When I stepped through the door, I wasn’t noticed at first. Nobody heard me. They weren’t very good at keeping a lookout.

 

The music was so loud I thought my ears would start bleeding. Heavy metal, some eighties band. Typical. There had to be three dozen guys in there, maybe more. No women. I was glad for that. I didn’t want any women to get caught up in the explosion.

 

The thought that I’d be killing them all went through my mind briefly. Was this the right thing to do? It had to be. They would never leave us alone. I remembered Harrison, and how crazy he was when I questioned him at the safe house. They all had a little bit of that in them. They didn’t care about themselves, so they could be reckless and stop at nothing.

 

All I had to do was look around to see how little they cared for themselves.

 

Just then, one of them looked up and saw me standing there. Suddenly they all saw me, and all of them froze in place. They had no idea what to do. Maybe they hadn’t expected me yet, or maybe they hadn’t expected me to walk right through the door the way I had. York might have overthought this one.

 

“You know why I’m here,” I said. “Alexander wants to see me.”

 

One of the guys at the table jumped up and ran through a door off to the side. I stood still, sweeping the main room with my eyes. Where was she? It was a huge room, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. All I saw were the sneers and smirks of the men around the table where a poker game had been going on when I walked in. I felt like telling them all to bet big and bluff big. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t live long enough to settle up. Whether or not I made it out in time, they wouldn’t live to see the morning.

 

They all looked hungry, in a way. Not physically hungry, even though some of them were dangerously skinny. More like hungry inside. They wanted something they couldn’t have, maybe something they had never had. They weren’t like my men at all. My men weren’t always the smartest or the nicest—sometimes they were flat-out mean and stupid—but none of them were desperate. That’s what it was. Desperation. They might do anything. I reminded myself of that. A desperate man can’t be trusted.

 

The door opened again, and there was York. The look on his face was priceless and disgusting at the same time. I knew he thought he had won, and it pissed me off. Let him keep thinking it, I reminded myself. Stall for a little time. Do what you have to do. Then get the hell out of there. The clock was ticking.

 

“Frisk him,” York said. Two of his guys walked to me and patted me down. I held my arms at my sides.

 

“Clean,” one of them said. It was true. I didn’t have a gun or a knife on me.

 

“So, the great Vince Baldoni is here. Finally paying us a visit after all this time. What an honor.”

 

The guys laughed. I gritted my teeth, wondering how long this would have to last before I could get to Erica and run.

 

“Where is she?” I asked, ignoring the jeers around me.

 

“Who’s that? Your little girlfriend? I gotta hand it to you, Baldoni, you know how to pick ’em. She’s sweet.”

 

The men laughed again, knowingly this time. My blood boiled. If they had touched her…

 

“She’s in there.” He jerked his head toward the room he’d come from. “A little tied up at the moment, but pretty much the way you left her. Calm yourself down.”

 

“She comes out. Now. That was the deal.”

 

“Who said?”

 

“You did. If I came in and turned myself over to you, you would let her go.”

 

“No. I said she would die if you didn’t. I never said I’d let her go if you did.” He laughed, and the Wolves joined him. They reminded me of a pack of hyenas, mindlessly laughing. “No, she stays. She’s what you might call the spoils of war.”

 

“She has nothing to do with the war.” Shit, how much time did I have? I hadn’t planned on this stupid word play with him. I wanted her out of there. If he didn’t let her go, I’d have to free her myself.

 

“You know, Baldoni, that shows how much you know. You were never meant to lead. Hey, it’s not an insult. Some men just aren’t suited to it. You’re a thinker. A pretty boy. Leave the tough stuff to the real men. It’s for the best that you hand the club over. The best for everyone.” The Wolves nodded along with his words.

 

I couldn’t let him get to me. His words meant nothing. He was only throwing them around because he was a coward. All he had were words and a bunch of mindless apes to do his dirty work. They weren’t like the Fury Riders, which was why the two MCs would never work together. For us, it was family. We worked as a team.

 

I thought we had, at least.

 

“I’m here to do what you wanted, just like you asked. I’d like to have a minute alone with you so that we can talk a few things over.” I knew he would jump at the chance, but I pretended to think he wouldn’t.

 

“A minute alone? Sounds interesting.”

 

I’m sure it does. I’m sure you would love the chance to take your time while killing me, you psycho bastard.

 

“Your office? Assuming you have an office?”

 

He scowled. “That’s where I was when you came in, Baldoni. This way.” He stepped backward through the doorway. I followed him. Three of his men moved toward me like they planned to follow.

 

“I said alone.” I looked at York. He waved them away.

 

Once we were in the room outside his office, I saw her. They had tied her to a chair, wrists and ankles, with a gag in her mouth. I groaned inside, doing everything I could to hold myself back from going to her.

 

She struggled when she saw me, like she was trying to warn me. I held up my hand, just high enough for her to see it, trying to signal her to be calm. There was nothing she had to warn me about that I wasn’t already aware of. In fact, I knew more than she did. I hoped I could get this done quickly enough.

