Chapter 36
Jackal
The next week, the officers rode every night. We gave vague details about it to some of the seasoned guys and made sure to put new members around the property, at all entrances and exits of each building on the property, and Hawk told Keys he’d have a watching partner going forward.
Keys didn’t seem to mind, but I still wondered about him. He set up a whole spot for Coop after giving him strict instructions about food and beverages near his gear. Did it give me a small amount of joy to see Keys bossing Coop around? Maybe. But he was never a threat. It mostly irritated me that Shivana led him on to get under my skin.
But the likelihood of both of them being a rat were slim, and this way if something was missed by one, their reactions could say a lot. But that was only two of them. We had a lot of guys on site all the time, and plenty that lived elsewhere that showed up regularly or when called in.
Knowing these fuckers weren’t opposed to traipsing through the woods had us keeping more eyes on the grounds and even planted in the woods around us. We always had guys camped out by the entrance, but now they were scattered all over.
Keys had already put extra cameras all around. Since the last attack, he added some motion sensor cameras deep in the wooded area. We didn’t tell the guys where they were placed, so Coop and Keys would see every time they walked past if they wandered by one.
Our rides had been uneventful. It was a little unsettling since they had been popping up everywhere we went. I hoped they’d show up, but so far, no hits. We were tired and frustrated. Now that they knew about the wedding, it seemed as if they were laying in wait.
I had to tell Shivana something that day we went to speak to Angie, so she knew the wedding wasn’t exactly off for now, and we planned to take them dress shopping soon. We had to let these assholes believe we didn’t know shit. Shivana was getting tired of the secrets, but we couldn’t have her telling Lacy or Daisy. We hoped to shut this shit down before that day came, but the way things had gone so far, we had to acknowledge we may end up with Hawk’s secret plan. Were they crazy enough to attack us at a wedding?
The clubhouse was well off the beaten path, so it wasn’t odd that the shootout we had nearby wasn’t reported. We had no close neighbors, and even if anyone had heard, gunshots weren’t unheard of in the country. Some people mistook them for fireworks and around here, and people didn’t call the police for that sort of thing. Even if they knew it was gunshots, they’d assume it was someone hunting in the woods or maybe even just partying. We weren’t the type to do celebratory gunshots, but it wasn’t uncommon down here. Dangerous as fuck, but we’re not the gun police, either. We didn’t fuck with anyone around, and they didn’t fuck with us. We definitely weren’t calling the cops for anything.
We rode over to Peaches-N-Cream to talk to a few guys. Looking around the parking lot, there were a few bikes. Falcon pointed in that direction and Eagle stopped, snapping pics of the license plates and likely sending them to Keys to run. It could be just random dudes blowing off steam, but at this point, we were leaving no stone unturned.
Heading inside with nothing but a nod to the doorman, Hawk led the way through the club. We all looked around like we were searching for a table, but we were really looking for Hellbound Heathens, or at least anyone familiar. I expected to see Scotty, but he wasn’t there. There were other dance clubs, and he was a mid-level dealer, so he moved around a lot. But he seemed to be at Peaches-N-Cream most often.
“Not to be a dick, but does the talent seem…different?” Eagle asked.
Scanning the stages, the women weren’t ugly, but they definitely didn’t have the normal look of the dancers. “Yeah, different crop of ladies for sure.”
“Let’s go talk to our friend, Blue,” Hawk said. Blue owned the place. He was your typical sleazy salesman type.
We followed Hawk down the hall, but when we got close to the office door, a big guy stepped out of the shadows and scanned Hawk like he was sizing him up. Falcon pushed past Hawk and stopped just short of tackling the guy. “Wanna go again, bitch?”
I must have missed something, because apparently there was beef. Another guy came from behind Falcon’s bitch, so I pushed past Hawk and pulled my pistol out. “Take another step and I’ll shut this club down.”
Behind me there was a scuffle and some ladies squealed before a loud thump hit the floor. “Everything’s fine here, ladies,” Eagle said. I wanted to turn to see what the fuck happened behind me but I wasn’t moving my eyes from my target.
He had his hands up. “Blue wasn’t expecting visitors.”
Hawk casually walked through the standoff and knocked on the door. “You fellas really need to work on how to treat a guest.” He pushed inside without an answer from the other side.
Waving the gun toward the door, the man grimaced but stepped inside before Falcon pushed his friend inside.
Looking over my shoulder, Eagle was propping a guy from laying on the floor to sitting against the wall. He shrugged. “What? He’ll wake up soon. I just let him have a little nap.”
Waiting for him and Rooster to head in the little room, I followed them inside. Red was covering the bar. With all the extra security everywhere, we were running out of hands to work while we were out in the evenings, and the non-members who worked there couldn’t pick up every shift.
“Fun,” I said when I walked in. Blue was apparently getting serviced by one of the ladies when we decided to drop in.
“Sorry for the intrusion, miss,” Hawk said, pulling some cash from his wallet. “For your troubles.”
The bleach-blonde wiped the side of her mouth. “Maybe you can come trouble me when you’re done,” she said as her eyes raked over Hawk.
