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Hawk
Saturday Night
Sitting in the common room with his old lady on his lap Hawk watched the usual Saturday night shit going on around them. Their women had decided it was time for them to hang out together and that the clubhouse was the perfect place for it to happen. So here they were, his brothers and their old ladies and him and his little bird, hanging out. Fuck.
His mind wasn’t on the conversations going on around him. He was too worried about Kid. His best friend hadn’t reported on how the meeting with War and his family had gone and it worried him. Not that Kid was a talkative fucker at the best of times but since the shit with his parents and Jane went down he had shut down almost completely. He had hardly been speaking to anyone before he left for Cape Town. He had isolated himself from everyone.
Hawk wasn’t the only one who was worried about him, Ice and Bulldog felt the same.
A sharp elbow to the ribs had him looking down into the dark eyes of his old lady and he tried to put his worries behind him and join the conversation.
But it was not to be. His phone started bleating in his pocket and he immediately reached for it.
It was an unknown number. Fuck.
“I have to take this, baby.” He said as he moved DC off his lap, stood then pushed her down into the spot he had vacated. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with this.”
He held his phone up, turned and walked away, answering as he strode down the passage to his office.
“Hawk.”
“It’s me.”
Hawk shook his head. Bloody Dom and the endless games he played.
“I understand congratulations are in order.”
There was a short silence, then a sigh.
“About that. There’s something you need to know. I’m close to uncovering something big and I know there’s going to be a move made against me. I need you to protect my people. The ones I trust all know exactly what to do should anything happen to me and they will ensure my sister, my fiancée and her friends are delivered to you or to your Cape Town chapter. I trust Orca as I trust you.”
Hawk was unsure what the hell was happening in Cape Town but it sounded like it was bad.
“What the fuck is going on down there? Do you need us to step in?”
Dominick was silent for a few seconds before he started talking again.
“What happens next is something that has to happen to ensure the hold of the Syndicate is broken. I will do what I have to do to ensure we all walk away from this intact if at all possible. I need you to keep an eye on Face. She’s a wild card and I can’t always tell what she’s going to do next. The engagement is to keep her relatively safe from the Syndicate and to ensure you don’t abandon her.” He snorted. “Yes, I know, it makes no sense telling you it’s fake but I have my reasons. Our plans are finally coming together and I have everything in place. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. The old bitch killed my family and it’s time for her to suffer the same losses, don’t you think?”
“Jesus, Dom, what the fuck are you going to do? Stop talking in riddles and give it to me straight.”
“Sorry, my friend, but this is all I can give you at this stage. Try to keep the real reason for my engagement to yourself until such time as you have to reveal it to your club. Do I have your word?”
Hawk closed his eyes and shook his head side to side slowly then sighed. “Yes, you have my word. I’ll take care of your people should the time come that you need me to do so.”
“Thank you, Hawk. That takes a load off my mind. I have to go but I’ll talk to you again soon. I’m on my way to meet with War and Kid and that’s going to be so much fun.”
Hawk listened to him laugh and then the phone went dead. When he tried to call back he was told the number was no longer in use.
Fuck.
What the fuck was Dominick Maingarde planning? And how were those plans going to impact the club?
Worry gnawed at his gut as he went back to his old lady and his brothers. He would relax tonight but tomorrow they would start digging. Somewhere there had to be a trace or an indication of what was going on. They would find it.
And then the Iron Dogz would be ready to fight.
Kid
He was sitting in War’s office with War, Rock and Spider as they waited for Dominick and Face to arrive. He had insisted that Scar, Buzz and Dizzy had to be on the team waiting to bring them inside. War had allowed it but had given him a strange look. He didn’t care, he didn’t trust some of the Sinners not to try and end Dom and Face as they walked into the clubhouse.
Spider was fiddling with his rings, deep in thought with a small frown between his brows. Kid knew his brother was trying to make sense of the shit going down around them but without all the parts of the puzzle it was impossible to see the final picture.
The sharp knock on the door had them all look at the door.
“Come in!” War called out.
The door opened and a very pissed off Face was the first to walk in followed by an equally pissed off Dom and their bodyguards, Gideon and Bruno.