 

“Couldn’t you have left her somewhere nicer?” I asked, looking around in disgust. “Or do you not have anything nicer than this? I mean, that makes sense.”

 

“Enough bullshit. This way.” He motioned for me to follow him. His office was a little room just off the one we stood in. The walls were covered in pinup photos from Playboy and other magazines. Very classy stuff. The desk was old and scratched. There were no windows. It stank of cigarettes and sweat. I hated thinking of York in my chair, at my clubhouse.

 

This was it. Just him and me. I closed the door behind us. My palms were sweating, but not out of fear. More out of anticipation. I couldn’t wait to see him die, but it had to be fast. I felt a clock ticking in my head. I knew the C-4 was ready to go—Ralph had never once let me down. I needed us clear of the building before that happened.

 

“So, what is it you need to talk to me about?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed. He sounded bored, but I could hear a little bit of excitement in his voice. Like a kid who knew he was finally going to get what he wanted for Christmas. Or so he thought.

 

“I wanted us to get a few things straight,” I said. He looked down at the floor, and I took the opportunity to check my watch. I had ten minutes. The whole charade outside had only taken five. Plenty of time. I relaxed a little.

 

“Such as?” He folded his arms

 

“What do you plan to do with the club now that it’s yours?”

 

He smiled broadly. “That sounds so good. Say it again. Now that the club is mine.”

 

I bit the side of my tongue to keep from calling him a pathetic loser. “Now that the club is yours.”

 

He grinned. “Between you and me, I kinda have a semi right now.”

 

I shook my head. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Seriously, man. Are you that obsessed with taking me down?”

 

“Not just you. Your whole fucking club. You’ve been holding the Wolves back for years, plus anybody else who wanted to get a piece of the action. Have you ever seen The Godfather?”

 

“Who hasn’t?”

 

“Remember when the other dons were all pissed at Don Corleone for having all the politicians in his pocket? That’s how it is for you. I promise you, if it wasn’t me taking you down, it would have been somebody else. You’ve been on shit lists all over town for years.”

 

“This is news to me,” I sneered. “And like I told everybody already, my plan was to get us the fuck out of drugs. It wasn’t a secret. I didn’t want anything to do with it. That was Rex’s thing, not mine. That’s old school shit. The sort of shit the other dons wanted to get into in The Godfather, if I remember it right.” My voice was thick with sarcasm.

 

“We should have been given a piece of the action.”

 

“I would have worked with you if you had come to me instead of doing everything you could to go behind my back. I don’t want drugs anymore, man. You could have had them. Things didn’t have to be this way.”

 

“You were never gonna give it up. Back in the day, Rex swore the Fury Riders would never share their piece of the trade.”

 

“I’m not Rex. I never felt that way. You’re so fucking smart, thinking things through, making plans. You never thought once to come to me like a man and sit down.” He didn’t know he was about to die for his stupidity.

 

He stood, pointing a finger in my face. “You held us down for too long. You think I believe you would have worked with us, the way you see us? Rex always hated us, and you do, too.”

 

“You’re right.” I shrugged. “I hate you, but not because of the club. I just hate you, period. But business is business. I would have put it aside.”

 

“Rex didn’t want to.”

 

“Your old prez should have taken it up with Rex when it first started. This was in motion a long time ago, way before my time or yours. You just wanna take it out on me and my club because you’ve been in this shit hole for so long.”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“Why couldn’t you clean up the place? I mean, seriously. Get a fucking cleaning woman. Or can’t you afford that?”

 

“Shut the fuck up.” His tanned skin was getting dark with rage.

 

“There are probably frat houses cleaner than this place. I can see not being able to renovate, but not cleaning up after yourselves? I hope you don’t do that to our clubhouse. We put a lot of money into it.”

 

“It’s not your clubhouse anymore, asshole.” He took a swing at me, just like I knew he would once I pushed him far enough. I ducked it easily, then stepped behind him when he was off-balance. I looped my arm around his neck, choking him.

 

He struggled, flailing around. My arms were thick, heavily muscled. It didn’t take long before he was wheezing for air. He pounded on my arm, digging his fingers in, desperate to get some air.

 

“How’s it feel, fucker? When you know your life’s in my hands? I can do whatever I want to you,” I hissed in his ear. I wanted my voice to be the last thing he heard. “All your planning was for shit. When you’re dead, I’m gonna blow this place sky-high. It’s all set up and ready to blow. Your entire club, gone. Think on that for a minute.” I tightened my grip. He was frantic, panicking. His face turned red, his eyes began to bulge out. He wheezed.

 

I reached into the inside pocket of my kutte, where I had a length of chain. There was a loop at each end, with one side pulled through the other. I put it around his head, then let go of his neck to pull the chain tight.

 

He fell to his knees, his weight making the chain go tighter. I wished I could see his face. I didn’t even have to struggle. He did all the work for me, his body weight choking him more and more. I thought about my guys, even about Lance and Onyx. And about Erica. He deserved this.

