Long Ride The Slayers MC #3) by Tara Oakes Page A

than his old man and the one I prefer to do business with, and, finally, the third man Clink. He’s the equivalent of their version of what Chase is to us. He’s their Enforcer.
    If I had known these guys were coming I wouldn’t have sent Gryff off to chase down Tina until tomorrow. As my VP, he should be here just in case this shit turns ugly. But, not wanting to look like we’re under manned, I grabbed the first Slayer I could find and it happened to be Esè.
    This kid is really getting thrown into the thick of things quick for a newbie. No way in hell would he ever get close to a meeting like this until he’s paid his dues for a few years. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
    Right now, I need muscle to flank me.
    I know if things go sour that there’s a bar full of Slayers behind me that’ll be out here in less than a minute flat. But, let’s hope it don’t come to that. The last thing I need is a fucking fight in my lot. The cops would be swarming all over it and it’ll just be more eyes on me that I don’t need right now.
    No. I’m not raising any alarms by letting the rest of the guys know what’s going on out here. If they hear gunshots, then they’ll figure it out on their own and come running out guns blazing.
    “You boys lost?” I call out as we approach. “Chisolm’s just down that highway about two hours.”
    Vince straightens. “Thanks for the directions.”
    Smart ass.
    “What’re you doin’ here Vince? You know this shit can’t be tolerated. I don’t go play in your back yard, you don’t come play in mine,” I cut the pretense.
    Jay and Clink move to stand on either side of their President as we face off.
    “Seems your back yard’s been busy, Dawson. We’re hearing rumors,” Vince beats around the bush. “Thought it would be best to talk it out face to face and see what’s true. See what’s not.”
    Yeah… I’m sure he already knows everything he needs to. He’s only here to hear me confirm it, to give him all the reason he needs to make a move.
    “Well, you know what they say about rumors. Only believe about half of them,” I deflect. “I got your message about wanting a sit down. I also sent you a reply that now’s not really a good time. We got the council meeting coming up. Why waste a perfectly good opportunity to talk about this all on neutral ground? Sorry to cause you an unnecessary trip out here, but I think it’s best we wait ‘till the council meeting.”
    “Afraid that won’t work, Dawson. I’ve got some concerns. Concerns that won’t wait ‘till then. You’ve got some shit goin’ on here that is just waiting to spill over into Chisolm. That makes this my business, and I don’t just let my business sit and wait until I take care of it,” Vince is getting agitated.
    I need to scale this shit back. “Look. You got trouble every once in a while over there. Do I come runnin’ and whining every time I hear things? No. I let you take care of yours. The last time you boys had trouble over there, you came to us for help.”
    I remind Vince and his men of what went down a few months ago, of exactly how the Cartel even came into the picture. It was over in his territory, over in Chisolm, that the Cartel first made a move, looking for some new turf to sell their smack.
    The Kingsmen don’t tolerate drugs in their town and needed to chase the Cartel out. But, they knew they couldn’t do it alone. So… they came to us with their hand out, looking for help, convincing me that it was in my club’s best interest to help them eradicate the threat.
    And he had valid points back then.
    If the Cartel was successful in taking over Chisolm, it was only a matter of time until they branched out and found their way into Riverdale. Once that happened, it would have added a layer of competition to the market, a market we already have a monopoly on.
    So, the decision to help Vince and his men chase the Cartel out of Chisolm was a strategic business move on