Dead Men Motorcycle Club (18 page)

"Morning, Emma," he said as I sat down.

"Good morning," I said lightly. "Cash told you everything?"

"He did," Alexander said, nodding. "I've got to say, I'm intrigued. I keep hearing stories about what the club gets up to and I've definitely wanted to see if the reality lives up to the hype. There's just one thing I don't get - why are you here?"

I'd been prepared for that question. My presence
was
odd. It was normal policy - informal though it was - that girlfriends and wives weren't ever brought along on business like this. After all, it was a dangerous job and even though we might live alongside them, we're not truly Dead Men.

"Sometimes there's a job that just takes asset that the Dead Men don't have," I told him. "When it comes to fighting and intimidating, they're the best around. When a job calls for something a bit more subtle, they've got to call on people who can look the part." I nodded to his suit and he understood my meaning immediately.

Cash and Tubbs pulled out of the parking lot and Alexander followed them. It was somewhat uncomfortable riding in the car with him. After my joyride with Cash the previous evening, the idea of riding in a car with Alexander felt more like cheating than I was entirely comfortable with. Plus, I was going to have to play his arm candy. I already knew I'd need to give Cash a wink from time to time to let him know that it was all an act. The last thing we needed was for someone to break character out of jealousy.

Waverly was only a 20 minute ride away from San Viero - hardly anything, really - but it felt like another world. Waverly was a vision into the future of San Viero in many ways. Here was a town that had boomed a decade ago. It had given up the identity of a small town and tried to make itself a destination for tourists and even big city natives. They'd sold everything and the result was a wasteland of fast food and outlet malls. It was the kind of place that felt humid even when the weather was fine. The stink of desperation and shame clung to everything in Waverly and the Hot 10 club was no exception.

Preston had done well for himself because when times are tough, you can always count on people wanting to drink. The Hot 10 hadn't become the destination he'd hoped, but it turned a profit. I suppose in business that's the only thing you can reasonably hope for. Still, from the outside it hardly looked like the kind of place that you'd want to make a special trip to visit. I found myself doubting that anybody from outside
Waveryly ever bothered to come into the place.

We parked in front and I called Cash on my phone.

"Okay you guys stand aside. We'll get ourselves in to talk to Preston and I'll do my best to bring whoever's on the door along with us so you can follow."

"Got it," he said over the phone. "Good luck. We'll see you inside."

I put my phone away and took a deep breath. I looked up to Alexander and could tell that his mood was shifting from excitement to anxiety. "Good," I thought to myself. Even if
him being nervous wasn't exactly part of the plan, I couldn't help but feel a little pleased, knowing that this man who had thought so little of the Dead Men was sweating now.

"Let's do this," I said to him and he nodded. Outside the car I checked my hair once last time in the mirror of the car before putting my arm in his as we walked to the front door. It was the middle of the day and the Hot 10 was technically closed, but I thought this was the best time to catch Preston with minimal security. Sure enough, when we knocked on the door, a tired looking man answered. He was tall and bulky. He'd clearly spent many years working in this kind of job and had a look that wouldn't be out of place in an MC.

Before he could get a word out, Alexander took hold of the door and held it wide open. "I'm here to see Preston," he said.
All this time I'd been thinking of Alexander's role as very passive.
It occurred to me suddenly that he might be more talented than I'd given him credit for. There's a certain skill set that you cultivate when you live a life of leisure, and
getting meetings with important people is a big part of it. The bouncer looked at him for a moment, trying to assess any potential threat. With his styled hair and finely cut suit, the greatest threat Alexander presented was a lawsuit or a corporate takeover. The bouncer looked to me briefly, but I could tell that security was mostly just an excuse for him to check me out. I might be the architect of this plan, and Cash had let me maintain that role, but now that we were in motion, I knew that I was going to be forced to take a back seat.

"Yeah, alright," the bouncer said finally, stepping back from the door. Alexander pushed his way inside and stood just beyond the entrance. I follow him in and tried my best to look bored. The bouncer was about to resume his seat on a tall stool next to the door when Alexander interrupted him.

"Well?",
he asked. "Show me where his office is." He didn't make any excuses and I knew that was part of his magic. Sometimes getting your way is just about making demands without explaining them and waiting for other people to step up to the plate. The bouncer grumbled something under his breath and moved past us into the club, leading the way.

Clubs like that always look strange during the day. It's not sunlight, of course. There were no windows to speak of. It's more about which lights are on and which aren't - that and the ever present silence. As we stepped across the deserted club towards a spiral staircase on the far side, I could hear my heels clacking against the hard floor. Alexander remained composed and confident looking. This plan was far from over, but at least I didn't worry about him wimping out.

We climbed the staircase to the balcony level. Preston had an office at the end of a catwalk with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the club. When we got to the door our large guide opened it and stepped through. Before I even saw him, I heard Preston's voice and imagined a weasel. His appearance did nothing to contradict that impression. He was small with greasy hair and thin lips.

"What is it, Anders?" he said without looking up from the screen of his laptop, the soft blue glow of it lighting up his face in the dimly lit room.

"Someone here to see you, boss," he said. Preston looked up as if he'd just put two and two together about the sound of the three of us entering his office. When he looked up, he was at first angry, then confused and finally he looked like a smarmy used car salesman. I figured that a guy like Preston probably had a lot of undesirable visitors. When he didn't
recognize us he quickly turned to the skills that had made him the owner of a night club in the first place. Just like the bouncer, I caught him taking more than a few moments to look me over.

