Chapter 4
FOUR
SNIPER
It’s time to start our own offensive.
Church is full when I arrive, and as weary as I feel, I know I still have a few more hours ahead of me. The bar was a mess, even though the club’s construction company was there to fix everything that was damaged, it pisses me off to even have to do it.
Which is exactly why I’ve been trying to find Vlad when I have a free moment. Because I want to put a bullet through his skull and end this shit once and for all. But the bastard is a slippery son of a bitch and we still haven’t been able to figure out where he’s hiding, despite searching the entire city. I’m starting to make my way along the outskirts of the city toward the county lines, but it’s slow going with so many different places for them to be hiding.
At this point, I’m certain he’s either living somewhere off the grid, or he’s with someone who can protect him from being found out. Or Dmitri when he was alive. But Cryos has never been able to find any signs of that, so the off-grid theory is looking more and more plausible. The problem is that all around are plenty of forest and places for them to hide. And Vlad is smart enough, just like Dmitri, not to let the majority of his men come and go from where he is. He’s housing them somewhere else to keep his location a secret. We’ve already tried using them to find him, but that never seems to go anywhere.
Now that both of them are dead, we need to move fast before he replaces them and they all go back underground again.
I take my seat to the right of the head of the table, nodding when my brothers call out greetings to me. After I left the Forces, I was happy to be alone, but now, being surrounded by this group of men, I realized that was a stupid idea. I can still be alone when I want to be, but having people around to give me a bit of a social life of sorts, keeps the dark thoughts that swirl around inside my head at bay.
Also helps that with this group and the women they seem to end up with, I don’t have much time to sit and think when I’m having to deal with whatever plan they’ve dug up, or the trouble they get themselves into. I barely manage not to shake my head in exasperation thinking about the night with Eden, Rose, Sage, and Izzy. And up until that night, I was sure Shadow’s bail fund idea was all in good fun, but now I’m realizing that no, we probably are going to actually need it one day. Or just lock them up ourselves.
That certainly has some perks, but I also think they’d figure out how to get out of it and the hell that would rain down on us would be a thousand times worse. I have never been more grateful that I don’t have a woman to worry about because, damn, just dealing with the ones we have is more than enough. Adding having to deal with one of my own? Yeah, no thanks. I’m perfectly happy being a bachelor for life.
The door slams shut as Bullet stalks inside, looking annoyed, but also resigned. I would bet he’s just finished speaking with Rose, his Old Lady, and no doubt he’s probably spent far too much time listening, or arguing, to or with her. Though the way the two of them behave, I doubt if it’s an argument, it will last for long. I haven’t ever seen a couple more suited for each other than those two, and that’s saying something with the way everyone is pairing up around here.
“Alright, let’s get down to business,” Bullet barks, making everyone go quiet. He doesn’t even bother banging his gavel, and I take in the faces around the table that watch him with a mixture of grimness and anticipation. “Sniper, what’s the deal on the bar?” he asks me, glancing over at me.
“Thankfully no one was seriously hurt since the place was pretty quiet. Those sitting closest to the windows got hit with the glass, but it was mostly just scrapes and cuts. One asshole got pissed about it, but quickly shut up when I approached. Apparently, I’m a scary motherfucker or something,” I add with a wry grin. I hear a few snorts, and a lot of chuckles at that. Even Bullet cracks a smirk. “We’ve closed the bar until we’re all fixed up, and Stone and King have guys scheduled to fix it.”
“Should only take a couple more days,” Stone butts in. He’s Rose and Bullet’s oldest son, and while he has his father’s six-two height, bulky muscle, thick beard, and blue eyes, his features are all his mother. “Mostly just waiting on the new windows to be installed since they’re custom, but our supplier is moving fast. Everything inside will be finished by tomorrow.”
“So we should be open again by Friday night,” I finish.
“Any concerns that it’s going to affect people coming or the sales?” Viper asks, ever the Treasurer and money worrier.
