Page 5 of Johnny Gun

Fourteen months later…

Blade, the Devils’ Spawn prez, stood at the doorway to his office in his usual stern and imposing stance. Muscular arms folded, he waited for the brothers to answer his urgent summons to church. Judging by the frown carving a deep line on his forehead, he was running out of patience with the guys’ slow arrival and seemingly disinterested attitude.

As one of the last stragglers who filed in, Johnny Gun slid into the chair next to Barron’s.

“What the fuck’s going on?” he whispered.

“I’m not sure, though I suspect it has something to do with Deacon.”

Johnny Gun stiffened. “Deacon? As in the Dalton chapter prez?”

Leaning his elbows on his knees, Barron huffed. “The very same. He left a mess behind.”

Immediately, Johnny G’s guts twisted with concern. He wanted to ask his friend for specifics. Instead, he tightened hishands into fists. Barron didn’t care much for Deacon, and if his friend guessed Johnny G’s real motive was to learn news of Isolde, he’d never hear the end of it.

Months ago, Deacon and his daughter had stopped at Garden Hills to help Shifter set up the new computer system. The Johnston Agency, Blade’s brainchild to revamp the Devils’ Spawn’s reputation under the aegis of a full-service private security operation, was near completion. Shifter, the club’s computer genius, wanted another set of expert eyes to go over his work. Deacon was perfect for the job. Unfortunately, during said father/daughter visit, Barron noticed the sideway glances between Johnny G and Isolde, realized the truth of his friend’s feelings for the young woman, and went nuts on him.

Johnny Gun was in no mood for a repeat of that smackdown. He put aside his concern and turned his attention to Blade. The Spawn prez sat behind his desk, his hands folded together while he studied the faces before him.

“This is the deal. Just before the Johnston Agency went operational, we had a situation,” Blade said, addressing the group. “Deacon, the president of the Dalton chapter, arranged a meeting with Killer, a Steel Wolf lieutenant, to negotiate a parley with their president. Instead of showing up, Deacon snitched the location of the planned meeting to the feds.”

“Huge fuckup,” Turbo snarled. Little angry flames shot out of the road captain’s dark eyes. The DS tattoo on his right cheekbone shifted when he spoke. “Deacon lied to us. He gave us a bullshit song and dance about wanting to make peace with the Wolves.”

“That’s right.” Axel glanced at everyone, fidgeting with his almost-beard-length goatee. “We were right here when Barron pressed the issue on him. The guy insisted he’d moved on from Warden’s death.”

Blade waved a hand. “Good. I’m glad y’all remember.”

“There’s a but in there,” Little Billy muttered, raking his fingers through his spiky hair.

Blade smirked. “Things went quiet for a while. I nearly thought we’d escaped trouble. Not so.” He glanced at Shifter. “Our tech genius, Shifter, has picked up chatter between MCs. The Wolves are scheming some nasty shit against the Devils’ Spawn Dalton chapter. Shifter, will you give everyone a full rundown?”

Shifter held up a hand. “First let me say, chatter can be erratic and unreliable. Do you follow?” No one spoke, though a couple of the guys nodded. “One of my ex-military friends rides with the Hell Knights. He turned me on to the communications between his MC and the Wolves. The target mentioned the most seems to be Deacon’s daughter, Isolde.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Johnny G shouted, jumping to his feet.

“Shut up, dude,” Barron hissed as he pulled him by the arm. “Settle the fuck down.”

Shifter narrowed his green gaze in his direction. To his left, Johnny G could feel Blade’s knowing stare boring a hole in him.

“Speak up, Johnny Gun. You’re not shy. What’s on your mind?” Blade asked.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Go ahead.” He lowered his head.

“But did you hear any chatter about Deacon or just his daughter?” Blade asked Shifter, though his attention remained on him.

“There’s quite a bit of back and forth about Deacon,” Shifter said, flipping his reading glasses up and down. “Not as much as with the daughter. My belief is, the Wolves’ idea to kidnap the daughter will make the father suffer. It’s an effective form of payback. Wouldn’t surprise me if their cartel associates wanted her as well. Isolde is a gorgeous young woman. She’d garner a generous sum for them in the slave market.”

Johnny jammed his forehead against hisfists. He couldn’t handle this conversation anymore. Shifter talked about Isolde as if she were nothing but cattle. A pretty figurine without a heart or a mind, an item to be sold, bought, used as sex slave, and tossed out when they got tired of her.

“Listen up.” Blade spoke in a soft voice. The entire room went silent. “It’s not written anywhere in our bylaws—and going forward, we should put this provision up for a vote—but since the Garden Hills Devils’ Spawn is the founding MC, don’t we have an obligation to assist and support our brethren in need? Granted, Deacon fucked up, but do we ignore the situation?”

“It ain’t fair to us.” Axel massaged the back of his neck with a thoughtful expression. “Deacon made the mess. He should clean it up. But an innocent civilian and our brothers are involved. Does he have the resources to protect everyone? If we leave the Dalton MC to fend for themselves, it sends a bad message. Tells the Wolves we’re not united. Sure as shit, they’ll head south.”

“Excellent point, my brother.” Little Billy pumped a fist in agreement. “The Wolves are hungry for our turf. We show any weakness, it’s open season on the Devils’ Spawn. I won’t allow those assholes to take over.”

“Or Los fucking Emes,” Barron grumbled. “This problem is way beyond an MC war. The cartel gets a foothold in Savannah and nearby neighborhoods, and I guarantee you the area will go down the tubes within weeks. We have families here, people we love. Los Emes have no scruples or limits. The level of violence they’ll bring could make the Mafia blush. We have to defeat the Wolves now. Before they gain traction.”

The solution to the threat seemed simple enough to Johnny. He opened his mouth to speak, but Little Billy jumped in. “It’s clear. We help them.”

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