Chuckling under my breath, I take the keys he hands me. “Appreciate it, Ted. You take care now. I’ll be over later this week.”
“I’ll hang on until then,” he gives another phlegmy cough as he waves us out of the reception.
“Fucking cancer,” I mutter as Ford and I go back to the van. Taking our cuts off, we place them on the seat.
“He’s a friend?” Until then, Ford had been quiet, and I appreciated that he let me get the information we needed.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Maestro and I’ll come and make sure he’s okay and that Ada knows to call us if she needs to. Now let’s go pick this fucker up.”
We drive the van as close as we can get to the room that the dick has rented.
As expected, it doesn’t take us long. Ford pretends to deliver a pizza, and when the fucker opens the door, he surprises him by pushing him into the room. I follow and lay the guy out with one punch.
Pussy-assed motherfucker went down like a felled tree.
When he’s down, Ford goes to town with duct tape, tying his hands and feet up, then putting a strip across his mouth while I pack up the room.
“I’ve let Maestro know that we’ve got him,” Ford tells me as I zip up the duffle bag.
“Good job, Ford. Let’s get the fuckhead loaded and back to the clubhouse.”
Ford goes outside and opens the side door of the van before coming back inside. I grab his feet and Ford his shoulders. We manoeuvre him out of the room and throw him in the back of the van. Not caring if we do any damage. He's not going to be around long enough to worry about that anyway.
Half-hour later, I was showing Ford where the back entrance to the clubhouse grounds was. Robbie was waiting for us, unlocking the ram-proof sliding gate when I waved at him. We drove through, leaving him to lock up behind us and follow along on his sled. He passes us as we park by the shack, whereour enforcers, Duke and Roar, are waiting for us. The shack is nothing more than a brick-built building with a drain, a roof and a reinforced door. I park up, and Ford and I jump out of the van as Duke and Roar pull a now awake captive out the back by his feet. None of us even wince as his head bounces off the edge of the van as they drag him into the shack, tossing him down on the floor near the restraints we use to keep our captives secure. They waste no time in securing him and cutting the duct tape from him. He starts fighting as soon as he’s free — kicking, biting, shouting — until Duke has had enough and punches him in the face.
“What the fuck, man. What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m not sure who you think I am but you’ve got the wrong man.”
I take my phone from my pocket and look at the message from Hard-Drive.
“You Chad Gorman?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Then no, we have the right man.”
“What the fuck, man? I’ve got nothing to do with your club.”
“Mmm, is that right?” I squat down next to him. I want to look in his eye when I ask him the next question. “So you’re saying my Old Lady was wrong when she told me it was you who attacked her, demanding that she hand over her ex’s greatest treasure? Is that what you’re saying?”
“What? Yes..no. I don’t know?”
“You calling my Old Lady a liar, Chady boy?”
“No..look,” Chad swipes his tongue over his lips. “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”
“See that’s where you’re wrong,” I tell him, standing up. “I think we understand each other just fine. You put your hands on one of ours and we can’t let that go. The boys and I are going to leave you here for a little bit to think about the error of your ways, then we’ll be back for a little chat.”
“Look man. I’m sorry, okay? I’ll leave. How was I meant to know that she’s your Old Lady.”
“Doesn’t matter. You have no right to put your hands on a woman, any woman, and threaten her. Maybe I should go and speak to Ada at the motel and get her story too.” I raise my eyebrow at him.
“No way, man. I didn’t lay a finger on that viper. She hit me in the balls with her mop for no reason at all.”
“I’m done talking. You’re in for an uncomfortable night. The weather's turning, evenings are starting to get cold now. We’ll see you in the morning,” I tell him, turning on my heel and walking out.
I wait outside while Duke and Roar lock the door. We all ignore the shouting and screaming he’s doing. There’s no one to hearhim out here. He’ll quieten down in a few hours when he realises nobody is going to be coming.
“You good?” I ask Ford.
