Padres would get to him somehow, and then he'd want his money back. No way would he allow her reputation to sully his. No chance in hell he would continue to support her work with that much negative attention attached to it. Ali allowed herself a moment or two of full-out choking, heaving sobs before she called the only person she knew could help her get out of such a horrible mess.
CHAPTER NINTEEN
"Back again, huh?" Alejandro greeted Bobby with fake cheer as he walked into the garage. "You know, Ali can't stay away, either."
"My girl does love a charitable cause, what can I say." Bobby flashed him a tight grin. "This isn't a social call, Rojas. I warned you what would happen if you didn't leave Ali alone. Thanks to you, she's got clients jumping ship left and right."
"I'm not going anywhere," Alejandro declared. "You can go fuck yourself."
Bobby smirked. "See, I thought you might say that. But here's the deal. You and I have a mutual friend, Sheriff Colton Hennesy."
Alejandro felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. "Yeah, so,” he snorted. “What about him?"
"I know he's turned a blind eye on illegal club activity in the past, but he's not going to be doing that anymore. Whatever arrangements you had with him are now over. This is an election year, and he knows that without my support, he won't be re-elected."
"We're the least of Hennesy's worries. He's got the Diablos to worry about."
Bobby smiled. "No, I'd say you're right up there on the top of his list of concerns. See, it's not the Diablos who were on The Seeker's blog, and it's not the Diablos who have been leaking drugs into this community--"
"Wait a minute!" Alejandro thundered. "The Padres haven't brought any drugs into this community."
"Says you." Bobby shook his head. "I guess we'll let the DEA figure that out, won't we? In any case, you can kiss Hennesy's cooperation goodbye."
Fuck , thought Alejandro. Without Hennesy, we've lost our contacts on the Border Patrol, we've lost our intel about the DEA investigation, and we've lost any shot of protecting this town from the Diablos Verdes.
"I did warn you," Bobby said. "I don't give a shit what happens in this town, really, not when it doesn't concern me. Problems at the bottom tend to stay there. I'm only concerned when the garbage floats to the top. You let Ali go, I call off my dogs."
"You dumb sack of shit. You don't get it, do you? People aren't dogs that bark on your command. You act like I have some kind of control over Ali." Alejandro laughed bitterly. "Well here's something you probably never realized about her. Ali makes up her own mind. And even if I did succeed in pushing her away, that doesn't mean she'd go back to you."
"Sure it does. You're the only reason we're not together."
Does he even know her? "You're a delusional sonofabitch, you know that?"
Bobby shrugged. "I'm not the one chasing a lost cause," he replied. "That's you. If you know what's good for you, you'll pack up your club and leave this town before things get any uglier."
CHAPTER TWENTY
The plan was simple enough, but Alejandro's gut churned as he contemplated what they were about to do. No doubt about it, Crockett was a wild card and a threat to both the Padre Knights and the Bezerkerz, but the fact remained that what they were planning was murder.
He'd been honest with Ali when he told her he'd only ever killed out of necessity. Three times, and he remembered every detail of each one. He could honestly say that he had no choice in any of them.
But this was different.
On the one hand, he had to protect the club. His brothers, their families--they all depended on him now. Turk was out of commission, probably for good, and it was up to him to keep things running smoothly for all their sakes. Crockett knew the dangerous game he was playing by abandoning his loyalty to his club for the protection of a rival. He was
CHAPTER NINTEEN
"Back again, huh?" Alejandro greeted Bobby with fake cheer as he walked into the garage. "You know, Ali can't stay away, either."
"My girl does love a charitable cause, what can I say." Bobby flashed him a tight grin. "This isn't a social call, Rojas. I warned you what would happen if you didn't leave Ali alone. Thanks to you, she's got clients jumping ship left and right."
"I'm not going anywhere," Alejandro declared. "You can go fuck yourself."
Bobby smirked. "See, I thought you might say that. But here's the deal. You and I have a mutual friend, Sheriff Colton Hennesy."
Alejandro felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. "Yeah, so,” he snorted. “What about him?"
"I know he's turned a blind eye on illegal club activity in the past, but he's not going to be doing that anymore. Whatever arrangements you had with him are now over. This is an election year, and he knows that without my support, he won't be re-elected."
"We're the least of Hennesy's worries. He's got the Diablos to worry about."
Bobby smiled. "No, I'd say you're right up there on the top of his list of concerns. See, it's not the Diablos who were on The Seeker's blog, and it's not the Diablos who have been leaking drugs into this community--"
"Wait a minute!" Alejandro thundered. "The Padres haven't brought any drugs into this community."
"Says you." Bobby shook his head. "I guess we'll let the DEA figure that out, won't we? In any case, you can kiss Hennesy's cooperation goodbye."
Fuck , thought Alejandro. Without Hennesy, we've lost our contacts on the Border Patrol, we've lost our intel about the DEA investigation, and we've lost any shot of protecting this town from the Diablos Verdes.
"I did warn you," Bobby said. "I don't give a shit what happens in this town, really, not when it doesn't concern me. Problems at the bottom tend to stay there. I'm only concerned when the garbage floats to the top. You let Ali go, I call off my dogs."
"You dumb sack of shit. You don't get it, do you? People aren't dogs that bark on your command. You act like I have some kind of control over Ali." Alejandro laughed bitterly. "Well here's something you probably never realized about her. Ali makes up her own mind. And even if I did succeed in pushing her away, that doesn't mean she'd go back to you."
"Sure it does. You're the only reason we're not together."
Does he even know her? "You're a delusional sonofabitch, you know that?"
Bobby shrugged. "I'm not the one chasing a lost cause," he replied. "That's you. If you know what's good for you, you'll pack up your club and leave this town before things get any uglier."
CHAPTER TWENTY
The plan was simple enough, but Alejandro's gut churned as he contemplated what they were about to do. No doubt about it, Crockett was a wild card and a threat to both the Padre Knights and the Bezerkerz, but the fact remained that what they were planning was murder.
He'd been honest with Ali when he told her he'd only ever killed out of necessity. Three times, and he remembered every detail of each one. He could honestly say that he had no choice in any of them.
But this was different.
On the one hand, he had to protect the club. His brothers, their families--they all depended on him now. Turk was out of commission, probably for good, and it was up to him to keep things running smoothly for all their sakes. Crockett knew the dangerous game he was playing by abandoning his loyalty to his club for the protection of a rival. He was
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