Chapter 9
Rafe
After days of going back and forth with Schommer, Menace and Shotgun were finally able to get the information needed to find Stark.
Menace spent hours on end trying to break through the coded emails, but just as he was about to reach his wits end, he finally cracked it and hacked into their main server.
Once he was inside, he was able to find the emails exchanged between Schommer and Stark, which he used to find Stark.
After a little more digging, Menace discovered the guy wasn’t only a drug runner, but he also had ties to the Italian mafia.
Everyone knew about the Italians and their history of blood, rebellions, and wars.
There was no way anyone couldn’t. They’d been plastered all over the news for their conflicts over territory and dominance.
Hell, they’d even made fucking movies and TV series about them.
I’d like to say this was the first time we’d had any dealings with the mafia, but it wasn’t.
Less than a year ago, we’d helped the brothers of Satan’s Fury when they faced issues with Anthony Polito—a known leader in the Italian mafia.
It was a hell of a fight, so needless to say, we were concerned about Stark and his connections with the mob.
It was that very concern that had me leaving Marlowe on her doorstep after a kiss that rocked me to the fucking core.
To say walking away wasn’t something I wanted to do was an understatement.
Fuck, if I had it my way, I would’ve spent the entire night wrapped up in her arms, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.
Viper wanted us close in case we were needed, and I couldn’t, wouldn’t, let him or my brothers down.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about Marlowe as I headed into the clubhouse.
In fact, I was so lost in my own head I hadn’t even noticed Widow was calling out to me.
It took him shouting to finally get my attention.
“Yo, Rafe!”
I looked up and noticed him standing at the end of the hall. “Yeah?”
“What the fuck, man?” Widow barked. “You deaf or something?”
“Sorry. I didn’t hear ya.” As I continued in his direction, I told him, “I got a lot on my mind.”
“Don’t we all.” When I made it over to him, he asked, “You and Country get Gladys taken care of?”
“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” I shrugged. “We sent a few prospects over to finish cleaning.”
“What about ol’ Gladys? She found a new place yet?”
“Not that I know of. I’m sure she and Country will find something.”
“She could always move in with Ada over at the storage lot. I bet she’d like having the company.”
“You know that’s not a bad idea.”
“Might be worth bringing it up to Country.”
“Will do.”
Concern crossed his face as he told me, “Guess you heard Viper called for church first thing tomorrow morning.”
“That’s why I decided to stay here tonight. Wanted to be close in case something came up.”
“Same here.” He ran his hand through his thick dark hair and sighed with worry. “Feels like we’re just sitting here waiting for a bomb to drop, and it’s getting to me.”
“It’s getting to us all, brother, but we’ll deal with this. We always do.”
“I don’t know, man. I got a bad feeling about this Stark motherfucker.” Widow stepped closer as he grumbled, “You remember how things played out with Satan’s Fury. These fucking mafia assholes are no joke.”
I didn’t know if I should feel relieved or even more concerned that I wasn’t the only one feeling like a dark cloud was hovering over us.
This whole thing had been eating at me for days.
I didn’t see any point in adding to Widow’s apprehension, so I nodded and said, “We handled those assholes, and we’ll do the same with Scar and whoever else he has in his pocket. ”
“I sure as hell hope you’re right.” He gave me a pat on my shoulder, then started towards his room. “I’m gonna hit the sack.”
“I’m right behind ya.”
I continued down the hall, and as soon as I got to my room, I took off my clothes and got in bed.
I didn’t realize how tired I really was until my head hit the pillow.
I’d barely closed my eyes before I passed out and didn’t wake until the following morning.
When I saw that it was after six, I got up and took a shower.
I was just starting to get dressed when I heard Country pounding on my door.
“You planning on sleeping all day or what?”
“I’m up!”
“Then move your ass. We’ve got church!”
“No shit! Give me a fucking minute.” I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then opened the door to find Country and Lynch standing in the hall waiting. I stepped back, then sat on my bed to put on my boots. As I grabbed my cut, I asked, “Did the prospects get over to Crockett’s?”
