Snake (The Road Rebels MC Book 3)

by Savannah Rylan

  “I’m going with the majority on this one,” Mac said. “But we need a unanimous vote. Fox?”

  We all turned towards him as I drew in a deep breath.

  “It’s the majority of our profits,” Fox said.

  “I know,” I said.

  “And it’s going to take time to build up the reputations of the bars,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “And there’s a good chance our bar might not succeed. Then we’re back to square one with families still struggling,” he said.

  “But our families will be alive and kept out of jail, and that’s the point,” I said.

  I watched as Fox let out a deep breath before he nodded his head curtly. As much as I knew he loved the money, I’ve seen him play with Emery. I knew how much he cared for Syd and Gemma.

  “Time for a vote,” Mac said. “All in favor of offloading the drugs, cleaning up the bar, and opening another one in town, raise your hands.”

  And my chest filled with hope as every single man in that room raised their hands high and proud.

  Chapter 28

  Laiken

  I sat back in my chair at the office as I ran my fingers through my hair. For the past two hours, I’d been making runs to the courthouse, staring at my fucking computer, and going through all these files. No one had bothered me, and I was thankful for that because had anyone tried to intervene with any circumstantial bullshit, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to hold my tongue. All of these failed charges and botched court appearances were for stupid shit. Circumstantial evidence, paperwork being processed wrong, names being misspelled on documents. It had laziness and Daniel Carmichael written all over it, and because of it, The Devil Saints were getting off the hook for all sorts of shit. Domestic abuse charges, murder charges, racketeering charges.

  All of it lost because of stupid shit, and all of it won at the hands of Daniel Carmichael.

  I hunched back over my desk and started in on the last box. It held the past ten years of The Devil Saints’ lives, and I was ready to take it in. I had memorized every name, face, and involvement the police department had with this club, and I was ready to take in more.

  But then, I came across the shootout.

  Articles that had been cut out of the newspaper and charges filed that were never pursued. Body counts and the names of those they thought were killed. There were pictures of the scene after the shootout, with barrels and sand drenched in blood. It was splattered along a warehouse and running through the street.

  Then, I came across the first link to The Road Rebels I had found in all of this paperwork.

  The police had tried to investigate the deaths of The Road Rebels members, and one name stood out to me. My captain was the lead investigator on it. He had notes and questions written in the margins of his paper. Theories and postulations that made sense, but none he could ever prove. No wonder this man was so hell-bent on getting The Devil Saints put behind bars.

  They had slaughtered practically an entire rival motorcycle club just because they could.

  There was no evident motive found for the shootout, but it was assumed The Devil Saints started it. Since it was on The Road Rebels turf and only two Saints members were killed, the police drew the conclusion that it was The Road Rebels that were blindsided. I looked at picture after picture of the carnage. The bodies lying in the sand pumped with metal and twisted at ungodly angles.

  It made me sick just to look at.

  But, just like everything else The Devil Saints did, they couldn’t find any hard evidence. Bullet casings were missing, and those taken from the bodies had lost their registrations. I found paperwork filed to try and get them to appear in court and explain themselves. Arrest warrants to try and bring them in to get more information, but nothing ever panned out.

  And still, Daniel Carmichael’s name was popping up.

  Holy fuck, Jace was right. As I continued to devour the last box of information, I could see the disgusting picture being painted in my mind. The documents noted a change-over in the President of The Devil Saints, and then things got brutal. Charges of prostitution were brought against them. Selling drugs out of their compound and all sorts of other shit. Things like ‘child labor?’ and ‘where did she go?’ were written into the margins of papers and pictures the police had filed and collected over the years.

  That was literally all this department had to go on for the past three decades.

  Fucking theories and circumstantial evidence bullshit.

  The Devil Saints were disgusting. But even though they were, that still didn’t excuse The Road Rebels. Now it was time for me to dig into them. Figure out what the hell this police department had on them.

  And shockingly enough, it wasn’t much.

  By all accounts, they were a legitimate motorcycle club. They owned a bar on a deserted highway that allowed minors, which probably meant they were serving them. But, it couldn’t be proven, and the police department hadn’t investigated any further. They had a mechanic’s shop the club owned and worked, and by all accounts, it seemed to be legitimate. Had all of the correct licensing and employee records. I couldn’t find a single thing to substantiate the ‘chatter’ that they ran drugs or anything else, but that usually meant they were just good at covering their tracks.

  I sat back in my chair and took a deep breath before my cell phone started to vibrate.

  “Officer Riley,” I said.

  “Laiken. It’s Jace.”

  I sat upright in my chair as the sound of his voice pounded in my ears.

  “Jace,” I said. “Um, yes. Hello. H-... how are you?”

  “Did I interrupt something?” he asked.

  “No, just… sitting at my desk,” I said.

  “Then I’ll make it quick. Can you meet me? I have some information for you.”

  “What?” I asked. “Information?” What the hell information could Jace want to give me?

  “Damn it, woman. Can you get to my house or not?” he asked.

  “You don’t have to be so demanding,” I asked as I grabbed my things.

