Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Icer
A few days have passed and Letti is finally settled and unpacked. I smile when I notice how intermingled our things are. The Prestons, which is Zeke’s family surname, have been notified by the club that their home has been paid off along with their vehicles.
They now own everything free and clear and won’t carry the additional weight of those astronomical monthly payments, which will help her credit and give her some wiggle room. Letti has made fast friends with the mother, Amelia, and has become one of her trusted babysitters.
Today, she, Van, and Zoey are cleaning her house, helping her go through her husband’s closet and donating his clothes to local charities. Those women work together seamlessly, and it’s a sight to behold.
Shade comes walking into my house, plopping on the couch across from me. “I helped that family,” he gruffly says. “I paid off the hospital and doctor bills, they won’t have those hanging over their heads.”
“Cool,” I grunt, waiting for him to admit the real reason behind his visit. I know for a damn fact he didn’t come over to tell me what he did, he’s not one who likes to be in the spotlight.
“Maloney needs to be taken out,” he says, keeping his eyes attuned to mine as he sinks back into the cushions. “The sooner, the better.”
“Why do you think that?” I ask, leaning forward and placing my elbows on my knees, giving him my undivided attention.
Shade sighs before clearing his throat. Like me, he hates explaining himself. “I’ve been shadowing him since his son’s gang is due to be released any day now.”
I nod, encouraging him to continue when he stalls.
I get what he’s doing, he’s readying me for the bomb he’s about to drop.
“Whatever you have to tell me, just spit it out, brother.” Shade and I have already proven that we have each other’s backs and work well together.
We’ve become the hunters of the club, which we did not long ago for Nova.
We’re good at making our enemy nervous and causing them to come out of hiding.
“They’re pissed that their attempt at hitting you where it hurts failed.
They thought that Letti would be detained and you’d be busy getting her out and would turn a blind eye to other things they wanted to get done but can’t with you watching them.
They’re making new plans, and all of the women and kids are targets. ”
“What are they planning, Shade?”
“They’re on the dark web, scouting mercenaries for hire. And not the soldier type either, if you get what I’m saying.”
“They’re looking for assassins,” I growl. “They’re going to have the old ladies and kids murdered!”
“That’s exactly what they’re doing,” Shade clarifies, his eyes black with anger.
“We can’t let them get that far because once a contract is out there, we can delete it, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been accepted and printed before we can get it wiped.
Booker’s watching them, and he’s blocking them but that’ll only last for so long before they wisen up and have somebody else post it on their behalf. ”
“Remove your cut, brother, we’re doing this on our own without taking it to the table,” I order, knowing that I’m going to pay for this choice once Riptide catches wind of what we’re about to do.
“No need for that,” Rip says as he, Indiana, Slayer, LoneStar, and Nova come strolling into the room.
“Did you set me up?” I ask Shade, ready to pummel him if he did.
“Stop your bellyaching, Icer,” Indiana states, giving me an incredulous look. “Booker told us, and when we saw Shade hop on his bike, we followed him.”
“This is a family affair,” LoneStar says, giving me a look that tells me more than words do. A reminder that no matter the circumstances, as brothers, we have each other’s backs whether we approve of the reason or not.
In this case, it seems as if we’re all on the same page.
“It’s not just Letti in his sights, Icer. This affects us all,” Riptide scolds. “Even if it was only her he was interested in, we’d still be with you. This shit has gone on long enough, it’s time to end it.”
“Finally,” Indiana murmurs, looking ready for war. “We need to start with the father and end with the son.”
“Agreed,” LoneStar remarks. “That man should’ve never been allowed to reproduce.”
“Snakes breed snakes,” Slayer hisses, anger radiating off him which has him vibrating. “We have to chop all their heads off or they’ll continue laying more eggs.”
“Ready when you are,” I say, walking over and hanging my cut up on the coatrack, grabbing my shotgun from the gunrack, pocketing enough ammo to take out a small country, grabbing my keys and heading for the door. “What are y’all waiting for?” I ask, heading out the door and toward my bike.
“I guess we’re doing this now?” Indiana asks, strolling out after me, whistling.
“No time like the present,” I return. “I’m done with this motherfucking sheriff that thinks his shit don’t stink.”
“Wait!” Slayer bellows. “We can’t just ride through town and shoot him in broad daylight.”
“Why the hell not?” I ask, turning around on my heels, fuming mad. “I don’t see a problem with it. Hell, the town would probably throw a party in our honor for getting rid of him.”
“That may be the case but don’t forget, he has the backing of the councilwoman and those who elected him into office. We need to do this on the downlow, Icer,” Riptide says, trying to reason with me.
“He will not see another sunrise, Riptide,” I announce, meaning every bit of it.
“No, he won’t,” Rip agrees. “But we’re doing this the smart way.”
“Under the cover of darkness when he’s home, alone, and thinks he’s safe behind locked doors,” Slayer tacks on. “We need night on our side, Icer.”
“Especially since you already threatened to drop a grenade down his pants in the center of town during daylight hours. You’re already going to be on top of the suspect list, but that doesn’t mean we have to give them the proof to lock you away. We need to cover our tracks,” Nova advises.
“Tonight,” I hiss, jabbing my finger in their direction.
“We’ll be prepared by then, I swear that to you as your brother and your friend, Icer,” Riptide avows.
“Fine!” I spit out, seething. I want this done and over with so we can move the fuck on with our lives. I’m tired of these pissant pieces of shit seeping their venom into our world. “And once he’s taken care of, we move on to the Onyx’s.”
“That’s the plan,” Slayer says. “But we want them to move on us so we have a legit reason for wiping them out, we can use the stand your ground law in our favor. We’ll be defending our family and our property. It’s a dangerous game, but one we have to play.”
“I’d rather be on the offense than the defense,” I exclaim. “We’re taking unnecessary risks when we can take them out before they fire off a single shot.”
“If this were any other circumstance, I’d agree with you,” Riptide states. “But our fights with them have been too public, we’ve broadcast them far and wide without considering the ramifications. The entire town and officials are well-aware of our continual conflicts, so now we’re stuck.”
“We have contingency plans, Icer. We’ll be going on full lockdown once they’re released from jail, brother,” Slayer tells me, trying to nullify me.
“The women and kids will be underground so they will be out of the line of fire. Nothing will touch them, especially our enemies. We’ve thought this through, they will be watched and guarded at all times. ”
“They better be,” I growl. If anything happens to any of them, I will go on a rampage and nobody will be safe from my wrath. Not even my brothers.
“Tell Letti she’ll be having a sleep over at my place tonight,” Riptide advises. “There’s no telling how long our outing will be and I’d rather your mind be free of worry and on the task at hand than wondering if she’s safe at home.”
“I’ll pack her bags myself,” I mutter. “Who’s got eyes on her and the other women?”
“Renegade, Rebel, and Scripture,” Rip answers. “They’re good, those three men would take a bullet for them without question.”
I nod my head because I know they would. “See y’all tonight.”
“We meet at eleven and leave at midnight. Make sure y’all are locked and loaded,” Rip orders.
“Always am,” I reply as I dismiss them and walk to the bedroom.
I have a lot of packing to do, including my ammo bag because I’m going with every goddamn torture device I own.
Which is plentiful. I’m known to get creative when I want answers, only this time, it’s not answers I’m after, it’s revenge.