CHAPTER 2
SLADE
The dude that walked in behind me and sat at the end of the bar looked slightly familiar. By the cut he was wearing, I could tell he was one of the Vipers, a club out of Southeast Portland. Most people in the Portland area knew to stay the hell outta their way.
They’re a large club that’s been around a while. The Gods have never had any beef with them, and these days, since we were basically out of the life completely, tensions with rival gangs were a thing of the past for us.
Rarely did I get an afternoon to myself, but my love Diana, the beautiful face of the six o’clock news on KATU, was working on a big story tonight, and our quickly growing son, Jeremiah, was being spoiled at the coast by his grandmother and wouldn’t come home until tomorrow. I’d taken the opportunity to stop off at the Roadhouse for a drink or two before heading back to the clubhouse to hang with the Gods.
Spotting another club’s patch at my favorite bar wasn’t completely unheard of, but it didn’t happen often around here. But, like I said, we had a clean slate these days, so I wasn’t worried about some stupid turf war or anything. Other clubs were just as welcome as I was here.
Granted, anything could happen, but his attention seemed to be focused on the shot of tequila he was currently cradling in his huge, meaty palms and not me. That quickly changed when his eyes finally shot up and landed on my cut.
He nodded and lifted his glass in a mock salute and I did the same in return. A moment later, he sauntered over to me and sat down beside me.
“Ain’t seen a Gods of Chaos patch in years,” he muttered, before holding out his hand. “I’m Tiny. Viper’s.”
“Slade,” I nodded, shaking his hand. “I think we may have met once or twice.”
“Might be right,” he grunted. “Wouldn’t remember. I drink a lot. Memories shot. Knees are shot. My fucking back is shot, too, but whatever. A lifetime of riding and drinkin’ ain’t so great on the body.”
“I hear you,” I nodded.
Tiny was not tiny at all. He wasn’t small. He wasn’t short. He was nowhere near petite. In fact, he was one of the biggest bastards I’d ever laid eyes on, with huge mounds of flesh jutting from his frame in every direction.
“What brings you out this way?” I asked.
“Just running some money up to a client on the coast,” he replied. “Thought I’d stop in to quench my thirst before hitting that fucking Portland traffic.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, it’s a real bitch lately, ain’t it?”
“Fucking Californians, man,” he grunted. I couldn’t help but chuckle. He was right. They’d invaded Oregon like a bunch of invasive starlings and the infrastructure and roads were taking the full brunt of their arrival.
“How’s your President doing? Snake, right?”
“Yep,” he nodded. “Snake’s doing fine, I suppose. He keeps busy, hell, we all do these days.”
“Business is booming?”
“You could say that. What about the Gods? What are y’all up to? Ain’t heard nothing about you guys in years. Word on the street is that you’re out of the business.”
“We’re laying low, you know,” I replied, purposefully keeping my reply vague. The biggest reason we’re able to do what we do is because we keep our mouths shut about it. Keeping my mouth shut isn’t something that comes naturally to me, so it’s an effort, but I manage. “Still going strong, though.”
Tiny ordered another shot and turned to me, squinting his eyes and taking me in before continuing.
“Good to hear,” he said. “I’ll let my club know you’re still around. Might have an opportunity for collaboration, if you’re interested.”
“That so?” I asked, finishing my beer and slamming my glass on the bar. “We’re pretty busy right now, but what did you have in mind?”
“Well, Snake has to approve everything, obviously,” he said.
“Of course.”
“We’ve been discussing bringing in a few more guys, recruiting help from other clubs. Been working on a job that just keeps growing and it’s a struggle to keep up.”
“Sounds lucrative,” I replied.
“Sure as hell is,” he said. “Most lucrative business in the club’s history, in fact.”
“You gonna tell me what it is or you gonna make me guess?” I asked, with a smile.
Tiny looked around the bar to make sure nobody was listening, before leaning in and whispering in my ear.
“Bitches.”
“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“They say sex sells and boy, were they fucking right,” he said, hooting and letting out a huge belly laugh.
“Oh, I see,” I replied, my stomach churning. I flashed him a quick smile, because I didn’t want him to see my initial disgust. I could handle a lot of shit. Drugs. Guns. Money Laundering. But women? No fucking way.
“We got all kinds, too. Young girls, mostly, but all colors and nationalities. Chinese, Russian, Mexican, you name it.”
“How many we talking?” I asked, my interest piqued.
“Dozens, in and out, every week or so. We rotate them to keep the supply fresh, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied. “Variety is the spice of life, right?”