Alexander stepped towards the desk and I caught sight of the bouncer moving towards the door behind us. I had to think fast. I needed to keep him here or he might discover just who our visit had really brought to the club. I stepped behind Alexander's back and caught the bouncer's eye. I raised my eyebrow slightly and ran my hand slowly over my mid-section. I hadn't had much use for overt moves like that in the garage, but it seemed to work every time. He let his hand drop from the door and I smiled at him as he turned back around to face the front of the room where Preston was sitting. His eyes were now fixed entirely on me. I made a show of keeping my gestures small, as though I didn't want Alexander to notice what I was doing behind his back. I learned a long time ago that getting a guy's attention is usually just a matter of making him think you're more interested in getting to know him than whoever you arrived with.

While I held the guard's focus, Alexander moved to the desk.

"Preston, I presume?" he said. "Alexander
Donnovan. I believe we have some business to discuss."

Preston seemed oblivious to what was going on with his bouncer and the mysterious and beautiful woman who had just arrived. The well-dressed young man in front of him was much more pressing.

"We do?" Preston asked. His tone was more than a little suspicious. "What business is that?"

I got the feeling from looking at the place that most of Preston's "business meetings" had to do with money he'd borrowed to build it. The place didn't exactly scream out "affluence".

"I like your club, Preston," Alexander said in a cloying tone. "I like it a lot. There's just so much more you could be doing with it."

"What do you mean?" he asked. I could hear that the suspicion in his voice wasn't letting go. I think Alexander was banking on an overture like that greasing the wheel for a bit
more glad
handing than it did. I found myself hoping that Cash and Tubbs would arrive soon.
I thought more highly of Alexander's abilities in the situation than I did at first, but I still had my doubts.

"Listen," Alexander said, shifting his weight and placing one hand casually on Preston's desk. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a little about
who I am and then we'll talk about what we can do for each other."

I turned to look at them and could see that Preston was about to say something when he quickly shifted his vision to the door. I looked, too and there they were - Cash and Tubbs, calmly stepping into the room.

"God damnit!"
Preston said to nobody in particular. He then turned to Alexander. "Oh, I see
exactly
who you are."

Alexander took a step back from the desk, clearly sensing that his role in this little drama had just about been played to completion. Cash stepped further into the room, exaggerating that cocky little walk of his that I sometimes made fun of him for.

"Been a long time, Preston," he said without a trace of a smile on his face.

Preston turned to the bouncer who was standing in the corner looking shocked. "Fucking hell, Anders," he said, "Why aren't you at the door?" In that moment I felt slightly bad for the bouncer. He'd been played, but for all I knew at the time, he might be a decent guy who just wanted to do his job.

Cash kept the room focused on himself
and stepped around the desk towards Preston who was still seated. When Cash rounded the desk, the club owner looked startled and tried to reach for something on the desk, but Cash's hand leapt out quickly and he caught the older man's palm between his powerful fingers.

"Preston, Preston, Preston," Cash chided him, "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"You're not my fucking friend, Cash," he said. "What do you want?" He was still squirming in his office chair, his hand caught in the vice-like grip of the man I loved. I knew well just how strong Cash's hands could be and I found myself doubting that Preston could get away even if he'd tried.

"When we told you to get out," Cash said, "It looks like you didn't really
get it
. You're too close for comfort and your club is no better."

"What the fuck do you want me to do," Preston said. "I can't knock this place down and start over, can I?"

Cash tightened his grip around Preston's hand and the smaller man let out a sound that was somewhere between a cry of pain and a low, rumbling groan. I just felt a smile appearing on my face when suddenly I was shrieking as well. Two huge, meaty arms wrapped around me and pulled me backwards. Anders had grabbed me and was squeezing me with more force than I would have thought I could withstand. With little effort on his part, I felt like I could barely breathe.

All eyes in the room turned to me. Preston looked terrified. Alexander had an expression of pure shock on his face. Tubbs' face did something I had never seen before and his lips curled with anger. And then there was Cash. I've been to some rough places in my life. I've seen people who want to hurt other people before. I've never seen anything like what Cash showed me that afternoon, though. His eyes were practically on fire with rage. As soon as he saw what had happened, he twisted and squeezed Preston's hand, such that Preston cried out in anguish.

"Let her go, you sack of shit," Tubbs said firmly, stepping towards us.

Anders looked determined but also frightened. He was outnumbered and probably didn't quite know what he was doing. He looked over to Preston, but his boss was in such pain that he was of no use.

"Get your hand off him!" Anders said towards Cash. Cash didn't relent though. The constant wail of agony coming from Preston, combined with the tight pressure across my midsection was making me feel lightheaded already. I struggled but there was nothing I could do to get away. Anders was far stronger than me and had almost a foot in height over me.

When Cash made no move to release Preston, Anders started walking the two of us towards the door. Tubbs charged at him and the large man released me. I collapsed to the floor, panting for breath, looking up just in time to see Tubbs collide with the huge bouncer. They grabbed at each other's arms and the momentum of the charge had them crashing into the wall. Anders reversed their path and rolled against the thick metal beam that held up the structure of the club, pushing Tubbs against it. I heard a sickening crunch and I knew something was terribly wrong. I saw Tubbs' grip relax and gasped, trying to yell something, anything to my friend.

With a huge roar, Anders pushed forward with all of his strength and launched Tubbs towards the tall window. I barely managed to croak a scream of "No!!!" as Tubbs crashed through the glass. Sparkling shards exploded outwards as Tubbs sailed through the air. The crashing of the broken glass was still ringing in the air when Tubbs disappeared from sight, falling towards the club below.

I heard Cash call out to his fallen brother, and heard the constant scream
of pain from Preston turn into a blood-curdling wail for mercy. Anders turned to face Cash, his face a mask of rage. He took a step towards the desk and then bolted into a run across the short room. I caught my breath enough to scream but still couldn't stand. The aching in my ribs was just too great.