by K. J. Dahlen
“Your president set fire to my warehouse!” Bruno shouted. “Your actions took away my brother’s livelihood.”
“But no one died. Your brother fucking chained the doors from the outside. The people inside couldn’t get out if they tried. And believe me…they tried.”
“I don’t fucking care.” Bruno glowered at him.
“Gentlemen, let’s all settle down and find out why Bruno is here in the first place,” Jax stated as he holstered his weapon. He walked over to the coffee pot and poured four cups of the hot brew.
Bruno sat down again and stared hard at Dagger.
Jax sat down next to Bruno and Marco then asked, “So why are you guys here?”
“We needed to make you understand something before this deal went any further,” Bruno told him.
Jax nodded. “I need to talk to you about something too.”
Bruno’s fingers tightened on his cup. “You know me Jax, you know what I stand for. You know I would never make this deal on my own. I fucking hate drugs. I’ve seen too many good men die because of their addiction to that poison.”
“I think that’s what threw the whole club,” Jax admitted.
Bruno snorted. “Yeah well, if my son hadn’t stolen from me and if Jumper hadn’t sold that shipment we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”
“So the shipment was for the cartel,” Jax replied.
Bruno looked startled. “You know about that already?”
Jax nodded. “We figured it out last night or very early this morning. Actually, Dagger and Dino did. I was told after the fact.”
Bruno nodded. “As you probably know, the shipment was due to be delivered to the cartel, when that didn’t happen, they demanded compensation. I told them I wasn’t part of the club anymore but they didn’t care. I told them this was a one shot deal but I don’t think they heard me.”
Dagger huffed and would have said something but I kicked him under the table. I didn’t want Bruno to shoot my dad, so he shut up.
“Do you want this deal to go through?” Jax finally asked his boss.
“Hell no,” Bruno admitted. “But I don’t have a way to avoid it either.”
“Maybe we do,” Jax told him.
Bruno leaned toward the table and glanced at Marco then back to Jax. “Tell me more.”
Chapter Thirteen
Jaxson
I stared at Bruno over the top of the table. I could see his disquiet. He wasn’t nervous or anything, he was as calm as I’d ever seen him before. But I knew something was wrong when he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I looked over at Dino. “Dino has links to another MC who’s gone up against the cartel already. They want payback for an ambush seven years ago.”
Bruno glanced over to Dino and snorted. “The Dragons are coming huh?”
“You know about them?” I asked.
“Of course, I do son.” Bruno nodded. “I know my men inside and out. I have to or even you wouldn’t be a member.” Shrugging, he added, “I’ve always known who Dino was with and what happened wasn’t his fault.”
“So who is this woman Viper?” I had to ask. “I think I know her, yet I haven’t been able to get close enough to her to tell. There’s something about her that’s so familiar it feels I know her from somewhere.”
“Her name is Tori De Grasso,” Dagger told the group.
Bruno paled then turned his head toward the other man. “How do you know her name?”
Dagger shrugged. “I keep track of the players. She’s a big player in Tijuana.”
Bruno nodded. “Here in my town too.” He looked over at the others. “So what’s the plan and what is this association with the Red Dragon’s going to cost me and the club?”
Marco sighed. “Be patient nephew. At least let them outline the plan before you shoot it down.”
Bruno laughed out loud. “You’re probably right uncle. But knowing the Bloods as well as we both do, this isn’t going to be righteous, and you know it.”
“Perhaps not at the moment, but they were at one time,” Marco reminded him. “They weren’t so bad before Jumper took over. They were almost tolerable.”
Bruno rolled his eyes. “Almost tolerable huh? I like that. Still a bunch of bastards but tolerable. Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He turned to Dagger and scowled. “I still don’t like you and if I have my way, you won’t live through this.”
Dagger narrowed his eyes and glared at the other man. “Let’s hope it isn’t up to you then.”
Bruno ignored his comment. Instead, he stared at Jax. “So what’s the plan then boyo?”
