CHAPTER 19 #2
“Wait. Hold up.” Mav jumps in as he scrubs a hand over his short black hair.
His amber glare lands on each of us for a moment.
“I don’t know about you, but letting the GBs into our territory seems like a bad fuckin’ idea.
Maybe it’s one chapter at first, but we’ve seen how fast Pappy’s growin’ that club.
He’s gonna lose control, and their chapters will get sloppy.
If they bring that kind of heat down on themselves, it’s also gonna fall on the rest of us.
We don’t want the Feds all over our shit, digging through our businesses or the ways we pull in green.
” He stabs his finger on the table to get his point across.
“They move here, we’re guaranteed a ticket to a shitshow we didn’t sign up for. ”
“I’m with Mav. You invite a giant into your home, he’s gonna fuck everything up,” Septic grits out from down the table.
Taz sneers. “They wanna grow. They can spread north. Why the fuck they gotta come here?”
“Everything is runnin’ smooth as is. I vote we don’t rock the boat. Maybe Pappy is just trying to throw his weight around to see if we’re open to it. If we let him know we’re not, then maybe he’ll back off.” This comes from Stone, who’s also our newest patched-in member.
I lean forward. Usually, I’d keep my cool and hold this all in.
Maybe even maneuver brothers one by one to see how wrong they are about this decision, but after the shit I’ve seen and experienced over the last year, I know staying silent right now would be a great detriment to not just the club but a lot of fucking innocent people who need someone to be their fucking voice.
“I get what you’re sayin’. All of you,” I say as I work to push down the venom boiling in my blood.
“But you also haven’t seen the shit I’ve seen if you think the 13Ds are any better.
” My voice has a desperate edge that I can’t tamp down entirely.
“These girls I help… the ones the 13Ds are branding, selling… they’re not willing.
A few aren’t even legal, but they’re pretty good about hiding the shit like this that will bury them.
At least the GBs are selling willing pussy and legal consensual sex, plus they’re keeping it off the streets.
They’re not snatching runaways or girls in dire situations and selling some across the border, never to be seen or heard from again.
Nor do they treat the girls under their care like dogs.
Don’t even get me started on the kids they’re pullin’ in to sell their product on the street. ”
“You know this for a fact?” Stone questions.
“Yeah, I’ve witnessed it firsthand.” I look around the table, meeting certain men’s gazes.
Mav leans back, jaw tight. He runs his hand down his face and scratches at his scruff-covered jaw. He looks taken aback and takes his time to consider this side of the coin, as I see it.
It’s a no-win situation. I get it. Either way you dice it, we’re fucked.
Cap interjects, “It’s not something we need to decide now.
But the times comin’ when we’re goin’ to have to choose who we side with.
” When Cap realizes almost everyone is in agreement, he calls for a vote.
When it’s done, he nods. “The vote stands. For now, we hold ’em off.
Buy us some time. Keep makin’ payments to the 13Ds to keep Edge safe. ”
“Goose, Bodie, Grinder, and Stone will make the usual drop to the 13Ds on Monday night at ten. Mav, Dozer, Griz, and I will visit Edge this weekend and make sure before we hand over the money, they’re keepin’ up their end.”
A few more items are discussed; most of it revolves around the businesses we all run for the club, the green we clean, the guns we sell, and upcoming runs we have to make to push product from the weed farms we partially own in Colorado.
The meeting finally comes to an end, the sound of heavy footsteps, creaking chairs, and leather filling the space.
Just as I make it to the door, I get called back by Cap.
Turning, I see him gliding his hand over the glossy surface of the wood table. The grain shines under the low light, reflecting the years of meetings, decisions, and history it’s witnessed. He rocks back in his chair, plants his elbow on the table, and crosses his ankle over his knee.
“You sure you’re good to keep making these payment runs?”
I nod. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Heard tensions are thick between you and Veno.”
Knowing this isn’t going to be a quick conversation, I shut the door and take Griz’s seat. The chair creaks under my weight, the leather cold and firm.
“Always been that way. We got history.” I shrug. “Been amping up because he doesn’t appreciate me stickin’ my nose in his business. But the way I see it, if the girl’s not there by choice and needs a way out, then I’m going to get her out.”
“You know this could put our truce on shaky ground too?”
