"Ivy is under my protection now. That means she's untouchable. You come near her again, you send prospects to scout her location, you so much as think her name too loud, and I will personally make sure you don't walk away from the consequences. Do you understand me?"
Cole spits blood on my floor. "Fuck you, Blake. You just declared war on the Vipers."
"No," I correct, my voice deadly calm. "You declared war when you put your hands on a woman who couldn't fight back. I'm just the one who's finally going to make you pay for it."
I shove him back down to his knees. Then I look at Razor, who's standing very still with Canvas's gun still pressed to his head.
"Razor. You and I rode together once. Drank together. Called each other brother. So, I'm going to give you a message to take back to Demon, and you're going to deliver it word for word. For old times' sake."
Razor's expression is neutral, but I see the acknowledgment in his eyes.
"Tell Demon that Ivy Mason is under Iron Phoenix protection. Tell him that any attempt to retrieve her, harm her, or intimidate her will be met with immediate and overwhelming retaliation. Tell him that I'm drawing a line right here, right now, and if he crosses it, I'll finish what I should have finished three years ago."
"He won't accept that," Razor says.
"I don't give a fuck what he accepts. Those are the terms." I release Cole and step back. "Now get out of my clubhouse. All of you. And Razor, make sure Cole understands that if he comes back here, he's not leaving alive."
Canvas, Diesel, and Saint step back, lowering their guns but keeping them visible. The message is clear. We're letting them leave, but only because we choose to.
The two prospects help Cole to his feet. He's still bleeding, still glaring at me with that impotent rage.
"This isn't over," he says.
"No," I agree. "It's not. But the next time we meet, it'll be on a battlefield. And Cole," I wait until he looks at me. "I want you to remember something. Every bruise you put on Ivy, every time you made her feel small or scared or worthless, every moment of pain you caused her, I'm going to return it tenfold. By the time I'm done with you, you're going to wish you'd never laid eyes on her."
Cole doesn't respond. Just turns and walks toward the door, the other three Vipers following. Razor pauses at the threshold, looking back at me. For a moment, I see the man he used to be. The brother he could have been if he'd made different choices.
"Your father would be proud of what you built here," he says. "For what it's worth."
Then he's gone, following Cole out into the early morning light.
Diesel and Saint escort them out, making sure they actually get on their bikes and leave. I can hear the engines starting up, the roar of four motorcycles heading back toward Viper territory.
The moment they're gone, I turn to face my brothers.
Judge, Canvas, Wraith, and Saint are all watching me, waiting. I take a necessary long and deep breath.
"I need to tell you all something," I start. "And I know this is going to sound crazy. You might even disagree with me, and that's fair. But I'm saying it anyway because you deserve to know."
They're all focused on me now, completely still.
"Ivy and I… We're together now." The words feel both strange and right in my mouth. "I know the timing is insane. I know we barely know each other. I know there's a war coming and bringing a woman into this is complicated as hell. But she's staying. And I'm going to protect her with everything I have."
Silence.
Then Canvas starts to laugh.
"What?" I ask, defensive.
"Nothing, it's just—" Canvas shakes his head, grinning. "Never thought the first one to stop being single in this MC would be the president. You've been preaching the 'lone wolf' lifestyle for years, and you fall for a woman in less than twenty-four hours?"
"Well… It’s almost forty-eight hours, technically," Judge corrects, but he's smiling too.
"Oh, well, almost forty-eight hours. That's totally reasonable then," Wraith adds, his tone dry but his eyes warm.
Saint claps me on the shoulder. "About damn time, brother. You've been alone too long."
The tension breaks. They're not judging me, not questioning my decision. They're genuinely happy for me.
