It’s a fucking mess. Beast’s kid and that bitch Jan are gone. There’s nothing left of that vehicle. We finally got the fire out, but there’s… nothing. Beast won’t even have true ashes to bury.

He went crazy. It took four men, myself included, to pull him away from the fire. We finally had the club doc tranquilize him. He gave him a double dose and still the fucker fought it. His hands suffered horrible burns, his face and chest too. Another member had to beat the flames out while the four of us held him down. They took him to the hospital while we stayed here and tried to regroup.

We haven’t told anyone but the patched-in members. I don’t want Beth to know. She’s already feeling like this is her fault. If she finds out about Beast’s kid, she’ll completely lose it. Me? Fuck, I’m dealing with my own guilt. I made my choices and I didn’t even think how it would affect my brothers. I guess I didn’t realize this type of blood. All of us know that death can come at the drop of a hat. We know it and embrace it; it’s part of why we live wild. We take our freedom and we make our own rules because that freedom was built with our brothers’ blood.

But nothing can prepare you for the death of a child.

I caused Annabelle’s death. I did this. I should have just taken Beth and left my brothers out of it. This is my war. Instead, I went full steam ahead. If I could go back, I would have done things differently. It’s just too fucking late now.

I look over at Pistol. “Call your brother. We need the men now. We attack at nightfall and we attack hard.”

“Plan A?” Torch asks, and for once, the motherfucker isn’t cocky. No, he’s something else entirely: he’s furious. That’s good. We all need to be.

“Plan fucking A. Saddle up, boys. Before dawn breaks tomorrow, I want every piece of property and every business the Donahues own hit and in flames.” My words are met with a huge battle cry. My men scatter, except for Briar. I grab him by the arm. “I need you to stay with Beth. I want her away from the others. Tell her there’s been a breach in security and I’m doing all I can to make sure she’s safe until I’m back. Do whatever you have to do. I don’t want her to know about Beast or his family until I can be the one to tell her. I can’t take the chance she won’t go off half-cocked.”

Briar doesn’t look happy, but I didn’t expect him to. He’s like the rest of us: he wants to get revenge.

“Boss,” he starts, but I stop him.

“I can’t trust this to a prospect, Briar. Torch and Sabre are in charge of the explosives. Besides him and Beast, you’re the only one I trust my woman with. I know you want your ounce of blood, but I need you here. I promise you’ll get your shot before this is over.”

“Okay. I’ll do it, but she’s not going to be happy.”

“I know. I’ll deal with it. I just need to not worry about her right now.”

“Okay. Go make the motherfuckers pay.”

I slap him on the back. “That, I can promise.”

I walk off. I want to go check on Beast before we ride out. It will take Cade’s men a couple hours to get here. They’ve been held up at the state line to avoid detection from the Donahues. I pull Beth’s cellphone out of my pocket, staring at it. I go through her contacts and hit dial when I find Colin’s number.

“Beth. It’s about time.”

Figures the sorry fucker would give her his private number. I’m going to hang him up by his balls.

“Wrong, motherfucker. And you just made a big mistake.”

“I see you found our present,” the smug bastard answers. “Sad that we didn’t take you out, but you had three of your finest in that car, right? Irresponsible, really, to leave your vehicle unwatched when you’re at war. Then again, I don’t expect much better from you. You’re outclassed here, spic. Time for you to pack up and get the fuck out.”

His slur rolls off of me. I could give a fuck what he says.

“No, you fuck. You killed a woman and a child. A three-year-old girl who did nothing to anyone. All you managed to do to me and my brothers was piss us the fuck off. We’re coming for you, asshole. We’re coming.”

I click the phone off, slam it on the ground, then stomp it under my boot. My whole body vibrates with anger. If the fun we have planned for tonight doesn’t kill him, then I will kill him myself, slowly, and enjoy the fuck out of it.

I walk to my bike, surprised to find Pistol there.

“You going to see Beast?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll ride along.”

“You need to spend your time making sure your brother’s men are on their way and things are in place.”

“Already done. I may not agree with some of the shit you choose, Skull, but Beast is my brother too, and you’re still my president. I’m watching your back. The Donahues may be monitoring the hospitals.”

I shrug, not about to waste more time arguing with him. There’s too much shit to accomplish today. Besides, he’s right. I peel out of the compound, avoiding looking at the burned Durango we’ve hauled back inside. The men are busy repairing the gates. I’ve ordered a stronger gate, military grade. Wish to fuck I’d done it sooner. Apparently I’ve got a little to learn about being in a war, too.

Hopefully Colin won’t see the hits we have planned coming.