I nodded, shooting my eyes over to Dempsey who stood in the back, a slight smirk on his lips, probably recalling what we did in the shop earlier.
The little shit.
“Wolf is clearing some bad shit up with the Outlaws,” Hawk said. “He’ll join us later. We’ve pulled everyone in on lockdown, but we’ll be outside the compound. I’m leaving Rebel and Fury here to take care of the clubhouse. We’re going to split up, half will cover the Wolves and half cover the Reapers. Plan of attack, we strike both clubhouses at the same time.”
That was surprising.
There was no negotiations, no talking things through - straight to attack. It meant Dempsey was right to run. He would have been hunted down and killed. My chest squeezed at that.
“Dempsey, Val, stay behind, the rest of you clear out.”
I did as instructed and let everyone walk around us. The door was closed after Bear left, and I looked over at Hawk.
“You two can’t be at the same clubhouse,” he issued. “It’s too dangerous, you’ll be more worried about each other. We need you guys at 100 percent, and not worried about the other so you either make a decisionthat one of you stays behind or one is on the Reapers and one is on the Wolves.”
I looked over at Dempsey who was moving toward me. “That makes sense. I don’t speak for Shae. Whatever she wants.”
My chest swelled again, but I pushed back the feeling. Hawk dragged my attention back to him.
“Good. Val, you’ll be on the Wolves detail given your past with the Reapers.”
I sucked in a breath, but having Dempsey right beside me gave me the strength to nod and accept my assignment. Hawk left the room and I turned to Dempsey.
“You good?” he asked. “Arewegood?”
“Let’s talk about that after we kick these clubs’ asses.”
The smirk that made its way onto his face had my iced heart melting. How was it possible that I was willing to forgive this asshole after only a few days?
Because you love him, my brain decided to pipe in.
He nodded. “You got it, baby.”
“Don’t call me that in front of the boys. It’s Valkyrie or Val, not Shae.”
Dempsey nodded. “Sure thing,Val.”
I rolled my eyes as his gaze drifted down my body and toward my legs. Those same legs that had been wrapped around him earlier.
Moving out of the room, we joined everyone at the bar. They were all suiting up with guns and knives. I did the same and kept a distance from Dempsey. We needed to keep our game faces on for this.
As we were nearing time to leave, darkness was descending around us, so it would be time to hit the road so we could hide out if we needed to. Wolf came into the clubhouse with two men behind him. They were just as scary as Wolf looked, and they both honed in on Dempsey. I turned to see his smile shift, concern etched over his face. I felt protective of him as they moved inside. Wolf shook his head at me to warn me not to intercept. They headed over to Dempsey just as Bear and Hawk followed.
They all moved back into the room we held service in.
“Wolf.”
“Let this happen, Valkyrie,” he warned. When Wolf spoke, you listened. I’d learned that the hard way. If he thought this needed to happen, then it needed to happen. I had to have faith that Bear and Hawk could handle this.
I loaded my guns, and slid my knives into their holsters on my thigh and ankles. I was the only woman here.
The others were probably all keeping shelter in the back rooms or in Hawk’s cabin with Morena. I had beenso damn proud to patch in as a Nomad, and then to be shifted to the Rebels.
But I’d give it up in a heartbeat if it meant we needed to run, because there wasn’t a way in Hell I would leave Dempsey or let him leave again.
We were a team.
He was the only one I wanted to be with.
