Asher: Heartless Devils MC (15 page)

“Yeah. I guess I have. Funny how that works when you don’t do
shit
to avenge my mother, your wife. But then, I guess you care more about your precious club than either one of us.”

“That’s not true, and you know it,” John said more calmly. “Tell me where you are. Asher is going to have to answer for what he has done. The club voted and he has given us no choice. But you…we can talk about Melissa. Just tell me where you are.”

“We need to go!” Asher hissed, starting his bike. “They’re stalling for time!”

“Asher’s with me. We’re going to do what you can’t, or won’t. Goodbye, Daddy. I still love you, but this is something I have to do,” she said before punching the button to kill the call.

Chapter 12

Asher rolled over and reached for the soft warmness that should have been there, but wasn’t. He opened his eyes, looking around in the gloom of room. They were holed up in an out-of-the-way place in Little Haiti. The motel was clean, small, inexpensive, and, most importantly, in Trifecta territory. Miami was a big place and it would take John’s contacts a while to track them down here.

Jenny was sitting in a chair, staring at him, her legs drawn up in front of her with her arms wrapped around them. His shirt swallowed her, but she looked ravishing anyway. Rumpled and relaxed with that well-fucked look.

“You okay?” he asked, propping up on an elbow.

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep.”

Asher smiled. She had crashed fine last night after they had gone extra innings in a little bedroom baseball, Jenny handling his bat and balls with skill. “Nothing wrong?”

“No. Well, yes, a little. I’m worried about what I’ve done. I’ve come between you and Dad. I never meant to do that.”

Asher patted the bed beside him. When Jenny joined him, he wrapped her up, spooning in tight. “What’s done is done. Don’t worry about it. If I hadn’t wanted this, I wouldn’t have done it. I can understand what John is doing, but I can’t say I agree completely with it. Being careful is one thing, but there is such a thing as being too careful. Melissa was like a mom to me. I want to get the fucker that killed her.”

“Okay, that’s just creepy,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Last night I had the shit fucked out of me by my brother.”

Asher snickered into her neck as he kissed her. “How about this morning?”

“Mmmm… maybe.” Jenny rolled over to face him. “But the club?”

“We’re brothers. We’ll get past it. John is so twisted up inside he isn’t thinking straight. He’s afraid of letting his anger cloud his judgment, so he is overcompensating. If I take out Hamasaki, I will be doing him a favor. He will be able to start thinking clearly again.”

“But will he forgive you for going against him?”

“Probably. But if he doesn’t, it is still for the good of the club. The rest of the brothers will see that. We’ll heal, Jenny. We always do.”

“So what are we waiting for?”

“John is right about one thing. We don’t want to start a club war. We have to be sure we know our targets, and what will happen when we take the target out. Will it bring the thunder? Can we handle it? There are still a lot of questions to be answered before we start killing people. This isn’t the movies, Jenny. Killing someone is bad shit. You need to be sure. You saw Thomas yesterday. If we had hurt one of his guys, the shit would have really hit the fan. There are rules about these things.”

She nodded slowly. “I get that. But eventually we will take out the men that killed my mother?”

“Count on it.”

Jenny stared into Asher’s face, searching it for the truth, and she could see his conviction. “Then let’s be sure.”

Asher smiled and as her lips opened in invitation, he leaned in and met her halfway. As their lips touched and their tongues began their intimate dance, Asher knew where they were going and what they were going to do… and he was looking forward to the trip.

Asher stepped back from the door, opening it for Nakagawa. “Thomas, what can I do for you? How did you find us?” Asher asked as he tucked his gun back out of sight.

“Nothing happens in my territory that I don’t know about,” Thomas said as he entered the room. “Hamasaki paid me a visit last night. He knows it was the HDs that hit the warehouse yesterday. We didn’t tell him, but I had to confirm that it was you. Sorry, man. We have to stay clean with all of this or he is going to cut us out.”

“No worries,” Asher replied, motioning to the rumpled bed for Thomas to sit. “I would have done the same.”

Thomas glanced at the bed, but remained standing. “I reached out to the Buccaneers and the
Demonios. I heard back from the Bucs, but not from the Demonios.”

“And?” Jenny prompted when he didn’t continue.

“Hampton said they had been approached, but he wouldn’t give me any details.”

“
Son-
of-a-bitch!” Asher snarled. “Do you suppose the Demonios are in on it, too?”

“Beats the hell out of me. You never know what those fucks are likely to do.”

Asher picked up his phone. The battery was nearly dead, but it should have had enough juice for a quick call. He and Jenny were going to have to get their shit together, and soon.
“Do you have Hampton’s number?”

Thomas spent a moment flipping through his recent calls, then read off the number.

“What is his first name?” Asher asked as the phone began to ring.

“Will.”

“Will Hampton? President of the Buccaneers?” Asher asked before putting his phone on speaker and setting it on the table.

“That’s right. Who is this?”

“This is Asher Lowe with the Heartless Devils.”

“What do you want, Asher?”

“We need to meet. I’m here with Thomas Nakagawa and there is some heavy shit going down with Hamasaki that you need to hear.”

“So tell me,” the voice on the phone said.

“No. I need to talk to you in person.”

There was a quiet moment. “Where?”

