Chapter 24

Static

Cypher and his crew, all except Pyre who stayed back at the compound with our families, met us at the country club. He let out a low whistle. ”Swanky place.”

Lock chuckled and gave the building a sidelong glance before walking over to the van Scythe was driving. We parked separately so as not to draw attention to it and the bikes parked at the end of the lot. He opened the back and grinned. ”Not for long.”

We were all gathered around as Cypher and Lock stared down at enough cocaine to get anyone in a fuck ton of trouble. ”Who did you say you swiped these drugs off?” Cypher asked.

”Don”t know,” Hush muttered.

Cypher”s brows rose and he looked over at Lock. ”That going to be a problem?”

”Yup,” Lock said, expression grim. ”But it”s tomorrow”s problem. Today is for Fremont.”

Cypher nodded. ”Just remember, you can only kick the can down the road so long.”

”I know, but look at it this way. Whoever is moving this much coke in our city is going to be a problem anyway. It was only a matter of time.” Lock said. ”Let”s get this done.” He glared over at Butcher. ”I can trust you to do your job, right?”

The offended look on Butcher”s face made me chuckle.

”You know you can count on me,” he growled, glowering at Lock. ”Even if it means working with this asshole.” He jerked his thumb in Scythe”s direction.

”Good,” Lock told him, ignoring the dig at Scythe even as the other man scowled at Butcher. ”We”ll let you know when to go.” He glanced over at Hush. ”You”re in charge. Keep them in line.”

Hush gave a heavy sigh, but just nodded in acceptance.

I turned and flipped Toxic off as I walked away with the group who was heading inside to kick the hornet”s nest. He was stuck out here babysitting the drugs while I got to go inside. That was bound to piss him off, and I wasn”t about to miss the opportunity to rub salt in the wound.

Toxic pulled his knife out and ran the flat of the blade across his throat.

I rolled my eyes at the threat, then turned and trotted to catch up with my group. It was Lock, Cypher, Idaho, Smoke, Ricochet, Cynic, Warrant, and me. Normally, this would be the perfect job for Toxic, causing a scene, but it was best to keep Butcher outside and available for the next part of the plan. So Toxic was told to stick with him. I wondered if Lock realized what he”d done pairing those two up? As singular men, they were both trouble. Together? They were fucking chaos incarnate.

As soon as we walked through the doors Lock reached over and pushed a vase off a table in the front entryway. The hum of conversation stuttered to a halt as every eye landed on us. We”d already taken off our cuts and left them outside with the others. As painful as it was to leave them behind, we didn”t need to announce who we were to all the witnesses the cops would end up interviewing.

A woman rushed over, her eyes wide on the vase that was shattered on the floor. ”That was a Waterford,” she gasped. She glared up at Lockout. ”Let me see your membership-”

”Don”t have one,” Lock told her with a wide smile.

I couldn”t help grinning. He was having fun with this. It probably felt good to let loose and have a little fun. The Paldora Country Club was about to see a side of our president that most didn”t.

”Then what are you doing here?” she huffed.

”We”re here to see Neil Trask.”

”Mr. Trask doesn”t have time for-” She broke off with a gasp as Warrant flicked a second vase off the matching table on the other side of the entrance.

The dining room full of country club members was off to the left and everyone was watching with rapt fascination.

”Stop that right now!” The woman cried, all but stamping her high heel at us.

”We”re just going to keep this up until we speak to Trask,” Cypher said in a bored tone.

”Wait here,” she told us between gritted teeth. She looked over as two security guards ran up. ”Watch them.” She paused before turning. ”Don”t break anything else.”

”Sure, Sweetheart,” Cynic called after her.

”Sweetheart, huh?” I muttered.

Cynic shrugged with a grin. ”She has a great rack.”

Cypher chuckled. ”She”s old enough to be your mother.”

Cynic snorted. ”Not quite. But I like older women. They know exactly what they want and I rarely have to dodge their calls later.”

I shook my head with a laugh. ”And you have all our women believing you”re ”sweet”.”

”Your women, huh? You finally do something about-”

”Gentlemen.”

We all looked over as a man in a suit strode toward us.

”That didn”t take long,” Smoke muttered.

Trask was the owner of the country club, and another business owner working with Fremont. He looked around as he approached and gave a fake smile to his patrons. It was the lunch time crowd, so not as busy as I imagined it would be for dinner. His eyes landed on us and his mouth settled in a fixed grim line. ”What do you want?” he asked as soon as he stopped in front of Lockout.

”To speak privately,” Lock told him.

”Not happening. You”re lucky I”m not having security throw you out on your asses.

Most of us scoffed at that. His security was a private firm, and they were a few levels above rent-a-cops, but they were nowhere close to our levels. Not that Trask knew that.

”We can always have the talk here,” Cypher said with a shrug.

”District Attorney John-”

”Wait.” Trask tilted his chin forward, trying to be discreet about casting a glance around to see who may have overheard. ”I”ve changed my mind. Two of you follow me.”

