Page 71 of Devil's Marker

“No.” Win shook his head.

“No?”

“That is not acceptable. Those guys need to be ended. Anything else, they’ll just go somewhere else and do the same.”

Boss sighed deeply. “I see you feel strongly about this. And I find that commendable. Thing is, I spent some time wearin’ orange when R.C. was little. Her mama was gone and she had to live with Zipper and Carla.

“Bottom line, I’m not lookin’ to spend any more of my time that way. Life is short and it’s even shorter if you spend some of it as a prisoner.”

He stopped, either to make sure Win was processing what he was saying or to see if Win had a response.

“Now I got a plan. It’s a plan that could end this shameful activity without endangerin’ my freedom. Or that of any member of this club.” Win looked dubious. “You’ll see. It’s gonna work out.”

“Say I go along and, since I already voted by proxy, I guess I do. What happens next?”

“We got a meetin’ with S&B tomorrow. It’s all set up. Got the back room of the Double D reserved for eighteen. Nine of theirs. Nine of ours. No more than another fourteen, seven and seven, can be hangin’ around outside.”

“They know about Cramer?”

“Sure as fuck they suspect. By the time we get all the women and kids outta harm’s way, they’ll know for sure. They’ll be comin’ pissed. Mad as hornets about that little weasel, mad as hornets about losin’ human cargo, and they’re gonna be even madder than that when they hear the surprise I got for ‘em.

“We’ll be usin’ our carry licenses and ready for anything. If they’re businessmen, we’ll come to a peaceful understanding. But we’ll be ready for crazy, just in case.”

“What’s that?”

Boss tapped his temple. “Still germinatin’. My solution that’s in the works may not be as satisfyin’ as a mass grave, but it’s a hell of a lot safer for the family men and just as effective at puttin’ an end to the trafficking.”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Yeah. Go get some sleep.”

That was exactly what Win wanted, but he decided to make a phone call first.

“Yeah?” Brant said, sounding as irritable as always.

“Here’s the shit. Things comin’ to a head fast. Meeting goin’ down at Double D tomorrow night. Everybody will be armed and it’s bikers.”

“Y’all have anythin’ to do with that story on the news?”

“You saw that?”

“Girls in the middle of Texas bein’ grabbed for slavery?” Brant snorted. “Yeah. We saw it.”

“Yeah. We had everything to do with it.”

“Understood. I’ll pass the message on. You just get on your bike and start this way. You’re done.”

“Thing is, I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. Consider it an order. Time to go.”

“I’m in this now, prez.”

“No.”

“Look. If things go best case scenario, there won’t be any incident. I’m just tellin’ you so the Ranger knows to keep an eye out. Tell him for him and his friends to keep their distance unless there’s live fire. The prez here, he may be able to work this out without goin’ there.”

“Jesus, Garrett. There’s no reason for you to be in the middle of this.”

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