Page 62 of Smoke's Flame
The officer who had discovered our armory speaks up, “They all appear to be legal stock. There are no bump stocks or any other illegal modifications. There is one problem, though,” he picks up a weapon I recognize well. It is a gun we confiscated from a drug dealer months ago. It was supposed to have been disposed of, but apparently no one had followed through on that plan.
He hands the rifle to his superior. “This weapon has the serial number filed off, which makes it illegal.”
The lawyer in me knows this means someone is going to be facing felony charges over this weapon.
Ledbetter’s face lights up. “Cuff them all and call for transport.”
“Wait,” I immediately interject. “You can’t possibly think every single member of our club is responsible for one weapon.”
“I don’t,” Ledbetter replies, sounding so smug I want to smack the grin off his face. Holding the weapon up, he explains, “This gives me the right to interrogate everyone on the premises today. Until I find out who owns this weapon, I’m holding you all for as long as I can.”
“Even the women and children?” I ask pointedly.
“What? No, of course not.” Turning to his officer, Ledbetter modifies his order. “Arrest only adults.” Instead of making it about gender, he decides cleverly, “Only arrest individuals wearing a leather vest with the club patch.”
“Our women wear property cuts,” I point out. “They aren’t club members. It’s just our way of showing the world they are our wives and girlfriends.”
Ledbetter rolls his eyes and amends his order, “If their vest says property, offer them human trafficking information, instead of handcuffing them.”
I hate this bastard more by the second. While I have to admit that tagging a woman with a cut that says property might sound ownerish to outsiders, to us it was meant to indicate they were cherished, and a way to extend our club’s protection to them when they were out in the community. This asshole wasn’t even trying to understand club culture.
I hold my tongue as we walk outside and they start handcuffing my club officers. Siege’s eyes meet mine and understanding passes between us. I was to do any and everything possible to get them clear of this mess as soon as humanly possible.
One of the officers walks over to me and states, “Turn around and put your hands behind your back, Mr. Drake. We’re taking you in as well.”
“I don’t think so,” I respond indignantly. “I wasn’t even on the premises when you arrived to execute your search warrant. I was notified you were here and came because my club brothers wanted their attorney present. It was my professional responsibility to respond when they called.” The last bit was a lie, I didn’t have a clue why Siege had called me, until I saw the marked cars lined up. I didn’t care so much about being arrested because I knew they couldn’t pin the weapons charge on me. However, it was imperative that I remained free in order to provide legal representation to my brothers.
“You’re wearing a leather vest with the club insignia on back. Therefore, you get cuffs too.” The younger officer looks pleased with himself.
I glance over my shoulder and call out for his superior officer. “Ledbetter, you better get over here before your underling commits a human rights violation that costs you your job.”
When the older officer hears what the problem is, he frowns at his younger counterpart. “You can’t offer them a phone call, let them call their attorney and then arrest said attorney when he presents to provide legal services. That would be considered denying them the right to appropriate legal representation.”
The younger officer opens his mouth to object, but Ledbetter cuts him off. “We’ll talk about this later.”
A couple of their police transport vans show up and I watch as they begin loading up my club brothers. Thankfully, there were no children here to see what went down.
As good as their word, they left behind anyone younger than eighteen, and men not wearing a cut. That left a bunch of women, Evan, Gordon, and surprisingly enough, Talon, who was roused out of bed and didn’t have time to put on his cut. That brother is one lucky son of a bitch.
Evan and Talon come up on either side of me, as Mel and Gordon usher all the women back inside the clubhouse.
Evan just stares at the vans as they drive away. “It’s so fucked up that they wouldn’t do anything to protect Serena, and then when we were forced to do it ourselves, they come for us like we’re the bad guys.”
Glancing at his bewildered face, I realize he’s only fifteen and has just watched the man he idolizes get arrested like a common criminal. This is a fucked-up situation.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Go and call Mattie. Break the news to her gently. Tell her I’m on the job and everything is going to be okay.”
He nodded, “Yes, sir.”
Watching him walk away with his shoulder’s slumped was hard. Evan has been through so much, and now this has happened. It feels like fate is stacking pain upon pain on this young man.
Talon’s deep voice drifts to my ears. “What’s the plan?”
“We fight,” I say. “We fight back with everything we’ve got.”
Chapter 29
Smoke