AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Scott flapped his hand like he was swatting away a fly. “Fear is the only thing guaranteed to motivate criminals and drug addicts, brother, and it’s got to be scarier than a slap on the wrist. Otherwise, what’s gonna work? We’re talking about people who already deal with terrible shit. They’ve got roaches on the floor and kids they can’t feed or pimps who slap them around. It’s got to get worse than what they’re used to if you’re gonna make them pay what they owe.”
His brother finally stopped moving and faced him. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway. Bottom line, the man is gone. Where are all these junkies getting their fix? You know how desperate they’ve got to be right now? They’d probably pay anything—do anything—to get their hands on a stash.”
His stomach churned as he followed the train of thought. “You want us to take his place.”
Biting his bottom lip around a wide smile, Scott spread his arms wide, palms up, then spun around. “It’s perfect. Who else is gonna do it? We’ve got the men; we’ve got the reputation.”
“We don’t have the money. Or a supplier.” He could tell by the faraway look in his brother’s eyes no argument was going to register. Once he had an idea stuck in his head, it played over and over like a song on repeat.
“We’ll put a second mortgage on the clubhouse.”
“No.” He sprang from the chair. “We only paid it off last year. We’re not pulling in enough cash to start making payments again.”
Scott rested both hands on his shoulders and brought their faces so close together, he could smell the bourbon on his brother’s breath. “That’s exactly why we have to do this.”
He shook his head. “But we don’t have any connections to score us a high volume of product. Drugs don’t just fall from the sky.”
“Malcolm’s already working on it.” Scott’s smile was pure pride.
“Malcolm—so this is already decided?” The unease churning in his stomach solidified into a pulsing mass of anger. Guns were bad enough. Drugs would take the club down a path of no return. They’d all end up the same kind of scum as the man they took down—if they didn’t end up in jail first. “Did I miss some kind of vote, brother? Because I know you and Malcolm wouldn’t start making decisions for this club without giving everyone a say in what we do.”
Scott scowled. “Calm your tits, K. We’re only putting a few preliminary things in motion. The club will vote in a few hours.”
After Scott had a chance to set up all the pins for a strike.
“I don’t like it.”
His brother’s usually smiling, congenial face soured. “I don’t care. Make your case at the vote this afternoon, but don’t think you’re gonna stop this.”
Kane thumped his fist on the table. “This is gonna blow up in our faces.” He was far from done, but Scott was already stomping out the door. His only chance to stop this was to convince the rest of the club.
***
The air positively crackled with unspent energy as the brothers took their seats around the heavy wooden table. Even the prospect attended the meeting, leaning against the far wall. He wouldn’t have a seat unless they made him a member.
Kane had no doubt his brother had planted the seeds for support with most if not all the guys already, but still, he had to try to talk them out of this plan. They spoke among themselves in a low hum, but all talk ceased the moment his father walked into the room. Of course, Scott went for the big guns.
Malcolm walked to his chair, but instead of sitting, he stood behind it. “When I founded this club thirty-five years ago, it was only me and three other guys with a love of the open road and a big fuck you to anybody who wanted to tell us what to do.”
The men knocked on the table in a show of support. Malcolm winked and waited until the noise stopped to continue. “Case and Bender are gone now. We all know what happened with Wes.” He scowled, then shook it off. “But as I lost brothers, I gained sons. Sons who still embrace a life lived on two wheels and raise their middle fingers to anyone who wants to challenge our authority to carve out our own place in this town.”
This time the knocking was louder and punctuated by cheers. Malcolm took it as his due. “We have a unique opportunity to take this club to a level it’s never been before. No more scraping and scratching to get by. We’ve already done the hard part. We eliminated Sucre de la Cruz. Now we can step into the void he left behind.”
Kane’s mind raced as his eyes skimmed over the faces of his brothers, all lit with excitement. His father had them in the palm of his hand.
“I’m so proud of both my sons. Kane, who opened the door to this opportunity by setting up the hit—and Scott for mapping out a plan to turn this promise into reality.” More cheers. “Stand up, boys.”
Masterful. Now it looked like the whole family was on board.
Scott cleared his throat. “When Kane and I discussed the details earlier today, he brought up some good points, and I want to address any concerns you might have. Obviously, this is going to take seed money. We’ve got to purchase the products before we can sell them, and we haven’t exactly been rolling in cash lately.”
The men around the table nodded in agreement.
“Our first impulse was to take out another mortgage on the clubhouse, but the bank isn’t making it easy…which got us to thinking. We may not have cash, but we do have something valuable.”
No. Don’t say the guns, Scottie. Don’t say the guns.
“Guns.”
