REAPER: Death Row Shooters MC, page 5
“I’ll come back for her, Turner! Mark my fucking words, maricón! I’ll come back and I’ll ruin you!”
I aimed the gun at La Plaga who was just about to reach the door, when Ash pulled me aside. “Go!”
“Get out of my way!” I struggled to get loose but Ash had a strong grip on me.
He shook me hard and my eyes finally met his. “Take her and fucking go. I’ll take care of him! Go!”
I looked down at Cecilia who was only a few feet away from me. Tears slid down her cheeks and she shook in fear. I had to choose. Cecilia or La Plaga.
“I’ve got him! Go!” Ash yelled at me again as he ran towards the door where Carlos had escaped through. I knew I had to trust him. Turning, I looked at Poe who was slumped on his side. He took his gun out and cocked the trigger while he signaled for me to go. I lifted her up into my arms and ran towards the side door. Stepping out, I spotted the Harley tipped on its side.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I’m gonna set you down baby girl. Just for a minute.” She nodded, and I settled her on the ground, her legs shaky but she was able to wait for me as I lifted the bike and started it up.
“Let’s go!”
Taking a quick look back at the bar, she took a deep breath and slid onto the back seat. Pressing her cheek to my back she held on tight. She felt so damn good I almost forgot what I was doing. The scent of vanilla swept into my senses and I gripped her hands as I backed out. Patting her knee, I revved up the engine and took off. I knew exactly where I had to go. They had offered protection and I was taking it.
* * *
We ran into the Hellbound Lovers’ clubhouse, and I ran right into Cain. “Whoa! Hold on there.” He gripped me by my jacket and looked me over. I must have looked like a bloodied mess cause he sat me down and got me a shot of whiskey. Cecilia hovered close to me, and I dragged a seat over and had her sit down next to me.
“What are we doing here?” She asked, looking around the old dive bar. The Hellbound Lovers had a property further North that Nick, the ex-founder had converted into a diner after Ryder passed away. It had been Devil’s Syndicate property at one time, but the Hellbound Lovers had bought it fair and square and the DSMC had been pissed for a long time. When Regina Thorn and Ryder Chase became an item, everything simmered down. After that whole mess and Wolf taking over a new Chapter, they’d acquired this old place, which by the looks of it was being remodeled.
“It’s okay. These are good men. They ride under one of the most honorable codes. They offered us protection.”
She gripped my hand and pressed herself to my side as Wolf returned with Grayson. I swear, the guy looked meaner every time I saw him. Not really the type I wanted around Cecilia, especially the way she was shaking at my side. Wolf slid a glass a water to her but then turned to me.
“What happened?”
“Why’d the fuck you bring him?” I signaled at Grayson without looking at him.
Wolf tilted his head towards the man. “He’s my VP. Wherever I go he goes.”
I nodded. “Can I trust him?”
“If I can trust him, you can trust him.”
“Where’s Bear?” I looked around wanting to see a friendly face.
“Bear’s out on a job. Look kid, if you don’t trust me, I can’t help you. Just tell me what happened?”
“Simon’s dead,” I whispered. “I put a bullet in La Muerte’s head and there was a shootout at the bar.”
Wolf remained emotionless, an eerie calm in his glare. “How many dead?”
I shrugged. “I don’t remember-nine, eleven tops.”
Grayson mumbled something in Wolf’s ear, and he acknowledged it and turned to Cecilia. “You okay, sweetheart? You want somethin’ to eat?”
She shook her head and snuggled closer to me, practically wrapping herself around my arm. I knew that this was not going to be good for either of us, but I had to do it.
“La Plaga is out there somewhere. Ash is looking for him. I can’t leave her alone and I can’t take her with me. He swore he’d come back for her. I need protection for her.”
Wolf nodded and looked at Grayson. They spoke in silence and it fucking grated on my nerves. “How long until Bear gets back?”
“Look kid, we’re it. You’re gonna have to deal with us or go somewhere else.”
I nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I’m a little on edge.”
The door banged open and a member walked in. Cecilia jumped beside me, and I tensed. The guy paused, looking over at us, then nodded at Wolf and kept walking. I turned back to the men and frowned. “Can you help us?”
“You know what happens when you ask for the Hellbound Lovers help?”
“She becomes your property. I know.”
“What?” She whispered beside me. I looked over at her and then at Wolf. “Can you give us a sec?”
He nodded. “You’re safe here. Take your time.”
As soon as they walked away, I turned to Cecilia and grabbed her hands. “You heard what he said. La Plaga will come after you. You didn’t see it, but I saw it in his eyes. If he gets a hold of you, he’ll hurt you, kill you. These men are good men, they’ll protect you.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. But I have to go back. I need to make sure my brothers are okay. I can’t live with myself if they’re not, and I won’t stop until I know La Plaga is buried next to that piece of shit,” my blood boiled as I thought of La Muerte. “But I can’t do any of that if you are not okay. I need to know you’re safe.”
“What will they do to me?”
“I don’t know. But their known to offer protection. They’re good for it, trust me.”
“I don’t know, Ryan. Can’t I just go with you? I can hide somewhere until you’re done.”
I cupped her cheeks and brought her face up, so I was looking into her eyes. “You know I love you, right?”
She closed her eyes and tears swept down her cheeks. “I love you too.”
Hearing those words made my heart soar, but I shoved the feeling aside, forcing myself to focus on what I had to do. “I’ll come back for you, baby, and we’ll be together again.”
She gripped my wrists. “You have to promise you’ll come back, Ryan. Promise me you’ll come back.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her tight. “I promise,” I whispered, knowing it may be an empty promise at this point. I signaled to Wolf and they returned.
“You ready?”
I shrugged. “Where do I sign.”
Grayson handed me a contract with stipulations on it. She was under their protection until they deemed it safe for her to leave their side. She will be removed from the area and secured by the Hellbound Lovers. She became Hellbound Lovers property which meant she would be treated with respect, such as an Ol’ Lady would.
“Will I be able to get to her?”
“Do you want to get to her?” Wolf asked grimly.
I shook my head and heard her gasp as I signed her off to them. “Ryan,” she touched my arm but I avoided what I knew was a troubled look.
“It’s for the best, Cecilia. Even if they torture me, I’ll never give you up because I won’t know where you are.”
She grabbed my cheek and turned my face to hers. “I swear to God, you better come back in one piece.”
I kissed the palm of her hand, looked at Wolf and Grayson, and slowly stood up. “Take care of her Hellbound Lover.” I looked at Wolf. “Because if you don’t, I will personally come after you.”
The man beside me went still. He must have noticed I was dead serious because Wolf nodded, remaining stoic. “You don’t need to worry. She’ll be left in good hands.”
I reached out my hand and he took it, giving it a hard shake. But as I went to pull away, he tugged me forward. “But you threaten me again, and I’ll forget we offered you protection.”
I gulped and nodded. “Understood.”
He let go of my hand and I gave Cecilia a gut-wrenched look before I tore myself away and walked out. As soon as the door slammed shut behind me, I screamed out and fell to my knees. Silent tears poured down my face as I knelt beneath that street lamp. Simon’s face and Cecilia’s sad eyes kept running through my head. The look on Pooch’s face as he was shot, looking at me as if asking why I hadn’t done anything. And Poe and Ash, how they’d looked so fallen when they realized Simon was gone. I roughly wiped my tears and stood up. Getting back on the bike, the tires squealed on the concrete as I geared it towards the clubhouse. It was our home, and I was taking it back.
6
Ryan
Present Day…
I stood at the cliff looking out at the mountainside, Poe was by my side. “did you hear about the docks?”
We’d acquired half the docks through the war between the Hellbound Lovers and the Colombian cartels. It was supposedly our payment for a job well done. A payment I didn’t really care for, yet I knew when not to deny a profitable acquisition.
