THREE
BLAZE
“Prospect!” she yelled, waving to me from across the bar. “Suit up, you’re riding with me.”
I threw down the cloth I was using to wipe down the bar, and followed her out the front door into the warm California sun. My eyes zeroed in on her sweet ass swaying from side to side, hypnotizing me. All I wanted to do was put my hand around her waist, and turn her around, so I could have a face-to-face with her. I knew we weren’t at that point yet, especially at Raven’s Nest. Things here had already been tense since Axel had been thrown in jail, and it was clear that Las Almas hadn’t taken our threat to heart. I knew Trista’s main focus was the warehouse right now, and the fact that she thought there was a rat among her own.
“Where are we going?” I asked her, as she swung a leather-clad leg over her own bike.
“I’ve a meeting set up with the Red Dragons. You’re there purely for muscle. I don’t want a word from you.” She looked at me sternly, but then added a wink at the end. “Then, you’re going with Rocco to the warehouse. We need more eyes on that place.”
“Anybody else going?” It seemed strange to me that she would be meeting with another club all by herself. I got that she was a tough cookie, but it didn’t make sense to me that no one else would be there to keep her honest. No one else but me.
As she strapped on her dome, she added, “Yeah, Rocco and Ace are going to meet us there. Usually, Rogue handles these meetings with Chen and his father directly, but Chen’s father is out of town, so Rogue feels it’s better for kids to talk to kids." She rolled her eyes at the last part. I could tell that she didn’t like to be referred to as a child. “You ready?”
I nodded. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
She smiled ever so slightly before the rev of her engine roared, and she sped off in front of me.
She led us along a route on the highway, keeping her bike just below the speed limit. I could tell she was trying not to raise any suspicion. A couple of small towns that we rode through were rival gang areas, but as long as we didn’t make a fuss, no one would follow us. Once we arrived in San Francisco, I followed her through half a dozen streets before I recognized where we were: Chinatown. We parked in a back alley where the Red Dragon symbol was spray-painted on a brick wall. I’d never been to this part of town except to eat dinner once or twice. I had no idea that this was where their headquarters was even located. I’d always assumed it was at the ports; their smuggling operations were well-known. It seemed almost ridiculous to me to be walking into the back of a Chinese restaurant to see two guys and Chen sitting at a dark lacquer table embellished with a gold fire breathing dragon.
“Looks a bit like home, doesn’t it?” Trista said, turning to me.
I had to admit that it did. Minus all the Asian guys of course. It made me realize that we really didn’t have anyone of any other races back at the MC, besides Bones of course. The darkness of his skin definitely let me know that he was of African-American descent, but that never seemed to be an issue for anyone at the club. Now that the Chinese surrounded me, I wondered if, at one point, it had been an issue.
A petite Asian girl sauntered past me in nothing more than lingerie. I’d heard Trista say that the Red Dragons owned the whole block, including the massage parlor next-door. Everyone who was anyone knew that it was actually a brothel, and you pay the girls to get anything done, but that wasn’t my style. Why would I pay for it anyway? Especially when I had Trista to keep an eye on. And, maybe if I was lucky enough, to get back into her pants. I thought about ripping off her shirt, and taking her in the alley where our bikes were parked. I could almost hear her moan.
Chen spoke from the head of the table, and shook my out of my thoughts. “I see your father doesn’t think this meeting is important enough for him to attend.”
Trista opened her mouth to speak, but Ace and Rocco walked in before she had the chance. “Oh, you know how it is, man. When your dad’s outta town, Rogue thinks he runs the place. So, he sends us to do his dirty work.” Chen raised an eyebrow at the phrase dirty work, and Ace had to retrace his steps. “That’s not what I mean, man You know just that we get to come and have these little conversations.”
Trista sat down at the other end of the table, and I stood behind her. I was just a prospect; I didn’t have a space at our own table, let alone theirs.
