“All Inferno MC, sir,” Maurice said. He pressed “play” on another video clip. “This is what happens at 10:42.”
Benicio watched as the three bikers wearing Inferno MC leathers rode up to the warehouse. They parked by the front entrance and removed weapons from underneath their leathers, sub-machine guns from the general shape and outline. One threw something inside the warehouse, and then a plume of smoke erupted.
“Flash-bangs,” Benicio said.
Maurice nodded. “Keep watching.”
Benicio watched as the bikers sprayed the warehouse with gunfire aimed at the three Inferno MC members inside, then as one of the fuel containers inside the warehouse exploded and the building caught fire. “Those thugs. Morons.”
Maurice nodded. “The rest of the video clips are more of the same. The warehouse goes up in smoke, and the first set of bikers leave. The other two bikers escaped out the back, and sped off on their motorcycles. A homeless man witnessed it as well.”
Benicio drummed his fingers on the table. “So, the Inferno just used one of my warehouses as a hit location. And Axe and another biker escaped.”
“That’s what it seems like, sir,” Maurice said. “Both groups of bikers were wearing Inferno cuts. Could be an informal squabble being taken care of, or some type of power play going on. Hard to know without digging around into the club’s business.”
“Dig,” Benicio ordered. “I want to know exactly what we’re dealing with here. Regardless, the end result is that I ended up with a hot warehouse, a dead biker, and the whole fucking place riddled with bullet holes and up in flames. If we didn’t have a couple of people already on the take within the LVPD, there would be a number of organizations sniffing around this.”
“I will start digging, sir,” Maurice said.
“This stays between the two of us. I want to know exactly what the Inferno MC is up to now, as well as what the dynamics are between the club members and Mad Dog. I want to know everything. Weaknesses, vulnerabilities. I don’t want to be blindsided by something like this again."
"Yes, sir. I'll get on it immediately."
"Dani came to me before she and Blaze left for Cambodia, wanted a quiet exit out of the country. Blamed it on wanting to get away from the club, having a regular honeymoon. I should have known there was something more she wasn't saying." Benicio said it more to himself than to Maurice.
"Should we get someone on them, Sir?"
Benicio shook his head. "I'm not sure what the angle is here yet. But the Inferno have no reach in Cambodia, I'm sure. Axe, on the other hand... Dani asked us to check in, keep an eye on him. Said he was drinking too much. Personal problems."
"Now he's got more than just personal problems."
"Yes. He does," Benicio said. "Do we have a track on him?"
"No, sir," Maurice said. "But we'll get one."
"Find him and the other biker."
"You want us to bring them in?"
Benicio shook his head. "No, just get a line on them. I want more information before we make a move."
"The club will be tracking them too. As soon as they find out that they weren't killed in the fire, they'll finish what they started."
"Then we need to make sure the club believes they were killed in the fire," Benicio said. "I trust you can ensure that it's public knowledge that three bodies were found, instead of one?"
"Yes, sir," Maurice said. "Right away."
"Make it happen immediately. And I'll make sure the club is alerted that there were three bodies found," Benicio said. "Good work. Let's see if this trail leads where I suspect it does."
June
I finished applying a third coat of mascara and stepped back from the mirror, blinking a few times before I surveyed myself from head to toe. I looked good. My hair was blown out and straightened instead of slicked back into a ponytail right out of the shower, the way it usually was. I was wearing my casual but still low cut black shirt, the one that showed just enough cleavage, and the hip hugging jeans that made my ass look great.
So why the hell did I feel like shit?
There was no reason for the stupid, nagging sense of guilt I felt. Cade was being a prick, and I had no reason to care what the hell he thought. Or whether or not I hurt his feelings.
Fuck it. As if bikers even have feelings.
We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. This sure wasn't high school. And I certainly didn't need to turn down a date with Jed just because Cade had gotten his panties in a bunch over it. I didn't owe Cade an explanation. I didn't owe him anything.
So when Jed called me to ask if I wanted to have dinner tonight, I said yes, without a second thought about how Cade would react. Okay, so maybe it wasn't without a second thought exactly. Maybe it was because of Cade specifically.
Screw him.
Besides, he wouldn't even know. Even if he did, he said he didn't care. He was the one who told me to date Jed.
And Jed was really nice. I needed nice. I could do nice.