Jax shrugged. “Ask Dino and Dagger, it’s their plan.”
Bruno stared at him for another moment then turned to Dino. “What’s the plan?”
Dino shrugged. “We can’t do this alone, we don’t have the man power. Dagger is with the Border Patrol MC and they don’t have the manpower either. Even together, we don’t have enough but if we join up with the Red Dragons, we might be strong enough. The Dragons have faced this cartel before, they know how to fight this kind of fight.”
Bruno sat back. “Are you asking that they have their Russian friends at hand for this?”
Everyone froze in their seats.
Bruno let out that booming laugh of his at the stunned expressions everyone wore. “Damn, you all should realize by now that I know my shit. I wouldn’t still be alive if I didn’t.”
~* * * *~
They came to the house just after 7:30 am, two members of the Red Dragons came inside, and another two I saw through the window were keeping watch outside. The two men were cold, their faces grim, long jackets, and probably many weapons under that.
Nikoli Vasillisa, president of the Dragons had shown up personally for the meeting. He had an intimidating veneer. A man in his late thirties with hardened features and dark hair with just the hint of silver at the temples with a three day scruff of a beard, and the rough, beaten down look of a former boxer. His eyes however were sharp and saw everything. He searched the entire room with very little effort.
His second in command came with him. He sucked on a mint while Nikoli did most of the talking. He looked to be in his mid-thirties; large, muscular and meat headed. But as I’d learned before, looks can be deceiving as all hell.
“Gentlemen, this is my VP, Adrik Andrev. I also have more men waiting outside of town for whatever is decided here today.”
The both of them wore black leather jackets over crisp white shirts. While the front of the jackets were plain, only their name and rank in the club marred the smooth black leather. The backs were decorated elaborately with a huge red fire breathing dragon as well as the name of city they lived in, Los Altos, California. The men seemed severe and wound tight, they also made for a slightly unsettling sight.
We sat around the kitchen table, and brought in chairs from the other rooms for the seven of us. Marco sat with a pencil in hand and a pad of paper before him to keep note of the details of the deal.
I’d told Sheila and Chloe to keep quiet and stay upstairs where they would be safe and out of sight.
“So, what’s the plan?” Nikoli got straight to the point, staring unblinkingly at me waiting for a thorough explanation.
Bruno stood, shrugging off his Devil’s jacket. He stuffed a hand into his large inner pocket and pulled out two cigars, offering them up to the two men.
They glanced briefly at the offering for a moment, but otherwise ignored him. Instead, they looked at Dino who in turn motioned toward me.
The atmosphere in the room was dark, tense and unsettling ‒ filled with distrust between us all. Too much testosterone in the room on top of that. These were leaders of men, tough men with their own to protect and set in their ways. Hell, so was I but I always went for the swiftest way to settle things. Straight to the point. The thing that stopped me was waiting for Bruno. I wouldn’t disrespect him by taking over just now.
Bruno sat back down and took a sip of his coffee for a long, quiet, bro
oding moment before he spoke, “I’m sure you know what we need…Manpower. Manpower to stop the cartel. We need men that aren’t afraid to shoot and kill another man. Some men can while others can’t. We’re up against the kind of men that will kill without blinking. I need to know if you are up to the job.”
“I can give you that. My men can shoot to kill and will as long as you agree to my terms.” Nikoli smirked.
Bruno rose from his chair and glowered at the other man. “Let’s get one thing straight, Vasillisa. I work on my own terms.”
“If that were the case then why the fuck did you call us in on this deal? Why don’t you just tell the cartel you work on your own terms or better yet, tell them to go to hell? If you think you can stop the cartel on your own, then go right ahead,” Nikoli urged, a smile playing on his lips.
Bruno remained still…stoic. His eyes grew hard and icy as his lips tightened but he never said a word.
I took a moment before I spoke, and then cut to the point, “Here’s how this is going to go down…The cartel wants us to distribute drugs throughout Coronado and Tijuana, as well as allow some to pass through to other locations. Five separate cars will take the goods, with two Black Devils as protection to each car. At our first stop, you’ll intercept the cartel and its men.”
