happening right in front of our eyes. The reality is it’s a good hundred or so feet away, but the greetings between the men are heard clearly as well. Shit, where has Cobra been hiding a device like this.
“Wait. Did you say old man? Your father’s in a club?” I question, finally putting the pieces together.
Cobra gives a curt nod, “More like sperm donor, but yes. The big sack of shit is my father.” I shift my eyes from the smaller guys and see someone who reminds me of the Mountain from Game of Thrones. Holy fuck.
“What are they doing in our territory?” I question, obviously able to tell these guys are trouble. They give me some serious vibes that they’re up to no good.
“Not sure, but if you shut up maybe we can find out.” Cobra snaps.
“Heard you have information for us, fella.” Cobra’s father chuckles in a sadistic way.
The man standing in front of the fire takes a step forward. “You’re right, Titan. I have some good shit for you.”
“This better be good. I drove a fuck of a long way to hear this face-to-face like you wanted. Now spit it out and give me what I’ll be takin’ back to my Prez.” Titan sneers.
“One of my boys gets hired to track people down. You know that club in Vegas, the one who’s claimed the territory since the Demons of Hell were eradicated? They have someone. Someone important.”
“I don’t know why the fuck you’re shuttin’ your trap. Keep talkin’.”
“I would Titan but money is what talks to me. My guy hasn’t taken the job yet or alerted the family we found what precious thing has been lost to them. They’re offering to pay a heavy fee to anyone who brings her back alive. I’m simply letting you know because you’re a businessman, aren’t you Titan? I figured you’d appreciate the opportunity to take this job before my guy does. Imagine what the money could do for your club.”
“Hmm. What do you want for the information?”
“As I said, money talks. You give me a finder’s fee and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” The guy tells Titan.
Titan raises his hand and one of the guys behind him comes walking up with a duffel bag. He takes it from who I’m going to assume is a prospect and looks back to the guy selling him information. “Will this suffice?”
“Yes.” Titan tosses the bag to the man across from him and he throws it behind him to one of his armed guards while the other sticks right there with him.
“Spill it.”
“The Reapers MC have Sakura Kobayashi.”
“Okay, they have some Chinese chick. What the fuck does that mean to us? Give me my money back.”
The man across from Titan chuckles, “No, no. She’s Japanese.”
“I won’t even waste my breath any longer,” Titan yells, obviously displeased. He begins to charge toward the guy selling him information and his man behind him points his gun at Titan’s head.
“She’s the daughter of the Emperor, and rumored Yakuza leader. They’re offering five million to anyone who brings her back. Rumor has it she ran from them and they’re desperate to get her back.”
Titan grabs the man by his collar and then stops, immediately releasing him. “You said she’s with the Reapers?”
“Yes, I did. I figured that information would be very important to you.”
“Fuck, that piece of shit is Vinny.” Cobra hisses out. Vinny is a guy the club had some business with a while back. He hooked the club up with fake passports and shit, but I thought that’s all he was doing. Seems like the fucker has a lot of other side businesses.
“We need to get back to Damon. He needs to know this shit, soon.”
“Normally I don’t agree with people below me like you, but yeah, you’re right. We just need to wait for these guys to get lost first and then we’ll head back to the club.” Yep, Cobra’s the biggest dick in this club. Fuckin’ pisses me off how he treats me like shit just because I’m a prospect.
Chapter Twelve
If they stand behind you, protect them. If they stand beside you, respect them. If they stand against you, defeat them.
~ Every Wishes
Mouser
On the way back to the club I kept trying to figure out what led Vinny to betray the club. As far as I knew we paid him well for everything he was providing us with. Better than well, actually. Damon handed over a pretty penny to that slimy fucker. Now it’s clear as day loyalty means nothing to him. He’d rather just have the cash.
Cobra and I just parked our bikes and went into the clubhouse to find Damon wasn’t there. Instead he’s back in his trailer with Kat, so we walked up to his door, knocked on it and waited until he let us in.
It’s my first time being in their house, but one thing I can say is how they have a twisted sense of style. Eclectic wouldn’t accurately describe it. There’s a mixture between day of the dead and creepy gothic shit up
in here. “What do you have for me?” Damon asks, walking up to his fridge he opens it and hands us each a beer.
