Bounty (74 page)

I quickly end the call and look over at Bash. “We have to go,” I say. “Now.”

E
velyn’s arms
have a death grip around my waist as I gun the engine of my bike, whipping through the streets of downtown Chicago on our way back to Piston. I’ll have to stash my bike in the back and leave my jacket behind, but it shouldn’t seem too out of the ordinary that we’re in street clothes. It is after nine on a Wednesday night, after all, and if the rest of the board are already arriving, I don’t have time to stop at home to change.

My teeth are aching from being clenched the entire ride. I have no idea what’s waiting for me, but it can’t be good, and I’m still steaming from my meeting with Snake and Ripper. I suspected that Snake might have something to do with it, but I really hoped he didn’t. He’s been my right hand since I became president, and although I knew he wasn’t thrilled with the changes, I thought he’d at least have my back. He must really hate me if he’s willing to work with Ripper.

He wanted me to stay back and talk to him, but I’ve heard enough. Whatever is going on at Piston is more important than hearing his excuses about how we’re an MC and stirring shit up is in our blood. I’m done trying to keep these fucks out of prison. Regardless of how things turn out, if they want to continue to be outlaws, so be it. Maybe stepping down is the right call, after all, if they all feel like Ripper and Snake. I’m not sure how many of the members support them, but if Snake is on board, then it’s probably a majority. I can’t imagine he’d stab me in the back just to stand alone with his fucking arch nemesis.

I pull my bike around the mostly empty parking lot of Piston and kill the motor before almost having to pry Evelyn’s fingers apart. She’s still not used to riding, and she’s never ridden like
that
. But she should get used to it if she wants to ride with me. Bikes are made to be ridden fast.

We don’t say much on the ride up to the boardroom, the elevator floor chimes the only noise breaking the silence. It isn’t until we’re standing in front of the boardroom door that I even look over at her. She’s watching me intently.

“You okay?” she asks.

I nod. “You’re going to have to wait out here. Board meetings are kept to members only, but I’ll fill you in as soon as it’s done.” I lean forward and kiss her, harder than I mean to, but she returns it with just as much feeling. Finally, I pull away and fling open the door, striding through to a packed room. Seems like Hans was able to rally everyone. Maybe the Velocity deal is officially dead and they want to figure out how to save the quarter?

The room is full, and every eye turns to me as I walk through. No one looks happy, which means the news is bad and Hans didn’t wait for me to start, which he should have. When I look up at him, he turns his gaze away quickly. Also not a good sign.

“All right, it looks like I’m late and you guys have already started,” I say immediately. “So, why doesn’t someone fill me in on what’s going on. Hans? What happened in Germany? Not good news, I take it?”

Hans shifts in his seat, straightening some papers before clearing his throat and finally meeting my gaze. There’s a strange look on his face but it passes quickly as he starts to talk. “No, I’m afraid not. The parts aren’t going to be ready for another month, but it doesn’t matter anyway. The Velocity deal is dead. They called sales this afternoon and exercised their option to pull out on delivery delay.”

“It was my understanding that the delivery wasn’t due until this week. How did they know there was going to be a delay?”

“We had already alerted them that we weren’t going to make the deadline last week when it was clear we weren’t going to get the parts in time. We told them the delay would be minor, and it seemed like they were fine with waiting. Looks like they changed their mind.”

Or they somehow found out that the delay wasn’t going to be a few days. “Technically, they can’t pull out until Friday, then,” I say, although I know it doesn’t matter. It’s a blow to lose that contract, and it means not making our numbers this quarter, but it’s hardly a death blow to the company. We can recover after the share price dip that we’ll see once the news hits the Street. Hardly a reason for this emergency, night time board meeting.

“Technically, true. They’re aware of that, but even if the parts landed in the factory tonight, we wouldn’t make Friday. So the deal is effectively dead.”

“So since the deal is unsalvageable, why couldn’t this news wait until tomorrow during working hours?” I’m annoyed now at being pulled away from the club business now to hear this. All it means is another thing to weigh on my mind tonight.

“That’s not why we’re here,” Hans replies. He drops his eyes down again to stare at the papers under his fingers. “There is a more pressing issue. One that needed immediate board attention.”

I’m silent as I wait for him to go on. It seems like most of the board are avoiding my gaze now, as well.

When I don’t say anything, he continues. “Beginning this morning, our shares began being aggressively acquired by an unknown buyer. I’ve spend the evening fielding calls from some of our larger investors and institutions that have had offers for their shares as well. Some of them have sold, others are waiting to see what comes of this.”

