Page 70 of Ruthless Reign

Leo and Roman had told me not to give up the game, to continue like nothing had happened. But it pained me to do it. She was my best friend, my cousin, and she betrayed me. She wasstillbetraying me. It had been a hard lesson to learn that family didn’t mean blood, and blood didn’t mean family. But learned it, I had.

Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.

My father used to say that, but only recently had I learned the weight of its true meaning. Sighing, I replied to her, trying to be as nonchalant and as cryptic as I could. Then, I scrolled to Roman’s name in my contact list and hovered my finger over the green button to call him. But I hesitated because once I relented to this ache in my heart, there would be no going back.

How was I supposed to keep him safe when I loved him entirely too much for anyone’s good?

21

BEAR

The clubhouse was packed tonight, everyone having made the trip for my wedding. We hosted three chapters, damn near two hundred and fifty men, and half of them were here to party. It was the calm before the storm.

I made the rounds like my father usually did. I checked in with the other presidents to ensure they were settled.

“We’re ready to tear some Caputi heads apart,” Titan said, laughing with a few of his other New England SRMC brothers.

Lizard, the president from North Carolina, clapped me on the shoulder and thanked me for the invitation. “The boys are always thirsty for enemy blood.”

I caught up with as many of the visiting brothers as I could before going around to my own chapter, forgoing the tightness in my chest to make sure they all knew I still had their backs.

After killing the traitors so viciously, something had shifted in the atmosphere. The undercurrent of tension that had been there for months had dissipated. But just because it was over didn’t mean we were in the clear. Switch was still looking for the ones that had escaped. They could come back any time and hitus harder than before. I wouldn’t be able to truly rest until they were all gone.

“We’re gonna take her down, brother,” I said to Hollister. When Gabriella had attacked us five months ago, she’d tried to shoot Hollister in the head. Her hand jerked at the last second, skimming the top of his skull rather than going through it. He’d been in the ICU for weeks afterward, but now that he was back, he had the taste of Caputi blood on his tongue.

“We better,” he said. “This has gone on too long.”

“No fucking shit.” I joked with him and his brother, Wheels, for a few minutes before moving to KC, Hollywood, Thor, and Saint. They sat on the couches at the back of the room, clearly deep in conversation while they pretended to play poker on the coffee table.

“Hey, there he is,” KC said, clapping my hand when I got close enough.

“Heard you already chased your old lady away,” Saint said.

“That didn’t take long,” Thor added with a teasing laugh.

“We’re…uh…taking a breather.” I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow.

“It didn’t look like a breather,” Hollywood said.

I grimaced and took a sip of beer, trying to ignore the ache in the center of my chest at the mention of her. It had been there the entire time she’d avoided me, and the more we were separated, the more my skin shrunk around my bones. Her absence chafed, and that only reconfirmed what I’d told her. I’d never felt this way about anyone before, much less a romantic relationship. I missed her shitty cooking and her biting insults. I missed the way her eyes blinked open in the morning and that adorable pout on her lips. I missed her strong presence and the air of invincibility she carried with her no matter where she went.

“Enough,” I snapped. “My relationship with my wife is none of your fucking concern.”

Hollywood smirked, and Thor raised his eyebrows, seemingly surprised by the roughness in my tone.

“Is everything in place for the ceremony?” I asked.

“Uh-huh,” KC said, inhaling his cigarette. “All the fun and games have been unloaded.”

He meant the guns and heavy artillery. Gabriella wouldn’t go down without a fight, and if she brought as many of her goons as we thought she would, we needed the extra weapons.

“What about Aris and Crow?” I said, glancing at Thor. He’d been the one in correspondence with their lawyers. As Sarge, it was his duty to get our guys out of the pen, if he could. “How are things going?”

Thor sighed and ran his hands back through his long, dark blond hair, tying it in a thick pink scrunchie. “Not good. The evidence is overwhelming. Jordan says she spoke to you? What’d she say?”

“She wants Crow to snitch on the Caputis in exchange for a deal,” I said. “But my old man isn’t the type to yap. That’s what I told her.”

KC nodded. “She’s gonna get him killed.”

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