Chapter 1
Chapter One
TESIO / GREASE
I ’m a good mafia man, aren’t I? Isn’t that where my roots are, and where I belong? So why did I feel like I was being pulled in two fucking directions, and my place in life wasn’t where I thought it’d be?
“Yo, Grease? You got that data for the Pres?” Harley leaned around my door and cocked his head at me. He wasn’t the VP, but he was close enough. You’d have thought one of the other original Phoenix guys they’d sent over here would get that role, but I had a feeling it’d be this guy right here. If and when Reacher and Stitch fucking allowed it, of course.
“’Course I have. You think I sit here jerking off instead of working?” I grinned at him, and tossed him a flash drive, which the dickhead almost fumbled, before he caught it.
“Prick. You coulda warned me.”
I stood up and stretched my back, wincing as it made a crunching sound. A sure sign that I’d been on my ass for too long working on this shit.
“Where is the Pres anyway?”
Harley rolled his eyes at me. “Where do ya think? Up his old lady, of course.”
“So he’s not chasing this, is he? Why are you getting up my ass if he’s not asking for it yet?”
Harley winced, and reluctantly pointed back out behind him.
“ You know who ’s here, and I thought I’d save us all the fucking drama.” You know who… oh fuck , he meant that she was here. Again? What the fuck.
“Why the fuck is she here again? This ain’t the place for her.”
I headed for the door, and paused when Harley was dumb enough to put his hand on my chest. Touch a mafia guy? That gets you dead, but then I’m not a mafia guy right now, am I? And he had no idea who he was really touching. Nobody fucking knew but the original Phoenix MC crew.
“Why the fuck do you think you won’t lose your hand for doing that?” I glared at him, letting him see his impending death in my eyes, and he groaned, backing up and getting the offending appendage away from me.
“Jesus, you keep pissing off this cop bitch, and she’ll never stay away, that’s all. I’d say fuck her and get it out of your system, but I don’t think even a hatefuck is ever gonna happen.”
I shoved him out of my way and stepped out into the dim hallway. The clubhouse here was different from the other Phoenix one I’d stayed in, that being a multistorey business facility that they’d converted into living quarters. This was like a fucking army barracks, but with rooms, instead of open space and bunks. It was all on one floor, and in some ways, that felt less secure.
The club was barely back on its feet after being annihilated, and patched over as a new Phoenix chapter based in Hampshire, and the last thing we needed was a fucking nosy cop who’d made it her business to poke around.
“Where is she?” I barked, as I headed down the hall towards the Pres’ little office. He didn’t spend much time in there, preferring to hang with his club brothers, probably because he was just one of them really, rather than a real President. It still amazed me that they didn’t kill him after the things he did, but hell, I’m just paid to be here undercover, doing my thing.
Did I love club life? Fuck yeah, but did I miss the stuffiness of the mafia compound? At times, because it was fucking luxury, but I could kick back here, and actually live, and I loved it.
“There’s my favourite criminal,” her snarky tone reached my ears as I stepped outside, and I cast my eyes around, spotting her just behind a group of club brothers who were pulling the innocent act, and keeping her outside.
“The fuck is she doing here? We’ve got rights, and she’s on private property.”
Rocket turned to frown at me, lifting his large shoulders as he shrugged.
“She’s a cop, I didn’t think we could stop her.”
“Where’s the Pres?” I’d had an answer from Harley, but on the offchance he was just being a prick, I thought it best to check.
“Out on a ride with his old lady, visiting her family.” Great timing, dickhead.
“Get her out of here, and lock the fucking gates. We don’t need her kind here.”
“You should address me directly, if you expect me to leave,” she barked at me, smoothing her fucking short red hair back over her ear. Fucking redheads, so fiery and sassy. Pity she was such an uptight cunt.
“You want me to address you directly, PC Pain-in-my-Ass? Fuck off. You don’t belong here, and you have no right to come onto our property without cause. You think I don’t understand the law? You think I don’t know my rights? Our rights? Get fucked, or I’ll remove you myself.”
She pushed past Rocket and Stag, and stepped up in front of me.
“You don’t scare me, Grease. Great name, by the way, is it because of all that crap you slime through your hair?” Damn, sassy, and she smelled good. Why a fucking cop though? Mafia guys know one thing; it’s drilled into us from fucking childhood. Never trust a cop we don’t own . And we owned nobody down here, so she had to go. Now.
“Nah, it’s because he doesn’t use lube, love. You should leave now. We’re not up to anything, we’re just motorbike enthusiasts,” Harley said, neatly stepping into the argument, and trying to defuse it. I’d punch him for that later. I didn’t need help with this.
A few guys laughed at his joke, but I couldn’t stop glaring at her. Getting in my face, messing with the club when we’re trying to fucking rebuild it. Sure there was crime going on here, but not like there was before. If she’d shown up last year, she could have fucking saved people, but now? Now she was barking up the wrong fucking tree.
“You’ve got one minute to start moving, cop, or I’m going to fucking carry you off our property,” I growled, and Harley sighed.
“Grease, chill, man. The nice cop lady’s leaving now, aren’t you, love?”
“My name is PC Charles, and you’d do well to remember it. You’ll be seeing a lot of me. I don’t trust bikers, and I know the reputation this club has. I’ll find your secrets, and I’ll put you all away.”
“You and whose army, love? I don’t see any backup here?” Stag muttered, crowding her from behind, and unfortunately giving her more reason to doubt us. I reached past her, shoving him back with one hand, needing to get them all away from her.
“Your minute’s up,” I hissed, grabbing her and tossing her up on my shoulder, as I started marching her towards the low gates. The guys were cheering and laughing, and she was yelling and cursing, but it wouldn’t stop me. Cops always brought trouble, and this club didn’t need it. We had to get bigger fucking gates, and higher fences, so it’d keep out the fucking undesirables. Our assaults on this club had identified tons of weak spots, and almost seven months later, we were still working on strengthening the last of them.
“This is assault, you fucking asshole!” I laughed, feeling strangely exhilarated to be taking out the trash my own damn self. I made my way outside of the gates, in sight of the police car, and the guy getting out of the driver’s seat. Well, fuck. Might end up needing a lawyer at this rate.
I dumped her unceremoniously on the dusty ground, and made a point of brushing my hands against each other, further mocking her as I ‘washed my hands of her’.
“And fucking stay out.”
“You can explain your actions down at the station,” the other officer said, as she scrambled to her feet, furiously brushing dust off her uniform. As metal clasped my wrists, and they led me to the car, I yelled out to the brothers who’d followed us.
“Call the lawyer!”