going, day after day.
"I'd suggest if you have your old lady in the clubhouse waiting for you to come back, you take a few minutes and make sure you tell her goodbye. The rest of you guys, use the phone in the hallway and make a call home." Priest hesitated. "Then, we roll."
Paco, not having anyone to see or call, walked out of the meeting room and went outside to his Harley. Risks came with being a member of Tarkio, but today's job carried more dangers.
If the other Tarkio members stepped onto Blackfoot land, the tribal police would hand them over to the Feds the first chance they got. Even more dangerous was messing with those in charge of running the casino. It was known on and outside the reservation that people disappeared when tangling with them. They held themselves higher than those living off the reservation. An organized mob, they kept those living on the reservation in constant fear. They were above the tribal police. Above everyone.
Having money made them dangerous. Everyone had a price, and everyone could be paid to stay quiet.
That's why he had to go in alone.
He wasn't coming back without Josie.
Checking his gas tank, his duffle, his weapons, and ammo, he sat on the bike and waited for the others. As the one going inside, he needed to keep his head. He couldn't make a mistake.
He'd asked Banks and Chrischris to trust him. Josie worked for them at Bank's Body Shop. They knew her better, but they hadn't read her journal. They hadn't seen inside her soul.
That information was his.
Josie belonged to him, and yet he'd never given her more than a nod as he walked through the building to see his MC brothers. That would change after he rescued her.
Priest walked out of the building, his face set in stone. Nicole, his president's woman, was nowhere around. He fleetingly wondered if Priest had told his old lady how risky tonight's run would be for the eighteen members going to Blackfoot land. That there was a chance, they wouldn't come back.
Priest stopped beside him and widened his stance. "If you get in trouble inside, I want you to get your ass out of the casino. Don't risk it for some girl."
His back molars gritted together. "She's not a stranger."
"She's nobody to you, brother." Priest leaned forward and slapped his patch on his chest. "The men out there, protecting your back, are your brothers. Most of them have a woman, a family, and they're out there risking their lives for your ass. Remember, don't go in there flying solo."
He dipped his chin. No one needed to remind him of the consequences. He understood what would happen.
"Nicole's pregnant." Priest straightened. "I have a damn good reason to get home."
Keeping his congratulations for another time, Paco started the engine of his Harley. Each one of them had something at risk, except him. The single members had relatives. Most men had an old lady at home or a kid here or there.
Straight out of foster care, he'd found his sister only to learn that she was owned by a pimp, working the streets.
But, he'd been too late to save her.
Responsible for her death, his life meant nothing.
Slipping on his fingerless gloves, he toed the kickstand at the sight of the others coming out of the building. He wasn't going to let Josie meet his sister's fate.
Chapter 2
Josie
Robert "Askook" Shaw stepped into the room, speaking with two other men. Josie pressed her shoulder against Cami, signaling her to stop crying. For the last four days, all she'd tried to do was bolster her friend's spirit.
But with each passing hour, Cami grew more despondent.
Beyond terrified for her friend, she needed to stay strong. The worst thing she could do was bring Cami down and feed into the hopelessness of the situation.
Afraid she'd draw the men's attention by talking too loudly, Josie lifted her chin and remained quiet. She'd avoided men like Askook her whole life growing up on the reservation, and for good reasons.
But nine months ago, everything changed thanks to her father. She'd unwillingly got dragged into the corrupt world run by men with more power, more money.
She hated Askook. It was time people like him were punished for their crimes.
He'd left the reservation years ago, leaving behind his mother and sister—who'd attended school with Josie. Askook returned when the family home burnt down, killing his whole family. From that moment, he became evil. He'd forgotten everything taught to him