“They’re all for me now,” Death said. “Everyone is falling in love. I tell you, The Skulls are fucking cursed. I’m staying well away from them whenever they’re in town.”
Laughing, Curse entered the clubhouse to find all of the club members waiting for them. They were not in the privacy of the office. Devil was talking to all of them, and Jerry was there also.
“Frederick has called. He’s going to be here by Friday,” Devil said. “He wants to see all of us, including you and Mia.”
“What does he want with Mia?” Curse asked.
“He wants to see the woman responsible for killing Dale and losing him a shitload of money. Frederick has a deal in place with a transport firm. They transport the coke, girls, and guns that Frederick sells as part of his business. Only, Dale had raped this man’s girl, and seeing as Frederick owned him, it was a gift from one business man to another. Now, Dale is dead, and Frederick doesn’t have anyone to do his transport for him. Curse fucked up a deal as Frederick’s not going to make any money as he can’t get the product from one state to another.” Devil glared at him.
“Do we have any reason to believe that he poses a threat to all of us?” Ripper asked. “After everything that’s happened to Judi, I don’t want her hurt anymore.”
“No, she won’t be hurt. This is between the club and Frederick.”
“Then why does he want to meet Mia?” Curse asked, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.
“Judi’s not the one responsible for killing a wanted man,” Devil snapped, shouting out the words.
“Frederick is not the kind of man to cross. He’s the shark in a pond full of fish. In comparison, we’re all the fish,” Jerry said.
“Did you have any idea she was cleaning for that prick?” Curse asked. He was looking for anyone to blame other than himself. She shouldn’t have been alone in a strange man’s home.
“No, I didn’t have the first fucking clue. In case you didn’t notice I run a business and have a wife of my own.” Jerry folded his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, you’re so fucking busy that you suggest my woman become a call girl and happen to be a fucking lapdog for a man you consider a fucking danger to all of us.” Curse shouted, letting all of his aggression out into the words.
“I can do what the fuck I like, and if I want to work for Frederick, then I’ll work for him. I’ve been working for and with him the last fifteen years. You want to fuck with me then go ahead, Curse. You and the club will not last ten minutes alone with him. I’m doing you all a favor letting you know what you’re in for.” Jerry shook his head. “Fuck this. I got a wife to keep happy and shit to deal with. I’ll see you all on Friday. I advise you don’t start organizing a party anytime soon.”
Jerry left the clubhouse. The echo of the door slamming closed behind him filled the main room.
“Keep your shit together, Curse. I don’t know who the fuck this man is, but whoever he is has Jerry scared. We keep to ourselves, and you better stay the fuck out of trouble until Friday. I don’t give a fuck what you have to do, but stay out of the way.” Devil stood, looking around the clubhouse. “Clean this shit up. We settled down to live a good life. None of you are giving us a chance to have such a life.”
“What about The Skulls?” Death asked. “Should we call them?”
“No, we shouldn’t. They’ve got their own set of problems. We can handle this shit. I’m going home to my wife. Stay out of the fucking way of trouble.”
Curse watched his president leave. Regretting his words, he followed Devil outside.
“I’m sorry,” Curse said.
Devil turned to look at him. “The moment we agreed to settle down in Piston County, we all agreed to keep our heads locked firmly on. We’re vulnerable when we stay in one place, but we’re also stronger than ever before.”
“I know.”
“Shut your fucking mouth. I got no problem with you killing that man. He was hurting your woman, would have raped her if given the chance.” Devil ran a hand down his face. “No, what I hate is knowing what’s going to happen if this fucker chooses, and you know what that could mean.”
Curse knew that they could end up as Frederick’s lap dogs if he chose.
“I know.”
“Good. Go to your woman, Curse. Let her know what’s going to happen and then be here Friday. If everything goes well, we’ll be lucky and can call it a day.” Devil waved his hand in the air as if pushing their troubles aside.