Redemption (Rogue Nation MC #1)

2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Mako

The salty, dank smell of the cave always makes it feel so much smaller than it is. Water dripping from the stalactites on the ceiling lending an acoustic quality to the area. It always relaxes me, maybe that’s why it’s my favorite place for business meet ups like this. That and we’re able to have eyes on the comings and goings of every nook and cranny for half a mile. One way in, one way out. Even for the tide that filled the cave regularly.

“Jesus, Mako. Why in the fuck do we always use this place? Brother, every time we come here, I have to air out my cut for 2 days to get the smell of dank out of it.” Clipper, my enforcer, found one of the few dry areas of wall and leaned against it watching the opening.

“You know why, man.” I looked at the ceiling, rolling my eyes. Yeah, he knew. This wasn’t the first time we talked about it. The damp porous walls and ceiling didn’t allow any kind of echo and the constant dripping made a white noise quality that couldn’t be permeated with any kind of recording equipment. We had Gates test it quite a few times to make sure. We even had to go outside the cave to use our phones because the density of the cave itself blocked signals. All signals.

“Yeah, I know. Still don’t like it.” Not the first time he voiced his opinion about it. He made it loud and clear in church how he felt about this endeavor and still got voted down. We could use the money and, in our world, money was everything. Well, it was now anyway. I used to think it was love and loyalty, but that shit got shot out of the water years ago. I don’t believe in love anymore and neither do most of the guys who were there when Pacey pulled his shit almost 10 years ago. Brotherhood mattered and to ensure that we needed money. We weren’t poor, but there was always room in the coffers for more.

“Yeah, well, you were voted down. We’re doing this. We’ve talked and planned; nothing can go wrong. Easy money brother.” I didn’t let him see the fingers I had crossed in the pocket of my jeans. I knew this could backfire on us in the worst way. It was looking more and more like we were going to have to take care of our town’s mayor before long. It was something I wasn’t looking forward to, but it was a necessary evil. Only my inner circle was aware of this option, and this job was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Head’s up, Prez.” Clip raised himself from the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

A portly Alpha slowly walked into the cave and spoke. “Mako?” I shook my head at him and placed a finger to my lips. He was too close to the mouth of the cave for me to feel safe to talk openly. I crooked my finger to draw him further in. He looked at the walls and ceiling, eying the dripping water as if it was going to burn his skin if it touched him. No chance of that, but I’d be willing to bet it would leave some nasty water stains on his expensive suit.

Once he was deep enough for comfort, I spoke. “Mr. Mayor? What can I do for you?”

“You know what you can do for me, Mako. I have a problem that I need taken care of?” Yep, I was going to make him spell it out for me loud and clear. Clip was here as a witness because God knows I wasn’t afraid of this man at all. I could take him out with one hand tied behind my back and both eyes closed.

“Yeah, man, I’m gonna need you to spell it out for me, Mr. Mayor. We don’t need any miscommunication mistakes on either of our parts.” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

“My youngest son. I need him taken care of. I need access to his money, and the best way for that to happen is for him to get gone.” Our man who put us in contact and set this meeting gave me the gist of what he wanted. It turned my stomach, but I was going to need him to spell it out for me loud and clear.

“So, you’re gonna need us to take your baby boy out, get his drink on, find him a bit of ass, maybe. Butter him up a bit and get him to sign over his inheritance? Not exactly something you’d need me and my club for there, Mr. Mayor. From what I’ve heard, you’ve got access to plenty of ass. Share the wealth, as they say.” I schooled my features, not letting him know just how much I wanted to punch him in the face. “Would be cheaper for you that way.”

His faced turned beet red and his hands curled into fists. I couldn’t decide if it would be more fun to antagonize him more or punch him in the mouth. “If I could sway him with ass, don’t you think I would have done it by now, you idiot? He’s a fucking Omega. We’ve kept that petty part of him hidden for years. Now that he’s come of age and gained access to his grandfather’s money, it’s time for him to go. I need him gone. Gone as in nite nite, buried 6 feet under, you get the meaning now, you gorilla?!” Ooh, the rage just poured off him. It was taking almost more than I had in me to not punch this guy in the mouth.

