Page 9 of Devil's Betrayal

I’ll never forget the day that Franklin came to Grants Pass on business and told me that Jake confronted him about our little arrangement. He threatened to tell Cami the truth and take them to court to regain custody of Gideon. There was no way he would allow that to happen and when he handed me a duffle bag filled with the type of cash that makes any morals you have go out thewindow, I agreed to take care of his problem. That blood money paid for my compound, a new bike, and several other things I needed for my club. He wanted me to get rid of Jake and I was not about to mess up what I finally established. This had nothing to do with friendship but everything to do with business so I set up the hit and Jake walked right into the trap. Franklin fooled everyone in Iron Forge but I’ve always known him to be a cold-hearted bastard who didn’t care who he stepped on to get what he wanted.

Life went on and once Gideon took over the Rebels, our rivalry intensified. The blood on my hands tainted any possibility of a truce between our two clubs. In the end, Jake had the right idea about how to run a successful MC. Sure they still do their dirt but family means something to them and harming women and children is off the table. That’s where I went wrong. The drug game was lucrative but we didn’t have the cash to expand into other territories so when Ezra and Zeke contacted a human trafficker from Vegas that offered cash in exchange for a steady supply of young women and girls, I let them run with it. We made a killing and everything was great… until greed got the best of Ezra and Zeke. Watching my son spiral out of control stirred something in me that I’ve never felt. It made me reflect on the monstrous things I did in my life and how if I didn’t get a hold of him, he would be lost forever to this world.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull into a rest area to answer it. Checking the screen, I see that it’s Hammer. He would only be calling if something is wrong and I have a bad feeling that whatever he’s going to tell me, is going to piss me off.

“Snake, you need to get over to the compound now! Hawk and Widow are wrecking shit and Templar can’t get them to calm down. I’m not sure what happened but you need to get here as quickly as possible.

If Templar can’t get those two to calm down then it must be something serious and I tell Hammer that I’m on my way.

When I pull into the compound, the outside lights are on and the guys are surrounding Hawk and Widow like they’re watching a cage fight. Templar leans against his bike, using his handkerchief to wipe blood from his mouth. My blood boils in my veins as I get off my bike and push my way through the crowd. Hawk and Widow exchange blows as everyone looks on and my anger amplifies that these supposed leaders in the Devils can’t resolve their shit but would rather beat each other to a pulp. Pulling my gun from my pocket, I aim it into the air, and fire off multiple rounds. Widow’s fist stops midair as he hovers over Hawk and now that I have their attention, Templar storms over and yanks Widow off of Hawk.

“Get the fuck inside now!!” I order as my anger surges and the only thing I want to do is kill both of these fuckers. This is the last thing I need right now and it looks like my plan to retire will be placed on hold. There is no way I’m leaving my crew in the hands of my piece of shit son who can’t even control his fucking emotions. I don’t give a fuck what happened, fighting with your brothers is something I don’t tolerate and Hawk knows this. They’re both bloodied and stumbling up the stairs as we make our way to my office. Unlocking the door, I swing it open, slamming it into the wall as I try to get my anger under control. Before this, my mind was occupied with thoughts of Cami and now I have to put out a fire between two men fighting like fucking toddlers.

When they come through the door, they both start talking no doubt trying to explain their side. Hammer then Templar file in and close the door looking just as angry as I am.

“What the fuck is going on with you two?” I shout barely keeping my shit together.

“I overheard this asshole planning to head into Iron Forge and start taking women again with that guy, Shawn, who came here with the Russians. When I told him I would tell you, he started talking shit and threatened to put another bullet in me!” Widow says as he stares angrily at Hawk. Widow got out of the hospital not that long ago from being shot in the stomach and I’m pretty sure Hawk only said that to piss him off. Then again, he has been unhinged lately so I wouldn’t put it past him to actually shoot Widow.

Turning my attention to my son, I can’t help but look at him in disgust. We’ve had this discussion countless times and still he disrespects my authority and goes against my rules. The fucker doesn’t even have the decency to look regretful for getting caught.

"Is this your way of showing me that you’re ready to take over my club?” I question but not necessarily looking for an answer. I’m trying to understand why my son is being so defiant and wanting to stay in the trafficking game. It has only brought trouble to our doorstep and the last time they took women from Iron Forge, Eagle and his men came in and rescued everyone. They warned us then not to fuck with the women in their town again but I guess them coming in here with guns blazing wasn’t enough of a warning to my son. It’s not about fear, it’s about mutual respect and keeping our truce intact. As Hawk’s father, I’m disappointed but as his President, I’m ready to fly across this desk and choke the shit out of him. This smug bastard is putting my patience to the ultimate test and it’s high time he gets a reality check.

“We have a chance to get paid over half a million dollars and then I was going to be done Prez, I swear,” he replies as if the amount of money would somehow make this okay. It’s like explaining right from wrong to a fucking toddler.

