I scanned the room. “We don’t wait. We bring the war to them. Be smart. Lock down our people. Protect the clubhouse. Hunt Gage. Bleed the Fangs out, one by one, until there’s nothing left.”
There was a pause, then Riot leaned back, lips curling. “About time we went hunting.”
“Damn right,” Link replied. “Been too quiet since Caleb.”
I turned to Lucy. “You still in?”
She nodded, no hesitation. “I didn’t come this far to back down now.”
War wasn’t coming—it was already here. And the club? We were ready to finish what Caleb had started.
I slammed the gavel down. “Church is in session. This time, we bury them all.”
I gave Lucy a grim smile as she headed out, door closing tightly behind her. She was learning. My house, my rules.
I stayed standing, hands braced on the table, eyes scanning the room.
Bishop was the first to break. He shook his head, muttering, “Bringing outsiders into church. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Better an outsider who gave us the rat,” Riot shot back, his voice flat, “than a brother who sold us out.”
Bishop glared but didn’t answer.
Link leaned forward, elbows on the table. “He’s right. I don’t like her in here either. But she brought proof, not rumours. Gage didn’t even try to deny it.”
Keno slammed a palm against the table. “I don’t trust her.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, sharp. “You trust me, and I’m telling you, without her, we’d still be blind.”
That shut them up, but I saw it in their eyes, the doubt and anger, all of it aimed at me as much as her.
Boxer broke the tension with a grunt. “I don’t care who brought the intel. All I care about is putting a bullet in Gage’s skull before he feeds the Fangs our throats.”
Riot cracked a rare grin. “Now, that’s the kind of clarity I like.”
The room rumbled with low curses and the sound of men shifting in their seats. Brothers were pulling themselves together, even if fractures ran through the mortar.
I stayed silent, letting it settle, because I knew the truth. Lucy hadn’t just walked into church tonight. She’d walked straight onto the line between me and the men I led.
If I chose wrong, it wouldn’t only be the Fangs tearing us apart.
Chapter 26
Lucy
The walls felt like they were closing in, not from fear, but from pressure. The weight of the truth, the blood already spilled, the blood that was coming.
I stood in the hallway outside the room for hours, listening as boots thundered, voices echoed, and the club mobilized like a war machine. Orders were barked, names rattled off, numbers confirmed. Jay ran his crew like a general, and they were on a warpath.
Because of me.
No, not because of me, I reminded myself, jaw tightening. Because Gage sold them out. Because someone put a bullet in Diesel’s head and tried to bury the truth. Because someone had murdered my brother and left him in a shitty motel room. I’d dug it up, and now, they were all paying for it.
I slipped out onto the back steps for air, the noise of the clubhouse bleeding into the night. It was one of those evenings where the tension under your skin wouldn’t give in, no matter how many deep breaths you took.
I thought back to the night before, when I’d given into my weakness and let Jay take me to bed. At the time, I wasdisappointed that he’d stopped it from going further. Now, without a lust-filled head, I was glad he had. We didn’t need that complication. At least, that’s what I was telling myself.
The screen door creaked, and Maria stepped out, holding two mugs. She handed me one without asking.
