Chapter Six
Diablo stood in the back of the room with his feet apart and arms crossed as Steel hit the gavel against a wooden block. The brothers stopped talking and focused their gazes to the front of the table where Steel and Paco stood.
“Heard you had some trouble with the Pistons on Saturday. Paco filled me in on the details.”
“Those fuckers know better than to be in our territory.” Rooster Mike’s comment set off the brothers and they began cussing and yelling death threats.
Paco put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. “We know the fuckers shouldn’t have been there, but we gotta figure out what the hell they’re gonna do. From the way the brothers who were involved in the fight told it, the Pistons got their ass beat.” The room was filled with cheers and hoots. “We can celebrate that in the main room after church, but we have to figure out what’s our next step.”
Crow stood from his chair. “Steel’s right. I know these sonsofbitches from when I lived in Arizona. They’re not gonna forget.”
“And we know they’re still pissed about us shutting down their strip bar last summer,” Army said.
“Maybe they’ll get the 39th Street punks to hit us,” Chains said.
“No way they’d let inexperienced wannabes do their job. Anyway, there’s no satisfaction in passing off the hit.” Diablo pulled out a chair and sat down.
Steel nodded. “Diablo’s right. For now, the club is on high alert. Check out every single chick before she walks into the club.” Cue Ball, Eagle, and Jigger groaned. Steel gave them a hard look. “I know it’s going to be a pain in the ass on the weekends, but the club’s security and safety are number one. I’m going to have a couple brothers on Raven and Breanna. They’ll trade off with the prospects, who’ll be keeping their eyes on Shannon and Sam.”
“I can watch my own woman,” Tattoo Mike said.
“You’ll go fuckin’ crazy if you’re with her twenty-four seven,” Brutus replied. Chuckles circulated around the room.
“With her working in the ink shop, Sam and me spend a ton of time together. If I need the help, I’ll let you know.”
Steel nodded. “Okay. You gotta watch your kids too. Same goes for you.” He glanced at Rooster Mike. “We’re here to help. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, especially the old ladies and kids.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Piston shits knew some of our brothers were going to be there on Saturday. It just seems like something’s off here,” Paco said.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Diablo leaned his chair back against the wall. “And they came after our brothers arrived.”
“And when you were out back,” Sangre added.
The members began talking amongst themselves, their voices and anger bouncing off the walls as the minutes slipped away.
“We gotta take them down before they come for us,” Crow said.
Steel shook his head. “We’re not ready to start a war, but this makes me think that we’ve been too lax in building up our arsenal. We’ve had it pretty quiet since we put an end to the Skull Crushers.”
“Agreed.” Paco looked at Diablo. “Who do you think would’ve told the motherfuckers that Night Rebels were at the fights?”
Diablo pressed his lips together and ran his hand over his smooth head. “It had to be someone who knew the brothers were going to be there. It could be someone at the fights because our guys were there the week before. Not sure who it could’ve been, but I’ll look into it.”
“Maybe the Insurgents can help with finding out what the Pistons are up to. Hawk’s good at finding shit out about rival clubs.”
“I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, we’re on high alert. I’m putting Paco, Army, and Chains in charge of getting some arms deals. We gotta make sure we have the weapons if we end up going to war with the fuckers. I’ll also give Banger a call and see if he can lend us a hand. The Insurgents may have some guns they want to unload. That seems to be all for now. Church is over.” Steel brought the gavel down; the meeting was adjourned.
The brothers went to the big room, their low voices buzzing like a swarm of bees. They were all concerned about the unknown. The only thing that was certain was that the Satan’s Pistons would strike.
“I wondered when the Pistons were gonna come calling. The chickenshits waited a long time to strike.” Crow took the beer the prospect placed in front of him.
“And on Saturday, they ran off like the pussies they really are,” Goldie said.
“I don’t think they figured there were that many of us.” Muerto lifted his Dos Equis to his lips.
“That’s ’cause there were only five of us the Saturday before. Some fuck definitely tipped them off.” Army pounded his fist on the bar.
“You’re right. I’ll look into it, and when I find out who it is, I’m gonna crush the fucker.” Diablo slammed his empty beer bottle on the bar and it shattered.
Several of the club girls came over to the men. Maria, a cute woman with long dark brown hair, came over to Diablo. “Hiya,” she said as she leaned next to him.
A smile spread over his face. Maria and Lucy were the only club girls he hung out with when he was in the mood. They provided conversation and fun when he needed it. Maria had a softness about her that he really liked, and Lucy, a redhead, had a temper that turned him on. He wasn’t into threesomes, so when his sexual desires craved a release he’d either go to one or the other. If he was in a pissed-off mood, Maria’s gentleness calmed him. If he was in his not-giving-a-shit mood, Lucy’s fiery temperament charged him up.
“How’re things going?” he asked her.
“Good. It looks like you guys had a serious powwow in there.” Diablo pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. “I know. You can’t talk about it.” She ran her hand up his arm. “You gonna get me a drink?”
