“What happened to you?” Saw asked as Saul stiffly stepped out of Dallas’s SUV.

 

“Car wreck.”

 

Sam Mandel, Saw to his brothers, nodded in understanding. “Good thing you weren’t on your hog.”

 

“Yeah. You got the merchandise?”

 

“You got the money?”

 

Saul gave a jerk of his head and Caleb stepped forward, pulling an envelope with $4,000 in it out of his colors and handed it to Saw. Saw quickly counted it and folded it into his pocket. He waved and men brought forward four crates of fully automatic rifles. Andy opened the crates and quickly counted the Micro-Uzi SMGs inside. He picked one at random from each crate and quickly checked to make sure it was chambered for 9mm and not .45 ACP, worked the mechanism to check for smooth operation, and checked the manufacturer stamp to be sure these were French made, and not the Chinese made, models.

 

Andy looked up as he returned the last of the Uzis to its crate. “Looks good.”

 

“Been a pleasure,” Saul said, extending his hand as his men loaded the crates into the back of Dallas’s Tahoe then pulled the cargo cover closed to hide the merchandise from prying eyes.

 

“Same here,” Saw replied as the Killers turned and walked back to their bikes.

 

Saul hitched himself up into the SUV, placed his weapon back in the console, and closed the door. Normally he made this ride on his hog, along with the rest of the core team, but this time he decided to ride with Dallas. His back hurt, but not as much as his leg. He must have strained something pushing against the wheel. He’d started feeling it last night, but today it was killing him.

 

Production had closed down so they could investigate the cause of the crash. Angela, Bradley and Tony had spent the night in the hospital, for observation, despite Angela and Bradley’s protests. He’d sat with her for a while, then left as the Diazepam the doctor had given her pulled her into sleep. Thankfully, Tony was the only one seriously injured, his foot and ankle broken in three places and a deep cut on his leg that had required stitches.

 

When he limped into his house, he’d administered his own sedative, poured from a Jack Daniels bottle. The Jack had begun to take the edge off when Saul had called and reported his merchandise had arrived and was ready for pickup.

 

“Who are you calling?” Dallas asked as Saul worked his phone.

 

“Abana. I didn’t tell him his guns were here.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because he’s not expecting them to arrive for another two days and I wanted to have them in my hands before I said anything to him. He’s pissed off enough as it is without me having to tell him about another delay. Saul Houston calling for Señor Abana.”

 

“Saul,” Abana said a moment later. “Do you have news for me?”

 

“Yes, sir. I have your next shipment in my possession. We are leaving Corpus Christie with them now.”

 

“When can I expect delivery?”

 

“You can have them this evening, if you’d like.”

 

“That will be acceptable. Say five, at our usual exchange spot?”

 

“We’ll be there.”

 

“See that you are.”

 

“What an asswipe,” Dallas said after Abana was gone. “He still acts like it was our fault he lost his damn guns.”

 

“I just want to get this behind us.”

 

“Yeah, but what if he loses…” Dallas began then allowed his voice to trail off.

 

“What?” Saul asked.

 

“I don’t like the looks of this,” Dallas said, staring into his review.

 

Saul turned to peer between the seats. There were three brothers riding tail, the other fifteen in front in two groups, a group of ten riding well ahead watching for police stops or other legal entanglements, then five more running just in front of the Tahoe. Behind the trailing group he could see a peloton of at least twenty bikers closing fast. The brothers riding tail must not have liked it either as they began to fall back, putting some space between themselves and the Tahoe.

 

They were on Highway 44, between Robstown and Alice, and there was nothing for miles in either direction. It was a perfect place for an ambush.

 

“Let’s stay cool and see how it plays,” Saul said, still watching through the back window. The bikes caught them and began to flow around them in groups of three or four and he began to relax. The riders weren’t wearing colors, so maybe it was just another unpatched club out for a ride. He was watching the last of the riders pass when his phone rang.

