Trigger, page 21
“Joker and Reaper are here. I’m gonna put you on speaker, so you can explain about the DEA agents.”
“No, I don’t want anyone to know,” she says, but it’s too late. Joker and Reaper can hear everything.
“Just tell us, babe. I’m not lettin’ anything happen to you.”
Reaper and Joker don’t seem as committed as me as they share a serious look.
I give them the finger.
“I’m not worried about me,” Evanee says. “And this isn’t Wendy’s fault.”
“Who the fuck is Wendy?” Reaper growls.
“My assistant,” Evanee tells him. “She got approached by them when she was at lunch. They offered her a lot of money to get information about you guys.”
“Jesus fucking christ,” I say, pulling at my beard and grabbing air instead. “Those guys are dangerous. She ain’t hurt, is she?””
“No. She agreed to do what they wanted. They gave her two-thousand dollars, Trigger. I’m holding it right now.”
“Why the fuck did she take the money?” Joker all but shouts.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Back the fuck off, cocksucker, or I’ll bury you.”
Threats like that shouldn’t be made lightly, but he’s talkin’ to my girl and the shit she’s talkin’ about is fucking scaring me.
“It’s okay,” Evanee says. “Wendy said she could feed them false information. Maybe get them out in the open so you can figure out what they really want.”
Reaper, Joker, and I exchange glances. This is the closest we’ve come to the DEA fucks who killed Jess’s brother. Maybe we can find out who they got snitching on us from the inside. We can’t pass it up.
“Wendy there?” Reaper asks.
“No. She’s outside with Lullaby. She’s pretty upset about the citation.”
“You trust the woman?” Joker asks Evanee.
“Of course I do.” Evanee sounds affronted. “Why would she show me the money and tell me what happened if she was actually working with them?”
Reaper shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe she’s playing both sides.”
“That’d be too obvious,” Joker says. He glances at his watch. “Gotta get going. Church.”
“Listen, babe,” I say. “You and Wendy get over here where you’re safe. We’ll figure it out.”
“What about Lullaby?”
“We got 24-hours to solve that problem, but just in case, I’ll send Zero over to keep an eye on her.”
I hear the relief in Evanee’s voice. “Thank you, lover. We’ll head over now.”
I’m reluctant to hang up the phone, but Joker grabs it and ends the call. “Church, asshole,” he says. “We got a lot to talk about.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Trigger
Joker, Reaper, and I get to church just in front of Hangman, who comes storming in like he usually does. “Updates first,” he demands as his chair groans under the weight of his big ass body.
“Got more important stuff to talk about,” Joker tells him. “Let’s hold the updates until you hear what we have to say.”
Anyone else and Hangman would chew them up, but coming from Joker, the prez is almost aimable. “Better be good, motherfucker.”
We start with Dino, followed by the Blackbeards hassling Evanee, then the horse problem. It goes exactly as we expected.
Hangman goes ballistic over Dino bein’ dead before we talked to him, and it don’t help that the brothers are laughing like hyenas. He’s less impressed with the Blackbeards fucking around with Evanee.
“You sure it was Mad Max?” he asks.
I nod. “Evanee said he was wearing the VP patch.”
That pisses him off. “Crip just crossed another fucking line, messing with the vet. He’s already on notice for kidnapping Coyote’s sisters. Don’t know why he thinks he should keep pokin’ us.”
“About that,” Joker says, then tells everyone his theory about Dino’s involvement.
Hangman punches the tabletop. “That’s just like Crip, to risk the life of someone else for his own fuckin’ purposes.”
There’s a silence in the room as we process Hangman’s lack of self-awareness.
He notices and gets defensive. “I might ask you fuckers to go in shooting, but I don’t send you in the back door so you can intentionally get picked up by the Blackbeards. That’s too fucking risky. Look what happened to Dino.”
No one reminds him that we didn’t really kill Dino through violence. Neglect certainly, but other than me roughing him up back at the brothel, we never touched him.
Joker, bein’ the diplomat, soothes the prez. “Yeah. We have a code of ethics that we live by.”