“It’s one girl. One girl every few months. Either she’ll come to me or the cops, or die trying to make a run for it. So, either way, they lose her. This way, the cops aren’t all over them. And what the fuck do they care? They’ll replace her in a week with someone new.”
“Be real with me, how bad is it?”
“Veno kept his nose pretty clean for a while after he got out of the pen, but the more power El Jefe—fuck, I hate calling him that” I shake my head. Cap rolls his hand.
I continue, “Anyway, the more power Antonio hands off to Veno, the bolder Veno grows. It’s gonna be a problem. No doubt in my mind. Antonio cares about his people, power, and money. He’s scary fuckin’ smart and ruthless.”
“And Veno?”
“He only cares about power and money. It’s an ego trip for him.
And one day his greed is gonna turn brother against brother, and it’ll be a shitstorm in our backyard.
The girls Veno’s trafficking and pimping out are kept under watch, taken to shady places, sold to scum of the earth, and force-fed drugs to keep them compliant and tied to him for their next fix.
If they do want out or decide to get clean, it doesn’t end well for them.
They’re here one day and gone the next. Not sure what’s happening to them—either sold off or put in the ground. ”
As I watch Cap, his scowl deepens. He tries to mask his anger and disgust as he thinks through the problem logically.
The way his hard eyes stare at nothing, the way his right fist curls, and how, like Dozer, his thick muscles bulge with tension.
Then a look of utter disgust flashes across his face in the next second, and I wonder if his thoughts have turned to Taffy, his eighteen-year-old daughter.
“Is there more?” he asks.
“Veno’s getting sloppy. Pushin’ out a shit load of meth and it’s bad shit.
The crew he’s building—they’re heartless, scary fuckers.
From the outside in, it looks like he’s tryin’ to make a name for himself and come out from Antonio’s shadow.
If I were Antonio, I’d start worrying about Veno making a power play.
Because you can bet your ass sooner or later he will.
He’ll make a move and cut off the head that’s been tying his hands. ”
The ice in Cap’s eyes is glacial. “The last thing we want is Veno taking over. Let’s keep an eye on him and his crew.
Ideally, we keep him in line as much as we’re able to and buy us time, make what moves we can until Edge isn’t in the crosshairs.
You and Taz put your heads together and come up with something. ”
I knock on the table and give him a stiff nod. “No problem.”
“And keep doing what you can under their radar. Just don’t let them catch up to you or tie it back to the club. Minimal waves. When Edge is free, we’ll run their asses out of here.”
Pride swells in my chest, and we clasp arms. The firm grip, warm and solid, is reassuring. A grin spreads across my face. “Was hoping you’d say that.”
He gives me a grim smile in return. “Same page. Same book.”
That’s the thing about this club that sold me on becoming a member.
Cap’s not just looking after the members—he’s looking after the community.
Not just Los Lunas either. He cares deeply about the place we call home—local, state, and the country as a whole.
And though he doesn’t buy into the government’s bullshit anymore, he still loves his fucking country to the depths of his soul.
The kind of man who should and could lead a nation, but is content ruling over his small portion of the world.
“You just tell me what you need and when you need it. You don’t have to do this on your own.”
My chest inflates, fills fucking full to bursting.
His words are exactly what I needed to hear.
For a while now, I’ve been a lone man on a mission.
But that’s on me. Looking back at the insignia on the wall, I chuckle mirthlessly.
The letters etched into the wood seem to glare back at me.
UWL. UWR. UWF. United we live, ride, and fall.
Cap follows my gaze. “What?”
“Should’ve known better is all.” I rake my hands through my hair. The strands slip through my fingers, coarse and damp with sweat. “To keep some of this bullshit to myself. To go at it alone. Not bringing you all in the know of what I’ve seen first-hand.”
He chuckles, “Yeah, but it’s just your way.
Your daddy was the same. Always trying to play the lone hero until the problem was bigger than he could handle.
I’m tellin’ you, the apple never falls far.
” He spins in his chair and stands. Walking to the wall at the other end of church, he points to a picture full of soldiers, a few familiar faces in it, only these faces are forty years younger in the photo—at least the ones still living.
“Luckily, he came to us that day with some bad intel he’d been sworn to keep to himself, or this picture would’ve ended up much different. Without him in it, and maybe even without a few of us.”