“The club has plenty of money and if you had been a little patient, Hammer was going to bring you in on a meeting he has with a drug cartel out of Canada. While you were doing shit behind my back, Hammer and I were going to meet with you and Widow tonight to iron out the details and set everything up. This would’ve been your chance to prove to me that you were ready. I was willing to put you in charge to seal this deal and see if you could handle something this huge but with this little stunt, you can forget it.”

At first he’s quiet, mulling over what I just said to him. The deal with the cartel was going to be a test that I prayed Hawk would pass. The truth of the matter is, I don’t want anyone else to take over the Devils. My plan was for this club to be my legacy for generations to come but Hawk has ruined any chance of that. Hammer is willing to take over once I retire but he has expressed to me that he would rather not shoulder that responsibility. So, I reached out to a few other chapters and only one V.P was willing to relocate to Grants Pass if I decided to go in that direction. With what Hawk has set into motion, I can’t trust him and he’s no longer an option.

“I didn’t know you had a plan to bring in more money for the club. Maybe if you had kept me in the loop, I wouldn’t have made the deal with the Russians,” he solemnly utters with regret in his voice but it’s too late for that.

“See Ezra, that’s your problem. You don’t listen and you don’t ask questions. As your leader, I’m not obligated to tell you anything but what I feel you need to know. If you don’t like what you hear you plot and plan behind my back thinking if everything goes the way you planned, I would somehow be proud of you and look at you as a potential leader. In actuality, you’ve only proven the opposite. There is no way in hell I’ll trust you to run the Devils and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut and learn a thing or two. Now, both ofyou get the fuck out of my sight and if I hear anything else about you and those fucking Russians, I’ll see to it personally that your dignity won’t be the only thing your stripped of.”

Widow stands to leave but before he does, Ezra takes a shot at him,

“I’ll deal with you later traitor piece of shit!”

Widow charges towards Hawk but before he reaches him, Hammer grabs him up in a bear hug.

“Deal with me now mother fucker!” He growls. “You’re the only traitor here and if you think you have the balls to come for me, bring it! I have no problem fucking your cocky ass up!” He continues while I sit and stare at the both of them. They used to be best friends but in light of recent events, Widow is really trying to show his loyalty to the club and stay out of trouble. Hawk stares at me long and hard as if I’m supposed to intervene because of Widow’s threat but he threatened him first. I’m a “if you dish it, you can take it” man and all I feel is utter disappointment in my son. After all I’ve just said, he has the audacity to call Widow a traitor and wants to retaliate against him.

Widow has shown his loyalty by telling me what Hawk is planning. My son has once again shown me the opposite by threatening Widow and needs to be dealt with. At this point he could be the perfect member of this club and I still wouldn’t change my mind about him taking over. Hammer drags Widow towards the door, speaks quietly with him and without another word Widow leaves. Shutting the door behind him, Hammer walks over and stands next to my desk, waiting for Hawk’s next move. Looking from Hammer to me, he asks,

“Dad, can we at least talk about this in private?”

“Get this straight Hawk, in this club I am your president. Calling me dad won’t get you any special privileges and it for sure won’t save your ass when you fuck up. As far as talking,the time to talk was before you went behind my back again. You were there when I talked to the Russians, and you kept your mouth shut about knowing who they were so keep that same energy and keep your mouth shut now!”

Breathing a heavy sigh, he continues to stare as if I’m the one who’s going to break and once again, he’s not listening. Widow at least attempted to leave when I told them both to get the fuck out of my sight and this asshole wants to continue running his fucking mouth irritating me even more. Yes, I’m at fault for raising him the way I did but I also taught him that sometimes you have to think differently when opportunity presents itself and when something isn’t working, have the mindset of not beating a dead horse. Human trafficking has brought us nothing but trouble and we’ve lost money because of it. Hawk fails to see any of this and thinks he knows better. He’s a cocky bastard with no moral compass and I can’t have him leading my club. If he’s not careful, he won’t be a member either.

When he sees that I’m not budging on my stance, he hangs his head and leaves. Once the door closes, Hammer and I sit down and discuss the possibility of stripping Hawk of his Devil’s colors.

“Are you prepared to watch me strip your son, Snake? You know exactly what that entails so I need to be certain you’re ready to handle it,” he inquires and rightfully so. What he has to do if the club’s vote is unanimous will put my own leadership to the test. This will break me in ways that I can’t even begin to imagine but when I think about my legacy and what I’ve built, I can’t let it all fall simply because Ezra is my son. That cannot be a factor in this decision. He has one more time before his expulsion is put to a vote and I hope to God he does the right thing and falls in line with the direction I’m taking the Devils before I retire.

“Honestly, Hammer, I’m not sure if I’m prepared to watch my son get stripped but if a member of the Devils continuously violates the rules, they should suffer whatever consequences there are no matter who they are. If I make exceptions for Hawk, then I may as well hang up this kutte right now.

9

Micah

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