I shrug. “Don’t know and honestly I don’t give a shit if it does. We’ve been doing well with the bar in general the last few years, and we have a nest egg for any kind of lull we might get.” Viper nods. “I double checked with Sandy and she’s good to come back. She’s not all that shaken up despite everything. She’s going to ask her friend’s daughter if she’s still willing to come and work, but she’s escaping an abusive ex so I imagine she might not be too keen on working with us, but we’ll see.”
“Cryos,” Bullet says, looking over at our resident tech guy and security expert. And hacker. He was recruited by the government when he was still a kid but now we have him on our side. He’s what I would call a pretty boy; he’s not conventionally tall, being a few inches shorter than six feet. But he has the thick, dark blond hair, and blue eyes that have women tripping over themselves. And he knows it. I find him to be a bit cocky, and if you question his systems or his smarts, he’ll get pissy, but he’s gotten us out of some tight spots plenty of times.
Cryos nods and clicks some buttons on the computer in front of him, putting some images up on the screen at the front of the room behind me. I twist in my chair, and so does Bullet to look up at it. “I pulled the security feed and went over it frame by frame, running my programs and facial recognition. And I was able to figure out who the shooters were, and also track them to where they dumped the vehicle and set it on fire.” He clicks a few more buttons and brings up the image of the car burning in the abandoned car lot. Then he plays a video and we see the light of the fire on the men’s faces. “This is what I used so that I could get names. And they came up pretty quickly.”
“They look like regular foot soldiers to me,” Titan notes, leaning forward. Before being a part of our MC, he was a member of the Golden Skulls in California, and I was wary to accept him at first. That club was a 1%er, and we aren’t about that life, so I wasn’t sure he would fit in here. But he’s proven to be a valuable brother. At six feet tall, and a skilled former amateur MMA fighter out there too, he has strawberry blond hair, dark eyes, and a short, cropped beard that give him a bit more of a rugged look. Well, that and the tattoos.
“Two of them are,” Cryos announces, clicking a few more buttons and then bringing up mug shots on the screen. “Meet Bogdan and Maxim Kuznetsov. A set of brothers that originate from a small village in Russia, and joined the local mafia chapter with their father when they were old enough. They’ve been on a bad path ever since. If you name it, they’ve probably done it. They were sent over here when Dmitri was still running things, and from what I can tell, they’re now higher, and not just basic foot soldiers. They get sent on the bigger, more important jobs that need to be messy and fast.”
“Like the one at the bar,” I butt in darkly. Fuckers. I have some bullets of my own to pay them back for that. Probably a bit too dark of a thought, but well, that’s what happens when you go up against bastards like these for years.
“Exactly.” Cryos nods, with a small smile my way. “But it’s this guy who’s going to be the big problem.” He zooms in and brings up a picture of a man who’s about to climb into the back of the getaway SUV. Then, a photo of the man comes up on the screen, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Yeah, this fucker is definitely someone we need to watch. And if he’s in town, we’re going to have to make some key adjustments. Fast.
Someone lets out a low whistle. “Who wants to bet that’s going to be Vlad’s new right-hand man?” Timber suggests, a grimness in his tone. Louisiana-born, he and Viper are our only two black members, but the two of them couldn’t be more different. Dark eyes, military-style short hair, and barely any facial hair, along with an accent that he uses to charm his way through any trouble he might run into, especially with women. Though I’ve also heard he uses it on pissed-off customers at the mechanic shop too. I doubt he’s going to be able to use those skills here though.
“You would be correct,” Cryos replies, pulling up some more details. “Meet Nikolai Egorov, one of the most feared men on either side of the pond. Mostly because he’s methodical, and he’s been trained by some of the best men in the Bratva from the time he was a teenager. There isn’t much known about him, but I was able to find that his mother managed to smuggle him out of Russia when he was a child to America. She also managed to avoid detection here until he was fifteen, when his father found them and killed her. But even being in America didn’t keep him out of trouble. He has a sealed juvie record starting from when he was ten to fifteen. Got in trouble for stealing cars, assault, property damage, and at one point, almost attempted murder because he tried to kill a kid for daring to fight back. His father took his son back to Russia after killing his mother.”
