“It was my fault,” I said. “I was in charge of the bag. I should have done more.”
“No,” Trent said. “Fuck that, Duke.” He looked to Ivan. “Duke took a bullet for that money. He came up with the plan to get out of there alive. They were equipped with guns and grenades. We took one out and sent the others packing. For the sake of the money.”
“There’s money missing,” Ivan repeated.
Peter then returned, another man next to him.
“Who the fuck is this?” I asked.
“Curtis,” Peter said. “Security.”
I stepped forward. All I saw was red. This fucking prick put my brothers in danger. He could have cost Trev his life, and the life he and Eden were meant to live together. Same for fucking Trent. Even if that bitch Harlee had wanted to take me out, she was now Trent’s old lady and I respected that.
I brought my right hand back and Trent hooked his arm into mine and spun me around. For a split second it looked like we were doing some fucking stupid country dance or some shit.
I broke away and pushed at Trent.
“Hey,” Trent said. “Relax.”
“My guy is right, Ivan” Trev said. “Where the fuck was the security?”
“I did my goddamn job,” Curtis said. “I had full surveillance of the area. I made sure the roads were clear. I had full tracking on all enemy threats. Anything that happened had nothing to do with his deal.”
“No shit,” I said. “But the fucking area was supposed to be clear.”
“I can’t help who you piss off,” Curtis said. “I don’t babysit.”
I pushed forward again and both Ivan and Trev started to shout. Their voices carried in the big open warehouse. I was within another second of getting to Curtis when Ivan took out a gun and pulled the trigger.
It was loudest goddamn boom I ever heard out of a handgun. It felt like it was an inch from my ear. Shit, it was louder than the grenade back on the road.
My brain scrambled and I dropped to the ground. I covered my face and reached back, looking for my military weapon. I then panicked, trying to find my radio to call in the roadside bomb.
The entire scene from Iraq played out again.
The fucking truck in front of me exploding.
Knowing my best bud from high school was in there…
“Duke!” a voice boomed. “Come back to us, brother!”
My eyes fluttered and I snapped back into reality.
I was back in the warehouse. It was us - Back Down Devil MC - and the Russians. Ivan had shot his gun. That was it. That was the sound. Nothing else.
Trev and Trent helped me back to my feet. I swallowed hard, collecting myself.
I saw the half grin on Curtis’s face and that was all I could handle.
I jumped forward and managed to get a fist to his face. I plowed into his nose, sending him flying back.
“I will do this again,” Ivan said and waved the massive handgun around. “I will shoot your brains out, Duke.” He grinned at me and I had to suppress all my anger not to attack him.
I took a small step back and showed my hands.
Fine. Fucking fine.
“Let’s all try to stay calm for a second,” Trev said. “Ivan, we were attacked. We put our lives on the line on the run down to Tijuana and back. And then an ambush…”
“You spent quite a bit on my tab down there,” Ivan said.
“In all fairness, most of the pussy was Cash,” Trent said. “He’s got a problem.”
“A problem with pussy,” Ivan said with a chuckle. “I don’t think that’s a bad problem to have.”
“None of us do,” I said. “Now, can we square this up?”
Peter stepped forward. “My associate has counted the money.”
“That fast?” Trev asked.
“Well trained,” Ivan said. “Deals go bad all the time.”
“This isn’t a bad deal,” I said. “This is improper intel.”
Curtis held a rag to his nose. He shook his head at me.
I wanted to kill the fucker. I didn’t even know the guy. Hell, maybe it actually wasn’t his fault. But we were told to come with three guys and everything would be safe and secure.
“We’re short fifty-five thousand dollars,” Peter said.
“Take it out of our cut,” Trev said without hesitation. “This is a club problem, Ivan. We will handle it within our club.”
“No,” Ivan said.
Trev was ruthless but Ivan was bold. And extremely stubborn. He came from a different kind of life and a different country than ours. That was something a lot of guys had a hard time grasping. But I understood it.
Ivan wasn’t going to let this go. Even if it was a measly five thousand bucks missing out of the one-hundred-fifty.
He reached into the bag of cash and took out our cut of the money. He held it out to Trev and nodded. “Your portion.”
“Keep it,” Trev said. “Then I owe you five thousand.”
“No,” Ivan said. “I don’t want that. I want my money back.”
“They stole our fee,” I said. “That’s what it was.”
“No,” Ivan said again and stomped his foot. “You take this. You bring me back sixty-five.”
“What?” Trent asked.
“Interest,” Ivan said and shrugged his shoulders.
“Jesus,” I said. “I want your bank.”
Ivan and Peter laughed.
“I want my money,” Ivan said. “And I want it with blood on it.”