Chapter 18 Grudge
GRUDGE
When I race up the dirt road to the clubhouse, the flashing lights are the first thing I see.
There are cop cars and FBI trucks, and more people milling about the clubhouse than we see when we hold an open house party.
Jackal and Shade are on their knees on the cold asphalt, hands behind their heads. Taco and Wraith are on their fronts on the ground as they are handcuffed.
Isla, Karlie, and a couple of the other club girls freeze in short skirts and tight T-shirts.
Fuck, I was lying in bed with Lucy while my club was being raided. It doesn’t sit well with me and will only fuel some of the old-timers, who wish someone else were president.
But before I make it all the way to the top of the road, Atom steps out from the field and flags me down. I was so busy looking ahead that I didn’t notice him standing next to his horse tied up to the side of the trail.
I pull over and kill the engine. “What the fuck happened?”
Atom grabs my shoulder and drags me to the fence. “Climb over it.”
I shake my head. “I’m going over there.”
An FBI agent up ahead notices the two of us and points in our direction while shouting at two colleagues.
“Get over the goddamn fence,” Atom says. “Now.”
I do as he says. “Why? I need to go up there.”
Atom shakes his head. “I made a deal with Butcher. When the land became mine, I signed over the land the clubhouse was on to the club. We had the property split in city records, and the clubhouse now has its own address. For as long as there is an Outlaw chapter in Colorado, this land will be theirs. If it ever closes, for whatever reason, or moves to another location, the land becomes my family’s again. ”
I shove my hands to my hips. “So?”
He points in the direction of the three federal agents no longer racing toward me.
“It means they can’t arrest you, as they have a warrant for search and seizure at the clubhouse.
Not my land. They can’t step foot on here without a warrant they don’t have.
Which will keep you and me out of their clutches, for now. ”
“Fuck. Thanks, brother.” I let out a breath.
“But it feels fucking cowardly to hide out here while I can see them getting roughhoused.” As I speak, Catfish is brought out of the clubhouse, fighting against the cuffs.
The officer with him slams his head into the side of the police car while attempting to get him into the vehicle, and he wobbles for a moment, disoriented.
“Yeah. But sometimes you gotta accept where you can provide the most help. And it’s not in a cell with everyone else. It’s out here. I tried to call the club lawyer, but he didn’t answer. Left a message for him.”
Without a second thought, I grab my phone and call Lucy.
“Grudge,” she says efficiently.
“Luce. I need your help.”
“Was that before you ducked out via text rather than conversation?” There’s a softness to her words that says she’s not really mad.
I kick the toe of my boot down into the dirt, then glance up and see Smoke walked out of the clubhouse in handcuffs. “You can yell at me all you want when this is over. But they’re raiding my clubhouse, Luce. Everyone is in cuffs. Can you come?”
“I’m on my way. Check whether the federal search warrant lists specific property addresses, structures, or named individuals. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
The line goes dead.
I glance at the phone, as if there must be a fault with the line, rather than the truth she just hung up on me.
“So, things going well with your ex, then?” Atom asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Fuck off.”
The corner of Atom’s lips twitches with a grin, but he manages to bite it down.
“Tell me what happened,” I say.
Atom rubs a hand over his forehead. “Not a hundred percent sure. I was out in the fields this morning. When I heard the sirens, I rode over here but stayed on this side of my property line.”
“You managed to speak with any of them?”
He shakes his head. “Looks like we’re about to get some insight any second.”
The lead FBI agent is a woman in an ill-fitting gray pantsuit and salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a tight bun. “Zachary Williams?” she asks.
“Who’s asking?”
“Special Agent Marling. I’d like you to come with me so we can ask you some questions.”
“Let me see the warrant,” I say, remembering Lucy’s words.
Marling grins. “Showed it to one of your…colleagues.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Yeah, well, that’s not me. You want to talk to me, you’re gonna have to hand me a piece of paper that says I’m specifically mentioned in the warrant.”
Marling moves toward the fence, but Atom puts his hand out to stop her. “Not gonna happen unless you get a warrant to step onto my land. By the time you have that kind of paperwork, he’ll be somewhere within a twenty-thousand-acre radius. Hope you got plenty of resources.”
One of her supporting agents puts his hands on the fence. Both Atom and I look straight at them, and he snatches them away.
“You got some questions for me, they’re gonna have to wait until my lawyer gets here,” I say. “Same with all those men.”
She smirks, like she knows something I don’t. “Those men are adults and can speak for themselves. Their choice to speak before they have lawyers is theirs alone.”
Atom steps over to his horse, unties the rope, jumps on the beast with an agility that appears to surprise Special Agent Marling, and rides up the hill, staying on this side of the fence.
When he gets right to the corner closest to the clubhouse, he cups his mouth.
“Don’t fight back or talk without a lawyer. She’s on her way.”
Marling looks at me. “What happened to Nolan Deeks that you are now president?”
I cross my arms across my chest. “Why are you raiding my clubhouse?”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me.”
I huff. “Not the way it works.”
“Probable cause is a viable reason to search a place like this.”
