Chapter Seven

Hawk

F or the past two days we did a deep dive into Los Ochos. Until this point, they haven't been anything for the Steel Demons to worry about, but now that we're forced to worry about them, it was time to find out everything we needed to know. To that end, all the brothers gathered for an impromptu MC meeting.

Diesel ambled in last, the MC dog, Chopper at his side, and took a seat. His gaze bounced casually around the room, taking stock of who had shown up and who hadn't. "All right, what do we know?"

"I talked to a dozen different business owners in town," Slate began. "They all had the same story. At first, they said nothing was going on, but when I hit them with the footage of Los Ochos coming into their establishments, stories changed." He flashed a shit-eating grin, so proud of his handiwork. "Then it was the same story in a different way. Those assholes are taking hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars each week, regardless of whether they can afford to pay it, threatening or worse when they don't." Slate let out a harsh breath that perfectly exhibited what we were all feeling.

"Businesses won't be able to stay in business much longer," Rebel pointed out with a disgusted tone.

"Exactly," Slate agreed. "Many are already suffering."

Diesel nodded slowly the way he always did, taking in all the details before he spoke. "That makes it a problem for all of us."

The Steel Demons had done a lot of fucking work to earn the trust of the community. Happy people, successful people, they spent money at our establishments and kept us flush. And they didn't call the cops when shit got a little too hot.

Rocky smacked his hand on the table with a dissatisfied grunt. "Seems to me that we have only two choices. Protect the businesses ourselves, which would stretch us too thin, or take out Los Ochos for good."

I was in inclined to agree with Rocky, especially after they killed Mark and threatened Laura. But I was also older and wiser these days. "We could just beat the fuck out of ‘em and run them out of Steel City, that way we get the same result without the headache of the fucking police."

"Yeah," Rocky groaned. "That's a good point, but dammit, these guys are bad news. Stupid and young and reckless, always a bad fuckin' combination." He shook his head and smacked the table in frustration again.

"They killed a man in broad daylight. It's safe to say these assholes aren't criminal masterminds, but it's making them money, which gives them no reason to stop." I thought about Melanie, her pain and devastation. Her fear. "Melanie said exactly what the other owners said. She wants to keep the bakery open but she's worried things will be worse for her without Mark around. She might just close it up or sell it."

"And who the fuck would buy a dying business, or worse, one being extorted by a local gang?" Rebel's nostrils flared. "Like Rocky said, we don't have many options here."

"Exactly," Slate agreed. "That bakery has four employees who won't be able to pay their bills, and we all remember how shit was when this town was poor with a bleak future."

We all nodded, remembering well the days when everyone was willing to sell lies to the cops about the big bad bikers for a quick payday. Whether it was real or imagined, hard times made people behave badly and the MC bore the brunt of it.

"That's the fucking past," Diesel grunted. "We're not letting it get to that point again. We can't afford to."

Diesel's words immediately brought my thoughts back to Laura, who, in truth, hadn't been far from my thoughts since I dropped her off at home a couple of days ago. Being with her was more fun than I expected. I knew she was strong and confident and capable, but I hadn't expected her to be funny or quick-witted. She wasn't just serious, and even though I caught glimpses of heat in her gaze, she wasn't just some biker bunny. She wanted me—even if she didn't want to—but she wasn't interested in me because I was a biker.

She liked me as a man, thought I was funny and charming. She'd accused me of being a flirt, but she wore a flirtatious smile as she said it, which told me even more about her. She liked my playful side and I found hers irresistible, which only made me more determined to keep her safe from Los Ochos.

Her safety was my top priority, but if spending time together allowed her to see beneath the biker, that was a benefit I was more than willing to exploit.

Laura wary as hell, which meant I had to go slow. If I took my shot and failed, she might refuse to let me keep her safe, and that would put her in more danger, which I refused to do. Good people like Laura were hard to come by, and I refused to let her be another innocent victim of stupid assholes like Los Ochos.

That anger fueled me. "We need to find out what else they're into and take it all from them. If that doesn't force them out, then we go with Rocky's idea."

Rebel laughed.

"Look at Hawk, singing a different tune now that it's his girlfriend in trouble," Maverick said.

I smiled at their teasing, but I also flipped them both off. "Unlike you pussy-whipped bastards, this isn't just about a woman. It's about the whole fucking town."

Rebel smirked without arguing back.

"Reasons don't matter right now," Diesel said, his voice a roar above the chatter. "What matters now is that these fuckers provide an existential threat and we've worked too goddamn hard to let that happen." He shook his head. "Slate, find out everything you can. Maverick, Hawk, keep an eye on them around town. Learn everything you can about them. Rocky, I need you and Rebel to find out what legit businesses they operate, if any. I want to know every-fucking-thing about how they make money."

The room was quiet and tense for a long moment and then we all sprang to action, doing what our prez needed us to do for the MC.