Chapter 18

ASHTON

There were enough buildings in Ivory you could get your privacy if you needed to. Even if you were up to something, the cops never bothered unless it had to do with civilians. Sheriff Sutton, the man in charge of the police department, did what he had to do. But he let all the clubs and gangs police themselves.

So if Picardo wanted to pull a gun out and end Grant and me, he could do it. We wouldn’t go down without a fight but a fight was all we could put up, considering Picardo had enough money backing him that security made sure there was a gun pointed at anybody who tried to step to him.

Grant and I hadn’t even spoken a word but the motherfucker already looked upset. The situation with Joey and his stolen car was almost resolved but you would’ve thought Picardo just got told his mother was dead.

I stood calmly in the empty warehouse. Just one of many storage facilities in Ivory where Picardo did all kinds of business. Grant was by my side. We were quiet as Picardo stood in front of us, his hands behind his back.

“You told me you had something important to tell me,” he said. “I’m assuming this has something to do with the location of my stolen property or the man who took it. Otherwise, I suggest you stop wasting my time.”

I gave Grant one last look. There was some resignation in his eyes but he didn’t stop me from speaking what we’d gone over. There was no way around this now.

“Before I tell you what you wanna know, there’s something else you need to know,” I said.

“Spare me the unnecessary specifics.”

“Everything I’m about to tell you is necessary…” I sighed a deep breath before continuing. “I’m with a woman. She’s special. I don’t know much about her but I know she’s special. I’m only just getting to know her.”

Picardo raised an eye in confusion but kept his mouth shut.

“Her name is Rose Macdonald.”

His eyes widened. Before he could say anything, I put my hands up. “I’m not in on this. Neither is Smoke. Neither is anybody in the MC or Rose herself. Her brother did this with the men you already took care of. You have my word on that.”

Picardo took a step forward, looking down his nose at me. I clenched my jaw. Shit, I was surprised he hadn’t snapped his fingers and given the order to have Grant and me executed.

“She’s special,” I said. “I care about her. I’ll do anything for her. That includes making sure her brother is safe.”

“Interesting… A man pointed a gun at you and yet you’re trying to save him.”

“Neither one of us knew who the other one was. If I’d known, I’d have stopped him from doing what he did.”

“But he did it. And now there’s no coming back from it.”

“You already caught those bodies. What’s letting one man walk? Everybody knows the drugs in this town runs through the cartel. You think anybody will try to cross you after they found those bodies?”

“Hmph.” He smirked and shook his head. “You would think that but even still, people like Joseph Macdonald do it.”

“He’s one man. You deal with your problems. Everybody knows that.”

“The best way of dealing with a problem is not having to deal with it at all. Every man who held you at gunpoint will die. There is no way around it. I’ll take your word that you and Cobras had nothing to do with trying to rip me off. But the longer you go without telling me where Macdonald is, the more I’ll believe you were in on it.”

This negotiation was going to shit. That was clear. I didn’t know how much patience Picardo had but I wasn’t anxious about testing it for much longer. The fact Grant and I were still breathing meant I still had a chance. I had to take it.

“I won’t let Rose let her brother die. He made a mistake but there must be some way to fix it without him dying. Money. Work. Something. Your reputation in this town won’t change. You’ve already done enough to make sure people know who you are and what you’re capable of.”

Picardo kept his eyes locked on me. A sly little grin formed on his lips as he turned toward Grant. “Did you know he was planning on telling me this? You ready to die for no reason along with him?”

Grant didn’t budge from his spot. “Ash is my brother. Dying next to him is reason enough.”

“Hmm… You bikers and your loyalty. There’s something admirable about it, I suppose.” He turned his back to us and walked away before slowly spinning back around. “I’ll make you a deal. Get Macdonald to me so I can take his head like the others. But… if you insist on doing everything you can to make sure he stays alive, I’ll accept your life in his place.”

“What?” Grant said. “You can’t—”

“You said you’d do anything to keep your woman happy. I’ll let him live. You’ll just have to take his place.” Picardo stared at me. Even if he wasn’t so focused, I knew he was telling the truth. His bluntness wasn’t exactly surprising. “That’s my offer, gentlemen. There’ll be no more discussion about it. I’ll give you a few days to think about it. The choice is yours. I suggest you be on your way. The clock is ticking.”

Grant and I looked at one another. Neither one of us was a smooth-enough talker to try and negotiate any further. I reluctantly headed out of the warehouse with Grant right behind me.

We stood in the parking lot next to our rides. It was a quiet night in Ivory but damn it felt like the end of the world.

“Shit,” Grant muttered. “Looks like that’s that. Poor bastard is gonna have to take what’s coming to him.”

“Not necessarily.”

“What?” He furrowed his brow. “Picardo said it’s you or her brother.”

“Exactly. There’s still a chance he can get out of this.”

“If you die in his place! Ash, are you fucking listening to yourself? The guy robbed the head of the fucking cartel! He knew there’d be consequences. You can’t save him from this. Shit, if it was up to me, I’d be serving that motherfucker up on a silver platter right to Picardo.”

“It’s not about Picardo or Joey or even me.”

Grant scoffed and slowly nodded in understanding. “The girl. It’s always about the girl. I’m sure she’d be happy if her brother was still around but I think she’d shed a few tears for you.”

“That’s the only reason I’m still considering it. But I think she’d get over it. She said it herself. We don’t know what we got. A pretty girl like her could probably get a line of men to replace me.”

“You’re talking crazy, Ash… You’re about to give yourself up for a motherfucker who deserves what’s coming to him.”

“Not yet. There still might be a way out of this.”

“Well…” Grant crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “I’m waiting.”

“…Shit.” I sighed a deep breath, knowing the answer I was looking for wasn’t there. I couldn’t come up with an answer if I had a million years.

“If you’re gonna do something, Ash, you’d better do it quick. The clock’s ticking.”

My back was against the wall. After everything I’d been through and all of the shit I’d put up with, there was nothing to get me out of this. There was only one comfort in my life right now. I figured I might as well indulge in it.