“And fucking morals,” Hangman adds as several of us exchange amused glances. “But that don’t solve the Blackbeard problem. I would’ve figured they’d be keeping their heads down, waiting for us to retaliate.”
Rocky leans back in his chair and stretches his back. “Hassling our women or sending in some fuck to get caught by us ain’t exactly gunning for us.”
“We’re not as stupid as Crip or the idiots he’s got in his club. Maybe this is what he thinks is retaliation,” Reaper says.
Most of us nod even though Crip ain’t all that stupid. Mercenary, yeah, but we shouldn’t underestimate him.
“Rocky’s right. The Dino thing seems too mild for payback. Same with the vet. No violence, just mind games,” Joker says.
“Fuckin’ mind games,” Hangman blusters. “We can play too. He wants to get back what’s his, we’ll give it to him in a fucking body bag.”
The horse problem don’t settle Hangman down. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” he snarls.
“Cops cited Evanee for keeping a horse out back,” I tell him. “Says they’ll euthanize her if she doesn’t move it in 24 hours.”
“Euthanize the vet?” Hangman squeezes his eyes shut as he tugs on his beard. “They can’t fuckin’ do that for keepin’ a horse.”
Sure I explained it badly, but Hangman’s not that dense, so I know the bullshit is getting to him. Some of the guys suppress their laughter and I get ready to duck. “Put the horse down, not Evanee.”
“So the fuck what?” Hangman bellows. I didn’t expect he’d sympathize, but he ain’t the kind of guy who kicks dogs.
Joker intervenes. “The cops targeted Trigger’s woman deliberately, so someone ratted her out and that isn’t a thing we can put up with, especially since we invested in the vet shop. Unlikely Jackson is acting on his own. He doesn’t have the balls. Someone put him up to it.”
Jackson, the captain of the local police, don’t mind lining his pockets with our dough.
“And,” I add, “Evanee will literally shoot my nuts off if I let her horse get killed.”
Of course, this causes a round of laughter from everyone but Prez.
Jawbone takes a gulp of air and manages to say, “So what’s the solution, Trig? Where you gonna take the horse?”
I may as well get it over with. “Here I thought. We got a big back yard. Kids will love it.”
“Fuck that,” Mothman says like he has a say. “The horse will shit all over the yard.”
“We’ll build it a corral.” I tell him, thinking on my feet. “The kids can feed it and pick up the shit. It’d do ‘em good to have some chores. Teach them responsibility.”
Rocky rolls his eyes. “He moves into a townhouse so now he’s an expert on parenting.”
I give him the finger.
“Who’s gonna pay for it?” Fender asks because he’s the tightwad in charge of the money.
Coyote frowns at me, then sighs. “I’ll pay for the fucking corral. We’re all investors in Evanee’s clinic. It’ll look bad if we let the cops kill the horse.”
“I got a better idea,” Hash says with a smirk on his face. “How about we cut the horse’s head off and put it in Crip’s bed. Like the Godfather did.”
“You fuckin’ animal!” I yell, half-rising from my chair.
Red thumps me back down. “For Christ sake, Trigger,” he says. “The fucker’s playing with you.” There ain’t any love lost between Red and Hash so it’s a surprise that Red’s defending him.
Of course, Hash doesn’t know where the fuckin’ line is. “Am I, asshole? What the fuck do we need a horse for? Next we’ll be getting some kangaroos and a goat.”
“I like the sounds of that,” Rocky says with a grin. “We can get a donkey, so that when the passarounds are busy, Hash’s got someone to fuck around with.”
“Fuck off, bitch,” Hash says.
I hate agreein’ with Hash, but Rocky’s not as funny today as he thinks he is.
Eight asks the practical question. “How’re we gonna get the horse here?”
“How the fuck would I know?” Hangman shouts. “We don’t got a spare horse trailer sittin’ out behind the Chamber.” He runs his hands through his hair. “Jesus fuckin’ christ. We’re in church. Why the fuck are we talkin’ about a petting zoo?”
“I can ride,” Rider, one of the Vegas guys, announces, too new to understand that Hangman’s diatribe is his way of tellin’ us to move on. “If Evanee has a saddle, I can ride it out of town.”