“Charming,” Torque says in disgust. Bullet and Rose’s middle son, he’s a carbon copy of his father. Right down to his six-two height, his father’s blue eyes, and his muscular build. The only time I ever find he looks like his mother is when he smirks or gets a wild idea in his head, though that’s not often. Torque is the thinker of the three, and he likes to mull things over. He also runs the Devil’s Garage, which is how our bikes all stay running in such good shape.
“When his father collected him, he disappeared for a while,” Cryos continues. “But then he popped back up again at sixteen in a report from the CIA. I wasn’t able to get it all before coming in here, but I’ll work on it some more. Basically, his father and uncles realized the potential he had and they set out to make him the perfect solider. He took part in a lot of Bratva tasks, including the bombing of a rival’s mansion, and it got him noticed by the Pakhan. From there, he moved up the ranks until finally, he became their number one assassin. He’s the kind of guy you call in when you want to take out a problem.”
“So this is Vlad’s way of letting us know he’s not playing around anymore?” Hulk asks with a dark frown on his face. One of our bigger members, Hulk works with Shadow and Viper at the security office. He stands at six-five, with broad shoulders and chest and well-maintained muscles that he spends hours on at the gym. The man is quiet, but when it comes to the club, or those he cares about, he can either be your worst nightmare, or a teddy bear. Especially with the kids. He never served in the military, but he should have because the man is a whiz with small details and his brain is always working. “And if that’s the case, why did he only have him shoot up the bar?” he continues, leaning forward. See? Smart. “I mean, if he’s as good as all that, then shooting up the bar isn’t his MO. He would have blown it up or even tried to actually take some of us out.”
“I think he’s trying to figure out our response and making a plan,” Frost butts in, his expression tight. “If he’s this good, he wants to see how we react and use that against us. This was a warning, and I think there’s going to be more coming.” Former military, with a specialty in tracking, Frost is one cool bastard. Which is exactly why we call him that. He’s a couple inches over six feet, sports dark hair, a cropped beard, and sharp blue eyes, and while he’s not as bulky as the rest of us, there’s no missing the man keeps himself in shape.
His counterpart, Bowie, and one of his closest friends, is the opposite in looks, but the same in personality as well as his training, and he nods in agreement with him. They belonged to the same unit in the military, though not on the same team. At six feet, with forest green eyes, he keeps his head much the same as he did in the military and keeps it mostly shaved. He is one of the few of us who doesn’t have any facial hair. He told me one time that he hates the feel of it, and when he was still in the military, he hated how itchy it got.
“The question is, is he going to go after the entire club as a whole or individuals?” Medic, our resident doctor, muses. It was easy enough to call him that considering that was what he was when he was in the military, and now, he keeps up his license by covering shifts at the hospital when needed. But for the most part, he works with us and patches us all up when needed. He stands at six feet, with dark hair and a dark beard, sea green eyes, and always a smile on his face. The man is far too chipper, considering everything he’s seen if you ask me, but it’s not my business. He’s also big on therapy, so I have to imagine he speaks to someone to help him out.
You know, the healthy way. Not the shit way I’ve always done it by just internalizing it and moving the fuck on. I don’t have time for shrinks trying to get inside my head. It’s dark enough already, and I don’t need any damn light to make it better.
“My bet is he’s hoping that this will drive us into lockdown and put us all in one place,” I tell them, drawing attention. “If you think about it, the man knows that taking us out individually is going to take time. He wants us to be in one spot, including the women and children, and take us all out in one swoop. The women were the targets from the beginning, and we’re running out of options to keep them safe.” It’s a harsh reality, but it’s the truth. A war tactic that has been used for centuries.
“He’s right,” Shadow agrees tightly, the stress of my words clear on his face. I can understand his panic considering his family situation. “Should we send the women away? I can send Quinn to her parents with Macy. Though the doctor said she shouldn’t travel because she’s high risk, but I can drive her there. I’d rather know she’s safe with her family if shit goes south.”
“We will consider that option,” Bullet agrees. “But I know none of the other women are going to go without a fight.”
