AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He only laughs harder.
Fucking assholes, every single one of my brothers. And I missed the shit out of them.
“What’s next?”
“Priest wants to talk to you,” Rooster says. “I got a secure burner all set up for you to make the call.”
“All right. He give you anything?”
“No, but I’m guessing he’s not real thrilled with us at the moment.”
Take a number. I’m not thrilled with myself right now. Although, other than not being part of the club, I’m not sure how I could’ve avoided this current mess.
“When’s he expecting the call?”
“He said whenever you were ready.”
“Fuck.” Probably should’ve done that first. Last thing I need is Priest to think I’m disrespecting him.
Not that I don’t trust Rooster, but I’m not feeling the love for anyone at the moment so I search my office quickly before sitting down to call Priest.
“Yeah?” comes the gruff voice of our national president.
“It’s me. Your problem child.”
He blows that off with a laugh. “You’re the least of my concerns.”
“It’s Z,” I remind him.
“Yeah, asshole,” he grumbles over the line, as clear as if he was standing right in front of me. “I know who it is. I heard what’s up. You out?”
“Don’t know for how long.”
He’s silent, absorbing how serious this might be. “You do it?”
“Fuck no.”
“Another brother?”
“Possibly. I’m not sure. We had a change in leadership recently.”
“Heard about that.” He pauses. Probably looking for a tactful way to ask if we put Shadow to ground. “He go nomad?”
“Yup.”
“Should we be looking for him before the cops find him?”
“Probably.”
“All right.” He’s quiet again and I wait for what’s next. “You got my full support, Z. But you understand why I can’t be up there now, right?”
Of course I do. If I do go down for this arson, the club will want to distance themselves. Say I acted alone. Otherwise, the government might come in and try to make a RICO case that all of our clubs across the country were involved somehow. Weak? Sure. Doesn’t mean they won’t try it. Several clubs have been through that bullshit. We always manage to stay clear and want to keep it that way. Not to mention if he has to come run a charter every time someone goes to jail, he’d have to close down a hell of a lot of clubs.
“Yeah, Prez. I understand.”
“You need anything, though, don’t be afraid to reach out.”
“I won’t.”
“Rooster’s your new VP?”
“Yes, sir. I think he’ll be a good fit. He’s been vital to helping the club through this difficult transition.”
“Good. Good. How’s Sway?”
“Better last I saw him. I just made bail today. Planning to go see him next.”
“All right. Give him my best.”
“Will do.”
I hang up, not feeling much more reassured than before I made the phone call. But at least Priest won’t be showing up on our doorstep any time soon.
Chapter Nineteen
Z
Damn, it’s exhausting getting out of jail. I didn’t spend nearly enough time with my family and I still need to go talk to Sway.
“Want to visit Sway with me?” I ask Rooster. Better let Sway get used to Rooster being VP now. Fuck knows, Rooster’s done more in a couple weeks to earn his job than Shadow did in his whole miserable life.
“Yeah, brother.”
We ride over alone. I’m careful to pay attention to the speed limit and everything else on the way. Don’t want to give the cops any excuses to toss me back inside.
We find spots near the entrance and make our way to Sway’s room.
Tawny’s sitting with Sway. From what I’ve heard, she’s been here all day every day. I’d love to be a cynical dick about it, but whatever. If they’re working out their issues, great.
“I’ll leave you boys alone.” She sways her hips over to Rooster and plants a bordering-on-creepy kiss on his cheek, then mine. “Go easy. He needs his rest,” she warns us before strutting out the door.
Sway watches her go with a doofy smile on his face. “Who knew hospital handjobs could be so much fun?” he quips when she’s gone.
Christ.
“More than I needed to know, brother,” Rooster says.
“More than anyone ever needs to know,” I add.
“Fuck off. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Things are good?” I hold up a hand. “Besides getting jacked off?”
He grins. “Things are looking up.” His words come out a bit slurred and he shakes his head. “Still having issues with speech therapy, but it’s not like I was gifted in that area before, right?”
Nothing like getting shot to humble a man. “I don’t know. You sure run your mouth enough.”
Not insulted, he laughs for a minute or two, then turns serious. “Heard you were inside. What’s going on?”
I glance at Rooster who nods. Guess he gave Sway a head’s up, but not the whole story.
I pull one of the chairs closer to Sway’s bed and give him the details.
“Fucking Malone. He was always a pain in my ass.”
I’m not here to debate that or ask him why he kept working with DeLova if it caused him so much trouble. “Who are you close to in law enforcement around here?”
“Fuck, Z. Used to be the Union County sheriff, but he retired last year. His replacement is no fan of ours.”
“What about Union City PD?”
“Got a few guys I can get information from, but no one high up.”
My stare must be saying a thousand words. How the fuck do you run an MC without a few friends in strategic places?
“I don’t have the connections Rock’s always had,” he says.
The bitterness in his tone isn’t lost on me but I try hard not to roll my eyes at the piss-poor excuse.
“Why you think I’ve been trying to move us to the porn stuff?” he insists.
“Well, the cops got a hard-on for us now. So, what else
were you up to with DeLova?”
“Pickups. Protection. Running supplies from outside the city up to the Demons. That’s it. Nothing local should give a shit about.” He stops and seems to think harder. “Call DeLova. He’s got juice everywhere.”
“I’d rather not ask that prick for any favors.” No fucking way do I want to be indebted to DeLova for anything. I’d rather pin my hopes that Jigsaw can help Shadow’s wife put on a convincing performance.
“We’re working another angle,” Rooster says.
“If it doesn’t pan out, I’ll talk to DeLova,” I promise. I probably won’t have a choice.
“DeLova must’ve gotten paid. If Malone really burned it down for the insurance money. Probably got paid and put Malone to ground.”
“I don’t know if the insurance would’ve paid out if there was an open arson investigation.”
“True. Let me call my guy and see what I can find out. You may have to meet with him.” Sway clenches his fists. “Shoulda had you do that right away.”
“Easy, brother. You’ve been a little preoccupied.” Christ, last thing I want is Sway feeling guilty about this. The guy did take a bullet to the head. I think he’s suffered enough.
Sway nods absently. He’s already looking exhausted and I probably pushed him farther than I should’ve, considering his condition.
“Right now, everything’s good, brother.” I strive for an upbeat tone. “I’m out on bail. No conditions were set other than I show up for all court appearances and don’t leave the state. Talked to Priest this morning and he’s not coming up.”
“Thank fuck,” Sway mutters. “I’ll call my guy, Trey. We usually meet at the junkyard out on West Parkway.”
“All the way out there?” Rooster asks.
Sway shoots a glare at him. “Where would you suggest? Downtown Union? In front of the Police Department?”
