Silence fell over the entire assembly, and all eyes focused on me. Even the Devil’s Dragons surrounding me shifted uncomfortably, staring at the two of us with renewed eyes.

Underneath the burning spotlight of the sun, I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but the harsh desert air had sapped the moisture from my throat.

Or was it fear instead?

“Is this true?” One of the older bikers in my midst asked. I recognized him now from that night as one of the bikers standing behind the seated conference table.

“Yes,” I answered before Hunter could dare to dig himself deeper. “The police force that attacked your headquarters was led by my father.”

The Devil’s Dragons took a step back in unison, distancing themselves from me. I dared to glance up in shame, and my gaze was met with a crowd filled with hate, betrayal, and disgust.

“You knew this?” Another Dragon growled furiously towards their leader. “The woman who rained down hellfire on the club, almost destroying it… You allowed her into our ranks?”

Hunter turned towards his motorcycle club, facing down the intensifying rage with anger of his own.

“She had no part in that,” he declared. “But her return is the reason I invited you to this little get together.”

“Well it looks like you made another mistake if you think the Obsidian Dust is going to back you. The last time round ended with men in prison and under the fucking ground,” the haggard club president growled with complete certainty. “Including Eduardo…”

The bikers surrounding me stiffened at the sound of their old boss’ name.

I flashed back to his wicked gaze from that night as he left the room, passing me with a scoff. I’d only met the man in passing, but it had left an impression on me.

“Do you remember Eduardo, Hunter? Perhaps you didn’t have a lot of time to acquaint with the former leader of the Devil’s Dragons before your little piece of ass had him gunned down in your headquarters…”

“I do remember Eduardo, and I also know exactly who’s responsible for his death,” Hunter replied coldly. “Now why don’t you go ahead and spread your bullshit one more fucking time before I end you, Fang.”

Fang… It felt so strange to finally have a name to go with the face that used to haunt my dreams…

“Your woman is responsible,” Fang replied, his crooked smile flashing.

Hunter’s movement was faster than I could anticipate. Within a matter of seconds, he was grappled the biker to the ground, landing punch after punch on his body.

The haggard man on the ground laughed, shielding his face with his forearms and trying to force Hunter back off.

I felt powerless. Clear as day I could see what was about to come…

Hunter had been so close… he had assembled all of these bikers, unified them to the cause, and now one ghost from our pasts was threatening to destroy it all…

And now those girls would never be saved.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was racing towards the two grappling biker presidents on the ground. I heard my name called out by several of the Devil’s Dragons, but I ignored them.

“Sarah! What are you doing?” Hunter grunted as I threw myself upon his back. He restrained himself as to not harm me, but I pulled at him.

“Get off of him! Now!”

Hunter glared up at me, but saw something in my eyes that convinced him to follow my lead. He pulled himself up from the biker president and stepped aside, letting me gaze down upon this stranger who had come back for us.

I whipped my Glock from its holster, gazing down the sights at him. The entire area snapped with the sound of guns whipping out and pointing our way.

Hunter spoke: “Sarah… don’t you dare…”

“Shut up,” I retorted, before focusing my undivided attention on my enemy. “I need to know what the hell is going on…”

The haggard biker laughed in the dust. “You and your fancy little gun don’t scare me, bitch,” Fang chuckled wickedly up from the dirt. “I know what happened that night… and I know that if you and your fucking boyfriend hadn’t been there, our clubs would have continued to thrive. You ruined that future…”

“Lies,” Hunter said forcefully, cutting Fang off. “You should be grateful that I don’t let this girl pump you full of lead.”

Fang was getting to his feet, completely ignoring the fact that I had my glock trained on his head.

“Why don’t you tell everyone where you were when that raid went down?” Hunter said. I glanced up and caught his smile and it only sent more confusion racing through my mind.

“What does it matter? I was lucky to get out of there with my life,” Fang replied, spitting at Hunter’s feet.

“Luck put you three hours down the highway?” Hunter said in a bemused voice. “Everyone knows most of your damn club rolled out of there before the sun came up.”

“We lost good men when that raid went down.”

“You sure as fuck did… Especially when the ones you left behind opened fire on the goddamned police.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Fang replied.

“Dragons, you know Fang didn’t stick around that night. He talks about devastation, but his club lost two men that night… We lost dozens. This is the asshole who called in a tip to the sheriffs department. He’s the one who orchestrated the raid on the Devil’s Dragons… He wiped us out and took territory from LA to Phoenix without anyone left behind to stop him.”

The crowd seemed restless, guns twitching as the clubs facing off seemed unable to decide who to trust.

“And I suppose you expect these men to just take you at your word? They’re just going to listen to you and your little police bitch?” Fang said, his shoulders squaring up.

“My little police bitch brought me all the evidence I need,” Hunter replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a folded square of paper. He tossed it at Fang’s feet and I gasped as I saw what it was. Half a dozen photographs spilled out from between the pages, and the pages themselves…

My case file… The pictures from the raid on the strip club… Hunter must have taken them from my cruiser!

