The reunion with Tate and his family was interrupted as more and more bikers arrived. Daniel and four other bikers came in just moments after Creed, Jack, Harry, Kimber and Silas. Daniel and his brothers had also been stunned to see Tate still alive.
One by one, the men of Tate’s old crew arrived, and the numbers swelled from just the Young family and Cobra’s crew of fourteen men to well over three dozen bikers.
The Lost Sinners members all cheered and shook Tate’s hand or embraced him with hearty pats on his back. None of them believed their eyes at first when they caught sight of him. Their prez was alive and well. Some looked angry at what all Bandit and his crew had done to the man, his family and their MC.
Shortly after one in the afternoon, a limo pulled into the parking lot.
As everyone was sitting in the open, getting caught up and discussing plans, three dozen men got to their feet and reached for their weapons as soon as the limo pulled in.
The driver stopped immediately and cut his engine. Honking the horn three times, everyone waited in a tense silence.
Daniel moved to the front line and held his hands out to each side. “Hold up guys,” he called out. “They aren’t here to threaten us.”
“Who are they son?” Tate asked his own hand holding a forty five.
“They’re my bosses from Wichita Falls,” he told them as he took another few steps toward the limo.
The back door opened and three very big men got out of the backseat out and turned to face the bikers. All three men held out their large arms to show they had no weapons.
Daniel walked over to them along with Tate, Creed, Cobra and Silas. “This is, Ivan Anatosha, Pyotr Nicolar, and Leonid Garvil,” he introduced the Russian men to his family and the other bikers standing around. Daniel then narrowed his eyes and stared at the men for a moment. “What are you doing here? How did you even find this place?”
“We’ve been watching you for a while now,” Ivan replied.
“Why?” Daniel demanded.
“Did you really think we wouldn’t know the people who work for us?” Pyotr asked with a hint of a smile. “We’ve known your story from day one.”
“Then you know what’s about to happen too, I take it?” Tate demanded.
“Da, we do.” Ivan nodded.
“You do business with Bandit and his MC,” Cobra stated. “Does he know too?”
All three men turned to glare at him.
Cobra stared right back at them while tightening his hands into fists
Daniel stepped over to him and laid his hand on the other man’s chest.
Cobra swung his gaze up and glared at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head. “Don’t assume anything, not with these guys. That could be a fatal mistake on your part.”
Cobra narrowed his eyes at Daniel and demanded, “So what are they doing here?”
“I don’t know yet, do I?” Daniel turned back to the three Russians and waited for an explanation.
Ivan nodded slowly at him. “We came here to let you know that Bandit does indeed know you are coming for him. He is prepared for an assault when you try to reclaim your MC. “
“Why would you tell us this?” Tate asked.
“Bandit is a pig of a man.” Leonid scoffed. “He is also a thief and a liar and I for one hate both of those qualities.”
“Now that’s funny coming from a man such as yourself,” Cobra stated boldly.
Leonid turned to glare at Cobra. “Exactly who are you? You do not know me or who I am. How dare you make such a statement?”
“I know you are Russian mob. I don’t need to know any more than that.” Cobra stood his ground while staring back at him.
“Then you should know these men are powerful and you don’t want to piss them off, like you obviously are about to do,” Daniel warned the other man coldly.
“Why don’t we just listen to what they have to say before we make any assumptions about their character?” Tate tried to break the tension that was building. He then turned to the Russians and asked, “Why are you here at this moment?”
“Daniel knows about the man from Bandit’s group that has been appearing from time to time, correct?” Ivan looked over at Daniel. Daniel nodded at him.
Ivan Continued, “When Daniel first came to our gym almost six years ago, we ran a background check on him, the same as we always do for our employees. We took note of the fact that he belonged to an MC and we had him watched as well. At first, we wanted to know why he had come to our place of business. We had to ask ourselves was he a scout for the MC to get inside our organization or was he a legitimate worker? Then we began to notice two other men watching Daniel. When these other men began to watch him, we were concerned enough to check both men out as well.”
Leonid took over telling them the story, “We found that the first man watching your son was a member of the Sinner’s MC. He went by the road name of Creeper but this changed from visit to visit as never the same man watched him but the another man wore no cut so we weren’t exactly sure who he was. The second man we were able to determine went by the road name Flash. He too, had recently left the Lost Sinner’s MC. When we found that Daniel knew him, we kept an eye out but weren’t truly worried about him.