Asher thought a moment and then decided why not right where they were? “Shalimar Motel on Biscayne. Room 212.”

“If you’re setting me up…”

“No games, Will. This is something that affects all our clubs. Trust me, you will want to hear this.”

“Will… this is Thomas Nakagawa. This is some serious shit. You are coming into my territory and I give you my guarantee of safe passage. I will have a couple of my guys meet you at the border. Don’t start anything and they will lead you to us. With them running as escort, nobody will bother you. After the meeting, you can leave, or we can escort you out. Fair enough?”

Will was quiet for another moment. “Give me an hour.”

“We’ll be here,” Asher said and killed the call. “Looks like we have an hour. Where can I go to get an iPhone charger?”

Thomas, Jenny, and Asher heard the shriek of high performance motorcycles pulling up outside the motel and then, moments later, a sharp rap on their door. Thomas and Asher stood to either side of the door, weapons in hand but pointed down, as Jenny opened the door. Outside was a man wearing a full suit of leathers in a riot of red and white. Matching boots, a full-face helmet, and sunglasses completed his look. Two other men, dressed similarly, though no two of the leathers were of exactly the same style, flanked him. The full dress leathers didn’t hide the fact that all three were damn good looking guys.

“I’m Will Hampton. I’m to meet Asher Lowe and Thomas Nakagawa here,” the man said, his voice a pleasant baritone.

Asher stepped out from behind the door, sliding his weapon out of sight. “Looks like the squids are here,” he said with a slight smile.

“Fuck you, Asher, you greasy pig rider,” Will said, stepping into the room. “Wait outside,” he said over his shoulder to the other two men.

Jenny shut the door then took a seat. She was in this up to her ass, but what she had learned was she wasn’t even noticed when guys were talking club business.

“That your old lady?” Will asked with a nod at Jenny.

“Yeah. She’s cool.”

“Why are we meeting here? HDs bunking in Trifecta territory? What’s up with that?” Will asked as he sat his helmet on the table.

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Thomas chimed in.

Asher grimaced. “I’m rogue.”

Thomas and Will glanced at each other. “So you don’t speak for the HDs?”

Asher made another face. “No. Not at the moment. But if we put the deal together, I will bring it to John.”

“Fuck. This was a waste of time,” Will said turning back to the door and picking up his helmet.

“Wait!” Jenny said. “Look, I know Asher is having trouble with the club right now, but John Carter is my father. Put the deal together and I’ll make sure it get done. He trusted Asher once, and he will trust him again. Plus with me pushing it…” She paused, giving them a chance to think it over. “Look… my father is having a tough time right now. He lost his wife and he doesn’t want to make a mistake. He’s paralyzed by the desire to protect all he had done for the clubs in Miami. He’s too close. He needs this deal, even if he doesn’t know it right now.”

“Will, you told Thomas you had been approached by Hamasaki. So has Thomas. Tell him what Hamasaki told you,” Asher said, looking at Thomas.

“He offered me a deal. He was going to bring in drugs and force you out. I agreed to help.”

“Now tell him what he was really doing,” Asher prompted again.

“I gave Asher the location for the drugs. Except it wasn’t drugs he was bringing in; it was guns. He was fucking me. I’m betting he is fucking you, too.”

Will stared at Thomas a minute. “What’s your role in this?” he asked Asher.

“He put the hit on John’s wife and then tried to do the same to her,” he said with a nod at Jenny. “I think he is trying to play the clubs against each other. After we get done mauling each other, he steps in and cleans up.”

“I thought she slipped and fell,” Will said.

“No. That’s not what happened. Some of the neighbors saw some guys hanging around. It was supposed to look like the Trifectas made the hit, but John didn’t follow the plan to start a war with Thomas.”

Will looked between Asher and Thomas. “A couple of months ago, Hamasaki came to us. He wanted to bring in guns and push the Trifectas out, and we were going to get a piece of it. I don’t see the problem. Sounds like that is what he is doing.”

“Yeah,” Thomas said, his voice cool. “Except he
is
bringing in drugs. We’ve been helping him move it. He brought in over two hundred keys of heroin last week. So you are getting fucked just as hard as the rest of us. Maybe harder.”

Will’s face went hard. “Have any proof?”

“With me? No.” Thomas said. “I can get it if you need to see it.”

Will thought a moment. “No. I wondered why he needed us if he already has his own muscle. So he is playing us against each other, huh? What about the Demonios? They mixed up in this shit, too?”

“Don’t know,” Thomas said. You know how they are, always stirring up shit. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even have to offer them a deal.”

“I think we should assume they are,” Asher said. “We know he is trying to pull strings in the Trifectas and you. He is trying to suck us into starting a war. Why wouldn’t he go for the number three club in Miami. I would if I were in his shoes. Thomas and I have agreed to deal with Hamasaki together.”

The three men stared at each other a moment. “Okay, I’m in,” Will said. “I don’t like getting fucked without being kissed first. What are you two working on?”

“We’re still in the information-gathering stage,” Asher said. “We’re going to have to be careful. Hamasaki obviously has a lot of resources. The last thing we want to do is to walk into a buzz saw.”

“And you think you can bring the HDs in?” Will asked Asher.

“Yes. We will be behind the agreement before we move. You have my word. Good enough?”

“I will
make
my Dad see,” Jenny chimed in.