Chapter 18
ACE
The cool air outside the compound doing nothing to temper the molten fury burning under my skin as I strode toward my bike.
Rebel and Cross flanked me on either side, their expressions tight, mirroring my barely contained rage.
Wizard and Fallon were already waiting near their hogs, and as we reached them, the clubhouse door slammed shut behind us.
I glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see Blaze stalking toward us with purposeful strides, fresh off the run he’d just returned from. The man looked fierce even on his best days, but right now, the shadows cast by the dim exterior lights sharpened the dangerous edge in his eyes.
He jerked his chin toward me as he approached. “Heading out?”
I nodded, my jaw tightening. “BAM Financial. Time to wipe them off the fucking board.”
He studied my expression, then glanced at the others gathered around me, his lips curving just slightly at the edges. “Need backup?”
“Not yet,” I answered as I swung my leg over my Harley. “But keep your phone handy. If this turns ugly, I’ll need someone who knows their way around an accelerant.”
Blaze chuckled darkly. “I’ll just tag along now. I have a feeling ugly is exactly how this is gonna go.”
Knowing his presence could only strengthen our position, I wasn’t going to argue. With a nod, I twisted the throttle, my bike roaring to life beneath me. The others followed suit, engines rumbling in a lethal harmony that sent a thrill of adrenaline through my veins.
We rolled out in tight formation, navigating the darkness to a nondescript building at the outskirts of a neighboring city.
The building’s facade was purposely bland—nothing marked it as anything other than a generic office complex.
But Wizard had done his homework thoroughly, tracing those financial breadcrumbs until they landed us right here at BAM’s doorstep.
We parked the bikes in the shadows across the street, and after a silent nod of agreement, we moved swiftly across the pavement.
Rebel took point and quickly disabled the keypad at the side entrance.
The lock clicked softly open, and Cross pushed the door inward just enough to let us slip silently inside.
The interior was a typical corporate layout—sterile hallways lined with closed office doors, their interiors darkened by the late hour.
The faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead and the distant sound of voices guided us deeper into the building.
Wizard’s fingers flew across the portable tablet he’d brought with him, silencing any security alerts we triggered along the way.
We followed the murmurs to a conference room tucked at the end of a long corridor.
Through the half-closed blinds, I recognized the two assholes who’d approached Poppy.
Seated with them was Marcus Lennox, the senior analyst at BAM Financial Intelligence who Wizard and I had thoroughly vetted just a few days ago.
The man sat comfortably, his arrogance clear even through the glass as he casually discussed plans with his lackeys.
I slipped my phone from my pocket, snapping a photo of Marcus.
Wizard glanced at the image on my screen and gave a grim nod of confirmation.
We had more than enough evidence already, but Marcus himself was the final piece to the puzzle.
The head we needed to sever to ensure this would never happen again.
Fallon melted away to swiftly clear the rest of the building, while Rebel silently assessed the office’s security measures.
Blaze stayed near the door, his eyes gleaming in anticipation of trouble.
Cross’s expression was as lethal as I’d ever seen it, his muscles coiled, ready to react to whatever unfolded next.
I pushed open the conference room door without warning, my gaze locked on Marcus. His head jerked up in startled confusion as silence fell heavy and sudden.
“Who the hell are you?” Marcus demanded sharply, his voice edged with irritation at the interruption.
I didn’t answer, just took a step forward, my posture deceptively relaxed despite the storm of rage boiling inside me. Marcus’s two lackeys immediately recognized me, their faces draining of color as they scrambled back in their chairs.
Marcus eyed his associates warily, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his expression. “What’s going on here?”
I gave him a tight, dark smile. “You used the wrong person when you decided to target me and mine, Lennox.”
One of his men jumped to his feet, foolishly trying to dash for the door.
Cross grabbed him before he could take two steps, effortlessly forcing him back into the chair and pinning him there with a steel grip on his shoulder.
The second man stayed frozen in his seat, eyes wide with terror, knowing better than to move as Rebel stepped menacingly closer to him.
Marcus looked between us, his mouth tightening into a hard line. Then his gaze flicked toward the others and back to me, trying to maintain a confident facade. “I don’t know what you think is happening—”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Lennox.” I stepped forward, deliberately invading his personal space. “You fucked with my club, targeted our systems. You made a very serious fucking mistake.”
Lennox flinched at the controlled fury in my voice and shot a desperate look at the door. Blaze took a single step forward, and Lennox shrank back. “I don’t know—”
“It’s my turn to talk, motherfucker. As I was saying…what’s even worse, you sent these assholes after my woman,” I cut him off coldly. “Scared her. Used her. And if that wasn’t fucking enough, you made the grave mistake of thinking we wouldn’t trace it back to you.”
