Rough Justice (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #1)(105)
“And the Irish have had to cool things off because they’re being watched by the ATF,” Sparky added.
Cade huffed his frustration. “How about the Mexicans?”
“The Pueblos Cartel were our buyers,” Jagger said. “They’ve expanded their drug operation to include the fruit trade and have gained a foothold in Michoacán. They’re trying to control the entire supply of mangoes to the U.S. and they needed the weapons to scare off international importers.”
“Don’t like mangoes.” Gunner wrinkled his nose. “Gimme an apple or banana any day. I eat simple, but tasty.”
“I thought you only ate *.” Sparky jabbed him with his elbow and Gunner was already halfway out of his seat before Jagger shut them down with a scowl.
“Enough. We have more important things to discuss than Gunner’s eating habits.”
“Yeah. We also gotta talk about this.” Zane flipped his laptop around, and a picture flashed on the screen. “I have a friend who’s got experience with digital photography. I got him to fill in the missing detail on the surveillance tapes from the night the Jacks burned down our old clubhouse. He did a bang-up job.” He clicked and zoomed in on the scene. Four men were now clearly visible. A blond near the weapons shed, two tall dark-haired Jacks with gas cans near the truck, and another blond-haired man with a load of Sinner weapons in his arms.
“I’m only showing you a few pics. But basically it looks like the truck drove into the yard through the trees. Jeff stayed at the weapons shed and loaded the guns into the truck. He’s the one who shot Gunner. The two tall guys were guards and one of them shot Cole. And this bastard blew up the clubhouse.” He zoomed in on the blond with the gas can. “Anyone recognize him?”
“Wheels!” Gunner spat out the name. “Goddamnit. He’s the f*cking rat I’ve been chasing around. I’ve been going through all our data on the brothers, but I hadn’t gotten to him, ’cause he was new and I figured our screening systems are tighter now than they were before.”
A Black Jack rat. In his club. Jagger’s gut twisted. He wasn’t surprised so much as outraged. He’d known something about Wheels wasn’t right, but he’d been too preoccupied with Arianne to heed the warning niggle in his mind. No wonder Viper was always one step ahead of the game. With a roar, he rose from his seat and slammed his fist into the table.
“I want every brother in the club on the road and looking for him.” He gritted the words through clenched teeth as rage suffused every cell in his body. “I want every mark pulled, and word spread to every gang or club we know. But tell them I want him alive. He is going to f*cking curse the day he was born when I get my hands—”
A sharp rap on the door cut him off and Jagger scowled. Everyone knew they weren’t to be disturbed during official board meetings.
“Come.”
The door opened and T-Rex stumbled into the room, his face a mask of horror. He stared at Zane, who was seated across from the door. “They have him,” he panted. “The Jacks got him.”
“Who?”
“Jagger.”
Zane motioned to the head of the table. “He’s standing right there.”
T-Rex glanced over at Jagger and jerked back, reaching for the open door to support himself. “You’re okay.”
“Of course I’m okay.” Jagger shot Zane a puzzled glance and then his gaze slid back to T-Rex. “But I thought I assigned you to Banks Bar. Clearly that job isn’t being done if you’re standing in my boardroom interrupting a meeting.”
T-Rex sagged against the door frame and let out a breath. “I was there like you asked. Arianne came in to say good-bye and Banks got her doing some work. I told Banks you wanted me to keep a low profile, so he said I could hide out in the stockroom. I texted you a coupla times and Banks called…”
Jagger reached beneath his cut for his phone. “Went for a run when I got back to the clubhouse and then came straight into the meeting so I haven’t checked my messages.” He saw four messages from T-Rex and a missed call on his screen and gestured for T-Rex to continue.
“Wheels came in. He brought Arianne to the stockroom and told her Viper had kidnapped you. He said the executive board was in a meeting deciding how to rescue you. Something didn’t feel right, so I stayed put. I figured if you were gone, Zane woulda been in charge, and everyone knows he hates meetings. I just couldn’t see him hearing Viper had you and then sittin’ around the table, trying to decide what to do.”
“Damn right.” Zane thumped his fist on the table. “If that had happened, I woulda be on my bike and halfway to hell before you’d even finished saying what you had to say.”
T-Rex grimaced. “That’s kinda what happened with Arianne. She didn’t hesitate. When Wheels said he knew where Viper was holding you, she told him to take her there right away. I was torn whether to go after them or come here, but when I heard Wheels tell her where they were going, I thought I’d better come straight here. I couldn’t believe anyone could take you, Jag, and since no one was answering the phone, I wanted to see with my own eyes if Wheels was telling the truth.”
“You did good.”
T-Rex scrubbed his hand over his face. “I was thinkin’ all the way what would we do without you, Jag? Nothing would be the same. And then when I walked in the door—” His voice broke. “Fuck. It’s good to see you. But we gotta go get her, man. Wheels betrayed us. It’s a trap.”