“Do we know who they are?”
“Not yet, Sir. We actually asked a fellow brother for help.”
I narrowed my eyes, hidden in my shades. “Riggs?” I had nothing against John Riggs. If anyone was good at finding intel it was him, I just didn’t enjoy the Hellbound Lovers knowing my business.
“Next time that happens you ask first before getting other men to babysit our shit for us.”
“The shipments are large crates and they’ve been stationed there for a few days.”
“Before we make a move, we watch and do our part to assess the situation. Get Ash to help you on this one.”
I looked down at my watch and frowned. “You think they’ll show?”
“They have to show, they know what happens if they don’t.”
“I’m done with this shit, brother. This is the last of it. I don’t want any more dealings with the Triads after today. I don’t want anyone else hurt with their ruthless bullshit. They don’t give a fuck who they take down with them and they have disrespected the Death Row Shooters.”
“Jeffries is a smart legal aid. Last time we spoke he said he’d bring the dissolution of contract.”
“I’m not signing shit without reading it thoroughly, twice.”
Poe nodded. “Agreed.”
“These fuckers want to use our resources, they can go kiss my ass. After what happened to Digger the deal is off.”
“You got it, Prez.”
We’d done business with the Triads in some money laundering deals, but I was done. Digger had gotten shot at last time he went to collect, and the deal was now off. The sound of wheels crunching on gravel caught my attention and, in the distance, I could see the sun bounce off the roof of the Cadis coming our way. Three shiny black cars, stacked one right after the other, parked themselves right behind us. I shifted over to the bikes which were on the side of the road. There was no way in hell I was getting cornered by these fuckers.
The door propped open and out stepped Zhang Wei, one of the leaders of this particular Triad clan. He orchestrated the whole contract in the first place. Jeffries, his legal counsel, stepped out next. He was a smug bastard, tall, blonde hair, expensive suit that he didn’t fucking tailor. For some reason, that shit bothered me. A lot. A man who doesn’t tailor his suit wasn’t to be trusted in my book. If he couldn’t take enough care of himself, why the fuck would he give a shit about you.
“Ryan Simon, long time no see. How are you my friend?” Zhang’s thick accent always made me feel like I was in an old Kung Fu movie. But this was no movie, and as he approached me, I kept my guard up. Leaning back on the bike, I folded my arms over my chest, making no effort to greet the slime bag.
“Oh, come on, old friend. Don’t be like that, it was an honest mistake.”
“A mistake that cost you a contract.”
“No, no. We have not discussed that yet.”
“There is no discussion. Look Mr. Wei, I understand that you run an enterprise, but guess what, so do I. Fuck, so do many people. And the first rule of the game, is don’t fuck with the people who feed you. And see,” I cleared my throat for emphasis, “you didn’t just fuck with some random guy, no.” I shook my head and took my glasses off. “You fucked with one of my brothers.”
Zhang Wei stared at me, squinting in the sun. “It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right. It won’t. Because we won’t be working together again.”
“Ryan, please.”
“You call me Mr. Simon and show me some respect.” The tension in the air rose and I could sense Poe stiffen at my side. “The deal is broken, it’s over.”
I signaled for Jeffries who looked at his boss, a worried look in his eye. “The contract Jeffries. We’re signing it here, in the middle of nowhere. My man, Poe Chambers, and yourself as witnesses.”
Zhang nodded to Jeffries and he reached into his expensive Italian leather briefcase and pulled out the paperwork. I slammed it down on the hood of the Cadillac and read through it, twice. It stipulated that the contract had been fully completed by the Death Row Shooters President, Ryan Simon, and that all transactions, as negotiated, were finalized. A penalty of three million would be deposited into the Death Row Shooters account by twelve noon.
I checked my watch and picked up my phone while staring at Zhang Wei. I flipped it open to view my bank account, and sure enough three million had been deposited. I smiled at Poe and nodded at Lee. “Looks like you’re a man of your word.”
