Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
DEUCE
Fist and Shady jump to their feet, but Ace and I just glare at Viper.
He throws up his palms. “Take it easy, boys. I’m just asking a question.” Bullet, his VP, and Crank, his enforcer, flank him, but they’re no match for Fist and Shady.
I push out of my chair, purposely bumping it into Viper’s VP. “This ain’t Dog territory, and you damn well know it.”
Viper shrugs. “Looks to me like all of AC is up for grabs and has been for the last five years.”
My brain spins with all the ways I’d like to end this moron, but now’s not the time. “If that’s true, what’s taken you so fuckin’ long?”
“Just waiting for the right time.” Viper looks to his brothers, and they all nod. “And since you fucked everything up for the Kings, I figure there’s no rush, and we can take whatever we want whenever we want.”
I get in Viper’s face and glare down at him, enjoying my three-inch advantage. “Well, you figured wrong.” I motion to my brothers behind me. “‘Cause, as you can see, the Kings of Anarchy are back in AC, and we’re here to stay.”
“The Rabid Dogs and I see it different.” Viper waves his hand around the dingy room. “Since you’ve been gone for so long, I’ll school you. What we say goes here, and we say you better move your sorry asses outta here.”
“Is that right?” I sneer, sarcasm dripping off every word.
“This is our hangout now, which means you fuckers ain’t welcome.”
I swivel my head, then turn back to Viper. “I don’t know what the fuck you’ve been doin’ here, ‘cause the place looks like a shit-hole, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
I turn to Ace, who flanks my right side. “What else would you expect from a bunch of dogs? Not only do they shit where they eat, they like sticking their dicks in these used-up cunts.”
Ace barks out a laugh. “Sure they do, that’s ‘cause no hot piece of ass would wanna get with a bunch of limp-dick Dogs.”
Viper’s spine stiffens, and he exchanges a look with his enforcer.
“Why are you looking at him?” I spread my arms wide. “You wanted a piece of me the other day, so what the fuck are you waiting for?”
“What’s going on over here?”
I jerk my chin to a guy approaching us in a baggy suit, at least fifty pounds overweight. “This is what you call a bouncer?”
“We don’t allow fighting in here.” The bouncer lumbers over to us, and I suppress a laugh.
Maggie could take this guy down without breaking a sweat. Shit, my dark-haired, nameless beauty could do a job on him. Fuckin’ ridiculous.
Viper throws the guy an evil grin. “We’re just catching up, right, Deuce?”
“Right.” I grab Viper around the shoulders much tighter than necessary. “Been a long fuckin’ time.”
“You got any problems, take them outside,” the bouncer warns, then shuffles away.
“Sure thing.” I slap Viper on the back hard enough to make my point.
“This ain’t over,” Viper sneers.
“Damn fuckin’ straight, ‘cause the Kings are back, and we’ll go wherever the fuck we please.” I jab my finger into Viper’s one-percent patch. “So, you better take yourself and the rest of your mangy dogs and hightail it back to Philly where you belong.”
“And when I hit,” Viper leans in, “you’ll never see it coming.”
I laugh in Viper’s face then sit down as Fist and Ace watch my back until Viper and his crew leave.
Ace settles in next to me. “He ain’t playin’. That crazy motherfucker thinks his crew is on top.”
“But we’re gonna show them different,” Speed adds.
Shady holds out his fist, and we all tap knuckles.
The brothers all agreeing sends a jolt to my chest, like maybe they’re finally believing in me, themselves, and the Kings.
Especially Speed and Shady. Scratch had the brains, and Ace and Fist were too damn cocky for their own good, but Speed and Shady were the weaker links.
The ones I always had to keep an eye on.
“And we gotta act, like now. Talking about this shit is one thing, but doin’ is another.”
“Agreed. We can’t let the Dogs get a foothold here or in AC.”
I plug a smoke between my lips, and Ace lights me up. “I was just shit-talking before, but why do you guys think it took the Dogs so long to move in?”
They all exchange a look I can’t decipher, then Scratch offers, “‘Cause about six months ago, they scored some big drug deals. Word was they made a lot of big drops up and down the coast, along with a shit-ton of money until their VP fucked up.”
“Fucked up how?”
“Sampling too much of the product. Thinking he was invincible, but in the end, it was two other guys who ended up going down for it.”
“And you think Viper managed to hold on to some of this money?”
“Ever since, he’s been fronting about buying shit in AC. Throwing his cash around like he’s mad at his money.”
“Interesting.” I take a last drag then crush the butt out in the ashtray. “But he don’t own this place yet.”
Ace shakes his head. “We have to make sure the Dogs don’t get a foothold here or anyplace in AC.”
“What we need is fast cash,” Scratch adds. “And I know where to get it.”
“Keep talking,” I prod.
“The Russians run the boards now. The games, the rides, even the hot-sheet hotels on the outskirts of the city. They’re always looking for muscle and for places to store their money. Plus, they hate Viper.”
“He’s easy to hate.” I look at the others, and they nod. “We might even be able to dip back into underground gambling.”
“That was a huge fuckin’ moneymaker,” Shady agrees.
Hard to believe in a city that has legalized gambling, you could make money underground, but it’s big for guys who were blacklisted at the regular casinos, guys who want no limits on their bets, and guys who don’t want to give a big chunk of their winnings to Uncle Sam.
I push away from the table. “I’m still gonna have a talk with the manager. See if we can strike up some kinda deal where we provide security and straighten this place out in exchange for a chance to buy in.”
Twenty minutes later, I leave the manager Jack’s office, thinking things are finally going my way. He might’ve been a buttoned-up corporate type, but he knew he was out of his league trying to manage the crazy-ass customers at the Royal Flush.
