I smile into my drink. “Okay.”
But the way she looks anywherebutat him? Yeah. She’s not fooling me.
KADE
I call church to bring the men up to speed on Jimmy and Liam.
“This is Bull’s fault,” Cole growls, his jaw clenched, arms folded like he’s ready to crack teeth.
“I’m gonna arrange a meeting with Jimmy,” I say. “Try to reason with him.”
“You can’t reason with scumbags,” Razor snaps. “We thought we’d only need to keep him sweet for a few months. It’s beenyears.Years of hauling his shit around Nottinghamshire. We’re already going against everything we stand for, and now he wants more.”
“More?” I echo.
Razor nods. “Why do you think he’s suddenly popping up unannounced? He’s circling. He’s waiting for a chance to dump more heat on us.”
“It makes sense,” I admit.
Smoke slams his fist on the table. “We’ve been patient. Too patient. We’re the motherfucking Satan Kings. Nobody backs usinto a corner. Maybe it’s time to show him why we used to be feared.”
A few of the men grunt their agreement.
“Taking out Jimmy leaves room for someone bigger to move in,” I remind them. “We agreed we’d keep him contained because we know what he moves and where. If we take him out, we inherit the mess. His debts, his contacts, his enemies, and fuck knows what else.”
“Pres is right,” Diesel says. “And we’re out of practice. I don’t remember the last time we had to call in the clean-up team.”
Tap leans forward. “We could help move someone bigger onto his territory, or take it ourselves. Jimmy’s sitting on a goldmine; he just doesn’t know how to run shit right. We need to get back in the game—”
“No.” My voice cracks like a whip across the table. “I’m not dragging this club back into the depths. That’s how it went wrong with Jimmy and Bull—they got greedy. We don’t. We make what we need, nothing more. We like the easy life. No point stirring up every criminal organisation from here to London.”
The men are quiet. “But,” I add, “you’re not wrong about finding someone else. I’ll reach out to a few bigger cities. Feel out the networks. If someone wants to step on Jimmy’s toes and push him out, fine by us.”
“The women have a night out tonight,” Diesel says.
I exhale, rubbing my temples. “We can’t let them know what’s going on. They’re already suspicious.”
“Pres, we can’t let them out when Jimmy’s circling.”
“I know.” I nod to Tap and Cole. “Follow from a distance. If you see Jimmy or any of those estate rats, call me. We’ll show up unannounced. I’ll tell Eden it’s a birthday surprise.”
The men nod, accepting the plan.
I bang the gavel. “Church dismissed.”
Chairs scrape. Boots echo. Men file out.
Diesel hesitates at the door. “You sure you’re doing the right thing, keeping this from the women?”
I meet his gaze. “They’ve never known the shit we deal with. It keeps them safe. If the cops ever show up, they’re clean. That’s the tradition. That’s how Pops ran it. That’s how I’m running it.”
He huffs a humourless laugh. “Sometimes a heads-up might keep them safer. They’d be alert.”
“And they’d have a crap night worrying about shit they can’t change.” I take a step forward. “And last I checked, D, I’m the president.”
He scoffs and leaves the room, shaking his head.
I hate pulling rank. But this time, I’m right.
