“This is fun,” Monroe said a few days later at a last-minute club get-together King had organised at the clubhouse. It was one of his efforts to boost club morale. “I mean, it doesn’t beat what I had planned for us today, but it’s still fun.”

I pulled her close. “What did you have planned, sugar?”

“My mouth around your cock. That kind of thing.”

I eyed the exit. “We could find a room. You could still take care of that.”

“Stop dreaming, tiger. Tatum just walked in, and I wanna meet Evie and her baby. And Hailee’s there, too. I’ve got secret women’s business to get involved in.”

I tracked her ass while she made her way to Tatum, only dragging my eyes from her when King interrupted me.

“Just had an interesting call with Billy,” he said.

“Tatum’s boss?”

He nodded. “He may have some information for us in the next hour or so.”

“About the motherfucker screwing with the club?”

“Yeah.” He took a long swig of his beer, shifting his gaze to Jen who’d just exited the room. “Fuck, I told her to stay home,” he muttered before stalking towards her. He’d been in a foul mood for days because of her. I was looking forward to her giving birth to that baby and leaving him in peace. But that was months away.

I moved to where Kick and Nitro stood in the corner of the room. Kick could hardly take his eyes off Evie and their baby daughter. I didn’t blame him. There was nothing like a newborn and their mother. On top of that, Evie’d had complications with her pregnancy, so I figured he was being extra cautious. Exactly how I’d be if I had more kids.

“Kick!” Evie called out. “Can you come and take Elizabeth for a moment?”

Nitro and I watched in amusement as Kick covered the distance between him and his family in a matter of seconds.

“Wanna place bets on how long it takes him to knock her up again?” Devil asked, joining us.

“You reckon six months?” I suggested.

“If that, brother,” he said.

Nitro changed the subject. “Where’s King at with Marx? Are we done with him yet?”

Marx hadn’t proved useful at all. “As far as I’m concerned, we are. But King hasn’t mentioned any decision yet. I’ll bring it up with him later.”

“We need to get him out of here as soon as possible,” Nitro said. “The last fucking thing we need on these premises if the feds raid us is him.”

The screech of tyres and a bloodcurdling scream from outside cut through the air. The sound of gunfire followed close behind.

“Fuck,” I yelled, my entire body alert. Moving swiftly to the clubhouse bar exit, I met Monroe’s gaze and ordered, “Stay here! Do not come outside!”

I ran the distance of the driveway, searching for the source of the screaming and gunfire. Nitro and Devil were right behind me.

“What the fuck?” I said when we reached the end of the driveway. There was no one in sight.

“Where’s King?” Nitro asked.

“Last I knew, he was with Jen.”

“I saw them come out here a little while ago,” Devil said.

They definitely weren’t here now.

My gut churned with apprehension. We’d all heard the sounds. So where the fuck did they come from?

“Hyde!”

King.

We moved further outside the perimeter to look down the road and made a gruesome discovery, one I knew would completely change the path our club was on.

“Fuck me,” Nitro swore, echoing my thoughts as we watched King approach.

“Motherfucker,” Devil cursed, too.

This shit wasn’t happening.

It couldn’t be.

King walked our way carrying Jen’s limp body. Her blood-soaked clothes hung from her, and I knew from the amount of blood that there was no way her heart, or her baby’s, was still beating.

I’d seen my president handle some bad shit. Had watched many times while he allowed his madness to take over. I watched now as that madness circled, claiming him.

It was in the rigid set of his shoulders.

The harsh lines etched into his face.

The savage hollow of his eyes.

King would go on a rampage to avenge these deaths.

I strode towards him, meeting him halfway.

“Who the fuck did this? Did you get a look at them?” I demanded, taking in the blood covering him, trying to figure out if he’d also been shot. Trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

He exploded with deranged anger. The veins in his neck strained against his skin, and his lips pulled back, baring his teeth. “I don’t know who it was, but they fucking messed with the wrong man.”

Blood roared in my ears as I balled my fists. The need for vengeance surged through my veins as I stared at Jen lying in King’s arms.

Where the fuck would this end? We now had the blood of a woman and her unborn child on our hands. The body count was adding up too fucking fast.

“Let’s move this the fuck off the road.” Nitro rounded us up and pulled the clubhouse gate closed behind us.

When we were safely inside the compound, King knelt and placed Jen on the grass. He pressed a hand to her belly and kept it there. His jaw clenched as he looked up at us with cold, hard eyes. He didn’t say a word, but we all read his silence. No words were needed.

Our club was in turmoil, and anarchy would follow. It wouldn’t matter that the feds were watching, or that picking off enemies could bring new ones. King’s wrath would dictate our actions from here on out, and as brothers, we would all stand behind him. We would be ruthless and uncompromising to the bitter end.

“Fuck!” Devil thundered, nostrils flaring. “We’re done trying to fucking pander to Ryland. We need to take that fucker out once and for all.”

King grunted as he stood. Ignoring Devil, he pulled out his phone and made a call. “Billy. Tell me you fucking have something for me,” he barked when Billy answered.

When he ended the call, his eyes met mine. “We have an address.”

“For?”

“Someone tied to the motherfucker who did this.”

King inhaled sharply, determination filling his face. “This guy wants a war? He’s fucking got one.”

