Page 111 of Outcast

She turned her head toward him. "I'll deal with you in a minute."

He snapped his mouth shut as his face mottled purple in anger. I stepped forward and pressed a hand into his chest. "No."

When his eyes lifted, there was so much fury, it was shocking on Ricco. But even still, his form of anger was nothing like my father’s. Or mine. "Let her do this. Your club depends on it."

"Let me ask you this?" Rita pressed up on her toes so she had the slightest advantage over Joel. Most of the men were starting to crowd us now. The ones who had the girls draped over their laps shrugged them off so they could get close too. "WhenPapámade the call to pull out of drugs and skins, did you like it?"

Joel cut his gaze to the side, likely categorizing who was here.

"What do you think?" he gritted out.

"I know what I think. I want to know what your answer is." She snapped her fingers out to the side. "Donnie, turn the speaker off."

The music stopped.

"Papámade the decision to take Dirty Dogs out of the skins and drugs game. What did you think, Joel? Did you support his decision?"

"No," he pushed out.

"No?" she repeated.

As she stared him down, Esteban and I cataloged the expression on every single face. Ricco's first. He was shocked as he whipped to face Joel.

"No. That's been our bread and butter since we built this club. Why would we cut ourselves off at the knees?"

"We don't need those businesses. We still smuggle. We now run the chop shop, which is making almost as much asa week's profit of drugs with one car. Because the price tags are big. So why is that cutting ourselves off?"

"Because now we're fucking pussies."

"Hmm. Right." She walked around Joel, making her rounds in front of the small group of men. "Who here feels the same way?"

Only two men raised their hands. Promising.

I caught Esteban’s eye. He nodded. We both knew exactly who they were and who they hung out with.

"Ricco?" She spun to a stop and faced Ricco. "Did you support these changes?"

"Yeah," he grunted, his gaze darting between Rita and Joel. "You know I did."

"Actually, I didn't. Javier made the decision and I didn't think anything else of it. Partly, because I was the one who raised the ideas to him. Partly, because I'd been oblivious to the people I called family." She laughed. "I had no fucking idea that so many men I knew and loved were scum."

Joel and the other two guys stiffened.

"Let me tell you how this is going to go." Rita resumed her walking, eyeing down each man. The girls had started to edge back toward the wall, as if they could sense the rising tension. "The Dirty Dogs will noteverrun those businesses again. Am I clear?"

"Like fuck we will. There's going to be a vote–" Joel pivoted so he could keep her in his line of sight.

She raised her hand and wiggled her finger back and forth in a tutting motion. "That's where you're wrong. There is not going to be a vote. I'm calling it. After all the shit and espionage leading to several of the deaths in this club, I'm taking over."

Joel bellowed, raising his hands as if he was going to choke Rita.

I jumped forward, pulling my gun, but before either Esteban or I could get a shot off, Rita kicked out her heel, stabbing Joel right above the knee.

He cursed as she yanked her shoe out of his leg. She bent down and adjusted the shoe over her heel. Glancing at Esteban, she said, "Make a note to get straps added to my special heels. We'll get them made for the girls."

I grinned and Esteban laughed. Such a random thing to say in the middle ofthis.

Joel was bent over with blood gushing through his fingers. She placed the ball of her shoe on his shoulder and pushed him back. He rolled onto his ass as he cursed.

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