Banished Souls MC (10 page)

"No, it's okay," she said. She stepped forward and took Devlin's hand who barely hid his surprise.

"He's my boyfriend."

Chapter 11

Caine

"This stuff here," said Uncle. "This is all just a band aid over a much bigger wound."

Caine and Uncle stood in another one of their secret warehouses. Caine looked over to where the Club President was indicating. A small mini van was being stuffed with video game consoles. They were not worth a lot on the black market but with the current state of the Club finances it was better than nothing.

Caine could only frown. "Where'd we get em?"

Uncle watched as the last few boxes was loaded in and the sliding door shut. Blankets were thrown over the top. "Barely a tenth of what we lost with the other load."

Caine winced. Not good news, and it was only getting worse. Their previous client had completely bailed, and word had gotten out on the loss. The Club's reputation was in the crapper at the moment with little momentum to get it back up again to a point where heavy hitters would deal with them again.

Just like a damned corporation, Caine thought. Something goes wrong, its stock sinks. Only, when a company's stock drops there isn't the threat of stockholders shooting you and leaving you in a deep hole somewhere.

"Speaking of that," said Uncle, "any updates?"

"Nothing solid," Caine said. "On the cops side, they aren't finding much. They've asked around and our people were prepped, so nothing goes even close to being Club related."

"Good," said Uncle.

"All they have is the body of Angus, who, to them is just some random guy with no family. He was unemployed, according to federal records. His criminal record was also clean save for a couple of drunk and dis-orderlies back in the day."

"And who doesn't got them?" Uncle mused. But he got serious again. "Okay, they can't link him or his activities to us. So what do we have on our end?"

"Less than the cops. Other than we don't think Angus was in on a double cross. Just doesn't add up. Solid dude. Or was. No, it had to be someone in the know of our operations. And given how shoddy things have been lately, it could be either external, or internal."

Uncle grumbled, and ran a hand over his face. He looked weary. All this treachery, and potential treachery was getting to him. But this was par for the course of being the President of a Biker Club.

Uncle looked at Caine and asked, "What do you think?"

Caine could only offer a shrug. "Me? It could be as simple as someone surveilling us for a while. Would be easy to do. Grunt and Odin had used that place a lot for quite a while. Anyone could have caught on to what was up and waited for an opportunity. And they got it."

"Someone with balls."

"Big ones," Caine agreed. If they ever found out who it was, it would be a death sentence for them. And if it was connected to another Biker Club. Well, then it would be war.

Just then a prospect named Paul walked over. He nodded at Caine, who nodded back. Paul was one of the good ones, Caine thought.

"All set," Paul said.

"Cool," said Uncle. "You're secondary?"

"Damn straight," the younger biker said. He patted his jacket where he kept a pistol.

"Okay, keep your eyes peeled, or they will be peeled for you," Uncle said. He was trying to keep it light hearted but he meant it. If they were going to be hit again, Paul would be in the thick of it.

Paul nodded again and headed out.

"Good call on the secondary," Caine said. He watched as the minivan pulled away. Right behind it was a dark sedan driven by Paul. He also had a Hang Around passenger who would also be armed. "I doubt anyone would try that again. Not for such low grade crap."

"They better not," Uncle said. "Last thing we need right now is another headache. Speaking of, you get to play lead on a new connection. Set up by Odin."

Caine perked up at this. "Yeah? Who?"

"Dark Ones are looking for product so they got a representative coming today. Name's Jay and he's pretty high ranking. You'll meet him at the auditions later."

This was good news. Not only for the Club to get financially solvent but for Caine, too, as he was being tapped to make it happen. This was a big deal all around.

Uncle pointed at Caine, "Don't let anything screw this up. Okay?"

Caine was about to say something when they heard someone approach. They looked, half expecting a raid.

The large figure that walked toward them was Grunt. He said to Uncle, "Why the hell is he here?" He pointed at Caine.

"What?" Caine said. He bristled.

Uncle raised a hand. "What do you mean? He's Odin's proxy for this. You know that."

Grunt looked incredulous. "No, he ain't. I didn't say he could be. Not on this."

"This ain't yours anymore," Uncle said. "Management has taken over until things settle down. You already know this."

"You got your walking papers!" Caine said.

Grunt lunged at Caine, who did the same. Uncle inserted himself between the two men, pushing them back. Uncle was larger than either of them, and as tough as nails. "Back off," he said. "Both of you."

Grunt was well aware of how the Club handled things when something security wise had gone wrong. But that didn't stop him from grand standing. "Yeah, well I'm not gonna sit around and wait for another screw up." He looked at Uncle. "I've got an angle. I'm gonna take it."

Uncle considered this for a moment then nodded. "Okay, fine. Work it until it looks solid. When it does you come to me first with it. Understand?"