* * *

It was a two-storey building we were sent to. In a quiet, unsuspecting suburb full of soccer mums. Dusk had fallen on the busy street as people arrived home from work, There were far too many people around for what we had to do.

King didn’t care. He’d pulled fifteen club members from the get-together for this. We roared in on our bikes, not even trying to draw attention away from us.

“You take the back, I’ll come in from the front,” King said, and I directed members to where he wanted them.

There was no silent entry. We kicked in doors and filed into the house, spreading out as we went. It was a huge place with numerous rooms to check. No furniture, though, so nothing slowed us.

The lower level of the house was clear. Not a person in sight, silence consumed the place. I met King at the bottom of the staircase. He pointed up, and most of us followed him. Devil stayed downstairs with another member to ensure no one came at us while upstairs.

We checked every room methodically and came up with nothing. There was no one in the house. I pulled the curtain across in the last bedroom we checked, to see if anyone was outside.

“It’s fucking clear,” I said to King who paced the bedroom we stood in with Nitro. The rest of the club members waited outside in the hallway, ready for King’s next order.

He slowed and glanced up. Pointing, he said, “Here.”

I followed his gaze to an attic ladder.

Nodding, I said, “I’m with you, brother.” I signalled to Nitro, letting him know we were going up.

King pulled the ladder down while Nitro moved to the bottom of the ladder, his gun aimed up. I followed King, wondering what the hell we’d find. Hoping like fuck it wasn’t a trap.

“Fucking hell,” King muttered when he reached the attic. I took the last couple of steps, shocked to shit when I reached the top and discovered what King already had.

“Hello, King. It’s been a long time.”

No fucking shit it had been a long time.

A woman stood in the empty room watching us.

Ivy.

The fucking love of King’s life.

I pointed my gun at her, fully expecting King to as well, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply stared at her in silence. Stunned. I’d never seen him lost for words like this.

She didn’t acknowledge me, but rather kept her eyes firmly glued to King. She had no weapons; truth be told, she was a weapon. To King, anyway. Fuck knew how many ways she could screw with him. I imagined she could wreak more havoc on him than any manmade weapon. “Are you going to say anything?”

He took a step closer to her. She allowed that. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t appear to be concerned that a gun was pointed at her either.

“You look well,” King finally said.

Ivy was a beautiful woman. Stunning, in fact, with her olive skin, long legs, toned body, sultry eyes, and dark hair that fell to her waist. And he was right—she did look well. The last time I’d seen her was over a decade ago when King had walked away from her. He’d broken her back then, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen someone so ruined by a breakup as she had been.

“Looks can be deceiving,” she said.

“What’s going on, Ivy? Are you not well?” he demanded, concern lacing his question. He was wound tight, the muscles in his back bunched, his arms locked by his side.

“Nothing that would ever concern you. But I didn’t come here to talk to you about that.” She was all business with her flat eyes, blank face and cool tone.

She knew we were coming?

“Ivy,” King said in a low, warning tone. “I asked you a question.”

Her eyes blazed with bitterness. “You gave up that right a long time ago, King.”

“Answer me!” he roared, his body coming to life with an urgent ferocity.

Ivy snapped as fast as King did. Hostility radiated from her as she took the last step that closed the distance between them and went head to head with the man she’d once loved and promised forever to. “You don’t get to demand answers from me, King, so don’t fucking ask them! Now, if you want me to tell you what I know about the shit going down with your club, have Hyde take his gun off me.”

“I’m fucking confused here, Ivy. You came here, knowing we’d be here? And what the fuck are you doing in the attic?” I shared all his confusion. Was this a fucking setup?

“Yes, I organised this meeting. This is a house I own. And I waited up here because I didn’t want all of your men pointing their guns at me.”

King was silent for a few moments. The only sounds coming from him were the heavy breaths he took. He surprised me for the second time since we’d made our way into the attic when he ordered, “Put the gun down, Hyde.”

I kept my aim on Ivy. “You sure about that, brother?” It felt like a bad fucking idea to me.

“Yes,” he barked.

“Fuck,” I muttered as I did what he said.

Ivy watched me for a beat before looking back at King. I kept my eyes fucking cemented to her, watching for any sign that she was about to turn on us.

“There’s an attack coming,” she finally said. “I don’t know when and I don’t know how, but I’ve heard him talk about it for weeks. And it won’t be just on your club, it’ll be on your families, too. He wants them all dead.” She paused. “He wants to wipe everyone and everything you care about off the face of the earth. And I believe he could do it.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

King forced out a harsh breath. “Who?” he demanded through clenched teeth. “Who the fuck are you talking about? And why?”

Her eyes bored into his. “My husband. You took what was his, so now he wants to take what is yours.”

“Fuck! Tony is the one behind all this?”

Ivy was married to Tony Romano, one of Australia’s biggest crime bosses. He lived in Melbourne, which was why he hadn’t been on our list of Italians to check into. I only knew this because King had made me track her movements for a few years after he’d left her. Her marriage had tipped him over the edge, and I’d convinced him to stop tracking her.

I stepped forward, anger spiking through me. “What the fuck did King take?”

She turned her face to look at me. “He took me.”

“How the fuck did I take you?” King growled.

Her eyes met his again, still blazing with a fierce intensity. “You didn’t, but he thinks you did. He thinks I’m leaving him because I never stopped loving you.”