Call Me...Vengeance: Book 1 in the Vengeance MC Series (23 page)

“Boss, you got a minute?” Sarge calls, halting my search for Beth.

Spending the last hour and a half in church when I’d rather have been in bed with Beth was bad enough, but if I’m going to have to listen to Sarge bitch me out for leaving him with three women I’m going to need a fucking beer.

Stepping up to the bar, I motion for Green to hook me up. Taking a long swallow, I take a seat on my stool, saying,

“That’s about all I’ve got, brother. Make it fast, yeah?”

My impatience isn’t solely related to wanting to get my hands on Beth’s magnificent body again, although that does factor highly on my list of scheduled afternoon activities. The other part revolves around the shit we just went over during church. New information has been acquired about Hells Riders. Or should I say, new players have been revealed. It doesn’t matter which way you slice it, none of it’s good. In fact, it’s fucked up is what it is.

Gage, Sly, Jump, and Fury did what was needed, and asked around to see if there was any chatter about what was going down in Hells Riders camp. With Diesel off the grid, we might be light on the ground but they pulled through.

Speaking of Diesel, his time was coming to an end. And fast at that. He’d been hung up on Cami, obsessing over her really, for too fucking long. Until now, I’d been worried about my best friend and brother, and willing to cut him some slack when it came to the woman he’s in love with. But after what went down last night, him not showing for church today, and not answering his fucking phone any one of the fifteen times I’d called, I was more determined than ever have a word with him he wouldn’t be able to misunderstand.

It’s one thing to make sure your woman is safe and taken care of, it’s another to desert you brothers, you club, your family when the shit is about to hit the fan. If Diesel’s concern for Cami is that fucking high, then he can do like the rest of us have and lock her down here. Not to mention, that plan has the added benefit of his ass being around when he’s needed too.

Taking the seat beside me, Sarge groans demanding Green get him something stronger than a beer. When the bottle of whiskey and a shot glass is deposited in front of him, he pours and downs three before speaking.

“I might be old, but if you ever do that shit to me again, I’ll kick your ass. I swear to Christ, dealing with those women was like herding feral fucking cats.”

Sighing, I ask,

“Which one gave you trouble, old man?”

“Fuck you, and fuck you a second time for asking which one. The better question is who didn’t make me wanna scratch out my eyes and rip my own goddamn ears off.”

Taking another deep pull on my beer, I don’t want to know but I’ll play along.

“Okay, which one didn’t turn you into a whining pussy then?”

Slapping me upside the back of my head, Sarge scowls at me. He’s lucky I’ve got nothing but love and respect for the man who stepped up to be a father figure to me, because if I didn’t, I’d lay his ass out for doing something like that. Not one other man, brother or not would get away with that shit, and he knows it too.

“Shut your mouth boy, I’ve got every right to bitch after dealing with them. Next time, I’ll take your seat and do the easy job and you can corral those bitches. Sound good?” He prompts, with no trace of humor.

“Spit it out, Sarge. I wanna get back to my woman, and as pretty as you are, you just don’t do it for me.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the picture of beauty either, but you don’t hear me complaining when I’ve gotta look at your ugly mug,” he grins. Grin quickly disappearing his expression turns serious. “I don’t know what you were thinking bringing Laura here, but you’re gonna need to have a word with her.”

Before I can interrupt, he waves me off. “I know your history with her boy. You don’t need to explain shit to me, but you might wanna tell her that’s what she is, history because right now I’m thinking she’s not altogether clear on that.”

“What the fuck happened?” I groan, not liking where this is headed.

“B and her got into it, and your new woman got caught up in it. If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it, but Beth stood her ground and gave it back as good as she got.” Smiling widely, he adds, “In a fucking classy, less bitchy way, but it still did the job. Don’t know where Laura took off to, but she was none too happy with being put in her place by your new woman that’s for sure.”

I won’t say it makes me happy Beth had to deal with shit from Laura, but fuck if it doesn’t make me proud she was able to handle herself. It only proves I was right about her. She’s perfect old lady material, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Sarge isn’t the first man who’s voiced his confusion over why Laura’s here, Fury, Sly, Cash, and Spook have too. And I’ll tell him what I told them.

“You know I can’t leave her swinging, brother. It’s been years, sure, but word gets back to Nix she was ever a part of my life, or how much of one, she’s at just as much risk as the next woman. As much as you boys don’t like her being here, put yourself in my shoes for a minute and think about how much I fucking hate it. The last thing I want is to risk the good thing I’ve just started with Beth, but it is what it is.”

Slapping a hand down on the bar, Sarge shifts off his seat turning to face me.

“I’ve got your back, you know that. Always. And that’s not only because you’re my Prez. Watched you grow from a scared, unsure little kid into the man you are today, and it’s been a fucking pleasure. I’d like to think I had a hand in guiding you, and that only make me prouder of how you turned out. You’re a good man, Jackson. Loyal, strong, smart as a fucking whip, and if you say she’s gotta be here then I trust that. But I’ll warn you now, keep an eye on her. I don’t know what it is, but my gut’s telling me something’s not right about your ex. Nothing she said, other than being her typical brand of bitch. But still, better to give you the heads up.”

Rising. I give him a one-armed hug.

“Means a lot coming from you, old man. And don’t doubt you had plenty to do with me turning my life around, you did. Thanks for the warning, too. I’ll keep an eye on her. Keep my ears open too.”

“All you can do,” he states before taking off for his recliner.

