Chapter 22

ASHTON

It was my call to make sure Doc and Micah stayed by Rose’s side in case shit got bad. Jordan might have been the president of the MC, but after everything was laid out on the table, he knew how personal this was to me.

“I set up the meeting,” Grant said. “Picardo’s expecting something. Him and his men are waiting inside that warehouse. We step inside, there’s a good chance we don’t walk out.”

Jordan. Grant. Rex. We all looked at one another. The boys might’ve busted each other’s balls when we were in the clubhouse but it was times like this when we knew we had each other’s backs.

“You guys don’t gotta do this,” I said. “I can deal with Picardo myself—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Rex cut me off, shaking his head with a smirk. “You know we’re not going anywhere. So if you’re ready to deal with this shit, let’s go.”

I turned toward Jordan. He gave me a subtle nod and I took the lead. We rode our bikes down the street toward the warehouse where Picardo was waiting. The black SUVs parked outside were more than enough to let us know we were in the right spot. Even the cops wouldn’t bother sticking their noses in to take a look. Whatever business had to be settled inside, we knew we wouldn’t be interrupted.

A couple of punks in suits stood by the entrance. It didn’t matter how hard they tried to look. I knew they were just some hired goons paid to intimidate people. It would’ve worked if I hadn’t dealt with so many guys like them throughout the years.

They escorted the four of us into the spacious warehouse. It was just as empty as the last time I saw it. On the other side, there were a few light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, enough to illuminate the man I was looking for. Picardo was flanked by half a dozen security guards, each one of them holding an uzi that could split a man in two if they squeezed the trigger for long enough.

“Ah!” Picardo said as he held his hands out. “It seems like you’ve already made your decision. Do you have the man I’m looking for or have you decided to do the noble thing and sacrifice yourself?”

“I wasn’t planning on making my decision so quickly but you did it for me,” I said. “I thought you were better than that but I guess the rumors are true. You’re even more psychotic than you look.”

He scoffed, a grin on his lips to hide how upset he was. “This isn’t the first time I’ve ever had to deal with you Cobras. It seems like whenever I meet with you, you get a little more indignant.” The smile slowly disappeared from his face. “I guess a man can’t control his emotions when he knows he’s about to die.”

“Speaking from personal experience? Because that’s exactly what’s about to happen.”

I raised my piece up. In the blink of an eye, Jordan, Rex and Grant did the same. Picardo’s men responded in kind. The warehouse was silent. Nobody moved. There were enough bullets in the building to make sure everybody bled to death.

“I suggest you reconsider,” Picardo said, his eyes locked on me. “You’re outnumbered. You’re outgunned. You won’t walk out of this building alive—”

“And neither will you. I’m prepared to die… Are you?”

He raised his hand up slowly and scratched his chin. The smallest tick was just enough to let me know how nervous he was. I’d imagined not many people pointed a gun at him. Probably because they weren’t stupid enough to do it.

“I respect you, Cobra,” Picardo said. “All of this… for a woman. You won’t be able to take it with you though. She’ll live her life but you’ll be dead.”

“I’d rather be dead than do what you did. Threaten an innocent woman. Threaten her family. Pull a gun and fire at her when she’s not even expecting it. You’re not any kind of man, Picardo.”

“Just business.” He still had a grin, shaking his head while he kept his eyes locked on me. “I paid a visit to the Macdonalds but I had no intention of hurting them. I spoke to Rose because I wanted her to get a message from a brother. But I would never bother wasting my time firing a gun at an innocent woman—”

“You chased after me. You had that man fire at me with no regard for her safety. You wanted both of us dead. Just admit it.”

He took a step toward me in the center of the room with so many guns pointed at one another. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Butler. If I’d wanted you and the woman dead, you’d be dead. We wouldn’t be talking about it.”

“What are you saying? Are you saying you didn’t try to put a hit out on me just now?”

He stayed silent. He just stood there, his hands down like he wanted me to figure it out for myself.

