PROLOGUE
Two Weeks Ago
“SO, WHERE’D YOU PUT HIM?”
It had been a few hours since we had been called by the Prez to help out Riggs. When we had arrived at the location it turned out to be a complete shit show. Luna, Riggs’ girl, had been tied to a chair. The poor girl was a complete bloodied mess and had been beaten senseless, while Riggs had a gun pointed to his head. One wrong move led to the next and Gabriel El Rubio Moreno, brother to gang leader Ramon Tuco Moreno, had gotten his brains plastered all over the cement floor by none other than our Vice Prez, Grayson.
As the Sargent at Arms, I was in charge of cleaning up the damn mess. I took Knox with me for backup, although now I don’t know if it was a good idea. I left El Rubio with him, and if anyone knew Knox, he was going to take the opportunity to make sure to let them know what the consequences were when they messed with the Hell’s Lovers. Which meant Wolf was going to be pissed and we were about to declare all-out war with Los Perdidos.
Everyone had gathered at Ravenous, and I was just coming in from handing over Nestor Alvarez, Luna’s piece of shit foster father, when Wolf started asking questions.
“I called in a favor.”
“To who?” Wolf sounded angry, and he had every right to be.
“Guy kept saying he belonged to the Fallen Kings, so I called to confirm.”
“Shit! You brought the Fallen Kings into this?”
I looked over at my brother Seth who arched an eyebrow at me, signaling I must have been bat shit crazy.
“We helped them out back in the day. I figured it was time for them to pay back their debt. Besides, I needed to know if what he was saying was true,” I looked back at Wolf’s fuming glare. “It seems like our boy owed some money to Father King. He was more than happy to take him off our hands.”
Father King was the leader of the Fallen Kings and from what I had heard, he was one badass motherfucker. They called him Father because he had been a preacher at some point in his life. Now, he just brought justice for those who paid him to find it for them. He was also someone you’d want to keep in your good graces.
“Looks like we helped them out once again,” Seth stated.
I nodded. “They seemed grateful that I called. Looks like he’s been using their name around other MCs too. Not a good sign for the son of a bitch.”
Wolf nodded, looking down at the floor. “You did good, Cain.”
“Now they owe us two favors,” I smirked.
Wolf nodded. “We may have to use up one of those favors in the days coming. What about El Rubio?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering. “Knox has El Rubio.”
“Fuck!” Wolf brushed a hand through his hair. “Where’s he leaving him?”
I looked down at the floor. “You know how he gets, Prez. It’s like talking to a fucking wall. There’s no reasoning with him when he’s like that.”
“Where the fuck did he leave him?” Wolf’s voice roared through the club.
Suddenly a booming voice came through the shadows and a door slammed. “I left him on Tuco Moreno’s doorstep.”
Knox stepped out and stared back at Wolf.
“With whose permission?”
“I don’t need permission to do what must be done. They were going to find out anyway, might as well let them know he’s dead.”
“Fuck! Understand that we have so much more to lose here, Knox!”
Grayson placed a hand on Wolf’s shoulder to calm him down, but Wolf wasn’t having it. He brushed off his hand and his voice was loud enough to crack glass. “I’ve got Riggs and Luna in the hospital, Death Row Shooters are infiltrated into our building, and now I have the Fallen Kings to be grateful to! You know I hate owing people favors! They owe me, not the other way around! On top of all that, I’m about to lose Gray, and you decide to declare fucking war! Fuck!”
“I won’t apologize, Prez. The guy deserved it. He put our brother and his old lady in danger.”
Wolf slumped down into one of the chairs and shook his head. I understood why he was upset. He had to take care of his old lady and his baby who was on the way. I couldn’t blame him. Not him or Grayson, or even Riggs.