 

He rolled over, gasping, clawing at the chain. He landed on his back, and I sat on his chest. Now I pulled the chain tight, staring into his eyes as he died. I had never done anything like it. Part of my brain even recoiled from it. The rest of me loved it, relished it, wished I had more time to make him suffer for what he put me and my club through.

 

Then it was over. He went still, eyes bulging out, tongue swollen. I took the chain from his neck—after the fire, the police would think he died in the explosion. I hoped. Either way, I didn’t wanna leave any evidence.

 

I took one more look at him before turning away.

 

There were seven minutes left.

 

I raced back out to Erica. She had slumped forward in the chair—had somebody…? No. When I gently slapped her cheeks, she roused. It would have been just like York to have her murdered while we were talking in his office.

 

I pulled the gag from her mouth. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?” I stroked her face, looking into her eyes to see if they had drugged her. It didn’t look that way. She was just woozy.

 

“I’m gonna get you out of here, but we have less than seven minutes to do it. Stay with me, baby.” I worked on the ropes around her wrists, which wasn’t easy since her blood had soaked through them. I knew her wrists were torn up. I wanted to kill York all over again.

 

“Why seven minutes?” Her voice was thick, groggy.

 

“Less than that now,” I said in a tight voice. “Because we’re blowing this place.”

 

“Like, leaving?”

 

“Like, leaving, then blowing it up.” She gasped loudly, and I put a hand over her mouth. “Shh. Don’t wanna let them know you’re awake in here. It’s better if they think you’re unconscious.” Not that they would hear her over the sound of the radio blaring from the main room, just outside.

 

Just then, as I was close to having Erica’s wrists free, the door opened. I ducked behind her, hoping I would blend in with the shadows in the dimly lit room.

 

“Why the hell is your gag off?” I didn’t know the voice, but he closed the door behind him. Good thing. I didn’t want anyone else to see what I was gonna do. I wished to God I had my fucking gun.

 

I leaped out from behind Erica, trying to use the element of surprise to my advantage. It worked—he was totally thrown off, and stumbled back. I landed on top of him on the floor.

 

I landed one punch to his face, but I couldn’t tell where it landed since his fingers clawed at my eyes. He bucked me off, and I landed on my back. When he lunged for me, I rolled to the side and scrambled to my feet. He went low, driving his head into my midsection. He slammed me against the wall, and every bone in my body rattled.

 

I glanced at Erica, getting a quick look at her as she struggled with the ropes at her ankles. She must have gotten her hands free, I thought before the Wolf I was fighting landed a blow on my temple. I staggered, seeing stars. He swung at me again, but this time, I ducked. His fist hit the wall instead. I threw a few jabs to his ribs, doubling him over. I pushed down on his shoulders, bending him lower, then drove my knee into his face. He staggered back, blood pouring from his nose.

 

I didn’t have time to keep fighting him, and I looked around in desperation for something to use as a weapon. Every second that ticked by put us one second closer to the explosion.

 

Then, Erica was out of the chair, the ropes around her ankles untied. She slumped to the floor, rubbing her legs. I took the chair and swung it high, slamming it over the head of the Wolf. He crumbled to the floor in a heap.

 

“Oh, my God!” Erica gasped through the tears pouring down her cheeks. “I thought he would kill you!”

 

“No chance,” I murmured, helping her to her feet. “Can you walk?”

 

She took a tentative step. “I think so. My feet are asleep, a little, but I’m okay.”

 

I looked around, hoping for a door beside the ones to the office and the main room. No luck. Those were our only two options.

 

“What about Alexander?” Erica whispered.

 

I only glanced at her and looked away. I didn’t need to say what happened. She understood.

 

“We don’t have a choice. We have to go through the room outside to get to the door.” I wished right then that I’d let the guys cover us after all. We’d be stepping out into a shooting gallery—all of them would be armed, and from what I remembered seeing, every member was out there.

 

“How long do we have?”

 

I checked my watch. “Four and a half minutes.” I looked at the door, then at her. “This is what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna open the door and go out, and I want you to run. Just fucking run as fast as you can. Go and don’t look back. Got it?”

 

“Where will you be?”

 

“I’ll be right behind you. I’ll be shielding you.” I looked at the man on the floor. He had a gun his waistband. Why the hell hadn’t he pulled it? He might have thought he was saving me for York. The joke was on him. I took it. It was loaded.

 

“Scratch that. I’ll cover you. The important thing to me is that you get out safe. Keep running. The guys are at the end of the lot, on the street. We drove here in black SUVs. They’ll be waiting. All right? Just run and don’t look back. Please promise you won’t look back or even slow down for a second until you reach the cars.”

 

“I promise.” She was still softly crying.

 

I kissed her, hard. I hoped it wasn’t for the last time.

 

“All right. Let’s go.” Just as we turned to the door, it opened. I pushed Erica behind me, leveling the gun at the person coming through.

 

It was Onyx.