“Yeah. They finished things up last night.”
“Good.”
I followed them down the hall to the conference room.
When we walked in, Viper and Axel were already there with Menace.
They were in a deep discussion, and while I had no idea what they were talking about, I could tell from their expressions it wasn’t good.
I walked over and took my seat, and it wasn’t long before Hawk and the others started filing into the room.
As soon as everyone was settled, Viper slammed the gavel against the table and brought the meeting to order.
“I called you all in so we could set some things straight. I know you’ve all been talking amongst yourselves about Stark and his connection with the Italian mafia.
I get that you’re feeling uneasy about that and rightly so. ”
“Yeah, we all saw how things played out with Satan’s Fury and that Polito motherfucker,” Axel added. “Don’t know what they would’ve done if we hadn’t been there to give them a hand.”
Shotgun looked over to Viper as he asked, “You don’t think there’s a possible connection between our guy and Polito, do you?”
“I guess there’s always a chance.” Viper leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “It’s definitely something to consider.”
“Are we just asking for trouble here?” Hawk leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he directed his focus on Viper. “It’s been almost two months since we ended the Punishers. If these guys are coming for us, where the hell are they?”
“Can’t answer that, brother. Wish I could.” Viper sighed as he continued, “All I can tell you is that I got a gut feeling this shit didn’t end when we took out the Punishers, and that feeling has been getting stronger every day.”
My brothers and I were all very aware of Viper and his gut instincts. From day one, he’d always listened to them, and they’d never once failed him. I had no doubt the same would hold true now. Hawk was clearly in agreement when he nodded and said, “That’s all I need to know then.”
“I’m going to be honest with all of you.
There’s still a lot we just don’t know. Stark could just be a fucking go-between, or there’s a good chance he’s working directly with Scar.
Either way, it’s going to take us some time to find out exactly what’s going on.
” Viper looked out at all of us as he said, “Be patient. As always, we will get through this thing together.”
“Damn straight we will.”
“Stay close. Keep your eyes and ears open, and if you see anything that seems suspicious, I want to be the first to know about it.”
Viper slammed the gavel, closing the meeting, and everyone quickly started to disperse. I was on my way out the door when Menace came rushing up to me. “Hey, you got a second?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“With everything that’s been happening with the club, I’ve gotten a little behind on things, but I did manage to get Marlowe’s background check done.” He handed me a folder. “Thought you might want to take a look at it.”
“Why? Something up?”
“Nah, everything’s good. Just some things in there I thought you might find interesting.” He watched as I opened up the folder and started sifting through the pages. “That last one might have something to do with why she up and moved so far from home.”
My chest grew tight as I read over the final page. It was surprising how so much information could bring more questions than answers. I quickly closed the folder as I glanced back up at him and asked, “So, she’s still good to start on Monday night?”
“Don’t see any reason why not.”
“Good deal.” I held up the folder. “Thanks for the info, brother.”
“No problem. Glad it all worked out.” He glanced down at his watch before asking, “You working a shift tonight?”
“Not on the schedule, but I’ll probably stop by to see if the guys need a hand with anything. If something comes up, be sure to let me know.”
“Will do.”
As soon as Menace turned to leave, I looked back down at the folder and groaned.
Between church and the background check, I was feeling like the weight of the world had just been dropped on my shoulders.
I’d like to say things got better after I left the conference room, but they didn’t. In fact, they only seemed to get worse.
I barely had a chance to catch my breath the entire weekend, and things didn’t improve when Monday rolled around.
I was planning to head over to Stilettos so I could be there for Marlowe’s first shift, but that idea was shot to hell when Shotgun asked me to help him with an artillery check.
The entire time we were in the vault, I was chomping at the bit to get done.
I kept hoping that by some slim chance I might be able to make it to the club before Marlowe’s shift started, but just as we were wrapping things up, Ada—our tough-as-nails, seventy-year-old storage-lot lookout—came out and invited us to eat.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Ada was always doing what she could to look out for us but stopping to eat a big meal did little to improve my anxious mood. In fact, it only made it worse.