 

“I’m out!” Angela said cheerfully. “Production is stopped at least until Friday. You want to do something? Oh, how’s your back?”

 

“It’s fine. Listen, can I call you back in a few minutes?”

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“Just dealing with a problem at work. Give me a half hour or so and I’ll call you back.”

 

“Okay. Don’t forget.”

 

“I won’t,” he said then killed the call just as the brakes lights began lighting up on the bikes that had just passed them. “I don’t like this either,” he said, pulling his weapon out of the center console.

 

“What do you want to do?” Dallas asked, getting a good grip on the steering wheel. Katalin was going to be pissed if he bent up her Tahoe.

 

“Stay cool,” Saul said, but as the unpatched riders began to circle their bikes in the road for a roadblock, the brothers in the lead roared away, cutting through a gap before the bandits could close it. “Go!”

 

Dallas floored the Tahoe, the Chevy roaring as it clawed for speed. He couldn’t make the gap the bikes slipped through so he plowed into the bikes, trying to bull his way through and open a path for the following bikes. The Tahoe heaved and lunged, but a bike tangled underneath and dragged the straining Tahoe into the brush at the side of the road.

 

Saul and Dallas leapt from the SUV, their weapons out as the brothers in the lead and tail converged to help. Eleven riders and their bikes were down, some injured, from the Tahoe blowing through their attempted roadblock. The remaining nine riders still on their feet opened fire. Saul had the bulk of the Tahoe for protection, and he opened up, but the rest of his brothers weren’t so lucky. Dallas scrambled around the Chevy and added his fire, trying to take the pressure off their brothers stuck out in the open.

 

With fire coming in from three directions, the Pagans made short work of the men and cut them down in seconds.

 

“What the fuck!” Dallas snarled as he stared at Saul with wide eyes. The Pagans had been making this same drive for more than thirty years and this was the first time anything like this had happened.

 

The Pagans converged on the men, their broken bodies lying scattered about. Several of the men were moving and Saul walked up to one and kicked him over with his foot. The man screamed in agony as he rolled over onto his broken leg.

 

“Who are you? Who do you work for?” Saul demanded.

 

“Fuck you,” the man snarled.

 

Saul pointed his gun at the man and shot him in the head. He looked around and saw another man trying to get to his feet, bleeding from a gunshot wound in the side. Saul walked up to him.

 

“Don’t kill me,” the man begged as Saul put his pistol to the man’s head.

 

“Who do you work for?”

 

“He’ll kill me! I have a wife and baby girl!”

 

“I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me.”

 

“Don’t tell him shit!” a man screamed, dragging himself to a bike with both legs bent at unnatural angles.

 

“Kill him,” Saul ordered. Dallas turned and walked up to the man then shot him in the back of the head. “Now, who do you work for?”

 

“Saw! Saul Mendel!”

 

“Why! You have five seconds!” Saul barked, pressing his gun harder against the man’s head. They were going to have to hurry before someone came along and saw the carnage. If that happened, they would be in the shit deeper than they already were.

 

“He wants to take over your business and sell the guns directly to Abana!”

 

“Are you a Killer?”

 

“Yes! We all are!”

 

“Did you hit Abana’s compound?”

 

When the man hesitated, Saul pulled the trigger and the man fell at his feet. “I take that to mean yes.” He looked at his brothers. “Kill anyone left alive! We’ve got to haul ass, brothers, before we get caught out here! Make sure you have all your weapons, phones, whatever! No clues! Dallas, let’s get that bike out from under there! Andy, with me, everyone else, clear out!”

 

It took a couple of tries to get the Tahoe off the bike, Saul and Andy dragging two more bikes behind the right front tire to give the Tahoe something to ride up on to get clear of the mangled bike underneath.

 

“That’s got it,” Andy said as the Chevy bounced down off the bikes.

 

“Go!”

 

“See you at the clubhouse,” Andy said as he ran for his bike.

