One Wild Ride (Lords of Mayhem 2)

“Good, follow me.” Wanderer turned on his heel and walked down the hallway.

Moose stopped in the middle to open a door.

They all filed in, taking seats around a massive wooden table.

“You want to start things off, Tiny?” Wanderer asked, honoring him by letting him speak first even though it wasn’t his house.

“I heard a rumor about flesh peddlers looking to move into the area, flashing suitcases of cash to grease the wheels. I didn’t pay any attention to it until I got a call from John over at our strip club, Bronze. Seems some well-dressed men with muscle and thick accents offered him a half a million to buy him out and let him run the club off the record.”

“Off the record, huh?” Wanderer said.

“Yeah, they claimed they had a wealthy clientele with very specific and expensive tastes. They promised John he’d make a killing from the cut they’d give him off the top of their profit,” Tiny said.

“What’d your man say?” Wanderer said.

“That it was Mayhem territory and he didn’t have the authority to change the way things ran.”

“They told him not for long. John asked them what they meant, and one of the man said a new world order would be coming, and if John was smart, he’d come willingly.”

Murmurs went up around the room. Moose frowned. He didn’t like what he was hearing.

“That’s a big brass set of balls,” Wanderer said.

“Normally I’d say they were blowing smoke up John’s ass, trying to see if they could muscle in our territory. But the amount o

f money they were waving around, and the look of the men I saw on the surveillance tape tell me otherwise. Bronze is damn near in your backyard. I wondered if they approached you,” Tiny said.

“Yes, but funny how they pitched another story to me. According to them, you gave your blessing and took the money. They so thoughtfully added you were looking to expand your territory, and this was an easy way to get money to do that.”

Tiny snickered. “Right, ’cause I’d tell my business to some stranger.”

“Exactly. Not to mention I knew better. Neither of us lets that shit go on in our territory,” Wanderer said.

“What did they think would happen?” Hawk asked.

“That we’d never talk to each other,” Tiny said. “They think we’re stupid. That works to our advantage just as much as it pisses me off.”

“Or maybe they figured it wouldn’t matter because neither of us would be around much longer to do shit about it,” Wanderer said.

The theory made Moose’s blood run cold. It had been done before, a new group would come in, wipe out all the competition, and set up shop.

Tiny cracked his neck. “Then they picked the wrong M.C.s to fuck with, and they’ve sorely underestimated us. I have some feelers out now looking for information. I get the feeling these were just recon men scoping out the area and getting a feel for us. I bet the men profiting from it don’t even get their hands dirty,” Tiny said.

Moose’s mind immediately turned to Peter and his men. Was Room 801 looking to expand?

“How do you want to handle this?” Tiny asked.

“Throw in together and take them down, let everyone know if they want to try to horn in on our territory it’ll be hell to pay. How’s that sound to you?” Wanderer asked.

Silence fell in the room. Moose held his breath.

“Way I see it, we don’t have much of a choice.” Tiny leaned forward and offered his hand to Wanderer, who took it. With that, the Eights and Mayhem redefined their relationship.

Chapter Nine

Joey managed what she hoped would pass for a convincing smile as she entered the bridal shop for the second time to pick out bridesmaid gowns. She’d been off kilter since her mother dropped the truth about her father a few weeks ago. But she refused to let that affect Juliette’s wedding planning. This was her time. Joey made a beeline for the viewing area.

“Hey.” Juliette rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.