Standing up from my stool, I nod in agreement before heading to my room to turn in for the night.
I’m grabbing myself a cup of coffee from the kitchen the next morning after another sleepless night when I run into Reid.
"We need to talk," he says sounding irritated as he walks past me, not bothering to stop. Following him, Reid leads me out the back door of the clubhouse towards a picnic table towards the corner of the yard.
"You want to tell me why the fuck you have me digging into the biggest fucking drug lord in Miami?" He barks.
Keeping my expressions neutral, I answer him, "I told you it was personal," I remind him as I sit down on top of the table, resting my forearms on my knees.
"When you have me checking up on your sister, that’s personal. It’s a whole other ball game when I’m tapping into a man like Santino, Gabriel. When you mentioned drugs and fights, I imagined a low-level gang punk. If a man like Miguel Santino catches someone snooping around in his dealings, that comes back on the club."
"Thought you knew how not to get caught, brother."
"I do." Reid scoffs. "But people like Santino, have people like me making sure nobody is sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. All I’m saying is you should have fuckin’ warned me as to who I was dealing with. Fucking hell, Gabriel."
"Well, now that you’re done bitchin’, you want to tell me whatcha got?" I ask taking a swallow of my coffee.
Running his hands through his hair Reid takes a seat next to me.
"Not much to tell man. No more than you already knew. Miguel Santino is smart, he doesn’t leave a paper trail."
"Yeah, I figured as much. Thanks anyway, brother." I go to stand when he asks.
"You going to tell me what your deal is with this guy?"
Looking him straight in the eyes, I deliver to him something I’ve only ever told Logan.
"Miguel Santino is the man responsible for my father’s death."
Turning, I walk back to the clubhouse, not bothering to wait for Reid’s reaction. It’s no secret that I’m a very private person. I don’t divulge to anyone much about my past. Logan is the only one of the brothers that knows the most. Jake only has the cliff’s notes. Now Reid has a little bit more of me. I wanted him to understand the reason the information meant so much to me.
Later that afternoon, I’m at my shop finishing up a back piece for a repeat customer, when the door chimes. A middle-aged man in a dark suit walks in. It’s not uncommon to have suits walk in from time to time. You’d be surprised at how many of your corporate types have ink. With Blake gone to lunch, I stand up, take my gloves off, and toss them in the trash bin beside my work station.
"Give me a minute." I tell the guy who’s laid out in my chair.
"Sure, man. I need a smoke anyway." He says, getting up and walking out the door.
"What can I do for ya?" I ask the suit walking in his direction.
"Gabriel Martinez?"
"Yeah, that’s me." I tell him. I take a moment to size him up. The guy is about six feet tall, his dark hair is buzzed close to his scalp. On closer inspection, he’s definitely not corporate at all. Aside from his fancy suit, he looks street. Right down to the scars covering his knuckles.
"I’m here on behalf of Mr. Santino. He has requested a meeting with you."
I tense at the mention of Santino.
"Not interested." I convey in a bored tone while trying to keep my anger in check.
My senses go on high alert when he reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket. In one swift movement, I slip my hand into my cut, pulling out my gun, and press the barrel to his forehead.
"You better think about your next move very carefully pendejo asshole."
Seeming unfazed, aside from the slight tick of his jaw, the man slowly removes his hand from his suit holding a card. With my gun still trained on him, I reach with my other hand and pluck it from his grasp.
"I assure you Mr. Martinez, you want to take this meeting." Without another word the man turns and walks out of my shop. Now I’m left wondering what the hell Santino is up to.
"Fuck." I mutter out loud. I look down at the card in my hand which has an address written on it.