Chapter 3
THREE
MAVERICK
By the time we pull off the highway and onto the back roads, the moon is hanging high in the sky.
It’s glow casting an eerie light through the trees.
My mood has slightly calmed, but in no way has my anger subsided.
The combination of dealing with this and constantly lying to my wife has me fucked up.
The road winds through the open terrain, as we turn down the final street, leading to our destination.
As we approach the rendezvous point, an abandoned warehouse, the tension in the air is palpable.
We slow down, pulling into a wide circle around the entrance to the building, blocking any path to escape.
Black sedans are parked in various spots, indicating that Stacks is already here.
Killing our engines, the sudden silence amplifies the sound of our boots hitting the ground as we dismount.
Without hesitation, my men fan out, forming a semi-circle in front of me as we wait for Stacks and his gang to appear.
The atmosphere is charged, every one of us alert and ready for whatever might happen next.
Hands rest casually near holstered weapons, eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble.
A door creaks open and Stacks, along with his men, appear from the warehouse.
There's an uneasy moment of silence as we size each other up, the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. Murderous adrenaline courses through my veins, igniting my anger once more. This asshole has some nerve thinking his flimsy ass gang could ever intimidate me or my men. Tapping their shoulders, Steel and Nightmare step to the side as I walk forward and on my signal, they all draw their weapons, quickly moving to relieve them of theirs. With everyone in place, I call Stacks over to stand in front of me, his once cocky demeanor, diminished to a scared little boy who knows he’s fucked.
“You know why I called you and your men here, Stacks?”
“Maverick, I swear, I-I didn't do nothing!” He stutters out nervously, as he begins to tremble in fear.
“Now see, I can’t stand a liar and a thief!
” I growl to his face. “At least Tank told the truth before he ate my bullet.” His eyes go wide, as what I said sinks in.
“Do you think I'm stupid,” Stacks? You were the only one with full access.
The product was in your hands. Drugs and money don't just walk off by themselves.”
“Somebody set me….”
“Don’t you dare finish that fucking sentence, asshole.
You had one chance to make some good money with a solid operation and you blew it!
” I seethe, ready to snap this fucker in half.
Not only did you kill several of my customers, but now the fucking DEA has formed a task force to come sniffing around my territory. ”
“Maverick, I didn’t know that anyone would die, you gotta believe me,” he pleads, falling to his knees like the little bitch he is.
“Belief has nothing to do with it. This is business, Stacks. And in my business, there's no room for thieves,” I say. “You brought the heat to my front door and now I’ll have to suspend distribution until they’re gone.”
“I promise it won’t happen again, Mav. Give me one more chance!”
“You’re right, it won’t happen again because only a fool would trust you again and the last time I checked, I ain’t nobody’s fool,” I grit out, ordering him to turn around and face his men.
He doesn’t even bother to stand up because he knows his fate.
“You won’t live long enough to recover what you’ve cost me. ”
“Please, Mav. I have a family. I swear I’ll make it up to you,” he pleads, bringing his palms together like he’s praying or some shit.
“You should've thought about that before you crossed me,” I whisper in his ear. Grabbing my butcher knife from its sheath, I hold his head steady with one hand, as I plunge the knife through his temple with the other, twisting it to make my point to the others clear. Stack’s limp body hits the ground with a loud thud, a river of crimson pooling beneath his head.
There’s no room for mercy in my business and although I should’ve made him suffer, I’m not in the mood tonight.
“This is what happens when you betray me, lie to me, or steal from me. Understood?” I ask, loud enough so that everyone could hear me. Each member mumbling, yes, shocked as they stare at the body laying at my feet.
“When you leave here tonight, put the word out on the street about what happens when you fuck over the Royal Bastards!” I sneer, wiping my knife clean on my jeans.
“Let ‘em go,” I order and one by one, they scurry to their cars like the pussies they are and tear out of the lot.
Dementor calls in his crew to help clean this mess up while the rest of my men congregate next to our bikes.
Walking in the opposite direction, I tell Steel I need a moment alone to think.
I can't go through this again. It feels like I'm losing control of my club and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep living this double life.
Jameson, the President of the Royal Bastards National Chapter, entrusted me to continue my father's legacy.
He would know how to handle this situation, so I'll give him a call.
But first, I need to call my wife and inform her that I'll be away longer than expected.
I have to fix the mess that Stacks caused for my club, so I'll personally oversee the vetting of the new runner and assign Nightmare to watch his every move.