Chapter 8
THE DEMON’S DEN
“ W hat do I do here without you?” Puppet asked, following me like a stray mutt. I didn’t bother looking at her when I carried the pair of duffel bags to my bike.
“Line my pockets with your talents,” I snapped at her, strapping my shit to the chrome sissy bar I installed earlier that day, specifically for this trip. “Keep milking dick and wallets. I’ll be back when I’m back.”
I t irked me that she was in my thoughts at all, especially with how busy I’d been since my arrival in North Carolina. It had been months since I’d left her behind in the desert to pursue the Irishman’s lead.
“This place is a rat’s nest,” Reaper grumbled, redirecting my attention to the mission at hand.
He abandoned stroking his black beard to pluck a piece of pink insulation from a hole in the wall and dropped it on the musty, mildew-ridden, half-torn-up, old carpet beneath our boots.
“I could make it look like a gas leak. We can collect the insurance and rebuild something more suitable until we own their clubhouse.”
“Patience, Reaper. This is all temporary,” I assured him. A former special forces guy, Reaper was a wealth of information when it came to improvised munitions. We shared an affinity for blowing shit up.
Until this point, I’d spent the majority of my time in North Carolina gathering every shred of intel I could on Dean Keegan and his allies, learning the lay of the land and acclimating to the humid climate.
Bermuda County sat safe and nestled within the inner banks of the coastal plain, and my body wasn’t accustomed to the sticky heat.
Forming alliances with the criminal elements that bordered their quaint little town had also been crucial to setting things in motion.
Finally, the time had come for us to make our presence known, for the games to officially begin.
The chessboard was set, and I was about to move the King’s pawn forward two spaces…
“Besides, the forested acreage is what drew Asmo’s attention to this condemnable shithole.
It’s very private and has potential for a great many things, beyond a clubhouse,” I explained to my Sergeant at Arms, who was appointed by my brother.
After losing nearly everything, including the core members of his crew, I’d made Asmodeus honorary President of the Chrome Demons MC.
“Fair enough. I suppose we could set up a few hidden cook trailers unless you want to leave production to one of the other crews under our thumbs? What are your thoughts on infiltrating the Jokers MC next?”
I pulled a long drag from my cigarette and blew the smoke up toward the water-stained ceiling tiles of what would become my temporary office.
A few were broken, leaving old wiring exposed.
It was the only private room in the back of the old diner we’d acquired through one of Asmo’s dummy corporations.
“The Jokers are out…too big a MC and too much history between them and the Saviors, particularly with Keegan and their president. Slice would never betray them, not without great cause, which I am not convinced we could effectively manufacture. We leave their territory untouched while we recruit. What we’re offering, it won’t take very long before we outnumber them all and neutralize the JoCo Jokers. ”
“What about the Asphalt Knights? Word on the street, there’s already beef with Keegan over some assault on a member of their MC.”
“That’s a potential inch we could stretch a mile… Which member? And what was the reason behind the assault?”
“The president’s cousin. Some juicehead they call Shane . And over what …” Reaper scoffs, “ What else?”
“ A woman .” I sighed. Of course. “Get me some intel on their president and ranking members. I want their Achilles heel fully exposed.”
Reaper’s brow furrowed. “There’s another ticking time-bomb we need to consider.
When Daniel Keegan realizes what all this is about, his loyalties may shift back to his brother,” Reaper warned, as if the obvious thought had never occurred to me.
“Regardless of the animosity between them, they are still blood.”
“Which I intend to eventually spill… Leviticus .” I grinned, bloody fantasies playing in my mind. Forcing Keegan to watch me dismember his brother alive was an intoxicating thought, but I shoved it aside to focus on this particular phase of the mission.
“Until the time comes, keep Daniel ignorant. Keep him close and content. Let him believe he is a favored prospect. In fact, patch him in, officially. Make him believe he belongs with us, unjudged for his transgressions. A brother among the rest of us fallen … I’m quite sure he’s already given up whatever intel he could on Keegan out of sheer spite, but allow him to vent and keep reporting back to me.
I must remain at a distance for now. I want to keep him in the dark for as long as possible. ”
“Alright. And what about Preacher?”
“ Preacher…” I scoffed, recalling our initial encounter months prior.
The man’s eagerness and tendency to act on impulse solidified his expiration date in my plans.
He feared me, though, enough to cut ties with the organizations they’d volunteered with, his measly attempt at protecting them from my reach.
Unbeknownst to him, the move worked to my benefit, tarnishing their reputation as supposed do-gooders.
“Preacher is an arrogant fool, too quick to act without thinking.” I pulled a long, irritated drag.
“Pride and greed will be his undoing, but he has no love for Keegan and resents those of his crew who do. Preacher will be easy to bend to our will. He’s power hungry and envious…
There’s a greed in him I will cultivate and exploit.
His soul and his MC will be mine within the year. ”
“Legion… President of the Saviors MC ?” Reaper chuckled.
“I intend to make him my new puppet…a key pawn. Through their subverted president, I’ll snatch the redemption they seek and snuff it out beneath my boots.
I will twist them into the very things they hate.
Hell, I’ll even turn their safehouses into fucking brothels and drug dens by the time I’m through. ”
“Now that sounds like fun.” Reaper grinned.
A smile crept across my mouth as I gazed over the maps pinned to the bead-boarded wall, which outlined each MC’s territory and the clustered photos of their members.
“A party, Reaper.” I chuckled, my demons giddy with the promise of chaos and destruction hovering on the horizon. “ And this party is just getting started…”