Page 85 of Avenging Devil: Part 2

Chapter Twenty-Three

Niran

Knowing my prosthesis will be ready in a few days, I returned to Utah feeling much lighter. The wheelchair will soon be a thing of the past, and hopefully I’ll only need it when I’m preparing for bed or getting in and out of the shower. It will be a balancing act with the crutch and prosthesis, but I’m certain I can handle that. I’m determined to, I hate not having any independence.

“Niran? Prez has called church. You coming?”

Raising my chin to Bolt, I then turn to Saffie. “You going to be okay?”

She looks up from her book and smiles. “Sure. You go and do your man stuff.”

“Oi! I heard that. Bloody cheek.” But Swift winks at her as she walks past, pausing by her chair and looking around as though seeking something, then leans down to Saffie, saying in an overly loud voice, “I see no men here. Well, not real ones, anyway.”

As Saffie snorts, Road, who’d followed her in, lands his hand down hard on Swift’s shoulder. “Not what you were saying just now,” he remarks with a wink.

“Yeah, yeah, Swift. You’re more man than any of us. All we’ve got are our dicks,” Stormy mumbles as he passes by.

“Might be better if you stopped playing with yours for a moment,” Swift retorts.

“Again,” Road leans in, “not what you said earlier.”

Swift leans back, raising her hand and placing it on his cheek, twisting to look into his face. “Okay, so I’ll admit it. Some dicks are alright.”

“Better mean just the one, woman,” Road snarls, but his tone is counteracted by his fond expression, and by lowering his mouth to hers.

“Come on, Brother. I’ll get you in.”

I’d like to give Saffie a kiss, show my affection just like Road had shown Swift, but although we sleep in the same bed, we’ve not progressed any further, and I don’t dare broach it. While my broken bones still have a few weeks to heal, a certain part of me is in full working order. Just her lying beside me has me sporting a stiffie more often than not. The more Saffie becomes comfortable here, the more she is gradually embracing the Satan’s Devils lifestyle, the more I want to see whether we could work together.

Bolt and I aren’t the last to arrive in church. I get myself settled, fastening the brake so I don’t embarrassingly roll back from the table, and take a moment just to watch as the brothers around me get themselves seated. I’ve come to like and respect all of them. I notice two chairs remain empty, those of Preacher and Piston.

Snatcher is the last to arrive. He heads for the top of the table and, once seated, without commenting on the missing members, picks up the gavel. Having banged it once, he looks down the table, stopping when he comes to me.

“What’s the latest on Duke Marshall?” He immediately flicks his eyes to his own members, showing the question wasn’t directed at me.

I might not know but I’m very interested in the answer.

Honor clears his throat. “On delving into the Crazy Wolves, we’ve found a lot of ties with some of our other investigations. Like missing women, and an influx of drugs into the market.” He pauses and consults the tablet that’s in front of him. “We’ve been trying to link shit together, following leads to pick up a pattern. We’ve come up with a list of interested parties, people who may have had business dealings with that club.”

Duty takes over in a move that’s almost choreographed it’s so smooth. “To locate Duke, we’ve got to find someone who knows where he is, or where he might hole up to lick his wounds. We’ve found definite club links to the mafia, and some of the seedier business types, and have been trying to narrow it down to names. We’ve come up with a couple that look interesting.”

“There’s a guy in Carson City. He’s not part of the mafia but sometimes works as a liaison between them and suppliers like the Wolves. He might have information.”

As Honor finishes speaking, Duty inclines his head and seamlessly takes over. “And a man in Vegas. One of the clubs we’re pretty certain took the Wolves’ merchandise. Red’s said he’ll check that lead out.”

Snatcher raises his chin. “Yeah, Red was pissed at the thought Duke might be hiding in his town.”

“But so far we’ve got nothing?” I can’t be a spectator, I have to ask. “Surely Duke’s business links are in the past. With no organisation behind him, he can’t set up pipelines again, nor supply them.”

“I’ve been listening to chatter on the dark web,” Stormy puts in. “The Wretched Soulz seem interested in filling the vacuum, well, as far as in the drugs and weapons trade that is. Even they wouldn’t touch women.”

“Maybe not for business reasons,” Piston puts in with a wide grin.

“They might,” Swift interrupts. “They do run prostitution rings, but I haven’t heard the women are forced, more that they’ve got no other option.”

“Have we asked them about Duke?” I ask.

Snatcher nods and rubs at his forehead. “I spoke to Drummer who’s made an official approach. Wretched Soulz’ line is that they gave the Wolves their charter but didn’t look closely at their business dealings. Now they’ve taken more of an interest, they’ve found the Wolves had been stepping on toes. Rather than shelter Duke, I reckon they’d take him out.”

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