19. Get Bloody
Chapter 19
Get Bloody
Steel
Early Sunday morning, I left Simone sleeping in my bed.
While at the bonfire last night, I’d received a message from Jeremiah, a member of an Augusta street gang. Motorcycle clubs and street gangs didn’t work together very often, but I hadn’t shied away from doing things for street gangs in the past. With the threat from Corrupted Chrome, I’d cashed in markers with three different gangs.
Jeremiah’s message included the day and time for CCMC’s next drug supply arrival and the address where Knuckles routinely met his mistress, Farah. I’d heard that he always spent Saturday night somewhere near the Aragon Park area in Augusta and the address was in that neighborhood.
Since this could easily be a set-up from Jeremiah – there was no honor among criminals, thieves or otherwise – I drove the Tundra to the address, kept going, and parked at a small school at the end of the block.
There were no sidewalks in this neighborhood. The homes were older, brick construction, but not all of them were well-maintained. Knuckles rode a black Harley-Davidson Street Glide, and it sat in the driveway – parked backward no less, probably a futile effort to keep people from knowing he was there. This house appeared to be kept up, at least on the outside. The driveway had a sheen that likely came from a recent pressure wash, the bushes were trimmed, and a brick mailbox sat at the end of the drive.
There weren’t many trees in the neighborhood, so I couldn’t lurk for much longer. The front door opened, and I crouched behind the brick mailbox.
I heard the jangle of keys and slowly stood.
Knuckles zeroed in on me, and he reached for his saddlebag. “I should shoot your ass. But that would start a war.”
That went both ways. The easiest solution would be for me to shoot Knuckles right now, but there would be too much blow-back. Not just on the Devil Lancers, but also on Jeremiah and his crew for giving me the information.
In theory, nobody should know how I found Knuckles, but information had a way of getting out once someone was killed. Then I’d have Corrupted Chrome and Jeremiah gunning for me and my brothers.
I took a step forward. “You’re right.”
Knuckles had long russet brown hair that was pulled back in a low pony-tail. His beard had a smattering of gray hairs and looked like it could use some grooming. He frowned. “Torque’s a wildcard.”
The upside to Torque fucking any woman he met was that he told them all sorts of shit about himself. That shit became rumors which somehow became legend. Torque was only a wildcard with women.
If Knuckles took me out, Torque would find him and make him watch all his brothers die before flaying him and bleeding him dry.
“Why this power-play? You can’t expand in your own cities?”
Knuckles rolled his eyes at me. “Why should we, when you have what we want? And we can just take your customers. No need to waste our time laying the groundwork.”
“You can try,” I said.
“Already undercutting your prices on drugs in Augusta and other cities. It’s just a matter of time.”
He couldn’t keep that up forever, but I kept that to myself.
“You’re taking the lazy approach,” I muttered.
Knuckles crossed his arms on his chest. “What you see as lazy, I see as smart.”
I stepped forward again. “Not smart to wail on prostitutes. That gets around.”
His lips twisted. “Keeps the bitches in line.”
“It scares off the johns, too.”
He smiled. “No, they know they’re next if they fuck around with us. That’s where the Pussy Lancers fucked up.”
I ground my molars together at the insult to my club. He was wrong. Johns who didn’t pay or messed with the girls in any way got theirs. We didn’t have to beat the girls in our rotation to prove the point.
Knuckles put his hands on his hips. “Know what the best part is? We took out your best pimp, and ran off two of the top whores in your stable.”
Top whores. That was Tie’s idea. Every one of our prostitutes claimed to be the best one. He said it was basic marketing – fake it until you make it. If the girls said that shit enough not only would they believe it, but so would the clients. I’d thought it was ridiculous at the time, because how many johns were going to believe that bullshit? Now it seemed to have been a possible stroke of genius since Knuckles thought he’d targeted our best.
“Why did you send Scar after me for a meet?”
Knuckles threw a hand out. “Give up your drug territory.”
I widened my eyes in question. “Where? Here?”
Knuckles gave a single shake of his head. “Anywhere there’s a Devil Lancer chapter.”
“Why in the hell would we do that?”
“You got other businesses. We’re going to take your drug business. I’m giving you the chance to save face.”
I took a deep, quiet breath. “Right. I give up our drug business, then what? I saved face for you to move in on how many other dealings we have? Fuck off, Knuckles. That shit isn’t happening.”
He swung a leg over his bike and put the key in the ignition. “It’s going to get bloody.”
