Page 88 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
Carver’s eyes narrowed. Without looking behind him, he ordered, “Out.”
At his single word, four of the club brothers exited through the door to outside. The two who stayed were Carver’s VP, Slick, who crossed his massive arms over his chest and planted his feet, and Bucky, who frankly looked bored. Since Carver didn’t order them out, Cayden assumed Carver didn’t care about their conversation being overheard by witnesses. While he didn’t like that Bucky was one of those witnesses, Cayden had come to the conclusion that the young man needed to learn that he was responsible for his own actions. Cayden would not always be there to take the fall for him.
“The heist was a set up,” Cayden said before Carver could inquire. “Police were on me the second I hit the freeway.”
“Then you messed up.” Carver looked ready to punch something. Probably Cayden. “I knew you were out of the game too long.”
Cayden snorted indignantly. He also didn’t like the smug look on Bucky’s face. “I didn’t mess up, and even if I did, they were there too fast. They already had a roadblock set up. No way they had time to do that if I was the one who alerted them.”
Carver’s upper lip twitched. “Are you honestly suggesting that we have a rat in our midst?”
Cayden shook his head honestly, because he wasn’t. “No, I don’t think it was one of yours. There were only a few of your men who actually knew what was going on. You and I were the only ones who knewwhatI was getting tonight. Even if they knew about the auction, they didn’t know about the Raiju.” He paused before adding, “But there was one man who knew aboutthe auction and knew you were after that bike. He has the connections and the smarts to realize what you were up to.”
He wasn’t going to say the name. Carver had to reach the conclusion on his own.
“Massey,” he snarled out. “That double-crossing piece of shit.” His eyes quickly glanced around the room. “He’ll be here soon if he’s not already on his way. No way he would just take the Raiju. If he’s coming after me, he’s going to take it all.”
Cayden had no desire to get caught up in or to start a turf war. “I don’t think so. If I’d been any less of a driver, the cops would have me in custody and the motorcycle impounded. I think he planned on getting to it that way. I don’t think he plans on coming here.”
“Oh, I think I just might.”
Cayden’s stomach sank at the voice behind him. He didn’t recognize the speaker by his voice but by his words. It could only be one man.
Gavin Massey and at least a dozen thugs filled the room. They quickly surrounded Cayden, Carver, Bucky, and Slick. The VP made to reach for his gun, but stopped when he realized how woefully outnumbered he was. He slowly held up his hands, showing they were empty.
Bucky, whom Cayden could see out of the corner of his eye, was standing frozen and hadn’t even made to reach for his weapon. Cayden could only be grateful for that. Fear crept into his veins for the young man. He shouldn’t have been here.
Gavin Massey was not what Cayden had envisioned in his head. He had expected an older Caucasian man in a tailored suit. The jokester in him even gave Massey a Yosemite Sam mustache that he could twirl while doing his evil deeds.
The man in front of Cayden was African American with long dreadlocks held back in a messy bun like Trixie wore. He was younger than Cayden expected, maybe early forties. There wasno facial hair on his face, but he did have a long scar running down his left cheek. His teeth shone brightly against his dark complexion as he smiled. Massey was dressed in dark jeans, sneakers, and a beige sweater.
He looked…casual.
He did not look like a man who was preparing a hostile criminal enterprise takeover or, Cayden swallowed nervously, even murder. Cayden inched himself closer to Bucky. He didn’t like how the young man was simply standing there. If all hell broke loose, he hoped Bucky would run to the door behind him. There was only one of Massey’s men between Bucky and his exit.
Carver stepped forward, though still keeping distance between Massey and himself. “What the fuck, Massey? I’ve always been straight with you. I’ve never crossed into your territory. What the fuck is this about?”
“This isn’t about territory, Carver. It’s about respect. You overstepped.”
Carver’s jaw ticked. “I offered you a seat at the auction.”
That got him a raise of an invisible eyebrow. “A seat?” Massey shook his head. “No, I should have been made a partner. I have given you plenty over the years and you think you’re going to make adimeoff of me because you have a man who can boost even the un-boostable?”
Cayden felt himself stiffen as Massey’s amber eyes landed on him. He froze, not wanting to draw attention to himself or Bucky. Those eyes held such greed, like the world owed him everything and he planned to take it all. There was no remorse or fear behind those eyes, just pure gluttony. For one single second, Cayden understood Lee’s hatred of this man beyond Marco’s murder. Carver might be many things, and Cayden certainly was no angel, but it was Massey who was true evil.
“Of course, it might be exaggerating your man’s talents some. Are you aware, Carver, that your man has been feedinginformation about you to the local cops for months? In fact, the motorcycle he was bringing you tonight wasn’t even the real one. It was a manufactured failure that the company handed him the keys to.” Cold sweat dripped down Cayden’s back at the damning words. How the fuck had Massey known any of that?Shit, shit shit…He really hoped the cops were listening and hadn’t decided to take a bathroom break right then. He needed the cavalry to know he was in trouble. Where were they? Why hadn’t they come in as soon as Massey had? “You’re lucky my man in the department was able to give me so much information, Carver, or you would have brought me down along with yourself.”
Double shit. Massey had a cop in his pocket. Probably more than one, though he’d only referenced the singular.
While Carver looked murderous at Massey’s damning words, it was Bucky who spoke. “Boost?” His voice was laced with uncertainty, sadness, and accusation at Cayden, and all Cayden could think about was just how young Bucky looked in that moment.
The hurt in Bucky’s voice was like a slice upon his soul. The young man was standing only a few feet behind him. Still, Cayden met Bucky’s eyes unapologetically. He’d done what he had to do, and he doubted he’d ever be able to get Bucky to understand that. “I told you I was out.”
Before Bucky could respond, Massey spoke up again. “Your man set you up, Carver. You should be thanking me.” Massey took something small and black out of his pocket. “They won’t be able to hear a thing we’ve said. Your man’s been wired from the get-go. Likely recording every one of your meetings.”
Shit, shit, shit…That explained why the cops weren’t barging in. Cayden needed to figure out another way to get their attention.
Massey gestured to his men to start packing up the items on Carver’s shelves and in the crates. They were going to need to take a lot of trips or Massey was going to need a lot more men if he planned on emptying Carver out completely. “You’ve gotten careless, Carver. They were planning on raiding you today. I figured since you were going to lose your product anyway, I’d take it off your hands and get a good price for it. Better with me than in police storage. At least with me, it’d be put to better use.”
