Page 38 of Abel

“Thanks, Abel, now go on… Git.” She says, shooing me out of there and in the direction the guys are heading.

“What up, Abe?” Knuckles asks, bumping my fist once I make it near him. “You ready for all this?”

All I needed was to cool down, talk with Ginger and Foxy to get my head back on straight.

“Not really. I don’t know who or what this man named Santiago wants or how he was one of many to contact me directly. We don’t deal with just anyone we don’t know. We’ve all got each other’s back and we ride or die, but I’m not ready to sacrifice anyone.”

“You know that’s our motto ‘Ride with Me’ and that’s what we plan on doing, until the end.” Ironclad speaks up.

“Come on, let’s ride. I don’t need anyone else hearing about what’s going on. The less they know, the better.” We say our goodbyes, hop on our bikes, and ride to the club.

The pit is where we go to talk business and get our hands dirty. Parking the bikes, we all head inside. Nodding to Tats on our way in.

“Tats, what up?” Capone drawls, dapping him up.

“Holdin’ down the fort. It’s all clear down there.” He knows when it’s business and when it’s time to get dirty.

Everyone takes a seat once we’re inside. “Tark, have you found any information on Santiago?” I need to know what we’re up against before I have this meeting with him.

“Nah, nothing. It’s like he doesn’t exist.” Tark says, pissed that he’s come up empty handed.

“All good. I have a feeling he’s affiliated with the mafia.” The thought crossed my mind a time or two. There have been a few times members from other clubs have tried to come and negotiate deals with us. Like I said, everyone wants to be a part of what we have. It doesn’t surprise me that the mafia would seek us out, too.

“Yeah, the mafia has been hot on our balls ever since one of their own stumbled into the club one day.” Saxon speaks up. “At first, he appeared to be a regular Joe in the club, having a good time. Then, he started asking where the club owner was and where he could find him. I didn’t think anything about it at the time, but maybe he was scouting for this Santiago character.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me about this sooner?” I bark, a little off kilter because he failed to give me valuable information.

“Look, it slipped my mind because he didn’t do anything but ask who you were and how to find you. Nobody gave him what he was looking for, he was refused service after that and finally left. Clearly, he was a lower level member of the mafia becausesomeone with more rank would have beat it out of anyone here.” He says, lowering his voice. “My apologies, sir.”

“I’ll let it slide this time, but make sure it never happens again.” It’s a direct order and if he doesn’t follow, brother or not, it won’t be good.

“It won’t happen again.” Saxon promises.

We talk more about all the open possibilities, the new avenues to explore, and I tell them about my plans for the upcoming meeting with Santiago.

Chapter Fourteen

Abel

As the meeting comes to an end, I stand. “Alright, we’ll meet back here tomorrow for Sunday dinner, because come next week, playtime is over. Have a good night, fellas.” Dipping my head at them, I turn around and leave.

“We’re really doing this.” Capone yelps, slapping me on my shoulders as he catches up to me. “Hey, man, listen, I wanted to thank you for introducing me to Emily. She’s, she’s… Amazing.” I notice the way his eyes frost over each time he mentions the girl that’s captivated him beyond words.

“No worries. How are things with you two?” Even though I know exactly how they’re going because I hear about them from Emily non-stop at the office.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love how much more relaxed she is around me now that we’ve opened up to each other.

“Oh, I just, I don’t know, man. I can’t explain it.” This is the first time I’ve ever heard him fumble over his words like this. I’ve never seen him serious about anyone before, and as much of a player as he is… This is definitely throwing me off.

“No, man, I get it.” I smirk.

“Whatever happened toyourgirl? You know, the one that youbangedin the bathroom that night?”

“We didn’t bang in the bathroom, Cap… We fucked.” I smirk again before my mood turns sour. “She left in the middle of the night, and I haven’t spoken to or seen her since.”

“Fuck, man, I’m sorry to hear that.” He starts, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

“Fuck that! Don’t do that shit. I’m fine, perfectly fine. Life goes on, there’s pussy to get and fun to be had. I’m not hung up on her.” I lie to myself. It sounds so much better in my head. When my eyes circle back around to his, I find him watching me. “Seriously, dude, fuck off, I’m fine.”

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