I took a step back. “Considering what you did to my brother, it already has. If you want us out of the drug trade, why attack two of our whores?”
Knuckles started his bike and shrugged. “Why not? It was fun.”
He walked his bike forward, twisted the handle to rev the engine and be an annoying show-off, then he roared off down the street. He turned right, and away from where I’d parked the truck.
I sat in the truck debating my next move. It was early enough, Simone should still be sleeping. For some reason, I didn’t want her to wake up with me not there. Being an MC princess, she probably wouldn’t bat an eye at my absence, but I wanted to be there when she woke up.
At the same time, I needed to meet with Torque, Tie, Nelson, Greco, and Tuscon at a minimum. Really, this demanded a full session of church.
I tapped out a quick text to Torque, Greco, and Tie telling them to get word to everyone about church at noon. Then, even though I could have texted, I wanted to fuck with Rafferty so I called him.
With a thick, husky voice, he answered on the first ring. “Hey, Steel.”
“Hey. You at the house?”
“Yeah,” he said, sounding groggy.
I nodded. “Do you know if Simone likes donuts?”
He wheezed out a laugh. “Yeah. She doesn’t like them, she loves them. If you have a mom-and-pop shop, those are normally her favorites, but otherwise, she can put away three or four Krispy Kremes on her own. Or at least she used to. Not sure with the pregnancy thing going on.”
I liked that she loved donuts so much. Knowing that, I wished I had time to drive across town to Belair Donuts, but that was a hike from where I was and then getting back to the house. “Krispy Kreme works since there’s one on my way. She gets up, tell her I went to get donuts. I’ll be back soon.”
“Awesome. Later, Steel.”
My phone rang in my hand. “Yo, Torque.”
“We’re having church while Circles is in a coma?” he asked.
I started up the truck. “I just met with Knuckles. They’re coming for our drug business in every city where we have a chapter. He said they beat Circles, Heather, and June for fun.”
“Fun?” he bit out.
“Yeah. I’m fucking pissed, and it’s time to retaliate.”
“We gotta warn the other chapters.”
“Yeah, you call Raleigh, Atlanta, Vegas, Richmond, Reno, and Milwaukee. Tell Tie to handle his six cities, and I’ll deal with the rest.”
“You on your way to the clubhouse?”
“No, I’ll be there around ten-fifteen.”
“What’s the hold up?”
“The hold up is that I’m in a shitty part of town, and I got other shit to do.”
“Simone,” he muttered.
“Get the chip off your shoulder, Tor.”
He hesitated. “Not a chip on my shoulder, man. You’ve been happier since you’ve been around her.”
“Yeah, so what’s your problem?”
“You aren’t as methodical since you’ve been with her,” he said.
I wanted to argue, but he was right. “You find out a woman’s carrying your baby and neither one of you expected that shit, it fucks with you.”
“Yeah, well, get your head on straight, Prez, because this shit’s serious.”
“Why don’t we just kill Knuckles and be done with it?” Nelson asked.
“Are you still fucking high?” Tie demanded.
Torque locked eyes with Nelson. “If we did that, it would start a war.”
I nodded. “Hell, Knuckles wanted to shoot me on sight, and said the same shit about war.”
“What are we going to do? Match their bottom-feeder prices? We’ll be operating at a loss in no time,” Tie said.
The room went quiet and I debated how much to share. I had an idea, but it needed time before we could execute it.
I looked at Tie. “Problem is, if we don’t drop our prices, we’ll be operating at an even bigger loss. For the next three weeks, we’ll meet their prices – but do it on a case-by-case basis.”
Greco’s thick dark brows lowered. “Due respect, Prez, but why three weeks?”
“Circles is in a coma right now, and if a Corrupt Chrome member ends up dead, the cops are gonna look at us first. Three weeks isn’t enough time for that to die down, but it’s as long as I can tolerate to let this shit go unanswered.”
Most of the men at the table nodded their heads.
“This is going to get ugly, not that that’s going to bother any of you.”
“Damn right,” Nelson muttered at the other end of the table.
“Knuckles said it would be bloody – so watch your backs.”
“Where are you going to be?” Torque asked.
“I’m rebuilding the Jacksonville chapter. Went too easy on Jackhammer and Warden. They have four patched members and three prospects. Obviously, they haven’t been recruiting like they should have been. The clubhouse is a fuckin’ shambles which turns off most hang-arounds and creates a vicious cycle for filling the ranks.
