Vince

 

I looked out at them, waiting for a response. I hoped they could forgive me for what I was about to do.

 

Axel stepped forward. “You’re so full of shit.”

 

My mouth gaped open. That was the last thing I expected to hear. Were they that pissed at me?

 

He grinned and continued. “Do you really think we would let you go through with this all by yourself?”

 

Frankie joined him. “Stop bein’ stupid. We’ve got your back. No way you’re goin’ in there alone.”

 

I looked at all of them, from one to the other. They all nodded in unison. “What do you mean?”

 

“We mean you’re our leader. You’ll always be our leader. It doesn’t matter what that asshole York wants. He can’t just take your place because he says so.” Frankie came to me, slapping me on the back. “We’re gonna get him. And we’re gonna make those sons of bitches pay for what they did to us.”

 

“How? Did you come up with something?”

 

“Fuck yeah, we came up with somethin’!” Frankie laughed, slapping my back again. “What’d you think we were in there so long for?”

 

“Listen, the Wolves might have more men than we do, but we have more firepower. That includes explosives.” Ralph led me to the game room, where a set of blueprints stretched across the table. They’d put away the cards pretty quickly, I noticed. I guessed when desperate times called, they could step up in a hurry.

 

“How the hell did you get your hands on these?” I looked around, wondering who did it.

 

“We’ve had them for years. Rex got a hold of ’em back in the day. We never had to use ’em before now.”

 

I looked them over. “This was from back when it was a warehouse,” I said.

 

“Right, but they haven’t made any renovations the way we did. Besides, if we planted explosives around the outside…”

 

“That’s what you wanna do?” I looked around the table. “You wanna blow them the fuck up?”

 

They nodded. Every man in the club. “The vote was unanimous,” Chip said. “But if the president wants to veto it…that’s your call, and your right.”

 

I looked at the blueprints, then back up at them. “Hell no. I want this. For our guys. For our club.” I didn’t mention Erica, not wanting to piss anybody off. I didn’t know how they felt about her, since she sort of got us into a lot of this.

 

Axel cleared his throat. “Don’t forget Erica. She’s one of us now. This is for her, too.” The rest of the club agreed.

 

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent. I could only look at them in gratitude before getting on with business.

 

“How much C-4 we got?” I looked up at Ralph, the demolitions expert.

 

“Enough to take them down easy.” He pointed to the places along the outside of the warehouse where the explosives would be set up. “I’ll want three guys on this with me.”

 

“All right. The main goal is to take it all out,” I said. “Everything. All of them. Are you all ready to do this?”

 

“Fuck yeah,” Frankie spat. “I can’t wait to see them go up.”

 

I nodded. “They’ll all be there if Erica’s there. York’s not stupid. He’ll want the place guarded, big-time. They have at least thirty, forty guys. He’s expecting me, but he’s not expecting me alone. He knows I’ll bring some of you with me—I’d be stupid not to, since I wanna make sure Erica’s safe.”

 

I thought it through. “While I’m inside, you’ll be setting up the explosives outside. How long do you think it will take?”

 

Ralph shrugged. “That, I don’t know. Depends on how many of them are guarding the outside of the clubhouse.”

 

“Right. So the explosives should be set in place before I go in. I’ll only go when everything’s ready. You’ll start the timer when I’m inside.”

 

I heard a few whistles from my guys. “Shit, Vince. I don’t know. That’s pretty risky.” If Frankie thought so, it had to be. I wouldn’t back down.

 

“I know, but it’s the only way I’ll be sure how much time I have. What’s the point of getting Erica out of there if half the club follows me out and misses the explosion? I want them all in there. Every one of them. It’ll be up to me to get her out quietly. I want it timed just right.” I looked around the room. Their jaws were tight. So was mine. “I think ten minutes should be enough.”

 

“Oh, shit, come on. Fifteen, at least,” Ralph said.

 

I thought about it. “All right. Fifteen. We’ll just have to hope nobody goes in to check on her after she’s gone.” I looked at the blueprints again. With my finger, I traced a trail. “I’ll go in through the front, here. This is their lounge area, if you can call it that.” I grimaced, remembering how disgusting the place had been when I was there earlier. “I doubt they’d have her there. Maybe in one of these other rooms.” I circled them with my finger. “I’ll ask to see her first, make sure she’s all right. Then, I’ll ask to see York privately. He’ll love the chance to get me alone. Then…I’ll take care of him.”

 

That was all I had to say. The guys knew what I meant. My blood was boiling so hot, I looked forward to the chance.

 

“That’ll leave me with enough time to get Erica out of there. The only thing that bothers me is finding a way to get out without everybody seeing us.” I looked at the blueprints, trying to find a side door. “Here’s a back door, but I remember seeing it when I went there—so it’s visible from the middle of the main room. Fuck.”

 

“You want us to cover you?”

 

“I don’t know. That’s pretty risky. You could be up against three dozen guys.”

 

“We have twice the guns. We’ll be all right.”

 

I thought hard about it. “No. I want you all as far away from there as possible. If I cut it too close, no sense in having you all blown up. If they see us, I’ll send Erica out and tell her to run like hell.”

 

Nobody looked happy with the plan. I sure as hell wasn’t happy with it either. But it was the best we could do. At that point, I didn’t care as long as we could destroy the Wolves.

 

If I had to go down with them, that was the way it had to be. It would be one hell of an explosion either way.

 

###

 

The clubhouse was a beehive. I gave everyone a half hour to get their shit in order before we left. There was an unspoken intensity in all of us. The girls felt it, too. Of course. They knew what we were doing. They’d been there when the plan came together.

 

Frankie and Axel pulled out every firearm we could feasibly carry. I couldn’t take one in with me—they’d confiscate it in a minute. It would only mean a waste of a gun that could be used by another one of my guys. I didn’t wanna go in to see York empty-handed, though.

 

I had to kill him. There was no other way to go. The explosion wouldn’t be enough. I wanted to do it up close and personal, but quietly. I didn’t want him to scream and bring company.

 

After thirty minutes we gathered in the lounge, our faces identical—jaws clenched, murder in our eyes. It was time to settle the score once and for all. The odds were some of us wouldn’t make it back. None of them seemed to mind. We were all focused together on the goal.

 

Brett and the girls poured shots, handing them out to us. I looked at all of them. The only family I knew.

 

“Let’s do this,” I said. We raised our glasses, then tossed back the whiskey before filing out. I wasn’t sure what we would find, but at least I knew I wouldn’t be going there alone. I had my brothers by my side.