“Syn certainly isn’t going to after what happened with Vlad before and the dogs,” Stone huffs. “The only place she could go is with the Lanes, but she won’t leave her business, or her clients since they’re all located here. Not to mention, with her being pregnant, she doesn’t really want to be far from home. Her morning sickness is bad, and she can barely stand to be in a car for a ride to town some days, so I can’t imagine a long trip or a plane.”
“Sage could go with her, but she’s going to have to head out to LA soon for her shoot. I’d offer to send Syn with her and Ruger’s crew can help me watch out for both of them, but that is definitely a plane ride,” King warns.
“I could ask Zeb to call Izzy and ask her to come work with him at his shop under some pretense,” Torque offers. Zeb is Izzy’s former boss and a surrogate father to her. I’ve never had any issue with the man, and he’s a famous mechanic in his neck of the woods.
“So that leaves Rose and Eden,” Viper muses. “The problem with Eden is she doesn’t really have a family that she can go to. I haven’t met her parents, but my understanding is they’re not in her life much, if it at all. And I don’t know how it works for her being able to get out of work to send her anywhere.”
“And if she leaves, it might have the judges under Vlad’s control looking in her direction even more, if they haven’t already,” Shadow points out. “And Rose…” He looks at Bullet with a pointed stare.
Bullet shakes his head. “You’d be surprised. If I told her why, and made it clear she needs to look after one of the women, especially Quinn or Syn, since they’re both pregnant, then she’d go without a question. My Old Lady is stubborn as a mule, but she doesn’t play when it comes to the safety of her kids, or those she considers family.”
“Maybe we’re jumping the gun here,” Torque suggests carefully. “I’m not saying we don’t make sure the women are protected at all costs, but what we need to do is ramp up our efforts to find Vlad, and this Nikolai by extension, and we try to make it clear we’re not about to play easily into their hands. Keep the businesses going for now, but we make a statement of our own.”
“You want to do our own shootout?” I ask him drily.
Torque shakes his head. “No, but there’s nothing to say that we don’t go back and give them a small taste of what we can do too. We know some of the places that they’re using, and that the Wild Devils are working with them. Not to mention, we haven’t been able to do anything about that pawn shop downtown that we found in the journal, right? So now we let them know we’re done playing around.”
“So you want us to blow up the pawn shop?” King asks in surprise.
Torque gives him a you’re an idiot look and continues, exasperation clear in his voice, “I’m saying we check it out, make sure it’s actually one of the spots they’re using in town to hide how they’re doing their business, and once we do, we do an anonymous tip to the Feds and let them deal with it. Cryos can make sure we send it to someone not on Vlad’s payroll so it isn’t swept under the rug. We gain some time to start looking at other spots, but we show we’re not afraid of them. They go after our businesses; we’re going to go after theirs.”
“And if they retaliate?” Twigs, one of our newer patched brothers asks. The kid is barely twenty-three, six feet tall, skinny like his road name suggests, with boyish features and a thick head of dark hair. The first time I met him I wasn’t sure that he would be able to ride more than a sports bike, but the kid surprised me and worked his way up to being patched. The kid is surprisingly smart, though half the time, his brain spends most of his time in his pants, considering the amount of time he spends with the club girls.
“Then we handle it,” Torque replies. “And we also need to increase security at them so we can make sure that no one is sneaking around and getting close enough to do it. And if we have some brothers working on finding these other locations as well, we might be able to get this under control before too much shit hits the fan.”
“But if we involve the cops, we might be attracting the attention of the Feds and send them all underground again,” I warn. “And if we do that, we might lose them and any edge we have.”
“I think we need to be careful about what we do,” Bullet agrees. “Because this has the potential to get bloody and deadly before this is over. I think it’s clear Vlad is done trying to be subtle about things. And he has far more connections and experience than Dmitri ever did, along with having the information Dagger gave them. So he’s going to be coming at things from all angles. We need to try and get ahead of it as soon as possible.”