Tiny burst out laughing again, his huge gut wiggling under his too small black t-shirt and exposing inches of soft, white flesh.
“You get it,” he chuckled.
“Hell, yeah,” I agreed. My head was spinning and anger began boiling just under the surface of my cool exterior. I hid it all. At this point, I wanted to get as much information from this asshole as I possibly could. Well, and punch his fucking lights out, but that would come later. “Where you keeping them?”
“Our compound. We’ve got the clubhouse and a few warehouses, we set up one of the buildings out back and they live there,” he said. “It’s a nice, comfortable set up. The girls don’t complain and the clients keep coming back. We throw these massive parties damn near every night. It’s a fucking riot.”
“A happy customer is a repeat customer,” I replied.
“You know all the catch phrases, huh?”
I shrugged and laughed, before ordering another beer from the bartender. We sat there drinking for a few minutes silently. I was trying to remember where the Vixen’s clubhouse was located exactly. I knew it was in far southeast but I needed an exact location if I was going to do anything about this.
I didn’t want to seem too eager, though. Scaring Tiny away was the last thing I wanted to do right now.
“Can I buy you another shot before I leave?” I asked him.
“Sure, man,” he said. “Thanks a lot.”
“This is my usual watering hole,” I said. “Gotta be hospitable.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, Slade,” he said. “So, what kind of business you guys been up to lately?”
“The usual, you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Nothing too big, but enough to keep our hogs rumbling down the road, you know?”
“Yeah, man, I get it. It’s a constant hustle, ain’t it? That’s why this new thing we got going is so great. It’s easy and all contained in one place. Less risky than running guns and drugs up and down the fucking interstate.”
“I bet,” I said. “Sounds fucking perfect.”
“Yeah, and the job benefits are pretty fucking nice, too, if you know what I mean. It’s like going to an international buffet. A little bit of everything on your plate, all at once.”
“What are the risks?” I asked.
“Shit, there really aren’t any. I guess one could worry about a chick escaping and turning us in, but so far, we’ve got them so tightly locked down, they ain’t going anywhere. Not to mention, the girls seem to be pretty stoked to have all the drugs they want, so they stay pretty agreeable. Not too much fighting back. I mean, you get the occasional crazy bitch, but they’re easily put back in their place, if you know what I mean…”
“Yeah…”
“And the clients certainly aren’t going to rat. It’s a fucking win-win, honestly. Beats the hell out of hoping you aren’t gonna catch a bullet from some asshole drug dealer who wants to steal your cash or something. Wish we’d gotten into this business a long time ago, honestly. I’d have a few less scars.”
“Live and learn, right?” I asked, my skin crawling at his words.
“Yeah, man,” he said, downing his shot. “Listen, Slade, if you wanna come check it out, I’d love to invite you out to the clubhouse. We’re having a party tonight, actually, if you’re interested. You can sample the goods free of charge.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Sure, man, bring one of the other Gods, too, if you want. The more the merrier. There’s definitely enough girls to go around, that’s for sure.”
“Sure, man, I’ll stop by,” I said, sliding a bar napkin over towards him. I asked the bartender for a pen and he threw one my way. “Write down the address for me. What time should I show up?”
“Ten, eleven, whatever. We party till dawn, so show up whenever you want. I’ll tell the others to look out for you.”
“You’ll be there, too, right?”
“I never miss a party,” he said, sliding the napkin back to me.
“Sounds great, I’ll be there. Should I bring anything?” I asked.
“A hard dick.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Well, then, I’m ready now, man!” I said.
Tiny laughed and patted me on the back.
“Down, boy. Keep that monster in your pants till you get to the party.”
“Will do, brother.” I tossed a few twenties on the bar. “I gotta jet right now, but I’ll see you tonight. Let me take care of your tab for you.”
“That’s mighty nice of you, Slade.”
“Least I can do for all that pussy you’re offering up.”
“Well, thanks, man. See you tonight!”
“See you tonight, Tiny,” I said, patting him on the back and walking out the door of the Roadhouse. It was still light out, but the winter chill in the air cut right through me. It was almost Christmas, and I wasn’t much for all that Jesus shit, but I couldn’t help but think about all those women separated from their families during the holidays, being forced to do unthinkable things to a bunch of disgusting pigs.
I shook my head as I pulled out my cell phone. As far as I was concerned, Tiny had just given me the greatest present of all. A chance to get those women home where they belonged.
Ryder answered on the first ring.
“Slade, what’s up, my man?”
“I’ve got a job for Solid Ground,” I replied. “A fucking big one.”
