Chapter 13

Ven

I climb out of bed once Amy is fast asleep. It may be morning, but even after being up all night I still have what it takes to wear her pretty ass out between the sheets. Amy is that mixture of sweet and sexy but with a strong personality. I want to stay there all day with her, but I have business to deal with. I didn’t tell her that we’ve discovered her mom is definitely being held at the farm, me and my club brothers have to decide how best to handle the rescue mission, and I don’t want Amy getting her hopes up until we’ve got a solid plan in place. Hopefully, there’ll be no need for us to go in with all guns blazing, and the old bastard will hand her over in exchange for his son.

I slide out of bed and get dressed, knowing full well that Edmund is in our lockup in the basement. When I leave my room, I make sure the door is locked, Amy can get out, but no one can enter without a key. Not that anyone associated with my club would do something like that, but I’m not taking any chances.

I head downstairs to the basement and open the large metal door. The area we use as a small jail is soundproofed so we need not fear things getting too loud, though truth be told, the thought of Edmund’s squeals disturbing any of my club brothers drinking at the bar is the least of my problems.

Evan comes to his feet when I enter the hallway. “Didn’t you check your messages? Siege and my dad want to talk to you in Siege’s office.”

My hand goes to my pocket, and I pull my phone out as I mumble, “No I’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, we all heard,” he says with a smirk.

Glancing up from reading the message from Siege, I tell Evan sharply, “Maybe it’s time to keep your ears shut, prospect, and focus on guarding our prisoner” I feel a bit shitty reprimanding him, he’s a prospect and they need to show respect, but as he’s also Rigs’ son, we tend to let him get away with stuff.

Evan shrugs, “Sorry Ven, I was just kidding. When I took over from Crow, he said you’d gone upstairs with Amy, it doesn’t take a genius to know why.”

“How’s the prisoner been?” I ask.

“Whining and talking shit about how his father is gonna storm the clubhouse,” Evan says.

“Sounds about right. I’m off to see what Siege wants, if shit-for-brains gives you any trouble, then get one of the brothers to give him a beat down.”

Evan nods and sits back down on the wooden chair. He’s got a sketch pad with him, and I can’t help but notice the designs, “Looking good.”

“Thanks, man,” he says with a smile. “Vapor says he’s gonna put some of my designs in the flash book at the shop. I want to learn to tattoo, but they won’t let me loose on a person until I’m eighteen, so I’m stuck tattooing pork belly until then. It sucks.”

I try and remember back to how I was when I was Evan’s age. Not anywhere near as sensible, that’s for sure. He’s got an old head on a young body, I guess it’s because before Rigs and Mattie found him, he’d been having to support himself and his grandmother. It might seem like the club officers are being sticklers for the rules with him, but his mom and dad want him to enjoy what’s left of his childhood without having adult responsibilities.

I hotfoot it upstairs and knock on Siege’s door. When he tells me to come in, I step into the room and the first thing I see is Dan sitting in a chair in front of Siege’s desk, surrounded on either side by the other club officers. He looks super anxious and his head snaps around to look at me as I walk up. He practically jumps out of his chair when I approach. “I didn’t do it,” he stammers.

I wave him back down. “Yeah, we know you’re just an accessory after the fact. Sit back down.”

He hesitates for a second then does as he’s told. I jerk my chin at Siege and my club brothers and say, “Hope you all got a couple of hours of shut eye.”

Rigs responds grumpily, “We didn’t, so let’s get right down to it.”

“So what’s Danny-Boy doing here?” I ask.

Siege gestures to Dan to fill me in on what he’s already no doubt told them,

“A cave on my father’s property was firebombed last night. Someone left Edmund’s cell phone there with a Savage Legion business card. The old man sent me to ask you where Edmund is.”

“Yeah,” Siege interjected. “We blew up the meth lab your brother had set up in there.”

“What?” Dan gasps.

“I’m guessing by your response Edmund didn’t tell you about his little side hustle. We don’t need a major meth operation funneling drugs into Las Salinas. Regardless of who owns the land, this is our territory. There’s also the little matter of your half-sister. We brought Edmund here because want to trade him for Carol Grayson, who we believe is being held against her will.”

“Look, we’re not animals. We’re doing everything we can to take good care of her. She’s actually a real sweet woman. If we could, we’d let her go. But…” he pauses, I’m guessing he doesn’t want to reveal what his brothers are up to.

“We know about your little plan, try and get your pops to change his will, and holding Carol hostage in case he dies before he signs the papers,” I say.