Blood enters the fray. “You can’t fuckin’ ride the horse through town. That’s as illegal as the vet keepin’ him at the clinic.”
“The horse is a girl,” I mutter.
“What?” Hangman says, his lip curling into a sneer.
I straighten up in my chair. “The horse is a girl.” The laughter is pissing me off so I get aggressive. “And since when do we give a fuck about ridin’ a horse through Sagebrush?”
“Man’s got a point,” King says, speaking for the first time.
“We don’t,” Joker replies to question. “But it might get the good citizens going if they see Rider and the fucking horse trotting down the road. Someone’s bitched about it already.”
“We’ll bring it over when everyone’s sleepin’. After midnight,” Rider suggests.
“You can ride in the dark?” Jawbone asks doubtfully.
Rider smirks. “I can ride blindfolded.”
“Where’d you learn to ride?” Rocky asks.
Rider glares at Rocky. “I was a fuckin’ Canadian Mountie, asshole. I can ride. Isn’t that enough?”
“Hey,” Hash says. “About the horse head.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I snarl at the bastard. “Wasn’t funny the first time, sure as hell ain’t funny now.”
He scowls like I’m the asshole. “I’m not finished. We do the godfather thing with Dino’s head instead. Put it in Crip’s bed. He wants back what’s his. We give it to him.”
Hangman looks at him like he’s a genius. “Who the fuck’s gonna do that?” he asks, which means he’s on board.
“Trigger, obviously,” Joker says, then immediately regrets opening his mouth as Hangman turns on him.
“You and Reaper too, fucker. The three of you started this. You end it.”
It’s not that I don’t like Reaper and Joker, but I don’t work with them and I don’t see how this will go smoothly. “Rather bring Rocky and Red along. We more sympatico.”
“I don’t even know what the fuck that means,” Blood sniggers to Fender.
Mothman rolls his eyes. “You guys are even more fucked up than my club.”
Hangman stabs his finger at him. “Shut it or I’ll send you in with the idiot.”
Mothman smirks but shuts up.
Hangman turns to me. “Fine, you want your playmates, they’re all yours.” He says to Rocky and Red. “You go with him then. Get it done tonight.”
“Tomorrow’s better, Prez,” Rider says. “Gotta move the horse tonight and I’ll need Trigger along to help.”
We all wince. Never a good idea to get all logical with the Prez, but seems we’ve fucked with his mojo today. “Fine. Move the fuckin’ horse first, then get Dino done. This is gonna get Crip all hot and bothered and I need some entertainment.”
“Okay.” To Rider, Red and Rocky, I say, “We’ll get together later to sort the stuff out once we get things settled with Evanee and Wendy.”
Hangman rubs his temples. “You’re givin’ me a fucking headache. Who the fuck is Wendy?”
Joker intervenes. “The assistant at the clinic. She and Evanee are comin’ here where’s it safe.” Then he does something inexplicable. “Church’s over. Only ones who stay are Hangman, Reaper, Trigger, and me.”
Everyone freezes, waiting for Joker to die, but Hangman doesn’t react other then to say, “Don’t tell me when church is over, asshole.” He looks at the rest of us. “You heard him. Get out.”
When we’re alone, I tell the prez about the DEA agents.
It goes as well as I expected.
“Those cocksuckers got some balls! How the fuck are they walking around Sagebrush without anyone knowing!” He jabs his finger at me, but he’s yelling at all of us as if it’s our fault.
“Ask the cops,” Joker snaps. “Jackson’s supposed to be keepin’ an eye on who’s coming and going in this town.”
“The goddammed asshole is too busy harassing the vet about the horse to be useful,” Reaper growls. “Time to tune him in.”
Hangman turns to me, “Can we trust this Wendy?”
I nod, hoping I’m not wrong. “Evanee says we can. Besides Wendy isn’t stupid enough to play one side against the other. We don’t offer her anything but her safety right now. We can reward her later if she draws the motherfuckers out.”
Hangman looks pointedly at us. “This don’t get out. Between us. Understand? This is our opportunity to get those fucks and whoever they got inside our club.”
