In all the years since my capture, I never got the opportunity to exact my revenge. I’d come close on multiple occasions and I’d lost a couple of good brothers along the way. Several cuts were framed and hung in the chapel. Keys, Lockjaw, and Vector all had a place of reverence on the wall. Each man was a casualty in the war with the Scorpions. Raptor’s cut was up there too.
A reminder that nothing was permanent. Even with our Reapers, we weren’t invincible.
“I want to take you back to the Crossroads with me.”
She frowned. “I don’t know ––”
“Baby,” I interrupted, “I need to know that you’re safe so I can get this shit sorted. Okay? I won’t accept anything else. You’re coming with me.”
She sighed. “Alright.”
My phone vibrated and I looked down, scrolling through the texts. “Spook is on his way with a cage. I’m not comfortable with you riding behind me. It’s too risky. I’m going to follow behind you on my Harley. No big deal, yeah?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not a toddler. You don’t need to butter me up or sugarcoat your words. I don’t mind driving in a car. I’m just concerned about you out in the open. What if they try to shoot you?”
My hands lifted and I cupped her face, leaning down and pressing her lips to mine. I deepened the kiss and tried to chase away any doubt in my own head. She was right but I didn’t live my life in fear. As an extra precaution I would let my Reaper free and cover my face with a bandana. If anything happened, I’d recover quickly. Trish didn’t know about the monster that raged within. Maybe I was waiting for the right time to reveal my true nature. A part of me was terrified that she would reject him. It would be the same as rejecting me. I didn’t want to risk it. Not yet.
When we parted, I hugged her body close. “I’m going to be fine. I’ve got a dozen badass Royal Bastards watching my back, remember?”
“Okay, Grim.”
Fifteen minutes later Trish was in the middle seat of one of our company SUVs. The windows were darkened and the highest quality bullet-resistant glass. We took that shit serious and installed the parts ourselves, modifying the SUVs with the best available.
My Harley rode behind her the entire way to the Crossroads. A dozen bikes surrounded us, and it must have been a sight traveling down Hwy 95. When we arrived, the gates opened on the property and Toad let us in. The prospect shut and latched the security behind us to ensure no one else could enter unannounced.
Royal Bastards were strategically placed around the perimeter along with state-of-the-art technology that Xenon had set up around all the buildings. There wasn’t a single space he didn’t have access to with both video and sound. You couldn’t fart without him knowing about it.
Trish seemed overwhelmed as I opened her door and grabbed her hand, leading her inside through the common room and straight to my room. I unlocked the door and led her inside, pushing down on her shoulders lightly as she sat.
“I’ve got to take care of this, baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Might take a few hours. Rest. Relax. Put your feet up. Take a nap if you want. You’re in the safest room in this entire compound. I’ll have Spook check on you and he can bring you whatever you want. Okay?”
She bit her lip and I leaned in, kissing her anxiety away. At least, I hoped so.
“Text if you need me. My phone will be right in front of me the whole time.”
Trish sighed and flopped back on the bed. “Hurry back, handsome.”
Fuck. I was already falling in love with this woman.
***
Once all my brothers were inside the chapel except for the prospects and a few members from our brother chapters
from Elko and Reno, I picked up the wooden gavel I had specially made and slammed it down on the table. The ivory head was shaped in a perfect skull. Not many knew this, but Ivory was an exceptionally durable material that wasn’t easily damaged or destroyed. It wouldn’t burn and wasn’t affected by immersion in water. Not that the water part mattered but I liked the idea the gavel would hold up over time.
I didn’t bother to sit at the head of the table as I paced the length of the chapel. My brothers remained silent until I said the first word out of respect. Tension was thick in the room and I finally snarled, picking up an empty chair and throwing it across the table as men scattered out of the way. The chair smashed into the far wall and I heard it snap. Not the least bit fazed, I kept pacing.
“Fuckin’ Razr thinks he can fuck with me. Not gonna happen,” I announced, my voice low and full of rage. My Reaper was hovering close to the surface of my skin. I felt his wrath and need for vengeance. We’d been denied far too long, and the toll was beginning to show. “Last fuckin’ straw today. He doesn’t get to approach my ol’ lady and scare her like this. Trish is terrified. NOT. FUCKING. OKAY!” I shouted, ready to flip my shit.
Mammoth cleared his throat. “We got your back, pres. Every single fuckin’ member here.”
Cussing a stream of words that would impress the devil himself, I finally sank into my chair and faced my club. My hands slapped the wooden surface of the table as I hissed out my next words. “Tell me something that’s gonna help.”
Hannibal was chewing on a long stick of sugarcane. Where he got it, I had no idea, but I knew he liked to purchase them off Amazon in bulk. “Heard there was a chase on the police scanner. Something about a biker with a scorpion on his back and a dozen guns with the serial numbers rubbed off in his possession.”
We all stared at him as he shrugged.
“Funny, but I happen to know this sweet little hooker on the east end of town, and she fucked him good while those guns suddenly appeared in his saddlebags. Interesting how he didn’t suspect a thing before he got pulled over by local law enforcement.”