Owned & Untamed (Back Down Devil MC #11)(6)

“No shit,” I said. “But the f*cking area was supposed to be clear.”

“I can’t help who you piss off,” Curtis said. “I don’t babysit.”

I pushed forward again and both Ivan and Trev started to shout. Their voices carried in the big open warehouse. I was within another second of getting to Curtis when Ivan took out a gun and pulled the trigger.

It was loudest goddamn boom I ever heard out of a handgun. It felt like it was an inch from my ear. Shit, it was louder than the grenade back on the road.

My brain scrambled and I dropped to the ground. I covered my face and reached back, looking for my military weapon. I then panicked, trying to find my radio to call in the roadside bomb.

The entire scene from Iraq played out again.

The f*cking truck in front of me exploding.

Knowing my best bud from high school was in there…

“Duke!” a voice boomed. “Come back to us, brother!”

My eyes fluttered and I snapped back into reality.

I was back in the warehouse. It was us - Back Down Devil MC - and the Russians. Ivan had shot his gun. That was it. That was the sound. Nothing else.

Trev and Trent helped me back to my feet. I swallowed hard, collecting myself.

I saw the half grin on Curtis’s face and that was all I could handle.

I jumped forward and managed to get a fist to his face. I plowed into his nose, sending him flying back.

“I will do this again,” Ivan said and waved the massive handgun around. “I will shoot your brains out, Duke.” He grinned at me and I had to suppress all my anger not to attack him.

I took a small step back and showed my hands.

Fine. Fucking fine.

“Let’s all try to stay calm for a second,” Trev said. “Ivan, we were attacked. We put our lives on the line on the run down to Tijuana and back. And then an ambush…”

“You spent quite a bit on my tab down there,” Ivan said.

“In all fairness, most of the * was Cash,” Trent said. “He’s got a problem.”

“A problem with *,” Ivan said with a chuckle. “I don’t think that’s a bad problem to have.”

“None of us do,” I said. “Now, can we square this up?”

Peter stepped forward. “My associate has counted the money.”

“That fast?” Trev asked.

“Well trained,” Ivan said. “Deals go bad all the time.”

“This isn’t a bad deal,” I said. “This is improper intel.”

Curtis held a rag to his nose. He shook his head at me.

I wanted to kill the f*cker. I didn’t even know the guy. Hell, maybe it actually wasn’t his fault. But we were told to come with three guys and everything would be safe and secure.

“We’re short fifty-five thousand dollars,” Peter said.

“Take it out of our cut,” Trev said without hesitation. “This is a club problem, Ivan. We will handle it within our club.”

“No,” Ivan said.

Trev was ruthless but Ivan was bold. And extremely stubborn. He came from a different kind of life and a different country than ours. That was something a lot of guys had a hard time grasping. But I understood it.

Ivan wasn’t going to let this go. Even if it was a measly five thousand bucks missing out of the one-hundred-fifty.

He reached into the bag of cash and took out our cut of the money. He held it out to Trev and nodded. “Your portion.”

“Keep it,” Trev said. “Then I owe you five thousand.”

“No,” Ivan said. “I don’t want that. I want my money back.”

“They stole our fee,” I said. “That’s what it was.”

“No,” Ivan said again and stomped his foot. “You take this. You bring me back sixty-five.”

“What?” Trent asked.

“Interest,” Ivan said and shrugged his shoulders.

“Jesus,” I said. “I want your bank.”

Ivan and Peter laughed.

“I want my money,” Ivan said. “And I want it with blood on it.”

The room changed again.

“If this doesn’t happen,” Peter said, “we will intervene. And if we have to start killing your enemies, then we will just keep going. We will take over your town, your club, and your charters.”

“Do we understand?” Ivan asked.

Trev took the fifty grand from Ivan and nodded. “Got it.”

“I hope we can count on you for future endeavors,” Ivan said.

“Always,” I said. “Just get us better intel or let us do it our way next time.”

“Fuck you,” Curtis spat.

He looked like a fat bully that had gotten punched finally. His eyes glossy. His hands shaking like he wanted to fight me but knew I’d destroy him.

“My apologies,” Ivan said. “I give my sorry in two ways here. One, if anyone ever shows up missing money, they would be killed on the spot.”

“And your second sorry?” I asked.

Ivan looked me dead in the eyes. He lifted his hand and pointed his massive handgun right at Curtis. Before I could even process what was about to happen, Ivan pulled the trigger again.

The same thundering boom went off and Curtis’s brains went scattering out the side of his head and across the warehouse.