By having our meetings at the bar, we could keep business and family separate, plus we wouldn't have to travel into Rogers either. The bar, which we had officially bought a couple weeks ago, was outside of town by a few miles without any surrounding businesses or houses. This would allow us to monitor those coming and going.
Slade had talked to me about closing the place for a week or so in order to do some work on it and I had agreed. It was to officially reopen this Friday night. I noticed a few changes right off the bat as we walked up to the bar where Slade and Hatchet were restocking liquor.
“Damn, Slade, the place is looking good,” I told him as I continued looking around.
“If I had a little money to put into it, it would look a hundred times better. Some of the shit in here is way beyond its shelf life. Hatchet and I have patched up seats, tables, holes in the wall, hell, you name it and I think we've worked on it.”
“Let's see how business does and, if it looks feasible, we'll see what we can do about getting you some money to put into it.” I paused for a moment as I kept looking around, “I can't place my finger on it, but what did you do that has made this place look better already?”
Both started laughing and Viper smirked at me like always. I could even see that Blood and Slaughter realized what it was.
“You didn't paint it, because that's still the original paneling, but, damn, it looks different.”
“Yeah, Prez. We scrubbed the shit out of this place. No offense to Macky, but this place was a pig sty. We moved everything, booths and all, away from the walls and scrubbed the walls with industrial cleaner. Everything that was on the walls has been taken down and cleaned. We removed everything behind the bar and cleaned there as well and, fuck, don't get me started on the kitchen.”
He shuddered.
“We found fucking grease an inch thick in places,” Hatchet said. “I'm not sure how Macky passed any health inspections unless he was paying them off.”
“Did you guys by chance manage to work on that one spare storage room?” I inquired.
“Yeah, Prez. It's been cleaned out and a table and some chairs have been added in there. You should be good to go,” Slade replied.
“Good job. We're having a meeting back there in about twenty minutes. Slaughter will be bringing him in through the back, so just ignore us,” I told them.
“Sure thing, Prez. Y'all need a beer before you get started?” Hatchet asked us.
I smiled at him and stated, “I never turn down a beer, Brother.”
After getting our beers, the four of us made our way back to the room. When I opened the door and walked inside, I thought for a moment that we were in the wrong place. I knew how many rooms were in the bar, but this didn't look anything like the fucking room I'd previously seen. They'd managed to paint the walls and stained and sealed the concrete floors. As per my request, sitting in the middle of the room was a long table and chairs that all looked new.
“Yeah, this will fucking work out nice,” I stated as I walked around and took a seat on the back side of the table. “If this is an indication of what they can accomplish, then I know they can spruce the hell up out in the main room. Definitely got to look into that.”
Viper murmured his agreement as he followed and sat beside me. We talked for about ten minutes before Slaughter informed us that Mr. Jerik had arrived. After showing the lawyer inside, Blood stepped into the room and shut the door. Slaughter remained outside to make sure we weren't interrupted.
“Thanks for coming, Mr. Jerik. Have a seat,” I told him. I noticed he looked a little nervous. My letter inviting him to the meeting didn't give much away.
“May I ask what this is about,” he inquired as he sat down.
“You can,” I stated. “I believe we could help each other out, Mr. Jerik.”
“How so?”
“I do believe that we have a mutual enemy,” I told him as I tapped my fingers on the folder I had brought in with me.
“I don't know what you're talking about. Mr., umm...”
“My apologies, sir. I'm Mad Dog, President of Angel's Rebellion MC, but you can call me Dog and the gentleman to my left is Viper, our VP. The man at the door is Blood, our Sergeant at Arms as well as my lead Enforcer.”
I watched as his face paled a little at hearing Blood was an enforcer.
“I haven't done anything that should concern your club, gentlemen. I'm not sure why I'm here.”
“This might help you out some,” I said as I slid the folder over to him.
I watched as he picked it up, opened it, and looked at the pictures inside. As he looked at each picture, he stiffened up and squared his shoulders. Ah, the good Mr. Jerik had a backbone of sorts after all.
“What is the meaning of this? Are you threatening my family?” he asked in a voice full of fury.
“Not at all, sir. Like I said, I believe we have a mutual enemy. A Mr. Anson Miller.” I watched as disgust crossed his face before he had his poker face back on.
“Ah, I see I struck a nerve. Mr. Jerik. May I call you Bob?” After receiving an affirmative in the form of a nod, I continued, “Well, Bob, this is what I think has happened to you. Good old Anson found out about your second family and is blackmailing you and has been for a number of years if I'm correct. Roughly about twenty years I believe. Am I wrong, Bob?”
I watched as the good lawyer's shoulders dropped.
“No, you're not wrong. But, how did you find out about my family? I thought I had them hidden.”
“We have ways, Bob. So I take it, Miller is indeed your enemy and is blackmailing you to keep certain knowledge you know quiet in return for his silence about your family, am I wrong?” I asked him.
He sighed deeply, “No, you're not entirely wrong. But how is he your enemy and how can I help?”
“Do you remember a junior associate attorney you had working for you seven years ago, a Brian Hall?” I queried.
