Chapter 6 – Mason
MASON
Pulling into the Velvet Pearl, I take a moment and sit in my truck contemplating what I’m about to do.
Normally, I’d take a ride through the mountains and clear my head before making such a rash decision, but the weather is still too cold for that.
So, I’m going to trust my gut on this one and hope I’m making the right choice.
I knew I needed to make the call to Parisi.
Normally, as a prospect, we wouldn’t have been privy to those documents or the type of information Kayce had collected, but Pres didn’t trust anyone but the club after the Feds double-crossed Hawk.
He didn’t trust Kayce either, with how easily he was able to fuck with our shit and get people in and out of our clubhouse.
Hawk is pretty fucking good at what he does, but Kayce had someone helping him on the other side that’s better.
Of course, Hawk will never admit Sadie is better than him out loud.
Pres was pissed at all the behind the back bullshit and made us all study up on all the faces of the men in Kayce’s investigation and their information in case we ever came across them in our town.
I know I should’ve told Pres the moment I recognized the guy on the video attacking Everly’s salon. We caught a break when one of the other cameras from across the street caught his face. Of course, we haven’t told Mike yet. Pres wants time for our guys to hunt him down first and get some answers.
I recognized the bastard’s face and the tattoo on his neck right away.
He’s one of the men from Kayce’s case file on the trafficking ring we all just busted up in Florida.
He’s also another Devil. I don’t know if Pres noticed who he was too or not, but that little piece of information is what I’m going to use to get Vincenzo’s help in catching these bastards.
Part of my training from my time in the military taught me how to key in on minute details, like tattoos, tells, and mannerisms. The guy on the video at Glitz 'n Tass was in the file of people they found holed up at the warehouse in Florida. The same warehouse where everyone else with a Devil’s tattoo was found dead.
Apparently, they missed one.
The story told in the clubhouse was that our guys arrived on the scene with some of Parisi’s men, but the fight was already over.
Vincenzo’s cousins, Nazario and Enzo, had sent a crew in to handle business.
Some of their friends who are into some weird ritualistic shit, or something, because Caleb said, “It looked like their souls left their bodies.” He told stories of their eyes being black and soulless, as if the life had been sucked out of them.
Whatever happened, it rattled the old bastard, and nothing gets him rattled. Ever.
Pres was busting up foster homes with me, Blake, and a couple of Kayce’s boys. But it looks like a few stragglers got away and have somehow managed to find their way into Oakridge.
Peeling off my cut, I lay it over the back of my seat and straighten out my shirt.
The Pearl doesn’t allow colors. It’s a little more upscale than say, Ghost’s club.
Vincenzo’s place screams high-class gentlemen’s club, but it caters to almost everyone’s tastes.
Even bachelorette parties where half-naked men grind and dance all over the bridal party.
I’m still pissed at Hawk for that. Although Everly doesn’t like strange men rubbing up on her.
Thank fuck. So, she didn’t get into the game like the other women did.
She sat on her hands and refused to touch the man.
Probably better for him in hindsight. Because I might’ve killed him, and then I wouldn’t have gotten my patch. It would’ve been a whole mess with Vincenzo and Pres too, I’m sure, resulting in my death one way or another.
You don’t cross the Mob Boss or the Kings.
The consolation prize for all of us, though, was watching Jake punch Hawk in the face and of course Sadie winning their little bet and making Hawk parade around in an adult-store style elf costume while playing Santa’s Helper at the clubhouse for everyone.
The pictures are amazing and I’m sure will be used for blackmail at some point by Ghost and Jake.
The punch to the face will forever be a part of my mental highlight reel.
The hostess, Rene, greets me in the lobby.
“Mr. Wright. Mr. Parisi is expecting you. You can follow me back to the office.” I do as she asks, moving through the halls like I’ve done it a thousand times, unaffected as we pass women with big tits changing into their skimpy costumes along the way.
Santiago gives me a quick nod. I’ve learned that’s his small token of thanks for not making him have to beat my ass for ogling the women he’s paid to protect.
When we reach Parisi’s office door, Rene knocks, waiting for a response.
“Enter,” Vincenzo’s voice booms. Rene opens, and I follow her in.
“Sir.” She nods, not making eye contact with him. “Mr. Wright is here to see you. Would you like me to have anything brought up for your meeting?”
“No, Rene. That will be all. Thank you.”
“Of course, sir.” Rene nods again, then excuses herself from the room.
“Have a seat, Mr. Wright.” Vincenzo leans back in his seat, one leg crossed over the knee of the other. He appears to be relaxed and calm, but then don’t most predators before they strike? “Tell me about this favor you need from me?”
I don’t bother beating around the bush and just tell him straight.
“There’s been some new developments with the Devils.
They’re back in Oakridge. As much as I trust my club, my woman doesn’t, so I’m going to need some extra manpower to help me ensure Everly and her sister’s safety while we work to exterminate the infestation. ”
Vincenzo smirks, clasping his hands in his lap.
“You don’t believe you and your brothers can handle a couple of Devils, Mr. Wright?
I’m insulted on Gabriel's behalf at your lack of trust. I’m sure he wouldn’t have given you that shiny new patch you wear these days if he had known you had such little faith in him and his men.
No?” He smirks. “Or perhaps it’s that you can’t handle your woman?
Is that it? I hear Mrs. Greene is quite independent and headstrong.
Perhaps you should consider bringing her to heel.
” Matteo snickers from his spot on the wall.
