Chapter 12 #2
Medic was on the other camera, trying in vain to save Itchy. He was gesticulating to the others and leaning over him to start CPR. He worked on him until we showed up on the camera. Someone paused the screen on that image, and everyone remained silent.
I kept my eyes on the screen, my fists clenching against my knees. War moved and went to turn everything off before returning to the table, his eyes finding mine, shifting to Connor, then back to King as he sat down.
He wanted to know if Connor was handling this okay. I looked at him. His jaw was still clenched, but he was as silent as everyone else. He was breathing okay, so I wasn’t worried.
King got to his feet and looked around. His eyes landed on every one of us, and I tried not to move when his eyes came to me.
“First of all, I want us all to take a minute to remember our fallen brother. Weston Gilmore wasn’t patched in yet, but he was one of us.
His father and grandfather before him had been a part of this club.
He served us well and was due to become a patched in member tomorrow.
I will go to visit his mom later today to pay our respects, which I’m sure you all will do over the coming days. ”
He paused and held up a fist and everyone started stomping their feet in honor of Itchy. When King dropped his hand silence fell again.
“You have been called in here because we all have had a part in what happened out there today. I want to hear all the details. War,” he turned to his son, then went back to his seat.
War got up and came around the table. He then ran through what we had all watched on the video feed.
War turned to me. “Hustle, what happened to you this morning?”
I got to my feet as was expected of me and avoided talking about everything going on that had me out on my bike. No one here needed to know Waverley was fucking with my head.
I explained I woke up having no actual plans for the day, decided to go for a ride and to get something to eat. I told them where I went, for how long and how I started heading back after War text me about Church.
When I told them about noticing the tail, Dirt asked me a few questions, trying to identify who they were, how many, if they had guns, anything to figure out whether they had, I realized, intended to attack me.
I finished up by talking about my call to War and everyone showing up as an escort for me.
My voice cracked a little towards the end and I cleared my throat, showing weakness right now would not do me any favors. King didn’t want to hear excuses, he just wanted facts.
One by one, the brothers who had seen something or had information to share about what happened got to their feet and answered War’s questions. When we were through, we listened to the officers around the table tell their side of things.
Dirt explained that he told Itchy to watch out for the rest of the crew and to be ready to let them in. He headed to the clubhouse intending to check the security footage and had asked a couple of brothers to head down to the gate to help cover Itchy if required.
Before any of that could happen, Itchy sounded the alarm.
“He was a good kid,” Dirt added. “He would have made an exceptional brother.”
King glanced at him and nodded. That was it. They had all the information they needed about what happened. My eyes found War, but he gave nothing away, not at first.
I maintained eye contact and his chin lifted just a touch. Whether it was to reassure me or let me know things were coming down on me, I didn’t know.
Then King surprised me. He dismissed everyone but his officers, telling them once a plan had been hashed out, the brothers would be made aware. No one questioned it, but started shuffling out. Connor and I got to our feet too, but before I got to the door, War called out.
“Hustle, stay back.”
I nodded and glanced at Connor. His face remained stony, but he wasn’t being extended this invitation. He punched his knuckles to mine and headed out. I took my seat again and waited for everyone to leave and the door to close. For a minute, there was complete silence.
King was texting someone. Ballistic got up and headed for the food table. He grabbed a couple of six packs and came back. Tugging them from the plastic rings, he handed them out. I thanked him when he tossed one to me.
When the door opened again, I watched Kansas approach. He had a thumb drive in his hand. He inserted it into the laptop, and four screens appeared. I recognized them as the homes of the Kingsmen we had snuck into and installed cameras.
“You’ve watched it all?” King asked and Kansas nodded. “Queue it up to what we need.”
“It’s ready,” Kansas said. He wasn’t one to use many words. I assumed it was his geek nature. King didn’t dismiss him this time but indicated for him to take a seat by the equipment.
“Hustle,” King waved his hand for me to come over. “Sit,” he pointed to a seat.
No one that wasn’t an officer got to sit here, so I moved slowly, pulling a chair back.
“Relax you dumb shit,” King said. “This wasn’t your fault, and no one blames you. We need to discuss what is going on and both War and Ballistic think we need you involved. I agree,” he said pointedly.
“Yeah, unclench those cheeks,” War laughed.
“Fucker,” I told him and everyone else around the table laughed or shook their heads, the tension leaving me. I popped the beer and took a good drink.
“Kansas was watching this earlier, before it went down. Show ‘em,” King flicked his hand towards the screen.
The video switched from four screens to one. It was the living room of a guy called Marcus Stiverson. He was the first name on the list we’d gotten out of that other Kingsmen asshole.
He’d been with them for about five years, worked as a runner for their drug set up. Stiverson didn’t have a girlfriend or wife, but he had a kid with an ex. As far as Kansas had learned, he didn’t see the kid, or provide any support to her mom.