“Yes, I do. But what does he have to do with this? The poor man died in a tragic accident,” he exclaimed.
“It was indeed tragic, but it wasn't an accident.”
“What do you mean it wasn't an accident? That's what the police report stated. The only survivor was his wife. We tried to reach out to her, but she had disappeared.”
“Well, Bob, do you remember having Brian do some work for you the week before he died, where you told him to leave the documents on your desk when he was done?”
“Yes, I remember that.”
“When Brian left your office, he overheard Miller talking on the phone about a drug deal for ten kilos of meth. Brian didn't think Miller knew he was there until the ensuing week when Miller requested Brian come to his office for random things. The day he was murdered, my MC watched a car deliberately run his car off the road. If we hadn't stopped and rescued Brian's wife, she would be dead as well.”
“Oh, dear Lord. Brian found out about the drugs?”
“Indeed, he did, sir.”
Viper and I watched as horror, grief, and resolve crossed Mr. Jerik's face.
“But how is he your enemy?”
“Brian Hall's widow is now my woman. We plan on making Miller pay for murdering her husband and son. So explain to me about your second family and what you know about his and Judge Courtway’s drug and sex trafficking business. I see I've surprised you once again,” I said to him as I watched his eyes widen at the mention of the good judge. “Are you in on the drug and sex trafficking as well, Bob?”
“Hell no!” he spit out emphatically. “I didn’t even know they were into sex trafficking now.”
“Then talk to us Bob, give us what information you have and let us help you do away with your blackmailer or is it blackmailers?”
“It's that whole damn family. The law firm was originally owned by Grayson Townsend. He had three daughters, but he wanted to leave the firm in the hands of men. He viewed women as nothing more than chattel. Joseph Courtway, Anson Miller, Sr. and I were approached by Grayson. We were all
young, single, broke, and had just passed the bar.
“He made us a deal and at the time, I thought it was the answer to a poor man's prayer. If we each married one of his daughters, he'd sign the law firm over to us in ten years’ time, but his one absolute requirement was that if we didn't remain married to his daughters that we would lose our share of the firm. We were to keep all his clients and he would stay on with the firm until the clients were assured that we would do a good job for them.”
He swallowed hard.
“Bob, would you care for a drink? Beer? Whiskey? Name your poison,” I stated.
“A whiskey neat would hit the spot, and thank you,” he replied.
I nodded to Blood, he opened the door and stepped out.
“So we all married a sister. Unfortunately, what none of us knew was that they were the biggest shrews in Arkansas. And, Alice, the bitch I ended up with, was cold.”
I raised a brow at him.
“She hated sex, wouldn't let me touch her. Said if I did, she'd inform her father that I was being abusive to her.” He sighed, “I'd hoped that I would at least have a companion who would give me children, but she made it very clear the night we married that I would never touch her in a sexual way.”
Blood stepped back into the room with a whiskey for our friend and a beer for Viper and me. After taking a sip, Bob continued, “Until I was forty, I managed to find random companions for sex. On my fortieth birthday, the staff threw me a surprise birthday party and I met Joanie. She was a junior secretary for Joseph.
“We started seeing each other. We fell in love. I was upfront with her about everything. I wish now that I had just walked away from the firm, but I was at the height of my career and trying to start over at my age would have been hard, especially when I knew Anson and Joseph would do everything in their power to stop me.”
He took another sip of his drink.
“After Joanie and I had been together for almost a year, I found out they were buying and selling drugs and confronted them. They threatened to have Alice divorce me if I said anything. I know you're wondering how they could force Alice to do this, but whatever her middle sister told her to do, she did. And Jane is as ruthless a bitch as you'll ever meet.”
We watched as what appeared to be a decent man lay his life out before us. One more family that the bastards Miller and Courtway had touched.
“Joanie quit the firm and moved to Springdale. I thought they would think we were no longer together. I made sure that no one followed me to visit her, well, I thought I did. Joanie became pregnant after we had been together a year and we had a son. Then she became pregnant again the following year and we had a daughter.
“By the time, our daughter was two, I decided it wasn't worth staying with the firm. I decided I would start over somewhere else and informed Anson and Joseph of this. I told them I wouldn’t say anything about the drugs, but they didn’t believe me. They did what you just did and showed me pictures of my family and told me if I ever left the firm or Alice that they would kill Joanie and my children.”
He threw back the rest of his drink then wiped away the tears that ran down his face as he had told us what they had threatened.
“I'll do anything I can to protect my family. By the pictures, you know we have more children, we have two boys and three girls. Our oldest son is twenty-seven and our youngest daughter is fifteen and she has Down syndrome as you saw.
“I'm sixty-eight as I'm sure you have learned, Joanie is forty-seven and will be able to keep Allison with her for a long while, but I would do anything I could before I die to make sure they were never harmed by either Anson, Jr. or Joseph.”
“What happened to Anson, Sr.” Viper asked him.
“Died of a heart attack about ten years ago. His son was in the firm already and Joseph and Jane insisted he take over his father's partnership. I had no say in the matter at all. All I can do now is work and provide for my family. I can't afford to rock the boat.”