“I don’t know if I should say something here, but you warned him Wolf. You warned Tuco Moreno the night you shot him. He knew if we got our hands on El Rubio we were going to kill him, it was only a matter of time…”
He held up his hand to shut me up. “I need you to get everyone together, and I mean everyone. The Death Row Shooters. The prospects. Everyone. We need them to know what they’re getting themselves into. I’ll make a call to Ryan Simon. We need to make sure he’s okay with his men being here.”
He looked at me, anger and worry showing through in his features. “Find a safe place where Grayson and Rahyne can go.”
“Fuck no!” Grayson yelled out. “I fucking shot him! I put us in this fucked up situation! I’m fucking staying!”
“We’ve got two pregnant women upstairs, Gray! You willing to put their lives on the line, ‘cause I’m not!”
Grayson looked at the floor for a moment and shook his head. “I’m still not leaving.”
“What did you say?”
“Rahyne won’t leave, and neither will Scarlett, you damn well know it!”
Wolf strode over to Grayson until he was nose to nose with him. “Scarlett will do exactly what I damn well tell her to do. There’s no way they’re staying here and you, fucker, are going with them,” he slammed a finger to Grayson’s chest and they stared at each other.
Grayson’s eyes widened. “There’s no fucking way…”
“Shut the fuck up! You do what I say, not the other way around. Or did everyone here forget that I’m the President of this goddamn club!” He shouted out so everyone could here. A resounding litany of no’s ran across the room.
“Pack a fucking bag and Cain will find you a place to stay.”
The sound of the door slamming had everyone whipping their guns out.
“Whoa! Don’t fucking shoot me,” Diesel strode in carrying a duffle bag. His hands were raised in front of him and he had a smirk on his face. “I think I’m the one you need to help you find someplace safe for those women of yours.”
“Fuck, Diesel!” We all set our guns down as he strode the remaining steps over to us.
“Man, what a welcome party,” he patted Grayson on the back. “You goin’ round shooting people in the head now, buddy?”
“Fuck you!”
He chuckled and nodded over at Wolf. “Good to see you, Prez.”
Wolf nodded back. “Glad your back, D.”
“So who needs hiding?”
“My wife, Gray’s wife, and I’m gonna say Luna too, although I don’t think that girl will feel safe anywhere away from Riggs. Grayson will be heading out with them.”
“Yeah, I may know of someone. Someone your old lady will be okay with. Guy’s a friend of Ryder Chase, he lives up in Seattle. Gunner said he’d given Riggs the tip that something was up.”
“Is he trustworthy?”
“Guy’s like fifty something years old, ex-marine, lives up in the mountains. Believe me. No biker’s heading up that way in the winter.”
I nodded. “You got a name?”
“Greg, Greg Marlowe. My connections already checked him out. Guy’s clean, not even a parking ticket. He’s retired, barely comes into town. Lost his wife a few years ago and he’s got a vendetta against Los Perdidos. Fuckers killed someone he cared for, right in front of him. He’ll do anything for the Hell’s Lovers, looks like we offered him protection when they were out looking for him.”
“Shit,” Wolf dragged a hand down his face. “Washington?”
I knew what he was thinking. It was fucking far away. If something happened to them it was over. I looked over at Diesel. “Can you get them extra protection?”
Diesel nodded. “Anything, you just let me know.”
I never knew what Diesel’s connections were, but Wolf seemed to know since he seemed satisfied with the response.
“Perfect, they leave tonight.”
Wolf looked at me and patted me on the arm. “You’re in charge while I’m gone. I’ll be back as soon as they’re settled.”
I nodded and watched as Wolf and Grayson headed upstairs. They both looked like they’d been run over by a bus. Their shoulders were slumped over as they carried the weight of the club, the brotherhood and their women’s safety. Shit, if we survive this bullshit then I was goddamn sure the Hell’s Lovers could survive anything.
I looked over at the remaining members. Seth, my younger brother looked up at me expectantly. Then there was Diesel and Knox, gratefully Gunner was on his way, and Riggs would be home soon enough.
“Alright boys, time to get our shit together. It’s gonna be a long night.”