“Before you do this, know this is not going to go over well with my bosses.”
“Yeah well,” I raised the pen and signed on the line. “I don’t know your bosses.”
I slammed the contract into Jeffries chest and reached out a hand to the Triad leader. “It’s a shame, Mr. Wei. It was good doing business with you.”
He looked at me grimly but shook my hand either way. “I hope this doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.”
I slid my glasses back on and gave him a sly grin. “If it does, we’ll be ready.”
Raising my hand, I did a little wave and hopped onto my bike. Speeding off all I could think was, good riddance. I was done interacting with that shit head. The Triads were bad news and as much as I didn’t want to be on their bad side, I knew they’d keep their word. I had too many connections they didn’t want to fuck with. One word from me and they’d lose so much money they’d be out on the streets in seconds. That wasn’t my intention, but every once in a while, I liked reminding them of what power I was holding over their head.
In the last few years of my Presidency I’d made sure the Death Row Shooters made a name for themselves. We still held some shady connections but it was out of necessity more than fear. These connections put food on our table and brought protection to our door. What is it they say, keep your enemies closer. The Death Row Shooters may no longer be the sordid criminals that used to live within our walls, but we weren’t backwoods chumps that didn’t know how to play the game. We know the rules a lot better than they did, hell, we’d even put some down ourselves. No one fucked with my name or that of my brothers. You were gambling with your life if you did. Take that as a threat if you want to.
Hell, I want you to.
Ash’s bike appeared on the road to my left and he joined us in form soon after. Ash to my right, Poe, right behind him. I’d named Poe my Sargent at Arms and he was always with me whenever I had to make negotiations of this kind. He was my ride or die brother at arms, and he was also the smartest fucker I knew. He’d taught himself law and got some pointers from Scarlett Stone while he’d been stationed at Ravenous. Wolf’s wife was a sexy spitfire and smart as fuck. She taught Poe everything he needed to become the Death Row Shooters legal counsel. We needed all his brains after that night.
That night.
There isn’t much to say about it. When I’d gotten back to the bar it had been emptied out. Digger and Shotgun, ex-members of Nate’s Chapter had been called back in by Ash. We met up in the hospital where Poe was being looked at by one of the nurse’s that worked there. Shotgun had a thing for her and she had a little thing for the big guy as well. We had to be careful the cops weren’t being called or we’d have to answer to the law. None of us were really in the mood for that shit. After listening to Ash talk, I assumed the vote would go towards him, and I was okay with that. With anyone other than Mario Cepeda. But when he raised his hand, he called out a name I didn’t expect.
“I’ve never seen you wield a gun like that, Brother. That shit was a part of you. In your blood. My vote’s for Ryan.”
I was in shock as all their hands raised and right then and there we decided to start a new chapter of the Death Row Shooters. I claimed my VP as Ash Warden, Poe became my Sargeant at Arms, Digger my Club Officer, and Shotgun my Enforcer. The founding members called in more reinforcements, and the club soon grew to twenty strong.
I changed my name shortly after, not on purpose, I just kind of adopted it. All the connections we had were under Simon’s name. I looked so much like him people started calling me Simon, new connections called me Ryan, and my enemies started calling me the Reaper. Wherever I was, death followed. I had to admit, I liked the fucking title.
We’d been put through heavy trials, trials that shook us to the core. Gunfights we didn’t think we’d survive, drug heists that had gone extremely wrong, and some serious trafficking we’d been caught up in. But one thing was for sure, they always had my back and I had theirs. A few months ago, we had word that La Plaga had come out of hiding. Ash had finally done what he’d sought after that night, and he buried him right off of the Pacific Coast Highway.
After that, I wanted out of the shit hole, which is why I went seeking Wolf again. I wanted Cecilia back, but I also wanted to redeem the Death Row Shooters’ name. Cecilia had always been in the center of it all, but I required leverage, and if the Hellbound Lovers needed our help, we’d be there.
