Gio (Steel Demons MC #6)

Chapter 17

Gio

I was in trouble, and I knew it and that trouble had very fucking little to do with the Blood Reapers, at least directly. It was Harper. She was… fuck, she was more than I expected. More than I could have ever anticipated a woman could be and the only thing that mattered to me was keeping her safe and in my arms.

I was in a bad way and there was only one group of men I trusted to have my back and keep my head on straight. My brothers in the MC, which was why I found myself marching into the clubhouse in determined strides after I made sure Harper made it to The Regency safe and sound. I was a man on a mission, and I would not be distracted or waylaid.

“Hiya, Gio.” Cindy stepped in my path wearing a tight, white tank top that told the whole world she wasn’t wearing a bra and a tiny denim skirt that said she might not be wearing any panties either. She pushed her tits against me and stuck her lips out in a blood-red pout. “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” I muttered distractedly as I attempted to go around her. “I’m kinda busy right now.”

She stepped in front of me again with another pout. “You owe me. I didn’t get a full night and I’m not giving up until I get it.”

My jaw clenched in annoyance at her persistence. I grabbed her arms tighter than I needed to, but I wanted to make sure she got the message. “I get to decide if or when we have another night, Cindy. Not you.”

She pouted again and licked her lips. “But you loved the way I took your cock, didn’t you?”

Under any other circumstances that pout and the mention of her head game would’ve swayed me, but I had something more than that, an interesting woman who I had feelings for and who handled my cock like a pro. “Doesn’t matter. I have shit to do Cindy and you aren’t on the list.” I took a step forward, this time daring her to interrupt me again.

She didn’t—wisely—and I found the guys in our meeting room waiting for church to start. I was the last one to arrive, which pissed me off, but it couldn’t be helped since I had to make sure Harper was safe first. “Well, well,” Rocky shouted the moment I walked into the room with a mischievous smile on his face.

I flipped him off and took my seat, anxious to say what I needed to say but first there was other administrative shit to deal with, including the state of the trip that Cole and Rebel were still on. “Apparently there’s some shit going on with the corrections people so they’re twiddling their thumbs waiting for Hollywood to get let go.”

Slate frowned. “They still haven’t released him?”

“Nope. It’s not his shit that’s the problem, there was a riot and now they have to clear everyone set for release. It’s paperwork but you know how the government works, in its own sweet ass time.” It wasn’t ideal or maybe it was—the longer it took, the more time it would be before I had to come face to face with my best friend and what I’d done to his sister.

Diesel nodded from his perch at the head of the table. “And what about the Blood Reapers?” he asked Slate. “What do we have on them?”

Slate nodded, sucked in a breath and let it out slowly before he gave us all a rundown. “The Blood Reapers MC is into some bad shit, and I don’t mean shit that makes suburban moms and old people clutch their bags and cross the street, I mean actual bad shit. Most of their business is with the cartel,” he began and showed photos of them meeting with three different cartel bosses. “There are no second chances with the cartels, so Viper doesn’t take any chances. One fuck up on their end could mean the end of the entire MC.”

“Good,” I grumbled. “It means they have a lot to lose.”

Slate nodded. “Yeah, but it also means we need to be extra careful unless we want to go head-to-head with the Santangelo Cartel, the Blood Reapers biggest customer.” He shrugged at my scowl. “I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m just saying that we need an abundance of caution here.”

“We can be cautious,” I replied easily. “But we have to respond before they start thinking they can walk all over us.”

“He’s right,” Diesel answered in a serious, deep voice. His agreement surprised me, not because he didn’t always have our backs but because it was his job to be cautious. “But I happen to know that the Black Devils MC is expecting a big shipment of coke and weed.”

Hawk frowned. “That all-black MC from Henderson? Do we really want to get in the middle of that shit?”

Diesel nodded. “We don’t want to, but we have to. We take those drugs, and we gift them to the Black Devils MC. We won’t make a fucking dime, but it’ll be worth it because it’ll look like the Reapers tried to cut the cartel out of the deal.”

The room fell silent, each of us in awe at the brilliant mind that was our president. Rocky wasn’t surprised but everybody else looked at the man like he had some kind of superpower. “So, what’s the plan?” I was eager to make life difficult for Viper and his crew since he was determined to make life difficult and terrifying for Harper.

“What’s the rush?”

Shit. I realized my mistake and then I nodded, sharing with my brothers what happened yesterday. “That fucker had his arm around her throat with a gun to her head.” Just thinking about it pissed me off. “She’s family. Period.” She was a hell of a lot more than that but that was a conversation for another day.

“Is that all she is,” Hawk asked, his keen eyes didn’t miss a damn thing.

I nodded. “As far as you’re concerned, yeah.” My brows furrowed and I glared at all of my brothers, daring them to say anything else which, in hindsight, was a big fucking mistake.

Rocky was the first to chime in. “Seems like she’s more than that, sleeping at your house and probably in your bed. Spending time together and the history between you two.” He held up his hands as if he was just making conversation.

“Drop it, Rocky.”

“He’s right,” Maverick said with a grin. “Seems like you two have grown… close.”

“Does that change our plans?”

“No, though I’m guessing you and Sniper are gonna be having a conversation when he gets back. You can wave your balls goodbye then,” Diesel muttered. Determined to move forward with the current plan, he got back to the matter at hand, “Tonight we’re going to grab those drugs and gift them to our fellow MC brothers and then our trap is set.” He looked around with that stony expression he usually wore and gave a curt nod. “Everyone not already assigned to be someplace else, meet back here in eleven. Don’t be late.”

***

After our meeting I was desperate to get back home and check in with Harper, but she texted me saying she was back at my place and safe, so instead, I hung out at the clubhouse and prepped for the mission ahead. At eleven we met, gathered our arms and solidified the plan before we headed to the Blood Reapers warehouse that posed as a legitimate business. Slate had managed to hack the digital entry pad and in less than a minute we were inside the warehouse, filled with drugs and guns and other counterfeit goods that were so fucking tempting to take.

But Diesel urged restraint. “We’re here with a very specific mission tonight. If you have something else in mind, bring it to the table tomorrow.” He looked each of us in the eye to make sure we understood and then we moved into place, executing the plan.

The warehouse was gigantic, and we moved stealthily until we found what we were looking for. I laughed at the way it was laid out. “Thankfully we aren’t dealing with a criminal mastermind.” Hawk shook his head as we found the crate labeled with the Black Devils MC. “Let’s do this shit and get the hell out of here.”

We loaded up the waiting van that T-bone had driven to the warehouse until the Black Devils crate was empty. Slate had looped the footage so there wouldn’t be any trace we were ever here, so we moved quickly and got the hell out. Quickly.

“Time to go,” I grunted after thirty minutes of loading bricks.

Diesel nodded. “Now we split up. Me, Hawk, and Maverick will drop off the gift, the rest of you head in the other direction and make sure you’re seen. Make a big fucking deal out of it. Make it look good.”

It was a good night even if I didn’t get to fuck shit up. The Blood Reapers MC would pay one way or the other for threatening Harper, for making her feel scared and unsafe. This was their penance and if they wanted to fight about it, I was willing to do just that.

For now, all I wanted was to head home to see my woman.