Blacktop Freedom (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 7) Read online

  “I don’t think those bikers are the ones we are going to be dealing with. These guys aren’t called the Kings of Vengeance for nothing.”

  I shrugged and headed in the direction of the clubhouse. Based on the rumors about the meaning behind the name, I had to believe that the Kings of Vengeance weren’t your average bikers breaking laws and being dumbasses.

  We pulled into the parking lot of the clubhouse, and I parked right in front of the door.

  “We just flying by the seat of our pants on this one?” Clint asked.

  I instinctively checked my gun on my hip and reached into the back seat for a manilla envelope. “Try to follow my lead. We’re just looking for information, not trying to piss these guys off.”

  “Pretty sure two cops walking into a motorcycle club is a recipe to pissing these guys off,” Clint mumbled under his breath.

  We both got out of the car, and I looked up at the clubhouse.

  Not even a year ago, this place was abandoned and on the verge of falling over. Now it was more than structurally sound, and you couldn’t even tell that it was a manufacturing plant before. It almost looked inviting. Large ceramic crocks that had a motorcycle stenciled on them and two big benches sat on either side of the door.

  “You think it was Quinn or one of the other guys who painted the cute little motorcycles?” Clint laughed.

  “As much as I would like to picture Quinn painting, I’m going to assume it was one of the girls.”

  Clint shrugged. “I’m calling Quinn painted them.”

  The door opened and Dyno stood there. “Well, well. If it isn’t our friendly neighborhood detective.” He glanced at Clint. “And her dopey sidekick.”

  Clint growled. “Excuse me?”

  “You fart?” Dyno scoffed.

  I wasn’t even in the clubhouse yet and I was ready to leave. This was exactly what I was afraid of by coming here. The club was going to either play us, patronize us, or outright tell us to get lost. “You guys got some time to talk?” I asked.

  “I don’t really think we have anything in common to talk about.” Dyno folded his arms over his chest.

  “I think we do.”

  “Let her in,” Quinn called from behind Dyno.

  Dyno shrugged and stepped to the side. He swung out his arm and smiled. “Come on in, Detective.”

  I stepped past Dyno and Clint followed behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught Dyno lean toward Clint and clip him with his shoulder.

  I knew the Kings weren’t a fan of cops, but for some reason, Dyno really didn’t like Clint.

  “Hey!” Deedra called. She had a large box in front of her and some scissors in her hand. “You’re just in time to see the new patio furniture I ordered.”

  Clint scoffed and stood next to me. “Thank God we got here when we did. This place is just a den of crime.”

  I had to admit, this was not the scene I thought we were going to walk into. I knew most of the guys had ol’ ladies, but from where I stood, it was like we stepped into someone’s living room and not a motorcycle club.

  “Dee,” Point called. “I told you we would work on the furniture later.”

  Deedra snipped the scissors in the air and grinned. “Later is now, and I don’t need your help. Go do your biker thingy and leave this to me.” She crouched down and ran the blade of the scissors along the tape on the box.

  “Yeah,” Kimber called from the couch. “Leave the assembly to the women and go sit around your table.”

  Quinn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes opened, and they connected with mine. “Follow me. We’ll leave the women to their playing.”

  Kimber’s head slowly turned, and she squinted. “Playing?” she whispered.

  Quinn ignored her and led the way down a hallway and turned into a large room with a table in the middle. More than ten chairs gathered around it, and Jax was sitting in one of them. I knew I was going to see him again, but like always, he took my breath away for a second.

  While I hated that his road name was Brick, it completely made sense.

  Before going to prison, he was muscular and large, but the five years in the clink had done nothing but add more bulk and strength to his tall frame.

  “You always were a woman of your word,” Jax growled.

  Quinn moved to the chair at the head of the table and motioned for Clint and me to sit down opposite of Jax. The rest of the club filled into the room, and one of the guys closed the door.

  Was this the safest thing I had ever done? No. Could this go south real fucking quick? Yes.

  Clint tensed next to me, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

  We better get some information from these guys, or all of this was going to be a waste of our time.

  We sat at the table for a moment with no one talking.

  Quinn tapped his fingers on the table.

  Dyno smirked and stroked his hand over his chin.

  Jax. Well, Jax stared right at me.

  Those tan eyes burned right through me with a hint of hate shining in them.

  It had only been just over five years since we were together, but right now, it felt like a whole lifetime. It was like I didn’t even know the man looking at me. He was a stranger.

  “Are we trying to be telepathic or something?” Dyno asked. “If that’s the case, you can count me out.”

  I didn’t know where to start. What was the jumping off point that was going to work best for me? Quinn had to know I had brought Jax in for questioning last night. I just couldn’t gauge if they were all pissed off about that or not.

  “I was hoping we could talk about who could have possibly killed Joseph.” That could be my way of getting Quinn to talk about what he thought was going on with the drugs around town. Hopefully.

  “No idea.” Two words. Quinn was obviously not going to be an easy nut to crack.

  “You don’t have anyone in mind who might have a problem with Joseph?” I asked.

  “Isn’t that something you should know?” Point asked. “I mean, you are the police, right?”

