Kade

Church. Dark Saints were the congregation, and the seats around the table were our pews.

It was where we decided everything: where brothers were initiated into the MC, where plans were devised, where orders were given and, sometimes, where dark decisions were made.

It was time for Church. It was time to put everything right when it came to Harlow and the cake assignment I’d been given.

It had been a day since I’d dropped off the guns to Ricardo Pilar’s cartel.

Pilar was in jail, thanks to the Port Az Police, but others in his organization had risen to power in his absence. They were still a major player in the drug trade all around Port Az. It was Dark Saints’ business to know where The Cartel was and why.

We’d had trouble with Pilar’s people lately, but this gun shipment had mended a little of that.

He wasn’t our ally, but we could work together if it were to our mutual benefit. The Cartel was happy to pay for guns and piss off the Hawks at the same time.

As for The Saints, well, we were flush with new cash, but also new blood had been spilled, and our enemies had new reasons to be so.

Depleting the Hawks and strengthening a fence with The Cartel was a brilliant plan. The only casualty for our side had been my heart. From the moment Harlow had walked away from me, it had felt like a big price to pay.

Bear pounded the gavel.

“So, you want to explain yourself?”

That was his open, and it was aimed straight at me.

“We’ve got $250,000 in the offshore account, and we got Hawks guns off the streets at Port Az. We also have a very happy Cartel, for today at least.”

“We also haven’t gotten any fresh heat from the Feds. I check in with Marco Rivas, and he said this skirmish with The Hawks didn’t trip any wires with them. It was all in Mexico, and that’s the good news.”

Rivas was a U.S. Attorney we’d done favors for and who gave us a heads up when Saints or Hawks business had attracted attention we didn’t want.

“Now for the shit. How many dead Hawks?” Bear spat out the last part in disgust. He hated when things didn’t go like he planned. And he thought he’d planned this job perfectly. But he hadn’t, not by a mile.

“I believe the count is now five? Including Talon who was sergeant-at-arms of his club. Rank, Kade. You fucking killed rank of the Devil’s Hawks. For what, pussy?”

That was E.Z. stepping in to make shit ugly.

“Jesus, E.Z. It’s not that simple. We need to own up.”

That was Axle. If E.Z. was the evil side of the club, Axle was the good. He knew how this went wrong; he knew, from very recently in fact, how the heart could change the will of a Saint.

Some days it was easy to see why my Aunt Rosario had left E.Z.’s ass all those years ago. It was great for her, as I’d just seen. She was happy, thriving even, but E.Z. was as bitter as a man could be. I wondered if that’s what was going to happen to me.

“Why don’t you let Kade speak for himself,” Bear said. I knew he’d be a dick about this. Mama Bear had warned me he was on a tear when she patched up my shoulder.

“I’m happy to. I followed the truck, as assigned. What was not to plan was the driver. She was an innocent woman, who was very interesting in a hundred ways to The Hawks.”

“So?” Bear pushed me to continue.

“They tried to kill her animals, rape her, and murder her. I wasn’t going to let that happen. And I won’t.”

“Where is she now?” Benz asked. He and Axle felt shitty for not knowing who was driving that rig. They’d told me so repeatedly on our way to the gun drop off. But it was water under the bridge. They didn’t set up this deal. Bear did.

“Back at her work.” Maddox stepped in with that answer.

Bear sat back in his chair for a moment and took a few deep breaths. The room was quiet. I didn’t know where this was going, but if it lasted much longer, I was going to lay out my plans.

“I’m not happy about The Hawks. You all know they’re going to strike back hard. Sooner rather than later. But I admit that Rudy screwed us over. I wanted this deal to work fast, and I should have watched him closer. That girl got the brunt of that mistake. I’m sorry about the girl, Kade. You were in a bad spot. That’s on me.”

Bear was a big man, in all ways, and many times it meant he was hard to turn around. It meant his roots were set. But he looked me in the eye with that statement. And he reminded me why I would be a Saint forever.

It felt like a weight was lifted, at least on a part of me. I felt like my club was going to be on board for what I wanted.

I nodded in acceptance of how much he’d just given me.

“Here’s what I need. Number one, I want Ruff Life to get this gun money so its work can go on. And two, we can’t just let Harlow twist in the wind. She needs protection.”

“She’s not going to allow it,” Maddox said.

“She doesn’t need to know. But we need to do it. Hawks are going to come at her hard.”

“They’re going to come at all of us,” Chase chimed in.

“Let ‘em,” Bear said.

“All in favor of Kade’s plan?”

“Aye.” The room was unanimous. We had made a mess of Harlow’s life, but I had my brothers by my side to fix it any way I could.

She would never know it, but The Saints would be her guardian angels for as long as I lived. It was the least we could do for what we’d put her through.