Page 38 of The Devil's Revelation
NINETEEN
TORQUE
We need to figure out where Dmitri is hiding.
Dad bangs the gavel as we take our seats around the Church table. I’m still annoyed at my chat with Izzy. The woman is messing with my head and I need to stop letting her take up space there. The woman is a contradiction. The attraction between us is off the charts, no matter how much she’s trying to fight it.
Hell, after last night, I’ve been constantly half-hard, and seeing her in that ice cream shop, wearing those shorts that showed off her toned legs and creamy thighs, well, half was quickly moving its way towards full. I could feel her energy when I walked into the shop, saw her standing in front of us. The fact that she tried to pretend she didn’t see me is clue enough to the effect we have on each other.
If I was smart, I would have let her leave without saying a word, but I’ve never been one to ignore things. I’m more of a meet-things-head-on kind of guy. Now, I wish I kept my mouth shut because I can’t let it go. I don’t know what she meant by a guy like me, because depending on how she views me, that could be a good or a bad thing. Does she mean me as in a biker? Maybe she has a thing against MCs? No, that can’t be right or she wouldn’t have come to the bar last night.
Damn it, why do women have to be so damn confusing?
“Any news on our local mobsters?” Dad asks briskly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I push Izzy to the back of my mind, focusing on the topic at hand. “Nothing on our front,” I say in frustration. “All is quiet with our informants, and with the cops. I don’t know about the feds, but I would say they are just as clueless otherwise they would be crawling all over this place.”
“Nothing in their database,” Cryos adds. “I hacked in again this morning but nothing is obvious. I’m running a deeper search, but after this much time, I’m going to go with either they buried it so deep I can’t access it without a deep search, or they think the problem is dealt with and they’re focusing elsewhere to catch them in another spot.”
“I’ve checked in with some informants in the military and nothing there either,” Shadow adds, his mouth pulled down into a frown. “I don’t know how they’re hiding what they’re doing, but it’s pissing me off. How the hell does an operation like that run without someone knowing something?”
“Maybe they aren’t working here, but close by,” Viper suggests, looking thoughtful. “Could be that they want us to think that they’re still here and Dmitri is showing his face to distract us so we spend our time chasing shit around our town, when really he’s got his minions working in the next town over, undetected.”
“It’s plausible,” Sniper agrees. “Though Dmitri Norikov isn’t one to just show his face. Even for a ruse. He has minions and soldiers to do that for him.”
Dad looks frustrated. “I want to know what the hell is going on in this damn town. Fuckers think they can run this shit under our noses and make us look like we can’t find our ass from a hole in the ground.”
“The informants seem to either be spooked or paid off,” Dagger adds with a frown. “Dmitri’s whole organization has deep pockets. Not to mention, if they want to keep people quiet, they’re going to use threats to scare them.”
“He’s right,” King agrees. “Which means if they have done that, they’re working on something big, because that many people to track down and either buy off or threaten would take a lot of time and manpower.”
“What we need is to catch them in the act,” Sniper says thoughtfully. “Try and catch one of the lower ranking people making a deal or a threat and pick them up.”
“Easier said than done when we don’t know who those people are,” I remark drily.
Dad looks at Cryos. “Any way you might be able to do some checks to see who we could possibly look at?”
Cryos frowns. “It’d be like finding a needle in a haystack. They probably have someone with a rap sheet or record, so in case they get caught, they’ll go right back to prison where they can be dealt with if they talk. I’ll run a search to see if anyone in our lovely justice system fits the bill. Though I bet it’s going to be a long list.”
“Still a place to start,” Dad reasons. “For now, everyone keep their eyes and ears open for anything that might show up. We check out any potential leads. I want these assholes gone before they pollute our streets with their poison.”
Everyone loudly shares their agreement. The rest of the meeting is spent going over different issues in the businesses we run, including my issue of not being able to find a good mechanic. Which of course makes me think of Izzy, and I have to shut down that train of thought before it can take over.
When the meeting is done, we head out, and I immediately walk to the bar. One of the newer prospects, Norris, is behind it, and he looks bored. He doesn’t even clue into the fact that I’m standing here. He’s only nineteen, with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes, and from what I’ve seen, he spends more time flirting with the club girls than doing any actual work. Well, that’s about to change.
“Prospect,” I bark, startling him. “Since we’re keeping you awake, I want a beer, and then you’re on window cleaning and laundry duty for the day. Every window in the place must be clean by dark, and all the clothes washed, folded, and sorted.”
Norris gapes at me. “What? I can’t do all that by myself!”
“Why the hell not?” I counter. “Seems to me you’ve been getting off easy. So get to it, Prospect, or do you not want to be a part of this club?”
He looks like he wants to argue, but then turns away, grabs my beer, slides it across to me and stomps off. I smirk to myself and look around the room. Kaleb is making his way towards me, but I wave him off. “Where’s Carson?” I ask him.
“He’s with your mom and Sage in town getting some stuff,” he answers when he stops a few feet in front of me.
“Tyler and Pierce manning the gate?”
“Tyler is. I don’t know where Pierce is at.”