Cobra and I both twist off the caps, chuck them in his trash can and I take a sip while Cobra leads the conversation. “You’re not gonna like it, Prez. This shit is . . .” Cobra starts off saying but halts midway. No matter how he tries to prepare Damon for what’s going on, it won’t do anything but piss him off. When you trust someone, even if that person isn’t in the club, but is an individual we work with— it fucks with us. Whenever you’re betrayed it’ll fuck with you, whether its business or personally.
“Spit it out already,” Damon snarls, taking a seat on his couch. Cobra and I follow his lead planting our asses on his couch too.
“Vinny flipped on us. Somehow he got information Sakura was with us and he sold the information.”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about? I sent you to see what those Lucifer’s Heretics were up to after we got the tip they were meeting someone up north. What does Vinny have to do with this?” Damon grumbles, seemingly growing more irritated.
“Prez, Vinny is the person they met with.” I speak up, hoping I don’t get my ass reamed for speaking out of turn. Cobra is the full patch so he should be taking the lead on this.
Damon rises, throws his hands up in the air and in a fueled rage punches his fist through the wall. The crackling sound is enough to cause Kat to run out into the living room. “What happened? Is everyone okay?” She immediately asks before she spots her husband with his hand through the wall. “Did you seriously just punch a hole in our house?” Her tone shifts from concerned to downright pissed.
“Leave it, Kat. Club business.” Damon instantly responds. Even if you didn’t know him, you’d be able to tell now is not the time to push his buttons.
“Fuck club business. You don’t get to dismiss me like I’m some whore, so how about we try that again, hmm?” Kat spits back. There’s only one person here who has enough balls to go up against him— his very own wife.
“That piece of shit motherfucker Vinny did a one-eighty on us. He’s working with our enemy now. Cobra and Mouser were just telling me about it.” Damon explains, pulling his hand from the wall he goes over to his wife and kisses her on the forehead. “Look, I’m sorry. My anger got the best of me and I’m sorry I worried you. Go back to bed and we’ll chat when I get done with the guys. Alright?”
Kat nods, “Okay. I love you. Do me a favor and put some ice on that, though.”
“Will do, baby. Will do. Love you too,” Damon replies while his wife heads back to their bedroom. He turns back to Cobra and I. “Alright, fill me in on everything and don’t leave out one detail.”
“Vinny met with my piece of shit father, told him one of his men heard about a job posting with the Yakuza searching for their missing daughter. He made sure to tell my father how the bounty is pretty fuckin’ high and he’d give him the information on where Sakura is for a small finder’s fee of sorts,” Cobra goes on.
“The vile bastard accepted and gave him cash right on the spot. Told him Sakura was with us, and my father seemed interested as fuck to be getting a one up on us. The interesting part is they want Sakura alive. I’m wonderin’ why that would be, and then I’m wonderin’ how Vinny knew Sakura was here.”
“That’s easy. Vinny was here yesterday hand delivering me some fake IDs. I had gotten one for Sakura as well.” Damon fills in the blanks.
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath, finishing off my beer in one chug.
Cobra moves his head to stare at me, “What’s gotten into you?”
“Mouser’s got a thing for Sakura. She’s off limits.” Damon tells him, and the smug smile Cobra’s known for crosses his face. He lifts his hand and slaps me on the back.
“Getting an import I see. Good man. I’ve heard exotic pussy can be nice. How’s her cunt, super juicy?”
Without even thinking I go from worried to full on savage mode. “You talk about her like that again and I’ll break every bone in your fuckin’ body.”
Cobra cackles like my threat is the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “Damn, you weren’t kiddin’,” He says to Damon, “Alright. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll be solid with you brother and I mean that.” I wasn’t expecting to get Cobra’s stamp of approval, but I’ll take it.
“I was hopeful getting the Steeles to put in a direct order with Lucian would save Sakura from going through some unnecessary bullshit. Looks like she doesn’t get a choice now, but I meant what I said to her a couple months back. She is a Reaper. Not just because she saved Orion, but she is Saffron’s little sister. That grandfathers her into the club in my opinion. That being said, we’ll lay down whatever we have to to ensure her safety.” Damon states.
“What do you want us to do in the meantime, Prez?” Cobra’s quick to ask the question I was wondering.