 

Saul climbed in and made sure he had his phone and weapon. “Haul ass, Dallas.”

 

Dallas floored the SUV and it roared away, the whole vehicle shaking. “This thing is fucked,” he said as he battled to keep the Tahoe in the road.

 

“Will it make it to Laredo?”

 

“Probably, but the power steering is out and something is very wrong with the steering,” he said as the wheel vibrated violently in his hands.

 

***

 

“Hey,” Saul said after he’d a chance to calm down. He’d never killed anyone, or had anyone try to kill him before, and he was a little shaken up.

 

“Did you get your problem solved?” Angela asked.

 

“I think so. How are you feeling?

 

“A little sore, but not too bad.”

 

“That’s good.”

 

“Are you okay? You sound a little upset.”

 

Saul grinned as Dallas made kissy faces at him. “Just pissed off at an inspector, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

 

“Want to do something tonight?”

 

“Sure. I’ve got a few things to do first, work stuff, but I’ll pick you up about seven.”

 

“Sounds good. I’m at the hotel and I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere.”

 

“Okay, I’ll see you there.”

 

After he hung up Dallas looked at him. “I know she’s a movie star and all, but are you getting serious for this girl?”

 

“Why?”

 

“You just seem different about her somehow.”

 

Saul grinned. “No, nothing like that. But I do like her. It’s kind of nice she’s not in the life.” He was looking forward to seeing her tonight and forgetting about what had happened less than an hour ago.

 

“Not to mention she’s hot as shit.”

 

Saul chuckled and began to dial again. “Not to mention she’s hot as shit,” he repeated with a grin. “Saul Houston for Señor Abana.”

 

“Saul,” Abana said, coming onto the phone. “Is there a problem?”

 

“Yes and no. The men who hit your compound are members of the Corpse Killers Motorcycle Club out of Corpus Christie, Texas. The leader is Saul Mendel. He goes by Saw. I don’t know how many of the club were involved, but I have confirmation they are the ones who stole your guns and killed your men.”

 

“Isn’t this the club you said you could trust?”

 

“Yes, but I found out differently today. Twenty men attacked us and tried to steal your guns. They paid for it with their lives. Before one died he admitted to attacking your compound.”

 

There was a long pause. “I will take care of it.”

 

“Which brings me to the problem. If you wipe them out, we’ll lose our ability to bring weapons into the country for you, at least for a while.”

 

“I can’t allow them to get away with attacking me,” Abana said.

 

“I understand, Señor Abana, but it will take me some time to arrange another way to bring your weapons in.”

 

“Do you know who the Corpse Killers’ contact was?”

 

“No. They guarded that information carefully, for obvious reasons.”

 

“If I provide you with the name, do you think you can arrange a deal with them?”

 

Saul shrugged. “I don’t see why not. My money is as green as theirs. How will you get the name?”

 

“Leave it to me,” Abana said and Saul could hear the cold smile in his voice. “Thank you for providing me this information. I’m sorry I doubted you. Do you know where the merchandise is that was stolen from me?”

 

“No. We didn’t have time for a lengthy conversation.”

 

“If I provide you that information, can you recover it for me?”

 

“Probably.”

 

“I’ll also give you that information. You recover my merchandise and I will pay you fifty percent of the regular price.”

 

Saul smiled. That would be a very profitable operation for them. “Tell us where to find it and we’ll do our best to recover it.”

 

“Thank you. You have done me a great service today.”

 

“Thank you, Señor Abana. We may someday wish to leave your employ, but we’ll never cross you, for the very reason the Killers are about to discover.”

 

“I hope that day is far in the future. I believe our business arrangement has been mutually beneficial. To help ensure our continued success, I will give you a little something extra you can pass along to the contact as an incentive to do business with you.”

 

“Thank you, Señor Abana,” Saul said, sincerely hoping the incentive wouldn’t be a body part.