by Jenika Snow
The sound of shouting grew louder the further they descended. The decrepit hallway they were moving down opened up to a large basement in the warehouse. The voices were earsplitting now as the sound echoed off the walls. Human and shifter males stood in a semi-formed circle. Their arms were raised, and money was gripped tightly in their hands as they shouted for more blood and violence. Jagger and the other members of his crew split up to walk around the circle. Through the parts in the crowd as the males pushed at each other to get a better look, Jagger could see a panther and wolf going at it. Blood was splattered along the floor, and gaping holes covered the animals’ bodies. But they were fierce motherfuckers, attacking each other with a rage that impressed him. He pushed through the crowd, but no one gave him shit, not when they saw his cut, read his club name, and knew the Grizzly MC reputation. Jagger stood at the front of the circle, close enough to the fight that he could practically taste the sweat, blood, and adrenalin that came from these two males. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked up to see the rest of his club at the front of the circle, too. Brick had a sadistic smile on his face as the wolf shifter snapped his jaw, bared his teeth, and tried to block an attack from the other animal. But the panther was stronger and went in for the kill. He latched his jaw around the wolf’s neck, and with one loud, sickening crunch tore the wolf’s throat clean out. A spray of blood splashed along the already red stained cement ground. The wolf collapsed, a bright red pool of blood starting to form. But the male wouldn’t shift back to his human side, which was better since getting rid of an animal corpse was a hell of a lot easier than doing that with a human body.
There were a few curses, money being exchanged, and then the audience was moving back, waiting for the next competitors. Jagger stared at the panther that looked ready to go another round. He paced back and forth, had saliva and blood dripping from his jaw, and had his black eyes trained on seemingly everything at once. Jagger sensed Sticks moving to his right and then Jace to his left.
“That’s Ty.”
Jagger looked at Sticks after the human spoke.
“He’s the best fighter we got. A mean fucker that is undefeated.” Sticks turned and grabbed a towel from one of his men. “Yo.” He lifted his chin toward Ty, and there was the popping sound of bones realigning. Seconds later a naked panther shifter stood in his human form. His arms were tatted up, and his black hair was soaking wet with blood and sweat. There were also massive wounds covering his body. Sticks tossed him the towel. Ty looked at Jagger for a second, but he didn’t give anything away. He turned and pushed his way through the loitering crowds, and went into one of the back rooms.
“What’s his story?” Jagger stared at the closed door for a second before moving so he could see both Sticks and Jace.
“Not sure. All I know is he has one fucked up past.” Jace’s deep voice rumbled out. The Lion MC President had a day’s worth of beard growth, and although it was clear he hadn’t been sleeping, he was still one fierce motherfucker and head of one of the MCs that was in alliance with Jagger’s club. Colorado had many shifter and human MCs. Occasionally there were fights breaking out, shit getting started, and retaliation being dealt for those fuck-ups. That was all part of the life they led, but Jagger preferred to stay on good terms with others, because having beef with other MCs was a pain in the ass, and people always ended up getting hurt. Jagger tried to form alliances with other shifter clubs, and was on good terms with the majority, the Lion MC being his main allies. He and Jace went back for fifteen years, and Jagger knew he could always count on the lion shifter to be there for him. But the same went for Jagger and his club where Jace was concerned.
“Okay, how ‘bout we get this shit done?” Jace said and slapped him on the back.
Sticks grinned. “Come on. I got a room in the back where we can talk about the details.” Sticks moved toward the back of the warehouse.
Jagger motioned for his guys to follow. Jace had only brought his VP, Tank, but then again Jace had been deep in the fighting scene for years and had enough backup with Sticks and the fighters if shit got bad. Maybe Jagger should have taken up his friend’s offer to join forces all those years ago, but at the time the club had voted it down and wanted to get into drug hauling. They stepped into a back room that smelled strongly of mold and dirt. When everyone was inside, with his men leaning against the wall, Sticks shut the door and got right to business.
“I reached out because Jace and I have been talking about expanding the fighting ring to surrounding territories.”
“Your club voted it down when I asked you to join in all those years ago, but since the business is raking in the cash, I thought I’d reach out to the Grizzlies and see if you want to give it a go this time.” Jace grinned once he finished speaking.
The club had already talked about this and decided to hear the offer out, and that was the only reason they were here talking about it.
“What kind of set-up do you have? And what do we have to contribute?” Brick said and moved beside Jagger. His Sergeant at Arms had a thing for violence, and the bloodier the better.
“You’ll help provide muscle during the bigger fights, help recruit when a fighter is down.” Sticks looked over at Jace once he said that. He turned and faced Jagger and his men once more. “But what really interests us is that Carlson property you have off of Route 29.We know the set-up you have there, and the protection of the trees, and the acreage. The barn you have would work well for helping to make sure we don’t get shut down by the local authorities since it’s on private property.”
Jagger crossed his arms. “Just because it is on private property doesn’t mean shit. The cops can still do a raid.”
