CHAPTER SEVEN
– FATAL –
“I’m not here to chitchat. Not to mention, you show up on our doorstep without reaching out first. So, get to the fucking point, Norris,” I snap.
“You guys think you have a deal when in fact you don’t.
Melon had no right to supply you with guns, and they need to be returned.
If you return them, we won’t retaliate because you should have reached out to me the second Melon suggested a deal.
You knew damn well this shit was shady.”
His phone gives a notification and the fucker takes his sweet time to check it first.
Norris shrugs, takes a few steps back and lifts his arms away from his body when he says, “Shady or not, it was a business deal. I don’t owe anyone shit or have to consult with fuck all before making one. Money exchanged hands, guns were delivered. We own them now, you know how it is.”
I’m about to move forward to get in this fucker’s face when I hear Norie yell my name. Throwing a look over my shoulder, I watch her run in my direction, eyes filled with panic.
“We’re talking here, Fatal,” Norris grits. “Leave the cunt and...”
Norie comes to a stop, her voice carries a load of desperation when she croaks, “Please.”
The door of the clubhouse is shut and she came from around the building. What the hell is going on?
“Well, if you want the guns, come and get them.” Norris’s voice draws my attention to him. “I have them stashed in the trunk of my car. It’s parked right here.”
He takes another few steps back and Heart is about to move forward when I decide to trust my gut instinct and hold him back with my arm. Good thing too because a bullet impacts in the stone fence instead of where his body would be if I didn’t stop him.
“Motherfucker.” I reach for my gun as I roar, “No one fucks with the Kings,” but Norris is already on the move.
I squeeze the trigger a few times and watch the fucker’s upper body jerk right before he reaches the corner. Hitting the button of the remote, the gate starts to shut.
Only then do I turn to face Norie and demand, “How did you know?”
Heart is right beside me wearing a look of the same fury I feel running through my veins.
She hikes a thumb over her shoulder. “I was trying to make a run for it when I overheard some guys talking. One said they needed you to move a few inches to get a clear shot. The other one said he’d message the president and then I saw you guys standing at the edge of the property.”
Dumb luck. We’re still alive due to dumb fucking luck.
If Norie didn’t try to escape, if those two stupid fucks didn’t talk loud enough for her to hear.
..we wouldn’t be standing here right now.
We were about to step onto the street and away from the fence that was blocking the clear shot they needed.
..if it wasn’t for Norie, Heart and I would be dead.
I grab her elbow and pull her with me into the clubhouse.
“What the hell was going on out there?” Gilpin asks.
Norie’s retort is a mere whisper, but I hear her words loud as fuck echoing inside my head, “As if you don’t know.”
Ignoring her, I roar, “Where the fuck were all of you when the shooting started?”
“You had it covered.” Gilpin takes another step forward. “We watched the camera. Norris was out there by himself while you two were at the gate, which you closed.”
I barely hold my tongue so I don’t tell the idiot the obvious; that we were shot at, and it didn’t come from Norris. Besides, the camera angle could have given them a different view on things. I make a mental note to watch the feed myself.
“We need to talk,” Heart rumbles. “You and me. Leave the bitch here.”
Norie bites out her words, “The bitch just saved your ungrateful ass.”
“Gilpin, Remus, make sure she doesn’t move from this spot,” Heart orders and looks at me as he jerks his chin in the direction of church.
Heart waits for the door to fall shut behind me and says, “The two of us were out there. I saw it with my own eyes and it still doesn’t make sense.
He admitted to having the guns. If it wasn’t for that chick, we’d both be filled with lead.
It doesn’t make fucking sense, Prez. We checked the books, counted the damn guns, and yet nothing is technically missing. There can only be one explanation.”
Heart is right, there are no guns missing. It’s why I wanted to bait Norris into admitting if Melon delivered guns or not.
“Which is?” I demand, not getting what he’s trying to say here.
