“Son of a bitch,” Hero hissed. “That motherfucker is lucky he’s dead.”
“It was a clear fuckin’ statement.” Storm clasped his hands on the table. “So you think Stephen was working with Jordy? Why?”
“I’m not really sure. When you called asking for a meeting, it struck me as odd since I stay out of Stephen’s gun business. Then when Jordy mentioned my sister, it felt like a setup.”
“How’d you know about the bomb?” Hero asked.
“My guard had reminded me about a delivery Stephen had gotten from his bomb supplier. It seemed plausible after Stephen’s panicked behavior to get out of the building. I took a chance.”
“Shit,” Storm muttered. “Do you think he wanted to take my crew and me out?”
“Pretty damn sure, along with me.”
Storm rocked in his chair. “If they’d succeeded, they would’ve weakened my club. Then the Vipers could’ve finished the job and would be top dog in Minnesota.”
“Jesus,” Ciro hissed.
Prez looked at each one of us at the table. “I have to discuss all this with my brothers. If we help you, I can only send a few men your way. I can’t leave the club vulnerable. I already have two guys gone.” He was talking about Track and Ryder. Cash hadn’t returned yet. Something had temporarily altered his plans.
“I understand. I appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.” The call ended.
Storm dragged his hands down his cheeks.
“Well, this is more fucked up than I expected,” Boxer said. “They’re the fucking Mafia. They can find Rosa on their own.”
Hero shook his head. “I remember seeing her when we went up to Canada. She’s young, maybe twenty now. Dang, she’d looked scared.” He flicked his gaze at Raul. “Do you remember?”
Raul shook his head. “Not really. I was tense after the drive into the boonies.”
“You heard Ciro. He has his men turning Canada inside out.” Storm twirled the mallet on the table. “What he wants with us is to dig into The Cities. Jordy is the connection. He had to have taken her. Where would he hide a woman?”
“Maybe Irisah would’ve known.” I pursed my lips thin to not lose my shit. I wasn’t over what had happened at the gym. “She worked at Viper’s Den and was at the clubhouse when we raided it.”
“Dammit,” Storm hissed. “Now she’s gone. I don’t want to spread us thin searching for two women.”
“So we put a member and a prospect on each girl,” Raul said. “Grizz can do his thing with facial recognition and whatever. But the big question is what do we do about the Vipers now that Jordy is gone? Will his VP, Deek, move up? Will we have blowback on the club if he thinks we took out his prez?”
“Excellent points. Grizz, get Deek on the phone. Set up a meeting with him.” Storm stood with the mallet in hand. “The rest of you, check on your businesses. Get your families in order. We need to be prepared for anything and everything.” He hit the table, ending church.
I stayed in my chair to process this crap. Ava was my woman. She bore my mark, but I needed more. I wanted her as my wife.
There was no time to waste. I needed to put a ring on her finger before it got crazy around here again.
26
Sugar
I stiffened under Storm’s intense stare when the door opened behind me. “Sugar? Didn’t know you were waiting for me.”
I didn’t know I’d be waiting for him either. “I need a minute of your time.”
He shut his office door and went to his well-worn leather executive chair. “You can have all the time you need.” He studied me as he sat.
There were many similarities of my late husband in Storm. It went beyond his features, dark hair, and stormy-gray eyes. Storm’s mannerisms were exactly like Matt’s. On the outside, he intimidated everyone, but if we looked closer, we could see how much he cared for people. Not only his MC family but other lives mattered to both men.
They weren’t like David, Storm’s dad. Before I’d met Matt, David had been a ruthless, selfish, wife-beating asshole. He’d driven Matt out of South Dakota. Matt had said going out on his own and starting a new chapter had been the best decision of his life. His only regret had been not bringing Storm with him.
“I know you have a lot on your plate. I don’t mean to add to it, but this matter is important.”