Page 54 of Demon's Angel

I start a little, not having realised I’d been overheard. Drummer is imposing as I suppose a national president should be. When he focuses his steely blue eyes on mine, I find I’ve automatically reversed a step, my back against Demon’s chest. Demon steadies me by placing his hands on my shoulders.

“Demon’s filled us in, Vi. Not going into the rights and wrongs of it, or what I think. He’s made a decision, so our chapters will support him. We’re here as a show of strength to make sure nothing goes wrong tomorrow. We’ll all be protecting you and your kid. I have an old lady, two kids at home. Most of my men have. Yeah, it’s a wedding, they’re women, they’d love to be here, but under the circumstances, it felt right to leave them behind.”

I’m not stupid. I can read between the lines.The women aren’t here because their men won’t put them in danger.

“You think Angel’s going to try to take Theo?”

Drummer’s gaze moves over my head. It’s Demon who replies.

“There’s a chance he’ll try. That’s why we’re taking precautions. Not putting you or Theo at risk, Vi. Doing what I have to do to keep you safe.”

Chapter Eighteen

Demon

Iwatch Vi make her way through the room, which is heaving with bodies, until she reaches the stairs and disappears from sight. The number of men presents a problem I hadn’t considered before. Just where the fuck were we going to put everyone tonight? We’re pushed for space as it is.

“Drummer’s crew have booked into a hotel. Prospects gonna sleep out here, and the rest of the boys are doubling up.” Thunder appears at my side.

He’s read my mind and solved the problem before I had a chance to mention it. “You sure you don’t want that VP spot?”

In response there’s a chuckle. “Nice try, Prez. Happy to lend my organisational skills, but not to be second-in-command. Too much fuckin’ responsibility for me.”

You can’t blame a man for trying.

Turning back to have a word with Drummer, I see Pal’s already there, catching up with his Tucson brothers. The lad’s settled in here well, though.

“How’s the new patch working out?” Wraith, having grabbed himself a fresh drink, asks in my ear.

“Skull? Yeah, he’s doing okay. He and Pal are about the same age and have hit it off. Doesn’t seem to bear any bad feelings for what went down.”

“You trust him?”

I can see why Wraith might be suspicious. “With my life, Wraith. Boy won’t fuck this up. He has no other family. Had a long chat with him when he returned. Spun it how we were protecting the club. Think he’s looking at it as an extreme right of initiation.”

“Word of advice?” At my nod, he continues, “Keep your eye on him. Now,” he changes the subject, “what’s going on with this woman and kid you’re taking on?”

I knew someone would ask me. Crash wanders over; Thor, too. The four of us had been VPs together for a very long time. I am still not totally comfortable with my recent change in rank, and to be truthful, am more comfortable with an inquisition by them than by Drummer, Red and Snatcher. I indicate a table in the corner of the room, jerk my head to the men seated there, who get up and move, then we take the places they vacated.

“How much trouble are the Silvestri?” Thor leans back in his chair, the front two legs coming off the ground.

“Bad news,” I sum it up. “They’re big. Control the drug scene in town. We jog along with them well enough, they know not to step on our turf. But they’re growing, and we’re not. It was only a matter of time before we butted heads.”

“Like the Herreras?” Wraith asks, referencing the crime family back home. I know of them, have been down to Arizona when the Tucson chapter had had to take them on.

“Similar. Though their links are to the cartel, the Silvestri are a branch of the Mafia. Don Lucio is the boss, the underboss is his son, Angelino, Angel. There are at least tencaposthat we know of, maybe more. That means at least a hundredsoldatos,and then there are associates.”

“Associates?”

“Men not of Italian descent. You can’t rise in the ranks unless both your parents are Italian.”

Wraith nods at my explanation. “Ever thought about taking out both Lucio and Angel? Would it crumble?”

“There’d be some disarray, but someone has to run the product through town. Thecaposwould just elect someone new to take their place.” Not that I like the idea of drugs and personally steer well clear of them, but where there’s a demand, someone’s going to step in and supply. “Don’t like Angel for more than one reason. But Lucio’s always played it straight, down the line. Cut him out, maybe the next boss won’t be someone so easy to deal with.”

“Your long-term plan must be to take out this Angel,” observes Crash.

“But you want to avoid war.” Drummer and the other presidents have drawn up chairs to join us. For a moment there’s a bit of shifting around to make space. “Understand your problem, Brother.” He would. His crew have had issues with the Herreras in Tucson for decades. It’s the reason why Jayden had to come to Colorado. For a moment I wonder whether sending Violet away would have been a better idea than going through with this plan to marry her.She has my ink on her now.Fuck, who am I kidding? She belonged to me long before that. That knowledge, though, I’ll need to keep to myself.

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