Ivan nodded as he continued the story, “Then Bandit came to us and offered us a deal, he and his MC would do runs to and from Mexico if we were looking for someone. We really had no interest in that sort of thing as our time is usually spent tied up in the underground MMA fights we promote.”
Harry interjected, “But we heard from rumors around town that he’s been your go to boy for about four years now.”
“We’ve heard the same thing but if he’s dealing with Russians, it isn’t us.” Leonid shook his head.
“Then why are you here?” Silas asked. “If it isn’t you three, then why did you come here at this time?”
“Because we know who he is working for,” Ivan informed them. “We have taken note of who is in the club and who is not when Bandit comes to town. These men may be Russian but they are not Bratva and they are not associated with my group in the least. In fact, they have been banned from our organization altogether. But they are possibly more dangerous than Bandit gives them credit for. Bratva lives by a code of honor, these men do not. This group is more of a gang of thugs and they like to push people around. The fact they run guns and deal drugs is not news to us but the fact they do it at or near our club has not pleased us at all.”
“Does this gang have a name?” Cobra asked.
“They call themselves Vory V Zakone which translates as, ‘thieves-in-law’ and they have earned that title. They live on the fringe of society and plague the rest of us. They want the Bratva to recognize them but we never will.”
“Do they realize Bandit is cheating them?” Tate asked.
Leonid nodded. “Oh yes, they know and they have plans to extract every penny they have been cheated out of from him.”
“They might have to stand in line and take the leftovers.” Cobra snorted.
“The Vory V Zakone doesn’t wait in line.” Ivan sneered. “They very often push themselves to the front of the line.”
“Why did you come here?” Tate asked again.
“We came to make things clear to you and yours that the Russians, Bandit is working for is not the Bratva.” Ivan stared at Tate. “I think I should also warn you that the Vory V Zakone is watching the compound in Killeen as well. They may not know why but they know something is going on and if it means Bandit’s defeat then they will be there to pick his bones after the dust clears.”
“As long as they understand the deal they had going with him does not transfer to the new club once we get it back.” Creed made his stand.
Ivan nodded. “You may have to make that fact very clear to them.”
Pyotr turned to Daniel and held out his hand. When Daniel shook it Pyotr said, “It has been a pleasure working with you these past few years. I’m assuming now that you have your family back you will no longer be working for us anymore?”
Daniel shrugged. “Well, that depends on the outcome of the battle yet to come, but probably not. We’ll have to face the Sinner’s at some point.”
“Well, we just wanted to wish you good luck and warn you about the Vory V Zakone.” Ivan nodded at them.
Tate offered his hand and Ivan didn’t hesitate to take it as they shook hands.
While the three men got back into their limo and rode away, Cobra watched with a careful look in his eyes. He had a feeling these men were not finished with the MC. He didn’t know what they had in mind but there was something going on with them. He turned to Daniel and asked, “Can you trust these men?”
Daniel nodded. “I would trust them with my life. In fact, I think I have. I know this other group they mentioned. I’ve seen them hanging around the gym on fight night. Ivan has had them escorted out a few times so they don’t come inside anymore but they do their business just outside the gym grounds. The guards know enough to keep them off the property but these men know exactly what they can and cannot do. They enjoy breaking the rules and they like to push the boundaries whenever they can.”
“Do you really think these men are watching Bandit’s club?” Silas asked.
“Does it matter?” Cobra asked.
“Yeah, I think it just might,” Silas replied.
“What are you thinking old man?” Tate asked his father.
“How about the fact that they might watch us take down Bandit then move in to claim that we honor the deal they had with Bandit? And when we don’t, they just push their way in, like Ivan suggested they might do.”
“They can’t make us do something we don’t want to do,” Tate assured his dad.
“Can’t they?” Silas questioned. “Ivan told us they are living on the outside of society, they might think they can do anything they damn well please.”
“What are you saying Grandpa?” Creed stared at him.
“If they are watching, then let’s find them,” Silas suggested. “We don’t have to take them out, just get them out of our way until this is over. Then we’ll deal with their threat once we reclaim the MC.”
“Ok but that means we have to hunt them down before we go for the club,” Tate said. “How are we going to do that when Bandit is watching for us? He knows everyone who was in the MC.”
“He doesn’t know my men,” Cobra stated.
“And your men don’t know them either,” Daniel pointed out.
“But you do.” Cobra raised his brow at him. “You just point them out and my men will take them out of harm’s way, so to speak.”
Daniel looked over at his dad and grandpa, then he stared at Creed. “What do you guys think?”