****
The Viper’s compound was surrounded by a ten foot chain-link fence, topped by a foot of barbed wire that would have kept out even the most ambitious intruder. And if the sight of that didn’t deter you, the raucous chorus of a pack of vicious pit bulls barking and growling at the only gate that led inside would convince you to stay away.
“You sure about this, man?” Riot asked, after we cut our engines just outside the gate. I watched as the dogs clamored over each other, baring their teeth at us as they pushed against the gate. The faint sound of music and laughter behind them told me we were in the right place.
“I’m sure they’re very nice dogs once you get to know them,” I laughed.
“Right,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You got a plan to get inside?”
I eyed one of the dogs, a beautiful brown and white boy, and he lowered his head as he stared me down, growling like a menacing monster, his top lip curled up, exposing his sharp teeth.
“Not really,” I replied, my skin crawling. I broke the dog’s gaze and searched behind him for any sign of Tiny. “Probably just wait and see what happens.”
“We wait too long and one of those sweet, little puppies are gonna figure out a way to eat our faces off,” Riot said.
“Hang tight,” I said. “I’ll walk around back.”
I jumped off my bike just as the ground began vibrating again. Riot and I turned just as a sleek, black Harley rounded the corner and pulled up beside us. The cut stretched across the rider’s broad back told me he was a Viper. As he pulled off his helmet, I saw the patches on his front right pocket.
Snake. President.
He flashed us an inquisitive smile and raised an eyebrow when he saw the patches on our own cuts.
“Gods, huh?” he asked, nodding at us.
“Hey man, I’m Slade and this is Riot,” I said, reaching out a hand. “I ran into Tiny earlier and he invited us out to party tonight.”
“Is that so?” he asked, chuckling. “Well, any friend of that giant asshole is a friend of mine. I’m Snake.”
“I think we met a few years back,” Riot said, shaking his hand.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Snake replied, “during a deal with the Misfits, right?”
“That’s right,” Riot said. “Been a long time.”
“Sure has. How you doing?” Snake asked. “How’s Ryder?”
“He’s good, the Gods are good,” I replied. Snake was a big dude. Bigger than both me and Riot, and just a little smaller than Tiny, but not by much. He was a scary looking guy, but his smile was wide and his voice was soft and friendly.
“Good to hear, man,” he replied. “I was wondering about you guys. Your club practically fell off the face of the Earth.”
“Nah, we’re still around,” I said. “I was happy to run into Tiny today. He said your club’s doing good now.”
“Business is booming,” he said, winking. “Why don’t you guys come on in and we’ll show you around?”
“Sounds great,” I replied, smiling at him. He started his bike back up and pushed a few buttons on a keypad I’d not noticed before. The gate opened and the dogs followed him as Snake drove through the gate. Riot and I followed, keeping one eye out for the dogs. They were suddenly much more interested in Snake than us.
He parked his bike and the dogs swirled around his feet as he climbed off. He pulled a plastic bag from the leather saddle bags attached to the back of his bike and started feeding them what looked like small pieces of raw meat.
“Good boys,” he said, before glancing over at us.
“Seemed like they wanted to eat us alive out there.”
“If you’ve got raw flesh to bribe them with, they’re harmless, really,” he laughed. “Unless I tell them not to be.”
“Good to know,” Riot said, shooting me a glance.
“So, what did Tiny tell you about us?” Snake said, throwing the last of the meat on the ground and stepping around the dogs as he walked over to us.
“Not much,” I replied. “Said you’ve been having a lot of fun.”
“I don’t know about fun, but it’s been lucrative. Definitely comes with its own set of problems.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “Like what?”
“Women. Need I say more? Fucking hormones. Periods. Bitches fighting with each other. Crying. God, the crying. It’s enough to make a man wanna eat a bullet.”
“Yeah,” I replied, nodding. “Amazing what you gotta put up with to get a little pussy.”
“Pussy ain’t the problem. It’s the rest of the woman, am I right?” he asked, laughing heartily.
“Yeah, sure is,” Riot asked. I glanced over at him and saw his eyes darting around. I knew he was surveying the property for every entrance and exit. We needed to know how to get in and get out fast, should the need arise. I’d already spotted another gate in the back of the property, slightly behind a large warehouse sitting next to the main driveway.
“Nice property you have here,” I said.
“It’s a good size,” Snake said. “Let’s us spread out a little. There’s a lot of us here now, so we need a lot of room.”
“How many in the club now?” Riot asked.
“Two dozen, give or take. Had a little turnover recently. A few of our guys decided they didn’t have the stomach for our new venture, so they bailed.”
