“Or more desperate,” Grey mutters, already heading toward the chapel.“Meeting.Now.”
* * *
Riggs (Reapers MC)
I slam my fist against the wall of the motel room, cracks splintering through the cheap drywall.My lieutenants flinch but stay silent.They know better than to speak when I’m in this mood.
“Three men dead at the bank,” I seethe, pacing like a caged animal.“Three more missing from the warehouse run.And the hospital plan failed completely.”I whirl on my VP, eyes burning.“So tell me how the fuck Devil Souls keep getting the drop on us.”
Viper, my second-in-command, clears his throat.“They’ve got good intelligence.Better security than we anticipated.And their enforcer?—”
“Slaughter.”I spit the name like poison.“That self-righteous bastard thinks he’s untouchable.”
“He’s just doing his job,” Viper says, then immediately regrets it when I step into his space.
“Are you defending him now?”I growl.“After what they did to our brothers?”
“No, boss.Just stating facts.We need to be smarter about this.”
I step back, forcing my rage down until something colder takes its place.“You’re right.We’ve been too scattered.Too predictable.”
I move to the makeshift map of Devil Souls territory pinned to the motel wall, my fingers tracing the boundaries until they stop at the clubhouse marked in red.
“We’ve been hitting the periphery,” I say, tapping the map.“The hospital.The bank.Individual members.But that’s not how you kill a snake.”My finger stabs the clubhouse.“You cut off its head.”
Viper approaches carefully, studying the map.“The clubhouse is a fortress, boss.Cameras.Reinforced doors.Armed members twenty-four seven.”
“Which is exactly why they’ll never expect a direct attack,” I say, a vicious smile curling my mouth.“They think we’re too smart to try it.”
“With respect,” Crusher interjects, “we’d take heavy casualties.”
I turn on him, letting my expression harden.“You afraid to die, Crusher?”
He stiffens.“No, sir.Just considering the odds.”
“The odds change when you have a surprise.”I rip the map down and spread it across the table.“And when you have this.”
From my cut, I pull out a folded sheet of paper and smooth it flat.The room leans in as recognition hits—blueprints.Detailed.Precise.The Devil Souls’ clubhouse.
“Where did you get these?”Viper asks quietly, fingers hovering like he’s afraid to touch them.
“Not everyone in Devil Souls territory is loyal to Grey,” I say, tapping the page.“Look here.Service entrance to the basement.Minimal security.Blind spot.”
Excitement replaces hesitation as I outline the plan.
“We hit them at dawn, when most of them are sleeping it off.Two teams.One causes chaos at the front gate.The other comes through here.”I trace the route through the building.“We eliminate anyone we find, but the priority targets are Grey and Slaughter.Their VP, Trenton, is out of town.”
“And the doctor?”Crusher asks.“Word is Slaughter’s claimed him.”
A cruel smile twists my face.“Especially him.Nothing hurts like watching someone you love die in front of you.I want Slaughter to see it—really see it—before we put a bullet in his head.”
Silence settles over the room.This isn’t about territory anymore.This is annihilation.
“When?”Viper finally asks.
I study the blueprint one last time, decision locked in.
“Tomorrow.First light.”