Creed ran his hands over the top of his head. “It doesn’t sound like we have much of a choice do we?”
“No we really don’t,” Tate agreed. “We can’t take the risk of losing the element of surprise we got right now.”
“And we can’t just bust down the doors and be surprised by what’s on the other side.” Silas nodded.
Tate looked over at Silas. “You and I know exactly how to get in and out of the compound without Bandit even knowing we’re there.”
Silas grinned at his long lost son. “I was hoping you would remember that.”
“Dad, what the hell are you two talking about?” Creed, Jack, Daniel, and Harry all asked simultaneously.
“Your Granddad and I built the clubhouse back in the day.” Tate smiled at his sons. “We built it where we did because there’s a series of tunnels underneath it. But these tunnels are nature made, all we did was reinforce what nature gave us. Creed was just a baby when we found the tunnels. We kept that part of the clubhouse a secret in case we ever needed it one day. I doubt Bandit found out about the tunnels, so we should be able to use them to get inside without being seen.”
“How do you know Bandit didn’t find the tunnels?” Daniel asked.
Tate snorted. “Bandit isn’t the type to explore his own ass let alone the domain he stole. He’s a lazy bastard. Besides, the door to the tunnel is well enough hidden. He walks past it every day and probably never even knew it was there.”
“And this tunnel, where does it come out from?” Cobra asked.
Tate answered this, “Far enough outside the compound that you can get in and out without being seen.”
“And where do we hide the Russians until after the dust settles?” Creed wanted to know.
“At the ranch.” Silas nodded. “It’s not too far out of the way and there’s a special place I rigged up in case someone came out to visit again. It will hold about a dozen men if they squeeze in real tight.”
Tate grinned at his Dad. “You haven’t changed a bit you old devil.”
Silas shrugged as his grandsons all smiled at him.
“So when are we going to start this rodeo?” Cobra asked.
“I think we should take out the Russians just after dark and then allow Bandit to wake up to a whole new regime change.” Tate grinned. “We still have the element of surprise. So why not make it one he’ll never forget?”
“I agree.” Cobra nodded. “If you wait any longer, he might find out you’re here.”
Tate turned to Daniel and asked, “How many of these thieves are likely to be watching the compound?”
“The whole group is only about a dozen men, maybe fifteen,” Daniel explained. “So, maybe as many as seven or eight? I know they would have enough men on site to be able to confirm or deny the battle took place. They would need that many all ready to ride in after the battle.”
“Do you know where these people hail from?” Cobra asked.
“They come from a small town called Seymour,” Daniel replied. “Which is on the other side of Wichita Falls. That’s as close as they can get, the three men that just left here made sure of that. As you saw, the true Bratva men really hate the idea of having the gang hanging around. They’re proud of what they do and having those thieves around just sours their disposition. And that is never a good thing to do.”
Cobra snorted. “They don’t seem so tough.”
Daniel shook his head. “Any one of those men can break you into small pieces without breaking into a sweat. I’ve watched them train and their way of fighting is probably illegal but it gets the job done. People are lining up to take on any fighter who comes out of their gym. Ivan trains the fighters that come through the system they have. Leonid, he’s the coach and Pyotr trains only the elite fighters. All three of them are great fighters on their own and they train only the best. Every fight gets to be long, vicious and very bloody. The last man standing wins all and the prizes are in the 6 and 7 figures too. These guys fight but they always fight fair and according to the cage rules.”
“Well, at any rate…” Cobra looked around. “If we’re going to do this today, we should get moving, don’t ya think? We got a three and a half hour ride just to get there, then we gotta find these guys and get them out of the way so the rest of you can do your thing.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Ok, then we should get on the road,” Tate commented looking ready to fight. “We got a long way to go and a lot of ass kicking to do when we get there.”
“Damn straight, let me at em.” Thor looked happy at this prospect.
Cobra shook his head at his VP as he let a smile slip.
“Well, boys…” Silas looked around at his son and his grandsons. “Let’s get on the road to the Young ranch. We can go in the back way in case Bandit is watching the roads. I don’t want him to know we’re coming home.”
~*~
Three hours later, Silas pulled off the main road and drove down the service road. His truck wasn’t the only four wheel vehicle they had in their little convoy. Annie and Daniel were in their truck. Then there were the three dozen bikers. Creed, Tate, Jack, Harry, and Cobra stayed close to Silas’s truck and the closer they got to Temple, the tighter they flanked the vehicle.
