Zach (Hell's Handlers MC 1)

“I have a theory.” Jigsaw’s glasses sat propped on the top of his head and an open laptop rested in front of him. A sure sign the clever bastard was thinking. Good for the Handlers, bad for the Dragons. For the first time since Mav was snatched, Zach felt a small seed of hope growing in his gut. Jig was the smartest motherfucker he knew. If anyone could figure this shit out, Jig could.

“Spit it out, Jig,” Copper said.

“Think about what’s been going on since Mav disappeared.” He tapped the end of his pen on his computer. “We stopped collecting on debts. Rocket’s construction projects are on hold. We closed the bar and the gym. Obviously, we’ve suspended Maverick’s security gigs. Our women are nervous and being told to either stay home or we’re tailing them everywhere. Basically, we’re dead in the water. All business has been halted in favor of searching for Mav.”

“He’s crippled us,” Zach said. Jesus, when had Shark become such a force?

“Exactly. He’s frozen us in our tracks and completely knocked us on our asses. If we continue on this way for too much longer we’ll lose clients, money, business. He’s attacked us with hardly any effort on his part. And he’ll steal our club right out from under us if this continues.”

As he stood, Copper shoved his chair back so hard it slammed against the wall then clattered to the ground. “Fuck!” He kicked the downed chair, splintering off a leg. It shot across the room before landing with a loud clang.

No one cared. Even if they did, no one was stupid enough to tell Copper how to react.

“So, we need to go back to business as usual. That’s what you’re telling me?” Copper asked.

“I think so,” Jig said. “Shark wants a piece of our pie. Actually, fuck that, he wants the whole damn thing. We need to show him he won’t be getting it. At least not while we’re still breathing.”

Copper circled the table until he was behind Jig’s chair. He clapped the treasurer on the back and said, “Nice work, Jig.”

While the rest of the exec board discussed getting their operations up and running again, Zach let his mind wander to the implications of Jig’s plan. No matter how he looked at it, he kept coming back to one sickening conclusion: Mav was fucked.

“Hold up,” Zach said, resting his forearms on the table. “Not to shit all over this party, but getting back to normal is going to be like throwing a big fuck you to Shark, right?”

“That’s right,” Viper said rubbing his hands together in glee. “Gonna be sweet.”

“But if he thinks his plan failed, what’s to keep him from sending Mav back to us in chunks?”

“Fuck!” The expletive came from at least two of his brothers.

All eyes turned to Copper. It was shit like this that made Zach glad he wasn’t the one on the throne. Rubbing his chin again, Copper trod to an empty, unbroken seat and dropped down. For a few moments, he stared at the ceiling and then his shoulders rose and fell with the heavy force of his sigh.

“This is a war and Dragons drew first blood. We have to present a strong front. We have to protect the club. I’ll give it three days, but then we have to get shit running again. Both to stick it to Shark and because we can’t take the financial hit. Over the next three days we search for Mav round the clock in shifts.” He looked to Zach. “You make a schedule, Zach.”

Zach nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”

“I don’t care if we’ve talked to our contacts ten times already. Hit everyone up again. When the guys are on shift I want them looking in every hole and under every rock. When off shift, sleep. I need the men rested and sharp. If we haven’t found him in three days, we’ll reconvene before we open the businesses back up. Someone knows where the fuck Mav is, boys. Bring me that person and I promise you, they’ll talk.”

Zach almost shivered. It wasn’t often Copper got his hands dirty these days, but when he did, the results were catastrophic.

Two hours later, assignments distributed, Zach was on his bike heading for home. He was on day shifts, so he had the night off. Even though he hadn’t slept in almost forty hours, a restless energy zinged through him making thoughts of sleep impossible.

What he really wanted to do was bust down Toni’s door, tackle her to the bed, and keep her there until she forgot everything but how to scream his name. But that wasn’t going to happen. He needed to keep his focus on Mav and his club. Spending another night between Toni’s silky thighs would only make his obsession with her grow. And he just couldn’t split his time between a woman and his club.