Jace nodded and said, “Yeah, we know that, but the heat is just getting too heavy being out here. Cops keep making rounds, and one of these days they’re going to find some kind of bullshit cause to shut the place down.”
“Yeah, your shit is out in the middle of nowhere, and last I heard from your boys was you weren’t using it for anything other than storage,” Sticks said. Jagger’s grandfather had owned the property in question, and then it had been passed down to him.
“What’s the cut?” Jagger asked, because really that was one of the main reasons why they would go into business with them. If the payout was shit, it was a no-go.
“Since Sticks and the Lions are the main proprietors of the underground ring in Steel Corner we each get forty percent, and the fighters get twenty. You come on board and the cut will be equal for both clubs and Sticks,” Jace said.
“But the barn will be the main set-up for the fights?” Diesel, his VP, asked.
Jace nodded.
Diesel looked at Jagger, and they were both were thinking the same thing. Diesel spoke for the Grizzlies. “We’re putting up most of the risk providing the place that this shit is going down, plus you want us to be muscle and help recruit.” No one said anything, and the tension went up an inch. “We want forty percent. You and the Lion MC can split the rest with each other and the fighters.”
Jace didn’t say anything for a moment, and he and Sticks looked at each other. “That only leaves twenty percent each for Sticks and the Lions since we have to give the fighters twenty percent, too,” Sticks said with a bite to his words.
Jagger didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at both of them. Sticks pulled Jace aside, and the two talked quietly for a few minutes. When they were finished they both nodded at each other and moved back to Jagger and his crew.
“What about thirty percent and two kilos of coke to distribute?”
Jagger lifted a brow and looked at Diesel, and then the rest of his MC. “Where the fuck you gonna get two kilos of coke on the street?” he asked in response to Sticks’ offer. “And what makes you think we want to help unload it?”
Sticks rubbed his jaw. “I know a guy that has hookups with the Alonso gang up on Shepard Pass. They are looking to unload the coke they have since they have heat on them. They are willing to
take a massive cut, but I don’t have the connections to get something out like that,” Sticks said.
“Jace has the right connections,” Diesel said, but his VP needed to shut the fuck up.
Jagger cut a glare at Diesel and then looked back at Sticks and the Lion President.
“You know the Lions haven’t been in the drug business for the last three years. That shit was voted down, and it has been going good for us. Even if I wanted to take that on, the boys wouldn’t vote it in,” Jace said and glared at Diesel.
“I know you do mule-ing for some outside jobs for a cut rate, but I’ll buy these two kilos from the Alonsos, and give it to you to sell. You can take sixty percent of the profits. No questions asked.”
Jagger thought about what Sticks said, and although it wasn’t a bad offer, and he knew the right people he could sell it to, the Grizzly MC didn’t want to be under more heat.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to bring it to the table and see what the vote is. We’re going to be getting out of coke hauling, and taking on more drugs doesn’t seem like the step in that direction. That’s why we came to see you boys. We need revenue to make up what we will be losing,” Jagger said, and Jace and Sticks nodded.
“We understand. Just take it to the table and let us know.” Jace stepped up to Jagger after speaking.
Jagger and Jace clapped each other on the back, and Jagger and his crew followed Sticks and the Lion out of the warehouse.
****
Jagger sat at the head of the table and looked at all of his members. “Okay, so it’s unanimous on taking on the fighting and coke.”
All the members murmured their agreement.
“The Strongsville Gang up north is always interested in taking on new merchandise. They distribute to the lower-class gangs out of state that charge double for the product.”
Jagger tapped his fingers on the table and nodded at Brick’s words.
“Good. Call up Martion and see if he is interested. If he is, set up a meeting and we can go over prices. I’m not about to lose money off of it.” There was another round of murmurs. “Okay, next up to discuss is taking on two new prospects.” Jagger looked around the table.
“They’re grizzlies from California originally, hard asses on their own, but they want to join the MC,” Diesel said around the cigarette he held between his lips.
“They know the run-down of what is expected of them, but I think taking on a couple extra males is beneficial seeing as we are making this transition.” Jagger looked at each of the males at the table. “Anyone object to adding two more bodies to the club, with possible patching them in after they’ve served their time?” They went around the table, each male giving his approval. “All right, good.”
“Is Trick still up for taking on our end of the coke running?” Court asked from across the table. “I know it was talked about with him a few months back, but I also know we were waiting to see if there were any other avenues we got take before we cut ties with our suppliers right now, or got involved with that psycho.”
“Yeah, he was all for it last we talked, but he’s one crazy asshole. I have a meeting set up with him day after tomorrow. All of us will head up there. The fucker is unstable as shit, and it isn’t just from him dipping into his own toxic shit he cooks up.” Jagger cut his eyes toward Brick, but the male had an unreadable expression. Trick, that motherfucker Wolverine MC President was a sick son-of-a-bitch, twisted and insane as all get out, but he also had his hands deep in the drug running business. He even made his own shit for the tweekers.
