I let out a breath and opened the passenger door. A gust of wind swept in as Bruiser slid into the front seat. “Fuck, brother, it’s fucking freezing out here.”
“What happened? Did you see anything?”
“Shit happened. Mike was in an accident about five miles up the road. The fucking truck tipped over.”
“Fuck.”
“The entire shipment was either smashed in the accident or stolen. There’s liquor everywhere. I stayed with him while I called Brimstone. The cavalry should be here any second, made sure he was safe and breathing before I left.”
"Is he in bad condition?"
"Banged his head pretty badly. I think his arm is broken. It could have been worse."
As we spoke, the ambulance came roaring down the road, lights blazing. Followed by the Sheriff and his deputies.
“Saddle, the truck’s wheels had a spiked chord tangled in them.”
I looked at him, shocked. “Are you sure?”
He nodded and handed me a piece of it. Large pieces of barbed wire had been tied in knots along the black chord. The Scorpions were known for intercepting trucks and lying rope like this on the pavement. Usually we watched the roads out here, but I didn’t think any one of us expected them to know when our liquor shipment came in. We set up different drop off locations and Mike changed up his schedule every time. Either we had a snitch, or the fucking Mayor was keeping tabs on us.
“We need to get out of here. They’ll be searching for foul play and we can’t be seen out here.”
“You think Tannenbaum had somethin’ to do with this?”
“I think the Bloody Scorpions and that fucker had somethin’ to do with this. I’m telling you, they’re in on this together.”
“Fuck. He’s messing with our money now. Do you know if Hart found out anything yet?”
He shook his head. “Spoke to him earlier but still nothin’. Maybe we should go a different route. I’m sure he’s done somethin’ fraudulent in his fucking career. We could have Silencer look into it. Maybe he could find records on him.”
I nodded. “That’s not a bad idea, I’ll talk to Bulldog in the morning.”
“This is so fucked.”
“We need to clear that back road and get it up and running again. We can’t have this shit happen again.”
“Let’s just get our asses back home. Make a report and go to bed. I’m fuckin’ exhausted. Siege will let us know how Mike is doin’.”
I turned the engine on as soon as he slid out of the truck. I pulled out onto the road the sky suddenly lit on fucking fire. Bruiser braked hard and I slid up behind him. We both got out of the truck and ran to the guardrail on the side of the road. In the dark we could make out the flames and we could see the sirens still blaring. There had been an explosion, probably from the fumes and the liquor.
“Motherfucker!”
Bruiser grabbed me by the jacket and pulled me back. “Let’s go!”
“But what about Siege and Mike?”
“They had enough time to back away from the truck. I’m sure they’re fine.”
The flames were dimming down as we went back to our trucks. “We can’t be here, Saddle. Let’s go!”
I looked over at Bruiser before we got into our cages. “They will pay for this.”
“You best believe it,” he agreed.
As we started the engines up, a glimmer caught my eye. There were eyes on us, and God knows what else. I gripped the wheel tight, keeping my anger at bay. As much as I didn’t want to involve Crystal in all this, her father was just making it harder. I needed to do my job. I was Bulldog’s second in command and needed to set my feelings aside for this woman in order to get what we needed. I was done playing nice. My brothers were just put in danger, and that meant war.
6
Crystal
“Looks like a storm is coming in.” Roger, my father’s Press Secretary, and a sleazy scumbag- was leaning up against the counter in the break room while I waited for my coffee to be ready. He was a creep and I didn’t like talking to him much. Especially not when I was alone in the office.
“I suppose,” I looked out at the falling snow. Thick flurries were falling steady. By this evening, Port Townsend would be covered in a white blanket.
“You look different today.”
I gave him a suspicious sidelong glance as I poured my coffee into my mug. “I look the same as I do every day.”
Roger had been my father’s partner at the real estate agency. I thought I’d gotten rid of him when my father was voted in, but unfortunately, he brought him in as his Deputy Mayor, which in turn, gave him power. Power that he had no fucking clue how to handle. Usually he spoke to me to tell me that my ass looked good in my slacks or that I should hitch up my skirt a few inches to show off more of my assets. He stopped for a while, after I threatened him with telling my father, but it seemed he was back at it again.
“No, you’re tits look better in that shirt today. You should undo a button and give me a peek.”
I held the pot of hot coffee up and pointed it at him. “You keep that shit up and I will pour this hot coffee all over that tiny shriveled up piece of a dick you have.”
He smirked, looking smug. “Doesn’t it disgust you?” He whispered.
“Excuse me?”
“God only knows how much pussy he’s gotten. Used dick like that will only last until he gets bored of you.”
“Fuck off,” I slammed the coffee pot into his chest, smiling as it sloshed against his prim suit and tie. “At least his dick satisfies me in every way a man could. Something you will never even come close to.”
I walked off, fuming. Troy is more of a man than Roger ever will be. I didn’t care if he had women before me. He just turned forty and he was gorgeous. Shit, I’d be surprised if he didn’t.
As I slammed my office door shut, reality hit me once again. Roger Dixon somehow found out that I had made contact with Saddle. Shit, the whole town probably knew by now. I slumped down in my desk chair and could only hope that my father hadn’t heard about it. If he did, this could go very wrong for me. My father hated the Royal Bastards and he’d been searching for a reason to kick them out of his town.
In truth, they did more good than they harmed anyone. And personally, having them around meant protection against the other gang members in town. My father said they were all the same and if he could get one out it would send a message to the others to leave. I didn’t believe that. He was imposing his power on the wrong people and it didn’t sit well with me. My mother was oblivious to all this. She was happy being a homemaker and going to church. I’d never seen her happier. As far as my father was concerned, she just cared about having a hot meal on the table for him when he got home. Their whole charade was why I left in the first place.
A few hours later, I was heading out when I caught a glimpse of my father rounding the corner of the building. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a gut feeling I should follow him. I followed him across the street towards Rachel’s. I thought he would go in but instead he went through the back alley. Carefully, I followed closely behind and watched as he entered a side door. I got to it just as it was about to slam shut. It was a part of an old building next door, unused and unseen. I could hear his voice in the distance and as I rounded another corner, there he stood with another man. The light was dim and I couldn’t make out the man’s features, but they were having some sort of argument about the extent of an accident that happened off the Interstate heading into town.