Page 36 of Desert Heat

“She’s gonna kill you when you tell her who you are.”

“Probably,” I catch my smirk in the mirror. “I think that might be half the fun.”

Tank moved to the chest press. “What’s the plan then? We have church later… our brothers will demand an update.”

“Virtual church.” I shook my head. “Sassy will still be mine. I need her heart as collateral. Her father’s still the Prez of the MC trying to take us down.

“So she’s still a pawn.”

“Better than a prisoner. I’m not gonna break her into pieces like I had planned. I’m just gonna make her fall in love with me and make sure it sticks.”

“Love? That’s a trap brother. One with two doors in and no way out.”

I shrug. “I’m good. Never been in love. Don’t plan doing that now.”

“Good luck brother. You’re gonna need it.”

We continued our workout in silence as the football team entered the weight lifting room.

“Northport you joining the team?”

“Fuck no. I just spot Tank better than you pussies.”

I left, feeling all kinds of twisted inside. She was supposed to be my vengeance not the thing I can’t stop thinking about or itching to touch again.

“The Outlaws are gonna do him in from the inside. The blowback is all on him. He failed his Club. They already voted.” Blaze is matte rof fact as he relays the news.

I stare at the tiny screen on my new burner. Facetiming Church is a first. Tank scowls with his hands in his pockets. I lean back against the sturdy trunk of a thick evergreen. “I need a minute to process this. Who did the hit on Danny? Have you found out?”

“Linc. He betrayed his Prez met with the Vegas Chapter behind his back and blamed his Prez. Linc’s been paying one of the girls at the strip club extra. The more she works him the more he talks. He left the Outlaws and joined a new MC.”

“That’s why we keep them on our payroll,” I rolled my eyes. “Find out where he’s pledging.”

“When you coming back to the desert? How much more intel do you need?”

“I’ll be home for Christmas, fuckface. So, you can stop your worrying. If you nab this guy, Linc. I’ll be back sooner. Keep his life for me to snuff out.”

“The boys are restless. It’s getting hard to control our urge to burn the Outlaws down.” Wade’s clenched fists turned white.

“Payback will be ours.”

“Yeah? You’re the only one whose getting paid back in pussy.”

Church was silent after Shorty’s outburst. Even Tank’s eyes turned flat and cold.

“If I wasn’t standing on the top of a fucking mountain right now… I’d lay your ass out. In person or remote, I’m still the fucking Prez.” My palm smack the patch on the cut I put on. “If you want to challenge me for it. I’ll fly out tonight.”

Our eyes lock through the phone screen. He doesn’t utter another word as we move on to the next order of business which is dealing with the fentantyl and coyotes smuggling human cargo through the border.

“If you catch them… put down the coyotes, send back the cargo. The Fen-fen our policy stays the same. Burn it.”

“That’s burning cash. We could re-build with that shit.”

“Some things ain’t worth using to get there. Drugs is one of them.” I feel my face turning red, at the disrespect I’m getting. “If any of you decide to take your own cut and sell it on your own… I’ll take a finger off each of your hands. We need clear heads and hearts. I can’t risk any of you becoming users. It’ll fuck up the Club. Are we clear?”

One by one the men all nodded.

“One more thing… Rogan’s new road name is Tank. We’ll explain at Christmas.”

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