He smiled and stepped out of her way. Once the woman was gone, Hawk took a seat across from Blue. “Mixing business with pleasure, I see.”
“Hey, it’s nice to be the boss,” Blue said. His beady eyes were like a rat staring back at Hawk. His dark hair was slicked back and his cheeks were still ruddy from his visitor.
“Last time I checked, that’s sexual harassment,” I said from the door.
Blue cackled, but when he realized Hawk wasn’t laughing with him, he stopped. “I mean, you know how it is.”
“Can’t say that we have to force employees to fuck us. Maybe it’s the leather.”
Blue’s face went red, but he had the sense to not snap back at Hawk. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Who you working with?” Hawk asked.
“I don’t work with anyone. This is my club,” Blue said, his brow furrowed.
“Couldn’t help but notice some new faces. Turnover is a bitch, am I right?” Hawk asked.
“Can’t fucking keep girls here. If I don’t hire those bitches, I’d be out of a job.”
“So, the women willing to come work for you are bitches? No wonder you gotta force ‘em to suck your cock,” I said. I hadn’t had many interactions with this guy, but I’d met him. I always knew he was a snake, but I was struggling to not rock his shit.
“What’s this about, Hawk? I’m just trying to keep my head above water, man. I don’t come to your business and start trouble.”
“If we were starting trouble, you’d know,” Hawk said. “But I’m trying to find out who this trafficking ring is. Have your regular ladies gone missing?”
“Nope. I mean, maybe. But they all cluck like chickens. The rumor mill was spouting that they all just started quitting.”
“Any idea where they’d be going? Women like that don’t exactly look for office jobs.”
Blue scoffed. “Ask them and they’re all putting themselves through college.”
Hawk was doing business, but if I ever got the chance, I’d love to take a round with this guy.
“I just assumed they went to a different club, or found some sugar daddy to take care of them.”
“You know anything about a madame in the area?”
Blue leaned back, blowing out a deep breath. “I’m sure there are some, but I haven’t heard anything for a while. Mostly pimps around these parts, you know?”
There were a lot of pimps in this area. Some weren’t complete assholes, others were. Either way, they wouldn’t be above selling off women. Still, women that worked in the mid-to-nicer clubs wouldn’t go work for men like that. Not unless they got desperate. And if they were scared to dance, they wouldn’t work the streets, knowing women were going missing.
Hawk tapped the arm of the chair he was sitting in. “True. Any other clubs been in here hanging out, or asking to partner up?”
“Like motorcycle clubs? No. And like I said, I work alone.”
Hawk nodded. “Let’s hope you’re telling the truth, Blue.” Hawk stood up. “If you get any visitors like that, you be sure to let me know immediately.”
“Got a little competition?” Blue asked.
There was a flash as Hawk jumped over the desk and slammed Blue’s face to the desk. The gun was still in my hand, but I threw my elbow to the nose of the guy from the hall and, with a pop, blood spurted out.
Falcon was wailing on the other guy, while Rooster shoved my guy to the floor as I trained my gun on him. Eagle had his gun aimed at Blue, still smashed against the papers on his messy desk.
Hawk leaned in his ear once Falcon had his guy still on the floor. “You think you’re funny, you little shit? I could kill you right now and nobody would give a fuck. If you know something, you better fucking talk.”
“I don’t, I don’t. Shit, man. You guys always come in here starting trouble. I don’t know shit.”
Hawk gripped Blue’s slick, dark hair, lifting his head then slamming it down again. “You start asking around, I want a name. There’s a madame. I want to know who and where to find her. And if you see any other fucker on a motorcycle with a cut other than ours, you better pull your phone out, snap a pic, then text it. You understand?”
Blue’s hands were by his head in surrender. “I got it, I got it! I’ll ask around.”
“And?” Hawk asked, right against Blue’s ear. “And bikers. I’ll let you know if I see any bikers. Fuck, man. Calm down.”
Hawk pushed his head down but stood up, straightening his cut. He wiped at his lip, then tried to smooth his hair. “We’ll be around, Blue. Don’t fuck me over, man.”
Blue sat up, nodding furiously. “I won’t. I wouldn’t, Hawk. You know that.”
“I don’t know shit,” Hawk said as he waved us out.
Back outside, the bikes were still there. Eagle checked his phone. “These aren’t from a club. Just weekend riders,” he said, nodding toward the bikes.
“Let’s ride around a bit more, then head back. I need a fucking drink,” Hawk said.
“Same, brother.” I was tired, ready for a strong drink, and wanted to bury my cock in my soft woman.
“Amen to that,” Falcon said.
“Y’all have fun with your drinks. I’ll have fun with Lacy,” Eagle said with a grin.
We all rolled our eyes, then fired up the Harleys. On the ride home, we all stayed alert. We made it back to the club, and I had to admit, as tired as I was, I was disappointed we didn’t encounter these assholes or find any new leads after all this searching. I was ready for this to be over so I could focus on more important things, like Shivana.