Page 149 of 12 Months of Mayhem

“Maya,” I call out, and our tech wizard springs into action. She’s already set up a laptop on the cluttered desk, her fingers flying over the keys. Within seconds, the screen flickers to life, and Voodoo and Raze’s faces appear.

“You hearing us alright?” I ask, leaning toward the laptop’s microphone.

“Loud and clear, future brother-in-law,” Voodoo’s gruff voice comes through the speakers. “What’s the situation?”

“Alright, here’s what we know,” I begin. “Meredith, an ex-club whore and the mother of my daughter has gotten herself into some deep shit with the Diaz Cartel.” I pause, letting that sink in. The air in the room seems to thicken with tension.

“She was supposed to be moving product for them, but a shipment’s gone missing. We’re talking millions in a new synthetic drug, just...vanished. The Cartel isn’t happy, to put it mildly. They’ve already taken out the Atlanta chapter president, thinking he might’ve had something to do with it.”

I turn back to the laptop screen. “Voodoo, have you worked any of that hacker magic of yours because we could really use it about now?”

Voodoo’s face fills the screen, his expression unreadable. “Yeah, and it ain’t pretty. Our sources say the Cartel’s putting out feelers trying to track Meredith down. A bounty on her just went up on the dark web. They know she’s in New Orleans.”

Silence falls over the room as the implications sink in. I can feel the anxiety radiating from my brothers, and even the usually stoic Heaven’s Rejects boys look uneasy.

“Shit,” I mutter, running a hand over my face. “If they’re already in the city, we’re on borrowed time.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We use her as bait. Draw them out, and end this.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Harlow remarks. “We have no idea where they are.”

“Yeah, but we have what they want. Meredith.”

Using Meredith as bait is a risky move, and everyone knows it. But we’re running out of options. If we want to get ahead of this, we have to act now.

“You sure about this, Rex?” Raze’s asks. “It’s a hell of a gamble.”

I nod, my jaw set. “It’s our best shot. We control the situation and set the terms. It’s better than waiting for them to make a move and catching us off guard.”

“Alright,” Voodoo says, breaking the silence. “I can set up a false trail, make it look like Meredith’s trying to flee the city. That should draw them out.”

“Good,” I nod. “We’ll need a secure location for the meet. Somewhere we can control all the entry and exit points.”

“I might have a place,” one of the Heaven’s Rejects offers. “Used to be an old sugar factory. My old man used to work there before it closed. Last I knew, it was still vacant and isolated.”

I nod, appreciating the offer. “Perfect. We’ll need to scout it out, set up surveillance. Maya, can you handle that?”

Maya nods. “Consider it done. I’ll have eyes and ears on every inch of that place.”

“Good. Now, we need to prepare for every possibility. If this goes sideways, we need to have a plan in place.” I turn to address the room. “I want everyone armed to the teeth. We’re not taking any chances with these cartel fuckers.”

A murmur of agreement ripples through the room. I can see the resolve hardening in their eyes. This is what we do, what we’re good at. We protect our own, no matter the cost.

“What about Remy and the kids?” Voodoo asks. Even being over two thousand miles away, a part of me knows he could take me out without even stepping outside of his tech office. V may look unassuming, but I’d never underestimate him.

It kills me she’s not here with me, but it’s for the best. “It’s under control. Cheyenne is with them. I’ve got a couple of guys watching her hospital room.”

“Good,” Voodoo nods, his expression softening slightly. “Keep them safe, Rex. We can’t afford any slip-ups.”

I clench my jaw. Rem and the kids are my world, and the thought of them being in danger makes my blood run cold. But I can’t let that fear cloud my judgment now. We have a job to do.

“Alright, let’s move on to logistics,” I say, steering the conversation back to the task at hand. “We need to set up a perimeter around the sugar factory. I want eyes on every possible approach. Harlow, you and your team take the north and east sides. Heaven’s Rejects, you guys cover the south and west.”

The men nod, already mentally preparing.

“Maya, I need you to hack into any nearby security cameras, traffic lights, anything that can give us an advantage. If so much as a stray cat moves within a mile of that factory, I want to know about it.”

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