  “But I thought you liked that.”

  “I can hear your smirk.”

  “And I can feel your blush. Meet me at my place in twenty minutes,” he said.

  “On my way.”

  I had no idea what the hell he meant by information, but I had to clean up before I could go. I shoved the notes I was taking into my desk, then packed everyone up and took it back down to the evidence locker. I went out the front and found my car, trying to calm my nerves in the process. If no one was looking for me, then it meant they weren’t going to ask me any questions about where I was this afternoon. And now that we were going into the weekend, no one would question the fact that I was leaving at four thirty instead of six.

  I got into my car and took the quickest route to Jace’s home. I was anxious to see him again. Just being able to clear my head and back up some of what he had told me helped me to trust him again. I still wasn’t completely there, but I couldn't deny how I felt about him. I still cared for Jace and his well-being, and all I wanted for him was to be safe in whatever it was he had gotten wrapped up in.

  And as long as The Devil Saints were still active, he would never be safe.

  I pulled up into his driveway, and he was waiting for me. Leaning against his motorcycle like he owned the fucking world. My heart fluttered in my chest as I got out of my car, and the two of us headed inside where we could talk.

  He didn’t even get the front door closed before my mouth ran away from me.

  “You were right about The Devil Saints,” I said. “They’re a ball of fucking trouble. And their lawyer, Daniel Carmichael, is right in the middle of it.”

  I watched as Jace turned towards me and shrugged off his leather cut. I eyed it realizing that it had The Road Rebels logos on it. A slow smile spread across my face. This was the first time I had seen him in his club’s cut, and I couldn’t help but think of how good it looked on
him.

  “But it’s all circumstantial. And they have even less on you guys. With the little bit of information they do have on you, by all accounts on their end, you’re a legitimate club. They check up on you, but it’s nothing big.”

  Jace’s eyes found mine, and I could feel myself melting into the floor. Why the fuck was I telling him all this? I was cooperating with a fucking criminal. I could lose my badge over this shit.

  “Anything else?” he asked.

  I shook my head as I lowered my gaze to his chest.

  “I talked with the guys,” he said.

  “Your club?” I asked.

  “We’re getting out of the drugs.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked.

  “We took a vote, and it was unanimous. We’re getting out of the drug trade,” he said.

  “But… why? Why would you guys…?”

  “Get out of something illegal?” he asked.

  I could see a small grin playing upon his cheeks as I snickered.

  “Yeah. Why would outlaws like yourselves not do something illegal?” I asked.

  “Because even outlaws have people they love. Families they want to take care of.”

  I rose my gaze to his and saw the intensity behind his eyes. He was fucking serious. The Road Rebels were backing out of the drug game. Not that the police had any evidence of that game anyway. But that was a massive step. It would get the DEA off their backs for sure.

  Wait… was that the point?

  “It’s been coming for a little while,” Jace said. “The club is over the danger it puts them in, and with kids coming into the picture many of the members are refusing to pedal them anyway.”

  “There are kids?” I asked.

  “We’re people, Laiken. People with hearts and souls and desires and fears. Yes, some of us have kids. Families. Women we want to protect,” he said.

  “Do you have someone you want to protect?” I asked.

  Jace took a step towards me and cupped my cheek. His thumb ran across my cheek, and I nuzzled into the palm of his hand. I could feel his calluses rubbing against me, scratching my skin and, somehow, bringing me some sort of solace.

  Some sort of comfort.

  “How are you guys going to get out of it?” I asked.

  “I can’t give you that information, but I wanted you to know that we were doing it. We’re pulling the plug,” Jace said.

  Holy fuck, his touch felt so good.

  “You’re never really going to be safe, you know. With The Devil Saints around,” I said.

  “I know. Fully protecting our club and their families means getting rid of them. Disbanding them and putting their asses in jail. That’s how this violence will stop. That’s how these threats will cease.”

  Just hearing it from him… hearing that confirmation of a theory that was rattling around in my head… was all I needed to shock myself with what I asked next.

  “Okay, then. How can I help?”

  Epilogue

  Snake

  One month later

  “No deaths, that’s my rule. We talked about this,” Laiken said.

  “Babe. There has to be some sort of compromise. We’re cleaning up our act, but this isn’t going to happen all on your terms,” I said.

  “Look, I get that you guys are still running some things. You offloaded your drugs into the community, and I turned a blind eye. But there will be. No. Deaths,” she said.

  “You know The Devil Saints won’t think twice about killing us,” I said.

  “Jace, you have to trust me. If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to beat guys like this. But you won’t do it if you stoop to their level.”

  “They came onto our turf,” Fox said. “They raided our fucking shop!”

  I clenched my fists together. It was a week ago when we realized the mechanic shop had been broken into. At first, we thought it was dumb kids in the neighborhood, but then we noticed how nothing was actually fucking missing. No idiot would break in and not steal anything. That meant that The Devil Saints had broken in and they were looking for information.

  “Do you have proof?” Laiken asked.

  “We know it was them,” Hawk said. “You just have to trust us.”