  “Yeah,” Dyno agreed. “We’re just a bunch of guys who are in a motorcycle club.”

  That was what they wanted me to believe. I knew there was much more going on with the club than they were telling anyone.

  “Maybe whoever killed Joseph has something to do with the drugs that are back to flowing though the town since the Clarks were busted.” I would show my hand. Let them know what I knew. It wasn’t much, but I was hoping it would help to get them talking.

  “We don’t know who took over for the Clarks. Drugs aren’t what we do.” Quinn tapped his fingers on the table. “We’re into being legitimate.”

  “Legitimate with the old funeral home?” Clint asked. “We see you guys have been putting in a lot of work these past couple of weeks.”

  “Gotta put in the work in if you want something,” Quinn said simply.

  Jesus. We weren’t going to get anywhere at this rate. “Can we just cut through the bullshit and get down to what I want talk about?” I asked frankly.

  Jax smirked but didn’t say anything.

  “You can try, but I can’t guarantee that we are going to have the answers that you’re looking for.” Quinn nodded to me. “Hit us with it.”

  Well, here went everything. “For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been keeping tabs on people of interest around town.”

  “Jax is a person of interest?” Quinn asked.

  I cleared my throat. “Well, yes, him and other people.”

  “The club?” Dyno guess.

  “Yes, the club in general. Though there are people we are watching who aren’t connected to the club.” Maybe that would help the guys feel a little better about being followed.

  “So, you’re saying the police are being nosy bastards.” Zephyr chuckled. “Sounds like business as usual to me.”

  “Well, I think everyone has a differing opinion of what they think the police are doing.” As with most thin
gs, there were always going to be people who hated certain things no matter how right or wrong they were.

  “You wanna know what my opinion is?” Jax growled.

  I knew what’s Jax’s opinion of the police was without him even saying it. “I think I know.”

  Jax scoffed. “Hardly,” he said quietly.

  “You said you wanted to just cut to the fucking chase, Detective, so fucking get to it.” Quinn sat back in his chair. “I know it’s hard for you to believe, but we do have other things to do today besides talking to you.”

  “Why are you watching Steph?” I asked boldly. “I can’t understand why your club would be interested in watching her go to and from work and then sitting in her apartment all night.”

  Quinn glanced at Jax.

  Something was going on. I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell that they were deciding if they were going to keep it from me.

  Jax’s eyes connected with mine. “Maybe I’ve got a thing for her?”

  Clint let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah fucking right,” he scoffed. “If you’re gonna lie, can you at least please try to make it a tangible lie?”

  “He’s right,” I agreed. “She’s not your type.”

  Jax tipped his head to the side. “Because you know what my type is?”

  I did. Well, at least, I used to know what his type was. “Things change, but not something like that.”

  “So, if she’s not my type, then why do you think I was watching her?” Jax asked.

  Again, they were not going to give me anything without me having to drag every word out of them. “I don’t know. No one comes to see her, and she barely talks to anyone when she is out.”

  Jax glanced at Quinn.

  They both new I was fucking clueless. Now it was time to find out if they were going to throw me a fucking bone. This was a position I had not been in often since I had become a detective. Normally, I was the one who was calling the shots and knew what was about to go down.

  “Change of plans,” Jax said quietly.

  Dyno tensed next to Quinn, and you could feel the tension in the air.

  Quinn tipped his head to the side. “Change?” Quinn asked.

  Jax glanced at me. “One-eighty.”

  “Fucking hell,” Dyno mumbled. “This is not how this shit was supposed to go.”

  Clint leaned toward me. “Am I the only one who is clueless as fuck right now?” he whispered.

  Jax’s eyes focused on Clint. I could see the wheels in his mind trying to figure out if there was something more going on between Clint and me other than being partners.

  Jax may act like he didn’t care about me, but on some level, he did.

  The same could be said for me. I would tell you until I was blue in the face that Jax was firmly in my past, but catch me at the right time, and I would tell you different.

  Quinn pursed his lips and then nodded to Jax. “This is your deal. Play it how you want to.”

  “Play?” Clint called. “No one is playing anyone here,” he insisted.

  “You talk a lot,” Jax called.

  Dyno choked on a laugh. “Fuck,” he wheezed.

  Clint tensed next to me.

  I guess Dyno wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Clint too much.

  “Steph has a drug dealer.”

  Jax’s words surprised me. “What?”

  That was not at all what I thought he was going to say. Jax had watched Steph for the past several days; he knew that she had no one coming to see her, let alone a drug dealer. The girl was boring as watching paint dry.

  “Three times, she scored from a guy named Wrigley. Thankfully, she fucking woke up and realized that shit isn’t what she wants,” Zephyr explained. “Having my ol’ lady pissed at you is pretty motivating to not only me, but also her sister.”

  “Uh, then why the hell are you watching her?” I asked. “Are you making sure she doesn’t relapse or something?”

  It was all I could surmise. If that were the case, Jax couldn’t help me.

  “No. We all know if she does, Lynn and Zephyr will kick her ass,” Dyno laughed. “Lynn is badass.”

  Zephyr puffed out his chest proudly.