I grin at that. “Which means, you’re fishing.
” I hope the clubhouse is clean. Thankfully, we just moved the weed we’d grown, down to Big Daddy’s, because he needed it a day earlier than usual.
And our weapons store is back up the hill in a concrete underground chamber.
Could some of the guys have illegal and unregistered weapons on them? Maybe.
Then, I remember there’s one in the seat of my bike, which is parked right next to Marling. It’s a misdemeanor class one, if caught. Typically leads to a fine of a thousand bucks or, at worst, a year in jail.
I’m praying that Lucy can find something, some technicality, to get this off our backs.
Marling looks at my leather jacket like it’s dirt. “You think the FBI wastes time and resources on an investigation like this if they don’t have shit on you?”
“All the fucking time.”
One of the agents behind Marling steps forward. He’s younger, but wearing a pair of dark sunglasses so I can’t see his eyes. “We got a tip off from a credible source, tells us you’re in the illegal drug trade.”
It always works. Say nothing, and they eventually reveal their hand to get you to reveal yours.
But what he said has me concerned. There are numerous reasons why. We could have a rat. Maybe one of the new prospects or members are getting leaned on because of something they’ve done.
If it had been a regular week, we’d have been holding all of Big Daddy’s illegal weed.
The past year, a lot of our enemies’ activities have spilled into the town. The attack on Margie’s diner and the burning of Ember’s bar.
Perhaps someone has been running their mouth off at the wrong time or place.
Marling screws up her face in annoyance, then glares at the man behind her. “Can I speak to you over here for a moment?” she snaps at the hapless agent.
Both she and I know it was a rookie mistake for him to reveal anything to us. If we do have a rat, someone they can lean on, the man just told us to go look for him.
I watch as she reams him out before her phone rings.
It takes about fifteen minutes until the sound of a truck pulling up the road makes me smile. Lucy must have broken every speed limit on her way over here to find me. And even though this is already turning out to be a stressful-as-shit day, I grin at the idea she might have been eager to help.
She pulls up next to my bike and steps out of the truck.
She’s wearing a deep burgundy suit with slouchy trousers, a thick cream sweater beneath the jacket, and a pair of cream-and-burgundy sneakers.
Not sure how she pulls off the legally intimidating look with her curly hair and lips that I know can suck the life out of a man, but somehow, she does.
There’s little make up on her face, and the sneakers tell me she gave little thought to the snow on the ground when she left the house.
Yeah. She raced to me. And I like it.
The energy changes with her demeanor.
“Who’s in charge?” she asks over to Marling.
“I am. Special Agent Marling.”
“Lucy De Bose. Legal Counsel for the motorcycle club.” Lucy holds out her palm. “Then, let’s start with the warrant. We’re going to walk step by step through how it’s been executed.”
Marling glances at me and rolls her eyes. “Follow me.”
Marling and her men move back up the hill to the clubhouse, but Lucy doesn’t immediately follow.
“Hey, Luce. I’m sorry I—”
“Not now,” she says with cool officiousness. “I need to deal with this, first. Hit me with the high points. And why are you on the other side of the fence?”
“This is Atom’s land.” I point to her side of the fence. “That’s club land.”
“You know she could have just climbed the fence to come get you under probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or exigent circumstances, right?”
I nod. “But Atom told her he’d go after them for trespass. It was enough to keep her on that side.”
“Hmm,” Lucy says.
“Why the ‘hmm’?”
“Because Marling is cautious. My guess is she knew she’d find whatever she was looking for at your clubhouse and, therefore, didn’t want to risk any kind of mistrial by not executing the warrant properly. I think I would have preferred her to climb the fence and come for you. What else?”
I reach for her hand. “My men, Luce. Don’t let any of them go alone. Catfish is already in one of those cop cars.”
“I got it,” she says. “But you should go with Atom. Get out of sight before one of them decides to get zealous. Or before I reach into your bike, find whatever illegal weapons you have shoved in there, and wave it at agent Marling in return for you not waking me this morning.”
She doesn’t give me a chance to respond before she jumps back into her truck and drives up the dirt trail until it starts to widen, effectively blocking the exit.
Smart girl.
No one can ride off with any of my men without her moving her truck. I jump back over the fence and remove my illegal firearm under the guise of securing my helmet to the bike.
Once it’s tucked inside my cut, I jump back over the fence.
Atom rides back down the hill. “Here,” he says, offering me his hand.
“There’s no way in hell I’m playing backpack on the back of your horse.”
He shakes his head. “Fine. Walk with me. And call Butcher, tell him to meet us at my dad’s old place.”
I look up the hill. “Feels like the coward’s way.”
“Brother, you already went away for a decent sentence. You ever get arrested again, they’ll throw the fucking book at you. And trust me, me and Wraith talked about this as soon as you became president. Club mandate is to keep you out of trouble.”
“Jesus. That feels even worse.”
Atom shrugs as he rides. “We had the same plan for Butcher. It’s just passed over to me, Jackal and Shade, now that Wraith is VP. So, move your fucking ass.”