“I’ll get breakfast started,” Blade offered, pulling items from the fridge at random.
Ace and Blade made breakfast, while Marcus and Caden passed out coffee to those who were awake.
They spent the next hour eating breakfast, spread out across the kitchen and living room.
Once everyone was done and coffees had been refilled, they all moved to the living room to discuss their plan of attack.
“I think the best place to take him out will be Marcus’s cottage. It’s secluded and private and draws that psychopath away from Baton and all its residents,” Ace suggested.
“I think you’re right,” Marcus agreed. “We’ll close down the bar for a few days and move all the Shadow Vipers up to the cottage. This way, everyone will be safe, and we can take out the bastard together.”
The room was silent as everyone listened to Marcus’s instructions.
“Actually, we might have a better chance at flushing out this guy if Gavin isn’t surrounded by a mob of bikers. I know you won’t like it, but leaving Gavin exposed makes him better bait in the end,” Ace suggested.
“Gavin isn’t bait,” Marcus barked back, glaring at his younger brother for suggesting such a thing.
There was no chance in hell he was using the boy as bait. There were better ways to lure out a serial killer. They didn’t need to risk Gavin’s safety and possibly his life just to make things easier for them to draw him out.
“No. We aren’t using him,” Marcus repeated.
Gavin raised his head and locked eyes with Marcus. He was sitting between Lucas and Caden.
“You know this is the best way of luring him out. If it keeps people safe, then I’m all for being used as bait. Plus, I’ll have you there to protect me.”
That he did.
While Marcus didn’t like the thought of dangling Gavin in front of a psychopath, like a worm on a hook, he knew that using Gavin was their best chance at success.
They needed to lure the Valentine Killer out of hiding, and getting him to voluntarily walk into a home swarming with bikers wasn’t exactly the smartest of plans.
The guys were right. They needed to do it their way.
“Fine,” Marcus agreed reluctantly.
“Good,” Ace responded. “Blade and I will ride up to the cottage shortly to secure the place and get it ready for your arrival. You and Gavin ride up later tonight. That will give us time to shop and stock up the place so you guys won’t have to. Once you settle in, a small team of us will monitor the property from a safe distance and let you know if we see anything suspicious.” Ace turned to face Gavin. “We want the Valentine Killer to think that you and Marcus are hiding out at the cottage alone. Once he thinks it’s safe, he will come out of hiding and try to take you. Don’t worry, we will be watching the place around the clock.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Gavin responded.
When did his brother become such a smart cookie?
Sometime between when he first learned to talk and when he started to discover boys, Marcus guessed.
There was a reason he relied on his little brother so much. He’d be lost without the little prick.
But then something occurred to Marcus.
“Wait. No. This plan isn’t going to work. How am I supposed to protect everyone when all of you are scattered across different locations?” Marcus shook his head. “Nope. It’s best if everyone comes to the cottage with Gavin and me. God knows we have the room for everyone. We can figure out a way to draw this fucker out later.”
All eyes moved between Marcus and Ace. A standoff was about to begin between their leader and his little brother.
Ace stepped forward.
“Marcus. I know that as the leader of the Shadow Vipers, you feel a responsibility to look after and protect all of us, but keep in mind, we are all grown-ass adults. We’ve all been in scraps before and taken out more gang members than we care to admit. For once in your life, let your crew take care of you. You don’t need to protect us all the time. This time, we’ve got your back. We are the ones who are going to be protecting you.”
Hearing Ace’s words made it suddenly hard to swallow.
Not because he was having trouble breathing, but because there was suddenly a goddamn lump in his throat that was getting even bigger with every word his little brother spoke.