Now what? He didn’t have long to wait to find out.
“This is the last time my fiancée or I will step foot inside your clubhouse. I will not stand for my woman being called names or being ridiculed by the bastards you call your brothers.” Dominick burst out. “I’m giving you a fair warning those men are as good as dead.”
Fuck. When Dominick Maingarde threatened you had better sit up and take notice and find a way to appease him. But looking at the rage in his eyes Kid knew nothing War said or did was going to be enough.
“I’m sorry, Face, Dominick, I will take care of the problem.” Grabbing his phone War called then waited a few seconds before he spoke. “I want footage of what went down when Dominick and Face were brought into the clubhouse right the fuck now.”
He ended the call before calling someone else. “Wheels, get your fucking ass in my office.”
Throwing his phone on his desk he moved around it and held a hand out to Dominick who took it reluctantly and shook. He then did the same with Face. She shook his hand not saying a word.
“I’m sorry. If those who stepped over the line are my own men they will be dealt with. If they belong to one of the visiting chapters I will turn their discipline over to our National President. I give you my word it will be dealt with.”
“Fine.” Dom snarled. “We’re here. What do you want?”
With Dom now not trusting anyone in this clubhouse Kid knew it was up to him to calm everyone down.
“Dom, good you could make it. I have a few questions if you and your woman don’t mind.”
“Kid, good to see you again. I haven’t spoken to Tori in a while, how’s she doing?” Kid saw that Dom was trying to focus on something else to calm himself down and he gave him that.
“She’s good, man. Beast and her are back together and raising his girls as a family. She’s recovered most of her mobility, it’s only when she’s tired that she has a limp. DC built a dance studio for her in the compound where she teaches ballet to the kids and the fucking strippers. It’s been great for our strip clubs because those bitches now pull in a ton of money.” Kid nodded a head towards Spider. “Ask him, he likes to hang out at the clubs watching them dance, or so he says.”
Spider winked and grinned. “Hey, don’t put a brother down like that. I’m just doing my job. I keep an eye on their progress for Tori because Beast won’t allow her to go to the clubs.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “A pity because I’ve seen what she can do in the studio. Imagine her up on the stage working a pole, now that would be perfection.”
“Beast is going to kill you, you know this, right?” Scar said from where he stood with his back against the wall right next to the door with one of War’s men called Brick on the opposite side. Bruno and Gideon had placed themselves against the wall behind Dom and Face and silently watched everyone.
Before Spider could answer there was another knock on the door and War nodded at Scar to open it. Wheels walked in looking pissed off and stopped in front of the desk.
“You need me, Prez?”
“Yes. Mouse will have some camera footage for you to review. Every single man who disrespected Dominick and his woman are to be taken downstairs. I don’t give a fuck which chapter they are from. Don’t do it on your own. Take Ram and get a team together and take care of it. Once it’s done let me know and let Fox know.”
Wheels gave a short nod. “Got you, Prez.”
With that he turned and left, he didn’t look at any of them, his eyes already focused on the job he had been given.
War was still standing at his desk and he now indicated the chairs. “Dominick, Face, please, have a seat so we can get this done and get you safely back to your side of the wall.”
Dom held the chair for Face, she slowly sat down and he took the chair next to hers. The only ones standing were the men against the walls.
War didn’t beat around the bush. “Your engagement, it came as a surprise and at a very convenient time for Face.”
Dom smile was that of a predator.
“Yes, it might have been a surprise to some people but not for those who know us. I’ve known Noelle for years. Babysat her and Rentia and Pixie a time or two when they were little girls. I kept in contact when they locked her up, arranged some things to make her transition from prison to civilian life a bit easier. Despite what Murchison or Winifred might think, she belongs to me, always has, always will.”
Kid didn’t miss the pissed off look Face threw at Dom when he called her his property. Interesting.
“I appreciate the explanation.” War said mildly then turned his eyes on Face.
“Why didn’t you warn us of your connection to Dominick when we spoke earlier? Wouldn’t he have been the best option to help you obtain what you needed to protect your family?”