  “If you want me to do anything about it officially, you have to give me proof,” Laiken said. “And you can’t just go around killing them because you think they did something.”

  “We operate off our guts,” Mac said.

  “And I operate off of proof,” Laiken said.

  Over the past month, a lot of things happened. I convinced Laiken to help us clean up our act instead of arresting us for what she already knew. She was feeding us information she was comfortable from the department, and in her spare time, she was researching Daniel Carmichael. She was digging into his past, piecing together his childhood, and trying to find ways to pin him to the wall. We all knew we had to get that lawyer out of the picture if we stood a chance of bringing down the Saints, and Laiken’s resources were our best shot.

  The condition? No one died in the process.

  The Devil Saints were unpredictable assholes. They were trying to do what we had done to them. They were trying to offload some of the DEA heat onto our asses.

  And none of us were fucking having it.

  “What do you know?” Mac asked.

  “Depends on what you’re asking for,” Laiken said.

  “Where is the DEA on their investigation into The Devil Saints?” Mac asked.

  “They’re starting to figure out that the drugs weren’t connected to the cartel. They can’t establish any cartel runners they would’ve talked to. Eventually, the police are going to figure out what happened. And with your history with the Saints, they’re going to piece together that you guys planted that truck. Now, you’ve gotta help me out here,” Laiken said.

  “Where are you on researching Carmichael?” I asked.

  “That’s actually going really good,” Laiken said. “He’s taking a lot of shortcuts with his taxes. I’m trying to get his records pulled now, but if I can pin him for anything financial, we can get him into our interrogation rooms and separate him from that pack for a little while.”

  “But nothing that’ll pull him away long enough to do any good,” Fox said.

  “Is he always his pessimistic?” Laiken asked.

  “Ever since I punched him, yeah,” I said.

  “You punched him? That’s not very nice,” she said.

  “Finally! Someone says it!” Fox said.

  Laiken laughed as we all stood around in the shop.

  Another one of Laiken’s conditions was meeting the club. The people I was leaving her for a while we were dating, and the people she would now be risking her job for. I was hesitant at first. All of this shit was supposed to keep her away from all of them. Away from the bullshit that was plaguing us. The closer she got to us, the bigger the connection if her captain figured out what she was doing. But that was what she wanted, and I had a hard time turning her down.

  No deaths and no more secrets.

  I kept secrets from her when I could. Like the rumors circulating about Beast. She never wanted to hear anything she couldn’t prove, so I stuck with her personal rule. But chatter was kicking up about Beast losing his head again. He was striking up another witch hunt for his daughter, and even though we knew he would never find her, his anger was building. In the process of being truthful towards Laiken, we took her to Calista’s grave. Talked her through the moment that Beast rolled up into our compound and shot her right in the back of her head.

  She was horrified at what had happened, and the only reason she took us at our word was because of Talon’s first-hand account of the situation.

  It had taken her some time to digest everything. The shootout. The death of Calista. Us hiding Beast’s daughter out of his reach. But his anger at the fact that he was losing control of his club was rising, and I could feel a reprise of six years ago coming on.

  “Well, I’ve gotta
get back to work,” Laiken said.

  “Will you be coming over tonight?” I asked.

  “If this conversation’s gonna turn personal, I’m done,” Fox said.

  “Anyone have anything else to state?” Mac asked.

  “I just have one thing to say,” Hawk said.

  “What’s up?” Laiken asked.

  “You know that Snake keeps you away from here because The Devil Saints are unpredictable, right?” Hawk asked.

  “Snake,” she said, grinning. “Yeah, I know he does.”

  “And you know that if they come down that road with guns blazing, we’re going to have to defend ourselves,” Hawk said.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she said. “What I’m saying is that you won’t be instigating deaths if you want my help.”

  “I just… felt the need to make sure that was clarified,” Hawk said. “Because I’m all for this, but not at the expense of not defending my own fucking family.”

  “Trust me, I would never take that right away from you,” Laiken said, and Hawk smiled.

  “See you tonight?” I asked.

  “See you tonight, babe.”

  Laiken left the lodge, and Mac turned his eyes towards me. He was studying me as I watched Laiken walk out that door, and the moment we heard her car pull away I knew what he was going to ask.

  “You ready?” Mac asked.

  “Yeah, tonight’s the night, right?” Hawk asked.

  “I still can’t believe that Snake’s doing this,” Fox said.

  “Why?” Talon asked. “He’s in love. The fuck’s wrong with that?”

  “Yes, I’m ready. But I gotta get out of here and get some things prepared,” I said.

  “You’re preparing stuff? Sounds fancy,” Talon said.

  “I don’t do fancy and romantic. But I do need to clean,” I said.

  “Clean up, maybe,” Fox said, grinning. “But seriously. Congrats.”

  “I haven’t done anything yet,” I said.

  “But you will. So… congrats,” Fox said.

  I headed home to get everything ready for tonight. I cleaned up all the shit out of the house and took out the trash. Readied the bath to be run and changed the sheets on the bed. I had gotten permission from Mac to not go back to the lodge tonight, so long as I checked in every so often. And I was glad.