Menace ignores him. “If you help us get what we came for, we’ll get out of your town.”
Chrome doesn’t immediately respond. I can imagine him weighing the situation. He could play nice and use it to his advantage. However, he can’t play too nicely. After all, Menace could be playing a game. If he knows I’m in Chicago, he could have set up this meeting on purpose as a way to test the waters. This meeting could be a setup.
“How many of you are here?” Chrome asks. “Just you three, or are there more?”
“There are more of us. This is a club trip.”
“Is your President around?”
“He’s around.”
“Then I’d like to meet with him. Can you get him here?”
“He’s busy at the moment, but we can set something up.”
“Good. Here’s my card. Have him give me a call. Oh, and if I don’t hear from him soon, I’ll go looking for him. Trust me when I say he doesn’t want that to happen.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Yes.”
I bite back the chuckle at Chrome’s bluntness. I can almost imagine the look on Menace’s face. As the SOA for theBushrangers, he’s the one who is used to making the threats. He isn’t used to being on the receiving end of them.
“You guys willing to go to war over something that isn’t your concern?” I hear the bite in Menace’s tone.
Chrome chuckles. “What makes you think it would be a war? You’re on our turf. We know more about you than you think. We know where you’re staying and where you spent the past few years. But here’s what you don’t know about us. We have more men than you, not just in my club, but the Demon Dawgs aren’t a one-and-done club. We have chapters all over this country. We also have allies. Push me, and you’ll discover that the war you think we’ll have will be a slaughter, and no one will find your bodies.”
“We’re only here to get our property back,” Menace snarls after a few minutes.
“Is your property in this hotel now?”
“No.”
“Then maybe you should leave. Find your President. Deliver my message. We’re pretty laid back here in the States, but that doesn’t mean we’ll accept disrespect. You should remember that.”
I hear grumbles over the line, but the conversation seems to be over.
“Did you hear all that?” Chrome asks me.
“I did.”
“What do you make of it?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what they’re looking for. I guess it could be me, but that doesn’t explain why they’re hanging out at the hotel. Zara’s friend said that they asked for her at the front desk, but I don’t know why they think they can use her to get to me.”
“Unless you’re not what they’re after. Maybe Zara is the target?”
A cold chill washes over me at the thought of Zara being the property they want to claim. “Menace was the one who was most excited about using Zara to punish her father. I could see him thinking about it while he was locked away. Shit. I’m guessing Mode came through?”
“Yeah, he sent Ice a text. I’m betting they switch hotels, but we’ll figure out where they land. As for getting into the country, they flew into Canada and rode across the border. I’m betting they have fake IDs and passports. We could turn them over to border control if we want a peaceful end to this. However, I’m more inclined to find a more permanent solution.”
I have to admit that I’m right there with him. “You guys heading back?”
“Later. First, I want to ride by their hotel. Let them know that I wasn’t fucking around about having their number.”
I chuckle. “Good idea.”
“How’s Zara?”
