I follow Hawk down the hall to his office.He sits behind his large dark oak desk while I take a seat in the armchair directly in front of him.Decker appears a few minutes later with his pal.He’s not at all what I expected, and I see that Hawk is surprised by the figure standing before him as well.This is not a young twenty-year-old, but a man in his midthirties.His worn expression shows that he’s been through rough times and is a man who knows how to handle himself.His dark brown, almost black eyes have dark circles under them.His unruly, wavy black hair is tousled, his jaw is firm, and he gives off the aura that he doesn’t give a shit if you like him or not.
“Hawk, this is my friend, Logan Walker.”Logan extends his hand, and Hawk rises to shake it.
Hawk nods over to me.“This is Motown.He’s my enforcer, and one of the best men I know.”
“Good to meet you both,” Logan says, his voice raspy and low.“Decker tells me you have a problem with Bronson Sunderland.I’m in to get him out of business.He has no scruples when peddling his shit.He’s got young kids selling drugs inside the schools.Bronson’s got a stable of women he keeps hopped up on cocaine to keep them in line.He’s got them so hooked, they’ll never find their way out of turning tricks.”
“Is that why you’re willingly going in deep?To save the kids and women?”Hawk asks.
“It’s a reason, but not my sole reason,” Logan states.Hawk motions for him to take a chair.
“I have to trust you, and to do that, I need to know more about you,” Hawk says.
“Decker has said next to nothing about you, and I’m trusting you to have my back when I go into Bronson’s lair.I’m not asking you for a résumé on your life,” Logan bites back.
“Lo, be cool,” Decker grumbles next to him.
“I’ll give it to you straight.We trusted the wrong man once, and because of that, one of my brothers is sitting in a cell.That’s never happening again,” Hawk replies sharply.“I know Decker, and he’s vouching for you.Let me tell you something: Decker is sticking his neck out by backing your play.What you do reflects on him.”Hawk points to Decker.
“Decker is in no danger from me,” Logan returns.
Decker shakes his head at his friend.“Just tell them.I swear to you, they’ll get it.”
Logan hesitates, his gaze shifting between the three of us.I decide to step in.“Bronson tried to set up my woman.He had packages delivered to her shop with cocaine stuffed inside, then called the cops on his payroll to find it and arrest her.If it weren’t for another brother being on his game, he would have succeeded.Tessa’s my reason for wanting to take this guy out, apart from the obvious, that he’s scum.”
Logan’s face goes red.His fists clench.I hit a nerve.Hawk sees it too.“I lost my sister because of the drugs he’s peddling on the streets.Jessica was an easy target because she was already feeling like she didn’t fit in.She was deaf, and even though she learned sign language, not everybody got what she had to say.It took her a long time to make friends, but she did and went to a party.There were drugs, and she wanted to fit in.Unfortunately, three kids died that night because it was laced with fentanyl.My sister was one of them.I’ve spent the last three months finding out everything I can about Bronson’s operation.He’s careful but not infallible.His inner circle is tight, but they’re hungry for power, and that makes them careless.”
Decker looks at Hawk, then me.“Logan saved my life.He’s going to go after Bronson with or without us.We might as well pool our efforts.”
We’re interrupted by a knock on the door.Hawk calls for whoever it is to enter.Guard walks in, with Ghost, War, and Orion close behind.
“I see the meeting is already underway,” Guard says, his eyes glued to Logan.It seems like an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than seconds before he holds out his hand to shake Logan’s.“Welcome aboard, brother.”
“I’m not—” Logan begins.
“You will be,” Guard finishes.He turns to Hawk.“Ready to get this started?”
“I’ve got to take Tessa to the shop,” I tell Hawk.
“I need you here.Have Flex take her and stay with her until we’re done,” Hawk commands.
“War will take her.You need all your men at church.I can fill War in later,” Guard suggests.
Once Tessa’s safely in her shop with War guarding her, we’re ready to start making plans to take down Bronson and his crew.War is a man you don’t want on your bad side.He’s huge, intimidating, and could break you in half.He’s one of the original Satan’s Pride and loyal to the core for his club and brothers.He’s married to a rock star and has started his own security business to make sure his wife and family stay safe at home and on the road.It all started when a stalker came after his wife, and War is never going to let anyone get that close to her again.
The room is packed with Riders and Pride brothers, and Logan.It’s rare that a man is allowed into church without being a club member, but Logan is the exception.
“How are you going to get them to trust you?”Demon asks.He’s a Satan’s Pride member who has a deep understanding of drug dealers and how they operate.Demon is also known as Lucien Bardon, singer and songwriter, and has his own record label.He works with Maddie of the Smoking Guns, who happens to be War’s wife.Demon was part of a rock group and was on his way to stardom when the band got into drugs and alcohol.His best friend and the band’s lead singer, Dean, died from an overdose that destroyed both the band and Demon.Demon spiraled out of control and was close to joining Dean in the cemetery when Guard came to his rescue.He’s been clean ever since and wants to rid the streets of drugs.Demon’s also smart enough to know that a man like Bronson isn’t going to go down easy.
“I’ve already cozied up with his lower-level runners.They’ve invited me to meet with him to take on territory.The meeting is happening in two days.I have enough money to make it look good, like I’m making heavy sales.Bronson is all about lining his pockets.I refuse to sell this shit, and I’m hoping he won’t put me to the test for too long before letting me into his higher crew,” Logan says.“I’ve got to kiss ass for a while, and I’ll swallow that shit, but the end game is finding out who his big supplier is or where their drug labs are located.”
“Then we call in the feds,” Guard adds.
“All but Bronson.He needs to be dealt with in a permanent manner,” Hawk speaks up.“He’s broken his word more times than I can count.He went after a brother’s woman, and that’s earned him a headstone, not a slap on the wrist.”
“I’m good with that,” Logan says.“He deserves worse.He’s indirectly responsible for hundreds of young deaths, and the cops aren’t taking it seriously enough because they’re on his payroll.”
“The Feds will look into the police departments, especially if we get information on who Bronson is paying off,” Guard says.