“I’m meeting with a contractor tomorrow to see what can be done. Code enforcement was called out and we’ll be lucky if the damn buildings aren’t condemned.”
Tie shook his head. “There’s more than one building?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s a cluster. I’ll fill you in later since we’ll need to pay some fines.”
Tie twisted a hand out. “All the more reason to shut that chapter down and be done with it.”
I shook my head. “Corrupt Chrome has already struck an allegiance with a local street gang down there. We leave, they take that business. If I’m Knuckles, I’m using all of that to make matters worse for other Devil Lancer chapters.”
Tie bowed his head. “Hadn’t thought of that. Dammit.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be back here on weekends. I’m gonna hit up two or three of you to ride down to Jacksonville and help find new recruits and get that chapter in order.”
Never one for formalities like a gavel, I banged my fist on the table to end the meeting and stood.
Greco grinned at me. “Hey, Prez, are the women down there as gorgeous as your woman? If they are, I’m in.”
Torque glared at him. “Just for that, you’re out.”
I smiled. “Damn straight. If you’re concerned about the women, you won’t be focused on the club.”
“Hey, Steel. You here by yourself?” Tessa asked as I entered the common room.
She had auburn hair that she usually wore piled on her head, but today she’d left it down. Her green eyes were wide with anticipation. She moved closer, but I held a hand out.
“Sorry, Tessa, I’m headed out.”
I ignored the disappointment stealing across her face and pushed out the front door to my bike.
“Doesn’t she ride?” she called out, following after me.
I stopped and turned around. This was the part of being President that I hated. Club bunnies twisted shit and watched me like a hawk. It had been tolerable ten years ago, but now… no.
“She rides, but—”
“Her bun in the oven is too precious?” she said, her tone dripping with catty attitude.
I stared at her, and unlike Simone, Tessa squirmed. Finally, I said, “It is, and so is she.”
A conniving expression fell over her like a shroud. “You’ll get tired of her, too. Especially since she lives in Florida.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
She couldn’t hide her satisfaction at catching me off guard. “She knows Rafferty and he’s from Florida, so…”
“You just assumed.”
“Yeah, but she knows Rafferty awfully well.”
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugged. “Why else would she give him such a hard time about being with me? Unless she has a thing for him. I’d hate to see you get hurt, Steel.”
“No need to worry about me,” I muttered.
The front door opened and Greco stalked out, looking for someone. “There you are, Tessa! Get your ass in here.”
I turned and mounted my bike. Seemed I needed to have a word with Simone. Rafferty might be like a brother, but she couldn’t go butting into his business like that no matter which club he joined.
Whether she realized it or not, she’d given Tessa more info than she’d probably intended. While it didn’t matter in the big scheme, it could have had different results if Tessa were a bunny who hung with another club.
For Simone to be my woman, I needed to know she wasn’t going to butt in on a brother’s love life. She had to stick to the ‘live and let live’ mantra. It used to be that was the Riot way.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled my bike to the far side of the driveway.
I walked into the kitchen from the garage. Simone stood at the counter, eating a Krispy Kreme donut over the sink.
She smiled at me. “Hey, honey. Did I thank you for the donuts? Because these may be the best Krispy Kremes I’ve ever had – that manager deserves a raise.”
I nodded. “Did you confront Rafferty in front of Tessa last night?”
She took her time licking icing from her fingers. “Yes. I take it Tessa mentioned it to you.”
“Could have been Rafferty.”
She smiled knowingly. “It could have, except he came into the kitchen ten minutes after you left, looking like death warmed over. Plus, five minutes ago he came out for ‘lunch,’ which was three donuts, and he just went back to bed. He’s been in no shape to communicate like that.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“You seem pissed – or disappointed – so let’s have it. I was, what? Supposed to ignore him last night?”
“No,” I said with a headshake.
“Okay.”
“But you can’t do that shit if I claim you.”
Her jaw shifted just like the first night when I’d caught her off-guard. “You’re thinking of claiming me? I didn’t think we were there yet.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m not keeping you by my side for my health.”
“Right, but you can't claim me is what you said last night.”
“That had to do with the club – we have problems that need to be dealt with, sweetheart. I love you, and at some point I plan to claim you if things don’t change.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“You gotta understand, there’s enough bullshit with the brothers and other clubs. I don’t need female drama, too.”
She nodded. “To be fair, I shouldn’t be around Raff and Tessa again in that sort of situation.”
“You’re right.” I jerked my head toward the guest bedroom. “You said he went back to bed?”