Face looked at him with distant cold eyes. “He is helping my family. My niece is being given the medical treatment she needs because he arranged it. When we met in the tunnel I went with what I had at the time. An opportunity to approach the Iron Dogz without Murchison getting wind of it. He has spies everywhere. But, by now he most probably knows I’m here with Dom so my plans might be totally useless for all I know.”
War shot forward angrily. “Are you trying to say I have rats in my home?”
Face leant forward and hissed. “I’m not trying to say it, I am saying it. You have rats, big fucking rats. Deal with it.”
“How do you know this?” Rock asked in a tight voice as rage played through his eyes.
“Your chapter is clean, so is Joburg, but some of the others aren’t.” She waved a hand through the air as if it was general knowledge. “My crew and I have been living next door for four years. We’ve kept our eyes and ears open for infiltrators and took care of them when needed. I could not have a spy living right next door, now could I?”
“You took care of them, how?” War sat silently as Rock questioned Face but he was listening intently and not missing a single thing.
An evil glint appeared in her eyes as she narrowed them on Rock. “The usual way, Rock, the usual way.”
She wasn’t going to say more that would incriminate herself or her crew.
“We’ll get to that again later.” War said as he leant back. “We made a partial plan this morning. I think we need to move forward and get it in place as quick as possible. With your engagement to Dominick we can no longer use the seduction ruse we’ve been thinking about. Murchison would not fall for it.”
Face interrupted. “Oh he’ll definitely fall for it. He believes everyone is as amoral as he is. Fidelity isn’t something he understands and he will be overjoyed if he can walk up to Dom and tell him his fiancée is fucking someone else. It would totally make his day. He hates Dom for some reason.”
Dom smiled as he turned and winked at her.
“Baby, he hates me because I’m standing in the way of him reaching the top spot in the Syndicate. The Harrisons will never promote him unless he marries one of theirs and no way would Winifred allow that. She knows he’s only with her because he wants her position in the Syndicate. One thing you need to remember, Winifred absolutely believes in the saying ‘keep your friends close, your enemies closer’. That’s why she has me tied to her so closely. She knows I’m the enemy.”
He looked around the room with cold eyes, focused on Brick for a second, then looked back at War before he continued.
“What I’m about to tell you stays in this room and goes no further. Are we agreed?” He waited until he got their nods before he continued. “My family has money the Syndicate has been unable to touch but, if I marry, the money releases to me and my subsequent heirs. They are trying to set me up with Juliana Kolinic Harrison, Alexander’s younger sister. The witch is hoping for a Maingarde-Harrison heir but I’ve made sure there will be no heirs. What none of them know is that if anything happens to me before or even after I marry, every single cent of my money and the family trust goes into another trust for Pixie’s children. If she has no children the money goes into yet another trust to be used by a charity for victims of human trafficking and sex slavery. That trust will be overseen by a board of directors that will only be revealed should it become necessary. The Harrisons will never get their filthy hands on my family’s money, not in my lifetime or the lifetimes of my heirs.”
There was a heavy silence before Face broke it.
“Babe, just saying, if you took care of the having babies problem how are you going to have heirs without active sperm?”
Dom shook his head and laughed.
“Don’t you worry about it, Noelle. If I make it through what’s coming I’ll have the baby problem taken care of.”
Kid ignored the money and baby making talk and focused on what was important.
“What do you mean ‘If you make it through what’s coming’? What’s coming for us, Dom?”
“All I can say is to be ready for anything, Kid.” Dom said. “I’m expecting the Syndicate to lose their shit over my engagement and they’re going to try and take Face out to clear the way for their own candidate. And that’s why I want you, personally, to look out for her. My plan is as follows. Face and her crew will head to Johannesburg tomorrow to set up a base of operations, ostensibly to do a job for Bruno. They will start hanging out at The Thirsty Dog where Face will meet you. It’s well known that you don’t trust anyone. She will gain your trust and you will very publicly start an affair. I suggest you move her into your room at the clubhouse as soon as you can. She will break up with you very publicly right before she has to meet the deadline. It should be enough time to convince Murchison that Face broke into your safe and got the information he needs to ensure his position in the Syndicate.”
