Chapter 17
Istorm across the parking lot, then through the arch that leads to the motel and Long Beach clubhouse. Tawk’s waiting for me and as soon as he sees me he marches toward me like he’s gonna attack.
“Where the fuck is she?” He looks fearless and fuckin’ fuming, which is a lethal combination, especially for a man his size. I quickly grab him by his lapels and remind him who he’s coming at before he makes a costly mistake.
“Cliff’s gone.” I give it to him straight.
“Yeah, and so is she.” He has that flicker in his eyes that suggests he could do something deadly and I can feel from how tense he is that his body is heaving with frustration.
“I did what you asked, as soon as Cliff and Rex stepped out here I called Storm. But then I hear the girls sayin’ they saw Cliff draggin’ Willow down the motel stairs just after that cage had left. She was screamin’ for help and I wasn’t here to save her because I had to stay in the clubhouse makin’ sure Mac kept snortin’ coke from the governor”s daughter”s tits. He took her.” Tawk drops back and pulls the long, dark hair back over his head when the words he screams at me sink in. “He fuckin’ took her!”
“Tawk, I know you”re worried about her, which is why I’m not gonna kick your ass for framin’ up to me. Trust me, Cliff going AWOL was not part of the plan. But we will find ‘em.”
“How? We both know Cliff ain’t runnin’ from the cops, he’s runnin’ from you. He knows you want him dead.”
“Doesn’t matter what he knows. We’ll still find him and we’ll find her too.” I grip his shoulder and make him that promise. “Now, come on, it’s time to see who we can trust around here.”
“I already know who we can trust and I can’t just sit back and know he’s got her.”
“You ain’t just sittin’ back. Some members in there might have some information on where he headed. You need to fix your head back on straight. Now, fall in line, and let’s go take our control back of this club and figure out where your girl is,” I order.
Tawk nods his head but the rage inside him doesn’t ease as he joins the others behind me and I lead my men into the Long Beach clubhouse watching shock take its place on all the faces of the ones who didn’t expect me to be coming.
Someone cuts the music, and it turns the room silent.
“Church.” I nod my head toward the door where Cliff used to hold his council, noting who looks pleased to see me and who looks fuckin’ fearful.
“Good to see ya, Prez.” Ruckus tips his chin at me as he holds the door open for me so I can step inside, and I can tell by how relieved he looks that this has been a long time coming for him.
The room quickly fills up, and as the Long Beach members take their seats around the table, the Colorado brothers I brought here with me stand in a horseshoe behind them.
I take Cliff’s seat and slam the gavel, noting that snigger Ruckus has on his face as he looks across the table at Mac, Cliff’s Sgt at Arms. Dev’s looking at him, too, cracking his knuckles like he’s preparing himself for a riot.
“I came here as your foundin’ president to tell you all that Cliff Adams no longer controls this charter.” I kick things off and watch all the eyes around the table dart in different directions. “Cliff has betrayed this club, disrespected his patch, and is no longer a member of the Dirty Souls MC. My decision is backed by all our sister charters and if anyone here knows where he is, this is your chance to speak up.”
Nobody says a word, but that’s hardly surprising. If Cliff knew I was coming he wouldn’t have shared his plans with anyone except Rex.
“If any brother here was aware of how Cliff was runnin’ things and happy to support it, you can drop your cuts on the table and head out the door.” I look at Mac in particular, and when he shakes his head back at me I realize what a coward he is. I know from all that Tawk has witnessed that he was in on the shit Cliff was pulling.
“I said leave.” I raise my voice, and when the pussy still doesn’t get outta his seat, Jessie and Troj step in to give him a hand. Troj pins the fucker’s hands behind his back with one hand and slams his face into the table with his other, while Jessie drags the cut off his shoulders.
“You knew what Cliff was doin’ and you knew about that teenage girl he killed,” Jessie speaks into his ear as he leans over him.
“She was old enough to know what she wanted.”
Another loud slam comes when Jessie lifts him by his hair and slams his face back onto the table.
“You”re a piece of shit, and I think you should be the first thing we all make a united decision on. What do ya say, Prez?” Jessie looks to me, and knowing exactly what’s going through his mind, I nod my head in agreement.
“Let’s take a vote. Who here says I slit the throat of this motherfucker who knew that Cliff killed a teenage girl and helped him try to cover it?”
“You covered it too!” Mac shouts out at him. “You had your psycho, little grave digger come clean it up if I remember correctly.” He tries to hide the fear in his voice and be a man as he looks across to Grimm.
“We had to, because Cliff wasn’t being smart, not only was he gonna end himself up in jail, but he would have taken this whole club down with him. The last place we want Cliff Adams is in jail. If he’s in there, Wrath can’t kill him.” Jessie makes his point as he takes out his knife and holds it against the fucker’s throat.
“So, let’s see a show of hands, who here wants to spare this fucker’s life?” Jessie looks around the room and when no hands show, he smiles as he slowly drags his blade through Mac’s flesh. Blood pours over his hand onto the table and the smile on Jessie’s face grows wider. It causes a few to shift uncomfortably in their seats and I make a note of who they are.
Troj releases his body so it falls onto the table and Ruckus nods his head at my VP.
“Things are gonna be changin’ around here,” I tell ‘em all. “You”re gonna be gettin’ your respect back, and I don’t just mean out there on the streets. This club is gonna be run the way it was supposed to. You got a lotta work to do. Cliff’s burned a whole lotta bridges, but you can repair ‘em.” I look at each man around the table and offer them some hope.
