Bash (Diablo Disciples MC #6)

TWENTY-FIVE

Bash

Leaving Charlotte so Bash could be Axel’s proxy in a meeting had been the hardest thing to do.

She could quickly build her walls again if he gave her too much space to think.

No way was he giving up the woman of his dreams and the best sex ever.

Charlotte was gasoline on his fire.

The breath in his lungs.

Every thought he had lately centered on owning her and getting her hooked on him.

Charlotte had been such a shy thing about kissing him at the door, even after she’d taken his rampant fuck last night. She’d wholly owned his cock.

He learned that once a man found the woman he’s obsessed with, the one who gave his life meaning, he wanted nothing screwing that up.

How had he lived without her tormenting his existence?

Give her up? Walk away? Go at her slower pace? It was impossible.

His girl was a blank canvas, and he planned to paint her with his filth.

Discovering what would make her scream and beg was his vocation.

The abandoned way she’d yanked his hair and fucked his face earlier in the shower. He knew he was closer to getting his woman hooked on him already.

That made his stride all the smugger, as he walked into the open doorway of a hay barn, two towns over from Laketon. Splice was monitoring the outside. Diamond and Devil were with Bash. They’d gotten word through a source that Harvey was trying to rent nearby farms for cannabis cultivation—otherwise known as a weed-growing farm.

Even if it hadn’t been Harvey and one local with a fresh business enterprise, it wasn’t what Axel would allow in Utah. Weed farms brought too much attention from the law. They’d be everywhere if they thought the town was going into cultivating cannabis.

Yeah, it brought a lot of revenue, and it was something the old faction of Diablos dabbled in before Axel mainstreamed the club, to better hide their dirty money in legitimate properties. But the cons far outweighed the pros.

“How heavy do you want me to be?” asked Diamond, looking distracted when he’d turned up, but he had his game face on now.

“Let’s play it by ear,” Smirked Devil.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Bash announced their presence, and six pairs of eyes turned their way.

Four farmers, plus Harvey and his simpleton brother.

“Turn around and fuck off.” Harvey hissed.

“I guess our invite was lost in the mail, Josh?” he directed the question to one farmer. All four were known to the Diablos. Axel had asked Bash to create a database of all the companies in their surrounding areas years ago. A lot of them they knew personally.

“Bash. Hey, guys. How’s it going?” he looked guilty, did farmer Josh.

The Diablos didn’t play the heavy. If no one fucked with them, they didn’t fuck back. It took a small, weak man to bully. His MC wasn’t about that.

Right then, his phone vibrated, and he slipped it out to read the text.

SPLICE: SUV just pulled in alongside Harvey’s car. Three Riot Brothers and a chick with bangable tits.

Bash told him to keep watch.

“We’ll cut to the chase because Diamond here hasn’t had his fourth snack yet, and my brother gets hangry.”

All eyes pinged toward the bodybuilder biker.

“Word on the street is you’re trying to lease their farms to turn it into a weed ranch. Axel sent me to let you all know that isn’t happening. Today or any other day. With these farmers or any other.”

“You can’t fucking do that!” seethed Harvey. “What shit I do has nothing to do with your fucking MC. I tried to appeal to your better nature and found you had none.”

“That’s right.” Bash smiled, “We’re uncouth motherfuckers, and you best remember that. We don’t play fair and never will with your kind. Gentlemen,” he turned to the farmers. “What’s going on?”

They looked from one to the other.

It was Josh who chose to be the spokesperson.

“You know times are hard, Bash. Crops aren’t growing as fast as we need to sell, the fucking weather is against us, and inflation is making our produce almost free. We can’t keep going on like this.” Frustration was thick in the air, as the man raked a hand through his wheat-colored hair.

These men had families and kids to feed. Bash understood the dilemma. He couldn’t say that, in the same situation, he wouldn’t choose the lesser of two evils to do business with. If it earned them enough money to get through the winter months.

But two wrongs didn’t make a right.

“This isn’t what we wanted to do.” Another farmer spoke up.

“But that’s what you’re doing.” Bash pointed out. “Did you know it’s a maximum prison sentence of forty years to life if you’re caught with only a thousand cannabis plants? And how many acres are your farms? Four? You have six acres, right, Silas? Your grandmother kept it afloat during the war, and now your ailing parents live with you and the Mrs, yeah?” he sprinkled in the personal deets and saw Silas’ eyes widen.

“You’re taking all the risk for Harvey, and for what? A few grand to keep the banks off your backs? You get caught, and you will, because have you smelled the plants? That scent goes for miles. He won’t wait around to tell the cops that you rented out the land because you’re broke. Nah, he’ll hang you out to dry, and while you get used to prison food, your families are evicted, he’ll have already found new idiots to con.”

Harvey should’ve figured out by now that the Diablos wouldn’t let him off the hook, if he had any brains left. He was whispering with his not-so-smart sibling, probably coming up with a different plan.

