I tried to swallow, but my mouth had gone bone dry.
“What do you say, Lo Lo? Want to follow through on that promise we made to each other? We’re standing in the exact same spot as we were all those years ago. You might think it’s too soon, but I’ve been waiting for this moment for over half my life.”
Tears filled my lower lids and overflowed down my cheeks. Great. My mascara would probably start to run, and he’d always remember me with black streaks down my face on the night we officially got engaged.
“I feel the same. In the time we spent apart, I realized something. My home is with you. Whether we stay in Mustang Mountain and raise a baker’s dozen of kids or follow the next wild adventure life decides to take us on. You’ll always be my north star, Viper.”
He wiped the tears from my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “If you want thirteen kids, we probably ought to get started right away.”
A soft laugh bubbled up through my chest. “There’s no way I’m going to let you talk me into getting naked out here again. That was a once-in-a-lifetime deal.”
“How about when we get back to your grandma’s place?”
Even thinking about what he had in mind warmed my blood. I was about to respond when a light flashed off in the distance on the other side of the lake.
“What’s that?” I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Unless it had been developed while I’d been away, that side of the lake had never had any cabins. It was too difficult to reach except by water.
“Could be some hunters looking to tag a big buck.” Viper’s grip around me loosened. “Or it could be we just found where the Savage Bones have been hiding.”
CHAPTER 10
VIPER
I moved through the woods,trying my best to stay silent. With Scar on my left and Atlas on my right, the MC had surrounded the area we’d targeted and was closing in. After Marlowe and I saw the light in the woods, I called for some backup. Ashley still had that drone she’d used when we fought the Savage Bones a few months ago and sent it up to get a look at the site from overhead.
Seemed the few remaining assholes who hadn’t been killed or run off were operating from a remote headquarters deep in the woods. If Marlowe hadn’t caught the flicker of their fire from across the lake, we might not have ever found them.
But we had. And now they were going to pay for what they’d done. No matter what justice we dished out, it wouldn’t make up for the way they’d terrorized our town for the past year.
Atlas let out a low whistle and signaled that he was taking the lead. I hung back, covering his six. The drone had picked up footage of a couple of trucks and a few tents. Seemed like no matter how many of those fuckers we took out, the Savage Bones multiplied and kept crawling out from under the rocks where they hid.
Tonight we’d put an end to all of that.
At least Marlowe was safe. I’d left her back at the clubhouse with the other women and kids. She’d grumbled and complained about not coming with me, but I couldn’t concentrate if I knew she was nearby. Though Atlas had called for all hands on deck out here in the woods, he’d left Priest and Jackson behind to look after the clubhouse. We couldn’t be too careful when the Savage Bones were involved.
Atlas inched closer, his weapon drawn. The voices grew louder. They were laughing about something, but still too low to make out the words. Never one to practice patience, Scar moved ahead. I scanned the woods, and the hair on the back of my neck bristled. Something wasn’t right.
The dark form of Miles came into view on the other side of the camp. Their fire had died down, but my eyes had already adjusted to the dim light enough to see that several of my MC brothers formed a perimeter around the area.
“What the fuck is this?” Atlas growled and rushed into the small clearing. The men continued to talk, even when Atlas stood in the center and turned in a slow circle.
My gut clenched. There was no one there. The Savage Bones had set us up. Miles picked something up from one of the chairs.
“Looks like they recorded themselves talking to draw us in.” He pushed a button on the side of the small recorder and a crushing silence spread through the woods.
“If they’re not here, then where the fuck are they?” Crank asked.
The clubhouse. We all must have reached the same conclusion at the exact same time, because everyone turned to head back to our vehicles.
“Thunder, see if you can make contact with Jackson or Priest,” Atlas yelled.
“On it.” Thunder dropped back slightly while the rest of us crashed through the dense brush.
If anything happened to her… I’d never forgive myself. I was the one who told her she’d be safe at the clubhouse. She’d wanted to come with me, but I hadn’t wanted to put her in danger. The same anguish and despair coursing through my veins showed up in the drawn faces of my MC brothers as we reached the pull-off where we’d left our cars.
“We don’t know what we’re in for when we get there,” Atlas warned. “I didn’t get them enough credit. Malice was the brains behind their operation. With him gone, I figured it would be easy to crush the rest of them. Fuck. We need a plan.”
“I got a hold of Jackson.” Thunder caught up to us. “He said the grounds of the clubhouse have been breached. They drove right through the front gates. He and Priest got almost everyone to the outbuilding at the back of the property and are holding them off for now. They’re going to be out of ammunition before we get back.”