Face held up a hand and interrupted.
“Hang on there. I think Cuba would be a better fit for him. I’m much too tall to draw his attention, he likes his women petite, fun sized you might say.”
But Dom shook his head.
“It has to be you, Face. You’re the expert, not Cuba. We need to keep the plan as believable as possible.” Dom looked at her stubbornly clenched lips before he grinned and continued.
“Once Face has what Murchison wants they will return to Cape Town where they will be under the protection of Bruno and his teams. Once here I need you, War, to keep your eyes on them at all times. I’m expecting a hit soon after she gets back or when she delivers the information. Winifred needs her gone for the next part of her plan. Murchison will make it happen.”
Rock was looking as stunned as the rest of them when he spoke. “What the fuck? What kind of monster is he to agree to kill his own child?”
Face spat out several curses but Dom grabbed both of her hands turned her to look at him before he spoke. He looked right at her as he explained. “He will do it because she’s expendable, has always been expendable as far as he’s concerned.” He drew in a breath and let it out then continued. “She’s expendable because she’s not his daughter. Rentia is but Face isn’t. Murchison’s men and Winifred believes that her father was one of the men Murchison shared his wife with. He shared her with several of his men and business associates. It’s a lie. A lie manufactured by him to explain why she looks nothing like Rentia or him.”
Face stared at Dom with big eyes, her mouth opening as if to ask questions but he put a finger to her lips and silenced her.
“Not yet, Noelle. I can’t tell you yet, but I will, soon. I promise. There are some things to be cleared up and some plans to be set in motion before I can safely disclose what I know. Trust me.”
“Shit.” Face whispered. “You know I trust you. Somehow in the back of my brain I knew he wasn’t my father. I look nothing like my family.”
“And thank fuck for that.” Dom teased with a grin.
“Oh, piss off.” She swore at him without any heat, dropped his hands and shuffled her ass back into her chair.
“Oh look at that.” Spider teased. “We have another ‘who’s your daddy’ situation on hand.”
The damned tease tilted his head to the side as he looked at Face, his eyes very intent as he looked her over.
“You know, you have very distinctive eyes.” He mused as he rested his elbow on the arm of his chair, tilted his head and put his cheek on the palm of his hand as he stared at her. Kid knew his brother was looking relaxed and shit but deep down he wasn’t at all. What the fuck had he noticed?
“I’ve only seen one set of eyes close to your colour and he’s standing right there next to the door. What are the chances of you being related?” He asked in a lazy voice.
Dom jerked around and looked at Scar who was frowning in confusion. He didn’t look at him for very long before he turned and smiled at Spider.
“Well played, Spider, but no cigar. Scar’s eyes are green, and a light green at that, but they are not the familial marker you thought it was. They aren’t family.”
“Thank fuck for that, I don’t need any more family problems.” Scar muttered.
Kid had heard enough and had to get the conversation back to the plan they needed to get in place.
“What information do you need us to put on the USB? I can tell you now Hawk won’t agree to anything that might endanger the club or our families.”
Dom smiled like the killer shark that he was. “You don’t need to worry about that. My people have already prepared the information that Face will hand over. It will be sent to Hawk to ensure your club knows exactly what we’re giving to Murchison. It’s been twisted enough that not a single part of it will impact your club. We’re going to make it look like Flash intended to scam the Syndicate right from the start.”
“You’re going to throw all of us into the deep end, aren’t you?” Face growled at Dom and he just shrugged.
“It’s sink or swim time, sweetheart. The outcome of this operation will pave the way forward for all of us.”
Fucking hell. They were in deeper shit than Kid liked but he had to go along with it for the sake of his club.
And starting something with Face? That was going to be difficult. Her scars didn’t dim her beauty or the allure of her amazing body. Those startling eyes of hers snagged his attention constantly and that’s where he might run into a problem. To not even talk about who she was as a person. Her strength was like a fucking beacon shining in the night calling to him.
Fuck.
He had a feeling in his gut that he was going to be totally fucked once this operation was over.