Dagger sat forward in his chair. “Not just any cars. If I know the cartel and I do, I’ve been watching them for a few years now, the vehicles they drive will be military-grade Sedans, or SUVs with tinted, bulletproof glass, the only way you intercept something like that is when the doors are open,” he added, tapping his hand on the desk quietly with the memory. “Also know that the people inside the vehicles will be heavily armed and will not hesitate to open fire at the first hint of trouble.”
I watched the blood drain from Dino and Marco’s faces beside me. It was getting to them…hell, how could it not? Shit, I didn’t want to have to do this. But our situation was desperate.
“Yep, so when the cartel say they want the Devils to ensure the ‘safe delivery’ of their product, what they mean is we’ll be the extra layer of armor on the outside of the vehicle, riding with it on our bikes with no protection at all,” Dino grumbled, stating the obvious.
Nikoli stared at me for a long moment. “So what do you want us to do?”
“Some of you can ride shotgun with us and the rest can be waiting to ambush the convoy,” Bruno informed them.
“It’s a big job, with us taking all the risk. But we can handle it.” Nikoli paused for a breath and leaned back in his chair. “The only thing is, some of the cartel might know we’re not Black Devils. If anyone in their group recognizes us as Dragons, it’ll be game over. They will start shooting and not stop until we’re all dead or they are. Before this goes down, we want an association with the Black Devils in place, so that if anything happens to us, the rest of the club can count on you if we need the help.”
“That’s rather vague. An association for one job?” Marco interjected.
“An association... permanently,” Adrik, the vice president clarified.
Bruno chuckled softly to himself and then smirked with a shake of his head at the two Dragons. “Never,” he said, crossing his huge arms over his wide chest. “We have functioned and thrived alone and on our own for the past decade. We don’t need you long term, it’s not worth it for us. At all.”
“Everything’s got a fucking price, De Luca,” Nikoli’s vice president snapped.
“That may be so….but I think it’s too high.” Bruno shrugged nonchalantly and sat back in his chair.
While not really taken aback by Bruno’s response, Nikoli’s hands tightened into fists almost like he wanted to punch a wall with rage. His rage wasn’t real but he needed everyone there to think it was. He’d expected something like this to happen and Bruno hadn’t let him down.
Seconds later, he forced one fist open, reached into his jacket pocket, and fished out a half empty pack of cigarettes. He tapped one from it, placed it between his lips, and lit it, taking a deep pull. Nikoli held it and exhaled his body relaxing.
Marco got up and pushed open the kitchen window while Bruno finished off his drink with a large gulp.
I said nothing for a long moment, not sure as to how to proceed just yet.
Silence. Creak. Thump. Creak.
I took a shallow breath.
Nikoli, his vice president, and Bruno glanced up at the ceiling at the thumping we could hear from upstairs.
Dagger looked troubled for a second as his hand tightened on his mug. Probably worried about his wife and daughter being seen by these men.
Fuck! What the fuck were they playing at? I told Sheila and Chloe to stay in bed up there …quietly until this was over. I gave Dino the quickest of a sideways look.
Dino abruptly stood from his chair. “Excuse me a moment. Bathroom,” he said, tapping his belt.
“We’ll help you out on a couple of jobs,” I said. “Nothing too illegal, at that I draw the line. For the most part our club is legal and we want to stay that way. And if you ever need some extra protection once or twice a year, we’ll have your back like you’ll have ours. Aside from that, we’re independent clubs, operating alone. Fair?”
Slowly, Nikoli and Adrik nodded.
I nodded back. “And you’re okay with spilling blood, cause we all know that’s what this will take.”
“Dah…Yes,” Nikoli replied. “We don’t like it but we do it when we have to. We will spill it and you will have to help to clean it up.”
Bruno did not say a word. There wasn’t a single micro expression on his face; it was anyone’s guess what was going on in his mind. This was the way he operated though.