“No to talking to Eight,” he says to Reaper. “No Rocky or Red,” he says to me. “They ain’t the ones ratting us out, but right now, the fewer that know, the less chance it’s gonna get around.” He pauses. “You gotta tell the vet and the assistant to keep their mouths shut.”
“Don’t gotta tell them,” I grumble. “Evanee knows better.”
“I wanna talk to them.” He looks at his watch as he stands. “Not at the clubhouse. I’ll let you know when and where.” Then he stalks out.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Evanee
Wendy and I arrive at the clubhouse to find it quieter than usual. Ash is lounging on a chair, one leg over the arm, texting on his phone. Brielle is sitting on the floor playing on a tablet and the three boys are parked on the couch. Max glares at me, and Sean and Oscar ignore me, but they all gaze curiously at Wendy.
Wendy is looking around the room with interest. Her eyes skip over the children to the beautiful mural of the Hell’s Jury logo that dominates one of the walls, then the pool table, then the bar and the women next to it.
I don’t see Haley, but her sidekick is talking with Verity. It’s not a friendly conversation, but that doesn’t surprise me.
“Jess,” I tell Wendy as I nod towards the blond beauty who’s waving her hands in the air. “And the other is Verity.”
Verity pulls a pack of cigarettes from her purse and Wendy’s eyes light up. She beelines towards Hangman’s ex. “You got one to spare?”
Verity peers at Wendy, her eyes narrowing. “Who are you?”
I chase Wendy. “Don’t, Wendy. You’ve been doing so well.”
“So well doing what?” Jess asks.
“She quit smoking,” I tell her. “Four days.”
Verity laughs derisively. “Four days isn’t an accomplishment.”
“We need to support her,” Jess says to Verity like she’s talking to a child.
Verity ignore Jess. To me, she says, “Who the fuck is Wendy?”
“I’m right here,” Wendy rasps as she grabs Verity’s cigarette pack out of her hands and drags a smoke out. “I’m Evanee’s office manager.”
I guess if she’s an investor, she’s allowed to promote herself.
“Thanks for the smoke,” she says to Verity.
I watch in despair as she plucks the lighter out of Verity’s hand and heads to sliding doors leading out to the back yard.
“What are you doing?” Verity growls at her.
“Smoking outside,” my new office manager replies over her shoulder. “Bad for the kids to see smoking and also bad for their lungs.”
“That’s what I was just telling Verity,” Jess says in frustration as Wendy disappears through the doors, Verity chasing after her.
I smile at Jess. “Guess you should have grabbed her lighter and ran off with it.”
“What are you and Wendy doing here anyway?”
Good question and I hadn’t really thought up a reason. I don’t need one, but I don’t usually have Wendy riding shotgun. “It’s about my horse,” I say quickly, thinking that’s the least harmless subject. “I got cited for keeping it town.”
Jess twists her lips to one side as she heads behind the bar. “It’s illegal?”
I nod. “Yes. Within city limits, you’re not allowed to keep large animals such as cows and horses.”
“Goats?” she asks. She places a tall glass on the counter. “Coke or orange juice?”
“Goats too I think.” I nod towards the glass. “Is drinking in front of the children bad for them too?”
She drops her eyes. “No.” Then she leans over the counter. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think I’m pregnant. Haven’t had time to get a test yet, but I’m late and my breasts are tender.”
I can’t quite figure out how that relates to me not having a drink, but I say, “Congratulations, if you want a baby.” In past, I’d stop at the happy wishes and throw a charming smile at the mother-to-be, but my association with this club seems to be weakening my social filters.
Jess takes no offence. “I do. Rocky’s baby,” she sighs. “Imagine how great that’ll be?” If this were a cartoon, there’d be little pink hearts floating around her head.
I try to visualize me with a baby, but nothing comes up. “I’m happy for you,” I murmur.
She barrels on. “Then when you see mine, you’ll want one of your own. They can have playdates and we can compare their progress and do birthday parties together. Haley has two and won’t be having anymore, so it’s up to you and me.”
