George came out of the corner, where he went to make a call, snapping his cellphone shut, "Just got off the phone with one of the guys scouting out Gabriel's house. There are at least fifty suits walking around with auto rifles and subs in the open, dogs, large armored trucks, the whole works. The place is locked down. If we attempt to charge that, a lot of men are going to go down trying."

Nobody spoke for a long time and Cole really didn't think he had anything to say either. Then Jim picked up his cellphone and speed-dialed a number.

"Lou? This is Jim Hawker," Jim said into the phone and then listened. Everyone in the room froze and it felt like they weren’t even breathing.

"Sally is good, just finished high-school; how are Tony and Beth doing? Tony should be out of law school by now, eh? That's great. I wish him the best and maybe we'll throw some business his way. I don't want to waste your time Lou, so I'll get right to the point.

"It seems that fate or really bad decisions have put us and some of your men at odds, and I would like to ask about rules of engagement. One of my crew believes that personal homes, wives, and children are on the hunting list. Of course, I told him that would never be the case, but I wanted to clarify it with you before someone does something seriously stupid." Big Jim held his face still as stone as he listened to the man on the other side of the connection. "Thanks Lou. I'm glad to hear that. Your wife's birthday is in a couple of weeks, isn't it? Any ideas? Really, I know just the place for those. Have a good day Lou." Jim set down his phone, and scanned the faces in front of him, "No homes, women, or children. I don't know why I don't feel better right now."

"Because we're still up against Lou and they were on the list before you called," Brain suggested.

"Yeah," Jim nodded, looking grim, "that's exactly why."

"What if Lou was lying?" Nicole asked, her eyes still wide.

Jim shook his head, "No, Lou wouldn't bother lying about a thing like that; he doesn't have to. What could we do if he simply said, 'yeah, your man is right; that's the way things are'? No, he took them off the list because I called him and he was feeling generous. We're good business for him."

Jim leaned back a little, straightening his shoulders, "I'm thinking he sided in with Gabriel, believing we would back down as soon as we found out, which would be the logical move, granted. But his real goal is to take over Gabriel's operation. That's long term, steady cash coming in there. A takeover is much cleaner and more profitable in a shorter amount of time than trying to build up his own.

"And like it or not, Nicole, I'll let you know that, by reputation, Gabriel's call girls are known all the way down the East coast and through most of the mid-west, and you are the star of those recommendations. I did some checking and made some calls after talking with you last night," he told her as way of explanation. "So, Lou knows what he's getting into is a good investment of his time and resources. He'll make returns of a hundred-fold in two years after he takes over."

"So, really, Lou is after Gabriel, not us," Bear clarified.

"That didn't stop him this morning," Brian pointed out.

"No, no it didn't and it won't," Jim agreed and rose up from his chair, "and it doesn't mean shit until this is over. We have some time before the pow-wow. So, I'm going to get some air; then we'll all get back here and sort out how we're going to work this."

"But…" Nicole whimpered.

"There's no buts here, Nicole. None at all," Jim told her and then looked at Cole, "Glad you read that thing right this morning, so we know what we're up against. Do you have a safe house for Nicole yet?"

"I'm running her to Rat's place as soon as I'm free to leave," Cole confirmed.

"You're free to leave then and take some of the boys with you," Jim told him.

"I'm with you, bro," Brian said, clapping him on the shoulder and then heading for the door."

Cole took Nicole's hand and said, "We're right behind you."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was near twelve-thirty and the meeting was well underway, though things were already sounding bad, when Cole's phone rang. Since phones had been ringing from the start and well before, he checked the display and saw it was Nicole calling. He answered, walking to the corner they were using for this, so as not to interrupt the discussion.

Cole was actually a little surprised he was here at all since he wasn't an officer, or even an outrider any longer.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Hey, Cole, look, I tried. I really tried," Nicole began.

"What are you -- "

"Just listen, all right? I have to get ready, so I don't have a lot of time for this. But I thought you deserved to hear it from me. Since we have hooked up, you've almost been killed how many times? Two, three? And now there's a war and men are already dying. I don't know if they were good men or not, but you could be next and might be as soon as Gabe puts this together. Now we know Lou is in the game and, baby, that's not the life I was looking for when I left here. I know exactly who Lou is, just needed to know we were talking about the same Lou. See, he's a client, Cole. I know what he's like. I know him a whole lot better than anyone else and he couldn’t care less how many of your men are blood splatters. He really, very truly, doesn't care. Lou's already been paid, up front, by Gabriel for the month.

“So, anyway, honestly, the bottom line is I miss it. I know I told you I wouldn't and I really believed that was true when I said it. I really did. But I do. So, I'm back and hopefully we can all get back to business. You can check with Angie and verify that I got into a cab all on my own, and had it drive me back here.

"Goodbye, Cole. It was more than I've ever experienced before, but I got to go. Oh, and always remember what I told you. Bye."

The connection broke.

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CHAPTER ONE

When Nicole left Big Jim's office, earlier that day, with Cole and Brian, the sunlight hurt her eyes as they stepped out into the perfect blue day. The emotional wars inside of her created patches of shivers in unpredictable places, and she couldn't slow her churning thoughts down. Cole apparently noticed that she was distraught, but he didn't understand why, and she couldn't tell him, or he would stop her -- and now, it had to be today. She definitely had to act today.

Learning that Louis "Lou" Donadio, was now invested in this gang war between the Chrome Horseman and Gabriel's organization, meant that there was going to be a great deal of blood spilled today, and even more tomorrow, if she didn't do something. Big Jim understood what he was up against, and was still planning on finishing this war. That simply wasn't acceptable to Nicole. She couldn't live with this afterward, knowing that if she had acted, she could have saved many of the Horseman from deaths they didn't deserve.

She knew who Lou was, of course. He was a client of hers. One of her first, and a first regular as well. Max and Lou were the only regulars she had who never missed their scheduled days. Others would sometimes miss. Of course they always paid her rate for the night to Gabriel, and would always send her a gift of apology, just to insure that they remained on her list, but never Max or Lou.