“I think what he is trying to say,” she shot him a nasty look. “Is that Rogue just doesn’t find this is important as I do. I know that missing shipments is a huge mistake on our part, Chen. One that I’m prepared to fix.”
He sighed. “And how are you going to do that? I think we’ve shown you that we still have faith in you with the Escalade that’s currently sitting at the warehouse. That you’re making double on.”
She nodded vigorously. “Exactly. And I want your trust to remain with us. We are doing everything we possibly can to find out who stole the shipments. But, I’ve got to tell you, Chen, it’s not one of ours. I trust these guys with my life.”
Chen lifted his eyes to me. “And your prospects?”
She looked back at me, and smiled, hiding it from his view. “As much as any other member. It wasn’t Cruz or Blaze. So, I’ve got to ask you, what have you found out on your end?”
“The only thing I know is that we’ve got some new young dealers just south of Chinatown, but I don’t think they have the balls or the manpower to steal two cars. We did hear from one of our other sources that one of those kids was driving around a new Lexus; wrong color, but the right year.”
Trista sat back in her chair; she didn’t say anything. I could tell that she’d suspected that it might have been some of Chen’s guys all along. I didn’t buy it.
Ace’s face turned red with anger. “Some young shits aren’t good enough to steal from us. No way was it somebody who’s new to the scene.”
Rocco looked to Chen. “Even if they saw them, how would they hijack them? And right under Ryder’s nose? No way. I don’t buy it for a second. I still think this was an inside job. I think it’s somebody who sits in your table, Chen.”
Chen stood up, fisting his hands on the dark wooden table in front of him. “That’s a bold accusation! I won’t have it in my house.”
Rocco put his hands up in surrender, but only for a moment, before he crossed his arms over his puffed out chest. “I wouldn’t want to believe it of my guys either, but I gotta tell you, driving around in a new Lexus… The facts are starting to add up. There’s no way they did it alone.”
Ace nodded in agreement. “I’m with Roc. Something’s not right here. If your guys have the car, then you know someone in your inner circle is talking.”
Chen shook in anger, completely red in the face. He turned to Trista. “I hope this doesn’t hurt our relationship, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Two men in black suits about the same size as me flanked Chen with their arms crossed. One directly behind him started moving toward our guys. I was surprised to see Trista didn’t get up or try to diffuse the situation. Rocco and Ace stood and left, not wanting to cause any further trouble. I stood behind Trista, and waited for her to leave as well, but she didn’t move.
“Well, that was a bit dramatic,” she said to Chen, as he sat back down in his chair. Two men had moved to stand by the door, and one stayed behind him. I looked directly into his dark almond shaped eyes, and I felt like we had the same goal. Protect our people. If this should go bad, I was considering all the ways I could break his neck, or relieve him of one of his limbs. I would do anything to keep Trista safe. She made me feel things I had never felt before. It gave me this need to take care of her.
“Did you think so? I love how easy it was for you to point the finger.”
She rolled her eyes, helping herself to one of the steamed dumplings on the center of the table. “I didn’t point any fingers! You pointed them at them yourself. Driving around in the Lexus? C’mon, Chen. You know it was them.”
He shook his head. “N
o, I don’t know that. I know that one of my dealers got a new Lexus. I know that his sales have been up, and have been some of the best in the county for the past month. What I think I know is that he’s been stealing. But stealing from you—us—I don’t think so.”
I didn’t like how he said us. I tightened my fists, but I didn’t make any moves.
“I still don’t get it,” Trista reiterated, dipping another dumpling in a bowl of soy sauce. “And, now, with the feds watching us, it’s just all too stressful.”
Chen smiled, and put his fingers together underneath his chin. "Are you considering one of your father’s propositions? A little gun running would solve your money problem very quickly.”
