Page 97 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

“I need details, man. I need something to cut him out of this whole thing.”

Patches gives me a hard look. “You’re going after them? Marlo too?”

“Honestly, I don’t want to. We’ve had a peaceful four years since Calvin went to prison. We thought Marlo was going to repurpose her operations into something less poisonous for Redwood and the district.”

“You actually thought she was just going to lay off?” He chuckles. “That woman has been scheming her way back into the dope business since the minute you dismantled her first dealing spot. She’ll never stop.”

Knox exhales sharply. “But you’re not happy about the way she pushed you aside, are you? Maybe we can work out an agreement here. I’m more than happy to promise you that we’ll let the lawmen take care of Marlo. We won’t touch her.”

“What lawmen? Ain’t no lawmen around but the ones she partnered up with, brother. The sheriff can’t do a damn thing about it, and he’ll learn that the hard way soon enough.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, concern tightening in my throat.

“Ask yourselves how come Calvin got out of prison so early? How come his parole officer hasn’t come around to check on him yet when he is so clearly in cahoots with some criminal elements in and around Redwood?”

“She’s got a cop on her payroll,” Diesel mutters.

Patches shakes his head. “Not a cop, a Fed. Someone at the DEA is working with Marlo, man. Didn’t I hear something about the DEA raiding your club?”

“Shit,” I breathe, putting two and two together with lightning speed. “Frank Spalding.”

“I don’t know their names. I know there’s a couple of them at least, maybe a whole crew gone rogue within the DEA, looking to rebuild an operation in the county. Marlo’s got the supply routes and the muscle. Calvin’s got the know-how and inside knowledge of the Riders, which is why your asses are getting railroaded as we speak.”

My blood boils. Rarely do I find myself overcome with this kind of fury, but Calvin always seems to bring out the worst in me. “Did Calvin ever mention having someone inside our club?”

“I kept my conversations with him to a minimum. Hell, the minute he walked into Marlo’s house, and she practically swooned all over him like a lovestruck teenager, I knew my clock had run out. She’s always had the hots for that prick, even when he was married. I talked Marlo out of doing something nasty to the girl more than once, mainly because there was a kid involved. I told Marlo there had to be limits.”

“She’s been waiting a long time for Calvin then,” Knox says.

“If the DEA is crooked, we’re pretty much fucked,” Diesel adds. “We have to figure out a way to go above Spalding’s head. They have their own equivalent of internal affairs over there. Who the fuck do we talk to about this?”

I briefly pull him aside. “Our Marines are spread far and wide. We’ll have to make some calls. Something’s got to give, right?”

“We’re out of time, fellas,” Knox chimes in. “We might have to take a different approach.”

“How the fuck are we supposed to fight off a crooked bunch of DEA agents, Marlo Hughes, and her army of drug dealers? Plus, the Colombians. They’ll want payback for the two bodies we dropped at that train yard,” I say.

Patches points somewhere to our left. “Are they with you?”

I hear the engines rumbling down the road. By the time I turn my head, they’re close. Too close. Lights flashing.

POP. POP. POP.

“Get down!” I shout.

A hail of bullets envelops the entire open area of the chop shop.

Sparks fly.

My shoulder burns. I hiss and drop to the ground.

Patches collapses, riddled with bullets. I watch as the light leaves his eyes. The last of his breath rattling as he settles into a puddle of his own blood.

“Move back,” Knox orders.

Our instincts kick in. Diesel whips his semiautomatic out. He fires a few rounds into the five killers riding past us. Two of them fall, their roadsters sliding across the pavement with an ear-piercing screech. The other three make it out, speeding up the road until they’re out of our reach.

“Fucking hell,” Knox says and runs after them.

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