  “If this is you guys trying to explain to me why you are watching Steph, then you’re doing a horrible job.” Steph was clean so why were they watching her?

  “The guy Steph was getting her drugs from now works for the Devil’s Rebels.” Jax glanced at Quinn. “We’re getting rid of the Devil’s Rebels and all the drugs they are spreading around. We’re done with it.”

  “Uh, getting rid of?” Clint asked. “You maybe want to elaborate on what that exactly means?”

  Jax smirked. “I don’t think I need to elaborate anything to you, Barney Fief.”

  I didn’t need him to elaborate. “The Kings of Vengeance are going for vengeance.”

  “Won’t be the first time,” Point mumbled.

  Sledge smacked Point upside his head. “Did your mama drop you on your head when you were a baby?”

  Point rubbed the side of his head. “How in the hell would I know that? I was a baby.”

  Quinn closed his eyes.

  Dyno chuckled.

  “Why are you telling us this?” I asked. I mean, I wanted to know, but they were openly telling me, which didn’t make any sense considering what they’re admitting to.

  Jax sat back in his chair and laid his hand on the table. “I like where I’m sitting. I like the bed I sleep on every night. I like the family I inherited once I walked onto the other side of that fence.”

  “Then you might want to change your plans of being done with the Devil’s Rebels,” Clint scoffed. “I can guarantee you’ll be back to your cot and three meals a day within the month.”

  Jax shook his head and smiled. “I won’t, and none of these guys will ever see those walls again. None of us are going to prison because the police department of Whitmore is going to help us.”

  “You want to be our informants?” I asked. I did not see that coming at all. Though, that would be the way for the Kings to accomplish getting rid of the Devil’s Rebels.

  Jax shook his head. “We are no one’s informants. We’re gonna do your job since you can’t seem to do it, and you’re gonna be there to make sure none of us go to prison.”

  Core raised his hand. “Uh, can we get that in writing or something?”

  “What makes you think that we can’t do our job?” I asked.

  Quinn leaned close to Dyno and spoke quietly. Dyno chuckled and nodded his head. “You’re right, brother.”

  “What is happening?” Clint asked me.

  I shrugged. Hell, if I knew. Right now, I was still trying to process what Jax had just said.

  “You know who killed Joseph?” Jax asked.

  “Not yet, but we’re working on it.” We really had no clue. We figured it was someone connected to whoever took over the drugs in Whitmore, but we didn’t know who that was.

  “We can find out. We can hand deliver them to you as soon as we find them,” Jax promised.

  “How do you know you can do that?” I asked. “If they are part of a rival gang, it’s not like they are going to just walk out of their clubhouse with their hands up and walk right into the police station.”

  Jax shrugged. “No, they’re not going to be that easy, but we’ll get them.”

  “So why don’t you tell us how to get them, and then you won’t have to worry about going back to prison?” Clint asked.

  “I thought we were signing a piece of paper or something?” Core pinched his fingers together and motioned like he was signing his name in the air.

  Dyno grabbed a piece of paper in front of him and balled it up. “Sign this,” he grunted as he sailed it through the air right at Core’s head.

  “You gonna walk into the Devil’s Rebels clubhouse wearing your shiny badge and arrest them?” Jax asked Clint. “You must have a death wish or something.”

  “You ever heard of going undercover?” Clint
shot back.

  Jax’s eyes darted to me and then down at the table. “I think I’ve heard of that before,” he grunted.

  Undercover cops were who took Jax, and the drug ring he was involved with, down. Me included.

  “Are you guys in or out?” Quinn called. “This isn’t an offer that will sit on the table for long.”

  “You help us take down the Devil’s Rebels, and you get a free pass on anything illegal you do if it pertains to taking down the Devils?” I clarified.

  Quinn nodded his head. “Nothing we do will be held against us.”

  “Within reason,” I countered. “You can’t go walking into the Devil’s Rebels clubhouse with guns blazing and then expect to get away with it.”

  Rhino laughed. “We would never do something like that.” He nudged Point. “That sounds barbaric.”

  Point smiled and clicked his tongue. “That idea has never crossed our mind.”

  These sure were some sarcastic and cryptic guys. Something more was going on with their words, and I was more than eager to know what that was. There were rumors about how the club had gotten their name, but I had to think that they weren’t really rumors. Myself and the department just couldn’t prove anything against the Kings of Vengeance.

  “Are you in?” Quinn asked me.

  “What happens if I say no?”

  Did I want to strike a deal with Jax and his club? Not at all. I just wanted whatever information they had, but that obviously wasn’t on the table.

  Jax splayed his hands out in front of him. “Nothing.”

  That was a load of bullshit. I knew the Kings wanted vengeance against the Rebels. If I said no, vengeance would happen, but I wouldn’t know anything about it until it was over. At best, while it was happening and when I couldn’t do anything about it.

  “That’s funny,” Clint muttered. “Do you forget you just told us you want the Rebels gone?” he asked Jax. “We’re not going to forget something like that if bodies start popping up.”

  Quinn cocked his head to the side. “It’s cute that you think we’d be so sloppy as to just leave bodies lying around for the police to find.”