“Whatcha drinking?”
“Surprise me. I’ll meet you at the table.”
He walked over to the table, a beer in one hand and a tequila sour in the other. Maria pulled out a chair for him. “You been keeping pretty busy with your second job.” She wrapped her lips around the small straw and took a drink. “Yummy. Thanks.”
“I only work on Saturday nights if they need me. The rest of the time I’m still working at the mechanic shop.”
“I was downtown the other day and popped into Skid Marks to see you, but you weren’t there.”
“I must’ve been at the junkyard looking for parts.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then wiped her nose, giggling. “Your beard tickles. You know, I miss you. The last time we hooked up was a few weeks ago. Lucy said it’s been about the same for her. Aren’t you horny as hell about now?” She rested her hand on his thigh.
The warmth of her hand made his dick jerk, but his mind wasn’t where his body was. He gently held her hand, moving it away from his thigh. “I’m just not feeling it right now. You know me. I can wait a long while before I need your lovin’.” He winked at her as disappointment settled into the fine lines on her forehead. “Sangre’s horny as all hell.”
“Sangre’s always horny.” She laughed and he joined in.
He liked Maria’s easy-going nature, and if he were interested in a girlfriend, he might even consider her. But then there was Lucy, who also made him feel good. The two women complemented each other nicely; sometimes he wished he could combine them to make one woman.
“Anyway, I like being with you. I never told you this before, but you’re my favorite of the brothers, and not just for sex. Even though you’re not much of a talker, I always feel so comfortable with you.” Diablo’s gaze fixed on her. “And it doesn’t make me nervous when you do what you’re doing right now. Some of the other girls are like, ‘It makes me nervous when he just stares at you. It’s like he’s looking right into you,’ but I don’t see it that way. You’re just a very intense and sensitive guy. I know you want everyone to think you’re badass all the time, but I think there’s a real softness about you. Lucky the woman who can dig beyond the surface and reach your hidden, dark corners. I bet she’ll find a treasure trove.” She took the straw out of the drink and took a big gulp.
“Maybe she’ll find dark demons she won’t be able to tame.” He took another swig of his beer.
“Maybe. Hell, we all got shit we keep from other people. Most of the time it’s easier to pretend that you don’t have a past, that the present is the only thing that matters.”
“I’ll drink to that.” He motioned for Patches to bring him another round.
“Since you never go with anyone but me and Lucy, I figure you must like us the best.”
He nodded. “Wasn’t too hard to figure that one out.”
“You ever wanna try out one of the other club girls? I was just curious.” She stirred her fresh tequila sour with her straw.
“Nope.”
“Hey, Maria, you busy?” Sangre asked as he sat on the chair next to her.
“Can’t you see Diablo and me are talking?” She sipped her drink.
“Sorry, dude. I didn’t know you guys had something going right now.” Sangre wiped the corners of his mouth. “I was just horny and Maria popped in my mind.”
Maria looked at Diablo and laughed while Sangre looked confused. “You good if I entertain Sangre? You know you got first dibs.” She placed her hand over his.
“Go on. Have a good time,” Diablo said.
She finished her drink, then slowly rose from her chair. Sangre tugged her to him. Throwing a soft smile at Diablo, she walked away with Sangre.
Watching the tips of her long hair swaying just above her butt, a girl from his past pushed through the cobwebs in his mind. Hannah. Fuck. I haven’t thought about her in years. She’d been the only one he gave his heart to, and she’d been the first to decimate it.
“Any news on when the next fights are gonna be?” Goldie’s voice startled him. The past scampered to the dark recesses of his mind.
“Not yet. The asshole promoter’s trying to set something up as soon as possible. I’ll let you know.”
“You don’t like him?”
“Nah.”
“Any reason why?”
Diablo shrugged. “He rubs me the wrong way. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“It’s gonna fuckin’ suck to check out each chick who wants to party with us. I bet they’ll stop coming. Those asshole Pistons have fucked everything up,” Jigger said as he sat at the table.
“They’ll still come. Chicks can’t resist a bad boy. And they’re fuckin’ crazy for biker cock.” Army placed a bottle of Jack and five shot glasses on the table.
As Army, Goldie, Jigger, and Skull—who’d joined them—spoke, Diablo threw back the shot of Jack Army had given him and let his mind wander. It landed where it always did for the past two weeks—Fallon. When he first saw her, he was struck by how pretty her eyes were and how delicate-looking she was. The sprinkling of freckles that lay over the bridge of her nose made her look young—he put her at twenty, but he couldn’t be sure—and she was slender with small breasts and hips.
It disturbed him that she got angry when he told her she was beautiful. She’s been hurt real bad by some jerk. I wonder how she got her limp. She may have been born with a club foot, or had an accident. He’d been surprised by it, and he suspected it was one of the reasons she was so shy. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He’d have to go slow with her. After spending that little bit of time with her, she reminded him of a little bird who’d broken its wing.
And for some unknown reason, he wanted to fix her wing so she could be whole and fly.