This time, my silence is because my head is spinning. Someone is buying up shares of Piston. There’s only one reason I can think of that someone would do that.

“It looks like we’re about to be part of a hostile takeover.” Jim Burton, a board member that has been with us from the beginning, states the obvious.

“By who?” I finally spit out.

“We’re still unsure,” says Hans. “The buyers have been through subsidiaries, multiple shell corps, but obviously all being controlled by a single corporation. One of our competitors, most likely. The problem is that although we might have normally been able to fight this off, when the news of the loss of Velocity hits, we’ll be under a lot of pressure from the Street to give in. The share price being offered now will almost certainly be a lot higher than it would be once we drop on our quarter miss.”

“It’s just bad timing,” adds Jim.

I shoot a glare at Captain Obvious, whose graying hair and deep lines prove the years he’s spent in the industry. “What a coincidence,” I say dryly. Something seems fishy here, but the way Jim is looking back at me it’s clear he’s completely oblivious.

“All right, fine.” I look around the room at the men at the table. Some of them have been here since the beginning, and others were brought on by Hans when we decided to go public. I was fairly sure I could trust the ones that have been here since the start since I handpicked them, but I’m not entirely sure of the motives that drive some of the guys that Hans brought in. Time to figure that out.

“So we fight this, then. He’ll need a majority stake to take control. I’m the largest single shareholder, and obviously I’ll vote my shares to stop him. Hans, you hold a fairly large stake, and many of you on the board do, as well. We just need to figure out the percentages and then make some phone calls to some of our other larger stakeholders. Some of the institutions. Assure them that we can do better on our own, and that this deal was just a minor blip that shouldn’t cause panic.”

Jim is nodding, but some of the other guys are looking around uncomfortably. Hans’ lips are pursed.

“What?” I ask.

He pauses for a minute, and then let’s out a breath. “Sebastian, I think we ought to at least consider what is in the best interest of the company.”

“What?!” Every eye in the room snaps to me now. “Are you honestly suggesting that we lay down and let someone take over this company?
My
company?”

Hans raises his hands, as if to fend me off. I’m not leaping across the table to throttle him yet, but he’s right to be concerned. “Just hear me out for a minute. I’m not saying we should, just that we need to think about each scenario carefully so that whatever decision the board makes is the right one for everyone. There are pros and cons to both options, here.”

“Let me guess, the pro to getting taken over is that everyone gets rich?”

“Is that such a bad pro?” The question comes from Carmine Fisher. One of the men that Hans brought in. It doesn’t surprise me, coming from him. Carmine has held a lot of board seats in the past, one of the reasons that Hans recommended him, but after hiring him, I did my due diligence a bit late and realized that the reason that he has had so many seats is that his past companies had a higher than average rate of being bought out or taken over. I’ve always suspected that he favors those options as a quick payday.

“Think about it,” he drawls, the corners of his lips being pulled into a smile that he’s fighting hard to suppress under my own glare. “Buying all of these shares is only going to drive the price up. Buying all of yours would likely demand an even heavier premium. With the number of shares you own, that could be hundreds of millions of dollars, Sebastian. You could be a very rich man, overnight.”

“I’m already a rich man,” I spit back, unimpressed with his argument.

“On paper, for the most part. But if the takeover falls through and then we announce a missed quarter, those shares will tank. You’ll lose most of that.”

“On paper,” I counter with his own argument. “Nothing is worth anything until you sell. And I’m not selling. I’m not in this for the money. I built this company from the ground up, and I have no intention of letting it go without a fight.”

That surprises me even as I say it. Not long ago, I would’ve been totally fine with this development. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself, and Evelyn—that Piston comes second to the club. But shit, if things with the club end up going sour after all… what do I have left but this? Or maybe it’s mattered to me all along, and it just took almost losing it for me to see it.

Like it did with Evelyn.

“You may not have the votes with which to fight,” Carmine replies.

“I can get them.” My fists are clenched, and I have to remind myself that I’m in the boardroom and not the clubhouse in order to get them to relax and open up.

“All right, all right, let’s calm down,” Hans says. “We don’t need to vote now, so let’s all just take some time to let this all sink in for the night. We can meet again in the morning. In the meantime, maybe we can all reach out to our contacts and get a feel for what institutions are thinking, or maybe even see if we can figure out who is behind all of this. That may give us a better perspective. Sebastian, I asked Beverly to leave a copy of all of these documents in a box in your office. I’ll assume you’ll want to take a look at them tonight.”

