Belle lit a fire in him he thought had been extinguished six years ago. She’d been on his mind ever since she’d slammed into him a couple of days before. He couldn’t figure her out. The way she kissed him and brightened when she saw him told him she felt the spark too, but she was scared. He didn’t think it was of him, per se, but maybe the idea of being with a man. Her hesitation didn’t mean much—he’d still pursue her—it just made him want to know what she was hiding in her heart.
Knock, knock.
Startled, Banger sat up in his chair. “Come in.”
Rock poked his head through the open door. “Everyone’s assembled for church.”
Glancing at his phone, Banger said, “Fuck, I lost track of time. I’m coming.” He rose to his feet and exited with Rock at his heels.
Members crowded the meeting room, and Banger took his position at the head of the table. When he brought the gavel down, all the chattering stopped, the brothers giving their full attention to the club’s president.
“We got some items we need to go over today, but first I want to introduce five new members who’ve joined the mother house from the defunct Kilson, Nebraska chapter.” Banger turned to a group of men seated on folding chairs. “Stand up. This here is Tug, Bones, Chigger, Gator, and Hoss. Let’s show them our support and welcome them.”
The regular members clapped and yelled out, “Welcome,” to the Nebraska Insurgents. Banger cleared his throat and slammed down the gavel again. “We got some important shit to discuss. We got approached to sell arms to a Mexican group called the United Revolutionary Army.”
“Who the fuck are they?” Rags asked.
“I was getting to that, if you can be fucking patient. They’re a leftist guerrilla movement in Mexico. They need arms for their operation in the states of….” Banger squinted at the piece of paper in front of him. Fuck. I’m gonna have to get me some reading glasses. I can’t see shit. He handed the paper to Hawk.
“Let’s see… They operate in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Veracruz. They’re looking for a supplier, and they got our name from Liam.” Hawk turned to Banger, sitting down once the president nodded to him.
Banger stood up. “As you know, we’ve backed away from this illegal shit since we’re making a fuck-load of money with our dispensaries and grow sites.” He laughed. Thinking of how much money the club was pulling in by growing and selling marijuana legally always made him shake his head. The irony was too great. “We also got a good revenue from our other businesses, and the new strip mall is bringing in a sizable amount in rent, so we don’t need to do this deal. If we decide to do it, it’ll bring in a shitload of money, and we could use it to build a larger strip mall in east Pinewood.”
“How much are we talking here?” Axe asked.
“‘Bout four million plus. We’ll ask for five, but we’ll settle on four.” Banger nodded as the members whistled and clapped their hands. “Yeah, a fuckin’ load of money at one time. If we do supply the arms, we make money and help a group of rebels fight their fuckin’ government, the drug cartels, and gangs. The idea is that it’ll make life better for the masses. The cons are that we can be double-crossed by this group. We don’t know them, never worked with them, but they do come recommended by Liam. We’ve worked with Liam for years supplying arms for the Irish and African rebels. Another thing is we could bring the heat down on the club. For the last several years, the ATF has left us the fuck alone. Not sure we want them sniffing around the club again.”
“But it’s a shitload of dough. Fuck the ATF, they won’t have anything on us. Let’s vote,” Throttle said as several members voiced their agreement.
“And we get to help kick another government in the ass. Fucking anarchists,” Chas chimed in.
The Insurgents lived by their own rules and despised all governments. To say they were non-conformists was an understatement. If the opportunity came up to make a lot of money, the Insurgents were down for it. Flipping the middle finger at the government was a bonus.
“Let’s put it to a vote. All in favor of making a shitload of money and kicking the Mexican government in the ass, say ‘aye.’”
“Don’t forget the motherfuckin’ drug cartels. I’d pay to have their asses shot,” Axe said, eliciting a round of applause from the membership.
“So is it ‘aye’ or ‘nay’?” Banger asked.
The “ayes” bounced off the walls.
“Then it’s a go. Hawk and I will get the ball rolling on this. Church over.”