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I didn’t bother with anything else. Whoever was on the other side of that door didn’t need to see anything more than just my face, so I crossed the room, and I was just about to open it when I heard, “Ravage? You in there?”

Reaper.

I let out a breath of relief, then cracked the door just enough and used my body to block the view of the bed, making sure he couldn’t see that I wasn’t alone. Reaper and Lucky were standing there with nervous looks on their faces. “What’s going on?”

“Prez called church.”

I nodded and said, “I’ll be there in five.”

I closed the door and turned to find Emery clutching the sheet to her chest. “Prez called church.”

“I heard. Any idea what it’s about?”

“No clue.”

I pulled on my T-shirt and jeans, then sat on the edge of the bed while I pulled on my boots. “Stay here for a little while.”

“What if someone comes back?”

“They won’t.” She nodded, but I could see the worry on her face. I pulled on my cut as I told her, “Once you hear things go quiet, go back to your room.”

“Okay.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

I stood and looked at her for a second. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were still flushed, and she looked so soft and vulnerable sitting there in my bed. Something inside my chest tightened in a way it hadn’t in a very long time. I knew what it meant. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. Not with her.

But it did, and now there was no going back. I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I turned and started for the door, but stopped when her fingers caught mine. “Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“No regrets?”

“Not a one.”

I gave her a wink, then slipped out the door. By the time I made it to the conference room, most of the brothers were already there and had claimed their seats. Stone was at the head of the table, watching with a stern expression as Ace and Vicious sat down next to him.

As soon as the door closed, Prez leaned back in his chair as he said, “You already know that Mercy was able to connect our guest to the Armenians who’ve been encroaching on our territory.”

We all nodded.

“They’re looking for war.”

“And they found it,” Vicious growled.

The room went dead silent. We all knew what they were looking for. There wasn’t much doubt after they’d trashed Em’s place, and Vicious was right. They’d found it, and it was clear from Stone’s expression that he was ready to give the motherfuckers hell. “I talked to Tank… The Vipers will stand with us and help in however we decide to take the fuckers down.”

Vicious’ mouth twisted into a smirk. “This should be fun.”

“Fun isn’t the adjective I’d use,” Stone grumbled.

“It’s good we have them,” Ace interjected. “Cause going after them separately would feed right into their fucked-up game. They’d pick us off one by one, and by nightfall, they’d own the whole damn city.”

“Agreed.” I leaned forward and asked, “So, what’s the plan?”