“Can’t they just make their own shit? Why would he be interested in taking on coke hauling?” Dallas asked. Dallas had just been patched in to their charter, and didn’t know the history the club had with the Wolverines. Dallas kept to himself a lot of the time, but there was a darkness that could be seen in his eyes.
“Because getting his hands on the supplies to make the coke would require a hell of a lot of push and pull from other outlets. Making meth doesn’t require much other than some supplies they can buy from stores in Steel Corner. The Wolverine MC has burned a lot of bridges with surrounding MCs and local gangs. But they are so fucking insane that a lot of clubs don’t want to mess further with them.” Jagger could think of several occasions that the Wolverines had fucked someone over, but it always ended in dead bodies.
“If they are such a threat why not just take them out?” Dallas would see just how fucked-up the Trick was when they went to this meeting.
“Because they bring in a lot of revenue, and their reputation and the violence they bring has a lot of people steering clear. But business is business,” Jagger responded.
“We got into it one time with them.” Brick’s voice was dark and low. “But shit went south, and things got ugly.” Brick ran a finger down the length of his scar. “They took out a lot of our guys, but we got some of theirs as well. That was a while ago, and shit got smoothed over for the sole purpose of getting shit done. But make no mistake that if Trick thinks for one minute someone is screwing him over, he’ll take matters into his own hands without getting all of the facts.” Brick clenched his jaw.
Jagger reached over and clapped him on the back.
Brick kept speaking. “One of the Wolverine club members did this to my face after a bar altercation. They are fucking psycho as shit.” Brick leaned in and stared at Dallas. “You don’t ever give a Wolverine enough slack. They will end up taking that rope and hanging you with it.” There was a moment of silence, because even though Brick had gone all intense, the male spoke nothing but the truth.
“He scarred you up because of a bar brawl?” Dallas sounded stunned, and pissed. “Brother, you should have killed him.”
Brick grinned sinisterly. “Yeah, it almost came down to that, but when there were bodies lying all around us everyone realized it would only end in both clubs being extinguished.” Brick clenched his hands into fists on top of the table. “But make no fucking mistake, Trick will get what’s coming to him one of these days.” He grinned again, and this time there was dark intent.
“Brother, I don’t know if I would have been able to stop if a motherfucker did that shit to my face.” No one said anything after Dallas spoke, but it was time to move this conversation into less deadly territory. Brick might have been the one to back off when shit happened with Trick—which had to be harder than anything he had ever done before—but the club knew that even though it had been smoothed over, it was only temporary. Everything always came ‘round full circle.
“All right, enough with this shit. Let’s go chow down, get drunk, and fuck some club pussy.” Shouts and growls rang out after Jagger spoke, and then everyone was standing and heading out of the meeting room. Jagger placed a hand on Brick’s forearm, and his Sergeant at Arms stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Can I have a minute, brother?”
Brick sat back down.
“Diesel, shut the door on your way out.” When his VP was the last one out and the door was shut, Jagger leaned back in his seat and stared at Brick. “You doing okay, man?”
Brick leaned back as well, threw his arm over the back of his chair, and met Jagger’s stare head-on. “Everything’s cool. Why do you ask?” Brick’s voice was flat, and Jagger worried about his right hand and the rage that he knew was boiling inside of Brick.
“You know that if you want to get your retribution on Trick the club backs you up. It was your decision to back off,” Jagger said, facing Brick.
“I know you all have my back. I wanted his head on a fucking platter and nothing has changed, but as time passed shit kept coming up with the club. It was never the right time to take him out, and maybe that was a good thing since we need him for coke hauling. Once that is set then things will eventually run their course.” The cryptic words that came from Brick didn’t go unnoticed by Jagger, but he also knew that when the time did come for Brick to deliver payment for what the Wolverines did to him, the club would most definitely back him the fuck up.
/> Jagger nodded, clapped Brick on the back, and stood. “You sure you’re up to heading to Trick’s place with us?”
Brick nodded once.
Jagger didn’t miss the way the other member’s claws came out, or the scent of his grizzly bear rising.
“I’m good, Jagger. I can control my shit.”
Jagger stared at him for a minute, felt a little off balanced with the other man so high-strung, but knew that if Brick needed help he’d ask. He’d known the male for years and trusted him with his life. Hell, Jagger trusted all of his crew with his life, and he knew they felt the same. “Come on, brother. Let’s let loose.” They both stood and headed out to the main part of the clubhouse. Once the doors to their meeting room were shut Jagger motioned for Starla, a newer club whore, to come closer.
“Hey baby, you need my help?” She licked her lips and eyed Jagger up.
“I need you to show some love to Brick.”
She gave him a wide smile and headed over to Brick without complaint. Brick liked pussy as much as the rest of them did, but he never showed emotion, and the rumor was that he liked to get a little rough when he fucked. But whatever the hell floated his boat. Jagger was into a little bondage, but most of the time he just screwed to get off.
