Page 2

“I don’t give a shit how long it’s been done, I care about right now. About us and what we do.” Torch looked down the table until our gazes collided. “You’re really fucking quiet. Don’t tell me you think this is a good idea?”

I was quiet on purpose. I sat there and listened because my brothers had things to say and they deserved to be heard before I said anything. I wanted to get a feel for the room, to weigh the options before I spoke. My eyes met Torch’s for a moment, then I turned to my father.

He was already watching me.

He kept his gaze on me while the brothers kept going. There was no more discussion or debate, just everyone repeating their arguments and talking points, before raising his hand.

The room fell silent.

Then, I spoke. “I’ll do it,” I said in a firmer voice than I actually felt. “It has to be me. It should be me.”

The room sucked in a collective breath at my words. The gravity of them settled all around us.

“You’re not serious?” Torch asked in a tone that bounced off the walls.

“I heard you,” Hatchet said. “All of you.” He looked around the table slowly, the way he did when he wanted everyone to understand they’d been seen. And heard. Then he swung his gaze to me. “This is your call, Knox. I won’t make the choice for you and I won’t force you. Whatever you decide, I’ll back it.” He paused, just long enough to mean something. “But you’re the one who’s gotta live with it.”

In the six years I’ve been VP, Hatchet had never put a choice like this in my hands. It was another sign that shit was changing in the MC, and as much as I wanted to have that seat at the head of the table, it was all becoming too fucking real.

The room went completely still, as if everyone was holding their breath.

The seconds ticked by, thirty of them by my count. This was a big decision and though I’d made it just now, I took those seconds to be sure. To own this fucking decision because the MC depended on it.

“Knox.” Rook’s voice cut through all the bullshit, asking me in one word if I was really going to sacrifice myself like this.

“It’s simple math,” I explained. “Rex is getting desperate and he’s escalating. That shit that happened outside The Vow in February? Has his fingerprints all over it. We need to stop him in his tracks before shit goes too far. Again.”

Torch let out a bitter laugh. “And you think a marriage is gonna stop him? Tell me you don’t actually believe that shit.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. But what I think is that he wants to act against us on the down low, while appearing untouchable. He thinks it’ll give him leverage against us, but I think it’s a leash he won’t be able to escape.”

Hatchet sat beside me, but he stayed quiet.

“What makes you think that?” Ace posed the question in his usual calm.

“Easy,” Switch answered with a grin. “Ivy Price is twenty-six and she works at a print shop on Main Street. She lives with her dad, and spends most nights alone, which is probably a relief. Rumor, and police reports, say he puts his hands on her. Regularly.”

My hands ball into fists under the table. I don’t care, I told myself. I won’t be affected because that doesn’t matter. “Switch is right. She’s better off here with us, and chances are good she won’t give a shit what happens to him once she’s free.” I hoped so, anyway.

“You hope,” Torch added with a snort. That was it, no agreement and no more arguments. Just disgruntled acceptance.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I do hope, but I’ll make sure of it.”

“Good,” Hatchet said, smacking his hands together. “Then let’s end it here. I need a fuckin’ drink.”

I waited until the room was empty except for me and Hatchet, but he beat me to the punch.

“You made that call fast, son.” Again, it wasn’t a question.

I shrugged as we exited the room, waiting while he locked it up until next week. “No reason to make everybody wait when I knew I’d do it.”

He nodded, seemingly proud of my choice. “Good. Take the night to make sure you made the right choice.”

“I made the right choice,” I shock back, reaching for a calm I didn’t feel. “I’m the logical choice. Rex will think he’s got the whole MC by the balls to have your son tied to him by blood.”

Hatchet grinned. “Good thinking.” He turned to me, his gaze burning the side of my face. “It’s been a long time since you had anyone who mattered in your life.”

“Don’t.” I held up a hand to stop the lecture.