Damon shrugs, “The only thing we can do is be prepared. If I hear anything about the Lucifer’s Heretics coming into town again, I’m gonna want you to take point on it Cobra. We’re gonna listen and see what the fuck they’re up to first. I’m not gonna be stupid and give an order that’ll get one of us killed. Everything I know about these guys says they’re unpredictable, which only means we need to be a few steps ahead of them. You feel me?”
“Yeah, we could just fuckin’ blow up their clubhouse or somethin’. That would deal with most of our problems.” Cobra suggests. Damon makes a disgusted face at him, but I know that’s only because we’re still recovering from when the Bears MC did that to our charter in Billings, Montana a few months back. Now that it’s June they’re actually making some headway on the construction and we’re rebuilding.
We both wait on Damon to respond, but he doesn’t. Instead he’s quiet as can be. “I know I shouldn’t be makin’ suggestions, but it might be easier to just go in hot and heavy one night when they least expect it. Think about it. They don’t know jack shit about us havin’ anything on them.”
Damon nods, almost like he’s agreeing with me. “Let me think it over and I’ll get back to you both in the morning. Alright? It’s been a long day and we all need our rest.”
“You got it, Prez.” I instantly reply.
“See ya tomorrow,” Cobra tells Damon as he rises with his beer bottle in hand and we head toward the door and exit his house. The sound of the door being shut tells me we’re both clear to speak freely.
“Shit, we’re about to get some action around here sooner than I thought.” Cobra chuckles, walking off into the distance. Meanwhile, I head straight toward Sakura’s house. Damon was right about one thing. It’s been a long ass day.
Chapter Thirteen
I suppose I love my scars because they have stayed with me longer than most people have
~ Nikita Gill
Sakura
Sitting on a pillow in the middle of my living room, sipping a lemon sour, I wish I could be in Japan right now. The last few months have been taxing, therefore I find moments like this where I crave to be in Japan, standing in front of a jinja, or shrine. I want nothing more than to pray to the kami for strength and good fortune, hoping they’ll help me through my struggles and fears.
Truthfully, there is so much I miss about Japan but this is of the most importance. My parents are somewhat religious but in my eyes they don’t fully honor their faith. If they did neither of them would be as corrupt as they are. Before I left, I prayed to the kami to save them from the said corruption, the evil spirits, or the things they’re doing of their own free will. Though the kami are powerful, I don’t think they will meddle in the choices of my parents, no matter how horrid they are.
So, I sit here, sipping on this drink and trying to feel a little bit better even though I’m homesick. The knob on the front door turns and in comes Mouser, a bit of dirt or sand smudged on his face. He looks exhausted, but the moment his eyes land on me it’s as though he’s had a shot of espresso. “Rough evening?” I ask.
He chuckles for a moment wal
king toward me and sits beside me. “You have no idea.”
“You can share if you want,” I suggest, not opposed to him venting with me.
“I don’t think I can. If I do, Damon would kick my ass.” He chuckles, leaning his head back against the seat of the couch. He could’ve easily chosen to sit on the couch instead of below it, so it’s interesting to me. Did he sit here simply because I was on the floor too?
I realize after a moment that he didn’t meet my eyes when he was speaking. Growing up I didn’t pay too much attention to what my mother taught me. I think it’s because I knew something was wrong with her morals, but I remember as a child one lesson she taught me. I might’ve been twelve or so and she had me go with her to meet her men. A man lied to her and I can remember every precise movement she had when she picked up her katana that had been passed down through our family over many generations and severed his head. The way it slowly fell off and hit the ground with a thud. The way his eyes widened as if he knew what was happening and he tried to back away, but knew it was too late.
She knelt down beside me and told me that when a man tries to hide something from you, he won’t even have the decency to look you in the eyes. “What are you trying to hide from me?” There’s no point in trying to tip-toe around. I can tell he’s keeping something from me and I’d rather know.
“Why do you think I’m hiding something?” Mouser questions.
“I don’t think anything. I know you are.” I retort, looking right at him.
He takes in a deep breath, picks up his head from the couch cushion and looks directly at me. “We know some individuals who were made aware of your whereabouts, by someone who worked for the club. Cobra and I discovered it this evening and we took it to Damon.”
At first what he says doesn’t faze me, but just as I think I’m okay my hands begin to shake with an unreal fear that rocks me to my core. My hand shakes so much my drink is almost pouring over the sides so Mouser takes it from my hand, sets it on top of the coffee table and takes my hands in his.
Mouser (Reapers MC Book 9) Page 6