Drug deals behind the bar, constant fights, and unreliable employees.
If you don’t lay down the rules, it can get out of control real fuckin’ fast. I laid out our plan, and he readily accepted my offer of help, then said he would speak to the holding company first thing in the morning about a price for us to buy in if they like the changes we made.
Good deal, ‘cause I already know what needs to be done. Before I got sent up, we owned two strip clubs on the outskirts of AC that ran at a profit. A huge fuckin’ profit.
The look of relief on his face told me he would’ve walked out the door right then if I offered.
I head for the shitter, thinking things might finally go my way.
Tomorrow we’d make a deal with the Russians, who would definitely back us against the Dogs.
Plus, my brothers are behind me again, and just maybe before fall we’d have a functioning clubhouse and a profitable business, along with some extra cash after we got the basement gambling up and running again.
I push through the door of the bathroom, and something hits me at the base of my skull.
I stagger, but keep my footing, turning right into Viper’s fist. He slams me hard, then gut-punches me.
I double over, staying on my feet, then ball my fist and cock my arm, but Bullet and Crank drag me backwards into the bathroom.
They slam the door, then wedge the garbage can under the knob. I twist and kick, but I can’t break free from the iron hold of the Rabid Dogs.
“Fuckin’ pussies gotta do this three against one.” I bark out a humorless laugh, and they jack my arms higher. Another few inches and my bones will snap for sure.
“Just showing you what will happen if you don’t leave the Dogs alone and stay outta our territory.”
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? You think after five years in the joint, I’m scared of you limp dicks?
” I keep the bravado going, but I have no delusions how this will go down.
I’ve seen plenty of guys in MCC get this kind of a beating, and it never ended well.
Even if they didn’t block the door, nobody but my brothers would get involved, and they thought I was talking to the club manager.
“Talk all the shit you want ‘cause, when we’re done with you, you’ll wish you were back in the slammer.”
Viper pummels my face first, then they all take turns. Kidney shots, body shots, then back to my face until I spit blood. When they can’t hold me up any longer, they let me drop to the floor. My body curls into a ball, but their steel-tipped boots find my ribs anyway.
My eyes slide shut until Viper kneels down and grabs a clump of my hair, angling my face to his.
“I think we made ourselves clear.” He twists his fist. “And another thing, you tell that bitch Sammie I know she has that flash drive, and if she doesn’t hand it over, she’s gonna be in for a world of hurt.
Also remind her she belongs to us, so there’s no fuckin’ way you’re buying that place. ” He leans into my face. “Understand?”
I gather all my strength and spit right in his face. Viper rears back, wipes away my blood and saliva with the back of his hand, and growls. “You just tell her what I said, ‘cause if she doesn’t hand that shit over, it won’t end well for either one of you—especially her.”
He straightens up and gives me one last kick, but before my eyes slide shut, Viper’s words filter in—my mystery woman’s name is Sammie, and she’s part of the Rabid Dogs.
My swollen face pounds against the cool tile of the bathroom floor. I force myself to open my eyes, or at least the one eye that’s not swollen shut. They fucked me up good, but sadly, I’ve had just as bad from people who were supposed to love me.
When I roll to my side, the room spins. I still for a minute and then push to my hands and knees.
Using the counter for leverage, I heave myself up, then brace my hands against the Formica.
A wave of nausea hits so hard I eye the bathroom stall, then drag in some deep breaths.
After a few minutes, it passes, and I brace myself to look at my reflection in the mirror.
Shit! Those bastards are gonna pay for this big-time. I pull some towels out of the dispenser, wet them under the faucet, then wipe away the dripping blood. Aside from a split lip and what will soon be a huge bruise on my left cheek, I’m not cut up too bad.
The water in the sink runs red until I finally staunch the bleeding from my nose and lip, then I press a wet towel to my puffy right eye, and it throbs against my hand. Had a guy back in the day break my eye socket, so I’m happy for just some swelling.
I assess my face and tell myself, at three against one, it could’ve been way worse. There’s something about enduring physical pain that makes a person all that much tougher the next time. It’s like I’ve developed an immunity and can withstand what would put a normal person under.
The door bangs open behind me, and I jump, then wince.
“Shit, man, what happened?” Ace bellows at the reflection in the mirror.
“Fuckin’ Viper ambushed me, then they kicked the shit outta me.” I ball up the bloody towels and dump them into the trash.
Fist slams his hand against the wall. “He’s over.”
“We came looking for you, and the manager said you left his office like fifteen minutes ago.”
Shady examines my face. “Don’t look like anything’s broken.”
Speed leans against the stall. “He really tuned you up.”
I push past them. “I gotta get over to The End.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Shady asks. “You can barely walk, and your eye is swollen shut.”
I head for the back door, and they follow me out with Ace at my side. “You look like shit.”
“I’m fine.” I pat my pockets, come up with my smokes, and plug one between my lips. Ace lights me up, and I drag deep.
“Whatever you got goin’ on can wait till morning,” Ace says.
“The chick who owns The End is connected somehow to the Dogs, and Viper threatened her before he left. I gotta find out what the fuck is going on with her.”
Ace grabs my arm. “Let one of us come with you.”
“I said, I’m fine.” I pull away from him and head for my bike.
“You’re still a crazy motherfucker,” Ace shouts at my back.
“Who knows,” I throw over my shoulder, “maybe me giving her a heads-up will convince her to sell The End.”
“Just make sure that’s all you give her.”
I throw him the finger over my head, then pull out the keys to my Harley.
I swing my leg over the saddle, regroup for a minute, then hit the throttle and wheel out of the lot.
My head is fuckin’ spinning, but I can’t forget Viper’s words, and I have no intentions of adding more guilt to my already long list.