Page 78
“Born in chaos. Forged by iron. Sworn to vengeance.”
Chair legs screeched as every Crow stood.
The air hammered with ferocity.
With hate and hope.
A flicker of the redemption that would never fully be earned.
The blood on our hands stained so deep there would never be any erasing it.
But we gave what we could.
Offered our lives as penance, pretending like the hunger to destroy didn’t make us every bit as wicked.
A horde of black cuts and destitute souls started to pour out of the double doors and down the long, narrow hall.
A tumble of heavy boots thudding against the floor.
Phoenix and Brody dipped out ahead of us, and right before we stepped out, Silas took me by the shoulder and angled in close.
“Any sign of anything today?” he asked under his breath.
The shake of my head was sharp. “Nothing. I couldn’t find any evidence that someone had been lurking outside her apartment, and the store and surrounding area were clear.”
Uncertainty pinched his brow, and I knew him well enough to know he was searching around for a straw that hadn’t been cut too short. “Is there any chance it was random?” he asked. “A hoax or a mistake?”
The surveillance footage spun through my mind. The dark figure with the hood concealing their face.
“Always a chance, brother, but I’m not in the business of taking them. Besides, it looked calculated to me.”
Like that motherfucker knew exactly who they were seeking out.
Silas inhaled an agitated breath. “Agreed.”
He squeezed my shoulder a little tighter, eyes pinned on me. “We’ll find that scum and get you back home soon. Assign a rotating crew to sit outside her apartment.”
His assurance brought me no relief. Possession binding up my insides in a steely, overzealous fist.
“I’m good, man. I can handle being there for as long as you need me to be.”
Problem was, I wasn’t sure I could ever handle leaving.
“Know I can rely on you,” he grunted with another dip of his head before he strode out into the hall.
His cut with our logo was on full display as he strode down the hall, through the clubhouse bar, and directly out into the murky twilight.
A slow creeping of night twisting through the endless canopy above.
“Let’s ride,” Silas hollered into the raving mayhem, and the Crows swung onto their bikes.
A roar of metal came to life.
Malevolence and military precision as we rode off the compound.
Silas at the head, Phoenix and I just a fraction behind him on either side.
The rest a mob that bellowed as it screamed through the night.