Clip spoke up before I could compose myself completely. “Now see here, Boss Hogg. There’s no need to turn this into a hate crime on top of the financial windfall you stand to collect. We got no hate towards anybody; we’d like to keep it that way.” I could see the butt of his gun under the edge of his cut. I knew by Clip’s eyes, this man’s words put him further in the “off him” pile than the act of wanting to kill his own kid did. Though I huffed a laugh at the Boss Hogg comment. Clip loved watching those old shows. I never really understood any of it, but it was sometimes funny the way he worked it into his language.

“Now see here. I wasn’t talking to you, boy. I was carrying on negotiations with your Alpha leader here. Kindly keep your mouth out of it or I’ll have to find someone else to take my 10 thousand dollars. By the way, I’m no Boss Hogg. I’m a damn sight slimmer than that bastard ever was.” He turned to me, obviously waiting for me to reprimand my man. Which I would not do. It took me a bit by surprise that he knew who Boss Hogg was.

I held up my hand in a stop motion, fingers wide. “One, we don’t give a shit who fucks who as long as it’s consensual.” One finger down, “Two, we’re here for nothing more than the money.” Two fingers down, “Three, never speak to another of my brothers in that way again if you wish to continue to walk this earth.” Three fingers down, “Four, yeah man, you have that redneck asshole Boss Hogg vibe floating around your head. You’re just missing the white suit.” Only my index finger remained. “Last but not least, your price just doubled. Want it done and done right? It’ll be 20K. 10 up front and 10 when he’s gone.” I dropped my last finger and formed a tight fist, stepping into his personal space. I took great pleasure in seeing his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he tried to swallow the fear that was leaking from his pores. Standing closer to him, I caught a faint smell of fresh garden dirt and wildflowers. Hmm, how could this pig have an alluring scent? It was faint, but there.

Sputtering between words, “You can’t do that; it was agreed upon. I need this done before that boy gets it in his head to run with the money. He runs and I’ll never see a dime. Gotta do it while the Mrs. and I are still listed on his trust fund papers. He turns 25 in two weeks. He needs to be dead before then.” There it was. The words I was looking for. He wants his boy dead. How fucked up is that? All for money.

“I’ll do a lot of shit for money. Not all above-board Hogg, but I’d never consider killing my own fuckin kid, no matter how much I hate what he is. If you don’t want to agree to my terms, then walk right out of here and find someone who’ll do the job cheaper. I promise, though, Hogg, I’m the only one who can guarantee that you won’t get caught. Be a shame for your Alpha son, you and your pretty wife to lose out on the money AND spend the rest of your lives in prison.” Taking a step back, I reached into my cut and pulled out my smokes. One flick of my zippo and flame lit the tip of the cigarette. Clip simply leaned back against the wall of the cave again. Clenching his fists over and over. I just shook my head at him.

“Fine, you smug bastard. I’ll meet your demands. 20K and the kid dies. No ties to me or mine and the body needs to be found and identifiable to speed up the paperwork. I prefer it to look like an accident, but I’ll leave that up to you. You’re the one taking all the risks.” He pulled an envelope out of his breast pocket and handed it to me. “I’m going to need this done within the week. Don’t want there to be questions about the timeline for the estate.”

“Just out of curiosity, Hogg, how much we talking here?” Clip had to open his mouth. Not like we didn’t already know. We had Gates pull the trust paperwork from the lawyer’s office before we even voted on how this was going down.

“Five million, not that it’s really your concern. My family deserves that money, my father-in-law never liked me and that’s why he left it to the kid.” Lying bastard, it was ten times that amount, he had another kid, who if he was decent would have gotten part of it too, but nope, the older boy got the business that was standing on its last legs. At least Gramps saw through the veil on that one. “And stop calling me Hogg. It’s disrespectful.”

“Not too concerned with respect. Hogg is your official code name as of now. No more names, no more meetings. Let me know where he’s gonna be and we’ll handle the rest.” I just needed to get out of here. The air was stifling. I needed to get on my baby and ride for a while.

“Gavin is taking Theodore out this weekend to celebrate his birthday. A bit of bar hopping between the 3 bars downtown. In the envelope, there’s a photo of Gavin and one of Theodore. He doesn’t have a phone, so there’s no way to trace him. Make sure your men grab the right kid. Don’t fuck it up.” With that, he turned and walked out of the cave. I held up my hand to Clip so he wouldn’t speak, waiting for Hogg to leave.

Once I got the ‘all clear’ for us to leave the cave, I headed to the entrance with Clip by my side. Leaning my head on his shoulder, I mumbled. “Say nothing until we get to the clubhouse.” A slight nod from him was all the confirmation needed.