19. Ash
19
ASH
I stand outside the clubhouse, eyes locked on the three Hellfire Riders in front of me, and wonder who the fuck I should take out first.
Tank? The muscle is the easy choice. The one who’d come at me first, no hesitation.
Vance? He’s more of a strategist and smarter than he looks. He’ll probably wait and watch before striking.
Then there’s Hawk who is standing on my property like he owns the damn place. Like this isn’t my fucking property.
Like he’s not a second away from losing his damn teeth.
My fingers twitch at my side, itching for something; my gun, my fists, anything to shut this shit down before it turns into something worse.
But I don’t move.
Not yet.
Because there’s another problem and it’s making my blood boil.
Where the hell are my three top guys? Because they sure as hell aren’t out here, standing at my side like they should be.
I have a pretty good idea of where they are and that only makes my jaw grind tighter. My patience is razor-thin as I glare at Hawk. “You got about ten seconds to explain why you’re standing here before I decide I don’t give a fuck.”
Hawk doesn’t blink. “We’re not looking for a fight.”
I bark out a humorless laugh. “Then you’re dumber than you look.”
Tank shifts slightly, his weight rolling to the balls of his feet, but Hawk lifts a hand—steady, measured.
One wrong move and this whole damn lot is going up in flames. Some of my other men come outside and watch in silence. Their fingers twitch near their guns. A few of them would love to put a few bullets into some Hellfire skulls.
Hawk stands there like he has all the time in the world. Tank is watching me carefully, waiting for me to make a move, while Vance just looks amused like he already knows how this is gonna play out.
Then the door opens.
I don’t have to turn around to know who it is.
I feel it.
The shift. The pull.
Laina .
She steps out onto the porch with Dagger, Liam, and Ryder. She’s barefoot, wearing sweats that are too damn loose and a shirt that’s too damn thin.
Laina’s eyes flick from me to Hawk, to the other Hellfire Riders. She’s probably waiting for me to yell at her or demand that she get her ass back inside, but I don’t move.
I lift a hand and motion her forward. I need to trust her more. Show her that I care and that her voice matters. These are her friends after all.
She hesitates for a second before stepping down from the porch toward me.
Dagger, Liam, and Ryder follow, but I don’t give a shit about them right now. They’re late.
She stops beside me, her presence like a goddamn brand against my skin.
When I finally speak, my voice is low and lethal.
“All right, Hawk.” I tilt my head, keeping my stance loose, but ready. Always ready. “You wanna tell me what the hell you’re doing here?”
Hawk doesn’t answer right away.
Instead, he looks at me. Really looks at me. Like he’s weighing his options before he opens his damn mouth.
That alone tells me I’m not gonna like what comes next.
“After the doll showed up last night,” he says cautiously, “I knew something was off.” No shit, Sherlock. His gaze flicks briefly to Laina, then back to me. “I started asking questions.”
My stomach tightens. “And?”
Hawk exhales and rubs a hand over his jaw. “Ace.”
A few feet away, Dagger mutters a curse under his breath.
Hawk shifts his weight and sounding apologetic says, “He’s been working with Reynolds. We figured there was no way in hell, Reynolds could’ve strolled onto our turf without us sniffing him out. So Tank took Ace out back, asked him about the doll, figured out he was lying, and worked some magic to get him to start talking.”
I glance at Tank, who smugly rolls his shoulders like yeah, I handled it.
Laina swallows hard, her body is tense and rigid. I feel her watching me, waiting for me to react.
I don’t.
Because the anger and the fury curling in my gut is too sharp and too fucking lethal to let loose.
“Ace,” I repeat slowly.
Hawk nods. “He’s been feeding Reynolds intel. Probably for a while now.” He pauses, takes a breath, and continues, “He says Reynolds is setting a trap, and some of your men are working with him too.”
That gets my full attention.
“If we want a chance at taking him down, we can’t do it alone,” Hawk says with a shake of his head. “We’re losing men to this sick son of a bitch.”
I narrow my eyes. “And you think I need you.”
“I think we need each other.”
That’s it. That’s the play.
Hawk, in my territory, asking me for something he doesn’t want to ask for.
An alliance.
He’s not wrong, without one, we’re both fucked.
I let the moment stretch, as I think, calculating my options.
Then, finally, I exhale.
“Well,” I say coldly. “Isn’t that interesting.”