“You know?” Dan says with a shrug. “I didn’t wanna be a part of it. It was Edmund, Big Joe, and Hal who came up with the idea. I needed someplace to stay and went along with it.”

“So the plan is to wait until your father has a lucid moment and get him to change his will, that’s what Edmund said, but I’m not buying it,” Siege fixes him with a stare.

“It’s true. Edmund thought he might be able to forge the old coot’s signature, but his attorney wants him to sign in his presence, and he’d only need to take one look to see that Rufus is living in cloud cuckoo land,” Dan mutters.

“Edmund said he had a few screws loose. So what’s the story?” I ask.

“I don’t know what Edmund told you, but when we found out that the will had been changed, we asked him about it, but the old man had no memory of doing anything of the sort. He said that his daughter was dead to him, and the more we asked the more disturbed he got. We figured if we hung about, we might get him on a good day…” his voice trails off.

“Go on,” Siege says.

“That was almost eighteen months ago, after staying for a few months we realized he didn’t have good days. He was stuck in the past, convinced that his wife was away at her parents. That’s his first wife, Carol’s mom. That’s when Edmund had an idea, he thought if Carol visited then maybe it would jog his memory, except it didn’t work out that way. When he saw Carol at the door, he was convinced she was his wife.”

I shake my head in disbelief, when Edmund had spun this tale last night it seemed so farfetched, but here was Dan spouting the same shit.

Siege throws in, “You better not fucking tell me he’s using his own daughter as a stand in for his wife because, so help me God, if he’s touched her in any kind of wrong way, he’s a dead man.”

Surprise and revulsion jumps onto Dan’s face. “Hell no. He would never.”

Siege’s eyebrows shoot up. “Yet he’d hold her captive and sic dogs on his granddaughter, but this other thing is a bridge too far, right?”

Dan sighs. “Okay, maybe he really is that crazy. I don’t know if he would or if he wouldn’t, but I do know that his pecker stopped working years ago. It’s why he had a falling out with my mom. My mother said she was relieved that he stopped coming around because he was off his rocker and wildly unpredictable.”

“Shit,” Siege responds, “He must have been a handful back in the day. He must have got with your mom in his late fifties? You’re not much older than Amy.”

“Look, I don’t know about all that. All I know is my mom lost touch with him for years.”

“Getting you away from him sounds like a pretty smart move on her part. What made you decide tracking him down was a good call?” Rigs’ question is a good one, because Dan certainly didn’t have a great quality of life right now, busting his ass for slave wages on his father’s farm.

“I didn’t,” he responds irritably. “Big Joe tracked me down. Told me that I was the son of a rich man and stood to inherit property if I stepped forward. Since both my gran and my mom passed, I’ve been all alone. It sucks working one low paying job after another, so I decided to roll the dice and see if my dad was as crazy as my mother had told me all those years ago. Let’s just say my mom knew what she was talking about when it came to Rufus. He ain’t gonna last forever. I’m staying there not only for my inheritance, but to help Carol and try to keep my three older brothers from totally self-destructing.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that going for you?” I ask, knowing full well that he’s got no control over the others. I’ve seen that much with my own eyes.

“Not well. It’s clear that the old man favors Edmund over me, Big Joe, and Hal. Ed runs the fucking show down at the farm, and the other two think he walks on water and will do anything he asks, no matter how morally reprehensible it is. I know if he asked them to kill Carol they would—that’s one of the main reasons I’ve stuck around, other than those idiots, she’s my only flesh and blood, someone’s gotta look out for her. I never trusted that shady bastard, and from what you said about the meth lab, I was right. I think he’s setting us up for a fall, and he’s planning on taking everything for himself.”

“Why did your dad take such a shine to Edmund?”

Dan shrugs, “Edmund is a fast talker and slick like a used car salesman. To be honest, he acts like a pompous prick. I think that’s something my father could relate to, since he’s the same way. Maybe he sees his younger self?”

“Well, none of us particularly give a shit about the old man or his fucked-up family dynamics,” Siege tells him. “There are only two things on our radar. The first is the most important. We want Carol released and back where she belongs with Amy. Holding her hostage is apeshit crazy and has to stop. The second issue is Edmund’s meth business. He needs to fuck off with that shit. We’re not going to tolerate a full-blown meth operation in our territory.”

“Why do you care? I’m sure Edmund tried to make a deal with you, I know what he’s like.”

I speak up again, “We’re not an outlaw motorcycle club, just a regular one.”

