Valan nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he took his seat. “You got it, pres.”
“Church is in session, you bunch of crazy fuckers. We’ve got some shit to handle. Everyone needs to pay attention.”
Mack was in a mood. I wondered what pissed him off.
Edge looked around the table, meeting each one of our brothers in turn. “We’ve got problems. Someone has been buying up the properties around Scarlet Syn and now we’ve gotten slapped with several violations. They’re threatening to shut us down.”
“Any word on the buyer?”
“Nothing concrete but this stinks like Forman Industries.”
Forman? As in Barry and his son Maxwell? Son of a bitch!
“That wouldn’t surprise me at all,” I admitted, knowing what kind of man Maxwell was and how he treated Cara. “Smug bastard thinks he owns Providence and the whole of Green County. Maxwell is Cara’s fiancé. Soon to be ex,” I emphasized. “He’s a ruthless, abusive, conniving prick.”
“Then he probably takes all of the shit with Cara personal, only adding fuel to the fire,” Edge added.
“That would be my guess.”
“Doesn’t look good for us,” Mack announced. “I want to know as much as we can find out about Forman industries and Maxwell. Valan, take Jake and scope out their properties. See what you can find out.”
“Done.”
“Edge, you and GQ find out all you can about these properties and how they’re being bought. Including how much they sold for, exact locations, anything that we might find useful. Look out for any known affiliations. This stinks like a set up.”
“No doubt,” Ghost chimed in.
“We need to keep a close eye on the clubhouse. Ghost, fill in the prospects and make sure they understand the seriousness of the threats we’ve got with the Outlaws. Wouldn’t be a shock to find Devlin and the SOMC waiting to strike when we were weakest.”
“I’m on it, pres.”
“Shit,” I cursed, staring my brothers down. “Cara said she saw Maxwell meeting with Devlin and a few members of the SOMC just a few days ago. I bet they’re both in on this together.”
Mack sat back and sighed. “That’s a fuckin’ guarantee. Looks like the Outlaws are tryin’ to take down our club, starting with our businesses and cash flow. It’s what I would do,” he admitted. “We need to be smart about this. Keep your heads low and stay out of sight. We need Intel right now, not to start a fuckin’ war.”
My brothers agreed but more than a few looked like they were ready to give the Outlaws the beat down they deserved. Looking around the table, I noticed Bryce’s absence. I didn’t say anything aloud, but it was suspicious. Why wasn’t he in Church?
“Dismissed,” Mack bellowed, banging the gavel again.
My brothers stood to their feet and headed out, leaving me alone with Mack.
“Why wasn’t Bryce here?”
“A temporary agreement.” He shrugged. “Edge agreed it was best for now.”
Yeah, I couldn’t say I didn’t see it coming. “I hope he stays loyal to us.”
Mack pulled out one of his expensive cigars and lit the end, puffing for a few seconds before he replied. “We’ll find out soon enough, R.J.”
With all the shit that was going down, I didn’t doubt it.
Chapter 12 – R.J.
Edge and I stood outside by our bikes after Church, puffing on a couple of smokes. He tried hard to completely kick the habit for Rae, but stress usually pushed him back into his nicotine addiction, at least temporarily.
“Don’t tell Rae. She’ll kick my sorry ass and those pregnancy hormones are no
joke.”