Heart rubs the back of his neck. “Did she let you fuck her? Gain your trust? Weird fucking coincidence she was in the office going through those books, don’t you think? Books that had the same amount of stock we recounted.”
“Are you saying she was working with Melon?” I frown. “How’s that even possible when we didn’t even know who the fuck she was?”
“And why is that? Why did Swade keep her a secret while she’s apparently his daughter?”
I lean back against the door. Nothing makes sense. Melon had the link with Norris; he set up the deal. Heart is right, though. Melon would need an accomplice to iron out all the stuff so the deal would get unnoticed.
We only got wind of it because he was bragging about it and the prospect overheard him. Shit. Just like Norie overheard men talking and was able to stop us from getting shot. Was it a setup? Her face flashes back into my mind. It’s hard to fake such panic.
“We need Norie in here,” I tell my VP.
“A cunt doesn’t belong in church.”
I probably shouldn’t tell him I fucked her on the table behind him. “Then we move this discussion into my office. My gut tells me she’s an innocent bystander.”
“Yeah, or it’s your cock getting misled so she can worm her way deeper under your skin and...”
“And what?” I challenge. “I’ve never let my cock make decisions for me, and you know it.
Not to mention, Sevrin wanted her safe, so others don’t exploit her.
The skills she has are useless when it comes to a weapons deal.
For us? The human lie detector part? Yeah, we sure as fuck can use her.
Good way to keep her locked up as well if you’re still thinking she’s involved. ”
“Fine, get her in here. Let’s see what she has to say,” Heart grits.
I walk out and notice Norie is still standing in the same place and is surrounded by four bikers, staring her down. I grab her elbow and pull her with me, closing the door behind us.
Norie rips her arm away. “You’re very annoying, grabbing me by the elbow like a mother would grab a child by the ear. I really, really want my stun gun back. Also, I might have some regrets concerning saving your ass from getting shot.” She glares at Heart. “You too. You called me a bitch.”
“I also called you a cunt when I was talking to Fatal before you joined us.” Heart’s gaze connects with mine when he questions, “Stun gun?”
I barely manage not to wince. “She had one in her purse and caught me off guard with it last night.”
“He didn’t go down, though,” Norie mutters and tilts her head. “Would you?”
Heart snorts. “Fuck no.”
Turning the discussion back to the topic at hand, I ask, “What exactly did you hear those men say when you were trying to escape?”
She huffs out a breath of frustration. “Like I said, one guy stated he needed you to move a few inches to get a clear shot. The other one said he’d message the president, and then I saw you guys standing at the edge of the property and the guy you were talking to pulled his phone from his pocket.
Also...” Her voice becomes muffled, and I can’t understand shit.
“Mumbling is something no one understands,” Heart snaps. “Speak loud and clear.”
Norie glares at Heart and takes a step in his direction to jab a finger against his chest while she hisses, “I can’t speak loud and clear because those in the other room might overhear.”
Heart and I share a look.
It’s my VP who tells her, “Those in the other room are all Kings of Anarchy members, except for the prospects and they have all been vouched for.”
“This Melon guy was a member too, and still a tiny part of his brain ended up on the president’s boot,” Norie reminds him.
“If I tell you what I heard you could drown him in the river first, then put him in a car and place dry ice on the foot that’s on the gas pedal.
The car drives off a cliff and it will look like he did it himself instead of murder. No need to clean up.”
We both stare at her and process her suggestion.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that ’cause it might inspire you to use it on me,” Norie mutters.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll tell you, just make sure he doesn’t know I’m the rat.
” Her voice lowers to a mere whisper when she adds, “They were talking about something Melon said before they talked about not being able to kill you two. The one guy said, and I quote, ‘Melon mentioned Gilpin needed the prez and VP gone.’”
Gilpin is our treasurer. He handles the club financials and went through the books at the brewery. My anger skyrockets and when I glance at Heart, he instantly dips his chin. This makes so much fucking sense.