Whatever had happened in West Virginia put Dax on top of the world. Cody didn’t remember ever seeing him in such a good mood. The following week was filled with one party after the other, and Cody didn’t even mind that he was the one that got to clean it all up afterwards. He did miss Harley—since she and Angel had finals coming up, she told him she wouldn’t be around much that week—but the guys kept him so busy serving beer and cleaning up their messes that he wouldn’t have had much time to sneak off with her anyways.

The one thing he did notice besides Dax’s and the rest of the executive board’s good mood, was that security was beefed up around the ranch. The guardhouse was staffed around the clock with three armed men, and a new iron gate was installed with cameras and able to be locked down by pushing a button up at the clubhouse. Cody figured most of that had to do with Liam being pissed off still, but he knew that whatever went down in West Virginia had definitely made their relations with Irish Mayhem worse.

That week something else happened that Cody considered a good thing. Macy and Jimmy began coming around the clubhouse more often and the three of them were not only civil, but when Cody had the time, they shot a few games of pool together or threw darts. Macy seemed happy and Jimmy didn’t watch them suspiciously like he had before. Cody was happy to realize that the residual feelings he had for Macy were gone. He was left with a warm feeling of love for her like a man might have for his sister, and he was finally convinced that what the two of them had thought was everlasting love was a simple case of first, young love.

It was Saturday, just over a week after the club’s trip to West Virginia when Dax asked Cody into the meeting room. He was slightly anxious when he walked in and saw that the whole executive board was there in their seats.

“Hey, Cody, have a seat,” Dax told him. “We just finished up our weekly meeting and there was something on the agenda involving you. I presented it, we took a vote, and now all we need is to find out if it’s still what you want.”

Cody felt a tickle of anticipation in his stomach. Dax had to be talking about Johnny O’Toole. Finally, over eight years later, he’d get to look the son of a bitch in the face that had ordered the murder of his brother—he hoped. “Okay” was what he said to Dax.

“I’ve put forward that its past time Johnny O’Toole was dealt with. Keller’s been gone for eight and a half years. You’ve suffered for it, we’ve all suffered for it. For a long time, this club wasn’t strong enough to handle something like that, but we’ve gotten stronger and richer and now is the time.”

Cody couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. “Thank you, Dax.”

Dax smiled. “Don’t thank me yet. I’ve been working up a plan, but it has to be approved and voted on still. Johnny O’Toole is one of the most well-guarded men in America. It would almost be easier to take on the Secret Service and go after the President. But, if we do this right, I think we can get in and out without any injuries or fatalities and without leaving a trail that leads back to us. As a matter of fact, I’m hoping to kill two birds with one stone here. Liam and his crew have been busy this past week dealing with the police. That might keep them busy for another week or two or three…but you can rest assured that the second he’s got free time and enough men, he’ll be knocking down our doors. I want to stop that before it happens.”

“You want to set Liam up for…whatever we do to O’Toole?” Cody asked.

“Exactly,” Dax said. “When we roll out of there, I want every witness in the place pointing fingers at Irish Mayhem…and we’re going to leave plenty of witnesses. I’d like to get in and out of there with Johnny’s being the only blood that’s spilled. That’s probably easier said than done, but if we do this right, I think we can stick close to that plan.”

“So…I get to go with you?” Cody asked, tentatively. Dax smiled again. Handsome didn’t look happy, though, as Dax said,

“Yes. This is your deal, Cody. Keller was your brother, and you lost him and eight years of your life because of this man. So yes, you get to be there. As a matter of fact, once we’re there, O’Toole is yours to do with as you see fit. We’ll be there as back-up and nothing more.”

“Thank you!” Cody looked around at the other men. Handsome was the only one not smiling. “Thank you all. I won’t screw this up, I promise.”

Dax nodded and said, “We have a meeting scheduled tomorrow morning with a guy from Jersey that’s providing us with the plans of Johnny’s estate. Once we have that, we can make some concrete plans about how to get in. I’d like to do this on the thirtieth, which is ten days from now. It’s also O’Toole’s birthday.”

“His birthday?” Cody asked. “Won’t that mean there will be more people around?”

“Nope,” Dax shook his head. “Johnny O’Toole is a weirdo who hates the fact that he’s getting old. He spends his birthdays mostly alone. He starts the day out with a swim and then a soak in the Jacuzzi. Then he gets a massage and has a leisurely breakfast on his terrace.”

“How do you know all of this?”

Dax smiled. “I’ve got a lot of friends. So, Jersey is a four-hour drive. We’ll leave at dawn and be there by the time Johnny is finished with his massage and on the terrace, sipping his tea.”

Cody was stoked. He left the meeting room feeling like he was on top of the world. He knew that Harley was studying, but he had to tell someone. He snuck out of the clubhouse before anyone found anything ridiculous for him to do and sent her a text:

“Are you busy?”

“Studying. What’s up?”

“I miss you.”

“Aw, really?”

“Yeah, really. I got some good news today and you were the one person that I wanted to share it with.”

“I could take a break…a short one…but I don’t know, it takes me a while to drive out to the ranch.”

“I’ll come to you.” She still lived with her parents. He could almost picture her laughing. There was a long hesitation and then she finally texted back.

“I’m kind of hungry. How about you meet me at the new bar and grill on Melrose?”

Cody hated those fancy places—he always felt out of place—but tonight it didn’t matter. He just wanted to see Harley. “Okay, in an hour?”

“You got it, prospect.” He laughed and went to get his bike. He thought about changing out of his jeans and vest first, but he really didn’t want to go back inside and get caught up doing something that would make him late. If the townies had a problem with his clothes, fuck ’em, he didn’t care.

He drove slowly into town, enjoying the coolness of the night air. The days had been warm, but the nights cooled down nicely. When he got to the restaurant he parked his bike and before he even got inside he heard some asshole say, “Better duck and run for cover, the Skulls are in town.” He was going to keep walking, he really was, but then the asshole’s friend, an even bigger asshole, apparently, said:

“No worries, it’s just a prospect. That’s how bikers say ‘retard.’” Cody spun around and as soon as he did he felt a soft hand on his arm.

“Let it go, prospect.” Harley had magically appeared at his side. He looked down at her and back over at the assholes with the big mouths. “They’re not worth it.”

Cody took a deep breath and slid his arm around Harley’s shoulders. Cody’s being with a woman that looked like Harley ought to be enough to piss them off. As they were walking inside though, he couldn’t resist—he raised his middle finger. One of the punks took a step toward him, and Cody stopped and smiled. His friend, realizing maybe they were pushing their luck, put his hand on the first one’s shoulder and pulled him back.

Once they were inside, Harley asked for a table for two. The man at the counter looked like he might be the manager. He gave Cody a once-over, and Cody braced himself for the guy telling him there was a dress code and he’d have to leave. Harley smiled at him before he did and said, “My daddy brings his business associates here all the time and he loves it. Trust me, if the District Attorney of the county doesn’t like something, people hear about it. You know what I mean?”