Cole
Watching Lilly leave tore at me.
I was letting her go out right into the wilderness, right into the teeth of the wolves, and all for what? Because I’d tried to be the tough guy?
Or was I being too harsh on myself now, and I just had to live with the consequences of what was the right action?
This wasn’t me. I wasn’t the guy who tried to talk a tough game. That was Butch’s job, or maybe Axle’s. Phoenix, even.
On the other hand, though, what had being gentle and kind gotten me? Expulsion from the Black Reapers. A year of isolation as I tried to figure out what to do. An only recent reunion, a very tenuous one at that, with my brother.
I needed to learn how to be a man, how to stand up for myself, and how to be assertive... but I had to learn how to do so without being an asshole.
And, at this point, it sure seemed like the only thing I had accomplished with sending the daughter of Lucius out to the wild was that she was bound to get hurt one way or the other. And if that wasn’t being an asshole, nothing was.
* * *
A few hours later, I pulled up to the clubhouse for the Gray Reapers in Ashton, a spot where Lane and the Black Reapers, in a show of solidarity, had agreed to have their next meeting at. I got inside first, taking my seat at the table, but only by about two minutes. The sound of a cadre of motorcycles filled the air, and many of the Gray Reapers there took notice, their hands going to their guns and their shoulders tensing.
“All good,” Phoenix yelled from the front. “It’s the Black Reapers.”
I couldn’t tell if those words actually softened any of my club members or not. Hands didn’t stay on guns, but nothing else about their body language or posture relaxed at all.
Axle and Butch entered first, followed by Patriot and Lane. I rose, offered my hand, and Lane took it.
“Thanks for hosting,” he said. “Thought we were going to meet you in your church?”
“You’re looking at it.”
Lane looked at Patriot, one eyebrow arched, no subtlety in his face.
“This is a joke, right?” he said. “You have your meetings out in the open like this? Where everyone can hear?”
I shrugged. I felt a little attacked, but I just reminded myself, “Assertion without being an asshole.”
“It’s a choice I consciously made to allow for more transparency when I founded the Gray Reapers,” I said. “May not be for everyone, but it has worked for us.”
What I didn’t tell Lane was that I was starting to question the approach too, and not just because many of the officers had expressed annoyance. Practically, it was hard to carry on club business when people were milling about, having other conversations, or coming in and out of the building. Strategically, too, while it hadn’t happened yet, it would have been a lot easier for someone to spy on us.
I hadn’t given it up yet out of a sense of pride, but if the day came when the clubs reunited, this was something I was not going to push for very hard.
“OK then,” Lane said, very obviously biting his tongue. “Well, let’s take a seat and start discussing.”
Lane and I stood side by side, much as we had at the Black Reapers’ clubhouse. But otherwise, the look just didn’t inspire unity like I’d hoped it would. Instead of a room full of a bunch of officers in close proximity, here, half the people were so far out as to be meandering around.
Attention spans were short, distractions were plentiful, and eyes wandered regularly. I hated to say “Lane was right” even after all the peace we had made, but... well, his side had a point.
“We’ll report on what happened on our end of things first,” Lane said. “We attacked their compound. Took out four Saints. We suffered one casualty, but the member, Carl, is expected to live. No sign of Lucius there. I would expect retaliation soon, unless you have some news on your end, Cole?”
I cleared my throat.
“Well, as you all know, Patriot, Phoenix, and I split off into our own unit to go and attack the Sartor house to try and end this war.”
I still had given no thought beyond what we’d discussed when we picked up Lilly to what I would actually say.
“Unfortunately, though, when we got there, Lucius was not there. In fact, no one, aside from a couple of Saints that Patriot and Phoenix managed to kill without trouble, was there. It was a missed opportunity, but I don’t know how we could have done any better. I think it’s an idea worth repeating.”
“You don’t think Lucius will see his two guards killed and start to rev up his defenses?” Lane said.
