He seemed genuine enough.
And if he was working for the Harrows, I doubted he’d be so bold to bring them up. They were a family organization, and unless Zahíno was a long-lost cousin or some shit, his involvement with them would be a surprise.
“Everybody needs somebody. That was the whole point of the Hell’s. We lost sight of it, but I’m working really fucking hard to get it back.” I studied Zahíno for another moment before nodding toward the employee door. “Let’s talk in my office. I don’t like discussing personal shit out in the open.”
As we stood, Skylar brought us our drinks. We took them from her on our way into the back. Though the two were heavily intertwined, I did the best I could to keep the MC work and strip club business separate. Somebody was always listening or watching. The only reason I’d been able to keep our club’s activities on the down low was because I was careful.
My office was as secure as it could possibly be. It was kept locked at all times, and I was the only one who had access. I unlocked the door, motioning for Zahíno to follow me inside. Now that we were away from prying eyes, I allowed myself a moment to relax. Still, I kept my guard up, not knowing what Zahíno had to say.
I sat at my desk, propping my feet up on the polished wood. “All right, what are those Harrow assholes up to now?” I asked before downing half my whiskey in one large gulp.
Zahíno took the seat across from me, nursing his own drink. “Word is they’ve been asking around for you.”
I crossed my arms. “That’s it?”
“I’ll admit, it doesn’t seem like much. I didn’t think anything of it at first since those kinds of rumors always surface every few months or so. But these haven’t gone away, so I asked some of my old contacts if they’ve heard or seen anything.”
I eyed him with a curious expression. “I didn’t know you had contacts.”
At my response, he looked a little awkward and took a sip of his drink. “Let’s just say, I try not to associate with them anymore.”
Reading between the lines, I let the topic drop. “What did they say?”
“They said that the Harrows are back in New York. They were gone for a while after you”—He caught himself—“after their brother died. But their penthouse was cleaned out last week, and a couple of my old suppliers spotted them leaving the building.”
I sat back and thought for a minute.
The last time I’d dealt with the Harrows was during a really fucking dark time in my life. I wasn’t excited about having to revisit it. Already the memories were coming back clearer than ever, and I had to force myself to ignore them.
“There’s always the chance they’re just here for business,” I said with dry sarcasm.
“Oh, I’m sure they are.” Zahíno smirked. “And it’s the type of business we should probably figure out.”
He wasn’t wrong. If they were back in business as he suspected, that didn’t bode well for any of us.
I put my glass down on the desk before leaning back in my chair to study Zahíno. “You offering to help?”
“If you’ll have me.”
I didn’t answer him right away.
It was never as simple as that to get into the Hell’s Seven. We had guidelines and standards, not to mention we usually did the recruiting. We rarely let people just waltz in and ask to join. Zahíno was different, though. It was him who’d approached me and asked if he could join the Hell’s, stitched himself up after the Sons had jumped him. I’d heard of him, sure. Word on the street was that he was a lone wolf, and an evil motherfucker. He sure as shit looked like one. Why would a lone guy want to join a club? He knew the Sons were our rivals, and he’d told me we might need a man like him. I knew what he was about. I felt it in my blood. I’d told him to get sober, a test he seemed to have passed.
“First thing’s first: You don’t fuck with the girls in my club.” I leveled him with a hardened stare. “You wanna get a dance, that’s cool. The girl doesn’t mind you touching a little, fine. But that’s it. You got it? If anybody fucks them, it’s me.” Truth was, I didn’t fuck any of the girls. But that wasn’t the point here. He just needed to know the fucking rules upfront.
Zahíno nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Next, you need to know that it isn’t gonna be easy to gain the trust of the others. I’ve known you for a while, respect you getting clean, and I trust you. But they aren’t gonna be so easily convinced.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care if they don’t trust me.”
“You should. Trust is everything to us. They’ll still have your back if I tell them to, but don’t expect a warm welcome.”
At that, Zahíno snorted. “Trust me, it’ll be a cold day in hell when anybody gives me any kind of warm welcome. I know what I’ve done in my past, and I know I’ve gotta deal with the fallout. But I’m willing to put in the work and make up for it.”
“Good.” I stood up and extended my hand across the desk. “There’s still the official initiation you gotta go through, but welcome to the Hell’s Seven.”
Zahíno smiled and took my hand, giving it a firm shake.
The deal sealed, I motioned for him to follow me. “Come on, let’s get back inside. I’ll buy you a dance.”
When we got back to the main floor, most of the patrons had left. All that remained were a few stray regulars and my guys. I motioned for Zahíno to pick which girl he wanted a dance from. He picked Scarlette, one of the hot black girls, and when he walked away, somebody came to stand by my side.
“So, Zahíno, huh?” Ralphie asked.
A big guy somewhere in his late sixties, Ralphie had been around for a long-ass time. He and my dad used to hang out together, and he became like an uncle to me. He was one of the few people who could speak his mind, and it wouldn’t offend me.
“Yeah. Zahíno’s all right. He just got mixed up in some really bad shit,” I explained.
“If you trust him, then I trust him. I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Of course I do, Ralphie.”
Even if I didn’t, it wasn’t like I could tell him that. I had to make hard decisions but, more importantly, I had to stand by them. Zahíno would be a good addition to the club. He knew what our lives entailed, and I didn’t have to worry about him talking shit or running his mouth off. His commitment to getting sober proved he wanted to be with us just as bad as any of the others.
“You always sound so damn confident.” Ralphie chuckled. “Reminds me of your dad. He could make anybody believe he knew exactly what he was doing. Took me years to realize that he was full of shit.”
“If it took you so long to realize, then maybe he did know what he was doing.”
He chuckled again. “You’ve got a point there.”
I turned my back on Ralphie and headed for the bar. I’d barely leaned against the counter when somebody else came to stand next to me.
“Jorge Zahíno? Since when did he get clean?”
I looked over at Ty Walsh, my new brother in-law. “None of your business. The point is, he’s been clean for a while. That’s all you need to know.”