Page 126 of Colt

“Dunno why you’re all lookin’ so shocked,” Abe muttered. “Me and Prez have been talkin’ about lettin’ you idiots take more on for a while now. Cash is comin’ out with some good strategies which elevate the shit we do, and he’s got good men around him in you officers. We were thinkin’ that maybe we could concentrate on the business side of things for a while and let you deal with the biker shit.”

Prez nodded his agreement. “When all this trafficking business is over, I was thinkin’ of goin’ on a road trip. Take a year out and visit all the states. You all know it’s somethin’ I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m in my fifties now and yeah, I keep myself in good shape, but I don’t wanna be too old to enjoy it. Dunno if you’ve noticed but most decisions in the last year have been decided by one of you, not me, and not Abe.”

I stared at Prez as stunned silence settled over the room.

He wanted to step down? Retire? Jesus, I couldn’t get my head around it, the mere thought made my brain explode. Prez’s dad founded the club and kept goin’ well into his sixties. Dagger was in his mid-fifties and had plenty of life left in him. The Speed Demons would still be one-percenters, dealing in drugs, women and guns without our Prez, which was something I would have never been involved with. He made the club successful, so him not being around seemed wrong somehow.

But then, I’d been here twelve years and I needed something else, so was it so wrong of Dagger to live his last years doing what he wanted too? He’d sacrificed so much for the club. His peace of mind, his friendships, hell, even his kids and marriage to a point.

Maybe it was time for Prez to take something back for himself.

And maybe I could do something to help him achieve that.

I sat forward in my seat to address the table. “I’ve been workin’ on somethin’ for about six months that’ll help you trace vehicles.”

“What the fuck?” Prez breathed.

I grinned. “It’s like a license plate recognition program that’ll ping whenever a particular vehicle heads into Hambleton. It’ll get clocked on the road leading in, then different cameras will track them to where they’re goin’. It’s like a network that communicates with itself, then back to us. Governments all over the world have ‘em. I adapted the same concept for us. No vehicle, bike or truck will get into, or around Hambleton, without us knowing its every move. It’ll help you pick the fuckers off. There won’t be any waitin’ around or patrolling for Sinners. As soon as we get a ping, our team can mobilize. No wasting time hunting or missing somethin’ ‘cause we’re hunting in the wrong part of town.”

Dagger leaned back in his chair, his stare never leaving my face. “What made ya set that up?”

“It came to me back in the summer when the Sinners attacked the clubhouse,” I relayed. “When Cara ran in, warning us, I thought how lucky we were that she got to us in time. Then I got to thinking about vehicle recognition and started to build my own program. All the license plates of the Sinners’ vehicles are in the file. Even went into Law Enforcement and DMV records with names and addresses to find personal vehicles used by their families. All the cameras we set up feed license numbers back here. Anything in the system will ping from the relevant camera which I can tap into and scan, then send a patrol straight out to the relevant area. They won’t get away with shit.”

A brief silence fell over the room until Atlas shifted in his seat. “Are you tellin’ me that the second a Sinner drives into town, we’ll know what, where, and who?”

“Basically,” I confirmed.

Atlas grinned, nodding his head at me almost proudly.

“You boys know what the best thing about bein’ Prez is?” Dagger asked, voice husky with emotion.

We all looked at him enquiringly.

“This,” he stated. “The growth and evolution of not just the club, but you boys too. And the fuckin’ brotherhood we stand for.” Prez sat forward again, his stare going from one face to the next, taking everyone in. “We’ve got boys who’re takin’ us to the next level, and it makes me and Abe proud to see how far you’ve all come.” His golden eyes, just like Freya’s, rested on me. “Good fuckin’ job, Colt. It’s still sinkin’ in how much you’ve just put us forward, and it’s appreciated down to my bones.”

My throat thickened with emotion.

“So!” Prez waggled his eyebrows. “Tonight, we get busy down the Cell. Tomorrow, we party, after we’ve held a full-member Church, and Sunday we start picking off any Sinners who think they can sneak in.” He rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like a good fuckin’ time to me. Any other business?”

Silence.

He picked up the gavel. “Have fun boys.”

Chairs scraped as the brothers rose to their feet.

“Who’s up for a couple’a hours down the Cell?” Atlas boomed as he headed for the door.

“Me!” Bowie said, following him keenly.

“Yep,” Cash replied, striding to keep up.

“Gotta pick Kennedy up from work,” Breaker told us, holding the door for Cash.

“I’ve got shit to do,” I muttered, heading after the boys. Turning, I caught Prez’s eye, my gut warming at the look of pride on his face, and something hit me.

Leaving was something I had to do for me and Freya if we were ever gonna have a chance, but at least I’d achieve what I’d set out to do.

Leave them in a better position.

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