Page 43 of Phantom
Luther had everyone in Rumble from the postal workers to the mayor under his thumb. There was a reason that the Unchained Dogs were nearly impossible to penetrate—it was because Luther’s umbrella extended far past the Unchained Dogs’ members. If Nick sent Steel Knights into Rumble, not only would they be killed, but all that rage would come back to Hoppa, and the Knights would be short on men when it did.
“My hope is that you all could be something of a rumor mill for us. I’d like to try and plan an ambush right here, once MiD is over. Make it seem like we have a big meeting planned here, and when they show up to try to take advantage, we’ll get the jump on them,” Nick continued.
The inside of my lip hurt from how hard I was biting it. Luther didn’t leave Rumble without his army, and they were twice the Steel Knights’ size. If Nick went for that plan, he’d probably get himself killed and take out all the Knights with him. I imagined him bringing Tess, and I imagined Luther mowing her down. It made me sick to my stomach.
I’d have to find a way to tell Nick that his ideas were not good ones without tipping my hand, but that was going to be difficult, and it definitely wasn’t good to do it in front of the Raging Vipers and Blazing Rebels.
“You know we’ve got your back,” Eric, the Raging Vipers’ president, replied. “When’s the ambush?”
“I’m hoping for two weeks from now,” Nick said. “The twenty-second.”
Oliver, the Blazing Rebel’s president, said, “Mascid’s on the interstate. Lots of gossip travels in and out. We’ll be able to get it out fast.”
Nick nodded. “Good, thank you. What about backup? Could some of your men help out?”
Eric and Oliver agreed almost in unison. “You know we’ve got you covered, but in exchange, we’re gonna need you to be ready to help us,” Eric continued. “We’ve gotten word that The Devil’s Riders may be back on the hunt.”
“Shit,” Nick said. “Seriously?”
“It’s not confirmed,” Alex, the Raging Vipers’ vice president, said, “but my sources are reliable.”
Next to me, Tess shifted. The Devil’s Riders, whatever their history was with these three groups, seemed to make her very nervous. “They got our blood, too,” she added. “We won’t hesitate if we hear they’re back in town.”
“Damn straight, we won’t,” Nick added. “You didn’t even have to ask.”
“Good. Let’s all agree to stay in regular contact, then,” Oliver said. “We can set up some meetings in the near future, just in case. I’m beefing up my member-count, too. I’d suggest you all do the same.”
“We just pulled three,” Nick said.
“Two,” Tess replied.
Nick looked at her. “Two?”
“Yeah. One wasn’t up to the task.”
Alex let out a low whistle. “Your VP doesn’t play, does she, Squared?”
Nick laughed. “No, she doesn’t.”
“We’re planning to beef up, too,” Eric said. “The meetings are a good idea.”
“I can have Bucky reach out to both your teams and get some things on the schedule. It’s good to stay in contact, regardless,” Nick said. He let out a breath. “All right. That’s good. I feel better. When the Dogs start gettin’ quiet, it gets me jumpy.”
“We’ve got you covered,” Eric said, and Oliver nodded in agreement.
“Good. Well, I won’t take up anymore of your time. Go! Enjoy the party! Celebrate our fallen comrades!”
There were some resounding affirmations, and then everyone started to get up from the table. The thoughts of Nick bungling an interaction with Luther and the Dogs terrified me to my core, but I refused to only dedicate a passing thought to that concept. It would take some dedicated thought and the careful laying out of all of my options, which would definitely need to happen on a day other than MiD. Everyone was off to enjoy the night, and I already had some things of my own planned.
No one even stopped at the clubhouse. They all walked straight through the main room, and out the front door, bound for the thundering party outside. Nick started to walk out but then looked back at me standing next to Tess and smiled before leaving. Taylor lingered in the main room, his eyes locked on mine. Never in my life had I been a pushover, and I wasn’t about to start. I nodded at him to let him know that I saw him there, then I took Tess by the hand and led her out through the front door.
“God, you must have a death wish,” she whispered to me as I pulled her around the back of the barn that the clubhouse was built into.
I laughed. “I told you already.” With a step toward her, I pinned her between me and the wall, placing my arms on either side of her. “I’m not worried.” Then I set my lips on hers. Only when Lockjaw started to paw at my feet did I remember he was there. “Oh.” I looked at Tess. “I’ll be right back.”
I walked Lockjaw back to the main part of the clubhouse and opened the door so that he could walk in. Taylor was already gone, and there was no one left, so I tapped one of the couches for Lockjaw to hop up onto, and then I scratched his ears. “Sorry, buddy. I don’t need a third wheel. We’ll be back.” I stood up and gave Lockjaw a firm, “Stay.” I was happy that when I started to walk away from the couch, he didn’t move but dropped his head to his paws and drifted off.
With quickness, I made my way back around to the back and saw that the door was already open and the ladder was exposed. My heart started to race as I climbed, knowing what awaited me on the other side, and when I crested over the top, Tess was already lying on the makeshift bed, looking back at me. The hay crunched beneath my feet as I crawled over and laid down next to her, and I was glad when she didn’t rush anything. She only moved to rest her head on my chest.
