Page 27 of Rough Start

“In the New Hampshire chapter,” Max finished. There was a moment of silence as the men all looked at each other in a mixture of shock and outrage. “With Shon dead, the list of people I trust begins and ends with you five,” the older man admitted. “Until the dust clears and we figure out what the hell is going on, I don’t want a single Demon riding solo. We travel armed and in pairs at the very least. Keep regular check-ins and no one leaves town, got it?”

“Yeah Max,” Wayne replied with a nod.

“We should assign pairs,” Kye suggested, and the others looked at him in suspicion. “If the source is in our chapter, then he probably recruited a partner if not more. Max, if you choose our riding partners then their leader is more likely to be caught.”

“That seems a little extreme considering we don’t know anything for sure,” Duke began, but Max grunted his interruption.

“Kid has a point. The dam has sprung a leak, and I’ll be rotting in my grave before I let some cock-sucking defector tear my gang apart out of greed. Once Grier gets back with the doctor, I want to see a list of all our chapter members.”

“Some of them are out of town. We still have three distribution teams up north,” Hamilton added.

“Then get on the phone and get them back here!” Max said through gritted teeth. Despite his paling complexion from the blood loss, his face was growing increasingly red with anger. “Duke, Wayne,” he beckoned, “get a six-man team together and hit our warehouses. I want to know if we’ve lost anything besides a member today. Riggs, get yourself cleaned up and take the kid back to the storage unit. I want Shon’s body brought back here before the cops find it.”

“We’re on it,” Kye replied. “You going to be okay until we get back?” he asked, indicating the bullet wound that was still oozing.

“It’ll take a hell of a lot more than a single gunshot wound to take me out of the game,” Max retorted with a stern look on his face. “Don’t let me down, son,” he instructed, and Kye stood. “And if you catch sight of the sons-a-bitches who did this? Kill ‘em.”

* * *

It was well past midnight when Kye and the others made it back to the clubhouse. They’d called ahead with the bad news. Three of the warehouses had been wiped clean that day. Knowing Max was going to be livid, the others sauntered off to the clubhouse to hide, while Kye went straight to Max’s office where he noted the light was still on.

Quietly opening the door, Kye peered inside. He saw Max sitting on the edge of the oval-shaped table that occupied the center of the room. On the side, opposite where he was leaning, was a single, throne-like armchair covered in blue leather and black studs with the Screaming Demons logo branded on the back. On the nearest side were the four chairs that belonged to his ‘horsemen’ as he called them. Max, who was still shirtless, a white bandage across his abdomen, waved Kye over when he saw him standing in the doorway.

“Kid,” Max said in a surprisingly even tone. He was chewing on the blunt end of a cigar and a plume of smoke was rippling from the other. “Been a long day,” he said and nursed a glass of brandy.

“You got the update?” Kye asked hesitantly. He didn’t particularly want to incur Max’s wrath, but neither did he want to be accused of withholding information. Since the deduction earlier that afternoon, everyone was walking on eggshells.

“I did,” Max answered, still not looking up from the chair he was leaning in front of. “You’re brave or stupid,” Max said after he took another sip. “I haven’t decided which one.”

“Why is that?” Kye asked, closing the door behind him.

“Walking in here in person to tell me the news my club is fucked,” he replied and opened the decanter at his side to pour himself a second glass.

“I just thought you deserved to know,” Kye admitted and accepted the second glass Max was offering him.

“I suppose that makes you respectable. None of the others bothered to stop by.”

“I think they’re all just a bit on edge. Everyone knows the hell we brought down on Vermont when we thought they were the moles. No one wants to be next,” Kye said and rested his arm on the chair next to him.

“At least I still command some level of fear…”

“And respect,” Kye interrupted. Max looked up at him, a small grin forming on his face. “These defectors got greedy, Max, we’ll catch them and set everything right.”

“Your youthful optimism is refreshing if not ignorant,” Max said flatly and let out a long puff of smoke. “I’ve been around a long time, kid. I know fractures when I see them. I lost a loyal horseman today,” Max said solemnly as he indicated the empty chair in front of him. As a prospect, having never been privy to the inner circle meetings, Kye could only assume it belonged to Shon.

“Who’s going to take his place?” Kye inquired, hoping his question didn’t sound insensitive.

“Hell if I know,” Max admitted and stood upright with a slight wince as his wound stretched. “Can’t trust my damn reflection at the moment let alone appoint a new horseman. They knew where we were today and didn’t think twice about taking a shot at me. That says something.”

“How so?”

“Think about it, kid,” Max began as he moved around to the far side of the table and leaned his arms over the back of his throne, a cigar in one hand and brandy glass in the other. “If they were after just money, they would have tried to stay under the radar. You know, just skim the fat off the top and line their pockets. But lately, the thefts have been getting bigger. Noticeably bigger. They’re leaving tags and now taking open shots. If I go down, the whole Demon structure caves in. They lose their cash flow. They’re not just after money, they want chaos. Something changed. Things are personal now. I like your idea about pairing off, but not just to keep tabs on everyone.”

“Why else?” Kye asked, already fearing the answer.

“Safety,” Max finished. “Whoever took a shot at me isn’t going to stop. They’re going to take shots at any Demon they can find. And not just us. They’re going to go after anyone they think is associated with us. We’ve found ourselves in the middle of a war, son. It’s going to get ugly.”

“You need another horseman, Max,” Kye advised. “I know you think you can’t trust anyone, but that’s a good reason to pull more guys in. The closer you keep them, the better you can watch them. And you’re going to need help doing it.”