I nod and turn away without another word. I don’t want to escalate this any further. Hans is right; I need time to process this and look through the documents before deciding my next move. It’s likely to be a long night.

When I throw open the door to the conference room, Evelyn is still standing there with her back against the opposite wall. Her face is concerned. I’m sure she could hear the yelling, if not the actual words.

“Come on,” I say with a swing of my neck. We’ll get the documents and then just take them back to my place. No reason for us to stay in the office all night. I assume Evelyn is going to want to help go through them. The fact that I’m sure that she would without even needing to ask her makes me feel a little bit better. Well enough to finally talk as we enter my office and close the door behind us. The box of papers are sitting on the floor next to my desk.

“Someone is trying to take over Piston.”

“What? Who? How?”

“Someone is buying shares. Lots of them. They’re gearing up for a proxy battle to try and take over. No idea who, yet. Probably one of our competitors that somehow got wind of the Velocity deal fiasco and is anticipating us missing our quarter. Wouldn’t surprise me if that news was leaked from someone on our board.”

“Why would someone do that?”

I blow out a loud breath and walk over to my chair, all but falling down into it. I feel exhausted all of a sudden. “Money. It’s always about money.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

The look of determination on Evelyn’s face, and the fact that she said
we
without any hesitation, makes me smile in spite of everything. “We’re gonna fight, of course.”
Yet another battle that I have to wage, but at least now I have an ally.

There’s a large manila envelope on my desk that wasn’t there when I left. It’s unmarked, but it’s leaning up against my keyboard. Maybe instructions from Beverly explaining the files and how they’re organized. I absently reach in and fish out the documents inside.

“First thing we have to do is figure out where the threat is coming from. That’s the best way to figure out how to neutralize it.”

I glance down at what I’ve pulled from the envelope and feel my heart begin to pound in my chest. I quickly flip through everything until I come to a neatly typed note that only takes me seconds to read.

“What is it?” The concern in Evelyn’s voice pulls me back to reality.

My head is spinning, and I’m just glad I’m already sitting down. I reach up and offer Evelyn the documents. She snatches them and flips through them as quickly and with as much shock as I did. She spends more time staring at the final note, though.

“Oh my God. Sebastian, I swear, I—”

“I know,” I say, cutting her off. “I know. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. But at least now we know what we’re dealing with.”

D
espite spending
the night at Sebastian’s apartment, the circumstances were all business, and by the time we actually went to bed, it was just to collapse and sleep for a couple of hours before heading back into the office. Since I’d spent the night, he drove me home first so I could change before we started the long trek to the Piston tower.

The papers that Hans had left remained untouched at Sebastian’s apartment; they no longer mattered. All that mattered were the contents of that envelope. The same pictures that Ripper had, only this time, more focused on Sebastian in his leathers, surrounded by club members. And me. But worse was the note.

I wonder how much cheaper it’ll be for me to pick up your shares if these go public? Do you think the Street will welcome a biker thug CEO? We should talk. E.S.

Of course, the E.S. stood for Edward Stonewall—it was how he signed most of his personal notes—but Sebastian didn’t need me to interpret that for him. The smug triumph of my former boss and boyfriend came through loud and clear, as if he had spoken the words instead of written them. Apparently, he wasn’t that interested in remaining anonymous, after all. But it’s just as obvious now that his buyout was motivated by more than just money.

“I can’t help but feel responsible,” I say into the silence of the car ride to the office. Sebastian hasn’t said very much this morning, but I’m not sure if he’s just tired from our long night of discussing this, or if it’s something else.

“I told you, you’re not.” It’s true; Sebastian hasn’t blamed me a single time since we read the note, but that hasn’t stopped me from feeling guilty. “Everyone has people in their past, and you left for good reason. You aren’t responsible for what they do once you’ve left them behind. Anyway, if anything, it’s more my fault. I knew who he was, and what he was capable of, when I punched him at the bar. It’s not the first time my temper has gotten me into trouble. Probably won’t be the last, either.”

I look over at him, wondering whether he’s thinking about our upcoming meeting with Edward later this afternoon when he says that. Hopefully not. As much as I’d love to watch him KO my ex, it would only make things far worse.

“Well, the fact that he hasn’t gone public yet means he has something else in mind.” Or he just wants to gloat while we beg. Fat chance of that happening. I would do it, if it would save Piston, but Sebastian never would. “Maybe there is a way out of this.”

