The Vault no longer felt like a strip club.
Instead, it was just a room full of people waiting to see who was going to survive the night. I wanted to believe that we’d all get through it, but I knew better.
This wasn’t the kind of attack where everyone left unscathed.
The lead gunman stepped forward, and his voice was muffled behind his mask as he said, “Now, everybody relax. Nobody’s gonna get hurt, unless someone tries to play hero and does something stupid.”
I glanced around the room, taking a moment to study each of the men. I searched for tattoos or any markings that might give some indication of who they might be. But they were too covered to pick up on anything.
They were literally doused in black, and I mean every inch of them.
Black shirts. Black pants. Black gloves. Black masks.
I started going through possible names in my head, starting with those who might have the balls to pull a stunt like this. There were countless gangs and MCs in the state. Some were rivals while others were considered allies. And out of all of them, there was one who stood out above all the others.
The Rebel Coyotes.
It made sense.
They were pissed at how we’d worked them over and left their bar in shambles. We’d gone there to send a message, and we sent it, loud and clear. We’d fucked them up pretty bad. Hell, it took them this long to get back on their feet, and now, they were out for revenge.
It would be just their style.
Hostile. Tactless. Public.
And this certainly checked all the marks.
One of the masked men hopped behind the bar. He handed Seven a bag and placed the barrel of his gun against his temple as he ordered, “Empty the registers.”
Every instinct I had screamed for me to move.
I wanted to jump these assholes and put an end to this bullshit before someone did something they couldn’t take back. But moving on impulse would get us all killed, so I stayed put, waiting for the right moment to make a move.
I wasn’t the only one watching and waiting. They were, too. They were watching us, waiting for one of us to try to stop them. We let them think they had all the control, but one of them would fuck up.
And when they did, we’d show them exactly who was in charge.
Seven opened the register and started shoving the cash into the bag. A second guy charged the second register, and he was shouting at Diamond to empty it as he waved his gun in her face. She was freaked out and crying, but she managed to comply.
One of the men in the back shouted, “Don’t forget the safe!”
The sound of his voice cut through the room like broken glass, and something about it sent a chill down my spine. It wasn’t what he said.
It was the tone
The cadence.
The familiarity of it settled heavy in my chest. I turned and watched him emerge from the hallway. A knot formed in my throat as I watched the sway of his shoulders and heard the thud of his heavy step.
And then, he stopped and scanned the crowd.
His stance. The way he held his head.
The twitch of his thumb against his index finger.
Motherfucker.
26
