by KJ Dahlen
“Who was she seeing?” Joel wanted to know.
Wynette stared at him with tears in her eyes. “Liam Zetran. I’ll never forget the look on his face that day.” Her eyes widened as she remembered something else she’d seen that day.
“What are you going to do Prez?” Fireball needed to know.
“Can I make a suggestion?” Randall asked.
Ajax looked over at him and nodded.
“I would suggest you gather your evidence carefully and quietly. Go through the police, obviously not the local law but you’ve got the attention of a good state cop. He can guide you on the laws and he can gather what the police would need for this to be legal in a straight court of law. Don’t just go and dig up the body without a credible witness.”
“We’re an MC, we don’t usually bring the law into our fights,” Ajax told him.
“You won’t be an MC very much longer if you don’t,” Randall pointed out. “I know and understand what you’re saying here but if you don’t do this, the proper way the Zetran family will wipe you out and they’ll rule here. They will have gotten away with murder literally on more than one occasion. And everyone who lives here will see just how much power they have. Do you want that to happen?”
“It’s not only the murders boss,” Moon spoke up. “It’s the drugs too. Whatever they’re making out there, they are distributing to places nearby and who knows where they’re ending up. Your dad hated the drug scene, he didn’t want it for his club. He always said he might not have been the best man he could be, but he never went down that road and he never would.”
Ajax gave him a look. “I know all of that, Moon. He told me the same thing when I got to be president that I’d better not either or he would come back and haunt me and this club.” Then he looked around the room. “Is this what you all want? You want to work with the badges to clear this mess up?”
“I don’t see that we have a choice,” Jackman grumbled. “We either play nice with them or we don’t get to play at all. And I for one like what we got here. This is our home and I’m not willing to give that up.”
More of the men agreed with him.
Ajax nodded. “Then let’s get this game started. The sooner we begin the sooner this is over.” He looked over at Randall. “We need you to stay and be on our side. Can you do that?”
Randall grinned. “I would be remiss in my duties as the club attorney if I left now. Besides, I want to see the look on Justice Zetran’s face when his empire crumbles into the dust.”
Chapter One
Stinger opened his eyes as the sun came over the eastern horizon. All he could hear was quiet, so he knew no one else was awake yet. Then he closed his eyes and listened deeper. This too, was always something he did every day. He listened intently to see if there was any tension in the air. If there was, he fell it in the vibes around him. Good, bad or otherwise, he always felt it. The Cosmos seemed to agree with him because he felt no underlying trouble coming their way today.
He'd learned to listen to these feelings over the years. Only when he ignored them, did he get into trouble. But today there seemed to be nothing to bother with. At least if there was, it wasn’t something that might bite them in the ass.
He flung his arm up over his head as he stared at the ceiling in his room. Today, the club would start to make their plans. The more they learned about the Zetran family, the more they could get a window into what their reasoning was.
It helped that Wynette, Joel and Karley lived and grew up here. They knew the family better than the members of the club ever would. That was just a fact. But he had a feeling Wynette and Karley were holding something back. Maybe it was something they didn’t realize yet, but he had a feeling it could turn the tide against the Zetran family.
Rick Stephans would be arriving today, to talk about the death of Jolene Whitman. They were slowly building a timeline to figure out when the Zetran empire got so dirty. Plus, they needed evidence that would stand up in a court of law that Justice Zetran couldn’t buy off. He had a reach that was long on friendship and the good ole boy network. They couldn’t let what happened to Wynette... ever happen again.
There was so much to do and hopefully, enough time to do it, but their Prez Ajax said he had his doubts about the time thing.
Stinger had seen the look in Liam Zetran’s eyes the other day when they couldn’t get inside to look for Karley. It was a rage like he’d never seen before and that was never a good thing.
Fireball had seen it too. Karley was his woman now, and Stinger knew there would be hell to pay if Liam or anyone came to hurt her, the same as Ajax would kill anyone who came here to hurt Wynette.
Shaking his head, he thought about Wynette. The whole club had hated her for eight very long years. In fact, they couldn’t wait for the day when she got out of prison to take care of her... the MC way. She would have paid the ultimate price for her actions the day Mad Dog died.
They almost found out too late that she was innocent. It still took some time for everyone to accept her and Stinger knew this bothered Ajax.
He threw the blankets off his legs and got up. Going over to the window, he peered outside. He saw the fence line that stood between them and the outside world. Would the chain link barrier be enough to keep the Zetran’s out? Somehow, he doubted it.
Then he saw a slight movement beyond the fence. Stinger stepped to the side as a figure moved a little closer to the fence. The shadows told him someone was standing there looking in but he/she didn’t move enough into the light to become visible.
He went back to the bed and grabbed his jeans, pulling them on. Without waiting to put on a shirt or even his socks and boots, Stinger left his room and walked down to Racer’s room.
He knocked lightly and heard Racer bid him to come in. Stinger opened the door and found the other man sitting at his monitors keeping track of the cameras he’d set up around the compound.
