Hard Rider

His eyes glanced down to my Devil’s Dragons emblem, then the word Nomad patched beneath.

“You came alone, I take it?”

“I did.”

Julian lowered the book with a broadening smile on his face, setting it closed with a bookmark in place.

“Then, I guess we’d better get to work then, yes? Why don’t you tell where we stand.”

I glanced around.

Place was still empty.

“Hunter Hargreaves wants the Devil’s Dragons to come to New Orleans if there’s room for us here. I’ve been sent to negotiate how that might work out.”

He nodded.

“How many of you are there?”

“Sixteen, maybe seventeen total.”

An eyebrow rose. “You don’t have a headcount? That’s a little sloppy, Grizz.”

“Depends on your definition of a Devil’s Dragon,” I shrugged. “Hunter’s fiancé is probably coming too.”

“She’s not an official member?”

“Sarah’s made herself a private eye,” I replied. “Formerly a police detective. She’s more an ally than a member, but you can see how our boss might willingly overlook the details.”

“A biker president, engaged to the other side of the law?” Julian chuckled, finding it strange. Admittedly, it was kind of odd. “Well. This just got interesting…”

“She’s solid,” I assured him.

“How do you know?”

“Because she helped the club storm a cartel compound on the wrong side of the border, and we didn’t exactly do things legally,” I answered. “She helped us save some girls from the sex trafficking industry, and her hands are just as dirty as mine.”

Julian paused.

“You’re shitting me.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that I am,” I answered gravely. “She put a lot on the line there. We all did.”

“You were there too?”

“Yeah. We brought one hell of a force with us. The cartel wasn’t expecting us to find them, let alone strike from different fronts.”

“You brought the Outlaws,” Julian replied knowingly.

I froze.

“You look surprised.”

I grunted in irritation.

“Second time in a couple of days that someone out here has known about them,” I quickly answered. “Hell, even in the desert there aren’t many people who know the name… you can kind of see why I’m confused that people here in the South seem intimately familiar.”

“Confused, are you?” He asked, coyly.

“I need answers. Why does everyone I speak to out here know the Devil’s Dragons? And who’s out here talking about the fucking Outlaws?”

Julian took another drag from his cigarette. “Who were the others?”

“Call themselves the Bayou Boys.”

“Never heard of them,” Julian shrugged, blowing a bit of smoke. “Maybe they already knew of your club. Unfinished business. There’s no telling.”

I crossed my arms.

“Fine. Start with you. The Outlaws are a secret in the Southwestern desert, and you know their name here in New Orleans. Tell me… how?”

Julian put out his cigarette in an ashtray and brushed the paperback further away. It was a sign that he was finally taking the conversation seriously.

“I am the gatekeeper to the New Orleans underworld,” he told me firmly. “Between the Houston and New Orleans ports, I rule one of the largest shipping regions in the country, which is why it shouldn’t surprise you to know that I know all about the shit that went down in the Los Angeles harbor.”

I tried to hide my irritation.

“Talon,” I scoffed.

“It’s my job to know what’s going on out in the other markets. I keep tabs, yes. Your Dragons went up against the legendary arms dealer Soroka Sarkonov and won. It makes sense that you want to get the hell out of dodge.”

Holy fucking shit.

He knew about the Outlaws… he knew about Sarkonov… this guy knew everything.

It was growing more and more apparent that I had seriously underestimated him, and that wasn’t a mistake I made often.

“You knew I was coming back,” I realized.

“Indeed,” he smiled crisply, taking a drink from his coffee. “I’ve been waiting for you, Grizz. And you didn’t make me wait long. How very considerate of you.”

I thought on those words.

“What does this change?”

“Nothing,” Julian absentmindedly waved his hand. “If anything, I know you’re quite eager to bring back good news to the tribe.”

“You might say that.”

“Good, because I have to say, your timing works for me. I already have the right initiation in mind…”

“That wasn’t the deal,” I told him. “No initiations. The offer you made was to introduce me to the right people without jumping through any fucking hoops.”

“Yes… but then you turned down that deal,” he reminded me sternly. “And besides, things have changed.”

I swallowed a groan.

“What changed things?”

“Attacking an international arms dealer comes with some drawbacks,” Julian replied coolly. “My associates are careful people, Grizz. They expect a certain level of discretion.”

“And because you know about what happened with Soroka Sarkonov…”

“Let me remind you to not act surprised,” he shrugged with a good-natured grin. “The little cartel your club took down was small potatoes… but destroy a major player in the international circuit? Every worthwhile underworld in America knows about that from Los Angeles to New York.”

He’d held all the cards this whole time.

“And all these underworlds, these organizations… do they know who toppled Sarkonov?

“Hard to say,” Julian answered, scratching the backs of his fingers thoughtfully. “I know because I was aware of your Devil’s Dragons charter, and I knew about the original group in Los Angeles. Talon, unsurprisingly, doesn’t want to talk about what happened. It appears that he has wants certain measure of plausible deniability.”

“He wasn’t there when it went down,” I confirmed. “Not him or his men. We fought our mutual enemy alone.”

“Talon has covered his tracks well enough. It seems that the last thing he wants is the name of the Devil’s Dragons attached. You see, other groups would not make the distinction between his charter and yours, so he’s

been very careful… You don’t have to worry about fallback. In fact, your club has done the world a huge favor by removing Soroka from power.”

“Well, at least I can report that back,” I grunted angrily. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere near what I wanted.

“Don’t be too disappointed, my friend,” Julian reached forward to clasp me on the shoulder. “Your motorcycle club will still have their seat at the table. But now, you need to earn it.”

“And organizing the Outlaws means nothing now?” I asked bitterly.

“Au contraire,” Julian smiled. “Putting together the Outlaws is what saved your case. It is because of that accomplishment that you’re even being considered.”

“Square one, then.”

“Yes.”

The back of my neck was prickly with irritation. Staring him in the eyes, I scratched the spot with my weary fingers and leant back in the seat.

Our last little adventure had completely fucked us over here, which meant doing things the hard way. The Devil’s Dragons weren’t seen as careful, powerful people anymore, but as a band of gunners with a goddamn death wish – and we’d drawn a too much attention…

“Initiation,” I sighed. “Tell me more.”

A smile crossed Julian’s lips. “I believe the last time you were here we discussed your capacity for armed protection…”

Kate

When Grizz finally wandered back in the door, I was curled up with a bowl of popcorn and a good movie.

“You’re in late,” I teased him. “Productive day?”

“I wish,” Grizz groaned, setting his jacket down on the countertop. “It looks like we’ve fucked ourselves over since the last time I was in town…”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s not,” he growled, rummaging through the fridge.

I climbed up from the sofa and lightly wandered over to him. With my hands gliding along his back, I enjoyed how his hard muscles felt beneath my touch.

“You could use a massage,” I noted.

“Probably.”

I leant down near his ear. “We’ll start with food. Bottom shelf. Cooked up some dirty rice, just packed it up an hour ago. Zap it, and it should be good.”