He nodded, then turned to introduce us all to the two younger guys standing beside him. “And this is Hugo and Reed. I’m not sure if you had a chance to meet at the last gathering.”
“Not sure if we did. Anyway, it’s always good to meet a fellow brother.” Menace turned to Bates and said, “We gotta do better about gettin’ the clubs together.”
“Yeah, we do. It’s been too long.”
Getting right down to business, Axel motioned his head towards the truck. “We’ve got the product. Twenty pounds like we discussed.”
“This shit really as good as Viper says?”
“Wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.” Axel was our VP for a reason. He was level-headed and forthright, but at the same time, he didn’t take shit from anyone. He told it like it was, and he expected everyone else to do the same. While these were our fellow brothers, we were there to do business, and he treated it as such. “You shouldn’t have any trouble moving it, but if you do, let us know, and we’ll make some adjustments to the size of the take.”
“No worries there. Folks back home are always looking for a good smoke. We shouldn’t have any problem unloading it.” Bates turned to Hugo and Reed. “Get the goods and load it in the truck.”
Rafe and I followed the brothers to the back of the truck, then helped them move the bags over to theirs. Once we had Kiersten’s odor-proof bags secured under the rear compartment, they closed the door and I said, “Bring the bags back on the next exchange.”
“Will do.”
We made our way back to the others, and I heard Fallon ask, “You boys wanna grab something to eat before you head back?”
“Appreciate the offer, brother, but like you, we got a long drive home.”
“That we do.”
After we all said our goodbyes, Fallon gave Axel a brotherly pat on the bicep as he said, “You boys have a safe trip home.”
“You too, brother.”
Rafe and I followed Menace and Axel to our truck and got inside. None of us spoke as Axel eased out of the old parking lot and headed back home. We talked a little about how well everything had gone, and I had no doubt that Viper would be pleased. I hoped the same would hold true for Lynch and the other brothers who went to Atlanta to meet up with our South Carolina chapter. They had a farther distance to travel, so we weren’t surprised that we made it back to the clubhouse before them. We met briefly with Viper, then Menace announced, “I’m going to head over to Stilettos and see how things are going there.”
“I’ll take a ride over there with you.” Rafe glanced over at me as he asked, “You coming with?”
I nodded, then followed them both out to the parking lot. Once we were on our bikes, Rafe and I followed Menace out the gate and towards Stilettos. While the two strip clubs did exceptionally well on their own, we made a small fortune by having our girls sell coke to some of our wealthier regulars. The girls were exceptional—not only at stripping but also at moving goods. Marijuana was a hot commodity in Tennessee, so I had no doubt they’d do well with our latest endeavor. As soon as we got to the club, Menace checked to make sure things were running smoothly with the girls while Rafe and I strolled over to the bar next to Locke and Bear. They were talking with Marlowe while she took a break from bartending. As soon as we sat down, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Damn, Lowe. Don’t gotta sound so disappointed to see us,” I teased.
“You know I’m not. I just wasn’t expecting you guys to be back so soon.” As usual, she was practically beaming as she turned her attention to Rafe. “I’m glad y’all made it back okay. Did everything go the way you hoped?”
“It went fine.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” Even though Marlowe worked for the club and was Rafe’s ol’ lady, she didn’t know all the ins and outs of the club. None of the women did. All she knew was what she needed to know—that we had a run and would be gone for the day. “Can I get you guys something to drink?”
“I’m good,” Rafe answered.
“Yeah, I’m good, too.” I turned to Locke as I asked, “How have things been going here?”
“There haven’t been any major blowups since the last rumble with Lynch and those rowdy assholes, so I’d say they’ve been all right.”
“You realize you just jinxed us, right?”
“Suits me fine.” A mischievous grin crossed his face. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a little excitement around here.”
“I’m just fine without it, thanks.”
“You know, the girls are moving the new product fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if we needed more by the end of the month.”