Chapter 14
No Quarter
Thunder
The prospect closed the door to church, and the chatter instantly stopped.
Sabre didn’t call emergency meetings on a whim, and while I knew what to expect, most of the brothers didn’t.
Scrub’s seat was the only one empty. He’d already left for his shift at the hospital, and someone would fill him in later.
“What a fucking day,” Sabre said, scratching his scalp. “Grizz?”
Grizz shifted in his seat. “Some of you will remember the kid in the holding cell during our arrest. He clearly had a drug problem, begging any officer who passed for help.” He paused, gathering his thoughts.
“I told him if he wanted to kick the habit, he should show up at the gate. Well, today he cashed in.”
“What do we know about him?” Sabre prompted.
“I ran a background check—the same as we do for everyone else. It reads like a kid from a broken home with a drug habit,” Cyph answered. “No known cartel affiliations.”
“He’s detoxing downstairs, and it ain’t pretty.” Grizz shuddered. “I’m not asking the club for help. I’ll get him situated, but you all need to know he’s here.”
“Is he going to make it? When we picked him up, he was awfully thin,” I asked.
“Scrub says yes. Has him on fluids and gave him something for his stomach. Kid’s asleep now, so when we’re done, I’ll go back and sit with him.”
“I’m not a fan of this, especially with our cartel problems as of late. We don’t know this kid, and I won’t allow drugs in the clubhouse,” Sabre chimed in as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I won’t go back on my word, but when he’s stronger, I figured we could have a chat and see where his head’s at.” Grizz dropped his gaze, staring at the table.
“Scare him straight?” Sabre asked with a twisted smile.
“Something like that.” Grizz rapped the table with his knuckles. “I’m going to get him outside help. Scrub said he’d find a place.”
I normally kept to my own devices, but I couldn’t help but see the similarities.
Grizz had unresolved guilt from not taking Buster to a professional, and he wouldn’t leave the kid to figure this out on his own.
I’d done the same thing, staying by Liz’s side from the time she’d come to the clubhouse until now.
Some days were better than others, and Grizz was going to need help the other brothers might not give him.
“You have responsibilities, VP. If you find somewhere, I’ll take him, so you’re free.” I was offering before I even knew what I was saying, but once the words were out, the decision felt right.
“That could work.” Grizz looked up, meeting my eyes. He nodded in my direction, and I let it go. We were family. I couldn’t replace him, but I could take a little responsibility off his plate.
“Does anyone have any issues with the kid staying as long as he checks out?” Sabre opened the conversation to the rest of the brothers.
“How do we know he’s not a plant?” Pretty was serious, still traumatized after being arrested.
“He’s not, and if he is, his method acting is incredible,” Twig popped in. “Dude is puking and shitting everywhere.” He waved his hand. “Keeps apologizing between rounds. I’m going to have to polish my boots.”
“I told you, you don’t have to worry about that,” Wreck said.
Pretty shook his head. “You say things like that, and they never turn out to be true.” He tapped his pen on the side of his notebook.
No one wanted to be the next asshole to interrupt their staring contest.
Sabre took over. “If something doesn’t check out, I’ll throw him out on his ass.
For now, he can stay downstairs, if there are no objections.
” He met each brother’s eyes, waiting for confirmation until he moved on.
“Alright. That’s settled.” Sabre sighed, his shoulders hunched over.
“El Sombra Roja is at Diego Lopez’s office building downtown. ”
The room exploded, and I sat back, trying to catch snippets of conversation. I didn’t think anyone would blame Liz for any of this, but a good soldier never went into battle unprepared.
“How the fuck do we know this?” How talked with his hands, waving them around.
“How the fuck did he take the building over?” Zook asked, staring across the table at his friend.
“What the fuck are we going to do about it?” Op said. I’d been thinking the same thing since Liz had hung up the phone.
Slate leaned over the table. “How’s Liz?” I raised my eyebrow at the question, but he held his hands up. “Don’t look at me like that. I backed down when she chose you.”
“Motherfucker called me directly.” My hand came up to roll the muscles in my neck. “It became a pissing contest, so she grabbed the phone, and you should have heard her. Told him to either show up or leave in smooth sentences.”
