28. Esteban

28

ESTEBAN

W e reached the outside of one of our clubs. The rain had just let up and the orange glow of street lights glistened off of the broken pavement and concrete of the buildings. A fair amount of graffiti also littered the walls. Ours and some punk kids.

We liked their art, so we'd left it.

Javier hadn't been torn up over ego things like that. If he liked it, it stayed.

Rita rode on the passenger side this time, and Matías drove. He parked on the side of the street just far enough back to be out of the way of the people coming and going.

It was our dirtiest club. While it was technically open to the public, it was mainly a hotspot for illegal activity. This had also been our number one playground for peddling recreational club drugs.

"Did they respond?" She glanced over her shoulder.

I glanced at my phone, the screen blank. "No." The word was torn from my throat. "But they'll be here."

Due had been my best friend from day one. We'd come up through Dirty Dogs together, fucked girls together, and shot the shit together. We had even done most of our jobs as a pair.

If there was one thing I knew about him, it was that he didn't back down. He would come if only because he couldn't force himself to stay away from a challenge.

I just really fucking hoped I was wrong.

She reached back and squeezed my hand. "Let's get inside then."

The three of us talked about the possibility of what happened if he was out to tear Dirty Dogs apart. I needed to look in his eyes and ask him if he lied to me.

If he did want to go back to our old ways, or Rita dead, and he hid that from me? Already my chest squeezed at the betrayal. It would mean everything with him was a fucking lie.

We hopped out of the SUV as other Dirty Dogs who had been at the compound pulled up around us. The Dirty Dogs who were hanging out by the club paused to watch us walk up.

As instructed, they alerted the men we were coming. A group text had gone out, minus the men who had dropped off.

I sent those out separately, letting them know they had one chance to clear their names.

Loud rock music spilled onto the street as the door was held open. Black light painted all the walls inside and everyone wearing white was now lit up in blinding neon blue.

The people parted and the ones who weren't part of the gang were knocked out of the way. There was a fight coming and everyone knew it. It stank in the air.

Women in white, slashed, crop shirts and cut-off jean shorts holding trays of liquor, stopped on the side of the room. We used to own these girls, but now, they were paid a more than generous wage.

Sex was still on the table if they wanted it, but they kept the payment.

They seemed especially interested. One of the men must have told them what was happening.

Rita headed straight toward the couches in the back, falling right into the one Javier always favored. Matías walked around the back, and I took his lead. If we all sat, it would have been too easy for someone to get the drop on her.

I wanted to trust my brothers, but until we had this all out and sorted, no one had her back but Matías and me.

The music kept playing as the Dirty Dogs arranged themselves around the room. Most wanted to be close enough to hear, but not close enough to get involved. Due and our other brothers who were with him were still liked. At least until we could get their side.

We'd also pulled everyone in. This club specifically was big enough to house us all. It was also the most off the beaten path.

Then we waited.

And waited.

"Do you think they won't show up?" Matías asked out of the side of his mouth.

"They'll come." I was sure of it. Due would just make us wait. For the sole reason that he was an asshole and this was his way of sticking it to us when he knew he had a fight on his hands.

Another thirty minutes went by, then an hour.

Dancing had long since started back up and drinks were getting served. Some of the guys weren't drinking at all, too wired for the coming fight. But some were slamming them back.

A yelp came from the front, then people pushed toward us.

Rita stood. "They're here," she said just loud enough for us to hear.

Matías and I moved around the couch to stand on either side of her. If things went sideways, I didn't want to waste precious seconds jumping over furniture to get to her.

When the crowd parted, there was Due leading the pack. That fucking answered any question I had about his loyalty. With him were seven other men. All Dirty Dogs, and all fucking traitors.

I sneered.

But Due didn't look my way. His face was twisted up in hate as he glared at Rita, nasty piece of shit betrayer.

My fingers twitched to reach for my gun, but I didn't pull it out.

Not yet.

Rita wanted to avoid shootings in the clubs. We ran neutral territories and she didn't want us to fuck with that. Once the rule was broken it was only a suggestion and way too fucking easy for thugs to ignore.

Adjusting her feet shoulder width apart, Rita crossed her arms and waited for Due and his asshat betrayers to come closer.

The music cut completely and Dirty Dogs ushered anyone out who wasn't associated with the gang.

"Due," Rita greeted coldly.

"Rita," he mocked as the men behind him dropped coolers down at their feet.

Fuck. My heart pounded into overdrive. I hadn't even noticed them carrying them at first. They were dark gray, blending in under the black lights.

"Are you going to confess your sins or do I have to spill your secrets for you?" Rita took a step forward. Just a small one.

Due smirked like a fucking tool. "Confess my sins?" Then he laughed, glancing back at Hap, then twisting to Trig. All of them seemed to be having the time of their lives. "What about your sins?"

"We're not here to discuss my sins. Why did you kill Tiago?"

A murmur rumbled through the crowd. As some men looked on at Due with disgust.

"He was a weakness." Due let his hands hang down by his sides as if he wasn’t a threat. A bald-faced lie.

"He was a Dirty Dog."

"He was an idiot who wanted to kill you. Is that a man you wished was still living?"

Rita sucked in a sharp breath. "So you're telling me that you killed a fellow Dirty Dog in my honor?" She raised a brow.

"No. That had nothing to do with it, but it was a nice side benefit for you. Do you wish I would have let him live to complete his fucked up mission?"

"I wish you would have turned him in and let the gang deal with him."

Due spat on the ground. "What gang?"

"The Dirty Dogs. The very one you've been part of for years."