“We need to find that other journal,” I add. “With everything going on, we haven’t been able to check the bar or the garage to see if we can find it. I think it’s time for us to get back on that too.”
“We’re talking about a lot of things going on when we also have businesses to run,” Shadow points out. “We have a few different jobs coming up on the security front, but we don’t have the manpower. Sniper, you’re the same at the bar since you had to fire that thief. Torque, how's’ the garage? And Stone and King, don’t we have a lot of extra work coming up for the Lincolns, which is also going to spread us thin.”
“We need more people,” I agree. “And we need more Prospects to be go-betweens.”
“Speaking of which, we do have a request for a new Prospect,” Shadow says. “Theo Sutton, a former teammate of Eric’s, came in for an interview today and he’s interested in prospecting. He’s older, thirty-two, so he’s not a kid. Which would give us four. But we need to get a couple more.”
“I think you’re going to see Eric offer to prospect if his buddy does,” Viper predicts. “I mean, they’re pretty close, and Eric said today that he missed having him around.”
“But we can’t take them away from the business to do Prospecting if you’re short people,” Bullet points out.
“We have people applying to us all the time so we can get some more people to help out at the construction company,” Stone says. “Which can free some of us up at different times. And with our new Foreman, she’s got things well in hand and the guys listen to her without too much of a problem. What about the bar?”
“I have that new girl, but otherwise we’re going to be running on a small crew,” I reply. “I have some ads out and some people interested, but after the shootout, a few cancelled. They don’t want to deal with it. We might need to ask Ash and Ember if they can spare some of their people if they’re willing.”
“Talon will have a fit if Piper wants to come after all that,” King predicts. Talon Cross runs the local tattoo shop with his best friend and business partner, Wolf Wild, and being a former SEAL who has already had to deal with the Russians when they kidnapped and tortured him, the man isn’t fond of his woman being in danger.
“Piper will be here if she wants and Talon will come and play bodyguard,” Stone predicts.
“I have a few interviews coming up tomorrow. We do have a food runner, but she only does Thursdays to Sundays because those are our busiest days,” I tell them thoughtfully.
“Alright, let us know,” Bullet agrees. “For now, I want everyone with their eyes open, no women go anywhere alone, and kids are taken to school by a brother or Prospect. We’re not taking any chances. Torque, you, Timber, Titan, and Carson if he’s there working with you, get to work on trying to find the journal. But keep it quiet. I don’t want to alert Vlad that we’re looking for anything. Sniper, you see if you can find anything at the bar, and considering the state of it right now, it’s the perfect chance because no one is around to see and will just see it as you renovating or moving things around.”
I nod. “Done.”
Torque nods as well. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll have to figure out a way to keep Izzy out of it, but I’m sure I can keep her busy with some bigger jobs.”
“Good. If anyone finds anything, let me or Sniper know. Don’t be calling around. We want to keep this down to as few people as possible in case they’re trying to monitor us or our phones. Cryos, I know you have our security well in hand, but you’re only one person and with this shit going on, you have a lot on your plate,” Bullet adds when Cryos scowls at him. Cryos loses his scowl at that, but I can see he’s affronted that his skills or system are in question. Not that I give a shit. This isn’t personal. “Now, let’s vote on accepting this Theo as a new Prospect.”
“What do we know about him?” Timber asks. “Anything that might be a problem?”
“I ran him and he’s clean,” Cryos assures him. “He was medically discharged a year ago after being shot in the leg. Bad enough they were sure he would lose his leg or at least walk with a forever limp. He pushed his ass through physical therapy and he got back to almost one hundred percent mobility. Now, his sister, she’s an interesting one.” He grins wickedly and I barely manage to keep my expression cool and composed when he adds, “And she’s a looker for sure. Wouldn’t mind seeing her come around here.”
That gets a few looks my way by Shadow, Viper, Bullet, and King, which, of course, has everyone else looking at me in surprise or curiosity. “And apparently she’s a former subordinate of our VP,” Viper adds. “And from what we saw when she was waiting with her brother earlier, there’s no love lost between them either.”
