After a twelve-hour ride, I finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel: Vilas – 5 miles.

I signaled to Red and we both pulled off to the shoulder of the highway.

“You good, brother?” he asked, throwing out his kickstand and getting off his bike.

I spit out the worn chew from the back of my mouth. “Yeah, just want to take a second. Are we sure we’re going into friendly territory?”

Red chuckled. “A little late for that question, don’t ya think?” He pointed to our exit off in the distance.

I stared down at the enforcer patch on my chest. I wasn’t cut out for the diplomatic side of this job. I was good for one thing in my club: killing. I ran my fingers over the end of the ax strapped to my back—I had bloodlust that needed to be satiated.

“I can see that look in your eye, man. You need to get a handle on yourself before we get in there.”

Red was right. Even though he was a young buck, having only been patched for a little over a year, he had quickly turned into the even keel of our organization, keeping most of our crazy asses in check more times than not.

“This blade’s never craved a woman’s blood before.” It was a hard thing to admit, but all I wanted was to see Helen’s skull split wide open on the cutting edge.

“Burry that rage, but keep it close—you might need it.” Red leaned up against his bike, throwing another plug deep into his jaw.

“Do we even know anything about these guys?” I asked, taking the bag of chew from him.

He spit at our feet, nearly hitting the tip of my steel toe. “They’ve helped out the Sweetwater charter when they’ve been in a pinch. The pres seems decent from what Hawk said.”

Red wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but hearing it again helped.

“Let’s get this over with so we can get our asses back to Arkansas.”

Red turned the key of his bike and she rumbled beneath him. “Come on, Bessy, only a few more miles.”

Throwing my leg over my Chief, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I still cannot believe you named your bike Bessy.”

Red shrugged. “My old man named her, and it stuck.”

We rode into the gravel lot in front of the Outlaws Bar and Pool Hall, pulling up to the end of the long row of bikes.

“Guess they’re all here,” Red said over his shoulder as he led the way into the dive.

I kept my hand firmly gripped on the wooden handle of my weapon as I followed.

“You ain’t gonna make any friends lookin’ ready to wield a fucking two-headed ax around the joint within seconds of entering.” Red’s hand was on the tarnished metal door handle as he glared at me.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I relaxed my shoulders before nodding.

The entire bar went silent, all eyes locking on us as we waded through the thick smoke.

“Y’all must be Hawk’s boys.” A leathery old-timer coughed as he turned slowly on his barstool.

“Rave and Red, as promised.” Instinctively, my hand went to the Beretta 92 on my hip as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The air was thick. I could tell most of the guys in the room weren’t too keen on the patch over.

Fear none. Respect few. My club’s mantra played over and over in my mind as I shook hands with the old man.

“We’re looking for Odin,” Red stated before ordering us a couple of beers from the wench behind the bar whose shirt was three sizes too small.

“You found him.” A burly motherfucker strode over to us as he glanced at all his men hanging around. “Why don’t we take these drinks into the back so we can have a little chat.”

A few of the men got up, making their way through a back door that said Restricted on it. We followed Odin into a large back room with a round table in the middle of it.

“This is Tyson, Brick, Dhonal, and Trig.” Each man raised a hand as Odin called off his name.

I pointed at each of us respectively. “Rave, Red.”

“Take a seat, boys.” Dhonal’s Irish accent prickled the hair on my arms. Sizing up the tattoo on his forearm, it clicked: he was IRA, or at least had been. I glanced over but Red was oblivious as he slouched into the rolling chair.

“As you could probably tell, some of my guys think this move isn’t the right one for our club, but our numbers are small and the backing of the Unacceptables is needed.” Odin’s eyes were locked with Dhonal’s.

“Aye, brother.” Dhonal struck the table with the palm of his hand as the smallest smirk played on his lips.

“My VP has made friends with some of your boys from Sweetwater, and we thought they’d be the ones making this transition,” Odin explained.

I pointed to the patch on my chest that read Original Twelve. “Rules are rules. One of us has to be present for a patch over. None of the guys up in Tennessee have the authority.”

Red chimed in, “We can get some of them down here to smooth things over, show of good faith.”

Tyson sucked in through his teeth. “No need to prolong this process any more than necessary.”

“Fair enough.” I chugged down most of my long neck. “Ready for church?”

Odin slammed the gavel onto the weathered wood. “It’s time for church.”

Brick opened the door and whistled. Within seconds the room was filled with Outlaws, each with a reaper covering his back.

Red and I shoved away from the table, standing off to the side of the room while Odin addressed his men. “There’s been a lot of talk about a patch over recently, mainly when the Sinners started getting closer. We’re going to need backup to keep those bastards in their place.”

A few of the men grumbled.

“Rave and Red are from the Arkansas charter of the Unacceptables, and they’re here not to strip the reaper from our backs but to turn our club into a stronger force. Remember that as you cast your vote today.”

They went around the room, casting a majority vote in favor of the patch over. A few men ripped their cuts off, throwing them to the ground.

“Anyone not in favor of wearing the skull and bones is free to leave, unprotected. Don’t forget, you will be bled out,” Odin warned as he glared at the few mutineers wading in a sea of sharks. In that moment, it was clear that Odin’s men more feared him than respected him.

In the end, every man in that room switched out their reaper for a skull and bones. It was a small victory, but not the one I needed.