Chapter 40
Jackal
“We’re down to the wire guys,” Hawk said, leaning in his chair.
We were just days from the wedding and have had no luck. There have been no signs of Butch or the Hellbound Heathens, and we still couldn’t find the madame. That normally wouldn’t be cause for concern, but with all that was going on, and the fact it could be a lead, something felt off. Surely a madame would want to be found, at least by the right clientele. Of course there would be reasons for flying under the radar, since it was illegal here, but everyone we knew wouldn’t be the type to rat her out to the cops. If anything, someone like her would be protected. She provided a service and, for some men, trolling from the street corner was too risky. They’d need a more professional and discreet meeting for their needs.
None of us ever had the use for that kind of service, but to each their own. Plus, it gave those women an honest living. Why all states didn’t legalize prostitution was beyond me. Consenting adults making a business deal was all it boiled down to. Instead, the government was busy trying to outlaw stupid shit that nobody cared about.
None of that mattered to us anyway. We had our own dealings that often weren’t within the law, and we had plenty of boys in blue that turned a blind eye for us and made sure leads ran cold when necessary. As long as everyone got their pound of flesh, it all balanced out.
Still, not knowing where any of these people were, or their plan to strike, was a problem. Hawk called Church so he could update us.
Eagle tucked his hair behind his ears before clasping his hands on the table. “What’s the plan then, Prez?”
“I think they plan to ambush us. When our brothers from other chapters arrive, I’ll fill them in. We have reinforcements in them.”
I asked, “What about the possible mole? We still don’t know if someone is feeding info to Butch. It’s been awfully quiet lately since we scaled back the details to everyone.”
“True. Which is why I’m not sharing anything with the Atlanta members until it’s about to go down. But we can leverage the others. It can’t be any of them.” He leaned up, his lips thinned. “I also spoke to Petrov.”
“Why?” Falcon asked.
Red’s brow furrowed. “You know he’ll just hold this over your head. He wants Penny.”
My eyes shot to him. Red’s tone was harsher than usual, and his body was tense. Although, to be honest, we all were pretty tense at the moment.
Hawk drummed his fingers on the table. “Let me worry about that. But my plan will require extra hands and his resources could be useful.”
“What’s the plan, then? Are we calling off the wedding?” Eagle asked.
“No,” Hawk answered. “Maybe a little shuffling around of the itinerary, but for now, we go according to plan. Falcon and Red can go pick up the tuxes this afternoon. Everything else is done. We have special cars coming to get the ladies to the venue.”
Hawk and I took Cindy to get the dresses last week. Everything else was being handled by Angie and her team at the venue. We just had to get dressed and show up.
“Prez, if you think they plan to ambush us at the venue, is it really a good idea to take the ladies over?” I didn’t want to put Shivana or the others in harm’s way. I already planned to take out as many of these fuckers as I could and try my damnedest to keep Butch alive for Hawk, but the idea of the women being collateral damage didn’t sit well. But Hawk isn’t the kind of guy who would do that, either. It didn’t make sense. Was he that desperate?
“They won’t be.” He released a heavy sigh, leaning on the table. “I need you all to remember, what’s said here stays here,” he said, jabbing the table with his finger.
His icy blue eyes shot around the table, but lingered on me, Falcon, and Eagle a little longer than Red and Rooster.
“I hear you, Prez,” Eagle said, leaning back.
“Understood,” Falcon said.
Nodding, I said, “Loud and clear, Prez.”
He nodded, then continued. “The cars are part of Petrov’s fleet. Bulletproof, blacked out windows, and not from here. I couldn’t risk the wrong person knowing what I was looking for.”
That helped make sense of Petrov being involved. But like Red said, he’s not the type to be doing us favors without something being in it for him.
“Not to question your judgment, but what about once they’re inside?” Falcon asked.
Hawk glanced around, the seconds ticking by in silence before he finally said, “They won’t be staying inside. What I need from you is to be sure they don’t cause a scene and don’t ask questions. We keep this between us for now, but the day of, they need to be ready to move when asked. Is that even possible?”
Rooster chuckled, but honestly, I wasn’t sure.
“Prez,” I said. “I get they don’t need to know details, but if we drive these women in full wedding getup and then tell them to leave, I don’t see that going as smoothly as you think. Not without some explanation.”
Eagle and Falcon both dipped their heads. They knew I was right. Lacy would be devastated, Daisy would start cursing up a storm, and Shivana would have a million questions.
Hawk leaned back, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. “What if it came from Ma?”
Thinking back to the day at the mall, Shivana paused briefly, but when Cindy pushed her to head to the door, she did it. “It could work. They respect her.”
“Probably more than us,” Eagle joked.
Hawk rolled his eyes but nodded. “I think you’re right. I’ll speak to Ma. She won’t ask questions, but with a heads up, she’ll be better prepared to handle them.” Straightening in his seat, he said, “I promise you, those women won’t be in the middle of this. My mother and sister are part of this, so you can trust that I will do everything possible to protect them. But we need to end this and this is our best shot.”
Still uneasy, I asked, “So then, what exactly is the plan?”
Hawk looked around, then detailed how he thought the big day would play out.