Page 29 of DOG Part 2
I nodded. “You can never be too safe.”
I turned and headed inside, taking the long hallway down to our offices. The door was shut, and I gave the well-timed rap that meant it was me.
Banner opened the door, looking much better than the last time I’d seen him. The bags under his eyes were gone and although he moved slowly, it was with an easiness he hadn’t had the last time we had met.
“You look good, Banner.”
“And you don’t.”
“I’m working on it. Bullets, you know. They have a way of doing you in.” I walked into the room, through the outer office that was filled with nothing but gray office chairs and a small fridge, and into the smaller, inner office. DiEmanuele was sitting in a chair near the wall, his arms crossed and a red welt rising on his cheek. Surrounding him were three Rugged Angels, standing or sitting lackadaisically in the same kind of cheap chairs that populated the front room.
“You’ve got me,” DiEmanuele said as soon as he saw me. “What do you propose?”
I paused, a bit taken back by his cutting to the chase. “No insisting that you’re innocent? That you didn’t hire the Bandidos to pick us off so you could make a deal with them and control all the Tucson territory?”
He shrugged. “You’re smart. You clearly have figured it all out. So what’s next?”
I took the chair Banner offered me and eased down into it. “This is what’s happening next. The Rugged Angels now own the entire territory. All of Tucson and its suburbs that the Arroyos Bandidos run. You need to go to the other gang and make this happen.”
DiEmanuele drew his head back and made a scoffing noise. “That’s a big demand. Do you know what you’re even asking for?”
“Yes, it is a big demand,” I evenly replied. “But you have a lot to lose. About four million, to be precise.”
His entire face tightened as he gazed back at me, my reference about his money supply chain not being lost. As president of the Rugged Angels, it was my job to know what went on in not only the establishments that we ran for DiEmanuele, but in the other ones he held as well. With DiEmanuele sitting there in my hideout, all it would take would be a few words from me to have all of that money collected and stashed.
“Do you expect the Arroyos Bandidos to just disperse?” he finally asked.
“No. They’re going to join with us. I highly doubt that with their club in such a fragile state they’ll resist. Not only did they just lose their president, but their numbers are low. They need leadership and a stronger group now more than anything.”
DiEmanuele took a deep breath and continued to stare.
“I’m going to keep the four million, DiEmanuele,” I continued. “The merge is going to be a slow one, taking place over three years. Once it has proved successful, I’ll return the money to you. I expect your cooperation in this. You have the most to lose, after all.”
“You have this all figured out, don’t you?”
Banner answered before I could speak. “He’s not the club president for nothing.”
DiEmanuele unfolded his arms. “Fine.”
“Good,” I nodded, slightly surprised at just how easily the conversation had gone. “We’re going to keep you here while we collect the money. Once we let you loose, I expect you to go to the Arroyos Bandidos immediately. Tell them about my proposal. They’ll do good to merge with us, and there’s no way they’ll be stupid enough to pass up the opportunity. You uphold your end of the bargain by not initiating any more drama and I’ll keep my own end of it.”
I stood, teetering a little, but regaining my balance by grasping the back of the chair. “Banner, there’s someone outside who I’m sure would like to see you.”
Banner’s face lit up at the announcement, and he left the room and skirted through the outer office in just a few seconds. I followed, leaving the men behind to keep an eye on DiEmanuele.
When I got to the end of the hall I stopped at the window, keeping to the side so that I wasn’t seen. Kim was standing near the pickup truck, Skate and Kyle sitting in the back of it. A few feet away from Kim was Banner. Kim stared at him, her arms crossed. Their voices weren’t audible, but Banner was gesturing heavily as he spoke.
As her father talked, the hard look on Kim’s face softened. Soon her arms were dropping and her eyes were growing red with tears. She stepped forward to embrace Banner and my heart broke in two with the tenderness of it. As Banner wrapped his arms around Kim I swallowed hard. If I went outside with tears in my eyes Skate and Kyle would never let me hear the end of it.
After Banner pulled away and went to climb on his bike, I deemed it safe to enter the parking lot. Kim turned at the sound of the door opening, a smile lighting up her face as she saw me.
“Hi,” she said softly. “So, what’s going to happen?”
“I made a deal with DiEmanuele. We’re going to merge with the Arroyos Bandidos.”
“Wow,” she said, taking in a shaky breath.
“It’s going to be all right. Don’t worry.”
