Chaos Conquers All (2 page)

“We followed Black to a meet on the wharf. He met some guy there who worked for Bridges. We were spotted. Tex created a diversion and I managed to get a bead on this new guy. He led me to The Mint Casino in the city. We bailed up Slick for information and turns out this guy works for Marcus Cole, the owner of the casino,” Trace explained.

Tex studied the faces of the men around him and all of them looked confused. There was only one person who didn’t react to the information Trace shared and that was Nikki. He watched her closely as Trace continued to speak.

“We don’t know who this guy is. He is flying seriously low under the radar which tells us the guy is far from legit. Maybe the guy is Bridges? Maybe he just works for him? Either way we need to find out,” Trace stated.

Nikki remained still and if it wasn’t for hands white knuckling the arms of her chair he would’ve thought she was totally unaffected by the information they’d just shared.

“Case and Rock you take some guys and watch that place. See if you can get a bead on this guy. We gotta deal with the chairman first and then we’ll figure out how to get hold of this Marcus Cole,” King commanded.

“There is one order of business I think we need to cover before we head out to this meet. We need a new man-at-arms," King declared.

King held Reaper’s jacket in his hand as he stood at the head of the table. He took the knife from his belt and cut off the man-at-arms patch.

“Normally we don’t do shit this way but time is of the essence. So I want nominations,” King called and the room went instantly silent.

"I nominate Ace," Rock's words echoed around them.

Tex nearly fell off his chair with shock. Not twenty four hours ago, Rock had been insinuating that Nikki was somehow wound up in this bullshit with Reaper and now he was nominating her for her father’s spot. The turnaround was swifter than a bullet from Reaper’s gun. He felt a ripple of emotion run through the group. There was no way Ace was getting that spot, not because she couldn’t do it or because she didn’t deserve it but because his father would not allow it.

"I second the motion," King stated calmly and Tex nearly fell off his chair for a second time.

"You can't be serious?" Trace jumped straight in with his protest.

Tex eyed Nikki wondering what she was thinking. Her eyes were locked on that little piece of embroidered material sitting in his father's hand. Her body was extremely tense but her breathing was calm.

"She got the drop on Reaper didn't she? She can clearly handle the hard jobs. Ace has got the skills and she's already proven she's got the balls for it," Case weighed in on the subject.

The more Tex thought about it the more it made sense. She was perfect for the role. She'd inherited Reaper's eagle eye, quick reflexes and, judging by her recent actions, his dark thirst for revenge. Besides Trace, there wasn’t anyone he would trust more with his own life, with his father’s life or with the lives of his brothers.

"I third the motion," he said quietly.

Trace's feral gaze came his way. His eyes were alight with anger and Tex knew if they weren't in the presence of this group of men Trace would've punched him good and solid in the face. He could understand that. Trace was thinking the further Nikki went down that path the more chance they had of losing her. Tex was beginning to realise that was wrong. That dark thirst she had needed sating and if they were going to hold on to her then they had to provide her with that. He wasn't about to start tying her up and whipping her and he knew Trace was most definitely incapable of doing that to her. This was the only option left.

"The motion is valid. Let’s vote it. All in favour?"

The ayes went up around the group in quick succession until it got to Trace. His body vibrated with fierce anger, his hands were balled into fists and his jaw was clenched tight. Trace had started this. Tex was sure his intention was never for Nikki to end up the club’s man-at-arms but he had wanted her to become further entrenched in the club.

Trace stared at Nikki as he eventually answered through clenched teeth, "Aye."

"The ayes have it. What do ya say Ace?" King waved his hand in front of her.

She picked up the patch and held it tightly in her fist, "I say we get this meet done and then we hunt down these bastards and kill them all."

The conviction in her voice lit a fire in him. He knew this was the right choice. That between them they would defeat their enemy and all would be right in the world.

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Nikki’s father had manipulated her and betrayed her but it was Cole's deceit that made her reach for those three little words. She glanced down at the little patch she’d just finished hastily sewing onto her cut. Yeah, she wanted that title and the power that went with it, the power to destroy everything Bridges is and Cole was. He would pay for his treachery.

She slung the cut back on and took a quick glance in her bedroom mirror. She looked the part and sure as hell she could play the part. She opened the door of her clubhouse bedroom to find Trace standing there. She had known this was coming but still she didn’t want to hear it.

Nikki pushed passed him into the hallway as she spoke, “What’s up Trace?”

“With everything that’s going on are you sure you wanna do this, Baby Girl?” he asked softly.

He was going to try and talk her into backing out of her new position.

“It’s done,” she dismissed his efforts as she headed out of the clubhouse.

“C’mon Nikki, this is all wrong,” he pleaded.

“Wrong?” She whirled around to face him as she hissed the question. “You want to talk about wrong? Wrong is the way shit went down between us. Wrong is the way Sheila died. Wrong is the way Reaper betrayed the club. Wrong is the two dead prospects. Wrong is Rat’s sliced up body dumped in the dirt on our fucking doorstep. That is what’s wrong. For the first time since this whole shit storm started something is right. This,” she pointed to her man-at-arms patch, “is right and no one, you included, is going to change that.”

She felt the wave of anger that rolled off Trace. She knew he was angry about her nomination but she had never seen him this irate. The last thing they needed at the meet tonight was for the Chairman to feel this angry tension.

“Now we have shit to do so you either get your head in the game or you stay here and I’ll bring Rock or Case instead. Got it?”

He gave a lift of his chin, “Yeah Ace, I got it.”