“Yeah, he looked rough.”
I grinned. “I’m about to make it rougher. Hit my room if you don’t want a headache, too.”
I bent to a cabinet and took out a skillet and a pan.
She gasped. “You wouldn’t! That’s mean, Steel.”
My grin became a smile. “He prospects with us, it’ll be a hundred times worse.”
She shook her head. “Does he really deserve that, though?”
I pointed the skillet at her. “You’re being protective again. He’s out of town, underage, and not an official prospect. Not a good idea to get hammered to the point you’re hung-over, and that’s the lesson he’s gonna learn, Jade.”
“Are you playing father-figure to him?” she asked hesitantly.
I chuckled. “Far from it.”
Her eyes cast down at the counter and I sensed she had something else she wanted to ask. I waited her out.
“I have a question, and I don’t want you to think it’s coming from anywhere but me.”
I narrowed an eye at her. “That’s a strange start, but go ahead and shoot.”
“What happens if Raff decides he doesn’t want to prospect with your club? What if he wants to be part of the Riot?”
“Why don’t you want him to be part of my club?”
Her eyes closed for a moment. She opened them and shook her head. “It isn’t that I don’t want him to join your club, it’s that… ”
“What? It’s complicated? I don’t think it is.”
She lifted her chin. “For the most part you’re right, but if he joins the Lancers it’s going to cause a lot of… friction.”
“With his parents? He’s an adult.”
She sighed. “No, with Lex. Call me a romantic, but those two are peas in a pod and always have been until high school. This would… sever that beyond all hope.”
She had such a huge heart. “I feel for you, but it isn’t your business. And you might be surprised what people can overcome with an open mind and some understanding.”
Her head tilted. “Sounds like that comes from experience.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “To an extent.” Something struck me and I narrowed an eye at her. “Are you trying to distract me from waking Rafferty?”
She failed to bite back her smile. “I would never.”
I gave her a lopsided grin. “You better be this protective of our baby.”
She widened her eyes and she chuckled. “You say that now, but our baby is gonna want me to loosen up.”
“Good. Now, get out of here because I’m about to bang these pans together like cymbals in a marching band.”
She shook her head and went to the sliding glass door. “I’ll be out on the deck.”
Monday afternoon, Rafferty’s former boss, Brian Smith, stood in front of me, and his posture alone told me I wouldn’t like what he had to say. He stroked his sparse beard. “You’re already facing fines from code enforcement, so this won’t be what you want to hear—”
“Don’t tell me what I want to hear. What’s going to solve this problem and let us move forward?”
“The enclosure between the two structures can’t stand because of the code enforcement violations. Since it has to come down regardless, the easiest thing to do is get rid of one of those trailers and build a new building with enough room away from the first single-wide. Or, you could get rid of both trailers and start from scratch the whole way around, but that would be the most expensive option and it will take the longest, too.”
I dragged my hand down my face. Tie’s words from weeks ago came back to me again. Maybe he’d been right. We should get rid of this chapter and be done with it. How many times could we say they were snake-bit before we acknowledged this wasn’t a good fit?
Fuck .
“I’m sorry that’s not what you want to hear,” Brian said.
I let my lips tip up in a small smile. “It isn’t that, Mr. Smith. Honestly, I half expected you to say that, and if you hadn’t I’d be on alert. It’s been a long day and this Monday is only half done.”
He grinned and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. “I hear that. If you want to move forward with us, here’s my card. Either option is doable with my firm – though, if you start from scratch, that would be easiest.”
“Right,” I whispered with a slow nod.
He tipped his head toward the trailers. “If you decide to off-load both trailers, I might have someone interested.”
“Can they move them?”
That was the other problem with trailers. Sure, they were movable, but it came a steep price all things considered.
Brian pressed his lips together. “Not sure, but I’ll ask if that’s what you decide to do.”
I held out a hand and we shook. “Thanks for your time, Brian. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Talk to you later.”
Rafferty strode toward me from his bike on the other side of the property. “You look like you sucked on a lemon. Was the news that bad?”
I nodded twice. “Worse.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Yeah. You have any problems dropping the rental truck?”
He gave a small smile. “No. Problems dropping Simone, yeah.”
My eyes narrowed. “How so?”
He shrugged. “Nothing unusual. She was just being nosy and shit.”
I stifled my sigh. “She’s got to stop that.”
He dipped his chin. “Got your work cut out for you then.”
With a heavy dose of side-eye, I muttered, “I fuckin’ hope not.”