“And who”s gonna lead us?” the one they call Greaser calls from the other side of the table.
“I’m workin’ on that, but for now, if you got any problems, you take ‘em to Ruckus. He’s in charge.” Ruckus looks surprised.
I know he’s made it clear more than enough times that he ain’t got no desire to be a leader, but right now, he has little choice. He’s the most senior person here that I can trust.
I spend some time explaining to everyone what went down tonight, some look surprised, some don’t, but so far, everyone seems on board with the plan moving forward. It seems Ruckus was right, the majority of this charter really had lost faith in their leader.
“So, what was your plan, Prez? You were expectin’ Cliff to be there tonight, you know if the feds take him in, the first thing he’ll do is rat.” Ruckus questions me before I round up the meeting.
“He wasn’t gonna get the chance. Tonight’s bust was about fixin’ the shit he caused us with Burlusconi. Lambronis are a problem for him, and I’ve made up for the inconveniences Cliff has caused by makin’ sure they won’t be a problem to him anymore. Rex and Cliff had to be arrested to make the whole thing look legit, but I have someone workin’ the inside who was gonna free both those fuckers into my custody.” I scowl the room and look for any sign of support for the two motherfuckers who should be dead.
“So, where’s Rex now?” Saint asks. I’ve only met the guy a handful of times but I know how dangerous his alter ego can be. I’ve never been acquainted with Sinner, but I’ve heard enough stories.
“Soon as I know, I’ll tell ya, and you boys will get to have your fun with him. But first, we need to know where Cliff and his daughter, Willow, are. Jessie and Storm need to talk to him first.”
“This charter has an enforcer.” Dev feels the need to remind me of his position.
“And you”re welcome to join ‘em,” I reassure him. Noting how he nods his head at Jessie. From what I’ve heard outta Tawk, Dev has been waiting a long time for this too. “I know things are gonna be tough and uncertain for a while, but I have every faith that with some determination and loyalty, you can bring this charter up to where it needs to be. Don’t give up on each other.” I slam the gavel and head out the room before my anger and disappointment shows to the men I’m supposed to be leading.
I storm through the club, past the empty swimming pool and into the parking lot so I can get some air. The sound of a car door slams from the other side of the street and I’m surprised to see Consuela walking toward me.
“You shouldn’t be here, it ain’t safe,” I warn her. “Besides, ain’t you supposed to be down at the precinct baskin’ in your takedown glory?”
“I don’t want to start interviews until the Lambroni mansion’s been searched. We have the two brothers in custody and a team searching the place now. I thought I’d grab myself a coffee before the interrogation begins.”
“Well, the coffee here sucks.” I huff a laugh as I light myself a cigarette.
“You lied to me.” She glares at me, looking every bit as pissed off as she is disappointed.
“I told you I’d give you the Lambroni brothers. I never said you’d get all three.”
“They won’t talk, not without knowing where the other one is.” She sighs in frustration.
“You don’t need ‘em to talk, you got all the evidence you need to put ‘em away.”
“This isn’t right, we shouldn’t decide who lives and dies.” I can tell she’s mad, but it doesn’t change anything. Burlusconi wanted blood and for him, I always deliver.
“I’ve been makin’ that decision my whole life, darlin’. Besides, we didn’t have a choice, the brother who was at the house had to be the one who died, if you’d taken him in he could’ve claimed that evidence was planted.”
“And what about the one we arrested at the shipping yard, he would have gotten a good look at your men, they helped me detain him. If he says you were involved in this takedown it could get thrown out.”
“Lambronis aren’t gonna mention the Souls, we got some security on that. The CCTV at the shippin’ yard was down, and Screwy and Squealer were just two guys workin’ on their boat who offered you some help with detainin’ your suspects.”
“You got it all planned out, haven’t you?” She smiles, proving that she can’t argue with my logic.
“There was a time when I thought I did.” I look into the eyes of the woman who could potentially destroy everything I’ve worked for. I should probably wanna hurt for it, but I don’t. Kathrine Consuela is making her mark on this world, she thinks she can make it a better place and there’s a big part of me that wants to believe her.
“Rex is in one of the storage containers. McGrath tied him up and gagged him.” She hands me a key. “It’s the big yellow one, 0098.” She smiles but makes no eye contact.
“And ya can trust this McGrath?” I check.
“We can trust him,” she assures me.
“So, this is a we thing now?” I take the key she hands over and I slip it inside my pocket.
“This doesn’t change anything. The Lambronis aren’t who the task force were investigating. I arrested them as a favor to you. I still need more.”
“Prez?” Jessie comes running out the gate and when he sees Consuela, he narrows his eyes like a wolf about to pounce.
“Relax, she’s here to tell us where Rex is.” I ease him down and I can see how much he detests the fact I’m trusting her.
“I better go, we worked well together, today.” She holds out her hand for me to shake and I hear Jessie growl when I take it.
I wait for her to get in her car and drive away before I turn to face him.
“Look, Jess, I know you ain’t keen?—”
“That doesn’t matter right now. We got bigger problems,” he cuts me off, lookin’ real worried.
“What is it?”
“You asked Maddy to hack the laptop we found at Cliff’s apartment,” he reminds me.
“Yeah.”
“Well, she explained how to do that fancy shit that allows her to access it from home, and she just called.”
“Does she know where he is?” I hold out on some hope that she found something.
“I’m sorry, Prez,” Jess shakes his head. “She got nothin’ on that, but she did find out how he knew you were comin’. Tawk’s hunch was right.” Jessie drops his head because he knows as well as I do that this ain’t good. It ain’t good at all.