Cryos loses his grin instantly. “Shit, sorry, Sniper, I didn’t know you two were a thing,” he rushes out.
I merely arch a brow and reply calmly, “There is nothing between us. Thea was under my charge during training and I gave her a bit of push she didn’t appreciate. That’s as far as our acquaintance goes. Now, let’s vote so we can get to work on finding this shit and tracking down Vlad and this new asshole after us.” I make sure everyone can hear that I’m done talking about Thea. That is not a subject that I need to think about. Ever. “Shadow, Viper, which one of you will sponsor him?”
“I will,” Viper replies. “Shadow sponsored Crypt, so only fair I do Theo.”
“Good. All in favor?” Bullet asks. The vote is unanimous and Bullet tells Viper, “Make sure he’s here tomorrow after he finishes his shift with you. And make sure that there’s a room for him. I expect that he’ll be staying here.”
“That was our impression.” Viper nods. “He’s been living with his sister, but I think she’s anxious to have him out of her hair.”
“Good. Bowie, Frost, you’re still working on tracking down Vlad and his men?” Bullet asks. Both men nod. I don’t pipe in my own plans and work on the same thing. I work better alone, and I don’t need them getting in my way. “Good. Cryos, find out everything you can about the pawn shop, and then we’ll meet tomorrow night to make another plan. For tonight, I want extra patrols on the grounds, and I want whoever we can spare on the businesses.”
“I’ll do the watch tonight at the security office,” Hulk offers. “I am off tomorrow anyway, so that will give me a chance to get a bit of sleep and then I can head where anyone needs me tomorrow.”
“Good. Stone, you and King have any concerns for your sites?”
“If they were going to hit any, it’s the new high-rise the Lincolns are building on the edge of downtown,” King answers. “I’ll pull first watch there if someone wants to come and relieve me around two or so. Six-hour shifts. And not you,” he adds with a stern look at Stone. “You have a pregnant Old Lady you need to be with.” Stone nods, giving him a grateful look.
“I’ll come and relieve you,” Frost offers. “I’m off tomorrow too so I’ll get some sleep later, and then someone let me know where I need to be.”
“I’ll take the bar,” Bowie offers. “Sniper, you going to be there tonight looking around?”
I nod. “That’s my plan.” It wasn’t, but my others will have to wait.
“Okay, then we’ll do that. I’ll be there around two as well, which will give you a few hours. Who’s on it right now?”
“Kaleb,” I reply. “He’s been giving hourly updates that there’s been no sign of any problems so far.”
“Hopefully, it stays that way,” Bullet grumbles. “Alright, we all know what we need to do. Everyone else, watch your backs, and let us know if you see or hear anything that’s a problem.” This time, he does bang his gavel and everyone gets to their feet to head out of the room.
“Is Carson on the gate tonight?” I ask Shadow once we’re heading for the main doors.
Shadow nods. “Crypt hasn’t been cleared by Medic for more than desk duty right now. The guy has had so many head injuries in such a short period of time that Medic is worried the next one is going to permanently cause damage.”
Crypt had been knocked out when he was guarding Eden and Archer in Viper’s apartment not long ago, so I got that. I nod in understanding. “Alright, I’m going to pay him a visit to check on him and then I’ll be heading out. You hear back from Thea?”
Shadow shakes his head. “I’ll bother her tomorrow or talk to Theo about it. It really would be helpful if she took the job, but can’t force her.” Then he claps me on his shoulder and heads for his bike, he and Viper heading out together.
I look over at Bowie and Frost. “You two heading out?” Both nodded. “I’ll ride with you until we get into town. I have a stop I need to make before I head to the bar.”
“You want us to hang around until you’re done?” Bowie asks as we climb onto our bikes.
“Up to you. Not sure how long I’ll be and you need to get to where you need to be. I’m fine to be on my own.”
Bowie and Frost share a look. “We’ll see how things shake down,” Frost replies as he revs up his bike. I don’t bother arguing, and then we’re on our way. I already know where I’m going to be heading and I have to hope I’m not about to make the biggest mistake of my life.