“I can handle my woman just fine. And I trust my brothers plenty. But Everly doesn’t.
She has a thing against bikers, as it were, and she won’t submit to our protection.
” I sigh. “In fact, she’s quite adamant we don’t help her at all, which is why I came to you.
She doesn’t have any reason to distrust you, and your men can watch her without being noticed.
Whereas, in this town, the Kings are well-known and rarely left alone when in public. ”
Vincenzo’s smile widens. “You mean the way women flock to your cut and don’t leave you alone? I can see where your woman might find an issue with that.”
“No. I mean, the people of Oakridge are friendly with all of us, and hiding isn’t going to be easy when everyone in town knows who we are, with or without the cut.”
“And the tourists?” Matteo teases. “The women who are just passing through and looking to scare a biker for the night. They’re not of any concern?”
“Fuck you both.” It comes out as a growl.
“Careful, Mr. Wright.” Vincenzo’s tone changes. “I might let disrespect slide in Gabriel’s clubhouse from time to time, but I won’t be disrespected in my own establishment.”
“The point is, your men can blend in and keep an eye on Everly and Kaylie. Listen, Everly mentioned not long ago that she thought she was being watched. Someone was lurking around her house. I put cameras in, and normally I spend a lot of time over there, but shit’s complicated.”
“Why not move them into the clubhouse?”
“That’s complicated too.” I sigh. “Everly has a history with bikers, and she said a bunch of shit to me about the lifestyle and her opinions, and now things are a little uncomfortable for her there.”
“She pissed off Sadie,” Matteo states it as a fact, not a question. I nod. “Yeah, that would make things complicated for anyone.” His smile is one of pride.
“All that doesn’t matter. I need someone to surveil Ever and her kid sister for me while the club figures out how to handle the Devil situation.
She won’t accept a Prospect. She will make his life a living hell and call the cops to force him to back off.
But after discovering that it was one of those Devil bastards that fucked up her salon, putting her out of business for a bit, I know she needs to be protected.
My gut tells me there’s more to all of this, and Everly is somehow involved.
Not intentionally, but still.” I lean forward with my elbows on my knees.
“Everly has two months until she is finally granted full guardianship over Kaylie, and this shit with the Devils could seriously mess that up for her. I can’t let that happen.
I made a promise to always take care of them and keep them together. ”
“All right. Let’s say I do agree to protect your little girlfriend and her sister, what’s in it for me?” Vincenzo tilts his head as if he’s won one over on me, but he has no idea the prize I’m about to hand him if he does this for me.
“Revenge,” I reply, looking directly at Matteo. His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “One of the assholes that was supposed to have been at the warehouse in Florida according to Kayce’s intel—the same warehouse you found Shea battered and bruised in—he made it back here alive.”
Matteo’s eyes narrow while his nostrils flare. “You know this for sure?”
“Saw him with my own eyes. He was at Glitz 'n Tass the other night harassing some of Ghost’s girls. I recognized him from Kayce’s files.”
“Where is he now?” Matteo growls. Vincenzo puts up his hand, warning Matteo to back down. He stands tall, fixing his suit jacket, but he’s not calm by any means.
“You have this man in custody?” Vincenzo asks, his voice gravelly, as if he’s barely holding on himself.
“Not yet. But I’m certain he’s linked to the guy fucking with Ever.
You help me protect her, and I’ll get Pres to give you your prize, and Matteo can interrogate him.
I’m sure he knows a lot about what Shea went through.
” It’s my turn to smile. I know I’ve got Vincenzo’s interest now.
There’s no way Matteo will let that fucker live.
Not after what he did to Hawk’s sister, Shea, who happens to be living in Matteo’s penthouse.
It was Matteo who found and rescued Shea.
Hawk said she had been beaten all to hell and was scared out of her mind.
She wouldn’t even look at Hawk because he wore a cut.
Anyone resembling a biker terrified the poor girl.
The only person she seemed to trust was Matteo.
I wasn’t there, but heard all about how this big, beast of a man in a suit sat on the cold cement floor across from a terrified Shea and handed her his knife.
I don’t know what the conversation was between them, but Hawk said Matteo made her feel safe enough to follow him out of the warehouse and get into his car, which is how she came to live with him.
Matteo’s been looking to take his anger out on someone to avenge her ever since.
But the island having been blown to shit and the others already dead at the scene, left him with some pent-up frustrations and a few loose ends, I guess you could say.
“Very well, Mr. Wright.” There’s a hint of something behind Vincenzo’s glare. I can’t quite make it out. “I will do whatever is necessary to protect your woman and her sister. And if you should capture this Devil before we do, you agree to hand him over—alive. Do we have a deal?”
“I’ll have to get Pres to release him to you if we—” the look Vincenzo is giving me gives me pause. This is not a negotiation. I will have to turn over the man in question with or without the Pres’s approval.
Fuck.
Something like that will not only cost me my patch, but more importantly, my life for betraying the club.
I sigh, long and deep, frustrated at the choice I’m about to make, but knowing I have no other choice.
“Deal.” I stand, shaking his hand before heading to the door to leave.
My hand is on the knob, and Vincenzo’s parting words give me momentary pause.
“Remember when you explain this to Gabriel, that you came to me and set the terms of this deal. I don’t want any misunderstanding between us and our friends. Hmm?”
Shit. Now I have to go tell Pres what I did and hope he doesn’t put a bullet in my head straight away.
I’m fucked.