I love you, Ky… You will forever hold my heart…

*****

Ky

“We’re gonna have to do recon. We’re fuckin’ stupid if we go in this place blind,” AK said. Smiler and Tanner backed him up.

The Nazi fucker had pulled through and made it back with blueprints in hand. And yeah, the new commune was a fucking fortress. A thousand acres of concealed and top-grade military protection. It was like cracking Fort Knox.

We had no idea how many freaks were in there, but from what Tanner could get intel on, it could be thousands.

The Hangmen could take weeks to get those kinda numbers together, so Styx had agreed to let the AK and Smiler go in and scope the place out, see if we could pull off an under-the-radar retrieval. That was a day ago. I didn’t have those stealth kinda skills to be of use, so I found it more productive to sit at the bar, nursing a fuck-off bottle of Jack.

Two days my bitch had been gone, two miserable and fuckin’ long days, and I wasn’t an idiot. Mae had said what those asswipes would be doing, but I couldn’t let myself go there, couldn’t picture some sadistic pedo raping my woman. Fuck, she’d be so scared. My old lady was a timid, brainwashed, scarred-by-life bitch.

Mae and Maddie were a damn train wreck, holed up in Styx’s apartment, numb as fuck, and staring off into space most of the fuckin’ time.

“How’s it hangin’, brother?” Hush sat beside me, pulling me from my dark thoughts, and as always, Cowboy weren’t far behind. They were like each other’s damn shadows.

“Ky,” Cowboy greeted, tipping his Stetson, and signaled for a beer from prospect, taking a seat next to Hush.

The three of us didn’t talk. What the fuck was there to say?

Hours passed and one by one the brothers entered the bar: Tank, Bull, Vike, Flame, Tanner showed his face, and eventually Styx. We were all waiting on intel, the old ladies upstairs with Maddie and Mae.

Someone nudged my arm and Styx sat beside me. He didn’t say fuck all either.

The roar of Harleys sounded outside, and I jumped off my barstool, ready to run for the door, but Styx held me back.

Minutes later, AK and Smiler entered the bar, looking tired and disheveled, Smiler’s long hair greasy and tied back, dirt all over their leathers and skin. I pounded in their direction as they slumped on the sofas and stood before them.

I heard Styx whistle for everyone to gather around.

“Well?” I prompted.

AK lifted his head and ran his hands down his face. “They have a motherfuckin’ army.”

Releasing a long sigh, I crossed my arms over my chest, and Hush asked, “What we dealing with?”

“Guards patrolling with AK-47s ‘round every perimeter, and not just any guard. These guys know what they’re doing. Have two shifts, day and night,” Smiler revealed.

“Any weak areas?” Tank asked.

“Not many. But they weren’t thorough enough when they secured the outer perimeter and we found a way in on the southwest of the property. Not much but hills and fields there, scrubland. It’s the weakest spot, anywhere else and we’re looking at four-deep electrical fencing, cameras, and patrols every hour.” AK then looked up at Styx and me; the prez had moved beside me. “Don’t know where the fuck they’ve all come from, but I can tell y’all now, those fuckers we killed months back—the elders, prophet cunt-face, those brothers who had Mae, Li, and Madds—they were nothing. This place ain’t like nothing I’ve seen before. And the ammo they were strapped with, real top-grade Israeli shit. And I gotta say, prez, that shit’s better than what we’re hauling.”

Styx nudged me, and I automatically watched his hand sign and translated. “What the hell is this place? What’re they doing there?”

Smiler actually motherfuckin’ smiled, without humor, though. “Looks like the fuckin’ crusade, like a fortified Jerusalem or some shit. Those religious freaks look like they’re prepping for fuckin’ Armageddon.”

Styx threw his head back and groaned, then looked at Bull. “Any word about new gun dealers on our turf?”

Bull shook his head. “Nothing. Everything’s all good.”

“They’re biding their time,” I said and met Styx’s eyes. “We all know Rider. He’s new. He’ll need to get things in order before he strikes. But after that… well. he’s pissed and he’s gonna bring the fuckin’ rain.”

“We got in, scoped the outskirts, but never went too deep,” Smiler said.

“And Lilah? Did you see my woman?” I asked, a fuckin’ pit in my stomach.