When the tremors eased, I rose, catching her mouth with mine and swallowing the taste of her sigh. She sagged into me, lips swollen, pulse wild under my fingers where I still held her.
“Now,” I rasped, brushing her hair back, letting her see the wrecked hunger still burning in my eyes. “I can face the brothers, but after the meeting”—I kissed her hard, sealing the promise—“you’re mine for the night.”
She gave a breathless laugh, still trembling, and whispered, “You’d better make good on that.”
I adjusted my kutte, waited for her to straighten up, and offered her my hand. Together, we stepped out back out into the smoke and noise, straight into the meeting.
I stood, all eyes on me. “Listen up.”
Silence. Riot and Link, always ready for a fight, looked serious.
“Lucy dug up something big. The Fangs are moving a shipment in two days, rail yard outside town. Heavy security, but it is their weak spot. We hit it hard, we take ‘em down.”
A murmur ran through the space; anticipation mixed with caution.
“This isn’t only about taking down a rival,” I said. “It’s about protecting what’s ours.”
I met every eye in the room, and nobody backed down. “Everyone has a role. We move fast, hit hard, and get out clean. No loose ends.”
Riot cracked his knuckles. “We’re ready, boss.”
Link nodded. “All in.”
The brothers roared a sound of loyalty, of a family ready to bleed for one another.
“Okay, let’s go cause trouble, brothers. Take down a few small places before we hit big in forty-eight hours.”
By dawn, the clubhouse had quieted. The rumble of bikes had faded but tension lingered. Faces were grim, but the fire in their eyes was unmistakable. We’d hit the Fangs that night, but only small places to distract from the big fight coming.
I gathered the brothers again. Riot and Link flanked me, bruised but standing tall. The room circled in, waiting for our next move.
“Good work out there,” I said. “We scattered their men, took their gear, but this isn’t over. We’re closing the net. No more running, no more guessing. The next supply drop, rail yard, heavily guarded—that’s our shot. That’s the big one.”
Riot nodded. “Hit hard, fast. No mistakes.”
I outlined the plan—split teams, tight comms, extraction points, backup. Precision only.
“Lucy’s got eyes inside the city,” I added. “Her intel is solid. We’re not riding in blind.”
A murmur went through the room.
“We’re taking this fight to them, ending it.”
The roar that followed shook the walls.
Inside me, the weight settled. The next move could break us or make us whole again. Either way, there was no turning back.
Chapter 50
Lucy
The air in the clubhouse was heavy, restless. I sat on the sofa with Maria while Jay and half the brothers lounged in the bar, resting up for the big run, when the door banged open.
Gabby.
Her hair was wild, lipstick non-existent, eyes bright with something unhinged, and in her hand, glinting under the neon light, was a knife.
My stomach dropped, and I stood up, facing her. I put a hand on Maria’s shoulder to keep her seated and behind me.
