Page 23 of The Biker's Red Christmas

"Now that we've got that mess out of the way, come let’s talk." Switch gestures with his hands for us to join him where he's sitting. The table he's at is nothing more than a simple card table, with one chair on either side. Leo sits, and the rest of us crowd around his back. Switch is there with three other people: two I don't know, but one I do—Alex, or as he's called on the street, Apex. He swears he's the biggest and baddest enforcer around. I'd love to go toe-to-toe with him one day.

"I'm happy you decided to come talk business with us. I know we've not been the best of pals in the past," Switch smirks.

"Well, I hear you're turning over a new leaf," Leo spits back, both of them dripping sarcasm.

"Not sure about all that, but I know a good deal when I see one. I have a sure-fire line of small arms coming through soon." Switch jumps right into business, and I feel myself tense at the fact that Leo has yet to bring up the two girls. I don't want to hear anything about us going into business with the Hands of Hell until I know for sure they had nothing to do with Max and Lia going missing.

"The issue is they'll be coming from two separate directions, one of which goes straight through your territory."

"Then why didn't your connect try to reach out to us?" Leo asks.

"Ah, I can't tell you what he was thinking; all I know is I'm trying to keep things upfront with you." Switch shrugs his shoulders.

I should be focusing on the conversation at hand, but I was never for the politics that came with wearing the patch. I'm just here to fuck shit up if need be. Instead of listening to what's going on, I'm scoping out the area. I look up and see a few extra-large bird cages—the kind used in clubs to have girls dance in. In this case, they could be used to keep someone hostage. I don't see anyone inside them. My eyes drift to the walls, and I see a few doors open. There are a couple of men inside, but I don't see Lia and Max in there either.

The longer I stay here, the more aggravated I get. Part of me wants to pull Leo to the side and ask him what exactly he's doing, but I know that's not my place.

"You looking for something?" Switch's voice carries straight through to my daydreams, and I have to shake my head to focus on what's going on in front of me. I let my eyes drop to Leo, and he shakes his head no, telling me that I need to keep my feelings under wraps. He's got about five more minutes before I completely blow my top.

"No, just making sure no one comes to sneak up on us. You know, being safe," I reply, gritting my teeth.

"I already told you that we come in peace. The more you act like you don't trust us, the more upset I'm going to get." Switch glares at me, and I fight my nature to return his challenge.

"You think we're stupid enough to believe that you don't have your people at the ready in case this meeting goes bad? If that's the case, why the hell would you even bother to reach out to us in the first place? I thought you wanted people who knew what they were doing?" Leo asks, getting the attention back on him.

Switch stares at him for a second before his face breaks into a grin. "You're right. We came to you for two reasons: one, because we know you lot can handle yourselves, and two, because we know if we try to go through your territory without your say-so, it's going to be a whole slew of problems we'd rather not bring on our heads."

I'm amazed that he's so honest about what's going on. He could make it seem like he didn't care about our reach, but it wouldn't be smart of him.

"That's exactly right. Now that we're talking about territory, I've got something else that I need to discuss with you." Leo leans forward, and I feel the tension rising in the room. This has to be him bringing up the girls. It's the only other business we have with the Hands of Hell.

"Oh?" Switch gets even more comfortable in his seat and focuses on Leo.

"The other night, your people came to our clubhouse, uninvited, mind you."

"Yes, I sent them there as a peace offering. To show you that we didn't mean any harm. They were supposed to be in and out with the information they had to deliver."

Leo shakes his head. "Problem is, they weren't in and out. They decided to join in on our little party—a party that we were throwing for our guests and our entertainment."

"I don't see any harm in that. It was all in fun, wasn't it?" Switch furrows his eyebrows. It really looks like he has no idea what my president is talking about. I want to call his bluff, but once again I keep my emotions under wraps.

Leo huffs out a deep breath. I'm sure he's not liking the fact that Switch keeps interrupting him. I don't particularly like it either.

"It would've been if they didn't overstep. It's come to our attention that the two women—entertainment we had at our party—left with them and were never seen again. You know anything about that?" Leo tilts his head, and I watch as he fists his hand on the table. This is weighing on him more than I thought.

"Why would I know anything about that? More importantly, what exactly are you accusing me of?" Switch leans forward himself, his fist clenched as well.

"You? Nothing, but I am accusing your men of taking those girls with promises of a good time, but the night didn't end as they planned. You want to do business with us? We don't want any part in missing women. I don't know what kind of racket you've got going on in here, but that's not our deal," Leo states plainly.

Switch glares at Leo. I can almost see the smoke starting to pour out of his ears. If we don't get the answers we need about Max and Lia, it's quite possible that this entire deal will go up in flames. Now that we know exactly what he needs us for, I'm sure he doesn't want to turn on Leo.

"Helo, Trent, get your asses out here." Switch calls out and seconds later the same two men who were at the party comes walking into the main room.

The both of them come out into the main area. They're wearing their rags, but they are blank. They must be prospects.

"Yeah, Switch, you need us?" one of them asks, but I'm not sure who is who. Right now, I don't really care either.

"Yeah, I want to ask you all something. Seems like our guests here have a bit of an issue that they are certain you know about. I don't want to hear anything about you lying either. Tell the truth." Switch speaks to them like they are children instead of grown men.

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