I made the decision as church was winding down that I was going to take Beth back to my place tonight. I want some time just her and me. Knowing there aren’t going to be many opportunities for that soon, I decide I’ll just have to make use of the time we have right now.

The meeting this morning heralded different result than I’d hoped for, but, at least, we’d started getting some solid intel on the player we were up against.

Sly got hold of. Liam, a Devil’s Spawn brother whose family runs a private security and investigations company out of Dallas. Apparently, they’re able to run checks and pull information even the FBI has trouble getting their hands on, which works for us.

According to what Brookes, Liam’s older brother could gather at short notice, Hells Riders have recently retained the services of a shady fucking lawyer who goes by the name of, Oliver Markham. Rumor has it, this prick is as good at his job as he is corrupt. He’s represented senators accused of taking bribes, elitists caught embezzling, and wealthy men charged with crimes as reprehensible as rape and aggravated assault off the hook. This begs the question, why would he be shackling himself to the likes of Nix, and an MC that won’t do anything to further his reputation?

When I asked, Sly this he couldn’t give me a straight answer.

“Got no idea, Boss. All I can figure is that HR’s have something on him. Not sure what that’d be seeing as he’s out of Tennessee, but whatever it is, it has to be good.”

“How do we find out,” Cash questions.

“I can put a call into, Brookes, but from what Liam told me anything else is gonna take time. Time we don’t have. How far do you want me to get him to dig? I’m assuming you want, EyeSee on this, Boss?”

“You guess right,” I snap. “Get him to dig deep. The deeper, the better. As far as I’m concerned, tell him to go back as far as his high school years if he has to. If we don’t have a lead on when they got involved, I don’t want to miss anything because we didn’t bother to go back far enough.”

“Read the file Liam sent over, and it was pretty standard shit. For a crooked motherfucker, that is,” Mad adds unnecessarily.

“Look,” I say pushing back out of my chair. “This is just something else to add to the growing list of shit Hells Riders are shoveling. Someone needs to find out what happened to their previous lawyer, and why he’s not representing them anymore. You boys know, just like I do, MC’s don’t switch that shit up unless it’s absolutely necessary. Collins is a solid guy, well-respected, decent, and liked around these parts even though he’s been dealing with those bastards for too long. I don’t see him pulling their retainer, so it had to have been them that cut him loose. And that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“I’ll get hold of Brookes today and relay your message,” Sly replies. “While I’m doing that, I’ll ask him how long it’ll take to get a preliminary report, and make it known we’re in a time crunch with that shit. He’s a solid guy, he’ll make it happen ASAP.”

“Good. We’re done then, brothers. You’ve got your assignments. Watch your women, watch your kids. You see anything you don’t like the looks of, call it in, and then get your family here. Don’t take chances with that either. Too many of you start coming in then we’re going on full lockdown. No questions. No fucking hesitation. I’m not leaving anything up to chance. You all got me?”

A chorus of ‘yeah’s’ go up around the room before I adjourn the meeting, bringing the gavel down swiftly.

“Gage, Fury, hang back,” I request.

Waiting until the others leave and the heavy door bangs shut, I lean back propping one booted foot on my knee.

“Have a seat,” I say gesturing to the empty chairs on either side of me.

“Need you to ride out to Cami’s, Fury. Diesel’s not answering his phone. He hasn’t called to check in since last night, and that shit’s not like him.

Tilting his head, Fury scowls.

“You thinking he’s in trouble and I need to take backup with me, or he’s just gone off the grid?”

At first, I’d considered something might have happened to my VP, but I dismissed that thought quickly. If he were in trouble, he’d have found a way of getting word to us somehow. And I know for a fact if Cami had been in danger he’d have her ass here or us there in a heartbeat, so it was neither of those options. It was more likely he was buried balls deep inside his woman with no intention of letting her up for air in the near or distant future.

“Single rider, brother. I’ve got no doubt the bastard’s fine, but I need his ass back here. You can tell him from me that’s a fucking order, too. He wants to bring her with him, fine, but he needs to get home. I don’t want the club scattered right now, the risk’s too high.”

Grinning, Fury scoffs,

“You wouldn’t be sending me out there to bust up a reunion fuckfest would you, Prez?”

“Good chance that’s what you’ll walk in on, but I don’t give a fuck. If he’d answered his damn phone, he’d have had plenty of warning,” I chuckle.

“Not that he will, but if he gets the jump on he and kicks my ass for this, you owe me one,” he retorts still smiling.

“Yeah, I’ll give you a marker if that happens. But you’re my Enforcer for a reason, brother, and if he gets the jump on you, I might just have to start questioning why that is.”

At thirty-six, Tanner ‘Fury’ Scott is in as good shape as he was when he was nineteen and one year into his SEAL training. After losing both his parents in a house fire a month before he turned ten, Fury was sent to Arizona to live with his grandfather. His one and only living relative.

By all accounts, the old man was kind to him. A mechanic by trade, Jerry, taught his grandson everything he knew about engines and all things mechanical. That wasn’t where Fury’s passion lay, though. No, he’d dreamed of joining the Navy since before his parents passed, and he did. He signed on the dotted line on his eighteenth birthday and never looked back.

Discharged honorably at twenty-four, Fury came home to Furnace and ended up prospecting for Vengeance within a week of hitting town. He did his two years, patched in, and after another two was given his position of Enforcer by Hog. Fury admitted after Hog had died he’d thought about turning it down considering the shit the MC was up to their eyeballs in, but he decided to take it on after coming to the realization that the club wouldn’t remain in Hog’s hands for long. His death aside, I would have taken over eventually. It just happened sooner rather than later.