When they got to Silas’ ranch, it was Lola who got out of the truck to open the gate and allowed everyone to drive onto Silas’s land. She got back in the truck and Tate waited until everyone entered before he closed the gate and drove on. Another ten minutes and they arrived at the farmhouse.
Tate got off his bike and looked around the property. The yard was mowed and the house was in pretty good shape. Looking to the back of the house, he could see the burnt out remains of where the barn once stood. He shook his head and looked over at his dad, “What happened to the barn?” he growled.
“Snake came around one day looking for Kimber,” Silas gave him a short answer.
Tate’s face clouded over. “I’m going to fuck that kid up something fierce.” He growled.
“Not yet boyo, not yet,” Silas warned him. “Remember, justice not revenge. After we get the club back, you can teach that bastard some manners but not until then.”
“I hear you old man, I hear you,” Tate grumbled and moved away, stomping up the front steps. He disappeared into the house.
Creed joined his grandfather. “What’s eating his hide?” Creed asked as he watched his father storm into the house.
“Snake burned down the barn and your dad didn’t want to be reminded of why.” Silas sighed.
Creed looked angry. “I can understand his frustration though, Gramps. Day after day of feeling helpless to change what wrongs were done, year after year, waiting for your chance to take back what they took.”
Silas nodded as he watched Cobra and a couple of his men walk up. “I know. The time will come. The time will come.”
“Where is this place you got set aside for the Russians?” Cobra asked. “It’s getting late enough and we should get this plan started.”
“Follow me boys.” Silas walked toward the back of the barn. When he got there, he pulled back a tarp and they found themselves looking at a wooden plank floor. He bent down and pulled up a trap door. Beneath it, they found themselves looking down into a dark pit.
“What’s down there?” Cobra’s VP, Thor asked.
“It was at one time part of the barn. I used it as a root cellar. There was a ladder and lights down there but the fire took care of all that. Now we can use a ladder and the trap door has a lock on it so once they are down there, they can’t get out.”
Cobra nodded. “It’s a good plan old man.” He rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Well boys, are you ready to party?”
“Let’s go kick some Russian ass.” Thor grinned.
Silas watched them motion to Daniel then he got into his truck and led the way. The four bikers followed and after a moment, the sounds of their engines died away. Silas turned toward the house. He hadn’t been here in a couple of years, not since Snake burned down the barn but a few of the boys had been here the whole time keeping it mowed, clean and running.
Silas, Kimber and Bear had gone underground for two years until Creed got out of prison but this ranch was his home and he was more than happy to be home again.
Going into the house, he found his family in the huge kitchen. “We haven’t talked about something that we really need to talk about,” he announced feeling good to finally see his clan in their home all at once.
“What’s that Dad?” Tate asked.
“Dan Murray. Bandit didn’t set up Creed alone, he had some help.”
Harry snorted. “Been listening to the people in Killeen. Dan has a strong influence on the citizens who live there. He’s gotten a taste of the power from his dealings with Bandit and he thinks he’s entitled now.”
“Getting too big for his britches huh?” Silas shook his head. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me at all?”
“Hell, he’s got half the police force working for him,” Harry told them. “Getting paid under the table has its own benefits.”
“Fuck,” Silas groaned. “Now, we got to call in the state police to mop up one of their own. Fuckin’ hell.”
“We could just shoot the fucker,” Creed suggested.
“No boy, we can’t.” Tate shook his head. “We need him to clear your name in the murder of that girl.”
“Dad, I served my time, let it go. I ain’t running for office, who the hell besides all of you really cares whether I’m innocent or not?” Creed grumbled.
“I care,” Lola spoke up from the doorway.
Creed looked up and found her looking back at him. He held out his hand and she came over to him. “Why do you care so much?” he whispered.
“You guys pride yourself on everything you do. Your honor means the world to you. This Dan Murray, Bandit and Snake took that away from you. I think you need to fight to right that wrong. They took so much from you, seven years of your freedom, six years of your dad’s life, and everything else you all held dear. If you just kill him, you’ll never be clear from the past. You will never find peace if you don’t fight for what you believe in. Your club is bigger than just this family. I’ve been watching you guys over the past few days and I’ve noticed something about you. You are more than just a family. There is so much more to this family than just a dad, a grandfather, your three brothers and your sister. All the men that came together today, they’re your family too. They believe in you as much as you do in them. Besides, these men need to answer to a higher power for what they’ve done. I think this woman they killed while framing you needs justice too. The wrong man went to jail for hurting her. That wrong needs to be righted.”
“What she said, big brother,” Kimber stated softly as she nodded.
