His description proved more than a little accurate when I witnessed Wolf smash his gloved fist into one of the windows. Over and over. He was like an unhinged madman.
The window finally shattered in an explosion of glass fragments.
He gestured to his three leather-clad companions, all sporting Rogue Riders cuts.
“Enforcers,” Anarchy informed me.
Wolf was the first through the window wreckage, the other three dutifully following on his heel, climbing through the open window and entering the bar.
“So, they robbed us?” Tricks asked Scott.
“No,” Scott grunted. A growl escaped him, just seconds before the fire erupted.
The guys were caught on camera again as they hightailed it back through the window, several bottles of liquor in their hands.
Wolf turned toward the camera, looking directly into it and motioned a slicing motion across his throat. He signaled the other three and they began tossing the bottles they’d nabbed into the heart of the bar. Explosion after explosion erupted, the flames raging out of control until they rose toward the camera, frying it and cutting the feed.
As static took over, Scott cursed and shut off the video, then pocketed his phone.
“They’re calling us out,” Anarchy said.
“No shit,” Scott muttered. He looked at me. “I know Knox. He ain’t gonna stop there. He’s gonna hit them all. Gonna destroy our holdings and fuck with our rep as being safe places for our patrons to hang at.”
“He wants us to take the fight to him when we aren’t ready,” I commented.
“The fucker never did like an even playing field. Always dug deep for an advantage,” Scott told us.
I turned to Tricks. What I was about to ask him was Road Captain business. He was the best bet. “The club knows where their new compound is now. I need you to confirm if Ginny’s is the closest of the chain of Iron Kings bars to them. Then, figure out the next one from there.” I eyed Scott. “You think Knox will take the easy route and do a straight run? Or, would he follow a roundabout route to throw you off?”
“He won’t care about throwing me off. He wants me to know. His goal is calling the club out and have us riding into a war we’re sure to lose by going off in a desperate rage. Straight run, for sure.”
“All right. Tricks?”
“On it,” he said, pulling out his phone. I saw him open up a map program, then he turned away to concentrate and get down to business.
“What’s your plan?” Scott asked me.
“Once we get the next location they’re gonna hit, I’m gonna ride out and head them off. Scare the fuck out of them and incapacitate their mission to hurt Iron Kings enterprises going forward.”
Scott shook his head. “Can’t protect you outside our borders, Finn.”
“I won’t need it.”
Realization flashed in his eyes. “You’re planning on going in dark.”
“Yeah.”
“What?” Anarchy asked, frowning.
Before I had the chance to explain, Scott told me, “No, Finn.” He started shaking his head, surprising me. The plan was solid, the best strategic option given the limitations and the stakes. If anyone could recognize that, it was Scott. So, why the resistance?
He pulled me off to the side away from Anarchy and Tricks, to speak privately.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“What you’re talking about doing, that kinda violence and shit, it could push you too far over the line you been fighting real hard to walk lately.”
“Look, you brought me in for this, to even the odds, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I brought you in for a lot of reasons.”
“You know what I mean and you know I’m the best bet to sort this before the attacks spiral out of control. I can sort it quietly. And you won’t be risking any more of your club brothers.”
He grasped my shoulder. “You’re one of my club brothers now. I care about you and so does my baby girl. That’s why I ain’t sending you out there to sort this shit.”
“What?”
He released me and stepped back from me, walking up to Tricks and telling him, “Get that intel to Wrecker. Gonna have him head down and speed up the shutting down of all the rest of the bars so civilians ain’t caught in the crossfire. I’ll have Deviant deal with the law and insurance issues with Ginny’s and any of the others the Rogues have hit.”
“We’re not gonna stop them, head them off, or anything?” Anarchy questioned.
“We got insurance, we got all our business here bringing in a shitload of dough. It ain’t gonna hurt us as much as the Rogues think. We gotta just swallow the insult of it for a bit. Lives matter more than business. But once we’re ready, we’ll make them pay painfully. They ain’t gonna get away with none of this. We just gotta be smart about it. We clear?”
Anarchy and Tricks nodded, agreeing without reservation.
It was clear how much faith they had in Scott’s plan of action. Well, inaction.
I wasn’t surprised by that. Scott had always been a phenomenal leader, a real natural at it.
“Good,” he said. “Tricks, head up to Wrecker at the clubhouse. Anarchy, carry on with them bikes.”
They both snapped into action and Scott rounded on me, telling me, “Know you ain’t down with this plan, but you gotta understand quick the way we do shit here. Lives come first. Protecting the brotherhood and human interests comes first. Ain’t nothing above that. We’re a family. We don’t do nothing to jeopardize that.”
“I get it and I respect that, but—”
“No.” He held up his hand, cutting me off. “Need you to get a handle on it. You’re gonna focus on shoring up our defenses here, getting the club ready to end this thing. I’ll see where you’re at once it’s time to hit the Rogues.”
“You need me for that battle. Keeping me out of it will—”
He grabbed my arm. “I need you, not the monster. It’ll put everybody and everything in danger. Ain’t gonna risk none of that.”
I jerked my
