Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“I know. It’s okay.”
“It’s getting late. You and Dalton can crash in my room, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I gave her a quick kiss, then walked out of the bar and made my way to Maverick’s office. When I walked in, Bruton was sitting across from Prez’s desk with Torch and Q. As soon as Bruton saw that I’d walked in, he smiled and said, “Looks like everyone who’s anyone is here. So, why don’t you boys tell me why I’m here?”
“We’ve had some blowback from our last drop.”
“Blowback?” he asked, looking and sounding unconcerned. “What kind of blowback?”
“The kind that almost got my girl and my son killed,” I snapped.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“The Stingers are pissed that we did that drop in their territory,” Maverick explained. “We tried a peace offering, but that didn’t go over. Now, they’re embarking on a war.”
“To hell with them,” Bruton spat. “They have no say over territory. I own that lot. Hell, I own the whole fucking street.”
“They clearly don’t care who owns what. They see it as their territory.”
“Um-hmm.” Bruton stood and adjusted his sweater vest. “I’ll take care of it.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“That’s no concern of yours. I said I’d take care of it, and I will.” He started out the door as he announced, “We have another drop at the end of the month. We will discuss the location at a later date.”
“You handle the goods,” Maverick interjected. “We’ll take care of the location and the manpower.”
Bruton stopped and thought for a moment, then gave a simple nod. “Fair enough. Until next time.”
Without any further discussion, Bruton walked out of the room. Q was the first to ask, “What the hell was that? Are we actually gonna trust him to handle this?”
“We’ve got no reason not to,” Maverick answered.
“So, what now?”
“We gotta stay vigilant.” Maverick looked over to me as he said, “Our guest made it pretty clear that he wasn’t alone. There are others out there, and once they realize that he’s missing, there will be more to come. We need all hands on deck. We gotta be ready in case they pull anything tonight.”
“Understood.”
Protecting the family had always been our number one priority. We lived or died by the brotherhood. We always had, and we always would. If Bruton didn’t handle the Stingers, we would, and we would handle them in ways they couldn’t imagine. And there was a piece of me that hoped we would get to do just that, especially after hearing their plans for Londyn and Dalton.
The Stingers had it coming, and they were going to get it one way or another.
CHAPTER 24
Londyn
After a whirlwind of a day, I took Dalton to Macomb’s room and put him to bed. I waited several hours, but Malcomb never showed. My exhaustion caught up with me, and I eventually drifted off to sleep. I woke up the next morning and was disappointed to find that there was still no sign of Malcomb. Being careful not to wake Dalton, I eased out of bed and went to the bathroom.
I took a moment to fix my hair and wash my face, then went back into the bedroom to check on Dalton. When I walked in, I found him sitting up on the bed with a smile on his face. “Hey there, buddy. Did you sleep okay?”
“Um-hmm.” His smile grew wider as he said, “I like it here.”
“I like it here, too.” I brushed his hair out of his eyes as I asked, “Are you hungry? We could go get some breakfast or maybe some juice.”
He nodded and pushed the covers back before hopping out of bed. He picked up his shorts from the floor and slipped them on, then looked up at me and said, “Oo-kay. I’m ready.”
“Alright, let’s go see what we can find.”
I took his hand and led him out the door, and to my surprise, there wasn’t a soul in sight as we started down the hall.
As we made our way to the kitchen, I couldn't shake the feeling that something seemed off. It was quiet—too quiet for a clubhouse full of rowdy men. The silence played with my anxiety, making me wonder if we should turn around and go back to Malcomb’s room. Dalton, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to it all and hummed a tune to himself as he looked around the long, narrow hall. He seemed so enthralled by it all.
I couldn’t blame him. I felt the same way the first few times I came to the clubhouse. It felt like a different world. It still felt like a different world, only now, it seemed a bit more daunting. I tried to ignore the feeling as I led Dalton into the kitchen and over to the fridge. “What are you thinking? Some cereal or some scrambled eggs?”