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“Deuce, you’re up,” Gate said instead of answering the question.
Deuce leaned back in his leather chair, cradling a Styrofoam coffee cup like it was a newborn, and started in. “Made the rounds last night and saw some hazardous shit.”
At Brick’s growl, Deuce continued, “Shit was so touchy, I only observed and reported back to Gate.” Deuce turned to Ryder, “You were at Smokey’s last night.”
“Yeah,” Ryder replied.
“So was Axe,” Deuce said. “And then so were Lowe and Holly.”
“What the fuck?” Ryder asked, sitting up straighter.
“It gets better,” Gate said.
“I didn’t see everything that happened, but I did see Lowe haul a body into the bed of that big ass pickup he’s got, and Holly drove getaway.”
“Shit,” Ryder said.
“What is it?” Gate asked, pinning the man with his gaze.
“Maker called Smokey this morning,” Ryder answered. “Said Axe missed a big meet last night, so Maker went out looking for him and came up empty.”
“Why’s he calling Smokey about that?” Tank asked.
“Apparently, they havehistory,” Ryder answered.
“Well, shit,” Tank said.
“Yeah,” Ryder agreed. “I wondered why Lowe was so determined to tag along when I started for home.”
“And why he brought Holly and a truck,” Brick chimed in.
“What’d they do with the body?” Talon asked from his seat to Gate’s right.
“I figure it’s buried on some mountain in Tennessee by now,” Deuce said.
“The judge’s mountain,” Gate mused.
“You think Hawthorne is playing both sides?” Talon asked his president and best friend.
“Don’t know about sides, but he’s definitely working the angles,” Gate answered.
“I don’t like not knowing all the players he’s bringing in,” Brick said.
“Me either,” Gate agreed.
“How do you want to handle this?” Ryder asked. “I can go back to the Daggers. Take Brick and Nine and see what we can get out of them.”
Gate shook his head, “No, we’ll wait until we hear from Maker. Axe was a dick on a personal level, but he was a good president, and now the Bloody Saints have a hole to fill, and the shakeup is gonna rattle some cages.”
“Think Maker will go for it?” Talon asked.
Gate thought about the rumors he’d heard about the big man’s past, more whispers and suggestions than any hard facts. “Don’t think so. There’s something there, in his background. Not sure what it is though. Axe trusted Maker, but he sure as shit didn’t like him. Seemed to be bad blood between them for some reason.”
“Didn’t seem to throw off the club,” Ryder thought aloud.
“No, Maker wouldn’t let it,” Gate said. He’d known Maker a long time, and his respect for the man had only grown over the years.
“I want to know what Axe was doing outside Smokey’s house,” Ryder said.