I looked down at Trista; I didn’t know that the MC was having money problems. I thought the chop shop was running smoothly enough to keep us going, and then we still had all the cash from the bar out front of the Ravens Nest for extra cash. That was our legitimate business. I’d only been a Prospect for a few weeks, but I’d only ever seen the bar filled with MC members, not any paying customers. I guess I thought we had enough revenue coming in from the other two avenues that we were solid, but Chen’s comment caused doubt to creep into my mind. People did things when they were desperate. Stupid things like stealing cars, and ratting to the feds. Maybe it was one of our guys after all.
Trista licked soy sauce off her fingers. “We don’t have money problems. We have people being greedy problems. The shop is doing just fine, and you know that my MC will never get into guns, regardless of what Rogue wants in the end. Besides, if I think this is stressful, I can’t imagine what it would be like trying to stay away from ATF and homeland security on top of everything else. No, we’ll stick with our cars. It’s what we do well.”
Chen laughed. “It’s what you did well.”
This time, Trista stood up. As the chair pushed back from beneath her, I moved directly to her right, so that our shoulders just barely touched. I wanted them to know that I was here for her, more than I was here for the MC. I would pull the gun from underneath my cut in a second and ruin this business relationship before letting anything happen to Trista. So much as one evil word toward her, and shots would be fired.
“We still do it well, Chen, and don’t you fucking forget it! Two cars in almost five years? That’s a joke! I’ve got Feds to worry about, Chen. I don’t need to worry about you being a pansy ass, and wanting to walk on a good deal. Do we have an understanding?”
Chen smiled at her, obviously amused with the fact that she got fired up. If he knew anything about her, he would know that anything could set her off. “Understood. You know I’d much rather work with you than your dumb ass VP. He doesn’t know shit about the business. You actually know what you are talking about. So, let’s talk business. I want a big export to go out next month. Fifteen cars.”
I raised an eyebrow at Trista as she sat back down tenderly. I moved to stand behind her once more. “Fifteen? And where the hell are we supposed to get that type of inventory?”
Chen made a hand motion to the man behind him. He walked around the table, and passed Trista a paper. It advertised a sports car show, with an auction including over a thousand vehicles. “I don’t think they’re going to miss fifteen, do you?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You want us to steal fifteen cars at one of the most elite car shows in the United States? Do you know what security is going to be like? There’s no fucking way we’re getting in there.”
“I don’t expect you to get in there. I expect you to obtain them before they ever get there. You might be interested to know that El Lobo trucking has a contract for eighty of those auctioned vehicles.”
A devilish smile appeared on her face. “So, not only would they lose out on cars, but they would also have to pay up on insurance? Or, even better, a lawsuit?”
Chen nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
Trista’s smile grew even broader. “Sometimes, I really do like the way you think.”
She stood up, and Chen walked around the table to shake her hand. Their touch lingered just a little too long for my liking, but I waited for her to end the connection. “I’ll bring it up at our next church. Someone will be in touch.”
She broke away, and walked back out the door. I gave Chen a final look over my shoulder to see anger etched into every muscle of his face. He might’ve been hiding his true feelings from Trista, but he couldn’t hide them from me.
FOUR
BLAZE
As we got outside, Trista’s phone rang. She walked away from me, but only a few steps, just enough so that she was out of earshot. The conversation was short. “That was Rogue. We have to go to the warehouse. That Escalade he was talking about? We’re its new babysitter. He needs Rocco back at the shop. So, I guess it’s just you and me.”
“Really? That’s the best use of our time?”
She sidled up to me. “What? You don’t want to be alone with me again?”
I put my hand around her waist, and pulled her against me. “I can’t wait to be alone with you again.”
She bit her lower lip. I could feel myself getting hard, and I knew she could to. “Then, I guess the timing is perfect. Rogue wants to make sure that this Escalade deal goes off without a hitch. If we’re going to steal those cars for Chen, the payout is going to be huge. We can’t afford to lose him as a client.”
