This was news, though I can’t say I was too surprised. I had figured that there would be some blowback at some point. I guessed we had reached that point.
“Lay it on me.”
“I overheard Joey Ronn and Fielding talkin’ in Ronn’s office at Hardcore. Fielding wants your new woman, and he wants you dead. Ronn’s worried about body count. Fielding said he’d settle for a trade—your head or your woman’s bod.”
Wow. Shit. I had not thought that Sienna would play in on the blowback, but I guess I had overestimated the complete shit-ball that was Fielding.
“You got anything more than that?”
“I don’t know if you understand what I just said. You get what he wants? Not just a onetime use. Fielding is not fucking around. He doesn’t want to just fuck Sienna and be done. On the DL, Dom. Plain language.” He leaned in. “Fielding is a sick fuck. He’s talking about takin’ her for a sex slave.”
My jaw literally dropped, and my eyes widened. No way was this shit was for real.
“So A) he puts a hit on me; or B) he wants…” I couldn’t even say it. It was unthinkable. We were in 2017, right? In America? What. The. Fuck.
“Yeah, he wants. And he’s not fucking around.” Clav looked at me hard, like he was trying to impart some further knowledge and understanding with his eyes, which his mouth was unwilling to say.
“What aren’t you tellin’ me, Clav?”
He noted my use of his name instead of his title and raised his eyebrows a little. “Respect, Dom. Watch it.” He looked at me hard for several seconds longer and then finally answered. “I know some stuff, but it’s not for general consumption, Dom. Ronn and Fielding, they are planning some shit, and you gotta be aware. And maybe it’s best if you and your woman get gone. Not forever, but for a while, till shit gets sorted.”
I nodded my head, seeing his line of thought, and the light bulb flashed in my head. There was a way that this all made sense. “I see what you’re sayin’, Pres. I see that line of thought. But there’s more you ain’t tellin’ me, and at this point, I want explanations.
“How far are you dug in with Ronn, Clav? Don’t bullshit me. I know some big shit is goin’ down. I’m not stupid. I know you’re involved, too. What I don’t know—yet—is how involved you are, and in what capacity. But I know there’s some serious dirt that Ronn must have on you. I want to know why the MC is payin’ for your shit. And I want to know what went down with Manny on that fuckin’ porno lot out of town in February. You owe me—fuck, you owe all of us—some serious explanations. I’ve about had it, man.”
His face was getting red, and his eyes were piercing in a tight, angry lock, and his jaw was clenched, but I was on a roll.
“So maybe now you heard I’m askin’ questions, kickin’ up what is sure as shit goin’ to fuck up your little game with Ronn, so you want to run me out. You think this Fielding shit and sex-slave thing is the easiest way to get rid of me for a while, too, huh? It’s too bizarre. It’s almost laughable. But I ain’t laughin’, man. And I don’t buy it.”
I stood up and over him, and I declared, “You do not threaten me or my woman, and think you can just run me out of town. Now start. The fuck. Talking.”
He stood up and growled, “Sit your ass down, Dominic. You remember who you’re talking to. I am your President.”
“Then act like it,” I flashed back.
He shook his head. The man was angry, but he was a master at cool. “Fuck. This is so fucked-up. First of all, you need to check your tone, and check your presumptions at the gate. You are a member of this MC, and a brother, so I’m gonna give you just one pass for the shit you just pulled, but you gotta know, that shit does not fly. I am your President, and you gotta remember that. Regardless of what you think you know is going on.”
“Pres—” I hated myself for going off like that on him, too, and I totally saw his point. But I was fucking angry, about everything from Manny to the Hardcore gig and the loss of fraternity at the compound and with the MC in general. It just felt like everything involving Storm had been losing. But he had a point. I really should not have let it out like that on him.
Clav got it, and he got me. He knew where I was coming from and where I was at. He was a big enough man that he could see from my perspective, and he didn’t wait for the apology. “Dom—fuck, man, this shit is real, and you need to get that.” He looked me in the eye again. “I was not lying about Fielding wanting you dead and your woman under lock. That’s real, and he’s dead serious. I swear to you. I would not make this shit up. So you needed to know, and you need to be careful, and I’m serious when I say you should think about skipping town for a while.