“Fucker,” I told him and everyone else around the table laughed or shook their heads, the tension leaving me. I popped the beer and took a good drink.
“Kansas was watching this earlier, before it went down. Show ‘em,” King flicked his hand towards the screen.
The video switched from four screens to one. It was the living room of a guy called Marcus Stiverson. He was the first name on the list we’d gotten out of that other Kingsmen asshole.
He’d been with them for about five years, worked as a runner for their drug set up. Stiverson didn’t have a girlfriend or wife, but he had a kid with an ex. As far as Kansas had learned, he didn’t see the kid, or provide any support to her mom.
Stiverson was sitting on his couch drinking from a can, watching TV, although we couldn’t see the screen from the angle of the camera. It was up on a shelf that held all manner of junk, so it was easy to blend it in.
As we watched, his phone rang. He picked it up. “Yo,” was his response, and I heard King tut. Stiverson sat up a little. “Where?” he asked. “Alone?”
They were talking about me. I shook my head in anger and frustration but didn’t take my eyes off the screen even though I could feel War looking at me.
“Yeah,” Stiverson was listening and nodding. “You think it’ll work?... Okay. I’ll call and find out. I’ll let you know.”
He ended the call and then immediately placed another. The dick was on his feet now, and I could see the excitement in his eyes. Stiverson was fucking enjoying this.
“Get to the 243 in Sussex. There will be a lone one rolling in about ten minutes. Follow but don’t engage. Now, you dickhead. We only got a short window.”
Kansas was running a hand over the back of his neck. To be fair to him, he wouldn’t have had a clue what Stiverson was talking about if he were watching this as it was going down. He could technically have been referring to anything, but knowing he was calling people in to Sussex should have been a red flag.
On the screen, he ended the call and made another one. All he said was, “It’s on.” Then he hung up, pocketed his phone, and grabbed his cut, then left his house.
“Should have let me kill those fuckers when we had the chance.”
King ignored Ballistic, while I agreed. We had every intention of rounding up all three assholes and taking them out.
Kansas ended the video. He looked a little green as he stood.
“Head on out,” King told him. “We’ll talk in my office later.”
“Yes Prez,” he said and left, almost tripping over his feet.
“He did text his concerns about the call,” Dirt said once he’d gone. “I just didn’t see it.”
“You were too busy dicking Jolene,” Banshee, our club Secretary drawled.
“I was there when it counted,” Dirt snarled.
Banshee held up a hand to say he had meant nothing by it, but he’d made his point.
“Laying the blame on each other will not help,” King said, leaning forward, his eyes bouncing to me for a second. “I only showed you this because I wanted you to see this was a coordinated attack on the club. They knew what they were doing. They’ve been waiting for an opportunity, and they took it. If their plan was to unsettle us, it worked. If it was to cause us to retaliate, we will. But,” he held up a finger. “Not until we understand the bigger picture.
“This was a recon mission. They wanted to see how we would react. I suspect their first attack on Connor had something to do with this too.”
A few of the guys around the table huffed, particularly Dirt, who would be champing at the bit to get back at the Kingsmen. He respected King enough not to argue. War was staring at his unopened beer can.
“You all know that a threat has been made against Waverley. My daughter’s name in one of those assholes’ mouths is not something I will ever take lightly. It also has not escaped my notice that her childhood friends have been involved in these incidents.”
“You think they deliberately targeted Connor?” War frowned.
I held my tongue. Even though I wanted to know what threats had been made, clearly the men around the table knew, but no one was saying anything. I didn’t know if War was privy to it and just keepingit to himself as an officer or if he hadn’t been given the full information. He didn’t ask questions though, so I figured he knew but hadn’t told me.
I shouldn’t be pissed about that. I knew my place, but I clenched my fists under the table. We were friends. He knew about my history with Waverley. Even if I’d spent the better part of the last five years telling everyone, she didn’t matter to me. Connor and War knew I was lying. Fuck.
“They thought it would bring Waverley back here. When that didn’t work, they escalated the threat, knowing I would have no choicebutto bring her here. I’m not sure she is safer being in the compound. Their new Prez is calculating and has an agenda. I don’t know what he is planning or why. And I don’t like that. I want to know why they want my daughter. And I know it has something to do with Danica.”
The men looked around at each other. I kept a straight face. King didn’t know War told me what he learned about his mom. I sat silently as King explained it all.
