Page 27 of Stranger Gifts

“How?”

“No one seems to be able to answer that question, boss. Several knife wounds, the one that killed him across the throat. The cameras were in and out but no one was seen inside the cell. The guy next to him said he was talking to himself.” Killer pushed his chair back, standing quickly with his fists clenched.

“You sayin’ my boy was crazy?”

“No. No, sir. I’m telling you what the guy next to him said. He said he was speaking to someone but there was no one in there,” said the man backing up, shaking.

“My boy wasn’t crazy. Someone killed him and I want to know who it was.”

“Hey, boss!” yelled another walking through the opening in the wall that the bison had left for them. “That motorcycle company is at a bike show this weekend downtown.”

“Yeah?” he asked with interest.

“Yeah. They’re at the convention center with like fifty bikes they’re showing off. Got maybe fifteen or twenty guys there. Easy for us.”

“No,” said Finch, shaking his head. “No, fucking way. If you see fifteen or twenty, that means there are a hundred somewhere. I love this club, but I’m not walking into a death trap.”

“You’ll do what you’re fucking told,” growled Killer.

“You know what,Harry,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve known you since we were kids. We grew up in this shit. Your old man lasted because he listened to those around him. We’ve tried to tell you not to mess with these guys. You need to leave this alone and move on.”

“He’s right, boss,” said Campbell. “We’re all sorry about your kid, but they could still come after the other two boys. I think we cut our losses, lick our wounds and move on. This is not the group we want to die with.”

“What the fuck is going on here? Did you guys suddenly become a bunch of pussies?” he yelled.

“I ain’t no pussy, Killer,” said his road captain, Digger. “Don’t call me that. But I did some reading on these guys. Hard to find anything but what I did find tells me we’re fucking with the wrong men. I ain’t afraid of nothin’ but I also ain’t stupid. I don’t have no death wish. I want to live to fight another day and fight another club. A club where we can take their land, their money, their bitches and their bikes. I don’t need government trained assassins coming for me.”

“I’m not believing this. You’re all afraid of these guys. A bunch of over-the-hill, old as fuck retired army grunts,” he laughed. Finch picked up his duffel bag and started toward the door.

“You should be afraid of them too, Killer. And they’re not a bunch of old retired grunts. They were SEALs, MARSOC, Delta, Rangers, Green Berets and shit you don’t even know about. They won’t let you live and when you die, it won’t be an easy death.”

“You’re not leaving!” he screamed. “I’ll sign your death warrant!”

“You already have,” said Campbell following his friend out the door.

“Who else? Who else is gonna be a little bitch!” He looked around the room, the men moving from one foot to the other. “I tell you what. I’ll turn my back and you can decide what you want to do. You wanna leave? Fucking leave. You stay, we go to war.”

He turned his back waiting to hear if anyone moved. At first, there was no sound at all and he smiled to himself, knowing that they were his men.

Then, without warning, chairs were pushed backward and he heard the door opening and closing. Most of the bikes were destroyed but those that had them, were on them and gone. The others were using the trucks they had on the property. They had fucking deserted him. He slowly turned, seeing only six men left. Six of almost a hundred.

“So, that’s how it is then,” he mumbled. “Fuck ‘em. We’ll show them they were all stupid. We’ll win this, take those bikes, and find those fucking women again. When I’m done, I’ll personally kill that damn nun.”

“We gotta do this smart, boss,” said one of the men.

“Yeah. I’ll do it smart. Find me Bolchek.”

“Why didn’t you keep the notes about the other men?” asked Kari, staring down Sam Bolchek.

“There wasn’t a reason. We were never going to make it to trial. Or at least that’s what I was told,” he frowned, pushing the folder back toward the two women.

“Well, guess what, asshole. We’re going to trial. Weaver Crup is dead and Jenna wants the other two men to pay for what they did to her.”

“She’s crazy,” he said shaking his head. “She’s fucking crazy. They’ll kill her.”

“Who were the other two men?” asked Kari.

“I don’t know,” he said shaking his head.

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