Shit.I need to get out of here, get away. But what good would that do? I’d be forever on edge. Forever unsure who I can trust. Who’d get to me first. Looking over my shoulder every damn day knowing that the roots of the poisoned tree spread far and wide.
Consumed with guilt for placing my own wellbeing over that of others. People like Darla. The Kid. Kathy. Good people. People who deserve better.
I have a chance to make a difference, so why deny the opportunity?
Shit.Head buried in my hands, I screw my eyes tight and draw a deep breath. There’s no getting away from this. I didn’t ask for the knowledge I have now, but I can’t change the past. I’ve seen things I can’t deny. Know details not many do. I could have easily lived my life in ignorant bliss had my father never shown up. I could have gone on like anyone else in the general population, vaguely aware of the bad things that exist but far enough removed for none of it to weigh too heavily on my conscience.
But I know now. I’ve seen it.
And whether I like it or not, I’m a part of it.
Which means as much as I hate to admit it, my fucking father is right—I need to get back in the pipeline.
I need to finish what I started.
If not for me, then for them.
For the women the Kings of Anarchydidn’tsave.
FOURTEEN
FANG
Jinx followsHighway into the room—the last one to arrive for church—oblivious to the general impatience around the table as he swipes something closed on his phone.
“Glad you could finally join us,” Chaos sasses.
He earns a scowl from his second-in-command in response. “Had a few words to share with the sheriff before he left.”
“Maybe you could choose a better time to pick a fight with your future father-in-law, yeah?” Our president narrows his gaze, daring Jinx to protest.
Our VP officially started dating Marty’s daughter, Kyra, recently. Problem was, he didn’t get the sheriff’s approval first. Or after. It’s been an interesting affair to watch, that’s for sure.
I tap my phone where it lies on the table and check the time. I’ve got roughly an hour to get this wrapped up and on the road to pick up Molly.
Jinx’s chair scrapes loudly across the dry, timber floor as he gets comfortable to Chaos’s right. Highway swats a dead cricket off his seat before settling on my left. The meeting room was initially set up in the parlor of the farmhouse, but it was quicklyvetoed when we couldn’t be assured privacy from unwanted guests or ears.
And so, we shifted locations to the rundown cabin buried in the woods at the rear of the property. Invisible to the eye from the road, and not talked about with anyone who doesn’t already know of its existence.
I glance up at the temporary patch job on the damaged roof, then at the empty ice-cream tub positioned midway down the table to catch any water should it rain. The building isn’t completely fit for purpose, but it works. A few weekends putting new boards on the roof and tearing the old lining off the walls, and it would almost pass as habitable.
We’ve got to finish the boundary fence first.
Chaos gestures for Darko to pull up the iPad with a jerk of his chin. “We’ve got a few points to discuss after Marty’s visit.”
“You don’t say.” Loki balances on the rear legs of his chair, arms folded. “Open agenda?”
Chaos nods. “No time to table the points first, so I’ll say my piece and then the floor is yours.”
Darko nods to indicate he’s ready to record the minutes.
“Meeting open at…” Chaos glances to his phone. “Eleven-fifteen.” He waits for Darko to tap out those present and then continues. “I received a message from Smoke this morning.” He references the Devil’s Breed president as he produces a blank, open mailer, promptly shaking three Polaroids onto the table.
“Is that—” Highway starts.
“Davis Anderson,” Chaos says, naming the local shopkeeper, Devil’s Breed associate, and brother of the Breed member Chaos shot and killed. “Smoke cleaned up a loose end and he wants us to know.”
Jinx briefly looks over each image before sliding them down the table for the rest of us. “More like he wants us to know he found out who ratted about his operation.”
