Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“Again, it’s a long story, but Hammer and Claw had… history. I thought the same as you did. That Scarlet wanted to leave with Hammer. But that wasn’t the case. Once he got her out of the compound, he abused her physically and mentally. Getting even with Claw for a past incident. One I should have dealt with years ago. So part of this whole fuckin’ mess is on me.”
“So, they’re dead.” Bear gave me a hard look. “How’d they die?”
I shrugged. “Claw blew his own brains out. Hammer… well. There were quite a few pieces of the man when we finished with him.”
“We?” Dom raised an eyebrow and glared at me. Hard.
“Yeah. Me, the men I took to Evansville, Indiana, and a few members of Iron Tzars.”
“You were there?” Bear looked disapproving. I frowned at him.
“Yeah. I was fuckin’ there. A member of this club has to die, I’m the one doin’ it. Problem?”
Bear stared at me. Hard. “Yeah. I got a fuckin’ problem. You went into another club’s territory with only a handful of men. You went lookin’ for a war but didn’t take enough to back you up.” He lifted his chin. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
I shook my head. “Not sayin’ you are, Bear. But I won’t lie. I was pretty sure Hammer was lyin’ when he said Scarlet was being held by Iron Tzars against her will. I know some of those men as well as I know you.”
Bear grunted. “Mars, in particular.”
“Yeah. Scarlet is with Mars. He made her his old lady.”
“You gonna respect his claim?” Bear always did know how to ask the hard questions. It solidified my belief he was the right man to be vice president.
“It’s what Scarlet wants. Woman’s been through enough without us fightin’ over her like dogs over a bone.”
Ringo snorted. “Well, that and the old ladies of Iron Tzars are more than a little rabid. Especially that one called Lemon. Eh, Prez?” Yeah. Ringo had my number.
“The women of Iron Tzars ain’t our problem. But Scarlet wants her sisters to come to Evansville. I think it’s a good idea.”
Dom shook his head. “Not sure that’s a good idea. They should at least be given a choice.”
“Scarlet is their only living relative. You can bet your ass Wylde has already worked some magic to make her their legal guardian. Besides, you know they think Scarlet hung the moon. They’ll go wherever she is. Hell, they fought like wildcats to go with her when she left with Hammer.”
“He’s right.” Fang’s deep voice penetrated the soft murmur around our meeting room. “Those girls will want to be with Scarlet. It’s not a bad idea to ask them, though. Just to be sure. The last thing we want to do is make them feel like they don’t have any choices. One or both of them will bolt like a wild fuckin’ bronco if we do.” There were more than a few chuckles around the room. Sunshine and Rainbow weren’t quite on the same level as Lemon, but they were both skirting the edge of wild.
“Agreed. Now. Have Gina tell them to get packed. I’m expecting Brick to roll in here with a contingent that includes Mars and Scarlet within the hour. They’ll expect the girls to be ready, and I don’t intend to be more of an ass than I’ve already been.”
“No one expects you to cave to another club in our territory, Prez,” Bear snapped. “You don’t think those girls need to go, fuck the lot of ‘em.”
“No. This is one time I’ll allow it. At least, if the girls want to go. I owe it to Scarlet. After what she went through, that woman can have any fuckin’ thing she wants. She needs her sisters right now. Probably more than they need her.”
Byte stood. “I’ll go help Gina. She had a thing for Hammer. Think it’s best if she doesn’t find out about it around the girls. They’ll meet you guys at the entrance to the inner compound.” He was the best person for the job. Sunshine and Rainbow adored the tech wiz. Probably because he kept them in the latest gaming consoles and computers. He was right to think Gina didn’t need to hear about Hammer until she was away from the others. Byte would see to it she had privacy when she was told. If anyone could keep things smooth in this instance, it would be Byte. “When Scarlet gets here to pick them up, she can ask them in front of me. I’ll honor their wishes and be careful of everyone’s feelings.”
“Good.” I looked around the room, studying each of them. “We have one more thing to get out of the way.” I met the gaze of each man present, really studying them. No one hurried me. It wasn’t their way. We were all trained to wait patiently, no matter the circumstances. In our line of work, there was no room for mistakes. We were each other’s only backup. Sometimes we didn’t even have that. Each man could hold everything inside and not give anything away. Even torture would yield few results. If any. So I had to watch everyone very carefully. I’d trusted every person in the club.