Obsession (A Bad Boy's Secret Baby)(85)
“Yeah, ten thousand. Some rednecks were kind enough to share that news.” The memory of those assholes last night, mocking me as they debated who would deal the killing blow, itched at me. I thought about telling Remy what had happened, but it didn't feel necessary. “I'm a little disappointed at the amount.”
“That's only because they don't know you that well. I'd have offered half that, if I wanted you dead,” Remy said. I could hear him smiling.
“You're a funny guy, Pres. How's the old lady?”
“Star?” He chuckled. “She keeps me on my toes.”
“Tell her I said hi.”
“I most certainly will not.” Poet expended the remainder of his mirth, switching to a more serious tone. “Let's get down to it. How much shit are you in?”
Drumming the wheel, I said, “Bad decisions a plenty, staring down the wrong end of too many pistols. Oh, and my bike just got hijacked. The usual.”
“Good to hear you're keeping busy. You know I can't help you in any official capacity.”
The reminder was a mild kick to the ribs. “I'm just spreading some news that I picked up digging through one of the Knights' phones. Looks like they're in the flesh peddling game after all.”
“That so?” Remy asked. He sounded more resigned than surprised. Remy was a smart guy, I'd probably just confirmed a hunch he'd already heard about that shit club.
There was no reason not to tell him the rest of the story. “Turns out they run the whole east coast, including working with a third party for the area controlled by the Steel Veins.”
“Our turf too, huh?”
“Yeah, who'd have thought? They seemed like such stand-up guys.” I resisted the urge to spit. “This is making them rich, Remy. We're looking at months, maybe a year, before they're strong enough to take our MC apart, chapter by chapter.”
“'Our' MC,” he mused. “That is a problem.”
I ignored his casual emphasis that I was no longer part of the club. “Looks like they have their biggest shipment going out tonight, at a place they call 'The Palace.' Heard of it?”
“I'm familiar. It's owned by a man named Tully. People say he's a special breed of scumbag.”
“Tully...” That was the name I'd heard at the brothel when I won Flora in that card game. “Holy shit, Tully is Lucky's brother. Repo can back me, he heard it too.” Thinking about what I'd found in the Knights' cellphone, I said, “I bet Tully owns a cruise ship company, right? Or has connections to one?”
“In addition to whatever else he's doing.” There was a silence on the other line. I could almost hear the gears turning in the Poet's head. “Tully has an underground network in that area. If he is tied to the Knights, and they are trafficking girls, then that's how they're getting them out of the country.”
Slowly but surely, a righteous anger was building in me. “Well, I'm in the area, figure I'll swing by, knock on their door and say hi.”
“You've never had a head for club politics, Connor. What's her name?” Poet was right. He was always the man with the plan, not me. The big picture was never something I had the patience to deal with. I've always been more of a soldier.
I chuckled and hung my head. “Flora,” I said. No point playing coy. I wasn't in the MC anymore, he couldn't tell me not to go.
“You're a sucker for lost causes, but this... She must be something special, huh?”
Staring at myself in the mirror, I saw my helpless grin. “I guess so.”
After another long pause, Remy added, “I'm sure Star would love to meet the woman that could tame you. You got a plan?”
A plan?
I turned the ignition. The dump truck roared to life like an awakened, vengeful god. Although the sound was muted by the windows being rolled up, the fury of power in the machine was undeniable. When I gave the beast some gas, it felt like I was driving a landslide.
Subtlety is overrated, I thought, smashing through the gate.
Hang on, you silly girl, the cavalry’s coming.
“Nope,” I laughed. “But I'm going to make a hell of a lot of noise.”
Chapter Twelve
Flora
The sun was high in the sky when I rolled up Brentwood. Knowing how close I was, my hands began sweating on the bike handles. After all this time, and all this torture, I'd finally made it.
This was where my sister was being held.
The humidity weighed me down. How could it be so warm in October? Bugs were chirping, not caring it wasn't night time. I'd noticed the grasses growing taller, thicker, the closer I got the the crossroads. Here, with my destination cresting in the distance, the Everglades were in full bloom.
They surrounded the area, choking everything in their path. They almost blocked me from my first glimpse of where Claudine was. The place that was apparently called, 'The Palace.'