Page 99 of Clint & Ivy
Zodiac stroked his beard and shrugged. “I see no downside to an alliance between our clubs. We’re located far enough away from each other to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes. But size matters when dealing with people like the Void.”
“Alliance makes us sound like equals. But the last time your club came around, you were looking to make us bitches.”
“That’s the past. I’m looking at where we are now. The Black Rainbow runs Louisiana. You have Arkansas tied up. Texas is falling city by city to the Void. Tennessee has its masters. Mississippi has our allies, while you have friends in Oklahoma. We could create a wall against the Void, looking to move north and east.”
“Define what you want out of this alliance.”
“We share info. If one club needs aid, the other is willing to ride in and help.”
I glanced at Rock next to me and imagined his view of the situation. His father ran a broken club in Rawlins until the Little Memphis club came riding into town. Oz Savo could have been a stubborn ass and started a war backed only by a small club and no leverage. Dumb men often followed their egos.
However, Oz gave Joker a chance, which led to a handful of the Everything Nice Crew relocating to Rawlins. Their leader, Ginger Jones, married Oz. Rock existed today because his father was willing to roll the dice with an unknown.
“Alliances are never a bad thing,” I agreed. “But you know Tricky runs the Jokers club. He doesn’t obey me, and I don’t take orders from him. If you want to create a firewall, you’ll need to make a deal with Tricky, too.”
“Surprised he didn’t come along with you.”
“He’s been patching in guys from your neck of the woods,” I said and studied the men around him. “You’re aware of his view of your club.”
“Tricky has a hangup over old management.”
Rock pretended to lose his temper and demanded, “What about these young men fleeing your territory?”
Zodiac offered him a snakelike grin. “We don’t mind someone embracing our castoffs.”
“Is that what they are? Or are you corrupting the Jokers from within?”
“You know my club had a shake-up a few years back,” Zodiac said and shrugged like he was bored of talking about the issue. “Men disappeared. Others were pushed out. Those boys running to Tricky for a new home are the sons of former club members. They want to ride with a club, but they’d never find a place with us,” Zodiac explained and then glanced at Elle. “I have high standards.”
Ignoring him eyeballing my sister, I pointed out, “Tricky doesn’t want your people riding in Little Memphis, but he can’t call dibs on the entire state. He also can’t stop an alliance between my club and yours. But you need to be aware of how I don’t call the shots with Tricky, and I won’t have you forcing the topic.”
Zodiac smiled and glanced at his VP. “Didn’t I say Clint was a reasonable man?”
“Colored me shocked,” Exile replied. “He’s far more reasonable than his father.”
“I’m my own man and rarely beat men to death with bats.”
Zodiac slightly lifted his left leg and admitted. “I still feel it when the air gets cold.”
Elle snorted behind me and whispered something to Sabrina. They both looked at me, waiting for what would happen next.
“Why don’t we order wings and something to drink?” Zodiac announced. “We’ll sit down and share a friendly conversation between new allies.”
Rock nodded and gestured at Exile. “Let’s sit away from the others, so you can tell me your secrets. That way, I can compare them to the bullshit your president tells mine.”
The mood in the bar shifted from openly hostile to a more relaxed yet still aggressive undercurrent. I settled at a table with Zodiac.
“Why don’t you have your pretty sister join us?” he asked as his gaze searched out my people crowded together in the back.
“Because she’ll spend the entire conversation reminding you how our father kicked your ass.”
Zodiac grinned. “Is that how Crawford Reed remembers that day?”
“Your people asked for that beating.”
“No doubt. Wrecker was up on a very high horse during the later stages of his reign.”
“Where is he now?”