Stiverson was sitting on his couch drinking from a can, watching TV, although we couldn’t see the screen from the angle of the camera. It was up on a shelf that held all manner of junk, so it was easy to blend it in.
As we watched, his phone rang. He picked it up. “Yo,” was his response, and I heard King tut. Stiverson sat up a little. “Where?” he asked. “Alone?”
They were talking about me. I shook my head in anger and frustration but didn’t take my eyes off the screen even though I could feel War looking at me.
“Yeah,” Stiverson was listening and nodding. “You think it’ll work?... Okay. I’ll call and find out. I’ll let you know.”
He ended the call and then immediately placed another. The dick was on his feet now, and I could see the excitement in his eyes. Stiverson was fucking enjoying this.
“Get to the 243 in Sussex. There will be a lone one rolling in about ten minutes. Follow but don’t engage. Now, you dickhead. We only got a short window.”
Kansas was running a hand over the back of his neck.
To be fair to him, he wouldn’t have had a clue what Stiverson was talking about if he were watching this as it was going down.
He could technically have been referring to anything, but knowing he was calling people in to Sussex should have been a red flag.
On the screen, he ended the call and made another one. All he said was, “It’s on.” Then he hung up, pocketed his phone, and grabbed his cut, then left his house.
“Should have let me kill those fuckers when we had the chance.”
King ignored Ballistic, while I agreed. We had every intention of rounding up all three assholes and taking them out.
Kansas ended the video. He looked a little green as he stood.
“Head on out,” King told him. “We’ll talk in my office later.”
“Yes Prez,” he said and left, almost tripping over his feet.
“He did text his concerns about the call,” Dirt said once he’d gone. “I just didn’t see it.”
“You were too busy dicking Jolene,” Banshee, our club Secretary drawled.
“I was there when it counted,” Dirt snarled.
Banshee held up a hand to say he had meant nothing by it, but he’d made his point.
“Laying the blame on each other will not help,” King said, leaning forward, his eyes bouncing to me for a second.
“I only showed you this because I wanted you to see this was a coordinated attack on the club. They knew what they were doing. They’ve been waiting for an opportunity, and they took it.
If their plan was to unsettle us, it worked.
If it was to cause us to retaliate, we will.
But,” he held up a finger. “Not until we understand the bigger picture.
“This was a recon mission. They wanted to see how we would react. I suspect their first attack on Connor had something to do with this too.”
A few of the guys around the table huffed, particularly Dirt, who would be champing at the bit to get back at the Kingsmen. He respected King enough not to argue. War was staring at his unopened beer can.
“You all know that a threat has been made against Waverley. My daughter’s name in one of those assholes’ mouths is not something I will ever take lightly. It also has not escaped my notice that her childhood friends have been involved in these incidents.”
“You think they deliberately targeted Connor?” War frowned.
I held my tongue. Even though I wanted to know what threats had been made, clearly the men around the table knew, but no one was saying anything.
I didn’t know if War was privy to it and just keeping it to himself as an officer or if he hadn’t been given the full information.
He didn’t ask questions though, so I figured he knew but hadn’t told me.
I shouldn’t be pissed about that. I knew my place, but I clenched my fists under the table. We were friends. He knew about my history with Waverley. Even if I’d spent the better part of the last five years telling everyone, she didn’t matter to me. Connor and War knew I was lying. Fuck.
“They thought it would bring Waverley back here. When that didn’t work, they escalated the threat, knowing I would have no choice but to bring her here.
I’m not sure she is safer being in the compound.
Their new Prez is calculating and has an agenda.
I don’t know what he is planning or why.
And I don’t like that. I want to know why they want my daughter.
And I know it has something to do with Danica. ”
The men looked around at each other. I kept a straight face. King didn’t know War told me what he learned about his mom. I sat silently as King explained it all.
“That bitch was always fucking trouble,” Ballistic grunted. He gave King a look that wasn’t even the slightest bit apologetic about his ex-old lady.
“Preaching to the choir, man,” King said. “War and Waverley are the only good thing that came from that whore.”
I looked to see how War was taking this, but he was unaffected.
He didn’t know his mother and spent most of his life hearing she abandoned him and his sister. She might as well be a stranger.
“I’ve got Kansas digging into Danica’s family history. Part of me is wondering if she was a plant or if she really ran from them. Although when she went back, her father was long dead. I don’t know where she was between leaving here and going back there two years ago, but I need to find out.”
Everyone nodded, making affirmative noises.
“Hustle, I think you’re owed a little payback. We need to make an example and show them we’re not intimidated by them.”
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
He pointed at the screen, frozen in the empty living room.
“Leave him in his house. I want them to find him. Take the camera, leave them guessing how we knew to hit him. I’m sure they’re wondering what happened to that other cunt. It’s time we fucked with the Kingsmen.”