Page 2 of Tico

“Now this is the last time I’m going to ask you this,güevón(asshole). Where is my money?”

Somehow, Marco’s face pales even further. “I… I don’t have it, Tico. I…I s-spent it.”

I growl in frustration, having already expected that answer even though I know it’s not entirely true. Fucker’s got offshore accounts that will cover most of what he stole from me, but he had those in place before this fucking fiasco. So why did he decide to double cross us? And what all did he spend the money on after he cleared his debts?

Pulling back, Taco removes his blade from Marco’s neck and I slip on the brass knuckles before delivering a brutal punch to his jaw followed by a punch to his ribs and then his stomach. Fury licks through my veins, but I rein it in. I can’t have his jaw broken, or his ribs for that matter. At least not yet. Straightening, I signal to Taco and Daemon before looking back down at Marco.

“Then everything of yours is now mine.Youare now mine,güevón(asshole). You’ll fight in the pits until your debt is cleared. And if you haven’t already figured it out, you’re fucking fired.” My gaze flicks over to Daemon who gives me a chin lift. “Teach our old friend, Marco, here a lesson but make sure he can still fight. His ass is Royal Bastards property now.”

He won’t fight well with his now damaged dominant hand, but I never said he was going to win said fights. And when he’s no longer of value to us, Daemon and Psyco, our Cleaner, will make him disappear without a trace.

Daemon grins wickedly in response to me and I turn, leaving the office. Wire follows behind me. I look over at him as he shutsthe door behind us, both of us ignoring Marco’s increasingly loud screams of pain. Thankfully the roar of the crowd drowns out his cries. Taco will stay behind with Daemon to help reinforce my orders on Marco.

“Take it all but find out where my money went. I want to know what that fucker was involved in and I don’t want it leading back to our door.”

“My programs are already tracing the money. I’ll let you know when I find out more, Prez,” he replies, clasping me on the shoulder before disappearing into the hallways. He’ll use the back entrance since Wire’s never been one that’s comfortable in crowds. I’m sure he’ll be heading back to his ‘cave’ after this asmis hermanos(my brothers) like to call the security hub he set up in the clubhouse.

Taking the stairs outside Marco’s office, I head towards my office on the second floor. Taco’s and my offices are up here, each along a different wall, plus there’s a smaller room that we’ve just been using as storage for now. There’s also a catwalk that goes around the perimeter of the building where we can watch the fights without being bothered by the crowds.

I pause outside my door and lean on the railing of the catwalk as I look down at the fight. Draco’s fight is over and now Sandman, another ofmis hermanos(my brothers), steps into the pits. Normallymis hermanos(my brothers) don’t fight very often, but tensions have been high the past few months as we’ve been dealing with new threats to our supply lines, both legal and illegal. There’s also the fact that I know we have another snake in our midst. Multiple books are off and Wire’s tracing everything to figure out who else is betraying us.

With a sigh, I unlock my office and head inside. There’s been rumors circulating among the underground fighting circuit of some shady shit happening up north in the UP, meaning the upper peninsula of Michigan. Normally I wouldn’t worry abouta fighting ring out of state, but this one is just close enough that it’s worrisome.

Especially with the nature of the rumors that are tied to it.

Chapter 2

Tico

Anhourlater,Daemonand Taco step into my office. I frown when I take in the murderous look on their faces. Especially Daemon’s.

“What’d you find out?”

“The fucker was buying girls from a place up in the UP,” Daemon spits out and my blood turns to ice.

Mierda(Shit).

We’re one-percenters and have our hands in a bunch of illegal shit, but the thing I refuse to touch is skin.Chingar(Fuck). This is probably dredging up a shit ton of fucking memories for Daemon because of the club he was raised in.

And those rumors of trafficking tied to the fighting rings up in the UP might be right.

“Where?”

Daemon’s fists curl before he spins on his heel and heads over to the fridge to grab a beer. “Thicket Grove, Michigan.”

Mierda(Shit).

No wonder he’s so fucking pissed. That’s his hometown. It’s also where the Chrome Vipers MC is located, the club he grew up in. There are also rumors floating around that the Chrome Vipers are mixed in with another group, Oasis, that’s crossing the border into Canada and selling skin. They’re also using the Great Lakes to get them out to the east coast.

Before I can say anything, my phone rings and when I see it’s Wire, I answer it on speaker.

“The asshole was buying girls out of Michigan,”he tells me, his voice deadly and cold.

“Daemon just came in saying the same thing. Were you able to trace who he was buying them from?”

“Yeah, the Chrome Vipers MC and Oasis. They have a joint operation up there on the outskirts of town. The cops are mostly corrupt and on their payrolls, so no one really says shit there. But then again, if anyone did, I bet they’d find either their loved ones or even themselves on the selling block from what I’ve been able to dig up about them.”

I scrub my hand over my face and through my hair.“The missing women around here. Any connection?”