“What do you know about their drug trade?”
He grimaced, “Nothing other than I know they do it. As I said, I learned that years ago.”
“Do you know any of the others they deal with?”
“No, I don't. I didn't even know that Anson, Jr. was involved until you said what you did. But it doesn't surprise me in the least.”
Viper and I looked at each other. Fuck, this was going to end up a bust.
Bob cleared his throat and asked, “You said you could help me. What did you mean?”
I studied the good lawyer for a minute. He looked like a man desperate enough to do what he could do to protect his family. I looked at Viper and he nodded at me.
“Bob, I plan to kill Miller for what he did, just like I did Courtway's son.”
He blinked. “I thought that was an accident,” he uttered.
“Let's just say I accidentally killed him because he crashed into my wife's car and killed her and my unborn daughter,” I growled out.
“Good God. You have to want both of them dead as much as I do. What can I do to help you out? If it's in my power, I'll do what I can.”
Viper spoke up, “We were hoping you would have more information than you do, however, there are a couple things you can do for us. One being to let us know any type of dinner or party that Miller will have to attend, preferably one where he might consume alcohol. And two, keep your ears and eyes open and if you do see or hear anything let us know.”
“I can do that. I can keep you updated monthly on events that I know he'll attend. As for the other, I have deliberately tried not to learn things about what they are doing, but now I will see what I can learn.”
“Bob, we don't want them to think you are trying to get anything on them. That would just put you and your family in more danger. Just keep your ear to the ground and if you run across something, let us know. It might be a few months before their demise, because we are trying to learn who they are running drugs and trafficking with.” I told him.
“You're not trying to take over that business, are you?” he asked nervously.
Viper and I both laughed.
“Nah, Bob. We want this shit stopped. All of our businesses are legal. And, for the most part, our MC is above board on things. But if anyone fucking crosses us or harms our family, well we aren't above taking action on that.”
“I wish I had your gentleman's fortitude. If I did, they would have been dead years ago,” he muttered.
“Don't put this off on yourself. It’s who we are and what we do, not all of us can be lawyers,” I said as I smiled at him. “We don't want you to call us when you have the info on the dinners and parties, just jot us a note, put it in a sealed envelope, give it to Amy and she will bring it back to the club. Same goes if you learn anything. If we need to get into contact with you, we'll use the same method. Sound good?” I asked him.
“I believe that will work out fine. May I inquire what Amy is to you and your club?”
Well shit, how do I answer that. As I tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't put Amy in a bad light with her boss, I saw the moment he realized what she did for the club.”
“Don't you dare judge her, Mr. Jerik,” I snapped at him.
“I wouldn't presume to do so, sir. She is a good employee and despite what the women that work for me think, I do overhear their conversations occasionally. I know she's had a rough go with that bastard of an ex-husband of hers. If what she's doing now makes her happy, then good for her,” he stated earnestly.
“I think I might like you, Bob.”
“The feeling’s mutual, Dog. I do however have one request.”
“What's that?”
“I would really prefer to be called Robert.”
I threw back my head and laughed, and soon we all were laughing.
~***~
Chapter 21
Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance is justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.
~Samuel Johnson~
M
ad Dog
August 29th, 1998
While eating dinner with Ava, I told her to have some dark clothes handy. She didn't even ask me why, just nodded. Once we were through, she got up, leaned over, kissed me and murmured in my ear that she was going to find the clothing and would be back shortly. I walked out of the dining room to the bar, grabbed a beer and made my way to our table. The room started filling up fairly quickly. I knew the men were wondering why I had called Church and what it was for. As I watched the guys relaxing with each other, Sarge and Gunny walked in and over to the table.
After they sat down, Sarge looked at me inquisitively, “Gonna tell me what's up?”
I smiled at him. He used to drive me nuts when he would call Church then wouldn't tell me the reason.
“Payback's a bitch, Sarge,” I said as I snickered at his expression of disgust to my reply.
“Fucking smartass kid,” he grumbled.
I couldn't help it, this time I openly laughed at him. I watched as Beau entered the room, as he looked around, I caught his eye and motioned him to come over to the table. He smiled at his grandfathers as he walked up. He went to each man and slapped them on the back before he sat down.
“Hey, Dad. What's up?” he asked.
As I went to answer him, Ava walked into the room. She hesitated when she saw everyone at the table. I knew she didn't want to interfere if we were talking about club business. We were finally on the same page and communicating better. Time has shown her that besides being demanding, my responsibilities for the club are many and varied. And I think I’ve finally managed to prove to her that she is the only woman I want, considering I can’t keep my hands off her.
I smiled at her and crooked my finger for her to come to me. When she went to sit down in the chair next to me, I reached for her, pulled her onto my lap and she snuggled into me. I leaned down and kissed her nose. When I looked back up, all three men were smiling. They were happy I had found someone, and for that I was truly thankful. I knew this had to be a little difficult for Gunny, and possibly Beau as well.
“It's good to see you happy, Dog. It's been a long time coming and you deserve it,” Gunny told me.
Mad Dog (Angel’s Rebellion MC: #2) (Angel's Rebellion MC) Page 30