“We’re ok with that. But your men, they know how to keep their mouths shut? I don’t want any leaks to deal with. None of us do,” Dagger added.
“They are a tight knit, loyal and talented crew,” Nikoli responded. “And when I say loyal, I mean it – my club is the only family most of them have got. Sure, they’re hardened criminals, what else is new? But I choose the best. Now, when is this deal supposed to go down?”
“Tomorrow night, nine p.m.” Bruno answered this. “We’re supposed to collect them at the edge of Tijuana. We don’t want to get into it with the Bloods if we don’t have to.”
“How many men have you got?” I asked.
“I brought a hundred men with me and have another hundred on their way.” Nikoli nodded his head.
Yes, that was what we needed. I paused for a second to realize there would be at least 400 MC men in the area, and the cartel would likely send at least 50. This would be like world war three, like Dagger said. I fucking hated this fact. Blood spilled in the streets. Mayhem. But we had no choice. To protect our town from this poison, we had to move forward with this dark plan.
When the meeting was over and the pair left the building, no one said a word until we heard the Dragons’ bikes roar down the street.
Bruno crossed the floor toward me and we shared an emotionless yet knowing look. “We’ll stop those cocksuckers. And that bastard Jumper. A couple of weeks from now, our club will be ok.” He pulled out his keys and turned to leave the building then hesitated. He turned to face me. After a long pause he said, “Jax?”
“Yeah.”
“Be careful, son. Those cocksuckers from the cartel can and will destroy us when they realize we’re double crossing them. They’re extremely deadly and if they don’t get us this time, they’ll keep coming until they’re gone or we are. When shit hits the fan for guys like that, they’ll shoot anything that moves and if we try to shoot back, they’ll cut us down in a blink. DeGrasso shows no mercy, and he never stops until he gets what he wants. We may even have to go to his compound and take him out ourselves in order to stop him. You know that, right?”
“I know, Bruno. That’s why I’m prepared to go to hell and back to make sure the club is protected through this shit.”
His gaze locked onto mine, although his eyes were hard he gave me a
brief, soft smile of confidence. “You sure you can pull this off?”
“I promised I would protect my club. And we will make this a firm warning to the Cartel that they never come into our town again. We won’t stop until they learn not to mess with us. Damn right, we’ll get it done.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jumper
I leaned back and scowled as I played with my drink. I was sitting alone in the bar next door to the clubhouse. There was a bottle of whiskey on the table in front of me and a shot left in my glass.
I had my men spread out all over town. One set was watching the cartel compound while another was doing a roving patrol through the city limits. They weren’t there to stop the Devils from coming into the city they were there to report if they did. I wanted to know what the hell was going on in my city. I was so fucking mad. I didn’t like any of this shit.
Ever since last night when the drunk had told me about Jaxson being in the company of Viper, I knew there was something going on and I wanted to find out what that something was. I resented being in this position. If the Viper and the cartel were going to do business with an MC, it was going to be my club not the fucking Black Devils.
I had a feeling whatever was going down would go down soon. Lifting my glass, I slammed down the rest of my drink, then poured another double into my glass.
Glancing down at my phone, I growled when I noted there were no missed calls. I’d sent two teams into Coronado. One team was supposed to locate and track Bruno DeLuca and the other was supposed to find and track Jaxson Coltrane.
But so far, neither team had called in. I’d never been good at being patient. When I wanted something done, I wanted it done on my dammed timetable, which was usually right, this fucking minute, not if fifteen minutes from now.
Lifting my drink to my lips, I frowned as the raw alcohol burned my throat on the way down. There was a pool of heat warming my belly as the whiskey made its way through my body. Frowning at the aftertaste, I vowed one day I was going to be able to drink the better stuff. Drinking cheap whiskey was like paying a hooker to cuddle. Then I smiled. I had my hands on the best whiskey earlier this week. I smiled when I thought of the case I had in my bedroom. I couldn’t wait to break open a bottle and taste for myself what a good whiskey tasted like.
