Page 51 of Death's Deal

Joker clips curtly, “Sounds like a you problem.”

“It would be, if we didn’t have to contend with this new relationship.” Pointing to Toni and me, all eyes scan our direction.

“What did I do?” Puffing out her chest, crossing her arms and hoping to seem tough, Toni’s brows turn in as she scowls.

“You, personally? Nothing. Your father did.” Looking my way, Johnson grins. “Then there’s you. The deal you struck with the mayor has put you on the radar of Mano and Murianos.” Blowing out a breath, he contemplates what he wishes to reveal. The room lights up with interest at the sound of Murianos’s name. “He’s someone we’ve carefully tucked away in a holding cell of our choosing. After all, I’ve learned sometimes what these assholes know is less worrisome than why they care.”

Leaning back in his chair, Joker clips, “Again, that’s a you problem.”

Miss chin raises to Johnson with a devious smile. “Who gives a shit about what Murianos wants if he’s in your custody? If this Mano character is someone worse, then Murianos locked away is one less piece on the board.”

Busta visibly seethes, but somehow, he’s holding his shit together as he states through gritted teeth, “Murianos is your problem now, not ours. Not anymore.” As an ex-DEA agent turned MC Pres, Busta knows Johnson’s tactics well enough, and I wouldn’t say they have a happy relationship. It’s a house built on mutual respect using bricks of deceit.

“That’s where you’re wrong. The Queen, Murianos, and a few other choice assholes were all very small potato criminals compared to the bigger fish swimming upstream in our direction. That book of hers holds more information in one page that could help topple the largest cartels in the world. Can you imagine what we can do with the whole thing? What it could eradicate when it comes to underground fight rings, gun running, and drugs. It is a means to an end, and a little collection of MCs out of LA won’t be able to stop them if they come knocking. Especially if someone like Mano’s cartel wants what you want. You don’t want to mess with this group. I know stronger assholes than you who quiver in their high-end loafers when they see them in their rearview.”

As we all take a moment to understand the gravity of our situation, a loud peeling laugh erupts... from Piper. At first, it’s awkward, then, as we turn her way, she breaks out in uncontrollable giggles.

“Love, are you okay?” Cap’s inquiry is laced with heavy concern.

Pulling in a deep breath, trying to calm herself, with an “I’m fine” gesture, Piper clears her throat with a sigh. “Sorry, but Johnson is kidding himself if he thinks anyone is worse than the Queen or Hylo. You’ve never lived under their rule.”

Raising a brow, Johnson retorts, “Maybe not. I can’t say I know what it’s like to be where you were, but I will say Mano could make where you were feel like a five-star resort.” Looking at Toni and me, Johnson smiles. It’s one of those knowing smiles that has your teeth ache.

Flatly, I state, “The way you’re grinning has me worried I’m not about to like this.”

“Nope. Probably not.”

“Great,” Toni mutters.

Johnson begins to pace the space. “Your interaction has presented us with an opportunity. Mano is something that has been on the FBI, CIA, and Interpol radar for years. We have not had a way to infiltrate them. I have been asked to submit a resolution that could turn the tide in this war we’re waging.”

Pulling out a folded bunch of papers from a messenger bag he’d carried in, it looks like a thick set of contracts. Laying them on the table, one in front of Busta, one in front of Cap, and one nearest to me, he directs his attention to me first. “That deal of yours with the mayor, the seven million for Antonia’s protection.” He pauses and waits for Toni’s reaction to the revelation. “I don’t blame you for wanting compensation for what he put you through, but it is dirty money from the Mano cartel that is now funding your club. The same cartel that put you in jail and brought us to this point, Death. You thought all along it was because of the deal struck with Murianos, and or the Queen. It wasn’t.”

Looking at Toni, knowing this newest revelation could cause our recent reunion to fail, the look in her eyes is one of understanding. Reaching for my hand, she grasps it tightly before pulling it to her lips for a sweet kiss on the back of it. I’ll still have to explain it all to her later, but for now, I understand she is content to continue as we are, as a united front before the government goon.

“Who the fuck is this Mano?” Cap snaps with a smack to the table.

Eyeing me instead of Cap, he replies, “Someone even I don’t mess with.” Johnson’s stressed reaction speaks louder than his words ever could.

As we each pick up the paperwork, flipping them open and skimming through the stacked legal jargon, Johnson continues to talk on, “These are the deeds to your properties, your clubs, your homes, and or, the foreclosures that will occur on them by the state if you do not agree. Each are properties used for the means of illegal narcotics, gun running, and the sex trade. Therefore, they are to be sold off and auctioned for 10 cents on the dollar, with the proceeds going to Victims of Crimes USA.”

Cap is the first to speak out about the paperwork he reads, “You’re selling our properties? Over my dead fucking corpse you are.”

“If need be, that’s my boss’s intention, Codero.” Johnson’s flat tone leaves me to believe this wasn’t his decision. Blowing out an exasperated breath, he adds, “I tried. Honestly, I did.”

“I don’t think you tried hard enough, Agent,” Joker quips off, his usual jovial tone at all things serious is more serious than jovial. I’ve never seen him truly pissed off. Even when we were in the thick of the fighting, he made light of almost every action or reaction. Right now, I’d say his proverbial “tank for bullshit” is full, and he’s about to go a bit off on Johnson.

“This isn’t our fight. Not anymore. We paid our dues to society and most of us paid a hefty price for it. I think we were all owed a bit of leniency from that boss of yours,” Busta interjects while he hands his paperwork over to Miss, without really looking at it.

Eyeballing my own quickly, there is a ton of legal shit I just don’t understand. The paperwork lists in heavy print across the front page Humble, my home, our members’ homes; including Jaz’s place, the clubhouse, and even the garage’s deed. All of it is listed as collateral in this debacle. Tossing mine onto the table and watching Miss pore over the paperwork meticulously, I know if there’s a loophole, he’ll find it.

Not all of us started out as delinquents. Miss was a lawyer at one time in his past. He was a kid from the right side of the tracks with doting parents. I heard that after a situation at the courthouse one day. He left his family, his friends, and his career behind.

“They did offer an option,” Johnson comments, walking closer and closer to the exit. He knows we don’t have weapons in church, but that doesn’t mean we’re not deadly and he’s giving himself room to vacate quickly if needed. “My boss gave you twenty-four hours to decide whether to take it, or jail time and the collapse of your clubs.”

“Nothing like a shotgun wedding. Answer now or forever rot in jail,” Joker snidely remarks.

Ignoring him, I ask, “And that would be?” I’m annoyed by the audacity of guys like Johnson and Johnson’s boss. Men who think were their beck n’ call boys, who will toe the line immediately upon their request, or blackmail, depending on the terms set out. Sure, the deal I struck with the mayor I never intended to follow through on. At least not beyond the initial payment. He owed me for services rendered as I stewed in jail for his illegal enterprises, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t deserving of compensation. At least a little. I only intended to take the seven mil and not take a dime further. In essence, Toni was sold to me for the price of my incarceration.

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