Stinger moved closer and studied the setup. There was only one red dot on the screen. “Who is it? Do you know yet?” he asked Racer.
Racer shook his head. “No I don’t, but this is the third morning it’s been there. Whoever it is doesn’t come any closer than the edge of the trees and doesn’t make any kind of move. They just stand there for the timespan of two hours, and then disappears. Then they come back around later afternoon and again just stands there for a couple of hours. They just remain there until it’s too dark to see them, whoever it is.”
Stinger frowned at what he was being told. “Someone is watching us?”
Racer shrugged. “Yeah, they’re watching us but who is it and why are they there? Somehow, I don’t think whoever it is out there is connected to the Zetran or the Sheriff.”
“How do you know that?”
Racer shook his head. “Well, I guess...I don’t for sure. It’s more of a feeling right now, but whoever it is, so far is just watching.”
“It’s still creepy s shit though,” Stinger reminded him. He had thought today no trouble was coming, but for once, he might be wrong. “You said this is the third morning it’s shown up...Where else have you noticed this creeper standing?”
Racer looked up at him and shook his head. “It’s always in the same place. And they always stay just outside camera range.”
“Have you said anything to Ajax yet?”
“No, I haven’t,” Racer admitted. “I did however put some extra cameras out there. If whoever that is moves closer, I should be able to get a picture of their face.”
Stinger thought about what he said then turned his head to look at Racer. “You said the watcher comes back in the later afternoon, about what time would that be?”
Racer turned from his monitors and studied him for a moment. “You know Ajax won’t let you do something stupid, right? Like, maybe be outside the fence waiting on whoever this red dot is?”
“I’m not going to put my life or anyone else’s in danger here.” Stinger scoffed. “But we need to find out who this is and what t
hey want. These are dangerous times and we can’t afford to ignore this. Or sure as hell, it’ll come back and bite us in the ass.” He began to walk away then turned to look over at Racer. “I’ll tell Ajax my plan. I just need to know a time, so I can get there before whoever that is comes back.”
“Around four in the afternoon,” Racer replied. “Almost like clockwork.
Stinger nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
He walked out to the main room and found Ajax, Fireball and several of the others sitting there drinking their first cup of coffee of the day.
He went over to the table and sat down. Pouring himself a cup of the hot brew, he looked over at Ajax. “We seem to have eyes on us.” He raised the cup to his mouth.
“Do tell.” Fireball growled as he frowned.
Stinger nodded. “When I got up this morning, I went over to the window and saw the shadows by the trees shifting. I went to see Racer and he was looking at the same thing I’d just seen. I knew he’d put cameras up all around the compound in the last week or so. He said this was the third morning in a row he’d seen the same thing on his monitors. They never get close but they show up on his radar. He said the dot is there for two hours every morning but it doesn’t move. Whoever is there, just watches but it’s always in the same place every day, twice a day.”
Ajax and Fireball shared a look.
Ajax then looked at Stinger. “They just stand there, not moving for two hours?”
Stinger nodded. “That’s what he says. He also said whoever it is comes back in the later afternoon and just stands there until it gets dark. I’m going to find out who exactly is watching us this afternoon.”
“You be careful when you leave the safety of the compound,” Fireball warned him. “I don’t trust the Sheriff and his friends.”
Stinger snorted. “I don’t trust them either, so you have Racer keep track of me when I go outside. I don’t want to end up in the warehouse being beat to death.” He reminded them of the torture Fireball’s woman went through at the hands of the prison guard and the local sheriff.
“Make sure you have a tag on your body before you go outside the walls then,” Ajax ordered. “I don’t want to lose you or anyone else in this war.”
Stinger scoffed. “The war is just beginning, boss.”
“I know,” Ajax agreed. “But this war is us against them and I’m determined that we will win.”
“Amen to that,” Fireball agreed.
Wynette came out of the kitchen with Karley.
When they joined their men, Wynette told them, “I just spoke to Rick, he said he couldn’t make it out here until this afternoon.”
“He also said he would bring Randall out here with him as well as another man named Bennett Elliott,” Karley added. “Bennett is some sort of DA.”
“No, not a DA sweetheart,” Fireball corrected her. “Bennett Elliott is a US Marshal. He oversees the Ricco department.”
Chapter Two
“Yeah, well whatever he is, I’m not going to be here to meet him,” Karley replied. “I still walked out of prison without being formally released and I’ll be damned if I’m going back inside.”
Fireball wrapped his arms around her waist, “Honey, we’re working on the paperwork for your release, I told you that.”
Karley looked down at his face and nodded. “I know and I believe you but it hasn’t come through yet and I’m taking not any chances. I can’t go back inside, not even for one day. I’d never come out alive again. Carson wasn’t a liked guard but they have a network where you hurt one and the others serve what they consider their own brand of justice.” She looked over at Wynette. “We’ve seen it happen and it never ends well for the woman serving time.”
Wynette nodded at her with saddened eyes.
“Well, you can’t leave the compound but you don’t have to be here when they get here,” Fireball assured her.
