Tawny hissed an angry obscenity at him, but one of the other women tried to cover it by telling her to shut up. The man holding Tawny shook her like a rag doll.
Czar was so furious he simply looked up, whistled and did a low circle with his finger, indicating all of Torpedo Ink get on their bikes. Immediately, the club members complied with their president’s order, all of them returning to their motorcycles with the exception of Reaper, Ice and Storm.
“This is bullshit, and insulting,” Czar snapped, never once raising his voice, but his gaze flicked to Pierce briefly, then returned to center on Plank. “We gave you every respect, and to have a piece of trash like Tawny—and I don’t particularly give a fuck if she is riding on the back of your enforcer’s bike—attack one of my people is pure bullshit. He can’t control that shit, he isn’t where he should be. We’re gone. You have a problem with that, you let me know.”
He looked directly at Plank. “If this was a fuckin’ setup, you hopin’ my girls would fight so you’d have an excuse for a war, they’re too good for that shit. And just so you know, you would have been the first to die. We fuckin’ had you covered all the way, and you should have known that.”
He turned on the heel of his boot and started for his bike. Reaper didn’t move a muscle. Neither did Ice or Storm. They formed a line between Czar and the Diamondbacks. Each wore a grim face, one that said clearly that they were willing to die, but they’d take everyone with them.
“Pierce, that damn bitch is always causin’ trouble. What the fuck was she doing here? None of them should have been here. She just lost us one of the best support clubs we’ve got.” Plank hissed his displeasure, flicking his gaze at the group of women.
Tawny’s face had gone from white to so pale she looked like a ghost. She made a move toward the car, but three of the Diamondbacks cut her off.
“I have no idea how they found out about the meet, Plank, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. That’s Judge’s old lady.” Pierce glanced over his shoulder at the Diamondback behind him. “Tawny’s got a mouth on her. She’s never been on the back of my bike. I let her blow me, but I never talked about this meet to her.”
“You fuckin’ couldn’t keep it in your pants until we had this deal in the bag?” Plank turned away in disgust. “I want to know how she found out. And she’s banned. The rest are disciplined hard. I don’t care if they’re someone’s old lady, they had no fuckin’ business being here. Find out who let them come and why. I want a report. This was club business. Bitches weren’t welcome.”
Plank stormed back into the bar. Reaper, Ice and Storm made their way back to their bikes, all three eyeing Pierce. Storm gestured toward him, giving him the finger. Ice stared at him for a long time. He’d promised the man if he hurt Alena in any way, he’d kill him, and he meant it. He saluted and backed all the way to his bike. The three took off.
Savage waited until they were all the way down the road before he secured his rifle and slipped it into his carrying bag. He’d been so tempted to end Pierce, but Czar would never give the go-ahead until a sufficient amount of time had passed. Only when no one would remember, when there would be no associating his death with Alena or Torpedo Ink, would he give them a green light.
Savage’s bike was parked up the road from the bar, deep in the shadows of the trees. He was making his way toward the bar, sliding up onto the roof, when a smaller shadow joined him. He closed his eyes. “Not a smart move, babe.”
Eavesdropping on the Diamondbacks was a risky business under any conditions. Alena listening in when she was highly emotional, even though she was a professional, might be courting disaster.
She gave him one emotion-laden look and, using toes and fingers, slid her body closer to the vent. The two of them entered the attic, which was open-beamed in several places, giving them both sight and audio to the small group gathered below.
Plank was still furious, pacing back and forth. “I want that bitch gone, Pierce. She’s been trouble since the day she came. She’s split up two families, and she’s trying to get my wife to think I’ve been with her, which is never going to happen. After the run, I want you to take care of that permanently, Pierce. You have a problem with that?”
“None at all.”
“What about you, Judge?” Plank spun around to confront his second-in-command. “I believe your old lady is her friend.”
Judge held up both hands. “Not anymore. That bitch stepped way over the line, and Theresa knows it. She tried to stop her. She already knows she never should have been here tonight. Tawny has way too much influence over all the women. I’m good with getting rid of her.”