“Seems to me we’re even after Wrath took out Dagger,” Moses said.
“Try telling that to Scooby, or the Kings for that matter,” Sundance replied. “There’s no way they’re gonna let this go before more Howlers’ blood is spilled. Not to mention the fact that we stole their merchandise.”
“We rescued five little girls from being sold as sex slaves,” I said.
“You traded Scrappy’s life for theirs,” Sundance snapped.
“I think Scrappy would be okay with that,” I replied.
“You’d better pray Scooby feels the same way, because when he finally lays eyes on you, he may very well blame you for his brother’s death.”
I said nothing. Sundance was right. No matter the good we’d done, I’d have to answer for Scrappy. I’d effectively avoided Scooby since the incident, but couldn’t for much longer, and there would be a definite reckoning.
“You ran off half-cocked, got one of your brothers killed, and started a war with the Kings,” Sundance continued. “I should take your patch. Yours too,” he said, pointing to Wrath and Rocky. “But I have a feeling we’re gonna need every man we’ve got.”
“So, what’s the plan, Prez?” Orion asked.
“The Kings have already reached out. They want a meeting,” Sundance said.
“A meeting?” Rocky asked.
“That’s right,” Sundance replied. “Baby Doll wants to meet to discuss the terms of the return of his merchandise.”
“Return?” I blurted out. “There’s no way we’re handing those girls back to those anim—”
“Did I miss a club meeting?” Sundance interrupted. “Was I voted out as president, and you put in my place?”
I shook my head.
“Then how about you shut the fuck up while I dig us out of the pit you managed to put us in?” he hissed.
“Sorry, Sundance. I only wanted to get Leo out of there. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“Well, lucky you. You’re gonna get the chance to clear all of this up with Baby Doll face-to-face, because he wants to speak with those responsible for Dagger, directly.”
“I’ll bet he does,” Wrath snickered.
“You think this is funny? The only reason Baby Doll has called for a sit down instead of all-out war is because we have history. You’d already be full of bullet holes otherwise. Dagger’s been Baby Doll’s boy for twenty-five years. They came up together. Did time together.”
“So, what? We give up our guys to appease this scumbag gang leader?” Orion asked.
“Of course not. But if Baby Doll says he wants to meet, it’s not a suggestion. The Kings may be a bunch of thugs, but they outnumber us two to one.”
“And who the fuck knows how many more guns they’ve got than us.” Rocky added.
“One thing is for sure,” Sundance said. “Baby Doll is out for blood. No matter what he says at this meeting. He’s gonna try and kill everyone in the club one-by-one if we don’t find a way to squash this right now.”
“We need leverage,” Orion said.
“We have the girls,” Rocky said. “We know Baby Doll wants them back.”
“That’s not enough. Besides, that’s never gonna happen.”
“Then what?” Rocky asked.
“We’d better fuckin’ figure it out by the meeting.”