Wynette wrapped her arms around Ajax and whispered, “I’ll be so glad when this is finally over and we can all breathe again.”
Ajax looked up at her. “To be able to do that, we need to let the truth be known. The Zetrans’ have ruled around here because they have intimidated the people into doing what they want... not necessarily what’s in their own best interest. They think they have the power and the push but they really don’t.” Shaking his head Ajax looked around the room. “Its time for someone to finally take a stand and bring these bastards down.”
“They won’t go down easy, you all know that right?” Karley looked around the room. She was amazed at the truth she saw in the eyes of all the men here. They knew what they were up against.
Joel joined them and he grunted as he sat down. “I’ve known Justice Zetran since he was just a kid. He always told me he was going to be a big man around these parts one day. He would build his empire and he then he would protect that empire with every breath he took.”
“Why around this area?” Stinger wanted to know.
Joel shrugged. “This was where his grandpa scratched out a living in the dirt literally to feed his family. His own father made things better but he worked too hard and died in the field too. He had a heart.” Joel shook his head. “His family came to this area almost a hundred years ago. His grandfather eked out a poor living for his wife and two sons. Then when he couldn’t work the land anymore, his sons took over and they made a better living but it was still a lot of work. Times were changing but not fast enough for Justice. He watched his dad work himself to death and he had a heart attack working the fields when Justice was almost grown. Justice worked the fields too, but he wanted something different for himself and his sons. He went to school to learn how to work smarter, not harder. It was hard to do but he did it. He turned the ranch around and began making some serious money. Oh, it was still hard work but he began showing a profit faster than his own father ever did.”
The people sitting around the tables all listened silently.
Joel thought about it for a moment then shook his head. “One thing I will say, I would never have taken the Justice Zetran for a drug dealer. He always took pride in the fact that he earned every dollar with honesty.”
Ajax shrugged. “There’s a lot of money in dealing that shit. More money than working the land, I can tell you that for sure and for certain.”
Joel looked over at him. “Justice wasn’t afraid of hard work and he never skimped or cut any corners when everyone told him he should. He always took pride in the fact that the job was done the best he could do it. He said it gave him a feeling of accomplishment when he went to bed at night. How could everything go so wrong for him?”
“What can you tell us about his family?” Fireball asked.
Joel rubbed his hand along his jaw while looking pensive. “Well, he married Betty Wilde fifty years ago. Hell, he was barley a grown man back then but he married her and had three sons of his own. Caleb, Joseph and Cole. Now, he’s got eight grandkids and they are mostly grown too.
“Who does this Liam belong to?” Fireball asked another question.
“He’s the middle son’s, Joe. He has two brothers along with Liam, Jordan and Blake.”
“Eight years ago, Liam was barely twenty,” Karley spoke up. “But even then he had a temper and a snotty attitude. He thought he was so much better than everyone else around here. I’m not really surprised to hear about what he did to Jolene. That so fits the man he was back then. Spoiled fucking brat.”
Wynette shook her head. “I just wish I could remember more about the day Liam killed Jolene.”
Karley sat down next to Fireball and took his hand. “But you did remember that day, even if it was only in your dreams or rather nightmares.” Karly nodded. “You saw that scar again, the night Mad Dog was killed. You described it in detail. You said, she laid him open good, from temple to jaw. And that you hoped it hurt. You also said she should have cut his throat instead of his face.”
Wynette looked stunned as she began to tremble.
Karly nodded. “Y
ou also said he deserved it and that you wish she would have stabbed his black heart. That he was the one who should have died that day, not her.”
Wynette sighed. “Still wish I could remember what she hit him with though. I never thought she’d slice his face open that easily but whatever she hit him with did a good job.”
Ajax wrapped his arms around her and hugged her closer. “Don’t try so hard.” He looked over at Joel and asked again, “What about the rest of his family? Do the other sons have any kids?”
Joel nodded. “His oldest boy, Caleb had two sons, Jared and Briar. Like I said Joe had three sons, Liam, Jordan and Blake and then Cole had three kids, a son, John and two girls, Paige and Sarah.”
“What are you thinking boss?” Stinger asked.
Ajax shrugged. “I’m thinking old Justice was dragged into dealing by one or more of his grandkids. That maybe he didn’t find out what they were doing until it was too late to stop it.”
Karley snarled. “And I’ll bet the motherfucker was Liam or Jordan. Both of them like to live the highlife and pushing everyone out of their way. Liam always did think he was hot shit.”
Joel sat there thinking about the past. Then he offered, “I remember Joe’s wife, Kristen had an addiction problem. Oh, the family hushed it up real quick but you know with something like that people like to talk about it. I believe she went into rehab at least three times before Joe finally divorced her. Of course, he got the boys and she got nothing. I also remember those boys being hell on wheels as they grew up.” He ran his hands over his head. “Hell, Justice is just getting old like me. He retired years ago and probably doesn’t have any say in what his family is doing anymore.”
“Pawpaw, he isn’t innocent in all this,” Wynette reminded her grandfather. “He didn’t stop it when he had the chance and now, he can’t stop it.”