“Seriously? I would have paid to hear that.” Count’s spikes shook with his excitement.
“I’ve buried the highway patrol reports and all the medical records for Aunt E and Buster. No one’s accessed them, and Aunt E didn’t give him any reason to go looking.” Cyph smiled, locking his fingers together and putting them behind his head.
There was a low rumble as the brothers talked amongst themselves.
“What do you want to do, Prez?” Op was the first of the tactical brothers to get the meeting back on track.
“I’m not putting the women on lockdown, but Grace and JR are moving back into our rooms. Meredith and Aunt E don’t leave unless they have appointments, and Emily is not the target.
” Sabre paused, gathering his thoughts. “You might be right, Cyph. He doesn’t know about the accident, but I think Alex is well aware of everything else. ”
“Does he still find us lacking?’ Grizz asked, rolling his eyes. “I’ll never forget when Krait said that.”
“Yes,” I answered. “He said something about how he was making sure his girls had better choices in men.”
“He’s arranging marriages,” Wreck spoke up.
I was usually the loudest in the room, but the volume drowned me out. Each brother had a new question to add to the already gigantic pile of shit we were sitting on.
“What the fuck are you talking about? He’s offered for Liz.” My voice cut through the commotion, and the room went silent, waiting for Wreck to answer.
“He’s already given his stepdaughter to the Lopezes, and since that union hasn’t produced a child, he is looking for other alternatives.”
“Why come for Liz, though? It’s been over twenty-five years since they’ve had contact.” Part of me didn’t understand what Wreck was trying to say through the shadows. However, there was a tiny part that could see it all crystal clear. I didn’t want to be right.
No one was taking my wife away from me. I’d promised her she wouldn’t stand alone, and if it came to that, I’d stand in front of her. Surveying the room, I already knew who would stand with me.
Wreck didn’t look away from me as he delivered the next bomb. “He won’t recognize your marriage. All he has to do is claim Aunt E is Pulse’s mother, and she’ll have status.”
“How the fuck do you know all this shit?” Pretty never showed his genuine emotions, but the man was livid. His chest was pumping so fast, I thought he was going to hyperventilate in church.
“It’s common sense.” Wreck shrugged.
“No, it’s not.” Op bridged his fingers, cracking his knuckles. “Are you saying El Sombra Roja wants Aunt E to have status so that he can sell Flo and Buster to the Lopezes?”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Dead chimed in. “Why?”
“That one’s easy. Krait probably told him about the kids.” Cyph took a long gulp from his energy drink. When he set the can down, every eye was on him. “What?” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Flo had JR.”
“Why would he still want to merge with the Lopezes?” Grizz looked confused. “Wouldn’t it be easier to eliminate them and take over their territory?”
“You’re talking about a cartel war. It’s the capos in the middle that hold the most power.
They would have to be removed for the entire system to collapse.
” I had a few men in my military unit who had joined to escape the cartel.
They liked to get drunk, commiserating with each other over the secrets they kept.
“Like that movie,” someone quipped. A few brothers shook their heads at the stupidity.
Sabre chuckled. “I’d like to see him try. Grace is tired of the cartel. She thinks once they’re gone, we’re all going to live a nice, quiet life together as one enormous family.” The tension broke as laughter filled the room.
“He picked that building for a reason. Did Gerry tell him what happened?” Count speculated.
“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not chasing him. He’s going to show, or he’s going to leave.” There was another round of laughter. “I think we should set a trap for him.”
“How the fuck are we going to do that?” Grizz must have showered. His hair was wet, but he nervously threw it into the bun he always wore.
“Paint,” Sabre laughed, shifting back into his chair with a smirk.
“You, me, Thunder, and a few volunteers are going to paint the banquet center. Grace won’t show as long as there are fumes, but he won’t know that.
He’ll just see all the activity and assume she’s there, or at least I hope he will.
If not, the worst that will happen is we’ll be done with that project. ”
“What if you let Gerry go? He’ll run to the cartel, telling them where we’ll be,” I supplied, my voice echoing in the room’s stillness.
Sabre snapped his fingers. “He might be good for something after all.”