Vince

 

We rode to the Wolves clubhouse in darkness. It was three o’clock. There was no traffic on the streets. No witnesses to what we were about to do. Clouds covered the sky, which worked in our favor. I didn’t want moonlight giving us away.

 

We rode in black SUVs, seven men to a car. There were four in all. I’d left two prospects back at the clubhouse to keep an eye on the girls. Frankie, Axel, and Ralph were among the men in my car. We were silent. The tension was heavy in the air.

 

This was it. I knew I could count on all of them. I was honored and humbled that they wanted to step up with me and go through with something so dangerous. If we managed to pull it off, it would mean the end of the Vicious Wolves. We could sleep a little more soundly at night.

 

And I would have Erica back.

 

But would she really be back? I told myself to shut down the thought as soon as it floated to the surface of my brain. It wasn’t the time to think about a relationship. I couldn’t help it though. A big part of me wanted to know what would happen once she was free and York’s MC wasn’t a threat anymore. Where would that leave us? I was good for protection. I was good in bed. Was I anything else to her?

 

Before we left, Brett had asked me to please bring her home. Tyler and Sam had nodded with tears in their eyes. Home. They thought of her as being one of them. I wanted her to feel the same way.

 

The first thing I had to do was make sure the plan went off according to schedule. Then, I could worry about whether she wanted anything more from me.

 

We parked the cars on the street outside the lot leading to the warehouse. When I strained my ears, I could hear the faint sound of music coming from there. Some hair band. Of course. They were partying, celebrating, living it up. This was the night they had been waiting for.

 

“We’re still ready to go in there with you, boss, if you need us.” Joe and Chip looked at me expectantly, like they were willing to go into battle with me. I knew how lucky I was to have them.

 

“I know. Let’s deal with the first thing first. Getting the place rigged.”

 

Chip nodded, and he and Joe pulled down the ski masks they wore, covering their faces. They went ahead of the rest of us, sliding along the sides of buildings, in the shadows. They were the best shots in the group and would see if the perimeter was clear before we went ahead.

 

While we waited, I took deep breaths to calm the beating of my heart. I was ready to go, adrenaline pumping through me like crazy. All my senses were clearer, everything focused on getting to Erica in time to escape. She was my priority. I didn’t care about myself.

 

Ralph waited with the bag of C-4, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He’d been an explosives specialist in the Army before he was wounded. His talents came in handy, just like his network did. He was on edge, ready to go. I wondered if he saw himself on a battlefield again. In a way, he was.

 

“Chip’s giving the signal,” Axel whispered.

 

“All right. Like we talked about. Ralph and the rest with the explosives, you first. Lookouts next, fall out around the outside of the buildings around the warehouse. Stay in the shadows.” They went in staggered groups. That left me, Frankie, and Axel.

 

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Frankie asked. He looked skeptical, but I was used to that from him. I knew it was coming from the right place.

 

“I’m fine,” I said. “They won’t want you there. It’ll only cause trouble. Trust me. It’s better this way.”

 

He didn’t look convinced. That was all right. I didn’t feel convinced. I had no idea what York would pull when I got inside. He might kill me then and there. Axel and Frankie knew that if they heard shots, it was time to go in firing. They both swore they didn’t care if they got killed. They’d rather be dead than have York as president.

 

“What will you do if you see him in there?” Axel murmured. I’d been waiting to see if one of them would ask.

 

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll probably wanna kill him, but I can’t do it in front of everybody else.”

 

“Maybe York wants you to. He’s a sick fuck like that,” Frankie said. He spat on the ground, shaking his head. “I bet that’s his whole plan. He’ll get off on watching you kill Onyx.”

 

“In that case, I wouldn’t do it. I won’t give him the satisfaction.” I couldn’t imagine doing it anyway, but I wasn’t about to get into it with Frankie. I knew how much he wanted revenge against Onyx for what he did. I did, too, but I couldn’t be as bloodthirsty as the others. They weren’t as close with him as I was. They didn’t know what it was like having nobody in my life after the court split up my family. When Onyx came in, it was like I had a brother again. He was all the family I had until I felt accepted by the rest of the club.

 

“This all seems too easy,” I muttered. “I don’t like it.”

 

“You think they’re waiting?”

 

“Of course they are. They know I’ll come. He knows it. He called her my girlfriend, for Christ’s sake. I wonder how much Onyx told him.” When I thought about it that way, I hated him. I hated that he used her the way he had. I hated that he was so stupid, he’d let York use him. I hated that he actually made me consider killing him.

 

“You’d think at least one of them would be outside,” Axel mused. Just then, we heard the sound of a silenced gunshot. It wasn’t completely silent—that was one thing the movies always got wrong—and in the quiet, we heard it clearly. I knew it was too quiet for the guys inside to hear though, with the music as loud as it was.

 

We ran silently to the clubhouse then, staying in the shadows along the side of one of the abandoned buildings. Chip and one of the others were dragging a Wolf to the side of the clubhouse. “A lookout,” Chip panted. The man now had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

 

Chip looked shaken. I crouched down beside him and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “You did a good job. It was either him or you.”

 

“Yeah? You think so?” he asked. His voice was shaky. It was his first kill.

 

“For sure. These Wolves don’t fuck around. He’d have killed you. I want you to get home safe tonight.” I patted him on the back, and we hurried away from the clubhouse to wait for the okay from the explosives team.

 

Ralph sprinted to us, half-crouched. “Everything’s set,” he whispered.

 

I felt all eyes on me. “You don’t have to do this,” Frankie reminded me for the hundredth time. “We can go in guns blazing. Wipe ’em all out. Get her, get home in time for a drink and a blowjob.”

 

“Who were you planning on sucking off?” Ralph whispered.

 

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

I couldn’t believe they were able to joke at a time like that, but I was glad for it. It gave me a little more confidence. They had my back.

 

“Let’s get synced up with the time. I don’t wanna think I have more than I have.” I looked at my watch. It was three fifteen. “Okay. Fifteen minutes from now.”

 

“Got it,” Ralph said. I heard a beep. The timer was starting.

 

I wished I had an extra minute to thank them, or give them some parting thought, but it was too late. I turned and walked to the front door of the Vicious Wolves’ clubhouse instead, telling myself to be prepared for whatever I found inside.