Talking to
Hale, Rex, and Petey (the guy who ran the finances for the MC) proved that
everyone had an opinion but took no action.
There was supposed to be a drop off
and pick up … and that ’ s when the cartel attacked. The
press of a button and Rusted Devil were on their ass, almost completely wiped
out. They all feared the cartel would be back again. Not that Jake gave a damn,
just as long as the cartel didn ’ t
try anything with pushing into Frelen and Back Down Devil territory.
“ I
can ’ t get it right, ” the woman said and wiggled her
ass.
Jake pushed her out of the way and
grabbed his beer. He went right to the bar, right to Apollo. The President sat
there, deep in thought. Jake wanted to trust in the judgment of a man who wore
the patch, but he needed proof.
“ I ’ m not going to fuck around, Apollo, ” Jake said. “ I ’ m
here to patch in and to fight. But I want to know about the cartel and what the
fuck happened. ”
“ You
talk like you know way too much, ” Apollo said.
“ I ’ ve heard stories. I don ’ t drink at normal bars, Apollo.
I ’ ve shared the bar with
lots of rough guys. I ’ ve
heard plenty. You have guys pushing north, right? You worked a deal and they ’ re fucking you. ”
“ Perhaps, ” Apollo said. “ We got plenty up front. Built a
new warehouse. Worked out distribution. ”
“ Then
they took it back, ” Jake
said.
“ Yeah. ”
“ Why? ”
“ That ’ s what keeps me up at night, ” Apollo said. “ That ’ s why when you go into the snake pit , you
better come out alive. We need the cash. I have a guy who owes me a favor. I ’ m stocking up on guns and
sending a message to the cartel. ”
“ What
message is that? ” Jake
asked.
“ Don ’ t fuck with us. We ’ ll keep rebuilding. The deal is
over, Jake. That ’ s why I
think they ’ re pushing at
us. We did everything and then some. So they wipe us out. Make us scramble. ”
“ You
send guys to other towns? ”
“ Yeah, ” Apollo said. “ Lost a few guys that way. Just
trying to pick up cash. You know …” Apollo rubbed his chin. “… I could give the cartel some intel on other MC ’ s.
I could sell the fucking whole lot of them out. I know guys in Coast Road MC
are using the water to move drugs. Those thugs in Eight Under and like roaches.
Then the top dog of it all … Back Down Devil MC. You ever hear of them? ”
“ I ’ ve heard of a lot, ” Jake said.
“ Yeah,
well, last I heard, they ’ re
in trouble. Local PD is coming at them hard. Some old deals are crumbling.
Fuck, we could sweep in and knock them back. ”
“ So
what ’ s stopping you? ” Jake asked.
“ Right
now? You. ”
“ Me? ”
“ We
need the cash, ” Apollo
said.
“ No
pressure, huh? ” Jake said.
He ordered another drink.
Apollo stood up. “ I ’ ll
make it simple. ” He put a
hand to Jake ’ s shoulder. “ You ’ re either to live or die. If you die in the snake
pit , there ’ s nothing.
We won ’ t take your body. We ’ ll leave you there to become
bones. If you make it out with a loss on your back, just put a bullet in your
head, because either me or Kami will do it. If you win and we win the cash …” Apollo grinned.
He never finished his sentence. He
walked away, the shadow of darkness down the hallway from the bar eating him
up.
When Jake turned, Kami stood a foot
away.
“ Christ, ” Jake said. “ You trying to pinch me? ”
“ I
need a favor, ” Kami said.
“ What? ”
“ How
much have you had to drink? ”
“ A
little. ”
“ You
good to ride? ”
“ I ’ m always good to ride, Kami.
What ’ s wrong? ”
“ I
got into a fight with Keira. Said some shit I shouldn ’ t have. This cartel thing …”
“ What
happened? ” Jake asked.
Easy, man. Don ’ t look so eager.
“ Just
some bullshit, ” Kami said. “ Can you go check on her? Make
sure she got home okay? ”
“ Yeah,
sure, ” Jake said. “ Was kind of hoping to talk about
things
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley