Chapter Thirty-Two
Van
We make our way to Tito’s office, all of the officers following us. Tito takes his seat behind the desk, and I plop down in one of the empty chairs. One by one, all the officers enter the room ‘til Brass finally comes in and shuts the door.
“It’s fucking good to be home,” Tito says, leaning back in his chair. “Right now, I want nothing more than a cold beer and some warm pussy, but that’s gonna have to wait. We have shit that needs to be dealt with.”
“Can’t help you with the pussy, but I can’t get you a beer,” Taz says as he walks over to the fridge and pulls out a beer, tossing it Tito’s way.
He immediately pops the top and takes a drink, downing half of it in one long gulp. By the look on his face, it must taste like liquid gold. I get it, been there before. I understand how it feels and get the need that is eating him alive right now.
Last year, I had to spend ninety days inside for a piss ant assault and battery charge. The first thing Brass did when he picked me up was hand me a joint. By the time we got to the clubhouse, I was flying high. I spent the next few hours with one of the club whores then spent the rest of the night sitting at the bar.
I’m not an addict. I may like to drink and enjoy a good smoke, may even feel the need to do a line now and again, but I don’t have to have any of it to survive. For me, it was all about doing what I want to do, when I want to do it.
“That covers one of my thirsts,” Tito says, setting the beer down on the desk.
The brothers and I share a laugh before I move on to business. “Erin taught Ram how to make our phones untraceable.”
Ram explains how the phones work, using words I don’t even understand. He goes on and on, making me want to use my fist to shut him up. By the time he’s done, Tito is rolling his eyes.
“I know what you mean, brother, so I don’t need a blow by blow,” he says, motioning for someone to bring him another cold one. “We can talk about all this shit later. I want to hear about the fucking asshole that thinks he can just kill off my girl.”
Walker quickly updates Tito on everything we learned from Miles. He goes into detail about the drug dealer, letting me know that he has a good handle on the shit. He tells him about the guy he paid to take Ronni out then explains the shit with the loan shark. We all throw ideas back and forth, finally deciding to send Taz to Chicago and put a bullet in the drug dealer that took money to kill Ronni.
“The loan shark is a different story,” Walker states with a shake of his head. “Getting rid of some drug slinging piece of shit may be simple, but we’re not gonna be able to take out Benny Gillespie that easily.”
“He’s right about that,” Ram agrees, lighting up a smoke. “I did some research on the man when we found out he was looking for Veronica to pay her brother’s debt.”
“That fucker isn’t her brother,” Tito growls before I can get the words out.
Ram simply nods then goes on to explain what he has learned. “Gillespie’s not a made man, but he has connections to some powerful families. Those connections seem to have his back every time he gets his ass in a sling.”
“Care to explain?” Walker asks, his voice hard.
“He’s been indicted on five different murder charges, in three different states, but not one of them has stuck. He’s a person of interest in over a dozen more,” Ram explains, taking a drag off his smoke. “I couldn’t even count how many other charges he’s had against him, but he’s never spent one fucking night in jail.”
“You got any suggestions?” I ask, tension filling my body.
Ever since he told me about the loan shark, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out a way around this shit. I’ve come up with a million ideas, but none of them are really going to fix shit. I realize we can’t go to him guns blazing, but that’s what I want to do. Every instinct in me is screaming for me to do anything I have to do to make sure my woman is safe.
“We can go to war with the bastard, but as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think it’s a war we’re gonna win,” Walker says, walking over and propping himself against the corner of the desk. “I fucking hate to say it, but I really think we should pay this fucker off. That’s the only way we’re gonna know for sure he and his men will leave Veronica alone.”
I can see the anger on my brother’s face as he says his piece. It’s got to be killing him, even considering letting this asshole go again. Gillespie killed his brother and beat his mom. Walker has to want to take his ass out in the worst way.
“Even if we pull together all the club’s money, there is no way we could cover that dickhead’s debt,” Brass says from his spot on the couch.
“No, but Ronni could, or she will be able to soon, when she turns twenty-five,” I say, finally seeing a way out of this shit. “She’ll be able to cover it, with interest. Hopefully, that interest will keep Gillespie off her back until her birthday.
