Page 5 of Dev

“Dev, can I get a word?” Ruck tears himself away from his old lady to stop me before I make it through the doors myself.

“Sure, what's up?”

“Corey came in for his shift at the gym this morning, and he seemed kinda off.”

“Kid got dumped last night,” I explain, sighing to myself when I realize how unsympathetic I’ve been. Corey’s always been hyper sensitive, he got that from our momma. I’m forgetting that Millie has been the center of his world since he was fifteen years old. “He’s takin’ it hard, I’ll speak to him once we’re done here.”

“Hard? Dev, you shoulda seen the way he was hitting those pads. He’s mad, and the person he’s mad at is you.”

“Me?” I stare back at him, confused.

“He wants in, says you're trying to dictate how his life should be, and that he’s done with it. I’m tellin’ ya, brother, he meant every word. I’ve known that kid a long time and I ain’t ever seen him like that before.”

“Shit.” This is the last thing I fuckin’ need.

“I’ll head over soon as this shit’s out the way, thanks for tellin’ me.” I smile at Freya, who looks just as concerned as Ruckus, before we both head through to join the others.

“I got an address.” Raze rubs his hands together and still has that stern look on his face as he addresses us all. “Burlusconi is convinced those fuckers were hired by Braian Quinnell, and every last one of ’em’s gonna die.”

“How many?” Ruckus asks, lighting himself a smoke.

“Not sure on that. We’re gonna need to spend a few days keeping watch, figuring what they’re up to and what their business here in Long Beach is. Their faces are new in town, and for all we know, there could be more of ‘em on the way.”

“What is it with fuckers keep setting up on our fuckin’ patch?” Vike shakes his head.

“It was inevitable. Cliff’s been double-crossing the club and Burlusconi for years. We don’t know who he’s been gettinghandouts from. Now things have changed, those people are bound to keep on crawlin’ out the woodwork.” Raze’s answer makes sense, but don’t make shit any easier.

“So, what we dealin’ with here?” Tawk speaks up, looking recharged and ready to fight all over again.

“We don’t know, that's why we’re watchin’. Vike was right, they ain’t bikers, that’s for sure,” Wrath adds.

“We had a meeting with Burlusconi this morning, and he wants this shut down fast. So do I. We’ve just proved to the Reapers who run this town, now it’s time to show these fuckers, too. And I’m telling ya this, brothers, we’re gonna need to find some resilience because I got a feeling there will be more organizations like this one stepping up. Cliff had plenty of people in his pocket. I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface. New leadership always gets challenged, and these fuckers are gonna keep on coming at us. Let’s show all those who are lying in waiting what happens when those challenges come.” I can see that Raze is pissed. He’s been on edge a lot recently, and I can’t help wondering if the club is the only trouble he’s got.

“Burlusconi’s had some of his men on lookout, it looks as if they’re running things out of an old abandoned shipping yard. It’s gated, so it ain’t gonna be easy, but if we got eyes on the place, at least we can watch what’s coming and going. I need two of you to take over tonight. Burlusconi’s men have other shit to deal with and I want eyes of our own out there.

“I’ll take a graveyard shift,” Sasquatch offers.

“You sure?” Raze checks.

“I can sit in a cage and fuckin’ watch shit, I ain’t an invalid,” he points out.

“I’d offer to join ya, but I’m lookin’ out for Alicia,” Vike pipes up.

“There somethin’ goin’ on there?” Ruckus asks, flicking off his cigarette and looking suspicious.

“Nothin’ more than what I’ve told ya; there's a fuckin’ killer on our streets and she’s livin’ in that house alone. She’s grieving, she’s pregnant, and she needs some support right now. What ya think Saul would have me do?”

“Well, he sure as fuck wouldn’t have ya doin’ his sister,” Sinner pipes up, and Vike shocks us all when he launches himself across the table and grabs him by the scruff.

“You watch your fuckin’ mouth, wise ass,” he snarls at him, lifting him from the chair and smashing him against the wall.

“Touchy.” Sinner laughs. That fearless fucker never gets fazed by anything. Believe me, I’ve tested him.

“C’mon.” I grab hold of Vike and drag him away. “You know Sin. He don’t mean anythin’ by it.”

“Ain’t it ‘bout time we got Saint back? You’ve been hangin’ around too long,” Vike growls at him as I ease him back to his chair, and Raze nods his head at me gratefully.

“Have I got a volunteer for someone to join Sasquatch tonight?” He looks around the table.

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