”Three,” Lock said, nodding to me. He glanced at Ricochet. ”You”re in charge until I get back.”

Ricochet shot Smokehouse a smug look. ”Told you he trusted me more.”

”What the hell,” Smoke muttered.

”You”re telling me,” Idaho said. ”I”m his damn brother.”

”And a prospect,” Warrant pointed out. ”You don”t get to have a leadership role until you”re a permanent fixture in the club.”

”Ah fuck off, War,” Idaho sighed.

We followed Trask up the stairs and made an immediate right-hand turn. His office was down the hall on the left. We watched as he settled behind his mahogany desk. His office was dripping in opulence. It was all a show. A fuck you to anyone he let in here. See how rich I am. Look what you can”t have. It was like the house of a drug dealer, or a politician.

”Talk fast,” Trask snapped, folding his hands together.

”You”re laundering money for Fremont,” Lock said, raising a brow. ”Stop.”

Silence descended as Trask waited for more. He”d asked for Lock to give him the short version and he had. I grinned.

”You think you can come into my place of business... into my world, and make demands?” Trask asked with an incredulous laugh. ”Who the fuck do you think you are?”

”I”m the man who”s going to ruin your fucking world if you don”t comply with my demands,” Lockout told him. His eyes clashed with Trask”s. One was fire, the other ice. Lock was cool and collected. For now. God help Trask if he pissed him off though. We were here to help with that. Well, Cypher was. I was here to learn the location of Trask”s office. To save time for the second half of this.

”That”s not possible,” Trask said, all arrogance and confidence.

”No?” Cypher asked. ”You sure about that?”

Trask hesitated and looked between the two men. He made his decision. ”I”m sure. You can”t prove a thing, and I”m done entertaining this bullshit. Get out of my office, and out of my club.”

”Make us,” Lock told him. Then his eyes shot to me and he dipped his head once.

I turned to leave. Shit was going to hit the fan, but I wouldn”t be here for that part. Trotting down the stairs, I gave our men a wide smile. ”Operation is a go.”

”What?” One of the security guards asked, but I didn”t stop to answer.

I went straight out the front door and headed toward our bikes and van. ”Clock’s ticking,” I told Hush.

”You got the location?” he asked.

”Yeah.”

Hush turned and looked over the group. ”You know where you”re goin” Riptide?”

”Yeah, the building plans were online and easy enough to find.”

Trask”s office had been the only unknown in this. And whether he would cooperate with us. Lock didn”t try too hard to get him to bend to our will. Fuck, who knew if we could have trusted him if he promised to stop. Tara? We”d trusted her. Troy and Trask were built from the same fucking cloth. They were scum and at least we could put one out of business today.

”Demo, Hell, and Priest, go with Rip. Watch his back,” Hush ordered.

”Scythe, Toxic, and Butcher. You”re with me and Static.” He pointed to the van.

”You”re not keeping anyone with the van?” Toxic asked.

”Nothin” left of value in the van once we pack up the coke,” Hush replied. He looked over his shoulder at Rip. ”Give us a minute. We”ll all go in together.”

We quickly stuffed bricks of cocaine into our jeans and hid them anywhere we could for the quick walk to the building. We went around the back and stopped next to a window.

”Alright,” Hush said. ”Make sure-” He broke off when a shattering sound interrupted. He glared over at Demo, who”d just put his elbow through the pane of glass. ”No one”s around first,” Hush bit out. ”Dammit.”

Demo just grinned and shrugged as he reached through and flicked the lock on the window, then opened it for everyone to climb in. ”Worked, didn”t it?”

”Do you have to destroy everything?” Hell asked as he ducked into the opening.

”What?” Demo asked, sounding a bit mournful.

”These guys are worse than you,” I muttered to Toxic and Butcher.

Toxic grinned. ”Where do you think I learned how to do what I do?”

”Fuck and drink?” Hell asked. ”Figured it came natural.”

Toxic snorted and shook his head before sticking it out into the hallway. ”All clear.”

”Security”s a shitshow,” Butcher muttered.

Scythe nodded. Both men eyed each other, then decided to play nice.

The last thing we needed was for them to get into it here. We only had so long before we needed to get our asses out of here.

Hush looked over at Rip. ”You good?”

”Yeah, we”re heading up and left,” he replied.

Hush gave me a questioning look.

”Up and right. Last door on the left,” I told him.

We moved quickly and quietly. The sound of something shattering and angry voices made us pause on the back set of stairs that the employees used. Trask was exactly the kind of man who wouldn”t want the guests seeing the lowly servants as they scurried around like busy ants, doing his bidding.

”Oh!”

I looked up and there at the top of the stairs was a woman, carrying a silver tray.

”Who are- Oh!” She leaned back against the doorframe as Toxic put his arm on the frame above her head.

”Hey, Doll,” he said with a smile. Her eyes were wide, but her lips were beginning to tilt upward.

”There”s no time for this,” Demo hissed.

