Chapter 30 Our women are wild animals
Catalina
“So you are telling me,” Beast said, his voice full of disbelief, “that you poisoned a room full of men and then just… cut them apart?”
“You say it like it was difficult,” Jenna answered with a shrug. “When you dangle sex in front of them, men become very stupid.”
“What the fuck does that mean, little girl?” Torque’s voice was a low rumble. “You are offering what belongs to me?”
“No, big daddy, I did not.” The room filled with laughter. Torque’s face turned dark red, but he only pulled the woman on his lap closer and bit her neck gently. Jenna let out a small sound, and I smiled. I loved seeing my sister like this.
“We made them think they were going to get lucky,” I explained. “We led them into separate rooms. They were all drunk before we even started. I did not even need to drug their leader. He was happy to let me tie him up before I put two knives in his neck.”
A deep growl came from Viper’s chest. I looked at him and took his hand in mine. I had chosen to sit beside him while I told the story.
“By the end, there were only three left standing,” I went on. “All the other women were asleep from the drugs. I threw a blade at one. It went straight into his eye. When he fell, he landed on his face and drove the knife deeper into his skull. Jenna and I took care of the last two. It was a surprise attack. It was messy. It was a fucking good time. Thank you for letting us do this.” I finished with a bright smile for Butcher.
Every man in the room was staring at Jenna and me. A few shook their heads. I heard someone mutter that we were insane.
Jenna grinned back at me.
“We cleaned every surface we touched,” I continued. “We found their cameras and destroyed the recordings. You saw what we did at the gate. They will believe the Caruso family did this. The main Jackals group will probably go to war with the New York mob. They will destroy each other. We all win. And since the other big clubs were out of town, none of you are suspects.”
“Thank you, Jenna and Catalina,” Butcher said. “We owe you for this.”
“You are family,” I said. “We were glad to help. If you ever need something like this done again, just ask. We will not even think twice.” I stood up, kissed Viper, then Jenna, and left the room so the men could talk. We walked to the kitchen to start making lunch for everyone.
“Have you spoken to Papa recently?” I asked Jenna.
“No. I cannot reach him. I was sure he would show up at the Jackals’ party to help. I have been trying to call him for three days.”
“I hope he is all right. I will message him.”
I took out my phone.
‘Papà, dove sei? lo e Jenna siamo preoccupati. Non abbiamo tue notizie.’
I waited for the dots to appear, showing he was typing, but nothing happened. I let out a slow breath, hoping he would answer soon.
Atlas
“What do you know?” I asked my second-in-command.
“The Carusos, as you know, run the New York Mafia. They have maybe a thousand soldiers in the city and the areas around it. I have not met with anyone yet, but I am following some ideas. What I want to know is why? Why would the mafia destroy one of our chapters? I searched Cap’s office. None of his important papers mentioned the mafia. There is no connection. This feels like a trick to me.”
“You think someone is trying to make the New York Mob look guilty? Why would they do that?” I asked.
“I do not know. It just feels too simple. Would the mob really leave a sign announcing they killed a whole club?”
“Maybe a young, stupid member did it to try and get his boss’s attention,” I thought out loud.
“That could be true. If I wanted you to notice me, I would do something brave.”
“Yes, but something this brave?” I asked him. “Maybe not this big, but if I wanted to be seen, I would kill the President, the Vice President, and the Sergeant at Arms. It would leave a club broken for a long time.”
“I understand. But a whole fucking club is gone. This is something else. No. Someone was sending a message.”
“Well, Cap was starting to traffic young girls. Maybe someone paid for a hit to say they did not approve. Or to tell us to stay off their land.”
“Those are smart thoughts. Go to the Underground where hits are arranged. Listen for talk.”
“I am on it, Prez.”
This was a total mess. I am the head President for every Jackals chapter. My other clubs want answers, and so far, I have none. I need to be sure this was a single attack, and that no one is coming for all of the Jackals. I will not let my father’s life’s work die. I took out my phone and dialed a number I hated to use.
“Hello?”
“Butch, it is me, Atlas. I need to talk to you. I need help.”
A long silence was his only reply. I thought he had hung up, but the screen said the call was still connected.
“Hello?”
“Yeah, I am here. Just shocked to hear your voice.”
“We grew up together. We were best friends.”
“That was before you left, took over your own club, and took my woman with you. And then you got her killed.”
“She was not yours to keep. We fell in love. I have been sorry for that for twenty years!” I shouted.
I sighed. It was like this every time. The last time I called, two years ago, it ended the same way. With him promising to kill me if we ever met.
“I will put a bullet in you if I see your face,” he said to me now.
“Butcher! Someone destroyed one of my chapters here in New York. I need to know if you have heard any talk.”
“Yeah, I heard someone wiped out the Jackals here. Good. Did you know they were selling young girls, Atlas?”
“No. Cap decided to do that on his own. We do not allow that shit. When I found out, we had already voted to come and stop him. But this kind of attack is a personal insult. It makes me look weak. When I find who did this, they are dead. Man or men.”
“Well, I know nothing. Only the rumors. My club was out of town. We left only a few men here with our women to watch over things.”
“You let women run your club while you are gone?”
“If you had women like ours, you would let them run the world. Some of them are more dangerous than you and me combined.”
“That is bullshit.”
“Two of our girls have ended more lives than any man in my club. Our women are wild animals, but they are ours.”
I shook my head. He was crazy. No woman would ever have that kind of power over my club or over me. Never again. They just die on you and leave you empty.
“I would be grateful if you heard anything and told me,” I said.
“Yeah, sure. Now go to hell, and do not fucking call me again.”
My once best friend ended the call. Losing him was the one thing in my life I truly regretted. But I was born to lead. I was never meant to be second. I was always meant to be first.