Inferno: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (11 page)

Around 2:30 a.m., Tessa’s phone beeped with a text message. She glanced at her phone and saw that it was from Bishop. Her heart raced as she opened it.
 

Bishop:

Hey. Everything is okay. Fire is out. Wasn’t as bad as I thought. Sorry the night got cut short.
 

Tessa replied:

Good. I was worried. I had a really good time tonight. :)
 

Bishop:

Me too. Need to get this fire thing sorted. I’ll be in touch.
 

“I’ll be in touch?”
Tessa scowled to herself.
 

Tessa:

Hope so. I’d hate to have to get my hedge clippers after your family jewels. ;)
 

Bishop:

That’s my girl. Thinking about my balls again. Must be doing something right. Sleep tight.
 

Tessa:

Goodnight Cole.

Chapter 17

Bishop

Bobby pulled up the surveillance video for Bishop. It was easy to see that one of the construction workers had planted the explosives. Bishop didn’t recognize the older man that had started the fire, but the video was clear enough to see the small Diablo tattoo on the back of his hand. He watched the asshole place a wooden crate beside the new framework of the shop. He poured accelerant on the tarps, so they would easily catch fire after the explosion. The DCs were lucky that their new surveillance equipment caught the fire before it caused major destruction to the garage. They’d lost most of the new exterior, but the bike garage only had minimal smoke damage. None of the motorcycles were harmed. They wouldn’t have any problems with getting their work done on the projects they’d started earlier that week. It would take them a day or so to clean up the smoke damage, and then they would be able to get back to work.

Bishop was pissed that the Diablos were coming after them like this, and there was no way he was going to let them get away with it. He knew Duce was their biggest issue, but Bishop didn’t have a problem taking down the entire Diablo MC if he needed to. He decided to get Renegade to help him set up a plan.

He found Renegade in his room at the club. When he walked up, his door was open, and his entire focus was on a picture in his hand. Bishop made his way over to him, and he noticed that the picture was of Ace’s sister, Taylor. She looked younger and had her arm wrapped around Renegade’s waist. He cleared his throat to get Renegade’s attention.

He looked up and it took him a moment to sort his thoughts. He cleared his throat and said, “Hey, Prez. Looks like we gotta step up our game.” He quickly slid the picture into his back pocket and stood to face Bishop. “I hate to say it, but they just brought on a war.”

“You’re right. That’s why I’m here. I need to know where your head is at, Renegade. Are you ready for what’s coming? I know you have a lot going on with Ace’s death, but we need to make a move. I need to know if I can count on you.”

Renegade tilted his head and gave Bishop a thoughtful look. He was trying to hold back his temper when he said, “What the fuck, man? I’ve always been here when you needed me. Yeah, it’s been tough losing Ace, but that’s just another reason to make these motherfuckers pay.”

“That’s what I was hoping you would say. I want to make you my new Sergeant of Arms. I know it might be tough taking Ace’s position and all, but I need someone I can trust. I need you.”

Renegade was obviously surprised by Bishop’s request. He was silent for a moment, and then nodded. “You got it, boss. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. This club is my life, and I’ll do right by my brothers. I’m here for you.”

“Good to hear it. I’ll bring it up for vote during our next meet for church. We need to get a plan together to take these fuckers out, and we have to play it smart. They’ve already shown that they can get to us. Now, we need to let them know we can get to them. We have to get them where it counts.”

“Bobby needs to look into their dealings with the gangs in Memphis. You know he has several of them pissed because he ripped them off. We can use that to our advantage. We also need to get with the other MCs in the area and get as much information on their club as we can. The more we know about them, the better.”

“Make it happen. Get with Bobby on it and let me know what you find out. I’m gonna make a few calls. We’ll have to handle this ourselves, but the more information we have against them, the easier it’ll be. Be ready to share what you find out with me later today. I’m calling a meeting so we can get things moving.”

After working several hours on hacking into the Memphis City Police database, Bobby discovered that Duce was under investigation for more than they expected. Apparently, he had a thing for young girls. Very young girls. When he looked at the pictures the police had collected, he had to fight back the urge to get sick. He couldn’t imagine what kind of sick bastard could do that to a child. The police had also targeted Duce’s club for gun trafficking and dealing illegal drugs. They hadn’t made a connection to the Devil Chasers MC yet, so they were lucky they got out when they did. Duce was a sick fucker, and Bobby didn’t feel guilty at all about making him pay. He gathered his information into a file to give Renegade. He knew he would be talking to Bishop about what he found. He looked forward to hearing their plan for taking the Diablos down.
 

Renegade was waiting for Bishop at the bar. He was looking over the folder of information Bobby had given him. He had also been in contact one of his friends from a MC in Memphis. Bishop was eager to see what they’d found out. He took the seat next to Renegade at the bar.

Renegade looked away from his file and over to Bishop. “It turns out that Duce has a shitload of trouble sitting at his back door. He’s under investigation with the police for all sorts of shit. They got him for trafficking drugs, guns, and apparently he has a thing for little girls. He also owes a shitload of money to the Southwest Jackals. They’re one of the rougher gangs in Memphis. The Diablos shorted them on their last four drop offs, and they haven’t paid their half of the boot for the past two months. The Jackals are pissed and ready to make him pay up…one way or another. They might be willing to work with us. Pops knows one of their advisors. He could call him and feel them out.”

