Once Dad has his whiskey, he indicates to the back room, the chapel, where the large conference table is located.
“You fetch everyone,” I tell Pax and follow Dad to the table.
I sit down to my father’s right, in my regular spot.
My dad looks at the door and turns to me before anyone has entered. “Kyler, this is about something Pax found out. If you don’t stay calm, you’ll be kicked out. Personal shit needs to be left at the door. Understood?”
Nodding, I lean back. “Do you know what he found out?”
Dad shakes his head. “Not all the details.”
One by one, the club members enter. Several are talking about a new motorcycle presented yesterday, two more are talking about tomorrow’s departure time for the run to pick up a new load of coke. Brooks plops down next to me and nods to my father, Pax sits across from me and so the table continues to fill. With the final person inside and the door shut, Dad slams his gavel on the table. He nods to Pax.
“Pax researched Koslov’s project, which Hayes did the finances for.” Then he turns to his youngest son and my little brother starts.
“It involved three office buildings and two retail properties. Nothing special about the properties and the finances all look legal as well. All neatly by the book.”
Josh leans across the table toward him. “Who gave you that information?”
“I know a guy who works for Koslov,” Pax replies.
Nodding, Josh leans back again. “I assume you can trust that person one hundred percent.”
He’s right. If he gave us false information, we’re screwed because if Koslov finds out we’re asking around about his business, he’ll come knocking. We need to be sure about this.
I fix my gaze on Pax. “One hundred percent?”
While rolling his eyes, my little brother turns his chair. “That guy was a classmate of mine.”
“That doesn’t say shit about his loyalty to the club. If it doesn’t check out, we have a problem.”
Pax leans toward me across the table. “And who the fuck caused that fucking problem?”
My father slams his fist on the table. “Watch your damn mouth.” He points at Pax. “Your brother’s right. If the info doesn’t check out, we’re screwed. You stick your neck out for this 'classmate'?”
With an arrogant look at me, he says, “Yup. He owes me.”
“Fingers crossed you’re right, or you’re toast,” I mutter quietly.
Paxton pales slightly. Maybe he’s not so sure after all. Regardless, it bothers me, even though I should be able to trust him completely.
“Ballistic,” Dad suddenly says and my best friend sits up straighter. “Aren’t you familiar with Koslov’s son?”
“Yeah, Vigo,” Brooks replies with a nod.
“Can you get in touch with him and trust him? Or with Viktor himself?” Dad raises his eyebrows.
It’s abundantly clear what he’s thinking and not saying out loud: he doesn’t trust Pax’s source.
Brooks seems to think for a moment, then turns his gaze to me. “Remember in tenth grade? That drug raid?”
“Oh, I remember like it was yesterday.” The police raided our school. They turned all the lockers inside out. Brooks and I thought it concerned the MC, and we were convinced they wouldfind our weed. At school, that was the biggest offense we could commit, because my dad had warned me not to do stupid things there.
That’s not the place, he always said.That’s where you learn about everyday life. You can learn everything else at home.
We were fucking shocked when they opened Vigo’s locker and thousands of dollars’ worth of pills fell out. Apparently, he dealt in XTC, and his dad was far from thrilled about the whole thing, to say the least. The police investigated his organization for over a year.
I nod. After that, Vigo hung out with us a lot. His father apparently suggested he learn from the MC guys.
