Page 53 of Pedal to the Metal
Chapter Thirty-Four
Raze
As soon asPrez climbed off his bike, he was calling for Church. Now here we all are. Ace is the only Nomad in the room. We aren’t sure if we can trust the other two, and Zombie is missing. He’s probably with the Iron Lords. Fucking traitor. He’ll be dealt with as soon as we find him and that whore Candy. Tech is working away at his computer, trying to find answers. Buster and the guys had to stay in the main room since they technically aren’t a part of the club.
“Let’s go over everything,” Prez says to the room. “Our lead was a bust. A fucking set up to get us away from the clubhouse.”
“Minx, along with Zombie and Candy, were gone when Saint and I got back,” I tell the brothers. “Also, Chains, Rivet, Bear, and Trix were all drugged to make them pass out. There was a burner phone left behind. It had a picture of Minx, knocked out, with Ghost from the Iron Lords.”
“Ghost has been ID’ed as Brody by Rivet and the guys from Arizona,” Saint adds. There’s a knock at the door. Prez nods to Buzz who is sitting at the opposite end of the table. Buzz gets up and opens the door. Mouse is standing there, holding someone’s cell phone.
“Prez, sorry to interrupt, but you keep getting calls from Grim,” Mouse tells him. Grim is the Prez of the Iron Lords. Kind of strange that he’s calling.
“Bring it here,” Prez orders. Mouse hurries into the room, hands Prez his phone and leaves, closing the door behind him. He’s a good kid. He’ll no doubt be patched in soon. Prez’s phone starts ringing again and he answers it, putting it on speaker.
“Talk.”
“Bull, I know we have our issues, but I think we have a common enemy currently fucking with both of our clubs,” Grim says.
“And who the fuck would that be?” Prez questions.
“We need to meet in a neutral location. Both our phones could be tapped right now. Know the place I’m thinking?”
“Yeah, I know it. Meet in an hour.”
“Deal,” Grim says and they hang up. Prez hands his phone to Ranger and he takes it back out of the room. As soon as Ranger is back in his seat, Prez tells us the plan.
“Back when the Menaces and the Lords were allies, Grim and I had meetings once a month at a neutral location. We each bring four of our own men. Ranger will stay behind and will be in charge while I’m gone. Get your families here, and get this place on lockdown. Raze, Ratchet, Buster, and Shade will be coming with me. Buster and Shade may not be officially part of the club, but this is as much their fight as it is ours. Does anyone have any issues with this?”
A round of no’s and some head shakes, and it’s settled. Prez brings his gavel down, dismissing church.
“We’ll ride out in fifteen minutes,” he adds before everyone leaves the room. “Raze, bring Buster and Shade in here.”
I leave the room to grab them. Making sure they leave their phones in the basket. Ratchet is still in the room when we walk in. I close the door behind me and take a seat.
“The Iron Lords clubhouse is in a town on the Northeast side of Austin. We’ll ride into Austin and meet them at a hole in the wall bar called the Brickyard. Before we ride out, each of our phones will need to be turned off. I’ll have a burner with me in case of an emergency, but that’s it. Buster and Shade, you’re joining us because you are family to my daughter and because you are familiar with Ghost. I’m sure you’d like to take him out as much as the rest of us.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll do whatever you ask of us. Same goes for Diesel and Clutch,” Buster replies.
“Right, let’s load up,” Prez orders.
* * *
We pullup to the Brickyard and the Iron Lords are already here. Two of their guys are standing outside on watch. We park our bikes while Buster parks his car. There isn’t any parking for cages close by so it takes him a minute. We wait for him and Shade to walk up, and then climb off our bikes.
“Ratchet and Shade, I want y’all out here. Keep your eyes open,” Prez tells them. Then he signals for Buster and me to follow him. We walk inside and are blasted with the smell of cigarettes. Not many places allow smoking inside these days.
The first thing I notice is a small stage with a karaoke set up. It’s barely big enough to hold a DJ, but I’m sure it does on the weekends. Just to the right of the stage is a jukebox, and further to the right is the bar and some tables.
The left side of the room has four pool tables and another little room. From a distance, it looks like there are some beer pong tables. We head to a table in the back of the bar area where Grim is sitting with his two goons standing behind him. Prez takes a seat while Buster and I stand on either side of him.
“Bull, it’s been a while. I see you brought an outsider.” Grim sounds concerned. Prez nods. It’s weird hearing someone call him by his actual road name. Everyone at the clubhouse calls him Prez all the time.
“He and his crew are allies to our club. Our current problem is their problem too. Now, what’s this about a mutual enemy?” That’s Prez— always one to cut straight to the point.
“I’ve had some brothers in Arizona on some business on and off for almost five years. Turns out, one met your daughter and took a liking to her,” Grim starts off.
“Ghost,” Prez growls out. Grim nods. I clench my fists, trying to keep calm.
