Page 22 of Demon's Angel

“Yeah, VP?”

He grimaces when I use the title. “Like Hell’s handed the reins over to you, I’ve heard word Lucio has tapped Angel to take over from him. Out with the old, in with the new. Old man’s getting on now. Could be the reason why we’re seeing more movement. New hand might be flexing his muscles. It’s likely if your girl hadn’t given us reason to go up against the gang, might have had to put them back in their place in any event.”

I raise my eyes to Hell. He shrugs.Get on with it, boy. I’m not at that end of the table anymore.Jeez.Thanks a lot, Dad.It’s times like these I remember I really hadn’t expected to have my ass in this chair for at least another few years. A moment of self-doubt while all eyes are on me.

Hell buys me the time to think. “Way the Mafia works is similar to us. Old man can put his weight behind his son, but it’s the captains, thecapos, that have the final say when they cast their votes for the new boss. Angel’s underboss now, doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll step into his father’s shoes.”

Ignoring Hell’s words, which are just useful information for now, I consider what the temporary VP’s just laid on me. I don’t like what he’s said but admire the summation. Not for the first time I wish Thunder would take on the role permanently, but sergeant-at-arms is the most he wants to rise to. I could do with a good man by my side, as I’d been to Hell all these years, and Thunder would fill that spot admirably. His refusal, though, is final.

“Cad. Any more news about the new police chief?” While Sparky’s stop could have been a coincidence, we can’t rule out the MC could be the intended target.

“I’ve been keeping an ear to the ground. Nothing more has come up. Like when I looked into his background, I reckon he’s pretty straight. Nothing to say he’s out to take us down. Any focus on us could just be incidental. If there’s more product moving around, eyes could look our way for being responsible.”

Raising my chin, I take the plunge, “We’re clean. We don’t run drugs. Well, not hardcore.” We might dabble in a little weed, but Colorado was the first state to make that shit legal; there’s no need to keep it under the radar unless we’re shifting in quantity, which we don’t normally do. It’s in our charter, the club runs clean. Don’t want members hooked on the hard stuff; men like that become unpredictable, their loyalty to a white powder topping that to their brothers. But we would have been happy enough to turn a blind eye to someone else’s business. Up to the point it starts affecting ours, which seems to have now arrived. Dealing on our premises is a no-go.

“Leaving aside for the moment Violet and her problems, we would have respected the boundaries drawn up between us and the Mafia in Furnace’s days, unless they bring trouble to our door. Looks like us and the cops might be on the same side wanting to halt the increase in flow.”

There’s an audible gasp around the table. “Team up with the cops?” Bomber half laughs and half scoffs. “And that would help your girl, how?”

A reasonable question. “If it can be proven that Angel is not a fit father, he’ll have any parental rights taken away. And doing shit legally would mean Satan’s Devils weren’t going up against the Silvestri alone.”

A general mistrust of the citizen world means my suggestion isn’t jumped upon. But neither is it dismissed out of hand. They’re right to be cautious. Talking to the cops could lead to them getting into our business, places we don’t want them to go. It wouldn’t normally be my go-to position, as I decide to explain.

“To help Violet out of her situation, we have to take Angel Silvestri out of the equation. Yeah, my preference is to send him to meet Satan. But I might have to wait for that satisfaction. The alternative is proving his criminal activity.”

“Both brings risks to the club, Demon.”

Thunder’s right. They do. “That’s why I said at the beginning, this is personal. A debt I need to stand up to and repay. My proposal is I take this on without club involvement.”

“You’re the prez, Demon. Don’t see how you can do that. No one would believe you weren’t speaking for the Devils.”

“So, I step back down. Temporarily.”

A strangled laugh from my left. “You don’t have a permanent VP. I ain’t going to be fillin’ in for you.”

My eyes automatically go to Hell. He shrugs and shakes his head. “Getting pretty comfortable sitting down this end of the table, Brother. Don’t look at me.”

Thunder’s moving quickly. “Motion proposed that we’re behind Demon. He ain’t going to be doing anything alone.”

“Seconded, Brother.” Mace is quick on his toes. “We help Demon sort out this mess. And he ain’t stepping away from anything.”

All hands are suddenly raised in the air and one word is shouted and repeated “Aye”.

A warm glow wars inside me with the cold of concern, a fear about what I might be leading them into. But slowly a smile glides onto my face. “Lemmings,” I tell them, “fuckin’ lemmings.”

“Hopefully we won’t reach the edge of that cliff,” Thunder grins.

“Can I ask a question, Prez?” Cad looks thoughtful.

“Sure.”

“We’re talking about the fuckin’ Angel of Death. How the fuck did he get off the rapist charge, and furthermore, prove himself such an upstanding citizen he was awarded parental rights? You proposed trying to do things legal. Seems the girl’s already tried that and failed. Why do you think that route might work? How can we succeed when she didn’t?”

I sigh. “She failed because everything was against her. It was a fucking date rape. Violet was drugged, only realised after. She was ashamed. She tried to put it out of her head until she found she was pregnant. It was only when he started making a play for the kid that she tried to fight it through the courts. Not reporting it at the time didn’t work in her favour. Then Angel dug into her history, made the most of what he’d found. She’s a normal red-blooded woman, had a couple of one-night stands.” I frown, not liking that thought, but realise I’m being ridiculous. I never spend more than one night with any woman, but as I’m male, it doesn’t count against my character.

“Why the fuck did she tell him it was his kid?”

“After money, I suspect,” Buzz answers Pyro.

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