Jester held his breath while the vote went around the table. The room spun a bit as too little oxygen permeated his brain. For weeks now he’d been playing it cool, telling his brothers he wasn’t worried about the vote, hadn’t even been thinking about it. But it was all bullshit.
“I vote yea. No one better for the job.” Acer nodded at him.
“It’s a hell yeah for me.” Gumby slapped his long-fingered palm against the table.
“Yea.” Striker had a huge grin on his face as he rounded out the vote.
Jester’s breath rushed out, and he refilled his lungs with much needed fresh air. He’d been a damned loyal warrior for the No Prisoners over the past decade, and at thirty-five he was satisfied with his high standing and reputation within the club. This club, his bike, and his brothers were all that mattered to him. Now it was officially his job to maintain the safety and security of his family.
“Well, that makes it unanimous. Jester is now our Sergeant at Arms. Come take your new seat, brother.” Shiv, the club’s president, named for his luck in surviving an assassination attempt in prison, rose as he spoke. He pointed at the empty chair to his right.
Jester stood from the table and strode toward Shiv. He pulled out the chair, raking it across the cement floor, before he dropped into the seat, claiming his new position. The men whistled and pounded their boots on the floor, the mood much lighter now that the formal voting was complete.
Pride bloomed in Jester’s chest as he took in the looks of respect and admiration on his brother’s faces.
“Congrats, man.” Striker, the club’s VP, and one of Jester’s closest friends, reached across the table and handed Jester the Sergeant at Arms patch he’d now wear on his cut.
“Thanks, bro. All in a day’s work.” Jester was replacing a man who was well loved by the entire club. But cancer was eating away at his lungs, and he couldn’t fill the role any longer.
Shiv held up a hand and the uproar quieted. “Okay, one more order of business then we can get out of here and start the celebration. I hear there will be some prime pussy here tonight, boys.”
Even though the official vote hadn’t been until two minutes ago, no one besides Jester had had any doubt how it would turn out. The guys had been planning a blowout for weeks. Booze, strippers, and his brothers would guarantee a night of unforgettable fun.
Striker commandeered the meeting, and reminded everyone of the ongoing conflict with a motorcycle club just one town over. “Grimm Brothers are back to running drugs through our town. As you all know, after all the shit went down with Lila, Snake had his hands full getting his guys back under his thumb. Now he’s back to pissing in our pool. The asshole can’t seem to stay away.”
Around the table the men nodded. Anger simmered under the surface as Jester recalled the role the Grimm Brothers played in terrorizing Lila, Striker’s fiancé.
“A prospect spotted three Grimms in our territory again. They ain’t even trying to hide the fact that they’re running their shit through our turf. We tried to play nice, and it didn’t work. Time to toss their asses out of our sandbox.”
Jester reached behind Shiv’s chair and snagged a large, rolled up, laminated map of the area. He spread it out on the table, and placed a beer bottle on each corner to keep it flat. While Striker continued to speak, Jester used a black marker, circling locations on the map as Striker mentioned them.
“We have intel, from a source in Mexico, that the Grimms are purchasing a fuck ton of product from the Fuentes Cartel. In two weeks they’ll be meeting with the cartel to exchange the cash for the goods. The transfer is set to take place here in our territory, down near the mountain pass. We need to hit that. Rumor has it near a million dead presidents will be handed over to travel down to Mexico that day. It’s a double win for us. Shows the Grimms what happens if they play on our side of the line, plus we get quite a nice chunk of change.”
A low whistle sounded, and Jester looked up. Gumby had risen and leaned his lanky body forward, getting a closer view of the map.
“We gonna hit them before or during the exchange?” Gumby asked, as he stretched an extra-long, gangly arm out and tapped a spot on the map that would be an ideal location to hit before the deal happened.
“Before,” Jester answered. “We don’t give a shit about getting our hands on the drugs, but a million large? That is more than enough to have Snake shedding his skin.”
Shiv nodded as the men snickered. “That gives us less than two weeks to come up with a solid grab plan. I want it swift and I want it fierce. A few humiliated Grimms along with the missing money will really drive home the fact that we won’t be bending over for them. They need to conduct their business in their own town.”
“We’ll need to be prepared for retaliation as well,” Striker added. “Knowing Snake, there will be blowback for sure.”
Striker’s gun had a bullet in the chamber with Snake’s name on it. Lila had been taken prisoner after she and Striker were ambushed by the Grimms. Striker nearly went out of his mind with worry for her. Jester took in the satisfaction on his VP’s face. This payback was overdue.
Snake had taken control of the Grimm Brothers MC in a coup last year. The man he replaced vanished, although Jester was sure he was buried out in the desert somewhere.
“We’ll work on how to handle whatever shit they throw our way when we finalize the details of the hit. Next week I want to discuss it further and come up with a solid plan to fuck over these assholes.” He looked around the room. Each man gave a short nod, bloodlust on their faces. “All right, then. Meeting adjourned.” Shiv banged his gavel on the table and the room erupted in excited chatter. The men were eager to get drinking and get some action.
“Hell yeah.” Jester rubbed his hands together in anticipation of a wild night. “Bring on the pussy.”
“You trying to tell us you haven’t already been laid today?” Hook ambled over. Topping out at just under six-foot and with a deadly left hook, he’d been one of the first friends Jester made when he prospected fifteen years ago. He slapped Jester on the back. “Congrats, bro.”
“Thanks, Hook, and I’ll have you know my dick hasn’t been serviced in two days.”
Striker snorted. “Two whole days, brother? You must be losing your charm.”
“Fuck you all. Just because I haven’t been stupid enough to go and shackle myself to a buck ten lead weight—even if she is hot as hell—you think you can make fun of me? Not my fault married sex sucks balls…or doesn’t.” Jester smirked at his own play on words.
“Hey, man I ain’t got no complaints. My fiancé is insatiable.” Striker smiled, the kind of goofy smile men got when they were totally whipped. He wore that smile most days since Lila agreed to marry him.
“Yeah,” Hook added, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He constantly looked like he was in the ring, ready to box. “You oughta know, Jester. You’ve walked in on them enough times.”
Jester shuddered dramatically. “Don’t remind me. I still have nightmares about Striker’s pasty white ass.”
As they bantered, the three men made their way out of the meeting room into the open area of the clubhouse that was rapidly filling with club members, their ol’ ladies, and plenty of unattached broads looking to bag a biker for the night. Ol’ ladies weren’t always permitted at club parties, but since tonight was a celebration for Jester, everyone was invited.
Off to the right, the heavy wooden bar was bustling. Three prospects scrambled to keep up with the demands for alcohol. Tables and chairs that normally littered the open area lined the edges of the room allowing space for dancing.
When the partying crowd noticed Jester, the room erupted with cheers and whistles. Gumby dragged a chair over and shoved him down. He thrust a shot into each of Jester’s hands.
After he tossed the fiery tequila back, a tall, leggy blonde with a teeny tiny hot pink skirt and nothing more than a black lacy bra that barely contained her stacked chest, straddled his lap and began to gyrate to the music.
“Congrats, brother,” Gumby called out with a wink, pointing to the chick. “This one’s on me.”
Jester linked his hands behind his head, and leaned back to enjoy the show. There were definitely some perks to this life.