Frisco

29. Shane

29

SHANE

B oise found me as soon as I left the apartment. He looked back toward the room I’d come out of. “Going to need to meet this one.”

I grunted. Word had spread fast that I’d claimed an old lady.

“I take it she knows she’s an old lady?”

I paused, glancing back at the door. Did she? She wanted my dick. I knew that much, but she didn’t want me as much as I wanted her. I knew that too. Knowing she was my old lady? That was a whole other battle still ahead of me.

I didn’t answer, just slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s handle Crow. Any word from the guys?”

“They called for orders. Estrada is moving east.”

“East?” So he wasn’t crossing south. “I want to know who all of his connections are in the States.”

“He didn’t have any when we got into business with him, so this is new and under the radar.”

I nodded. Exactly. That’s why I didn’t like it.

“Heckler texted,” Boise continued. “He’s waiting for a call too. He wants the guys back with him if we aren’t doing battle here.”

That made sense, but damn . They’d driven a full night to get here, pretended to party, then did party, and now they’d be going back tomorrow.

I nodded, starting down to the main floor. “I want them to rest today. They can head out tonight or in the morning.”

“I’ve made the rounds. Half the guys want to stay with you.”

“We might need to head down there.”

Boise shrugged. “Your guys want to be with you. Don’t matter where you go.”

That was true. And I still had a job to do here. “Right.”

When we got to the main floor, the guys stood up. They’d been waiting for me, and I led the way outside. They fell in line. Stripes was outside the barn, and he got in line too.

A few of Crow’s guys were on the house’s front porch, and they stood, seeing us coming.

We’d cover all bases now at church.

“Your VP up?” I asked one of them.

He gave a nod, his face expressionless. “Ready for church.”

That was good. Straight to business.

I felt antsy. I wanted to get on the move, do some battle, wrangle Kali so she accepted that she was mine, but all in due time. I needed to be smart, on all fronts. I was about to step up when my phone rang. Seeing it was Heckler, I showed Boise the screen. He gave a nod. He’d handle things for me until I was done with the call.

I answered, stepping right back off and going around for some privacy. “How’s he doing?” That was my greeting.

“They’re going to wake him up tomorrow. Doc said the swelling is going down, so he’s stable. That’s the good news.”

“And the dad?”

“We got him, but…” Heckler hesitated.

Heckler wasn’t one to hesitate. I frowned. “What happened?”

“My niece knows the girl.” The girl Max had been fucking . “She found out your orders and went apeshit.”

Women weren’t supposed to know club business, but it happened. Some always had an opinion and inserted it. We listened to the good ones. Kess was a good one.

I waited for him to continue. He didn’t. “And?”

“She’s of the opinion that Max might love this girl, and therefore would object if we killed the dad.”

“He shot our national president.”

“I know.”

No one could shoot a Red Demon and walk from it. He shot the national president and Heckler’s niece was arguing for just that?

“Wraith is wondering if we want to wait, see what Max says, or at the very least do a church call. Just to cover our bases.”

“You have the dad?”

“We got him.”

“No way he can get free?”

“None. We got Tango on him.”

Tango was a sadistic fuck. My orders might’ve showed more mercy.

“Okay. Let’s wait. See what Prez says, if he’s able to think right.”

Heckler got quiet, because this was an issue. I hadn’t let myself ponder what it might mean that Max had been down, and in a coma for so long. But it was in the realm of possibilities that we still might’ve lost our president.

“Will do,” he finally said.

“Heckler.”

“Yeah?”

“If anything looks like it’s going south before Prez wakes up, the dad has to be put down.”

“I know,” he grunted.

“I’m told you want the guys back with you?”

“Will feel better having them here.”

I got that. “I’m told half of them want to stay with me.”

“Are you still moving forward with Max’s plan?”

“Think so. Crow’s wanting a conversation later today. I’ll feel him out. I put Stripes on him last night. His acceptance that Estrada left so quickly didn’t feel right to me.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. Something just feels off. I don’t like it.”

“Got it.” He coughed, which meant he was changing the subject. “Heard you got a woman now,” he added, his tone lighter.

“Oh, fuck off.” I hung up on his laugh.

Heading down and into church, I moved past bikers lining the hallway and stairs. They followed me in, and the room got quiet. Crow was at the front of the table. I took the seat at the end. My guys lined up behind me. Boise had a seat beside me, with Machete on my other side.

Once everyone was inside, the room seemed significantly smaller than the first time we were in here. The door closed, and Crow took the gavel, hitting it down and calling church to order.

“First things first.” He nodded at me. “How’s the president?”

I filled them in on everything—finding out who’d really shot Maxwell, my initial order, Kess’ objection, and the latest call with Heckler.

Crow nodded. “The guy’s gotta pay. He’s the reason we had our scare here, the reason all your extra guys rode a full night and more to get here.”

“Agreed, but let’s wait and see how Max is tomorrow. He might have an opinion on how the father pays too.”

There was rumbling in the room. Most sounded like they agreed.

“What’s the latest on Estrada?”

I gave that update too, glancing to Boise.

“He’s going east?” Crow asked.

Boise said, “The last contact I had, they were going through New Mexico.”

“They might be heading to Texas. He’s got guys working down there.”

“I got a cousin out east,” one of Crow’s guys spoke up. “There’s a rumor there about a relationship between the Russians and Estrada.”

Crow’s head whipped around. “Why the fuck haven’t you mentioned that before?”

