Chapter 12
TWELVE
JAMESON
PRESENT DAY
This meeting was a clusterfuck.
I knew it was going to be the second Killian had texted to have me bring five of my men and meet at some abandoned gas station.
Several Stone Riders glared as they sat atop their bikes, while I knew my men were glaring right back…
and the cherry on the shit cake was that apparently Killian had invited a third club.
“The fuck are the Death Raiders doing here?” Thomas, one of my men, grumbled, leaning back in his seat as if he were ready to get the hell out of dodge.
His glare was fixed on the approaching group, as ten Death Raiders pulled to a stop, completing our half circle of bikes.
The moon was pale and heavy in the sky, the December air was cold against our faces but manageable with our riding leathers.
My gaze narrowed on the lead bike, knowing it was Silas and feeling agitated over seeing him.
Our last encounter was still a flicker in the back of my mind.
While I had hoped to piss him off, he’d ended up getting under my skin.
So much so that I had to resist trying to taunt him into a fight just so I could throw my fist into his face.
“Silas, you’re late.” Killian spoke into the clearing after all the bikes shut off.
I lifted my chin toward Killian and Wes. “Care to explain what the hell is going on?”
Silas laughed, shaking his head. Out here in the dark, his eyes caught the glare of the moon, making them look unnatural…as if he’d just slipped up through a shadow and was only here to reap souls.
“Of course the Chaos Kings wouldn’t know what was going on, your club is nothing but fucking anarchy right now.”
I bristled at the implication, regardless of how true it was, and for the sake of my men who were seething behind me, I bit out a cold reply.
“Anarchy can still fuck you up and put a bullet in your head, so mind your mother fucking tongue.”
“Enough.” Killian broke into the fray, leaving his bike to stand next to it. Silas did the same, so I followed suit.
“This isn’t the Death Raiders fight,” I said straight away because I knew my men were thinking it.
Silas glared at me, his hair was slicked up and to the side. Fucker looked like a pretty boy you’d see on some classic magazine about motorcycles. He didn’t look like he fit into this life.
“A member of your club was found right outside of the perimeter of the Stone Riders property line a few days ago, which means they’re scouting.”
He’d already shared that little piece of information, it wasn’t new.
“Still don’t see how that involves the Death Raiders?” I glared at Silas then Killian.
Silas tilted his face the slightest bit, almost as if he was reconsidering what he was about to say.
“I was the one who showed up to ensure they no longer had the ability to spy.”
“And why exactly were you there?” I asked pointedly, not giving a single fuck as to what his play was here.
Killian stepped in and directed the attention back to the issue at hand.
“We need the help of the Death Raiders to lure Jefferson and Luke out. I want to send a message to them, and to do that we need to work together. Silas has more patrols running right now than any of our clubs do. If he sees anything, he’ll report it.”
I had a feeling that meant Silas was going to be around the Stone Riders property more often. I directed my question back to Killian. “What else does that give him license to do?”
I didn’t miss the smirk ghosting across Silas’s mouth before his cold voice cut through the air.
“It gives me license to do whatever I think needs to be done.”
I cut a quick glance to Wes, then Killian. “So that means he might be showing up on Stone Rider property?”
Killian’s jaw clenched before his eyes found the ground.
Just as I thought. I had heard of how Silas had used Killian’s old lady, Laura, as a means to send a message to Killian.
Presumably after I had met with Natty. My hour-long coffee date with the blonde apparently threw the leader into such a fucking tantrum, he held Laura at gun point.
It was still rather fresh from what I understood.
Regardless of the man’s intentions, something told me Laura wouldn’t like seeing Silas around.
Just as I suspected, Silas glanced briefly at Killian who was already shaking his head.
“If he’s out of sight…but he won’t ever be anywhere that will cause alarm or fear for other members.”
Good. I didn’t want him near Penelope either.
“I had another reason for why I came tonight,” Silas muttered solemnly, staring at his boots. In the dark I couldn’t see them, but I noticed how he kicked at the solid dirt around the bike. The cold had nearly frozen everything.
We all waited, our breaths frosting the air.
“Found out Jefferson took a meeting with someone recently.”