Creed looked over and found her sitting on Bear’s lap. In her eyes, was the same conviction as in Lola’s gaze.
“She’s right son,” Tate agreed. “You need to fight for justice for Mickie Reese. She can’t speak for herself anymore so someone else has to do it for her.”
“We have all the evidence they tried to hide,” Harry offered. “After we take the club back, we can go to the real police and get your name cleared. You’ll be able to start your life over again.”
“Maybe you both can,” Annie offered as she looked at Lola. She had her laptop in her hands and she was following something online.
“What you got there baby?” Harry asked as he moved over to her.
She put the laptop on the table and turned it toward Lola and Creed. It was a news report from Port Arthur. Police cars with their lights flashing red and blue surrounded the club the Steele brothers owned as people came and went, some of them were in handcuffs. She watched as Lonnie and Trey were led out of the club with a police escort. A moment later, they led Ginger out in handcuffs as well.
A second scene popped up and it showed a bar on the other side of town. It was the bar Liam Stroughten owned. He was being taken out of the bar with his hands behind his back. Cursing and fighting as he was led out to the waiting police car.
Lola gasped when she saw a crowd flashing in the video and she noticed Hector Gratis standing at the edge of the crowd. There were two men standing beside him and she had an idea they were there for his safety and nothing else. “Oh, my god…” she whispered.
“At least that’s one problem taken care of,” Jack commented.
“Well, maybe the pressure is off for now.” Lola nodded at the laptop. “I don’t imagine this calm will last though.”
“At any rate, we all have a breather.” Jack nodded.
“A breather isn’t good enough.” Creed growled. “We have to make sure the threat to her is gone. That the truth comes out once and for all.”
Lola turned her head and smiled at him. “Why? I’m not running for public office either,” she reminded him of his own words a few minutes ago with a smile on her face.
Creed sighed and closed his eyes. “Ok, I get it,” he grumbled.
Lola laid her forehead on his. “But your brother is right. We can count this as a breather. Hector or whoever he really is… is safe and the Steele brothers, Liam and Ginger are all going to jail. That will give us time for you guys to take back the club.”
~*~
About an hour later, Daniel’s truck turned into the driveway. He drove all the way back to the barn.
Tate, Silas and Creed rushed out to meet him as he threw back the tarp over the truck bed.
Five men were laid out in the back. All five had their hands tied behind their backs and they were out cold.
“Are there any more coming?” Tate asked his son.
“Yeah pops, there are two more waiting to be picked up. Ivan was right. They were watching the compound.” He nodded at the men. “I’m dropping these guys off and going back to get the rest of them.”
Silas reached into his back pocket and grabbed his wallet. Handing his grandson a huge wad of money he told him, “Stop at the grocery store on your way back and pick up some food. Well, a lot of food. We got a lot of mouths to feed. Or we will have when this is over.”
“How about I stop at the liquor store instead?” Daniel suggested.
Silas shook his head. “No drinking until this is over boy. We need clear heads if we’re going to do this.”
“Yeah, yeah Grandpa, I hear ya,” Daniel grumbled.
Creed and Tate began dumping the men out of the back of the truck.
Silas got the ladder out then Creed hoisted one man on his shoulder and climbed down into the pit then pushed him into the darkness. He went up again and got one after another from his dad’s grasp until they’d dumped all five men into the pit. He climbed out one final time then dropped the trap door down and locked it. “That ought to hold them.” He grinned at his family standing around in the barn.
“I’ll be back with the others,” Daniel promised as he took off again.
Silas and the rest of his brothers went back toward the house.
“So, are you okay?” Creed asked his dad.
Tate looked away as he answered, “As okay as any man locked up for six years.”
Creed sighed. “Then we both have the same haunt.”
Tate looked over at his son. “Your gramps is right about one thing, though.”
Creed cracked a smile. “Best not let him hear that. He thinks he’s always right.”
Tate smiled too. “Yeah, but he was on target about the difference between justice and revenge. We both yearn to kill these men who locked us up. But then we’d be that same animal as they are. Nothing but laughing hyenas in a blood lusted haze.”
Both men stood together, a father and his son as they’d experienced nearly the same nightmare for all these years.
“So now what?” Creed asked his father while breaking the comfortable silence.
“Now, we wait until things settle down for the night,” Tate replied. “We wait to catch them with their pants down. The element of surprise, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Creed closed his eyes as if he could see the club compound from where he was standing. “I remember,” he repeated. “I remember everything.”