His guy’s face was blank, and he shrugged. “Never thought it was pertinent. We don’t operate there.”

Crow cursed before sitting back. “We took a vote not long ago. A lot of fucking planning has gone into how that’s going to be coordinated. You know about a collab he’s got with the Russians, and you don’t think it’s pertinent?”

The guy blinked slowly.

Seemed to me like the guy was just dumb.

His head lowered. “Sorry, Boss. I didn’t think. You know me.” He knocked on his head. “Two marbles in here. That’s about it.”

Crow cursed again.

Rondell snorted. “You might want to lay off the weed, X. I’m thinking you need those last two marbles.”

A few guys laughed.

X was laughing too.

Crow looked at me. “Sorry, Ghost. I apologize on behalf of my idiot cousin through marriage.”

X grunted.

Crow leaned forward again. “Since it looks like we’re in the clear from Estrada… I know you came here initially to help out, but since the national prez is in a bad way, what are you thinking to do?”

The guys all got quiet, waiting for me.

I looked around. My men were waiting for me to decide.

If Max was good, was in the clear tomorrow, he’d want me to stay and finish my assignment.

If he wasn’t in the clear, I still needed to do what I came here to do, but I didn’t know Crow’s true loyalty. And dammit because that shouldn’t be a question.

“Half my guys are going to head back tomorrow. I’d like them to rest, and then return to Max. The other half, who want to remain, will stay with me. We’ll stick around for a bit, if that’s still okay with your charter?”

Their president had asked us here, but I was feeling weird about Crow. That needed to be figured out. And it still made me uneasy how close Estrada had been without anyone knowing until he suddenly appeared.

There were a lot of stones still to be turned over before I could leave.

Crow gave nothing away. His face was a wall as he nodded, looking around. Most of the guys were nodding as well, and he reached for the gavel again. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, but because I don’t want my sister to take my balls, everyone’s gotta head out of here tomorrow. She runs this place, and she’s got a wedding party coming in after us.”

The guys hooted in laughter as Crow banged the gavel down.

Church was done.

I was outside and headed back to the barn, Boise next to me, when Crow called my name.

I turned back, and he motioned to the side. “Wondering if we could have that talk?”

Right . I nodded to Boise, dropping my voice. “Connect with Stripes. I want to know if he heard anything last night. Tell the ones leaving tomorrow to rest today.”

He gave a nod, heading off.

I followed Crow to the side of the house and down to where his sister kept her horses. They were penned up in a pretty looking white corral.

“It’s real nice that your sister let us hole up here,” I told him. “We owe her anything for this?”

He shook his head. “Not for the club. Her old man was a Red too. She knows how it is.”

I gave him a sharp look. “Club’s not hurting. We can pay. Seems the right thing to do.”

He watched me a moment before he nodded. “If you’d like then. She’d sure appreciate it.”

We walked a bit farther, going around the corral and toward another smaller barn. Behind it was a walking trail, heading out into the horse pasture.

“What did you want to talk about, Crow?”

He grimaced, his mouth tight before he let out a long breath. “Our president took the fall for a lot of guys in this charter. I know he called you in to help us sort it out. That’s the real reason you’re here, because we got some guys in here that I don’t trust.”

He had my full attention because was he talking about himself? Or others?

“But the reason I want to have this conversation in private is because I’m worried. Makes me nervous how close Estrada was, how quick he got to us. When we pull everything off, what about the afterwards?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Estrada’s powerful. And if he’s hooked up with the Russians, where does that leave us? We’re the Red Demons, but I’m worried about when we do pull away from the cartel.”

“You talking about safety?”

“I’m talking we might want to team up with another power entity. I wanted to broach the subject, get your opinion.”

“Some might say we’re getting out of bed with one devil, so why would we want to team up with another?”

“Because who I’m thinking about isn’t like Estrada. They don’t hang an entire family for passing a fucking phone. They’re in the same area we are. Would make sense to team up with them, if they’re open to it. But I’m thinking you’re national VP, so it’d be up to you to make the approach.”

“Why don’t we cut the bullshit and you name who I think you’re naming.”

He eyed me, a trickle of sweat showing on his skin. But after a moment he nodded, coming to a decision. “I’m talking about the Canadians. They’re here, mostly in the Midwest, but they’d be open to expanding west. They don’t have Texas, and we do.”

I gave him another sharp look. “You know that when we pull out, Texas is where we’re going to get hit first.”

He nodded. “I’m aware. But here too, I think. That’s why I’m asking for this. The Canadians do their business in a way that’s still a mystery to most. They got men, but they hit in coordinated attacks. Their leader is smart, calculating, but he doesn’t kill ceaselessly. That gets me. I got family here. I don’t want them killed, and having Estrada on our front door, I want some measures put in place.”

Well, fuck me. The Canadians were who Max wanted me to approach. But I didn’t trust Crow enough to reveal that, not yet.

“Let’s handle the guys you don’t trust first.”

He gave me another measuring look. Then his eyes closed, and he nodded. “It’s the smart move.”

We needed to do the ugly business first, because we were talking about Red Demon traitors—one of the worst crimes there was. We’d need to handle those guys first, strip them of their patches and decide who to bury and who to burn.

I could see Crow’s reluctance, but it had to be done.

He didn’t want to name them. I didn’t want to hear the names, but club first. Always.

So I asked the question, “Who don’t you trust in your charter, Crow?”