“It’s Wire,” he said, as he answered the call. He placed it on speaker so we could all hear. “What have you got for us?”
“The Sons of Vassago have two enemies, and only two that I can find so far,” Wire said. “Don’t get me wrong. Lots of people hate these fuckers, but none are powerful enough to take them down or send them running for the hills.”
“But there’s someone who can? Or several someones?” Slash asked.
“Oh, yeah. And men we all know. Some of us more so than others,” Wire said.
“Will you spit it the fuck out?” Badger asked, a growl to his voice belying his frustration.
“Casper VanHorne and the assassin we all know as Specter,” Wire said.
The bomb he’d dropped made the room go silent. What. The. Fuck. Seriously? Why the hell had none of us thought to reach out to Casper before this? The man might be retired, but it didn’t make him any less a badass.
“Did Torch already speak to Casper?” Badger asked.
“Just so happens, Casper is here visiting. He was going to head to Tennessee to see his granddaughter over at the Reckless Kings after he left here, but he said he can make a stop in Georgia. He’s heading out within the hour,” Wire said.
“And Specter?” I asked. “Anyone know how to reach him?”
“Casper does,” Wire said. “He’s already on it. Both men will be in your area later tonight. If they need any backup, do you have men who can help?”
“Yeah, but we don’t exactly have a connection to Casper or Specter. Not sure us being there will do much of anything,” Badger said. “Farrah might be with Demon, but she’s Venom’s daughter. Not Torch’s. Which means she’s not related to Casper. My club being present might escalate things instead of sending these fuckers running, not to mention they may decide to come back once Casper and Specter are gone.”
Wire cleared his throat. “I have an idea about that, actually, but you may not like it.”
“Hit me with it,” Badger said. “At this point, I’m not afraid to say we’re desperate. We’re a bit out of our depth with these assholes.”
“Mariah. Venom’s youngest is… Well, she’s got a crush on a cop and Venom caught her trying to elope with the guy. He’s furious to say the least and has her on lockdown.”
Badger scratched his beard. “I’m not sure what the hell that has to do with us. Besides, we already have Farrah. Isn’t one of Venom’s kids enough?”
“Venom wants to negotiate. Casper will guarantee your problem goes away -- permanently -- if one of your men will claim Mariah. I know it’s not a connection to Casper himself, but it’s more of a you do us a favor we do you one sort of deal. In this case, our favor is that Casper comes to help you out.”
Badger’s gaze shot over to Demon, who was shaking his head. “Wire, I’m sensing a trap. How old is Mariah?”
“Seventeen.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Badger demanded. “She’s still a kid! How the fuck was she going to elope anyway?”
“Age of consent in Georgia is sixteen. She’s finished with high school, and you’ll be taking her with Venom’s blessing. Well, not you but one of your brothers. As to the other, we found a somewhat decent fake ID in her possession. Guess she thought she could get away with it if they went somewhere else, like Vegas or south of the border.”
“Beau,” Dingo said.
“Did you say Beau?” Wire asked. “Isn’t he just a Prospect?”
“We’re voting him in. Already promised him a patch. We were waiting until all this crap was over with, but to hell with it.” Badger eyed all of us. “All in favor of Beau being patched in raise your hand.”
Every hand around the table went up.
“Then it’s official. Beau is now a member of the Devil’s Fury. Now he just needs a road name, but we can deal with that after the Sons of Vassago are out of here,” Badger said.
“I’ll talk to Torch and Venom. They may want proof Beau can protect Mariah. Isn’t he rather young?” Wire asked.
“Twenty-two,” Dingo said. “He may be young, chronologically speaking, but the kid lived a hellish life and grew up fast. I’d trust him with any woman in this club.”
Since Beau was the reason Dingo’s woman had been repeatedly raped and abused, for him to say such a thing was really fucking huge. If Beau had told us about Meiling sooner, we could have saved her from the foster parents who’d pimped her out.
“I still need to clear it with Torch and Venom. Any other potential victims?” Wire asked.
The room was quiet. Long enough it started to feel awkward. I scanned the table, wondering if anyone would speak up. And if not, how long exactly were we going to wait? Because if Beau was agreeable, I didn’t see the issue.
“I’ll take her,” Savage said.
Hadn’t seen that one coming. I eyed Savage and wondered why he’d offer himself up on a platter like that. Far as I knew, he’d never met Mariah. What if he couldn’t stand her? Hell, the fact she was being bartered away to another club meant she’d probably arrive here ready to lash out at everyone and run at the first opportunity.
“And who is I?” Wire asked.
“Savage,” Badger answered. “Our Treasurer. He’s more than a decade older than Mariah. That a problem?”
“No, and since he’s an officer, the terms are acceptable. I’ll let everyone know, and once your area is safe, Mariah will be hand delivered to her new home,” Wire said. “And good luck. You’ll need it.”
Savage snorted, but he smiled faintly. “Think I can handle her. For the record, I’m not touching her until she’s at least eighteen. And agreeable to being touched. She can have a separate room until then.”
“Not
