Page 44 of Frisco

I opened my mouth and clamped it shut. “Why would my mother do that?” I finally asked.

“Who knows with Ruby.” He raised an eyebrow. “You wanna ask her? Share the information with me?”

I repeated what she’d said to me. “Gloves is in prison. She and I are not close. Claudia was it for her. She misses her daughter.”

His phone started going off. He pulled it out and cursed. “I have to take this.” He started for the door. “Don’t come to Frisco. Your sister’s gone. I’ll be in touch when you can talk to her.”

And he was gone.

I was left with an ache inside of me and a ball of fury threatening to fill in the space.

SHANE

I’d thought it might be Maxwell, having heard about Kali’s arrival. It wasn’t.

As soon as I was out of hearing distance, I hit accept. “Stripes.” He wouldn’t call unless there was a reason. He wasn’t like that.

I could hear shouting before his voice came over the phone. “We need you back.”

“What is it?”

“Marco Estrada is here.”

14

SHANE

Even with his cartel’s recently diminished power, Marco Estrada was one of the most powerful men south of the border.

And the entirety of the Red Demon MC helped transport his products throughout the States.

He went through Maxwell for everything, and I wanted to think Stripes had misspoken on the phone a little while ago, but he hadn’t. This could only mean a handful of things, and none of them were good.

I rolled up to the meeting spot, a place outside of Callyspo, near an abandoned store. Weeds grew up through the pavement, but on one end of the lot was a line of Red Demons on their Harleys. I counted all of them except Machete’s. Across the lot were three black SUVs, and as I rolled in, the back door of the middle one opened.

Marco Estrada got out, dressed in a business suit. Tall. Wiry. Dark features.

I parked next to Stripes and turned my back only once. “Prez called?”

I’d tried calling Maxwell on my way over here, but got no answer. Judging from the small shake of Stripes’ head, it was the same response.

Well, shit. I didn’t know what this meant.

I turned and took stock.

Every charter had voted to remove ourselves from a working relationship with the Estrada cartel. We just hadn’t made the move yet. So Marco being here… I was hoping that didn’t mean he’d found out and was making his move instead.

A phone started ringing, and one of our members called out, “It’s Heckler.”

He came over, holding out the phone.

I took it. “You heard who’s here?”

Heckler was with Maxwell. He was also the national sergeant at arms, which meant he ranked right below me. “Maxwell’s in the hospital. Somebody put a hit out on him. He’s in surgery, and we’re hoping he’ll pull through.”

Fuck.

Fuck!

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