Phoenix
After reassuring Ember, Coal, and Nathan we were okay, as well as Gram and Pop, I called the officers and Nathan into Church. There were a few loose ends we needed to tie up before we could put this whole mess behind us.
“How did they get you?” I asked Nathan.
“I was driving to the airport this morning and a truck came out of nowhere. He was all over my bumper and wouldn’t go around. I slowed down some, thinking he would pass me, but he rammed me instead, which sent me off the road and into a ditch. The next thing I knew, a man was at the window jabbing a needle into my neck. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in that warehouse,” Nathan explained.
“Did they say why they took you?” Badger asked.
“Yeah, they said it was for money. From what I understood, Octavius used to supply guns to the club that Gnaw belonged to. Since the operations at the farm were shut down over a year ago, Gnaw’s club has been losing money, or not making as much. Anyway, he said he wanted compensation for some of the money lost. He told Octavius he was going to take Mom, but every time his guy got close to her, one of the Blackwings got in the way.”
“Did he say who that guy was?” I asked, trying to contain the rage that was vibrating through my body.
“He said the guy was a prospect for the Disciples of Death. I think he said his name was Kevin.”
“What about Crystal, the girl that was in the warehouse? Did they mention how she played into this or what she was doing there?” I asked.
“Yeah, she’s Kevin’s sister. She was at their clubhouse complaining about Mom stealing you away from her to Kevin. Gnaw overheard their conversation. That’s how he knew Mom was back in town. Gnaw tasked Kevin with kidnapping Mom and Kevin got Crystal to help him out. She’s the one that told Gnaw about me and she’s the one who took your keys during the wedding reception to let Octavius out,” he explained.
“Do you know who shot her and why?” Badger asked.
“She showed up at the warehouse raising hell about them taking me instead of Mom. She was screaming at Gnaw about how he promised to get Mom out of the way so she could have Phoenix. She said if they were going back on their word, she was going back on hers and was going to tell the Blackwings everything. Gnaw shot her in the head before she could say anything else.”
I cleared my throat and tried to find the right words. “Nathan, is it going to be a problem for you to keep the events of today to yourself?” I carefully asked. I was hoping he would understand my meaning after having grown up around the Knights of Neptune.
He didn’t miss a beat. “Not if you can get your doctor to write me an excuse for my injuries and the drugs that are in my system so that I don’t lose my MMA contract,” he replied.
I smiled and nodded. “Not a problem. I’ll have Patch take care of that.”
“Then I can keep my mouth shut,” he said with a grin.
“You know what happened downstairs?” I asked, lowering my voice.
“Nope, not a clue,” he said with the corners of his mouth curling up into a mischievous grin.
I chuckled and shook my head. “Go see your mom while we finish up in here. Make sure she’s okay for me,” I said, though it was more of a plea.
He nodded and rose to his feet. “Will do.”
When he left, we immediately discussed how to handle Kevin. He followed my woman, tried to kidnap her, did help kidnap her son, and was instrumental in Octavius’s escape. His crimes could not go unpunished. I also wasn’t going to let another club make me look like a bitch by letting this go.
I took out my phone and placed a call to the Disciples of Death’s president himself. If he knew what one of his members and a prospect were up to or if he planted that whore in my club, he was in for a world of hurt, but I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he didn’t know, I was betting he would likely handle Kevin himself.
“Scream,” he answered, sounding annoyed with having to answer the phone.
“Phoenix Black.”
“Yeah?” he asked. His tone significantly different.
“Found out one of your members and a prospect of yours were conspiring to kidnap my Old Lady and did kidnap her son this morning. Just got back from handling that actually.”
“The fuck you talking about? Which member and prospect?” he barked.
“Member was Gnaw. Prospect is Kevin,” I said calmly.
“Motherfucking stupid son of a bitch! Wait, you said was. You killed him?”
“Gnaw, yes. Kevin, no. He wasn’t there. His sister was though. Not sure if her whoring for my club was a coincidence or intentional. Doesn’t really matter now, I suppose, since she took a bullet to the brain earlier today. What I want to know is if you knew about any of this?”
“Fuck no, I didn’t.”
“Oh, okay, if you say so then all is well and good,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Right. I’ll take care of Kevin. Send you proof. Will that do?” he asked. He sounded like he was getting a little nervous, as he should be.
“Possibly. Depends on how you take care of him and what kind of proof you supply. You have 24 hours,” I said and disconnected.
“All right, brothers, we’ll see what he comes up with. Good work today. Go enjoy what’s left of the day. I believe I have some folks to get to the airport.”