Page 86 of Minus

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“We don’t know. He disappeared when we got word about what went down in Savannah, and we haven’t heard from him since.”

“He’s scared. He knows that he’s been made,” I said.

“And that he’s a fuckin’ dead man when I see him,” Clutch spat out.

“No,” I said.

Clutch turned to Cutter. “We have to take them all out right now. Grover, Viper, his whole crew, and everyone that’s backing them. We must show everyone that we are still strong. We have to strike now.”

“AndIsay no,” I ground out.

Clutch looked sharply at me, then over to Cutter. I could see him study Cutter’s face for a reaction, but he made none. Cutter sat as still as a stone, saying nothing. Perhaps his silence spoke louder than anything he could have said. There was to be no verbal passing of the torch, no ceremony or pomp. This was the moment that I became the President of the Burning Saints Motorcycle Club. From within a hospital bed, I’d given my first order to my Sergeant at Arms, and with that taken my place.

“We can’t be that club anymore,” I said softly. “If we kill Grover, if we murder one of our own, we’re no better than Viper and Los Psychos. This is our line in the sand. This is where we decide what kind of club the Burning Saints is going to be from now on.”

Clutch nodded to Cutter and tears began to form in his eyes. They had grown close over the past years. Perhaps they’d even formed the type of father and son bond I’d hoped to. I’m not sure if I didn’t have Nicky’s full confidence as the club’s new President, or if he just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the only President he’d ever known. Hell, I could ask the same of myself.

I sat up as straight as possible and extended a hand to both men, which they each took.

“Long live the Burning Saints,” Clutch said.

“Long live King Minus,” Cutter said.

Minus

Cricket wasn’t lyingwhen she said Booker was good at what he did. The information he was able to dig up on Viper was invaluable. As it turns out, he and the Dogs of Fire were more than happy to lend a hand in any effort to rid Portland of the growing scourge of Los Psychos. Within hours, he’d given us Viper’s real name, but also names and addresses of several of Viper’s known associates and family members, his full criminal record, and most importantly the current residence of his baby mama (along with little Viper Jr.) in Old Town.

Clutch and two of our club’s most trusted officers, Wolf and Goldie, currently stood with me outside of said residence, along with Hatch (acting as an official presence from the Dogs of Fire). I’d sworn an oath to them that we were nothere to execute anyone. We were armed and prepared to defend ourselves, but my goal was to avoid bloodshed at all costs.

We’d staked out the apartment all last night and through this morning. Viper’s old lady and kid had just left the building for the first time, so we’d taken the opportunity to move in while they were safely out of the way. Clutch had insisted on taking point, and I trusted my Sergeant, so we awaited his signal, guns drawn, vests on. He stood outside Viper’s door and nodded, so we joined him, hitting the portal with the ram we’d brought, causing both the deadbolt and chains to fail immediately. Goldie tossed a flash grenade and we hugged the hallway, shutting our eyes and ears in preparation for the bang.

The room’s occupants, unprepared for our little surprise party, were stunned, to say the least. The grenade’s blast sent Viper, Crush, and the other guests to their knees. They had no time to react when we began our barrage of gunfire, hitting each of our targets, one by one with relative ease.

* * *

“A little disorienting isn’t it?” I asked, leaning over Viper.

“What? Where am I?” he asked, blinking back to consciousness.

“Being tranquilized and concussed kinda sucks, doesn’t it?”

Viper looked up at me, seething. It had taken a little longer than I expected for him to come out of his tranquilizer induced daze.

Figures, he’d be a lightweight pussy.

“So is being tied to a chair, I know,” I continued. “But, please notice that you’re tied, and not fucking zip-tied, because at least I’m a better man than you and your trained gorilla.”

“You’re a dead man is what you are,” he said.

“Nope. You tried that, and as you can see, I’m still alive.”

“Not so pretty now, though, are you?” Viper said, smiling.

“Yeah, but I’ll heal, and your face is stuck like that forever.”

“I’ll gut you like a pig, right after I choke the life out your whore of a woman… right in front of you.”

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