Those days were gone. This new sheriff wanted change, wanted to move up in the ranks. No better way of doing that than bringing down a chapter of a national criminal enterprise with ties to the Russian mob. Yeah, they’d pin some medal or something onto his puffed-up chest and send him to Washington after he sent us all to prison.
I’d die before I went back.
“Don’t think we’re at the stage of killing cops just yet,” Hansen replied tightly. “We keep our shit tight, he’s got no way to bust us.”
It was true. To a point. We broke the law. Ran weapons. Committed murder. Did a whole lot of other illegal shit. No matter how tight we kept shit, if someone was looking close enough for long enough, they’d find something. On someone. Someone would talk.
Shit would come to a head eventually. And it would be messy. None of the men at this table would go quietly. Would go at all. Everyone here would die for this club.
It had come to that, years ago.
It would never come to that again.
Maybe it was a good thing that Violet was keeping her distance. If she was close when this shit came to a head, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. If any of this shit blew back on her, I’d do whatever it took to protect her … no matter what. I’d go back into a jail cell without question, even if I’d rather eat worms first. For her, I’d do fucking anything.
Right now, protecting her was keeping her far away from this shit. Even if it felt like it was killing me.
“We need to keep an eye on these murders,” Jagger threw in, leaning forward on his elbows.
Everyone tensed. There had been women killed in a handful of towns around us. Brutally. The Sons of Templar did not stand for any kind of violence against women. Now that so many men in this charter had Old Ladies, families that were everything to them, this news was hitting close to home.
“Youngest was nineteen so far,” Colby offered with a tight jaw. “Oldest was in her forties. Wire said there aren’t any physical attributes that connect them. All of them worked in some area of the sex industry, though. Escorts. Strippers.”
“Want extra security at the strip club,” Hansen demanded immediately. “None of those girls walk to their cars alone. None of them walk from their car to their houses alone.”
“On it,” Hades volunteered. He had a connection to the strip club since that’s where he met his Old Lady. She still had a lot of friends who worked there, and if anything happened to them, it would hurt her.
Hades wouldn’t have anyone hurting his Old Lady.
“Same with the club girls,” Hansen continued. He eyed Javier and Lucas who were two of the single patches who spent the most time with them. “Want you two to make sure they’re not walkin’ home alone in the dark.”
Javier beamed. “They won’t be walkin’ home at all, or certainly won’t be walkin’ right when they do.”
There were a few chuckles around the table, but not many. Javier was young and considered himself to be a fuckin’ Lothario. It was a miracle that I hadn’t ripped his fucking head off for the way he looked at Violet. I didn’t like it. Didn’t like that, despite her many rejections, he kept fucking coming on to her. Left a bad taste in my mouth.
Hansen gave him a stern look. I got the idea that my president wasn’t the biggest fan of that little fuck either. But he didn’t let the look linger long.
“Okay, that’s sorted.” He banged down the gavel and everyone began to disperse.
I avoided Swiss the best I could, as was a habit these days. Couldn’t ignore him completely, though. He was a friend. A brother. Which made looking him in the eye that much fuckin’ worse.
Like now when he sought me out, slapping me on the shoulder. “You better be comin’ to Declan’s birthday party, you slippery fucker,” he grinned.
It was hard to find the man without a grin these days. Before, he’d done it easily, but only because he fed his monster daily. Because he needed to hurt people to survive. Before, he smiled with the blood of his enemies and his lovers.
Now all he needed was his family.
“Might be,” I hedged, knowing that Violet would probably be there for her little brother’s first birthday. Already, my body hungered for her. Even if I could just look at her, maybe I’d be able to sleep. Maybe I’d stop feeling like I was inches away from losing control.
“You will be,” Swiss flashed me a menacing glare. “Or I’ll hunt you fucking down and kill you.” Then he winked and clapped me on the shoulder again.
I didn’t smile. Because that joke would become true soon enough.
VIOLET
I didn’t tell anyone about the positive pregnancy test. Not even Sariah who, luckily, had some big assignments due and couldn’t party as much, therefore didn’t notice that I wasn’t drinking. If she hadn’t had those assignments due, she would’ve figured it out in a second.
The first thing I wanted to do when I saw those two lines was call Elden. Hear his voice. Let him tell me he’d handle it. We’d handle it. Together.