"You're not even part of it."

"Really?" Rita's voice was deadly. Due was two minutes away from getting his balls ripped off. From the way he leaned back, he knew it .

Shaking his head and shoulders like he was getting rid of dirt, he glanced around the room. "Dirty Dogs! We were one of the most terrifying gangs in this country, second only to the Institution." He slid his gaze to Rita. "And what happened? The fucking Carnage Brothers happened. And their little cunt. They tore it apart from the inside out and now they're only operating a third of what they used to. Their most lucrative businesses? Gone. What do they spend their time and money on now? Training little bitches."

Rita started forward, but Matías and I reached out, grabbing her arms.

She glanced back and I shook my head. Let him get out what he wanted to say.

"You want to follow her?" He tossed out his arm to encompass Rita. "She's the worst of us. She got in bed with the enemy. Literally." He cut his gaze at Matías. "Then she went into business with them. Where does her loyalty lie? It's not with us! It's with her cunt and her own interests. Fuck the Dirty Dogs. Right? Rita?" He swung back around.

Who was this fucking guy? This was not my friend.

"Who the fuck are you?" I stormed forward.

"Esteban." Rita stopped me in my tracks.

One side of Due's lip curled, wrinkling his nose. "I'm the man I always was."

"No you're fucking not!" I yelled, tensing up my shoulders. "You never said one goddamned thing about not liking the way the club was going. Or any of this shit!"

"You know why?” Due raised his voice so everyone could hear him. "Because you're their lapdog, Esteban. You have your nose so far stuck up Rita's ass, that you would never see her the way we see her."

The men at his back mumbled their agreement.

"You worshiped Javier. It would have been a wasted effort to try and change your mind. Our entire friendship wasn't a lie. I didn't always feel like this. But when the Institution fell and Javier started making changes, bad ones, you were the perfect cover because you were so fucking loyal to the wrong people. No one doubted me."

I swung.

It was the only thing I could do. This asshole had used me.

"Don't shoot!" Rita screamed.

It didn't stop me from taking Due to the ground. I grabbed his shirt and slammed his head into the floor, then again. He groaned as I pulled back and snapped my fist across his face.

Arms looped through mine and dragged me up. "You fucking prick! Cabrón ! You nasty-ass, little, bitch!"

Black edged my vision as I stared down at him, and I was able to stomp my boot in his stomach before I was fully pulled back.

Good. He fucking deserved it.

Due pushed himself up on his knees, then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The hate that stared back at me as he watched men pull me back was alien. I didn't know him. I didn't know who the fuck he was, and I never did. He'd got one over on me and I was too fucking stupid to realize it.

Huffing air out, I was deposited back next to Rita.

She cupped the sides of my neck and stared up at me. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

I glanced at Due again, as if he were a magnet pulling me back to him over and over again.

I forced myself to look down at Rita. "I'm good." The words came out low and gravely.

"Why don't I believe you?" she snipped. For a second, the darkness cleared up, but it only lasted for a second. "I have to share what he did. The Dirty Dogs need to know. Are you good?"

I was fucking this up for her. Cracking my neck, I stepped back. "Yeah, I'm good."

Raising up, she pressed her lips to mine, then when she dropped back, her gaze shuttered. She was ready to tear his ass up, and I couldn't wait to see it.

"Sorry about that. You know how it is when you're betrayed by one of your own," Rita said to the crowd of men. Some laughed. Most were silent. Watchful.

Several had their guns out, but somehow, Rita had stopped them from firing.

Due climbed back to his feet and sick satisfaction swelled inside me at the already swelling bruise on his face. It looked much better on him than Matías' had when I busted his face up.

"I've always been for the Dirty Dogs. Working with Amorette and the brothers has only given us an alliance. More protection. I won't apologize for that." She walked closer to Due and Matías followed behind her.

Fuck, I couldn't let him be the only one. I took three long steps too.

"But Due and his friends? They schemed to take the club back to those businesses, never mind it would start a war with Carnage Industries. Did you think of that?"

Due raised his chin. "We're not strangers to war."

"Sure, when we were on the winning side." She shook her head and gazed at the crowd again. "I won't say the Bastards would win easily, or win against us completely if it came down to it, but we wouldn't escape it alive. At least half, if not more Dirty Dogs would lose their lives. For what? To peddle flesh and drugs? Those are the absolute worst businesses to be in."

Rita spun on her heels, taking in our guys and even the women who were still here.

"That's not who we are anymore. You don't like it? You can leave. I won't hold you here, but Dirty Dogs is not that club anymore and you damn sure won't run those businesses in our territory." She pointed to Hap. "You want to bring back that business?"

He nodded. "Fuck yeah."

"Fine. Then bring Gloria to the club. We'll put her to work just like the other girls."

His eye bugged. "Our wives and daughters are off-limits. Always have been."

"That's why those businesses are evil. Do you even hear yourself? Women aren’t commodities. We never were."

The women along the walls whooped.

"You're forgetting one thing, Rita," Due said casually as he scratched his jaw.

"What's that?"

"We're not going to just let you have the gang. I wouldn't be a Dirty Dog if I did." He snapped his fingers at the men behind him. They reached for the coolers as he continued speaking. "I'm making my claim for it."

"You and seven men?"

"You're forgetting Joel." Due smirked. "But no, there's more of us than that."

Then the coolers were tipped. Five or six heads were dumped out. One rolled right to Rita's feet.

Alarm and fury fought for supremacy. I recognized that head.

And it opened a shit storm we didn't want to fight.

Matthews' sightless eyes stared up at Rita.