Page 51 of Finish Line
“It ain’t a secret that the four of us are getting’ up there in age,” I tell them. “Hell, I’m gonna be fifty this comin’ February.”
“So, what’s your point?” Gunner asks like I’m a crazy person and turnin’ fifty is gonna be just another day.
“I’m plannin’ on steppin’ down as Prez. Handin’ the patch over to Raze,” I explain.
“That makes sense. We all know Shadow wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Ratchet says.
“Ain’t that the truth. What the hell is goin’ on with him anyway?” Ranger cocks an eyebrow.
“That’s something I need to figure out,” I tell them.
“You think he’s on somethin’?” Ratchet asks.
“It’s always a possibility,” I say. “I always worried that bein’ in the real world would be difficult for him. He’s provin’ that theory, right, huh?”
“One issue at a time,” Gunner states. “Let’s get these cartel fucks out of the way, make sure our club is safe. Then we can work together to figure out what’s goin’ on with that little shit.”
“He ain’t so little anymore, Gun.” Ratchet chuckles.
“Yeah, well, he’ll always be that little boy who used to follow me around everywhere,” Gunner mutters. Shadow looked up to Gunner as he was growin’ up, so much so that Gunner sponsored Shadow when he wanted to join the club.
It’s also the reason why Shadow got his name. Someone made an offhand comment about him being Gunner’s shadow and it stuck. Shadow goin’ off the deep end is hard on all of us, especially Gunner.
“Back to Raze as Prez,” Ranger says. “You thinkin’ we should step down from our roles too?”
“Only if y’all want to,” I tell him. “I’m not forcin’ anyone to do anything they don’t want.”
“Shit, I’m ready to let these young bucks take over.” Ratchet laughs. “Who do you think he’d want as his officers?”
“I think he’d ask Buster to be his VP,” I admit.
“A Rider as a VP would be a good idea,” Ranger agrees. Gunner and Ratchet nod their heads in agreement.
“As for the rest, I think he’ll make it a mix of Menaces and Riders,” I say.
“As it should be,” Gunner says.
A knock at the door interrupts our conversation.
“Come in!” I shout.
Tech walks into the room, satisfaction painted across his face. If it weren’t for the fact that I know he’s been eyeballs deep in his computers, I’d say he looks like he just got laid. But unless he’s a really good multi-tasker, I hope he’s got good news for us.
“I found three of their most recent locations,” he tells us. “One of them is pretty run down, though.”
“We’ll hit that one last,” I tell him. I turn to Ranger. “Round up the guys. Let them know it’s time.”
* * *
The first building we’re headed to is thirty minutes west of the clubhouse, in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere. It would be a peaceful ride if it weren’t for the hell we’re about to raise. I will stop at nothing to get my woman back or die tryin’. I had promised I would keep her safe and I failed. The cartel came into my clubhouse and took her like it was nothin’.
I’ve been rackin’ my brain, tryin’ to figure out how the fuck they managed to hack our security and got into my clubhouse unnoticed. The only thing I can come up with is we have yet another fuckin’ mole. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone, because at this point, it could be any one of my brothers. It kills me to even think that, but I can’t come up with an alternative. And one brother is lookin’ more and more suspicious.
We come up over the hill and the building comes into view. From what I can see, there are no cars or motorcycles around and for a supposed cartel hang out, that’s never a good sign. An uneasy feeling washes over me, but I ignore it. I need inside that building to look for any signs of Athena or the assholes who took her.
I park my bike roughly five yards from the front of the building and shut it off. I stay sitting while my men follow suit.
“This doesn’t look good, Prez,” Ranger says, climbing off his bike and walking toward me.
