Kings of Asphalt (Club Chrome 1)
Jax barked a mocking laugh. “Look at you, all domesticated all of a sudden. Bent can only pin a murder charge on us if there’s evidence tying us to the crime. So the easy answer is…don’t leave any fucking evidence.”
Hunter’s mouth seamed in frustration before he said, “Look, hear me out. I have a plan that might just get us the money and off the hook for Dimas. You want to hear it or do you want to go fuck yourself for a little vengeance? We’ve come too far to play it stupid at the final moment. Just hear me out, okay?”
Jax didn’t want to listen; he wanted blood. But as he stood there, muscles flexed and ready to do some damage, Zoe’s smiling face in his mind cooled his temper and he found himself assenting to Hunter’s question with a reluctant nod. “Out with it, then,” he growled. “But if your plan doesn’t work, I’m going back to my original plan and I’m going to fucking kill Dimas with my bare hands.”
“Fair enough. If my plan doesn’t work, I’ll be right there with you. We aren’t blood, but you’re my brother and I would do anything for you, man. I just don’t want to go to jail if we don’t have to.”
A smile found Jax’s mouth. Amen, brother.
#
They found the squalid little shack Dimas was holed up in with little trouble once they knew where to look. Hunter wasted no time with knocking and simply kicked in the flimsy door, busting the doorjamb sending splinters of wood flying. Dimas, startled by the sudden shock, scrambled for the gun but he’d fucked up and it wasn’t within grabbing distance. Jax grabbed Dimas’ gun first and then the sorry shithead had two guns pointed at him, one of those being his own.
“Heard you’ve hit a stretch of bad luck,” Hunter said coldly, his heart freezing over so he didn’t feel the pain of his friend’s betrayal. “Word of advice, friend…if you’re gonna skip town after stabbing your buddies in the back, best to plan an airtight getaway or else you’re gonna get fucked. Like right this minute.”
Dimas held his hands up, visibly swallowing, his dark hair oily and lank as if he hadn’t seen a shower in a week, and had the balls to try and convince them that he hadn’t tried to royally screw them. “Guys, you’ve got the wrong idea…I was coming back for you. I was! There was too much heat within the club. If they knew about this job…they’d skin you for it. You know that! I was just taking off the pressure, you know?”
“And Zoe? What exactly was that for?” Jax queried softly. When Jax was really dangerous, he got quiet — real quiet. Judging by Jax’s tone…Dimas was a walking dead man but Hunter knew that already.
“C’mon man, you’re gonna let a snooty bitch like her come between us? She was bad news! She was gonna bring us all down! I did you a solid by pushing her off that catwalk. Loose the baggage, you know?”
Jax smiled thinly. “C’mon Dimas, you know us better than that. No one messes with what’s ours…especially our women.”
“I did it because I care about you, man,” Dimas pleaded, starting to sweat. “Don’t you see how that chick is changing you? Somehow she took your balls and tucked them into her little purse. We can’t have that happen to our leaders, you know? I had to make a bold move for the club and for my oldest friends.”
“I’m not you’re friend,” Jax told Dimas with a flicked glance at Hunter for confirmation. “And he ain’t either.”
“We’ve got history,” Dimas reminded him, almost desperately. “Doesn’t that mean nothing?”
“Before you screwed us…it meant everything. Now you’re just like anyone else who tried to bury the knife — dead to us,” Hunter said, removing the safety. “Where’s the money, Dimas?”
“Can’t we talk this over? You gotta understand…the money…it did weird things to my head. I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m actually glad you’re here to take it off my hands. It’s evil, man!”
Jax laughed at the absurdity. “The only thing evil in this room is the piece of shit in front of me. Now, where’s the fucking money?”
Caught, with nowhere to go, Dimas pointed to the bedroom. Jax left Hunter with Dimas and moments later returned with a giant black duffel. “How much you spend?” Jax asked. “Every dime not accounted for will be taken out on your miserable hide.”
“All but $100.” Dimas promised bitterly. “I’ve been stuck in this fucking room since that night.”
“A hundred bucks sounds more than you deserve but since it’ll be a while before you taste anything but prison food…I’ll let you have that one,” Jax said, his gaze hardening as he shouldered the bag. He removed the safety from his gun and leveled it at Dimas’ heart. Dimas panicked and thrust his hands out, begging and pleading for his life like a bitch and Hunter held his breath, waiting to see if Jax was going to follow through with the plan. Either way, Hunter was prepared to back him but he was hoping and praying that some thread of self-preservation won out over the thirst for vengeance. The seconds ticked by until Jax slowly lowered his gun and Dimas sagged against the dirty sofa.
“Thank you, man,” Dimas said, letting out a shaky breath. “For a second I really thought you were going to kill me.”
“You’re not worth prison time,” Jax bit out, clearly disappointed he didn’t plug Dimas full of holes. He looked to Hunter. “You tell him how it is. I don’t trust myself not to blow his lying face off.”
“My pleasure,” Hunter said as Dimas’ gaze went from one to the other in confusion. “Here’s how this is going down. We’re going to walk out of here with the money. You’re going to forget there ever was money. In about ten minutes, cops are going to show up and you’re going to turn yourself in for the murders of William Simms and Juanita Sanchez and then you’re gonna spend the rest of your miserable fucking life taking it up the ass by a big bubba in prison. Got it?”
Confusion cleared from Dimas’ expression and some semblance of outrage returned as he balked. “Fuck that! You can’t make me do that and besides there’s no fucking proof I killed Simms and his bitch.”
“True. Your confession hinges on your conviction but here’s the thing…you bail before the cops get here and you walk the streets…you’re gonna die. First off, once word spreads among the Kings that you killed Simms, you’re gonna be Public Enemy No. 1 and second, once the Dogs find out that you killed Sanchez, they’re gonna want your blood, too. Frankly, it seems to me that taking it up the ass and getting three squares a day might be safer than being on the streets with both the Dogs and the Kings after you. But, hey, it’s your call. Just know this…you will die an ugly and painful death if you leave this building. Trust me on this. Between you and me, I hope you run,” Hunter’s admitted with a mean grin. “Oh, I hope you run, friend — because you deserve what’s coming for you.”
Dimas paled. “You would do that to me?”
“Ask yourself…have I ever forgiven someone who’s betrayed me?”
Dimas didn’t bother answering, he already knew.
“Choice is yours,” Hunter said with a shrug, following Jax out. Hunter took a final look at his former friend and then locked him out of his life. With an icy smirk, he quipped over his shoulder, “Hey, I hear orange is the new black. Hopefully, they have Vasoline where you’re going.”
Goodbye, old friend — you rotten piece of shit.
Hunter turned to Jax once they were back in the truck, saying, “Maybe we need better friends.”
Jax glowered. “Fuck friends. We don’t need no one. If you don’t let no one in, they can’t screw you over.”
Couldn’t argue with that logic. But…they both wanted — no, needed — Zoe. He risked a glance at Jax. How did he convince Jax that Zoe needed them as well?
Hell, he didn’t know the answers and it hurt his head just trying to figure it all out but as much as he’d like to say, fuck it and forget all about Zoe, he simply couldn’t.
And neither could Jax. Maybe if the stubborn shit would come to that realization, too, he’d stop being a royal asshole.
That was a big maybe.
Delainey picked up Zoe from th
e hospital, her eyes agog at the saga Zoe had endured and God love her, a little jealous it seemed for the adventure.