“None of that surprises me. He’s a lowlife motherfucker. We need to get the Jackals to set up a fake drop off. With a tip to our contacts with the cops, we can get him busted. We just need the Jackals to agree to the setup. Get Pops on it,” Bishop turned to leave. “Good work, Renegade. It’s time to share what you found out with the rest of the crew.”

Later that night the guys came to meet for church. It was their time to discuss club business. The guys all voted in agreement for Renegade to be their new Sergeant of Arms. Bishop had been confident that they wouldn’t vote against him. He was the right man for the job, and he’d proven it by working out the plan for Duce. Bishop felt good about his decision, and he knew that Renegade would make sure things were handled with the Diablos.

      
It was getting late, and Bishop hadn’t talked to Tessa. A smile spread across his face when he thought about her threat to his balls. He decided he’d better touch base with her. He called her phone and it rang several times, but she didn’t answer. He decided to text her.
 

Bishop:

Checking in. You doing okay?
 

Tessa:
Yes. At the movies with the kids. Some cartoon with cavemen. My brain cells are dying by the minute. :)
 

Bishop:

Have fun. Just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you.
Tessa:

Been thinking about you all day. Hope things are working out with the clubhouse.
 

Bishop:

Getting things taken care of. I got your buddy Crack Nut helping me.
Tessa:

How do you even say his name without cracking up? That’s the worst nickname I’ve ever heard. I’m calling him Bobby!
 

Bishop:
You might call him Bobby, but you’ll be thinking Crack Nut.
 

Tessa:

Yeah, you’re probably right.

Tessa:

Is it crazy that I’m already missing you?
 

Bishop:

Probably, but I like it. I miss you, too. I’ll make it up to you.
 

Tessa:

Looking forward to it. :)

Chapter 18

Tessa

Mondays were always the longest day of the week. The kids were always grouchy, and the teachers didn’t really want to be there. The weekend was still fresh in everyone’s mind, and school was the last place anyone wanted to be.

As the day dragged on, Tessa noticed that Myles seemed distracted. He was avoiding eye contact with his friends, and he hadn’t spoken to anyone since he’d entered the classroom.

She called him up to her desk and asked, “Is everything okay? You don’t seem like yourself today.”

“I’m alright. Just got a lot going on,” Myles responded without looking at her. His eyes never left the toes of his shoes.

“Myles, if you need to talk, just let me know. If you don’t want to talk to me, I can ask Janice, the school counselor, to meet with you.”

“No, I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ll be better tomorrow,” Myles told her as he turned to go back to his seat. He began working on his Language paper and remained silent for the rest of the class.
 

Later, when the class returned from their lunch period, Tessa was called to the office to take a phone call. She wasn’t sure who would be calling her at school during the day. She walked quickly into the office, and the secretary handed her the phone and transferred the call.

“Hello? This is Tessa Campbell.”

“Hey, Tessa. This is Bobby. Hate to bother you at school and all, but figured I’d better let you know what’s going on.”

“That’s fine. Is everything okay?”

“Bishop’s been hurt, and he’s in the hospital. Can you go get Myles and bring him over here? Not sure how bad it is. Thought he should be here with his dad, just in case,” Bobby replied with genuine concern in his voice.

“Hospital? Oh my god! What happened to him?”

“I’ll explain it all when you get here.”

Tessa informed the secretary that she would be leaving for the rest of the day and arranged for a sub to come relieve her. She hurried to her classroom to get Myles. She knew this was going to upset him. His mood worried her this morning, and this was only going to make things worse.

“Myles, I need you to grab your stuff and meet me in the hall,” Tessa said as she grabbed her purse and keys from her desk. “Class, I’m leaving early for the day, but Mrs. Janice is going to sit with you until my sub gets here. Finish your writing assignment and be ready to go over it tomorrow.”

When Tessa met Myles in the hallway, he was pacing back and forth. His face was flushed when he asked her, “What’s going on? It’s Dad, isn’t it? They got to him!”

“Myles, I don’t know what’s going on yet. Bobby just called and told me to bring you to see your dad at the hospital. Now, we need to hurry and see what’s going on.”

“I knew they’d get to him,” he shouted. “The fire on Friday was just the beginning. They won’t stop till they kill him. That guy told Goliath that he’d take him out if he didn’t keep making those deliveries. Dad didn’t wanna do it anymore. And now they’ve probably killed him! I can’t lose my dad!”

“Myles, I have no idea what you’re talking about. We can’t just jump to conclusions about this. Let’s get to the hospital, so you can see for yourself what’s really going on.”

They ran to Tessa’s car, and she made record time getting to the hospital. When the front doors opened, Bobby was waiting for them in the lobby. Myles ran to him and put his arms around his waist. “Is Dad okay? Did they hurt him?”

“He’s gonna be okay, Myles. Just knocked the wind out of him and put a nasty bump on his head. You know your old man is a tough guy.”

Myles started crying the minute he heard that his dad was going to be okay. His little body folded into Bobby’s arms. He was overcome with emotion. He’d been worried about his dad all along, and no one even knew it.

Tessa touched Bobby’s shoulder to get his attention. She needed to know what was going on, but didn’t want to rush Myles. Bobby seemed to understand and whispered that Goliath was in the waiting room. She gave Myles a kiss on top of his head and left them to find Goliath.

He was standing by the main doors, waiting on the doctors to give him more information on Bishop’s condition. He looked up at the sound of Tessa’s heels hitting the tile of the hospital floor. He gave her a brief smile and said, “He’s gonna be okay, Tessa. Just a mild concussion.”