There’s no answer, but I don’t expect one. We went over every possibility we could think of last night, and none of the options are good. I’m just talking to fill the silence now. To distract myself from the crushing feeling of responsibility for this whole mess. Edward is worth billions, and his company buys and sells companies like Piston almost every month. I know what he’s capable of, and what the most likely outcome of all of this is, and none of it is positive. He’s a vindictive son of a bitch, and I can’t imagine he’s going to let Sebastian hitting him, or hiring me when he was warned not to, go lightly. And it’s all my fault, despite what Sebastian says. I brought the eyes of VI down on Sebastian and his secrets when I met Edward at Axle’s that second time, even if I was tricked. Sebastian warned me not to go back, and if I had only listened none of this would have happened. And now he’s going to pay the price.

Edward responded only minutes after Sebastian sent him an e-mail asking what he wanted. He didn’t say much, only that we should come back to his office this afternoon after work to discuss “terms”. I suggested to Sebastian that maybe we could get the police involved, since this is clearly blackmail, but he pointed out that it wouldn’t really help. Edward had an army of lawyers that would protect him from any kind of harsh penalty, and pressing charges would require us to hand over the evidence of Sebastian’s dual lives, which meant they were certain to get out anyway. At least by meeting Edward we could figure out what his plan was and whether we had any moves.

I just hated the idea of going back to VI and facing him again. Knowing Sebastian would be at my side was the only thing that made the whole idea bearable. But I had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

At Piston, it seemed like business as usual, for the most part. No one but the board knew about the takeover news yet. The stock purchases had still escaped public notice, but they wouldn’t stay that way for long. Soon some financial news agency would pick up on it, and then it would make headlines. Once that happened, this place would get crazy. If we were going to do anything to stop this thing, it had to be quick. As much as I hated the thought of it, the meeting with Edward couldn’t come soon enough.

Sebastian was busy with the board from lunch right on through to the end of the day, and when he finally returned, he was in an even fouler mood than before.

“Didn’t go well?”

“Most of those bastards seriously seem to think that we should consider the offer. They don’t even know what Edward plans on doing with the company yet. He’ll probably just buy it and break it up just to piss me off, even if he takes a loss.”

I nodded. That was definitely within the realm of possibilities when it came to Edward. “Do they know it’s him?”

“No. Right now, they seem to think that it’s most likely one of our competitors looking to consolidate and buy us out before we become too big. Maybe if they did know, it would change their tune. I’m not sure, though. I can almost see the dollar signs in their eyes. Going public was a terrible idea.”

“So does that mean you won’t have the votes to fight it?”

Sebastian lets out a heavy breath as he moves to the big window overlooking the Chicago skyline. “I don’t know,” he says, staring out at the gray sky. It had been raining for the last hour with no sign of it clearing up. “I can’t get commitments out of most of them. Even Hans won’t give me a straight answer, although at least he’s still arguing that we should all just wait and see what comes of this before making a decision. Some of the others are chomping at the bit to sell now, worried that this deal might disappear before our numbers come out for the quarter. We have a couple of weeks before that happens, but it wouldn’t surprise me if at least a couple of them have already sold their shares, or at least made promises to sell.”

I walk over and put my hand on his broad shoulder, squeezing gently. His muscles are solid, filled with the tension of the day. I press a bit harder to try and work some of it out. “We’ll figure it out,” I say, hoping the lack of confidence I feel won’t manifest in my voice.

“We should go,” he says.

“Sebastian…” He pauses on his way to the door and turns.

“I know you don’t blame me, but I want to say that I’m sorry about all this. I hate the idea of seeing Edward again, but I’m glad I’m going with you.”

The edges of Sebastian’s mouth turn up, forming a little half smile as he reaches one arm out to me. I move toward him, letting him pull me close for a hug. “Stop blaming yourself,” he says quietly. “We’ll deal with this together. Edward has no idea what he’s up against, coming after me.”

I smile back and nod, but in my head I can’t help but wonder if the same thing is true the other way around. Sebastian is a strong, powerful man physically, but Edward is a shrewd and ruthless businessman. And unfortunately, I don’t think raw muscle or force of will are going to be able to sway Edward from whatever his end goal is. I’m worried that once Sebastian figures that out, he might lose his temper and do something that may make things worse. For everyone.

T
he uncomfortable familiarity
of the VI offices almost makes my skin crawl. Passing Charles’ office is the worst, as images of Edward and Lindsey pop back into my head. I don’t care about either of them anymore, but just recalling the sense of betrayal that I felt at that moment still makes me feel sick. Lindsey’s nameplate is still on the desk outside of it, but at least she isn’t there. I wonder whether Edward scheduled this meeting for after-hours so that we wouldn’t run into each other. He’s probably still fucking her, but he’s a fool if he thinks I care anymore. He can put his dick wherever he wants now. Let it be someone else’s problem.