I stared hard at him, looking into his eyes. I couldn’t let my guard down. Just a split-second was all it would take for his men to light up the MC. But I couldn’t find what I was looking for. There was no lie. There was no deception. Even a man like Picardo was just a man. And right now, he was telling the truth.

“If it wasn’t you, then who was—”

The warehouse door suddenly opened. Everybody turned and watched as a couple of security guards walked inside, pushing forward the small, disheveled man between them.

“Ah!” Picardo said. “Look who it is. The man I’ve been looking for. Mr. Joseph Macdonald.”

Joey gave a sarcastic bow and grinned back at Picardo. “In the flesh.”

Picardo shifted his eyes back toward me. “I’m a man of my word,” he said. “I’ve got no interest in you or your MC. You can be on your way—”

“But you do have business with them,” Joey said. “More than you realize.”

Picardo sighed in resentment. “And I suppose this is the point where the petty criminal attempts to weasel his way out of this.”

“It’s not me attempting to weasel his way out of anything. Things keep up, you’ll have to be the one weaseling his way out of things.”

“Enlighten me.”

Joey had all eyes on him. He was the only man in the room smiling. It was the kind of smile a man had when he knew something nobody else did.

“I know about the hit on Ash,” he said. “I know who was responsible for it.”

“Then it’s not Picardo,” I said.

“No.” He shook his head. “They were just hoping you’d think that. You’re a club member. A man takes a shot at you, you’re no doubt gonna go after the man who did it. They were counting on you to go after Picardo. Do their job for them.”

“And just who is this they you’re speaking of?” Picardo asked.

“They are someone even you need to worry about.”

Picardo smirked as he took a step toward the man he’d been chasing all this time. “You’re gonna tell me who they are, otherwise—”

“What?” Joey said. “You’re gonna kill me? You’re already planning on doing that anyway. No… If I go down, you’re coming down with me. And if you make it… Then I make it, too.”

Joey winked at me. I didn’t know if he was crazy or stupid. Probably both. But he spoke with the kind of confidence I couldn’t question.

“Here’s how it’s gonna work,” Joey said. “You got no beef with the Cobras. You don’t go near them. You don’t try to put a hit on any of them. You don’t lay a finger on them. Same goes for my family. My parents. Rose. You don’t even look at them.”

“I had no intention of getting involved with any of them,” Picardo said. “After all, you’re the one who started this entire mess.”

“It is. And I plan on ending it. If you wanna know who hired me, you let me walk. You don’t put a finger on me. Otherwise, you’ll never know who’s gunning for you. I want your word.”

Picardo clenched his jaw in frustration.

“What’s it gonna be?” Joey said. “Give me your word and you can stop looking over your shoulder for the faceless shadow who wants a piece of you.”

Picardo didn’t have much of a choice. That much was obvious from the look on his face. He raised his hands up and sighed, forcing his men to lower their weapons.

“You have my word.” Picardo nodded and rolled his eyes. “I won’t come after you, your family or the Cobras. All you have to do is give me a name.”

“I’ll give you the name,” Joey said. “But just to make sure you keep your word, know that I have safeguards. You go back on your word, all the money I earned from hitting you will go toward making sure you get taken down. If I die, someone will come after you.”

“Yes, yes,” Picardo said. “Now give me the name.”

“…His name is Goida.”

“Goida? The Yakuza gangster… I didn’t realize I’d gotten the interest of a man in the city…”

“Now you have. Now you realize, you have bigger problems than chasing around some MC in some hick town or some petty criminal who was just trying to make a buck. I can assure you, there are more people than Goida who want a piece of you.”

Picardo kept his eyes locked on the ground. I stared at him, wondering what was going through his mind as he contemplated the new threat. Considering how quiet he was, it was dangerous enough for him to be concerned with.

“I’m leaving Ivory,” Joey said. “Is our business done?”

“I’m a man of my word,” Picardo said. “Though I suggest you don’t make it a habit of coming back to this town.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on coming back. I just need to make one last stop.”

Joey looked at me and smiled. I already knew what he was thinking.

“Come on,” I said. “Your sister’s waiting for you.”

“For the last time,” he replied.