Waiting. Planning.
But so are we.
And when the trap springs shut, I'm going to be the last thing he ever sees.
The next few days pass in a blur of tension and preparing for this madness.
Ounce makes his calls, drops hints to the right people, lets it slip that he's looking to get back in the game.
The word spreads through the underground like smoke—Ounce from the Saint’s Outlaws MC is looking to deal, looking to connect, looking for a supplier with products and girls.
Virgil takes the bait on day three.
"He wants to meet," Ounce tells us in church. "Friday night. The motel on Route 7. Says he's got a proposition for me."
Friday.
Three days away.
Three more days of waiting, of watching, of keeping Vanna close and praying nothing goes wrong.
"What's the play?" Ruger asks.
"I go in alone. Wear some sort of recording device. Get him talking—about his operation, his girls, his plans." Ounce's jaw tightens. "Once we have what we need, I give the signal. You come in, and we end it."
"And if something goes wrong? If he suspects?"
"Then I handle it." Ounce pulls out a pistol, checks the chamber, slides it back into his waistband. "One way or another, Virgil doesn't walk out of that meeting."
Ruger nods slowly. "Friday, then. Everyone knows their positions?"
Murmurs of agreement are around the table.
"Then we're done here." Ruger stands. "Get some rest. Stay sharp. And pray to whatever god you believe in that this goes clean."
I linger after the others leave, standing at the window, staring out at the compound.
The sky is gray, heavy with the promise of snow.
Fitting weather for what's coming.
Vanna appears in the doorway, one hand on her belly.
"It's happening?" she asks.
"Friday."
She crosses the room and slips her arms around me from behind, pressing her cheek against my back.
"Be careful," she whispers. "I can't do this without you. This baby can't grow up without a father."
I turn, pulling her into my arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
She looks up at me, and I see everything in her eyes. The fear. The hope. The love that's carried us through six years of chaos and heartbreak.
"I believe you," she says.
I kiss her—deep and slow, trying to pour everything I feel into it.