I took a deep breath and nodded, trying to focus on her words, and not to visualize her taking off her clothes, tossing her over that fat boy, and having my way with her in the back of the Chinatown alley. Her cut wasn’t like the rest of ours; it still had the sleeves. And it was a woman’s tight leather zip-up jacket, with her voluptuous breasts spilling just over the edge of the zipper. I hoped that, when we stayed with the Escalade, I would have a chance to see what was being confined under that leather once again.
“I would love to stay and chat about this more, but we have work to do.” She bit her lip playfully.
She backed away from me slowly, and grabbed her dome, snapping around her chin. She hopped on a bike, and started up the engine. I shook my head, trying to release the mental image of her naked body on her bike from my mind, but it was seared into my thoughts. Instead, I let it simmer there, hoping maybe I would get to see it in real life later.
***
TRISTA
We arrived at the warehouse, prepared to tell the boys all about my little meeting with Chen, but it seemed they already knew. Rev had his gun out, and pointed in our direction, when we walked in. He was always so paranoid.
“Put that Goddamn gun away! You’ll shoot somebody,” I instructed. I didn’t need anyone to get shot today.
Rev’s hands shook, as he put the handgun back into his cut. “I was told to protect this Escalade no matter what. Rogue says Chen’s got a new job for us, big money. I’d shoot you if I thought you would stop me from making a buck.” He laughed at the last part like it was funny. Rev always thought shit was funny when it wasn’t. Sometimes, he made me nervous, but, mostly, I knew he was harmless. Just too many drugs back in the day; mixing your chemicals is never a good idea. I was glad he no longer used the shit, though sometimes I wondered if he still popped a few pills to make him a little bit more normal. I knew that Rogue was keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t fall off the wagon. He must’ve been a pretty serious addict before I met him. I don’t even think Rogue let him take Tylenol if he had a headache anymore. Alcohol and pussy were his only allowed addictions, and, honestly, he didn’t really seem like he was attached to either of them.
“Rev, get the hell out of here. Blaze and I are going to cover this shift until the shipment gets picked up tonight.”
But Rev bounced on his heels instead of leaving. “You know what I heard?”
I looked back, and Blaze just rolled his eyes. Even he knew that Rev’s gossip wasn’t trustworthy. “I heard that Axel is getting out in a couple weeks.”
“No shit!"
He nodded. “Yep. It
will be good to have him back. I don’t like being down in this place too much. It’s too big, freaks me out.”
He sauntered off, his eyes darting all around like he was looking for a ghost to pop out. Blaze and I just chuckled, but didn’t say anything, until we heard the sound of his bike drift away. I opened up the back of the cab, and sat with my legs dangling over the edge. Blaze moved quickly to sit down next to me.
We sat in silence for another minute before he finally spoke. “So, what was it like? Growing up in all of this?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t know any different until I was in middle school. That’s when girls stopped hanging out with me because their parents didn’t want me to be a bad influence. And, it’s when the boys started taking more of an interest in me. Especially when I was in shop class. I was the only girl mechanic. But then I cracked a kid over the head with a wrench and got kicked out of school.”
Blaze looked at me shocked. “You hit a kid with a wrench? Why the hell would you do that?"
“I was underneath the car, and he decided to pull my pants down. I thought he was going to rape me. We were the only two in the shop, and I knew that no one would hear me scream. So, I rolled out with the wrench in my hands, and I hit him. I didn’t think he would end up in the hospital. I mean… I guess… okay, I was hopeful he would, but I didn’t actually think I hit him hard enough to do any serious damage. But I can tell you this much; I bet he didn’t touch a girl again.”
He just stared at me.
“What?” I asked him.
“You are so strong,” he said simply.
“I am what I am.”
We let the quiet of the warehouse hold us there for a moment. Blaze finally broke it. “So, you beat up some sleazebag, and got kicked out of school? What did you do after that?”
Stolen (Motorcycle Romance): Trista and Blaze 2 (Fallen Idols Motorcycle Club Book 4) Page 2