I stare at Hawk, my hands flexing at my sides, itching to knock that cold look off his face. “You know, I should fuck you up right here. Right now.”
Hawk doesn’t react. Not even a damn blink.
But Tank does. He steps forward, lifting a hand between us.
“Relax,” he says firmly. “Both of you. We need to settle down and focus on what matters.”
His words are enough to make Dagger step forward, his posture is loose, but his fists are balled tightly.
“What matters,” Dagger says in a dangerously smooth voice, “is that your guy has been feeding Reynolds intel and none of you figured it out until now.” His eyes flick to Hawk, sharp and challenging. “So tell me again why we should trust you?”
Hawk still doesn’t move.
This whole thing is seconds away from exploding.
Until Laina steps forward.
“Enough!” Her voice isn’t loud, but it cuts through the tension like a blade.
She pushes between us with blazing eyes. “Stop acting like a bunch of high schoolers and think for two goddamn seconds.” She addresses me first. “Ash.”
I hold her gaze, and she doesn’t back down.
“If we want to take Reynolds out, we need them,” she says, nodding toward Hawk and his men. Then she turns to Hawk and says, “And you need us.”
Us. I like the sound of that.
Squaring her shoulders, Laina continues, “So either start working together or go ahead and kill each other. I don’t have time for this shit.”
I hate that she’s right. But she is.
I nod. “Fine. We work together.”
Behind me, one of the Dead Demons mutters a curse while another steps forward to protest. “Ash, we can’t just—” he starts to say but I cut him a look.
One that makes his mouth snap shut.
This isn’t up for discussion. Not anymore. I need the names of the Dead Demons that are supposedly working with Reynolds. After all, we’re getting fucked too.
I turn back to Hawk. “Looks like you’ve got your alliance.”
He tilts his chin slightly, his version of a nod.
And just like that, everything shifts.
For better or for worse, I can’t tell, but I know I’m about to pay the price either way, so I nod toward the clubhouse door. “Let’s go inside. We need a plan.”
The tension follows us in, thick as smoke. The second we’re inside, the Dead Demons who were watching us, move in, sticking to their own. The three Hellfire Riders do the same, all of them posturing, eyes sharp, hands close to their weapons.
One wrong word and this whole thing will detonate.
Before I can think about how to handle the situation, Laina steps forward.
“We don’t have time for this bullshit,” she says, looking between both sides, her voice clear and unwavering. “You want to keep glaring at each other? Fine. Do it after we take Reynolds down. But right now, we have bigger problems.”
The tension lingers, but no one argues.
Hawk steps up, scanning the faces around him before his attention lands back on me. “Here’s what we know. Reynolds faked his suicide and disappeared. He’s been working from the shadows, pulling defectors, promising them control of the marijuana operations here in Eureka.”
Dagger swears under his breath.
Liam leans against the wall, arms crossed. “That’s why we’ve been losing men.”
Hawk nods. “He’s been careful. Smart about it. He waited for the right time to make his move.”
“And that time is now,” Vance cuts in. “Because Laina is back in play.”
I feel her shift beside me, but she doesn’t speak.
“Reynolds is using her as a symbol,” Hawk continues. “A reason to rally more defectors. He’s been telling them he’s coming back to take what’s his. He also said Laina belongs to him and he’s willing to give the defectors anything they want. Money. Power. Women. Drugs. Whatever it is, he has them believing he’s got it.”
Ryder mutters a sharp, “Motherfucker.”
Laina’s hands curl at her sides, her expression is unreadable, but I know her well enough to know that this cannot be easy for her. She’s brave though and is more courageous than some of the men in this room.
“Where is he?” I grind out.
Hawk’s expression doesn’t change. “We have a location. South of the city in an old abandoned factory in the next town over.”
I exhale slowly, my mind already moving. “We have a location. We have a target. So now, we end this.”
“I’m coming,” Laina says, taking a step forward.
Hawk shakes his head. “Hell no. Izzy made me promise.”
“She’s coming, Hawk,” I say in a tone that leaves no room for misunderstanding. We’re not open to negotiation. “This is her problem just as much as ours. She needs to see it through.”
“If anything happens to her, Ash, I will fucking shoot you in the head right there.”
I tilt my head and take a menacing step toward Hawk. “You’re the one who didn’t believe her when she told you Reynolds was alive. Then you let Reynolds get close to her, okay? Not me or my men. She’s coming with us if she wants to. End of the fucking conversation.”