CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Iron
What a fuck of a night.
And you’d better fucking believe that was putting it mildly.
Whoever said that being the headman was easy was a dumb motherfucker.
President.
It meant that everything sat heavy on my shoulders. That I was the one that handled all the shit. From a fucking problem with incoming shipments to the businesses the club owned, and all the little shit in between. And I worried about each and every single one of these guys like they were my own son. The last part wasn’t a requirement, but that was just who I was. These people were my fucking family. Every move they made not only reflected on me, but impacted me in some way.
I had a brother attacked, an innocent woman caught in the crossfire, and a business fucked up. And that said brother was now sitting in jail for something I knew damn well he shouldn’t be there for.
Yeah, something was going on. The air smelled like shit but I couldn’t find out which direction it was coming from.
Now, fucking Connor O’Shay was sitting in my clubhouse, looking like he’d spent the last twelve hours in hell. Connor was a cop, but first and foremost, he was part of the Irish mob. The same mob that we had a deal with. The very same one that took the high powered artillery off of our hands.
The same fucking kind of guns that shot up the shop.
I was doing my best to put a lid on my anger but I had to be honest, I was hanging on by a thread. I wouldn’t have said I trusted the Irish one hundred percent, but I trusted them more than most. If I even so much as got a whiff that they had anything to do with this, even if they unknowingly supplied the guns, I was going to shut them out. Without a second thought. And they would be lucky if that would be the only thing I’d fucking do.
You didn’t fuck with my men.
You didn’t fuck with my club.
If you did, that meant you fucked with me.
And let me tell you, I was not a man you wanted to fuck with.
“The fuck is going on?” I barked at Connor, not wanting to pussy-foot around.
“There’s a lot. Stay with me and I’ll tell you everything.”
I took in a slow, deep breath through my nose. After counting to ten, I let it out just as slowly.
“Go on then,” I said in a calm tone as I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t take my seat. This wasn’t a goddamn social call. I was up, on guard, and ready to draw at the drop of a hat.
“There is a shift happening on the streets. Should have nothing to do with us, we don’t associate with the D13 gang, but it seems that someone is making a move to take over, and in doing that, they are making their presence known. Up until tonight, it’s been little things, and nothing that has crossed the line for you, Russians, Italians, or us to worry with. They’ve been keeping it in their own neighborhood. But looks like something bigger has been started. I’ve been keeping an eye out, but I was blindsided by this.”
He shook his head, his eyes turning even darker as his jaw clenched tight. I could see the anger and apology there, but I didn’t drop my guard.
“I’ve got it coming from all ends as of late. Detective Mullins got a promotion and now he’s been watching me extra hard. I can’t seem to make a damn move without him knowing. I’ve been too feckin’ busy trying to keep him off my back that I didn’t know what was going on. But he did. He’s got someone in the gang, but I have no idea if it’s an undercover or just an informant. I overheard him saying he knew they were going to shoot up yer place tonight. He wasn’t going to stop it. Instead, he planned to use it to his advantage. I don’t know what he has…or had, rather, planned. But if the look on yer face is any indication, it’s pretty damning.”
“Nothing we can’t handle. Got one in jail right now.” I paused looking for any sign that he might know more than he was letting onto. I didn’t trust anyone outside of a patched vest right now. “On cocaine charges.”
“Shite! No…” He ran his hands through his already fucking messy hair. It looked like he needed a strong drink and a hot shower, but there wasn’t time for that. I needed some goddamn answers. Connor knew damn well those drugs weren’t ours and it showed on his face. “He used the shooting…he planted it. You got any proof?”
His head snapped up to look at me, his eyes hopeful that we had something. It was no secret that we liked our security and that we had cameras every-fucking-where.
“Got my own going over footage from the shop. Shouldn’t be long now. Let’s just hope he’s not smart enough to know as much as you.”
“He knew what he was doing. When he caught me eavesdropping, he went after me. Only he used his words and kept his calm. The cameras at the station only caught me, my actions. And I took a swing at that smug fecker. They took me down and I’ve been in a holding cell the last ten hours. When they let me out they put me on unpaid leave, informing me that they were opening an investigation on me. I came here as soon as they released me, but I’m guessing that was after they arrested yer guy.”
“So we’ve got shit coming from both ends, huh? This isn’t going to go away by tomorrow?” I asked but didn’t really expect an answer. I already knew.
I knew shit was just getting started. The thing that I couldn’t figure out right then was if we were going to band together or be pushed further apart. I could only hope that Connor coming to me meant that he was proving some sort of loyalty to us, that the Irish would back him with this move.
This could go badly for him if they disapproved.
Another thing that was stacked on my shoulders.
Not that I fucking needed it.