Bash wasn’t worried.

He faced all four farmers and let the silence stretch.

“We don’t have a damn choice here, man.” One snapped. “You got no fucking idea what it’s like for us. One more season like this, and we’ll have to sell up.”

Bash understood being broke.

He hadn’t grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His mom did her best. He got a job to help as soon as he could. As soon as he could earn a lot of money, he helped more. Even now, though his stepfather was a proud man and took care of Bash’s mother, Bash still liked to treat her. She deserved it. So, he understood the despair of not having anything, the fear of losing what you had.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He started. “There was a choice. You could have talked with Axel. Did you consider that?”

They fired him perplexed glances.

“What do you mean?”

“You guys shop on Main Street, yeah? All those thriving businesses along that way. Not one storefront is empty now, like it was five years ago. The Diablos are responsible for that. We supported those people until they started earning money. What you’re forgetting, gentlemen, is that this is our state and our town; we want our people to succeed.”

Bash heard Harvey snort. “Utter bullshit. These fuckers would burn you if you step out of line.”

“Diamond, it’s time to show these bozos to the door.”

“Gladly.” Smiled Diamond and stalked over. He didn’t even need to act menacing. He walked like a hungry wolf. The MC brother was tall and imposing, and Diamond’s presence instilled fear in others effortlessly. There was no need for them to know he was a kind-hearted giant who enjoyed baking.

Despite Harvey’s loud protests, Bash carried on after Harvey left. “All you had to do was ask Axel for help. My friend Devil here, you know the Devil? He’s gonna stay back and chat with you; he’s our money man, there’s nothing he doesn’t know about turning a profit. If you need a loan, we can do that, too.”

The farmers looked stunned and also skeptical.

It wasn’t altruistic of the Diablos. Far from it. They weren’t charitable men. Ultimately, it just made more sense financially to avoid unnecessary police involvement.

As soon as Bash stepped outside, leaving Devil to do his money spiel, he noticed the Mercedes and SUV were still parked with engines running. He gave Harvey a finger gun sign as he walked to the bikes. Something grabbed his attention. It was brown hair, at first glance. And as he put on some shades to shield his eyes, he inspected the SUV.

What the fuck?

He could’ve sworn that was his Charlotte in the back seat. Bash’s stomach dropped when he saw the side profile. He frowned, his brow creasing.

She kinda looked like her, but the mouth was way off. This woman’s mouth wasn’t as soft as his woman’s, and her face was longer. She also had bangs covering her forehead.

Besides that, she was a cheap knockoff replica of his Charlotte.

A man in the SUV exited, leaving the back door open while switching seats with the person in the front. The guy climbing into the back yelled, “Shut the fuck up, Nora! I won’t deal with your crap like he does.” And then he slammed the door.

Once the vehicles were gone, he hopped on the bike seat and made a phone call.

“Hey,” she said, a smile in her voice.

“Hi, darling. I know you’re at work, I won’t keep you. Listen, you have a sister, don’t you? Does she live in Utah?”

“Erm, that came out of left field,” she laughed a little. “No, as far as I know, she hasn’t returned to Utah in however long. She moves around, but we don’t speak, remember? Why do you ask?”

“I’ll get to that in a minute. You said she was in with a rough crowd, yeah? That’s why you hesitated to get involved with me; you thought I would be like your sister’s man.”

“I did…” she paused. “I thought we were past that, Bash? I told you I was wrong about you.”

She was such a cautious little thing. He was going to kiss the fuck out of her later and then teach her to live a little dangerously with him. Naturally, he’d protect her like a dragon would its hoard. He was finally getting the picture as clear as day, and nothing would touch his woman. Not her crappy sister or the men she’d aligned with.

“We are. I’m asking for a reason. So this gang, do they call themselves the Riot Brothers?”

Her inhale was answer enough. “Yes, how did you know?”

“I think I just saw your sister. She looks enough like you I thought it was you from a distance.”

“Nora is here?” her voice going up an octave. Then. “Crap.”

Bash went on alert. “Does that mean something bad for you, Charlotte?”

“No, not really. But I’m not in the mood for Nora’s drama. She’s my sister. I’ll always love her, but she’s draining. I told her years back that as long as she was hanging out with those people, I wanted nothing to do with her. They’re bad news.”

“I know, darling.”

“Listen, can we talk about this later? I have to go. Bye, hotness.” She whispered the last part, and Bash chuckled. She was so fucking cute.

What a small world, he thought, sitting on his bike, waiting for Devil to come out of the barn. The Diablos’ enemies were connected to someone who’s linked to Charlotte.

Was that a coincidence?

Bash’s mind was spinning with questions, leaving him with a heavy feeling in his gut.

Did Harvey know about Charlotte?

And would Nora try to use her?

No way he’d allow that.