“Pussies,” I muttered, looking around.
“Yeah, well, this business ain’t exactly for the weak at heart.”
“Yeah, but bikers? I’m sure they’ve handled worse.”
“Sure,” he shrugged. “But sometimes, this is a special kind of hell. Wears on you after awhile. You start thinking about your own family, your sisters, your mothers, whatever.”
“Just business, right?” I asked.
“That’s the spirit,” Snake said, laughing, as Tiny walked up.
“You made it,” he said, hitting me on the back hard.
“Yeah, man,” I said. “This is my buddy Riot.”
Tiny and Riot shook hands and Tiny turned to me.
“I see you met our bad-ass President,” he said.
“Sure did,” I replied.
“Well, you ready to fucking party or what?”
“Hell, yeah,” I said. “Snake said he’d give us a tour.”
“I can do that,” Tiny said. “Snake, Sophia was looking for you earlier.”
Snake turned to us, shaking his head.
“My old lady,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Keeps me on a fucking short leash, if you know what I mean. Especially lately, with all these other bitches around.”
Riot and I smiled and nodded.
“Go ahead,” I said. “We’ll catch up later.”
“Good to see you guys,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “Tiny, hook them up with a couple of our best girls, okay? Enjoy, boys! On the house!”
“Will do, boss,” Tiny said. “Got a few of ‘em all picked out already.”
Snake waved and disappeared around a corner. We looked back at Tiny and he smiled, his belly jiggling as he rubbed it in circles.
“What’s your flavor, boys?”
“Our flavor?”
“Yeah. I got redheads, blondes, brunettes, every color of the fucking rainbow.”
“How about a drink and tour before we decide?” Riot asked.
“Oh, hell yeah, man, of course,” Tiny said. “What’s your poison? Whiskey? Tequila?”
“Beer’s good for me, man,” I said. “I try not to drink the hard stuff when I’m on my bike.”
“Sure, brother, no problem,” Tiny said. “Me, too, fucking whiskey dick is no joke. Follow me.”
Two minutes later, we were standing at the bar in the Viper’s clubhouse clutching two cold bottles. The place was packed, and not just with club guys, though they made up a good portion of the crowd. But there were others, men who looked completely out of place, each with a drink in their hands, chatting with each other, some more at ease than others. The longer I watched them, I realized that every few seconds they glanced towards the back of the room. Before long, the door opened and a man walked out, his face flushed as he tucked his shirt into his pants. Before the door could close, another man walked in.
“What’s back there?” I asked Tiny.
“That’s where the action takes place. We like to keep it near the bar. Most of the time, the customers come back for seconds after a few more drinks. Like I said, it’s real lucrative.”
I nodded, my fists clenching at my sides as I imagined what was on the other side of that door. I resisted the urge to knock Tiny on his not-so-tiny ass and barrel through the crowd, take care of business and end this shit show right now.
“How many girls we talkin’?” Riot asked, before downing his beer. I spotted the rage in his eyes. He could hide that from strangers, but that boiling anger shimmering in his dark eyes turned them into pools of inky blackness that he’d never been able to conceal from me. I knew him too well.
“It varies week by week,” Tiny shrugged, pouring a shot of tequila down his throat. “We rotate them. Keeps things fresh.”
“What do you do with the girls when you’re done with them?” I asked.
“Slaughterhouse.” Tiny said, wiping his mouth.
“What?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.
Tiny burst out laughing, a big, ugly guffaw that allowed me to see his rotting teeth inside his mouth.
“Fucking kidding, dude,” he finally spat out. “We’re not fucking animals, man. We just trade them or sell them off. Make a profit. Plenty of other people out there doing the same thing as we do. Easiest fucking job I’ve ever had, to be honest. All I have to do is sit back and keep the chicks in line.”
“What happens if they get out of line?” Riot asked.
“They don’t,” he shrugged. “Get enough drugs pumping through their pretty little veins and they’re docile as fucking kittens.”
The door opened again and this time the girl opening it held it open long enough for me to catch a peek inside. Half a dozen women lounged on dirty mattresses flung on the floor, all of them naked, or nearly so, and all of them appearing just as Tiny had described them — as docile as kittens.
My stomach churned imagining what they must be going through.
Riot glanced my way and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Hell, we were thinking the same thing. We needed to fix this shit and fix it fast.
But with the amount of firepower surrounding us, Riot and I were outnumbered by dozens. We’d never be able to make any real progress alone.
This was definitely a job for Solid Ground.
And it might just be the most dangerous job we’ve ever had.