Caine was curious. Grunt was basically telling Uncle that he had a lead on a big client or a large supplier. Either one would be good for the Club. If it looked like it was close to being a handshake, then management, meaning Uncle, would vet the deal and give it Club sanction.

Grunt grinned, which wasn't the prettiest of sights to behold. "Things are going to get better. You watch." He then nodded at Uncle, who nodded back. He turned and left without so much as a glance at Caine.

Once he was gone Uncle said, "Well, that's a first."

"How do you mean?" Caine said. He had cooled down over Grunt's insult.

"Odin was always the guy to make things happen. Got a knack for it. But this guy," Uncle nodded in the direction Grunt left. "He's pure dead weight. Always has been."

Caine was aware of Grunt's low stock within the Club. Apparently, Grunt was aware, too, and was trying to change that.

Which would not be a good thing for me, Caine thought.

"Enough of that," Uncle said. "Go get ready. You got a meet to get to."

As Caine drove to his apartment he felt stoked. This was a great chance for him. Being tapped to win a client over was not a small matter within the Club and he was going to do everything he could make it happen.

He felt like sharing this good news with Cherish. The thought stunned him a little. He wasn't the type to share anything with anyone, particularly a lady friend.

Where did that come from? He thought. But it felt right. He considered swinging by her motel room, see what she was up to. The thought of just holding her for a while had a really strong appeal at that moment.

He checked the time. Nope, he thought. Not enough of it. He would see Cherish later anyway at the audition.

Caine found himself smiling all the way home.

Later, he met up with Jay at Booty Bumps. The Dark One was not blessed with anything that could be described as good looks, but that meant nothing to Caine. It was the Biker's wallet that Caine was interested in.

"Yeah, we may be interested," Jay said, as the two of them sat at a table, overlooking the auditions in progress. Caine expected this level of non-committal. It was all part of the negotiations. "What sort of stock can you get your hands on?"

How about some crappy video games? Caine thought, but kept that to himself.

"Whatever you need," Caine said. "Won't be an issue. We got fingers in all sorts of pies."

Jay sipped his beer, eyeing the stripper on the stage. The music was loud and full of base. He kept a good poker face, Caine would give him that.

Suddenly, Caine saw Cherish saunter by. She was wearing the damned sexist little secretary outfit he had ever seen. Caine had to do a double take.

"That's a pretty big claim. I know your club's rep. Real solid," the Dark One said.

Cherish looked over at Caine and smiled. Caine smiled back.

"But what's this about a missed shipment from a few days ago?" Jay said.

Caine now gave the Dark One his full attention. Ah, crap, he thought. Then said, "It was a one off. A rogue element. Nothing to worry about anymore."

Jay looked at him quizzically, "It's been taken care of?"

Caine nodded emphatically. "No longer an issue." He hoped it wasn't but Jay didn't need to know any details, just that deliveries would be protected.

Jay nodded. "The Banished Souls are not afraid to take care of business?"

Normally such a question would be considered an insult. But given the circumstances Caine could understand. This guy represented a lot of potential money for the Club. He let it slide.

"We take care of business. No problems. The trash needs to be taken out? We take it out." Caine had his business face on, which could scare a lot of people.

The other Biker nodded, then smiled. "Okay, then. Let's do a trial run and see what happens. If all is good, maybe we can talk long term."

Caine was elated, but kept his face straight. "Sounds good." Both men shook hands. It was only then that he noticed Cherish was now on the stage, dancing up a storm.

Both men watched her, transfixed. Her moves, her flesh, her everything was incredible to watch.

"Damn," Jay said. "That's hot."

Caine felt a flare of jealousy grow inside him. He quickly tempered it down do a dull heat.

Jesus. I just about lost my temper with a client. Over a woman?

He looked at Cherish, who at that moment finished her dance routine. She was one hell of a woman. He just had to keep his feelings in check at the moment.

The crowd had gone wild at Cherish's dance. She was standing on the stage, very still, obviously basking in the glory.

You earned it, girl, Caine thought.

Caine was about to excuse himself and go congratulate her on such a great dance but Jay leaned over.

"Okay, maybe we can start talking terms now," Jay said.

Caine was all ears. Usually this came later. But obviously the Jay guy was feeling comfortable. Whether it was the beer, or Cherish's dancing, Caine didn't care.

They talked for a few minutes, ironing out details. The Dark Ones wanted to pay as little as possible, The Banished Souls wanted them to pay as much as possible. Typical negotiations for this sort of transaction.

Eventually, they reached an agreement. It favored the Dark Ones, but not to much. Uncle had given Caine some leeway in this regard. They really needed this client.

Jay reached over with his beer and clinked his bottle with Caine's. "I like the way you handle business," he said.