Page 8 of Ruthless Reign

Thor, the MC’s sergeant at arms and KC’s brother-in-law, sat down next to him and cracked his neck. At six-three and built like a Viking, he’d earned his nickname because he liked to beat motherfucking heads in with a sledgehammer. There was a reason he was the sarge. He gave off a “don’t-fuck-with-me” vibe that sent most idiots screaming for the hills. He’d recently married KC’s sister, Selene, and if two people were the definition of opposite sides of the same coin, it was them.

After that, Doc came in alongside Saint, whispering to each other. Doc had been the MC’s enforcer for the last ten years and had earned his reputation as the proverbial Doctor Jekyll. He’d been trained as a surgeon but had suffered some personaltragedy that created in him a Mister Hyde who liked to carve up disloyal fuckers and throw their bits in the fire. I’d seen him do things that nearly made me retch. Saint, on the other hand, had been raised in a Catholic orphanage. He had a complicated relationship with his God that sometimes came out in the form of beating Caputis to a pulp. It was his mercy that had saved Leo from death and his friendship with Julia that had led to the position we were in today.

Doc sat next to Hollywood while Wheels, the MC’s treasurer, sat down next to Thor. I waited until the rest of the Roses filled in around us, all grizzly, haggard motherfuckers that had seen better days.

Three months ago, Gabriella Caputi had ambushed our ranks and killed more Roses in one day than the Caputi fucks had in years. Since then, they had interrupted our trade routes and taken more of our men from us. Things were escalating quicker than I could put a lid on them.

I couldn’t blame my crew for being skeptical of this new match with Julia or the alliance with Leo. I only hoped it didn’t come back to bite me in the ass.

Finally, Leo came into the room. At six-five and wearing a suit that probably cost more than my truck, he dominated the space as he walked. I’d stabbed him in the kneecap the night we captured him so he still used a cane to walk. But other than that, he seemed much healthier than he had in nearly a year. This time, he was flanked by two burly men with guns in holsters under their arms—his security detail. I couldn’t blame him for that either, especially considering Gabriella had put a price on his head worthy of a Powerball lottery. He came to stand next to me, giving me a wink and a shit-eating grin that I ignored.

Once everyone was assembled, someone shut the door to the front and KC stood to bang his rings on the table.

“All right, you fucking pricks, listen up. Church is in session.” He stabbed out his cigarette and nodded at me to go on.

Taking a deep breath, I stood and glanced at the assembled crowd, wishing not for the first time my father was here to guide me. I’d been trying to reach him at the pen, but until his trial, the DA wouldn’t allow any contact with SRMC members, even if they were related to him. All correspondence had to go through my sister, and that chafed most of all.

“Brothers,” I said, taking a deep breath, “we are closing in on the end of the war with the Caputis. Very soon, Gabriella will be dead.”

Whoops came from the crowd, echoing a boisterous applause. Leo shifted next to me and cracked his neck, but didn’t say anything, so I continued.

“I’ve contacted the Steel Roses in New England, Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia. They’re all riding in for the convention. How are we on arms?” I glanced at Thor.

“We’re stocked,” he said. “After Gabriella stole our last shipment, the IRA was willing to step in. This time, we’re ready for her.”

“Good,” I said, looking to Doc. “What about supplies?”

They knew what I meant. If this went the way we wanted, we’d kill Gabriella and usher in a time of peace. But until then, we’d have to pick off her cronies for information. Doc had a secret stash of poisons he liked to use when he…interviewed…such people.

He smiled. “I’m ready.”

“Fantastic.” I was happy Doc had gotten on board with this plan. A few months ago, he’d been skeptical, taking every opportunity to let his opinion be known. He didn’t trust Leo Caputi, didn’t think we should partner with him, and didn’t agree my match with Julia would be good for anyone involved. Thor had threatened to beat some sense into him, and he’d comearound. But when I glanced back to the sixty or so other club members, I saw a mix of emotions on their faces. Some were agreeable, others more distrusting.

“What’s the plan, then?” asked Stallion, a grizzly old-timer who had been in the club nearly as long as my father. His much younger brother, Skulls, had been murdered by Gabriella the night she attacked us, something that had aged the man nearly two decades in a matter of weeks. “Are we gonna sit back and hope that Caputi fucker can get his family to accept this deal?”

Leo tensed and stepped forward, probably preparing to rip into Stallion, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“We’re working on that,” I said. “Leo and my wife have close ties with Caputis who are unhappy with how Gabriella has been running things.”

“And?” Stallion asked, crossing his arms. “What are they saying? When is this supposed to go down?”

“We’re still putting the final pieces into place,” Leo said. “My uncle Sulli and my uncle Frankie are?—”

“Uncles?” Stallion scoffed. “You mean Benito’s brothers? There’s no fucking way they side with us.” He shifted his hard gaze to me. “Bear, you gotta realize this is stupid. If your old man?—”

“My old man is locked up because of Gabriella.” I slammed my hands on the table to get his attention, and he straightened, inhaling at my outburst. I met the gazes of my younger brothers, Castor and Pollux, across the room. Earlier this year, Pollux was in the hospital after Gabriella had the Beacon blown up, and three months ago, Castor had a gun to his head. He barely escaped with his life. “Picasso, Slip, Coins, and Skulls are dead because of her. I almost lost my brothers and sister because of her. They’ve been fucking up our business all year.”

“And how many more did we almost lose because ofhim?” Stallion sneered at Leo. “I speak for a lot of us here when I say this plan is fucked-up. You’re leading us in the wrong direction.”

“My father wanted this before the Feds grabbed him,” I said, narrowing my gaze at the dissenter. “Are you suggesting I don’t know what I’m doing? That Crow didn’t know what he was doing?”

Stallion pursed his lips and shifted his stance as if he meant to tell me just that.

Lore cleared his throat and stepped forward before he could. “Look, I understand why everyone’s tense about this. If anyone gets it, I do.” Last year, Leo had taken him hostage and carved out his eye before dumping him back on Rose territory to die in a puddle of his own blood. “It takes all of my willpower to stand five feet from that maniac and not tear his heart out.”

“Reformed maniac,” Leo said, “and I apologize for what was done previously…when we were underdifferentcircumstances.”

Lore scowled and glared at the Caputi boss. “But we can’t fall apart now. If this truce gets us peace…lastingpeace…isn’t it worth it? We can’t spend our time bickering among ourselves, and if I can come to that conclusion, so can you.”

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