Page 31 of Venom's Sting

Squatting down beside Siege, I look him straight in the eye. “Is that so? Does your daddy know you’ve got a meth lab on his property?”

“What the fuck do you think? Even with a spread like this, he can’t make anywhere near what my operation does. Anyway, he’s not long for this world, and once the problem with the inheritance is sorted then I’ll make a killing here.” Looking fromme to Siege and back again, he asks, “So are you in? If you take care of my problem with the locals and protect my shipments, I’ll cut you in for ten percent.”

Siege glances at me and nods for me to break the bad news to him. I snort a laugh and take great pleasure in telling him, “I don’t think that very generous offer is gonna work for us. We couldn’t very well spend the money if we eliminated ourselves.”

It takes him a few seconds to work out what I’m telling him, and then his expression turns furious. “What the fuck business does a biker gang have sticking their noses in my business?” Before I can answer, he begins cursing under his breath and then shouts, “You stupid fuckers are not gonna take over my business. I’ll see every single one of you six feet under first.”

Not caring for his threat, I push him back onto the ground and climb on top of him. I punch him in the face a couple of times to make the point that he’s got no power in this situation. None at all. I poke him roughly in the middle of his forehead, “We are not an outlaw biker club. Get that through your thick skull. We don’t want to fucking work for you and running our own little drug empire is not on our bucket list either.”

“Fine,” he says before spitting a mouthful of blood off to the side. “Why the hell have you bastards been stalking my drivers?”

I get up, then drag him to a standing position, his feet are tied, so I give him a second to stabilize himself before letting go.

Siege informs him, “I know you probably thought your operation was flying under the radar. Maybe it was for local law enforcement? But the Legion keeps a close eye on everything that goes on in our county. When dozens of vans, all with license plates from the states that border California drive through townon the regular, we knew something shitty was happening. We looked around and found you with not a lot of effort.”

Looking more uncertain than before, he responds, “That’s why we’d make such good partners.”

Siege laughs, “Just a second ago, you wanted to make us your lackeys. Now, you’re offering us a partnership. If we keep talking, pretty soon you’ll be trying to get us to take this shitshow off your hands.”

Struggling to work the cable ties off his wrists, he huffs out, “I’ll be straight with you for just a second. What I really want is for the lot of you get the fuck off our property. You’re trespassing. And now you know where our set up is, I’m gonna have to find another location. That pisses me off because hideouts like this are hard to find.”

Rigs finally steps in because it’s becoming increasingly obvious that poor Edmund just doesn’t get it. We’re talking, but he’s in a world of his own, where he calls the shots and apparently nobody tells him what to do.

Rigs rattles him by delivering a swift gut punch and catching him by the shoulder to keep him from falling when he doubles over. “Now, I need you to shut your mouth and open your ears. Because if you don’t, I’m going to personally send you to meet your maker. You got that?”

Rigs might be a man of God but with his black hair, black clothing, and that weird, oversized cross he wears, he looks a bit like a vampire if I’m being honest. Or at least, he’s rocking the dark prince vibe pretty hard. Whatever it is about Rigs, his harsh treatment finally gets through to Edmund because he snaps his mouth shut and just nods.

Rigs lays it all out for him, saying the same kind of shit that Siege and I did. Somehow this time, Edmund is in the mood to listen.

“We’re not an outlaw motorcycle club. That means we don’t earn our way in life by engaging in illegal activities, and we sure as hell aren’t going to get involved in the manufacture and transportation of meth across state lines.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Sir,” Rigs prompts him.”

“I understand, sir,” Edmund responds weakly. I can tell by the look on his face he’s getting scared, but some small part of him still resents having to show respect to people he considers inferior.

Rigs continues, giving him a little shake to drive this important point home. “The Savage Legion MC got its rep from way we deal with assholes who think they can operate in our territory. There is not one single chance in hell we’re going to sanction a meth lab in Las Salinas or allow you to push drugs in our territory. So you might as well give up on the idea of continuing your little operation within fifty miles of the county line.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll pack it up and move on, it’s gonna be hard to find another place like this, it’s not like I’ve got a bunch of senile fucked up relatives I can call on,” he mutters. Something crosses my mind briefly, that’s the second time he’s mentioned something about his father. He said he wasn’t long for this world, is the old man dying? Or were Edmund and his brothers up to something else?

Rigs gives him a disgusted look. I don’t think any of us actually believe he’s going to leave without a fight, but that isn’t my main concern.

“Rigs,” I say his name in a low deadly tone.

Without looking in my direction, he tells Edmund. “You think we’re just going to take you at your word and let you go? Hell no. You have to pay a price for operating in our territory without permission.”

“Fine, what do you want?” he says angrily. The poor fool takes a minute to wipe the blood dripping down his cheek onto the shoulder of his shirt. It’s all he can manage with his hands tied.

Rigs just gives him the evil eye. Edmund groans before rephrasing his question. “What do you want from me, sir.”

Appeased, Rigs tells him, “We’re looking for Carol, your father’s only daughter. She’s missing and I think you know where she is.”

I move closer to hear what he has to say. I want to see every expression that jumps onto his face, to tell if he’s lying or not.

Edmund staggers back, clearly wary of me getting within striking distance again. He frowns. “That stupid bitch? Why in the hell is everyone so obsessed with her?”

I punch him right in the mouth. Before I can say anything, Rigs pulls me back.

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