“You say that, but Frank Crow made an alliance with a cartel.ButchCrow had us to the ropes last time. They ain’t as useless as we’ve always thought.”
“Frank and Butch are dead,” Nash countered. “So’s McGif.”
“And?”
“Locke reckons there aren’t any others floating around with half a brain between them.”
I snorted. “Lockeisa Crow.”
“Is he?”
Embry’s voice made Nash fade out.
I twisted to face him. Tilted my head so he’d elaborate.
Embry leaned on the glass and threaded his arms across his chest. “I just told Locke and Folk that Rocco’s dead. Turns out Rocco and Folk were closer than we thought. They’ve been best mates since they were little kids. It’s gonna take him a minute to get his head straight, but when he does, he’ll ride with us. Locke’s solid too. Has been from the start.”
“You want to test that on a dark road in the middle of the night? When the rest of those fuckers come home?”
The wildness Embry’s good heart tried to contain flared in his stormy blues. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“The Crow who shanked you is already dead.”
Because I shot him in the face, and I still want to kill him a thousand times more.
Cam cleared his throat.
I turned back to the table. “I don’t trust any fucker who ever wore a Crow patch. What if they think it’s our fault Rocco got done?”
“They won’t,” Nash said. “Least Locke won’t. Can’t say I speak to Folk much.”
“Saint does.” As Embry said his name, Saint’s bike growled to life and he left the compound with an angry roar.
Cam sighed. “Anyone know for sure how he’d vote? I’ve got no fucking clue.”
“He don’t either,” I said. “If he did, he’d have found a way to let you know.”
“What about you?” Cam questioned. “You don’t seem in the mood to raise chaos, but I’ve been wrong about that—about you—in the past.”
Embry was the one with the piercing stare. Saint and Alexei with their sixth sense about the whole fucking world. But Cam had a stare of his own. A deep, penetrating gaze that was a heartbeat away from seeing the best and worst parts of me.
I swallowed hard. Felt rather than saw Embry return to his seat and press his leg against mine as if he’d never been gone.I’m here, even though he probably knew I was about to disagree with him. “We should wait. Let Lorenzo bring the fight to us. I’d fucking love it if Alexei popped him, but what’s the point if they might all kill each other first?”
Cam grinned a little. “That’s very reasonable of you. Who are you and where’s the real Mateo?”
“Same place as the Cam you were two years ago. I don’t want to lose no one, boss.”
Cam nodded and surveyed the rest of the table. Embry was spoiling for a righteous fight and Alexei wanted to kill everyone. Cam and Rubi stood together, and Nash was on the fence. With Saint’s opinion unknown, for once in my life I was the voice of reason.
Did it feel good?
Nah. Being a nasty bastard kept me alive and I didn’t like the quiet unless Embry was sleeping beside me. Didn’t trust it. But my demons were old, man. I’d been fighting them longer than I’d sat at this table. If Cam wasn’t ready to fight and it kept Embry safe, I’d sheath my fucking sword forever.
“We can’t vote without Saint,” Cam said eventually. “And if he’s in a mood, can’t say when he’ll be back, so maybe it’s best we sleep on it a while anyway.”
“What about the haulage runs?” Nash stretched his arms, cracking his neck. “Unless Viktor’s playing us all,weknow Sidorov might not hold Lorenzo to his uncle’s word, but he doesn’t. And I don’t think there’s enough leftover Crows to come at us on our home turf. But we’re vulnerable on the roads. It’s where I’d hit us if I was gonna.”
“Me too,” Cam agreed. “Most of their nomads are still up north, right?”
