KING
We pulled off the road at a small roadside diner about half an hour later. I climbed off my bike and went inside, Drew close behind me. We grabbed a booth near the back and took a seat.
“What are we doing here?” Drew asked.
“Grabbing something to drink,” I said. “And trying to figure out what in the hell we're doing.”
Drew shook his head, a rueful grin on his face. “And here I thought you had a plan.”
I smirked. “When have you ever known me to have a plan?”
Drew shrugged. “Fair point.”
The waitress came over and took our orders. I ordered a Coke and then added a club sandwich and fries. Drew looked at me questioningly.
“Hey, if we're going down in flames, I at least want a full belly when we go.”
He nodded. “I'll take the same,” he said to the waitress.
She left our table and a moment later brought back our drinks, setting them down in front of us. She wasn't a very friendly lady, didn't chat us up much, and barely even made eye contact. We were used to it, though. We were bikers and more or less looked the part. People were intimidated by us and usually crossed to the other side of the street when they saw us coming. It was stupid, really. We weren't the type to go beating on innocent people for no reason. But some stigma and stereotypes never washed away.
“I tried calling Dawkins a little earlier,” Drew said. “While you were in with Abbie.”
“And?”
He shook his head. “Couldn't reach him.”
I sighed and leaned back in the booth. “Yeah, I don't have a great feeling about this.”
Drew took a sip of his coke and fell silent. I could see his mind working, though. I knew he was turning something over in his head.
“What is it?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Why would they snatch Dawkins?” he asked. “It doesn't make any sense. What's going on here, man?”
Drew didn't know about the heroin the Incas wanted us to start running for them. He hadn't been at the meeting where we talked about it – and rejected the idea. The club didn't approve it and I sure as hell wasn't going to approve it. Running pot was one thing. Running heroin was something else entirely – something I wasn't about to fuck around with. All I wanted to do was get those assholes to pay up what they owed us and then I never wanted to see any of them again. That money was my way out of this life.
After that meeting, we hadn't brought it up again. There didn't seem to be any need to. The club had a unanimous vote to reject the job. And because the idea died on the vine, when he'd gotten back into town, I hadn't thought to tell Drew about what El Segador wanted from us.
And now one of my guys was likely dead because of it. Whatever happened to Dawkins was on me. I'd underestimated the threat and felt like complete and utter shit about it. And it was why I was hesitant to give Drew all of the details now. But he deserved to know.
I sighed. “El Segador is trying to change the rules of the game.”
Drew cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
I took a sip of my Coke and still warred within myself about the best way to approach the subject. He wasn't going to like the fact that he was kept in the dark about it – unintentionally though it may have been.
“He's holding up our payment on the first deal,” I said, “because he wants us to do more work for him.”
“More work? What do you mean more work?” Drew asked slowly.
I looked around, making sure nobody was within earshot but still pitching my voice low anyway. “He wanted us to start running heroin for the Incas.”
“You're fuckin' kidding me?”
I shook my head. “Wish I was.”
The waitress picked that moment to stop by and drop off our sandwiches. Drew looked at his with an expression of distaste, like he'd lost his appetite.
“Eat,” I said. “You need food in your belly.”
We ate in silence for a few moments, Drew avoiding my eyes. He finally looked up at me and I could see the anger in his eyes, though he fought to restrain it.
“Why wasn't I told about this, man?” he asked, his voice low, cold. “I should have fuckin' been told about this.”
I nodded. “You're right and I'm sorry for that, bro,” I said. “It all came down when you were in Mexico. I took it to the club and it was a unanimous no. It was an absolute non-starter, and with everything else going on, I forgot to mention it to you when you got back. I'm sorry, man.”
Drew sighed and waved his hand. “Don't worry about it. I would have voted no, too. There's no way in hell I want to start messing with that shit. Especially not with those pricks.”
“Exactly,” I said.
He leaned back in his seat and pushed his mostly empty plate away from him. “And now, because we're not going to play ball, these assholes are snatching our guys and cutting their fuckin' hands off?”
I shook my head. “I honestly don't know what's going on right now.”
“If this shit turns out to be true, you know we have to retaliate,” Drew said.
“I don't want to start a war here, man.”
Drew shook his head. “If they killed Dawkins, we can't let that shit go unanswered. We just can't, man. You know that.”
Drew was usually the level-headed one. Roy was my right hand man, but Drew acted as the moral compass of the club. He kept things in perspective. Had a good head on his shoulders. And was the one man in the club I could count on to think things through before acting. Most of the guys had short fuses, but it was usually Drew who helped keep them all in check.
But he was fired up about this. And with him now starting to beat the war drum, I was even more concerned. If Dawkins was really dead, I had to take it to the club for a vote. And deep down, I really feared they would vote to go to war with the Incas. It was the last thing I wanted or needed. Hell, it was the last thing any of us wanted or needed.
I had to do whatever it took to avoid that scenario playing out.
“No, we can't let a challenge like that go unanswered. I agree,” I said. “But we need to think this through, man. We can't go off all half-cocked. If there is a war coming, we need to play it smart. We need to stake out the high ground and make them fight on our terms. The last thing I want is anybody else getting hurt. Or worse.”
Drew let out a breath, but nodded. “No, you're right. Let's just take this one step at a time.”
I nodded, feeling a sense of relief that he seemed mollified – for the moment. If we rolled into their clubhouse and found what I was fearing we'd find, I was worried that fire inside of Drew was going to explode, turning into an all consuming inferno – one that would spread to the entire club.
“One step at a time,” I agreed. “Let's get rolling.”
I threw some cash down on the table for the check and a generous tip. Walking back out into the heat of the day, we mounted our bikes and headed off into the unknown – and potentially deadly.