“Thats part of the incident report, and it talks about your little fucking phone call. Why don’t you pick it up and read it to everyone? They’ve got a full transcript and a goddamned number on file to contact their favorite backstabbing snitch.”

I heard the crunching of gravel from behind. Hunter’s voice, dripping with malice, rang out in the empty desert air.

“Sarah… step aside.”

Realizing how much my hand was trembling with my anger, I lowered my gun and took a few steps away. I lifted my gaze to Hunter’s icy stare as he paused his stride where I had been standing, raising the barrel of his own gun to face down the rival club president.

The elderly biker president stepped from the crowd. “Hunter… You can’t execute this man without giving the Outlaws a say in it. I won’t let you do this.”

Hunter didn’t break his eyes from Fang, who was gazing at him in fear. The smugness had left his face, and he looked like he just might be standing on his gravesite.

The air was thick with anticipation.

“Lower your weapons,” Hunter ordered.

Uneasily, everyone shared glances between themselves once more. The barrels to their guns were still pointed our way. This was it: this was the make or break, and I could practically see the tension crackle between us all.

“Remember who I am,” Hunter elaborated. “This is a direct command: lower all of your weapons immediately.”

To my awe, every barrel lowered… all except his, which remained pointed down at the snake in our midst. I gazed around in a mixture of surprise and confusion when the present members of these rival clubs followed the orders of the man who had one of their own on the ground, seconds from death…

Hunter’s voice rang out:

“My name is Hunter Hargreaves, president of the Devil’s Dragons MC and reigning leader of the Outlaws. When this man’s plot killed my mentor Eduardo, I lifted his mantle and continued his work. I was determined to see his legacy come to fruition. Eduardo was no saint. He led the Devil’s Dragons into an era of running drugs, destroying lives, and rising off the broken backs of others. But there was more to the man than that. Eduardo’s dream was to unify us all into one organization of separate biker clubs, no longer limited by infighting, but strengthened against outside threats. I took that dream, steering it away from evil. He wanted uncontested power. I built upon that dream, guiding it towards harmony. All of your presidents sit on the council that I built in Eduardo’s name over the last five years. With help, I have established trade and turf agreements that allow you to peacefully co-exist… unifying you and so many others into an unbreakable coalition.”

He glowered down at Fang, who merely turned away with a face of bitter anger.

“All of you have come here because you respect my power and my reputation,” Hunter spoke out comfortably but authoritatively. “You have answered the call of the man who changed the desert underworld. Is there a single person among you who dares contest my right?”

Even the elderly biker remained silent.

I was completely dumbfounded.

I had no idea that Hunter wielded such power… with his words and his mere force of presence, he had not only summoned dozens of bikers from a handful of other clubs overnight, but also issued commands that they followed.

Even club presidents yielded to him.

When nobody moved a muscle, he motioned to Fang.

“Turn and kneel.”

Fang spat at the dirt, but turned his back to Hunter. He lowered himself back down to his knees as he stared directly away from us.

Hunter took several steps, placing the end of his gun barrel directly to the back of Fang’s skull.

Panic seized in my throat.

I wanted to call out to him, to plead that he not execute this man who had ruined our lives…

But the sound of a gunshot never came.

“Bind him,” Hunter finally ordered.

It appeared that every other soul had expected Hunter to spill Fang’s blood as well, because it was a moment before anybody moved. Finally, several of his Dragons stepped forward, withdrawing their belts. They wrapped them around Fang’s shoulders and tightened the straps.

I recalled the handcuffs in their holster on my belt. I too came forward, snapping them on Fang’s wrists from behind and securing him as the prisoner of the Devil’s Dragons.

“Understand my mercy,” Hunter called out to the gathered clubs. “This man took my woman from me. He conspired to destroy my club. He contacted the police and called them down upon us… but it is not my place to judge him! I will assemble the council, and we will decide his fate together.”

Hunter stood glaring around the others. “We do things together. We call upon our brothers, those who belong to the Outlaws. Even I will pass no judgment alone.”

I could see now that they truly respected him. Perhaps they had come out of a sense of lingering honor, expecting a favor to later cash in… but now, the assembled force understood the conviction of the man who summoned them.

“Members of the Obsidian Guardians… I expect you to take that evidence back to your chapter and show it to your men. When you’ve voted on a new president, send him to me…”

He had united them all, breaking barriers and prejudices between them. Somehow, he had removed their limitations, guiding them towards coexistence.

Waiting until the four remaining members of the Obsidian Guardians had mounted their bikes and roared into the night, Hunter addressed the remaining crowd once more:

“With that distraction swept away…” He crossed his arms powerfully, letting his voice boom: “Who among you will follow me into warfare?”

The fist of every biker present thrust up into the sky in a chorus of cheers.

Hunter smiled confidently, making brief eye contact with me before rallying the cry: “…Then join us, brothers. We ride at nightfall!”