Dan frowns, looking from one to another of us. “Ed said you’re a bunch of criminals. So, you’re all straight edge? Isn’t that fucking weird. I thought I was the only one in the entire fucking county that didn’t do a little meth.”

I take a step forward and gaze down at him. “Edmund’s a fucking liar. You should’ve known better than to believe his bullshit.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that. The part you’re not getting is just how little control I have about what goes down on that farm. If I kick up too much fuss and my father gets rid of me, who’s going to look out for Carol? Ed, Big Joe, or Hal would kill her in a heartbeat and probably do away with our dad too. I just try to shut the fuck up and deal with shit, ya know?”

For some godforsaken reason, I believe what he’s saying is true. “Do you think your father will trade Carol for Edmund?”

He gives another shrug. “Who the hell knows what goes through his mind.”

“What’s your best guess?” Rigs’ stern voice causes Dan to glance over at the older man.

Dan takes a few minutes to think over the question before saying, “I think the old man is going to gather up his guns, drag along Big Joe and Hal and come for Edmund himself.”

When we don’t immediately respond, he adds, “I know that sounds all kinds of crazy but you gotta understand you’re not dealing with a rational person, sometimes he doesn’t even know what decade it is. You know why he got so pissed when Amy showed up? He thought she was Carol. So yeah, he thinks his daughter is his dead wife come back to life, and his granddaughter is his estranged daughter who he blames for the death of his first wife,” Dan shakes his head with the craziness of it all.

“Where’s Jerry Springer when you need him?” I mutter.

“Hey, I’d buy tickets for that show,” Dutch says.

“He’s dead, but maybe Dr. Phil would be interested?” Tank offers.

“Alright, thanks for being honest,” Siege interrupts trying to get back on topic. “Drawing him off the farm and making him come to us will mean bullets aren’t flying around Carol.”

“That’s a smart move. She’s not moving as fast as she once was, I try and make sure she gets her meds, but she really needs to see a doctor.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get her out of there. Tell the old man he’s got twelve hours to make up his mind about the trade.”

“Or what,” Dan prompts.

“What do you mean or what?” I ask.

Rigs chimes in again, “The kid is asking what we’re gonna do if doesn’t agree. Remember, we’re not talking about someone who’s firing on all cylinders here.”

Dan glances at Rigs and responds, “A demand only works if there is a consequence attached. If not, Rufus might decide to just wait you out.”

Siege says, “Tell him that if we don’t hear back in twelve hours, we begin removing fingers and work our way down.”

Dan’s eyebrows jump up. “Seriously? You’d do that? So why twelve hours instead of eight or fourteen?”

I get irritated by all the talking when Dan needs to be on his way to deliver our message. I warn him, “More than twelve hours is just giving him extra time to round up hired guns, we’re being reasonable here, not stupid.”

“I guess that makes a certain kind of sense. I don’t think he’d round up hired guns, but maybe Big Joe or Hal would.”

I interject, “I know we told you that we’re not outlaw bikers, but you need to know that doesn’t mean we’re not dangerous. If we don’t get Carol back in twelve hours, I’ll start taking Edmund apart myself.”

“There’s no need to be so vicious, dude.”

I lean forward and get right into his face. “We’re savage, not vicious.”

He pales.

Rigs steps closer. “We’re trusting you to do the right thing here, Danny-Boy. Don’t let us down because I guarantee getting on the wrong side of us will make whatever your father or idiot brothers do to you, seem like a fucking vacation.”

Dan swallowed thickly. “I get it. No one wants this situation to go sideways. I’ll do my part to make the trade happen.”

Siege looks thoughtful, “Why don’t you tell your old man or brothers that when you left our property you saw someone with a cut that said Iron Demons MC, spying on us.”

Dan looks stunned. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

I catch on immediately. “It’s because the Demons are an allied club. If anyone did get the bright idea to get some hired guns then they might approach a club they think is our enemy, it would ensure things go our way and less people get killed.”

Rigs is quick to point out, “Don’t suggest that outright. Just tell him what you saw. Your father needs to think the idea was all his.”

Dan finally gets it. “You guys are sneaky as fuck but there’s no guarantee he’s going to make that connection.”

“If not then we roll with the plan we just put in place.”

“Alright, we’ll do this your way,” Dan says with a sigh.

Siege turns and pulls out his cell phone to call Stark from the Iron Demons MC, just in case. Rigs and I send Dan on his way and begin brainstorming how to handle the coming battle.