Killian’s brows furrowed before he glanced at Wes, then back at Silas. I checked Giles’s expression and saw him looking at both men as well. It angered me that he was acting vice president and yet it was Wes who was consistently next to Killian.
“You get a name?”
“Yeah.” Silas scratched his neck. “Your pops ever talk about a man named Fable?”
Killian seemed to freeze in place, with his eyes blown wide. There were a few muttered curses from the Stone Riders’ old timers, along with one of my own.
My eyes bounced between his and Silas, until finally Killian let out a small huff of air.
“A different kind of devil, one that doesn’t reap souls, but destroys them…” Killian muttered, almost to himself, while staring at the ground.
Shit, I knew that tale…I knew about the man they said had been named after fear, by his own parents…but his name was in a different language, so here in the states, he had adopted a nickname.
Fable.
Silas looked resigned, his jaw tensed, but his expression was distant, as if he didn’t want to be present for this conversation.
“Yes…that’s him. His real name is Timothy…or as his biblical name states, Timor...”
Kilian’s eyes narrowed.
“You seem to know a lot about him.”
Silas dropped his hands, as if he’d been defeated. “I’ve only met him a few times, but my mother ensured I knew everything about my father, seeing as one day it’ll be me that puts a bullet in his brain.”
My men whispered to one another behind me. I saw the Stone Riders talk as well, but the Death Raiders were silent, still and stoic.
Silas stepped back, his fists clenched tight before he responded to Killian.
“Our fathers were friends long ago and I suspect remained as such. Jefferson has found where my father had slunk off to and brought him back to Virginia. Jefferson was worrisome on his own, but the two of them together…” He shook his head, looking overwhelmed.
“They have even older loyalties to tap into…dead and buried allegiances we assumed would never resurface.”
“Fuck,” Wes muttered with a harsh rasp.
Killian’s expression seemed to display the same sentiment.
“I heard he led his own club…Destroyers or something like that?” Giles offered from his spot, his arms crossed and chin gesturing up toward the group.
Silas glared but didn’t reply. But he needed to, because if his dad was leading a club, and Jefferson was in control of the Chaos Kings that had defected…then fuck. We were in trouble.
“We need to try and pull Luke out, see if we can use him to lure the other two somewhere,” Silas suddenly suggested, his eyes flew to me with a lift of his chin. “Your woman, Penelope, she’s carrying his kid, right?”
My fists opened and closed, desperate to break his jaw. I fucking hated hearing her name on his lips.
“We’re not using her.”
“If it’s to draw him out then we have to consi—” Silas started, but I cut him off.
“Would you? If it was her…would you?” He knew who I was talking about. Out of respect, I wouldn’t say Natty’s name in front of all these members, but he knew. So did Killian and Wes.
Silas narrowed his lethal gaze on me. If looks could kill, I’d be dead where I stood.
The silence grew, so I added quietly, “You aren’t the only one with people to protect. She isn’t a pawn.”
“We can draw him out with you, Jameson. Luke was your second in command—if things are going poorly with Jefferson, perhaps he’ll want to reconcile with you,” Killian suggested and it eased the tension in my chest.
“Fine. I’ll connect with the members who still have ties to the ones who stayed behind and see if I can start a rumor that I’ve been wanting to get back in touch with him.”
Silas gave a slight nod before turning back to his bike.
Killian glanced at me, then Wes. “We doing anything about Fable coming into the picture?”
Silas straddled his bike. “Watch your loved ones…pull ‘em close, speaking of…” He glanced at his phone briskly, then his watch, which was a smart watch of some variation. “We need to go.”
My brows tucked in as I swung my focus to Kilian, Wes and then Silas. “Why?”
“Two members of Sons of Speed have driven past The Hollow in the past half hour.”
The fuck were Sons of Speed doing here in Rose Ridge?
“What’s the Hollow?” I flicked another nervous look to Killian.
Silas started his bike, which had his officers doing the same, and then within a blink, they were driving away.
Killian walked over to me, while Wes jogged back to his bike. “Just follow us.”
I turned and got on my bike, nodding to my brothers who were waiting for my signal.
We pulled out behind the Stone Riders and made our way back to the main road.
The Death Raiders were about a quarter of a mile ahead of us, but we caught up quick enough.
Between all our members, there was about twenty of us all together.