Page 21 of Burned in Stone
“Jesus Christ,” Stone mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“What?” Tank looks genuinely confused by our collective groan. “It works, doesn’t it? Problem solved.”
“Yeah, if the problem was ‘how do we look even more ridiculous?’“ Bones snorts. “Now we’re a ‘motorcy-thhhbttt-le’ club.”
Before things can descend even further into chaos, Stone’s voice cuts through. “Church! Ten minutes.”
Thank fuck.
The chapel fills up quick. Stone looks tired—more tired than usual—and there’s a tension in the room that says something’s coming.
“Brothers,” Stone starts once everyone’s settled. “We’ve got a problem. Summit’s getting bold again.”
“What now?” Lee asks, already looking pissed. Anything that threatens the MC threatens Devil’s Bar, and that means threatening his old lady, Kya.
“Bones?” Stone nods to our intelligence officer.
Bones straightens. “Been seeing a lot of new faces around town. Cops, but not our locals. These guys are transfers from neighboring jurisdictions. Three in the last two weeks.”
“That’s not normal.” My coffee turns to acid in my stomach. “Are they replacements or a buildup for something bigger?”
“Summit’s in the council now,” Hawk adds grimly, reminding us all that they funded two candidates who gained seats in the last election.
“Exactly. And that’s not all.” Bones’s scarred face is grim. “They’ve been asking questions. About the club, our businesses, who owns what. They’ve shown a special interest in Devil’s Bar and anyone who works there.”
“Seen them hanging around the garage,” Duck states. “Won’t be long before they’re poking around the bar too.”
“I thought we’d dealt with this shit months ago,” Lee spits. “They should know better than to get within five feet of Kya.” His jaw tightens. “When did this start?”
“Apparently Summit have conveniently experienced a localized form of amnesia. They’ve had cops trickling into town over the last month. But it’s only been this past week that they’ve started making themselves known.”
And now Mercy’s getting phone calls. Coincidence?
“Could be Summit trying a new angle,” Axel suggests. “Can’t force us out with fake violations, so they bring in cops they own?”
“That’s the working theory,” Stone agrees. He turns my way. “Cash, Lee. You’re at Devil’s most nights. Seen anything unusual?”
“Not really,” Lee says immediately, but I choose my words carefully.
“Mercy’s started getting calls that scare her. Won’t talk about it, but she’s jumpy.”
“You think someone’s targeting her?” Lee’s voice has gone deadly quiet.
“I think something’s got her spooked bad.”
Stone nods. “Keep an eye on her. If someone’s targeting people who work for us?—”
“They’ll regret it,” Hawk finishes, and there’s a rumble of agreement.
“Anything else?” Stone asks.
“Bennett Construction’s on track,” Axel reports, referring to his in-laws’ business. “No more mysterious delays.”
“Good. Duck?”
“Shop’s fine. Business is actually up,” Duck continues, adjusting his cut. “Guys in our sister charters sending bikes our way to keep us afloat while Summit’s squeezing other businesses.”
“Brotherhood in action,” Stone nods approvingly.
