Page 56 of His Road Dog

Chapter 22

Priest

––––––––

TARKIO MEMBERS, GATHEREDoutside the clubhouse, parted at the sight of Priest. He stormed in the front door, spotted Ringtail, and charged, picking up a chair on his way across the room.

Frank and Rick stepped to the side. He brought the chair up and swung out, crashing the piece of furniture across Ringtail's back, knocking him down to the floor.

Ringtail grunted on landing, and his body arched. "What the fuck, man?"

Priest let go of the broken wood, grabbed Ringtail, and hauled him to his feet, throwing him against the wall. "Do you have any fucking clue what you've done?"

"Jesus, Prez. I'm sorry." Ringtail dropped his fisted hands.

Priest swung, landing a punch to his MC brother's jaw. "I should chain your sorry ass up."

Ringtail hung his head. Priest turned to the others present and ordered them into the meeting room. One Tarkio member had fucked up, and that meant it affected each one of them and wouldn't be tolerated.

He went to the room and stood at the head of the table. The others filed inside. When the door shut, Priest looked around at all the faces.

He was running on empty. Rage fueled him forward each day.

Curley, as vice president, sat to his right. Roddy sat to his left. Paco, Rick, Frank, Roddy, Wyatt surrounded the table. Priest held his tongue, looking over the small group. It would do no good to let his frustrations out on those who could help him.

His target on Coveck had become personal.

He blamed the man for not only abusing the women he kept powerless and working for him but for forcing him to send Nicole away. The more days that went by not knowing how she was doing, if she was safe, or if she needed him, the more his control slipped.

Three weeks of trailing Coveck around Missoula, infiltrating the casino with Tarkio's associates and discovering Guthrie's death hadn't slowed the process of gaining women for Coveck's stable, Tarkio could've ended it all tonight.

But Ringtail had fucked up. Coveck had slipped past Tarkio's scout.

"I want more men out there. Bring in two more crews." Priest leaned over and gripped the back of the chair. "Surround the Casino and Coveck's house. I'm going inside."

"Kent made contact an hour ago. He doesn't believe Coveck's going home. It's been twenty-four hours since he spotted him and two of his workers carrying boxes out of the house. Kent believes Coveck went underground." Curley leaned forward. "I'm not talking in hiding; Kent thinks he's using one of the abandoned mines in the hillside."

"Fuck," muttered Priest. "It'd be impossible if that's true."

"Just keep it in mind as you plan." Curley looked at a small notebook in front of him. "Coveck will show up at the casino regardless of where he's hiding. He won't leave the women he's got alone for too long, or he'll lose them. We might not have any choice but to wait him out."

"Maybe that's the way to draw him out sooner." Paco crossed his arms over his chest. "Take the women, leaving Coveck with nothing."

Priest inhaled deeply. Without the girls working, Coveck would lose part of his income. The only thing remaining would be the loans he held over the heads of others. He'd need to make contact with his people at the casino.

"What are you thinking, Prez?" asked Roddy.

The problem was, he had too much on his mind. As much as he planned to take down Coveck, he wondered if Nicole was okay. He should've followed her after she'd driven off. He needed to stop any more girls from being rounded up and kept by Coveck. He needed to see Nicole.

And he could only solve one problem at a time.

"We'll have the associates go to the casino tonight, and between now and then, hopefully, we'll see an opening and get the girls out of the building. Call Jerry and Aaron, let them know we'll need the tow truck. Bring the women here. Make sure our men don't touch them. If one of them goes against my orders, I'll chain them in front of the whole club. There is no second chance. Let's have everything ready to roll at eight o'clock. We're going to have to act fast." Priest reached over and banged the gavel against the table, needing everyone to follow his directions. "Let's make sure none of our God damn members end up in prison by the time this is over."

Curley and Rick stayed behind as the others left the room. They had four hours to get everyone together and set up for tonight.

His vice president went through the list of members, choosing the crew. Priest waited to give his approval.

Rick stayed quiet. Priest glanced at the recent patched member. Having come from Cusclan Motorcycle Club via prison, Rick had proved his loyalty to Tarkio. His MC brother had never stepped out of bounds.

---