“Fuck,” Tito grumbles, twisting the top of the beer Brass just handed him. “She’ll do it, no questions asked, but I hate for her to even get involved in this shit.”
I agree with Tito. Ronni doesn’t need to be part of this. She’s been through enough already. I don’t talk to her about it, not unless she brings it up. Even then, I cut her off as quickly as I can. I don’t want her to spend another minute thinking about her stepbrother or the rest of her fucked up family. She has us now; she doesn’t even need to think about them.
Taz takes a sip of his own beer and says, “I’d say she’s already involved, wouldn’t you? I mean, it is her ass on the line here.”
No one replies, but we all nod, knowing he is right. She is up to her neck in this shit, and she is going to have to be the one to get herself out of it. I wish there was some way for me to come up with the money, but I’ve never seen that much cash in my entire life.
“Van, you talk to her tonight. Make sure she knows what is going down,” Tito orders then looks at Walker. “I want you to go to Vegas and talk to Gillespie, see how much he’ll need to hold the debt a little longer and make sure he knows he will get his money in August.”
Walker shakes his head, his face a mask of rage. “You don’t want me saying a thing to that motherfucker. I’d do anything for you, brother, but I don’t think I can look at that man without snapping his fucking neck.”
When I see Tito’s face fill with rage, I cut in. “There’s a history there, Pres. Believe me; Walker does not need to be the one talking to that bastard.”
Tito looks at Walker for a minute then takes in a deep breath. “I can understand that because I feel the same way right now. If I thought I could look in that man’s eyes without pulling my piece, I’d be the one to go.”
There is no way I can go. I’d take the motherfucker out the minute I laid eyes on him. That only leaves Brass and Taz. I wouldn’t trust anyone else. No fucking way would I send Ram to do something this important.
“Why don’t you head out, see how shit is going in the common room,” Tito says, obviously thinking the same thing as I am.
He nods, realizing he is being dismissed. He walks out without another word. Ram is a good guy, a trustworthy brother, but he spends too much time sitting behind a computer to know how to deal with shit like this. He may be an officer, the club secretary, but he is kept in the dark about a lot of the things that go down. He’s not stupid, a long way from it, but Ram doesn’t have any idea how much blood Riot MC has shed.
As soon as the door shuts, Tito looks between Brass and Taz. “Either one of you up for a trip to Vegas?”
“The Grim Bastards took on a charter club in Vegas,” Brass states, letting Tito in on some of the shit he missed while inside. “I think we should use that local connection. I could ride out there, get them to set up the meeting. Then, I can handle it from there.”
Tito seems surprised for a second before nodding. “I’ll make a call to Boz. Be ready to leave by Wednesday.”
“No problem,” Brass responds with a nod.
“Now that this shit is over, I’ve got some trash to take out,” Tito says before opening up his desk and pulling out his piece.
Standing up, he slides it into the back of his pants and walks toward the door. We all follow him, knowing exactly where we are going. He avoids everyone and heads to the back door. We quickly walk the distance to the hole. Stopping in front of the brother standing guard, Tito gives him a chin lift.
“The old ladies laid out one hell of a spread. Go on and get yourself a plate,” he orders, slapping the brother’s shoulder.
Knowing what is going to happen, the man nods and walks away. Tito takes a quick look around, making sure no one is near enough to hear what is about to happen. Then, he unlocks the door and starts climbing down the stairs.
As soon as we get inside, Miles jumps from the cot he had been sleeping on and looks around. When his eyes land on Tito, his face loses all color. He starts backing away, plastering himself to the wall, and whimpers like a baby.
“No, no, no,” he chants, shaking his head back and forth.
Tito doesn’t say shit, just walks up to him and places the muzzle of his pistol right between his eyes. Without delay, he pulls the trigger. He stands there a second or two, watching the asshole’s body slide to the floor.
When he finally turns back to look our way, he has a sliver of a smile on his face. “I was gonna play with him, have a bit of fun, but I haven’t gotten my dick wet in a month. I’d rather play with pussy than this fucker.”
We all chuckle before walking out and leaving the mess for later.