Havoc

Chapter 3

Simon

“It’s a rumor, but you know Kenna. Anything for attention.” Calli had just finished her story about how Kenna had been attacked. Her father never mentioned it, but leave it to her sister to make Kenna sound like a crazy person. “Hopefully, your old friend,” she waved her hand around, “you know…”

“Kurt?”

“Yes, that’s his name. Hopefully, he can get the truth on what happened.”

Kenna hadn’t called me back because she had been attacked. Made sense.

“So, what’s it like being in a room with him?” She nodded at Trigger, who had just arrived. I’d asked him to meet me here for a quick chat.

“Intense.” We watched him stop and talk to Minnie, who had intercepted him at the entrance. She seemed upset, by the way her hands moved about in front of her as she talked. Trigger nodded and looked around and caught my look. His face wore the same murderous expression he always seemed to have whenever I was around. Maybe he always looked that way.

“Just intense?” Calli wanted more, so I moved my attention to her before she started to pout.

“Picture being in a room with someone after you just watched them slaughter a bunch of people, then you have to share a meal with him. Your mind spins with the horror of it, your nerves are shot, and your stomach begs to turn inside out.”

“I’m really glad I asked.” She made a disgusted face. “Well, on that note, I’m going to let you and that,” she looked at Trigger, “get to your meeting. I need sleep. See you later?” She blinked down at me, and I nodded. “Kiss, kiss.” She made the motion and left as Trigger arrived.

Here we go.

I stood and gave a polite nod, remembering he didn’t like to be touched.

“Thank you for meeting me so late.” I glanced at the time on my watch. It was well past three in the morning, but it was Vegas, after all, and no one here ever thought much about the time. The Devil’s Reach were basically nocturnal, anyway.

“You said this had to do with Brick’s brother?”

“Yes and no.” I swallowed hard when his green eyes pierced mine.

“I don’t like being blindsided.” He rested his elbows heavily on the table, and I saw his knuckles were battered. I wondered where the body was hidden. “You have two minutes.” He raised a hand to the waitress, and she rushed right over. “Whiskey, neat.”

“Yes, sir.” She batted her eyes at him, and he turned to look at me. He only had eyes for his wife. That was the only part I admired about him.

“We have a problem.” I don’t know why I started so aggressively. “I did some digging on the name you gave me, and it turns out Luis Aguilar is dead.”

“One less, more for the rest.” He shrugged and handed the waitress too much money. She grinned when he waved off his change.

“Trouble is he died a month before Martin Castillo.” I waited, but Trigger didn’t react or miss a beat. He just sipped his drink slowly and continued to stare at me. Christ, he was intense. “So, how did he kill Castillo from the grave?”

“I’ve seen it happen,” he muttered, and I wondered what he meant.

“So, you realize he couldn’t have killed him? Do you have any thoughts on what might have happened that day?”

“No.” He still held eye contact, and my body started to overheat. This was not a man to go up against. My hand shook slightly when I pulled out a photo and slid it over to him.

“I find that interesting because you guys were there.”

Trigger plucked the photo up and squinted at the background where a man stood in a Devil’s Reach cut.

“Give me a day. I’ll see what I can find out.” He downed the rest of his drink, giving me nothing to go on. “And Brick’s brother?” I should have known he’d still ask.

“I got word he’s living in Washington, but I don’t know for sure. Here is the last known address.” I handed him a piece of paper.

“Tell me somethin’.” He took the paper and put it in the breast pocket of his cut. “Where’s the hothead lawyer? Somethin’ tells me he wouldn’t like you talkin’ to me without him.”

“I thought we should talk before he got involved.” I went with the truth. “We all know Cameron has a temper. I thought it best we met first before he did something we might regret.”

He smirked, and I found myself leaning back in my chair for distance. “I’ll be in touch.” He stood and left without so much as a look over his shoulder. For a man with so many enemies, he sure was confident with his back to an open room.

I slept in Cameron’s office that night. A part of me was worried Trigger would have me killed, and being up here with the security guys made me feel better. Plus, Cameron would kill me if he heard about my late-night talk with Trigger without him. It would look better if I was here when he arrived.

The light turned on, and I squinted and adjusted to the beam of light. Cameron looked at me with a twisted expression as he tossed his briefcase on a chair.

“Don’t you have your own place?”

“Yes, with a mattress,” I stretched and felt my back crack, “but I need to talk to you.”

“Talk fast. I have a meeting in five with Jim.”

“Cancel it. You’re going to want to hear this.”

“Fuck.” He picked up his phone and made the call to Jim. “So, talk.”

“Not here.”

We headed downstairs, and I led the way to a small breakfast place I knew about on the Strip. We didn’t have much time, and we needed to figure this out. The café overlooked a man-made lake where you could rent little rowboats and pretend that you were in Louisiana or some shit. God, people paid a lot of money to pretend.

“What’s this about?” I felt my heart jump when I thought I spotted Trigger in the distance. Was he following me?

I handed Cameron another copy of the photo since Trigger took the last one and explained what I’d discovered. That Trigger’s information on who killed Castillo couldn’t have happened. His face got more and more red as I went on.

“That fucking prick lied to my face.”

“It seems that way, yes.”

“Seems that way?” He didn’t like that I wasn’t completely on his side, pissed off as he was.

“I only say that because there’s a small chance his guy could have lied to him. Gave him bad information.”

“You think,” Cameron leaned in close, “that Trigger, the president of the DR, a major motorcycle club whose territory spreads through the U.S.—fuck that, all over the world,” he paused for a breath, “has people in place who aren’t a hundred and twenty-two percent correct before they hand over information?” He raised his hands. “I think not, Simon. You know them. You know what they’re capable of.”

“All right.” I shook my head and knew he had a valid point. As much as Cameron was all temper and aggression, there was a reason he was such a good lawyer. He could spot a criminal’s mannerisms a mile away. I had to admit he was probably spot on about Trigger. “So, the question is why did he lie to us?”

I pointed out the window as Trigger came into view. He was on the phone but lowered it when something caught his attention. Grim walked toward him with his two identical dogs slightly in front of him. Neither of them was on a leash. As the dogs reached Trigger, they looked behind them at Grim, then both sat as if on command. It made an impressive sight.

“Maybe the question is who is he lying for.” Cameron’s tone made the hair on my neck stand up.