Keith "Blue" Dillon stood in front of his bathroom mirror and scowled at his smooth-shaven face and short hair. Blue had cleaned up for his so-called girlfriend with the ridiculous name—Detective Dicky Fynder—only to come to the surprising realization she hadn't wanted him on the straight and narrow. He shook his head and scoffed at himself when he reflected on the sacrifice he'd been willing to make for her, and grateful that Grizz's blessing allowed him to remove himself from the gang without repercussions. After Grizz's death by lethal injection, Blue could've automatically assumed his right as club president. A position he thought he didn't want. He'd been wrong.

Even though Blue had distanced himself as much as possible, he was still welcomed by some of the older members who respected him. Those that didn't were too afraid to cross him. Maybe he still had some pull after all. The younger, newer members of the group had heard the stories about their glory days. The ones that knew what Blue was capable of kept their distance. The ones that didn't, risked mouthing off and catching him on a bad day.

He leaned away from the sink and ran his hand through his short hair as he thought with self-disgust how soft he'd become. The old Blue would've put that seedy little shit in the ground that attempted to rape Mimi. Instead, Blue tried to give Mimi's father, Tommy Dillon, a courtesy call to let him know what he'd heard on the street, but he'd been too afraid of messing things up with Dicky to do what he should've done himself. Blue was certain that Mimi had no way of knowing that Grizz was her real father. But that shouldn't have mattered anyway. Dead or not, Blue owed Grizz his loyalty. Nick Rosman shouldn't be alive.

In the end, Blue’s decision to fade away from gang life, not retaliating for Mimi's attempted rape, even his altered appearance were all for naught. After realizing that Blue left the club, Dicky flat-out dumped him. He was only as good as the information he could unwittingly feed her, and if he was no longer involved, he was no longer privy to the info she craved. And since he would never be a deliberate informant, not even to keep her in his life, he was useless to her, and she let him know it. Never again, he told himself. Never again will I let myself care for another woman.

An hour later he pulled up to the back of a run-down warehouse that was a front for the gang's headquarters. An old member who'd done his time and was released ran Grizz's old crew now.

Apparently, Mickey Moran had learned a lot while serving out his sentence in a maximum security prison. He used to go by Monster back in the day. A nickname he'd lived up to. A calmer, more composed Mickey emerged from behind bars and after slowly immersing himself back into the group, convinced them they needed a fresh start. He'd given them a new name, and a new patch which at first they were reluctant to accept. But after earning the respect of the new members, and surprising some of the older ones with his newfound leadership skills, they finally relented. Blue should've objected when Mickey showed back up after Grizz's execution, but he'd been so relieved to have an out without feeling guilty, he'd passed the baton to the man without so much as a backward glance. He was now regretting that decision. Not because Monster wasn't doing a good job, but because it was Blue that should've been doing it. He was certain that Grizz would be turning over in his grave to learn who was now running the old crew.

He revved his bike and watched as the tall set of metal doors lifted. He slowly drove in and noticed a young guy he instantly recognized. The man nodded at Blue, and then pressed the button so the door would slide back into place. Blue was certain he was looking at one of Anthony Bear's boys. Which one, he wasn't sure. He didn't remember ever knowing their names. He did know that it was because of one of them that Nick Rosman hadn't been able to carry out his misguided attempt at filming his sexual assault on Mimi.

After pulling into the warehouse, he parked his bike with the others and headed for the meeting room. So different from the days when they'd conducted business around a fire pit at a run-down motel.

He walked into the ramshackle office and headed for the refrigerator in the small kitchen area. He grabbed a beer and plopped himself down in a chair. Several men nodded, including Mickey, who no longer went by the name Monster.

"Glad you're here, Blue," Mickey said. "We could use some input on the Phillips’ deal. It's a little more delicate than what we're used to. Maybe some of our old gang tactics might be useful here. You were around back then. What do you think?"

Blue took a swig of beer and set the bottle down on the table. He wasn't sure if he would ever get used to the new Monster, and sure as shit couldn't say if he would ever trust him.

"You were with our crew back then, Mickey. How do you think it should be handled?" Blue asked, the confrontation obvious in his reply.

There was no indication in Mickey's expression that he heard the challenge in Blue's voice. As a matter of fact, his smile seemed sincere when he replied, "I was too busy fucking and fighting back then to pay attention."

After business concluded, the senior members wandered out to where the bikes were parked. Several more had shown up during the meeting and were now sitting around in chairs or standing off to the side.

One yelled out, "When are the whores getting here?" Almost all of them were engaged in conversation with each other, except for one.

Blue approached the guy who was leaning up against a pallet of stolen computers.

"Are you Bear's oldest or youngest?" he asked Christian.

"Youngest. I'm Chris," he told Blue. "I already know who you are."

"Isn't this a school night?" Blue asked a little sarcastically.

Christian tensed and told him, "I graduated, and before you ask, I'm not the college type."

"Does your dad know you're here?" Blue asked, this time in a voice that was more curious. "I know that he moved here from the other coast to distance himself from his old crew. Heard he's completely clean now. Runs a successful business. I'm surprised he'd allow this."

"He didn't allow anything," Christian sneered as he pushed himself away from the pallet. Walking away from Blue he called out over his shoulder, "He's the one who sent me."