The distance in his tone caught her off guard. He had never used that tone with her.

“C’mon you two, we gotta go,” King yelled out across the forecourt.

She suddenly wished she had more time to talk to him. Time was a luxury none of them had right now. She refocused on the night ahead of them. She’d have to deal with Trace later.

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Tex had watched the little exchange between Trace and Nikki. It hadn’t gone well and Trace had given him some serious daggers as he stormed passed him to his bike. The brother was sporting some serious anger and he just hoped Trace could keep his head at the meet tonight. They were already going into the meet with a new man-at-arms and a woman no less. Not that Ace couldn’t handle the job, it was just perceptions being what they were. They were already looking weak and they didn’t need to add to that.

They pulled into the parking lot of an old bar not too far from their loading dock. The place was dirty and for the most part deserted. It would seem the workers were mostly avoiding the pub tonight. Coincidence? Tex doubted it. There was one man on the door but that was it. Apparently the Chairman didn’t think he needed much protection. Arrogance was the downfall of many a man.

They were ushered into the building by the doorman. The hazy interior smelled like cigar smoke and whisky, making Tex want to shake his head. These guys always tried too hard to make an impression. Tex had no respect for pretenders but these guys paid the club’s wages and money talked. Jameson, their broker, approached them, his face a mask of inscrutability. Tex didn’t have to read signals from the guy to know they were in trouble. After all, you don’t get called to the principal’s office for nothing.

“King,” Jameson greeted him shortly.

He turned an eye on each of them but it was Nikki who he scrutinised most.

“You remember Ace right Jameson?” Tex asked, breaking the man’s intense inspection.

“Yeah I remember,” he replied tersely and led them to the table at the back of the practically empty bar.

“Aaaahhh, King please have a seat,” the Chairman drawled in his over exaggerated southern accent gesturing to the two empty seats at the table.

The man was overweight with greedy eyes and even greedier fingers. He too eyed Nikki, only he eyed her like a John eyes a whore and it made Tex want to stab the man in the eyeball. Nikki on the other hand seemed unaffected by the man’s attention.

“Did you bring me a little present?” the Chairman asked, his beady eyes still firmly fixed on Nikki.

“Sadly, no we did not,” King replied.

“Then perhaps she’s for my men?” the Chairman suggested.

“That would be a no. She is not a part of our wares,” King stated firmly.

“Then why may I ask is there a woman at my table?” the Chairman queried.

“Because Ace is a patched member of our club,” Tex interjected.

The Chairman raised his eyebrows at Nikki.

“Ace as in Reaper’s daughter?” the man asked with surprise.

“Yes Sir,” Tex replied for her.

“And is that your father’s title I see on your vest?”

It was then that Nikki lifted her eyes to the Chairman and the man bristled. Whatever he saw there it clearly made the man uncomfortable. Tex looked at Nikki and saw the destruction in her eyes for himself. She was giving the Chairman a dark look that would make any man shrivel and the Chairman was less man than a Unic. Tex would’ve felt sorry for him if he wasn’t such a pathetic slug.

“Yes well. Where is Reaper and why is she wearing his title?” the Chairman said as he turned his attention back to King and Tex.

“Let’s just say Reaper and the club had a difference of opinion and we were forced to part ways,” King explained.

“And yet you have his daughter as your new man-at-arms?”

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Nikki could not stand there in silence any longer while this fat pig continued to talk shit.

“That traitorous dog had no children and I have no father. The club is my family and I would die and kill for them,” Nikki spoke her voice filled with menace.

The pointed way in which she said the word kill did not escape the Chairman’s attention.

“I see,” the man’s tone was filled with displeasure at her having spoken out of turn, “Now isn’t that interesting.”

The man was an overweight inbred moron with delusions of grandeur. If he thought at any point that he intimidated her, he was sadly mistaken.

“Speaking of which, it would appear that Reaper is not your only issue at present,” the Chairman moved back to his matter-of-fact business mode and turned his attention to King, “I’ve heard that there has been some attacks on the shipments.”

“We have had a small issue but nothing that we haven’t been able to handle,” King explained.

Nikki went back to discretely surveying the bar. Something besides all the shit going on in her life was putting her on edge.

“So far. What are you doing to stamp out the problem?” the Chairman questioned King.

She was sure that was the third time the bartender had picked up that same glass and dried it.

“We have a bead on the troublemaker and should have the problem under control soon,” King replied.

The bartender was constantly watching the door out of the corner of his eye

“Well for your sake I hope it’s sooner rather than later,” the chairman drawled.

The door to the bar opened slowly but that wasn’t what set Nikki off. It was the barman reaching under the bar. Any other person watching the scene may have thought he was reaching for his weapon to protect the occupants of the bar but Nikki noticed the barman’s eyes weren’t on the door where the potential threat was coming from. Instead his eyes were on them. Nikki drew her Glock from the holster under her arm pointed and fired in one swift smooth move. One round went straight through the bartender’s chest as his shotgun appeared above the surface of the bar. The man fell and all hell broke loose around them.

Bullets began flying across the space. She stepped around the table and fired towards the door as Tex and Trace pulled their weapons and fired alongside her. A body fell into the room. The wooden door splintered from all the bullets flying through the air. Nikki heard shouts outside and the back door flew open. Nikki pulled her other gun from the holster and swung it in that direction firing on the new threat. The Chairman’s men turned their weapons that way as well. The boys flipped over some tables creating some cover from the shooters. Bodies dropped to the floor as their attackers charged into the space.