Chapter Thirty-Two
Clint
Snake and I stared at each other from across the table. Buffalo fucking Bill was neutralized in the corner and Roach was standing guard over Jo. Everyone was safe and it was time to do business.
“I want to make you guys a deal, and I want both parties to like this deal because this business is going to grow and we all need to get along if we’re gonna share in the profits.” I told Snake. “But before we make any decisions, I’ve got some requests first.”
“I’m very interested,” Snake replied. “We’ve heard good things about the Horde and want a piece of your pie. Tell me what you need and we’ll make it happen.”
“I don’t like the way Bill treated my girl—and neither did she. He’s lucky she didn’t kill him herself.” I tapped my finger on the table between us. “He could have called her much worse, but I want to make it damn clear—the Horde has chapters all up and down the West Coast and members from all over. We don’t put up with that shit.”
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing here?” Snake dropped his voice to a whisper. He surveyed the room to see who was listening. “You’re grooming us. I get it, but last time I checked, my cut still said Silver Souls. I got a lot of shit to work out internally and can’t control what the guys think. All I can offer you right now is my word and a handshake.”
“Fine.” I liked Snake. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but at least he was being real with me. “What about Bill? I don’t want to deal with that asshole ever again.”
“Yeah...” Snake squirmed a bit in his seat. “I’m gonna step up to the table as prez. It’s gonna take a vote and all, but I think I’ve got the backing for it. Bill is gonna retire and won’t have any voting privileges.”
I turned to the guy sitting next to Snake; I thought they had introduced him as Traveler. “Your man Snake here, does he have the votes to be prez?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Traveler answered, looking me in the eyes. “This been coming a long-ass time. Ain’t no one surprised that it finally went down.”
“I’m gonna leave it to you guys to keep him the hell away from our business dealings.” I waited for both men to nod in agreement. “If I ever see him again, the deal is done. Got it?”
“Loud and clear,” Snake assured me. “He’s gone—we’ll deal with him internally.”
Since we all seemed to be on good terms, I ran through our vehicle import operation. I explained to him that we got the cars through customs and then modified them to pass smog in their destination state.
“The drop-off contact is George, here in South Reno. We’ll handle all the transport, but we’re ready to offer you some cash for the pass-through. Five percent just for allowing us to take our cars through your turf is a good deal,” I explained. “As a sign of good faith, I’m gonna tell you that Lambo deal was sixty grand.” I pulled another stack of cash out of my pocket and put it on the table between us. “I already gave Bill a thousand, so here’s the other two.”
“Oh, shit.” Snake rubbed his beard and blinked. He hadn’t been expecting it. Good. I was hoping that the element of surprise would work. “That’s a damn fine deal. We’ll take it. Y’all just give us a call whenever you want to come to town and we’ll arrange protection or anything else you might need.”
“It’s a deal.” I reached out to him for a handshake. This shit was done.
“I’ll be in town a little while longer,” I told Snake and Traveler as Rip and I got up from the bench. “I think my prez will wanna talk tomorrow. I’ll set up a call and let you know the time.”
We said our goodbyes and got the hell out of there. I held Jo’s hand as we went down the back stairs and headed to the hotel. Rip and Roach were a half a block ahead, giving Jo and me a little bit of privacy as we walked.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I didn’t hurt him much, right?”
“You didn’t hurt him at all.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her next to me as we walked. “He’s gonna be fine. There was hardly any blood even. He was more pissed that his club was turning on him.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” Jo’s voice was quiet and trembling just a little.
Stopping in front of the hotel, I turned to her. “Buffalo Bill was a fucking asshole. You were scared and he made a move. All you did was defend yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?” I looked into her eyes as I said it, but I wasn’t sure she believed me.
Finally, she nodded in agreement. “I didn’t do anything wrong. He’s not hurt.”
Jo was a little quiet as we got to the room. I backed off and let her shower—alone. She crawled into bed as I was on the phone with Tate explaining what had happened. Then I had to call Volk in California and recount the night’s happenings again. By the time I got off the phone, she was fast asleep.