Page 12 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

The place doubles as a shitty bar in the evenings, but during the day, it’s all Devils here. As soon as we park and get out, the door is already opening, and a tall guy with tattoos on his face blocks the entrance. He’s built like Knox, even a little thicker maybe, clearly meant to be intimidating by his size alone.

“Just where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he asks.

Knox looks ready to square up with him, but I step in front of my friend, heading off his aggression. “I’m going to assume you know who we are,” I say. “We want to talk with your president.”

“He ain’t taking meetings right now,” the bruiser says. “I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

“Is that really the attitude you want to take after what happened?” I ask. I leave it up to him to put two and two together and figure out what I mean, and I can tell from the way his eyes dart to one side that he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

His eyes narrow, but he steps back and lets us in.

Three men, smaller than the bruiser but clearly armed, watch us as we step into the entryway of the club. They eye each of us in turn, and River a little extra, which puts me on edge immediately.

“They wanna talk to the prez,” the bruiser says, sounding pissed about it.

“Who the fuck do they think they are?” one of the others spits.

Knox just grins at him with that ‘fuck around and find out’ grin of his, and it makes the guy back up immediately.

The air feels heavy and thick with tension, as if one wrong move will have guns drawn and a fight breaking out.

The thing about being small-time in a city like this is that you always have to be on your guard. Bigger gangs are always looking to take you out, and smaller gangs think they can take over what’s yours as a way to build up their power. The Diamond Devils are all paranoid and stupid for the most part, trying to cling to what they have while waiting for someone else to try to take it.

After the failed deal with us, I can understand why they’re so on edge, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let them walk all over us.

In the end, we could take their organization out if we had to. We have more power in Detroit than they do, more connections that would back us up. But if it comes down to a fight right here and now, it could get ugly fast.

“Come this way,” one of the other gang members says, beckoning us forward and making sure we all get a glimpse of the gun at his waist.

We step inside, and I flick a glance left and right to take in the scene around us. There are at least five or six more Diamond Devils scattered around the main room of the club. A couple are playing pool in the corner, and most are sprawled in booths or over the couch against one of the walls.

This place is nothing compared to Sin and Salvation, more like a dingy dive bar than anything, which suits a gang like the Diamond Devils. But they’re all comfortable here. This is their turf, and there are more of them than there are of us.

“No sudden moves,” the bruiser says. “We’ll tell the prez you’re here and see if he wants to talk to you. I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”

Of course, that’s when one of the fuckers who escorted us in decides to make a sudden move.

He’s off to the side, closest to River, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him reach out. His hand moves like he’s trying to usher us forward, but instead, he touches her, sliding his hand over the small of her back and then down to her ass, getting a bold handful.

Anger rises in me like a raging beast, but before I can do anything, River is already reacting. She whips out an elbow, almost too quick to see, catching the guy in the face and sending him staggering back.

His nose gushes blood, and he yells in pain through his hands.

“You fucking cunt!”

Most of the Devils probably didn’t even see what happened, but they see one of their own bleeding, and that’s enough to make them react.

Guns are immediately drawn as shouts rise up, the sound bouncing off the walls.

A heartbeat later, we’re surrounded, staring down the barrels of the weapons pointed at us.

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