Crash (Brazen Bulls MC #1)(58)

With the exception of Ox’s Maddie, who was keeping an eye on her girls and managing the sweetbutts and the food, there were no other old ladies on the premises. This party wasn’t really a party, it was a sit-down called by the Volkovs, regarding bringing the Horde in on a gun route, and the situation could get dicey. So Delaney and Dane—and Rad; he had an old lady now, too—had decided to keep their women well away. Though Willa had met all of the club by now, she still hadn’t been to a Bulls party, and this was definitely not the one to start at.

On the surface, it looked like any club party. The clubs were friendly, and not every member of the Horde had a stick the size of a tree up his ass like their president did. There was plenty of food, drink, and women to go around. Most of the men had taken up with the girls, and there was a lively game of pool going on as well. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves except the presidents and vice presidents of each club. And Rad. Even Frank, the Horde SAA, had set aside his protection duties. He was lounging back in a club chair, balls-deep in the mouth of one of the occasional girls and grinning like a fool.

Though the atmosphere in the clubhouse was lighthearted overall, Rad kept alert anyway. Big Ike was his usual dour self—worse than usual. It was Big Ike who could make trouble, if there were trouble to be made.

What happened at the Horde table was no business of Rad’s, but he had to wonder if there wasn’t some kind of strife in that club, something that went deeper than the trouble between the king and the prince—though Rad looked at the still-pink scar cutting Little Ike’s face in half and wondered again how that had happened.

Trying to put the dots together from his third-party view, he conjectured that this deal to bring the Horde into the Russian guns was a vote that had not gone Big Ike’s way.

He’d been the one to talk with Delaney, he’d been the Horde’s face of the deal, but that was his job as president, regardless of whether he’d wanted it himself. However, Big Ike Lunden didn’t take defeat gracefully.

This arrangement had smelled bad since they’d made it. The Russians were leery about bringing the little club they had no relationship with into the mix, and Delaney had stood up for them, putting the Bulls on the line. That was enough to get Kirill Volkov to concede to a trial period, but he wanted to sit down with this new club first.

So this sit-down. In Tulsa. If Kirill was satisfied, the Horde would then ride into Indiana to escort their first shipment back to Tulsa. It was a big fire drill, a lot of miles ridden without compensation, but Kirill wanted to meet on familiar ground.

Knowing Kirill, he was also testing the Horde, seeing if they would run around in circles for his job.

The Horde was here, so they seemed to have passed that test. But Big Ike was no idiot. He knew damn well it was a test, and he was pissed off. Rad could tell, simply from the demeanor of the men sitting on the sofas across the room—Delaney, Dane, Big Ike, and Reg—that the Horde president was complaining about it.

“That beer has got to be warm by now. Here—take a cold one. And what’s your head chewing on so hard?” Gunner held a frosty bottle before Rad’s face. He hadn’t realized Gunner had finished with his sweetbutt.

He took the cold beer and pushed the half-finished, room-temperature bottle to the back of the bar. Then he took a pull from the freshie, savoring the cool sliding down his throat.

“Just stayin’ alert. There’s a lot of movin’ parts to this meet.”

He gave Gunner a once over. He’d healed completely from the beatdown at Terry’s almost two months ago, but he had some new scars. They could not afford for Gunner to get it in his head that he wanted new scars today. “Do me a favor and keep level tonight, Gun.”

“You’re expecting trouble.” Gunner nodded toward the sofas. “Because of the Horde prez, right?”

“I always expect trouble. But yeah, Kirill won’t tolerate disrespect, and Big Ike’s walked right up to the line with D the last couple of times, so who knows what he’ll do with the Russians. I need everybody clear and solid, just in case.”

Gunner put his own bottle to his mouth and swallowed deeply. “I don’t know why D’s bending so far back for these guys. It’s like Big Ike has some kinda dirt on him.”

Rad shook his head. “Nah. D wouldn’t bend for that. He’d just put a bullet between Big Ike’s eyes and be done with it. It’s something between them. A debt, maybe. Or just a bond.” Uncomfortable with making guesses about Delaney’s relationship with Big Ike, he shook his head. “Don’t matter. We voted it. Now we got to make sure it don’t go to shit.”



oOo



Kirill and his men arrived about an hour later, and Delaney made the introductions. Rad was relieved to see that Big Ike was cordial, as was Kirill. When Kirill met Little Ike and made a comment about the son seeming a fine, strong man to follow his father, Big Ike frowned but said nothing.

With a glance around the room, which was showing obvious signs that people had been enjoying themselves, Kirill said, “I wish business now, first. You are able?”

Delaney nodded. “We are. Let’s go back to the chapel.” He turned and caught Maddie’s eye. “Maddie, bring us the good vodka and glasses for everybody, hon.”

“You got it, D,” Maddie said and went over to the bar to do so.