”Give him a minute,” Hush ordered. ”If it keeps her quiet, we have time.”

Toxic leaned in and whispered something in the woman”s ear. A giggle split the air and all I could do was roll my eyes. Toxic”s appeal to the ladies would forever be a mystery. He told them exactly what he was, and they ate it up, and asked for more. Not that I gave a shit. I already had mine. As long as he didn”t set his sights that way he could fuck whoever he wanted.

”Hurry up,” I hissed.

Toxic winked and gave her a peck on the cheek. ”We”ll continue this later.”

The woman smiled and nodded, then hurried down the stairs, giving us as much space as she could.

”What”d you tell her?” Demo asked, a look of amusement on his face.

”Told her we were going to rob the place and would she like to meet up for a drink after?”

We all chuckled and split up at the top of the stairs. More yelling from downstairs floated up to us. ”Looks like they”re keeping everyone busy alright,” Priest said. ”Let”s get this shit planted and get out before the cops show up.”

Hush pushed open the door and I was glad to see that Trask had followed Lock and Cypher out. We needed him to have no idea how the drugs got into his office for this to work.

”We need somewhere the cops would look, but not a place Trask will find first,” Butcher said, looking around.

”Not exactly a lot of options,” Scythe replied, also searching the room. ”Bathroom”s the only place.”

It was a half bath, with only a toilet and a vanity. It didn”t surprise me Trask didn”t want to shit where the others did. ”Under the sink,” I told them.

”Only option,” Hush muttered.

We quickly unloaded the drugs and then shut the cabinet door. I closed the bathroom door behind us. ”Don”t touch that,” I snapped at Toxic as he started to grab something off the desk. ”If it looks like someone was in here he”s going to do a search.”

Toxic shrugged and pulled his hand back. ”Fine. Shit. What”s got your panties in a bunch?”

”Oh I don”t know,” I said in a low voice. ”Maybe I don”t want to be caught with enough coke to send me to prison for the rest of my life.”

”You really need to get your dick wet,” he suggested. ”You”re always in a bad mood.” He shot me a grin, opening his mouth to make some crack.

”Not now,” Priest said, grabbing him by the neck and pushing him forward. ”You can fuck with him later.”

”Butcher,” Hush said, voice a warning.

Both he and Scythe were looking down the hallway.

”We could help the others,” Scythe offered.

”You”re just hoping to run into someone so you can kick their ass,” Hell pointed out.

”The point of this,” Priest replied, ”is to get in and out unseen. We already fucked that up.”

”Don”t worry, Rina won”t tell anyone she saw us,” Toxic said, leaning back against the wall as though he was bored.

”You had time to get her name?” Hell asked.

”Of course-”

”Downstairs,” Hush said. ”Get ready to get the fuck out of here. It”s getting quiet down there.”

He was right. I didn”t hear yelling anymore. Shit. That was our cue.

”We should wait for them,” Butcher insisted. Scythe nodded.

When those two were agreeing, something bad was seconds away from happening.

”No. We stick to the plan, get your asses downstairs,” Hush ordered, glaring at them both.

They went, unhappy as fuck, but they went. I was just climbing out the window when I heard something behind me. The knot in my chest relaxed when Rip and the others ran in and closed the door. ”Time to go,” he whispered.

We made it out of the building and paused at the corner. The bikes parked outside the building were gone, which meant Lock and the others had left. We waited until the security guards gave up and went back inside. We ran over to where our bikes and the van were parked and wasted no time in getting the fuck out of there.

We pulled into a store parking lot nearby and stopped next to the others. They were grinning.

”How”d it go?” Lock asked.

”No problems on our end,” Hush said.

”I erased all the footage. Cops shouldn”t be able to trace this back to us,” Rip replied.

”Fremont will know,” Ricochet pointed out.

”He will,” Lock said, ”but there isn”t shit he can do about it yet.” He nodded to me. ”Do it.”

I pulled a burner phone out of my pocket and punched in a number. Holding up my hand to quiet the group, I listened as it rang.

”Officer Torres.”

”I have an anonymous tip for you.”

”Okay. What”s your name?”

”Anonymous, dumbass,” I told him. I explained to him that Trask was using the country club as a way to move drugs.

”You”re...sure of this?” David asked.

”Positive. I wouldn”t wait too long to check it out, though. They don”t sit on that shit for long.”

”Alright, just a few more quest-”

I hung up the phone and dropped it on the ground. The sound of plastic breaking was satisfying as I ground it under my boot.

Riptide sighed, and picked the phone up, glaring at me. ”That doesn”t do shit, you know.” He pocketed the phone. ”I”ll take care of it. Next time just give it to me.”

”Now we wait,” Cypher said.

”How long?” Smoke asked. ”What?” he said when everyone looked at him. ”I have to take a piss.”

”Go inside then,” Cynic suggested and pointed at the store.

”Or go behind the dumpster,” Warrant said, pointing toward one.

Everyone settled in to wait and see if our plan worked. If Torres did his job, this was the beginning of the end.