Edward’s office door is open, and he looks up from his computer as soon as we appear, his eyes focusing on me instantly. The smile that spreads across his face makes me furious. I hate that he has the power here, but that’s how it always is with him. He always has to be the one holding all of the cards.

“Ah, good afternoon, so nice of you to make it. Come in, come in.” He’s got his full-on salesman mode going, but I can tell it’s just to piss us off, not because he thinks he’s fooling anyone. Obviously, Sebastian knows it, too.

“Cut the crap, Stonewall. What the fuck do you want? You have no interest in Piston. Your beef is with me.”

The smile never leaves Edward’s face as his eyes slide over to Sebastian. “Ah, right to business. A man after my own heart.”

Sebastian steps into the office and I follow, watching him closely. I’m relieved when he stops just inside the door. If he gets too close to Edward, I’m worried he won’t be able to stop himself from throwing punches. Edward has that effect on even the most passive of people, and Sebastian is far from passive. His fists are clenched, but he’s holding them down at his sides for now as he glares at the man in front of him.

Edward’s smile falters just a touch and he licks his lips nervously under Sebastian’s silent, burning stare.

“Right, well, to the point then. You’ve taken something that is mine, and I mean to have it back.”

“Oh, really? And what is that?”

Edward’s eyes shift to me, and I feel a coldness in my chest as I realize this is even more about me than I thought. “I was never yours,” I say, but my voice is barely more than a whisper as I fight through the tightness in my throat.

“Are you fucking insane?” Sebastian roars. His hands come up, but a sound from the hallway makes us both turn. A few security guards have come out of one of the offices and are standing a few feet away from the office. Edward was prepared for us this time.

“Calm down, Mr. Redding. No need for any of your gangster violence here. That would just speed up the inevitable, and then even I won’t be able to shut all of this down.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, my voice finally getting stronger. I’m as angry as Sebastian, but it’s mixed with shame and guilt that I’m trying to keep from overwhelming me.

“This takeover. Your club. Everything. I’ve given the pictures to your friend there. Well, ‘friend’ may be a bit of a stretch. What does he call himself? Ripper? Charming. At any rate, he was happy to get those pictures, but he has no idea where they came from. But he wants to know more. He’s contacted me a couple of times today, in fact. I get the feeling your gang doesn’t look too kindly on us corporate types? It’s not too hard to imagine what they’d do if they found out you were running Piston.”

My heart freezes this time as he says that. How does he know that Sebastian is the CEO?

“And Piston, of course, is the other issue. You started that company. Built it. Took it public. It’s worth, what, a billion or two now? I may not know everything about gangs, but I do know about Wall Street and the stock market. And I can tell you that they definitely won’t react too kindly to finding out all of the secrets your company has going for it. Secret CEO of a public company is bad enough, but add to it that you’re a dangerous criminal? Well, as I said in my note, I could actually save myself quite a bit of money by waiting for that news to come out before I buy up any more shares. Especially when the Street hears about your big miss this quarter, too. My, my.”

Edward pauses to laugh, but his eyes show no amusement. They’re cold and hard and staring at Sebastian, watching for the slightest bit of weakness. How did he know about the Velocity deal falling through? That shouldn’t be public yet.

“Your net worth won’t be worth the paper the shares are printed on, and I’ll end up with your company at a steal. And at that point, certainly more valuable broken up and sold off than as the tarnished whole that it will be.” He pauses for a moment, the full smile returning to his face. “Or… I can just stop buying altogether and walk away.”

Sebastian is practically seething, but his voice is tight and measured when he speaks. “And what would it take for that scenario?”

Edward laughs. It’s almost a cackle, really, but when his eyes shift back to me I shiver. “Oh, you’d be surprised at how little that would take. A bargain, really, considering what I’d be giving up instead. All it takes is for the two of you,” he waggles a long finger between us, “to be done. Over. Broken up completely and utterly, not only in your personal relationship, but your professional one as well. Evelyn leaves you and Piston and comes back here.”

“Are you crazy?” I say, before I can stop myself. “You actually want me to come back and work for you again? That’s what this is all about?”

Edward laughs again as he shakes his head. “Not just back here to work, my dear. Back here to me. I want things back exactly the way they were, in every way.”