“You have no proof,” Marcus tried to bluff, but the sweat beading on his forehead told me he knew exactly how fucked he was.
Wizard stepped forward, his voice laced with deadly certainty. “You left digital fingerprints all over your hacks. Your security protocols were pathetic. For someone who deals in financial intel, your organization is fucking amateur.”
Marcus paled further, visibly rattled now. “We can negotiate—”
I was done listening. My fist connected with his jaw with a sickening crack, snapping his head sideways. Marcus crashed to the floor, blood welling from a split lip as he stared up at me in shock.
“You’re not negotiating shit,” I growled, crouching down and grabbing him roughly by the throat to hold him in place. “You chose the wrong fucking target. You threatened the Hounds, and you threatened my woman. Now it’s time for consequences.”
Fear flashed in his eyes, and he opened his mouth as though to plead, but I squeezed tighter, cutting off his air supply. His eyes bulged, panic setting in as he clawed futilely at my wrist.
“Understand me clearly, Marcus.” My voice was deceptively quiet as I leaned closer, my gaze locked onto his terrified face.
I cocked my head in the direction of his lackeys.
“You already had one warning, and I don’t do threats.
I make promises. You fucked around, and now you’re going to find out exactly what happens when someone messes with what’s mine. ”
Just before he lost consciousness, I released him roughly, letting him slump to the floor, gasping and coughing desperately as he tried to suck air into his lungs.
Straightening, I glanced at Wizard, whose eyes had gone dangerously flat. “How long will it take?”
Wizard glanced briefly at his tablet, then met my stare again. “About four hours, give or take thirty minutes. Once I’m in, I’ll erase every trace of them and drain every account connected to BAM and anyone else they worked with.”
“Good,” I replied with quiet satisfaction. “Get started.”
“And after we drain their pockets?” Blaze asked.
I turned toward him, the last threads of my fury finally snapping into place. “Then we burn their fucking empire down. No loose ends.”
His mouth curved into a predatory grin. “My specialty.”
“Cross, Fallon—tie these assholes up,” I ordered, gesturing to the other two men. “Lock them in a storage closet.”
My club brothers nodded, dragging the other two men roughly to their feet, both of them crying and begging. Marcus looked up at me, his expression twisted in hatred and fear as he met my unyielding stare.
My voice hardened as I looked down at him, still struggling to catch his breath. “You’ll watch as we dismantle everything you’ve built. One code, one dollar at a time.”
“And then?” he croaked.
I shrugged. “Depends on how controlled Blaze’s burn is.”
Blaze chuckled as he dragged Marcus to his feet and shoved him into a chair.
Wizard got to work, his fingers flying over his keyboard in a blur, dismantling BAM’s digital world piece by piece. By the time we were done tonight, BAM Financial Intelligence would be nothing more than a cautionary tale.
Blaze set to work, strategically placing accelerants to ensure the fire would be precise and controlled. No collateral damage, but enough to leave absolutely nothing behind.
The rest of us talked shop while we waited. The first time Lennox opened his mouth to say something, I nodded at Fallon, who promptly closed it with his fist. “Try again, and we’ll knock out more teeth and gag you.”
He remained silent.
Just over four hours later, Wizard unplugged his laptop and shot Lennox a smug, humorless smile as he closed his laptop and stood from behind the desk. “It’s done. Every piece of intel you’ve stolen is gone, and all your accounts are now zeroed out.”
Cross jerked Lennox to his feet, and Fallon pushed him up against the wall. I walked over and met his stare with a dark smirk. “And every name connected to BAM is now fucking bankrupt. I made sure of it personally.”
“Everything is ready,” Blaze pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against. “Let’s get the fuck outta here. My woman is waiting to welcome me home.”
Marcus watched helplessly from where Cross and Fallon had him pinned against the wall, his face contorted with panic and rage as he realized exactly what was about to happen.
Blaze flicked open his lighter, the small flame reflecting dangerously in his dark gaze as he glanced over at me with a dry smirk.
“Time to torch this place. They’ll see the smoke from miles away.”
I gave a short nod, watching as he casually dropped the lighter into the designated spot. Small flames erupted instantly, slow rolling at first, contained, but no less deadly than a roaring, hungry fire.
The heat surged, licking at our skin as tendrils of smoke began to fill the air.
“Put him with his friends,” I called over my shoulder as I headed for the door. Marcus screamed curses behind me as Fallon dragged him from the room.
We waited until he joined us again, then moved toward the exit. The crackling of the flames quickly drowned out the shouts of all three men.
We stepped out into the cool night air, breathing in deeply as we crossed the street to our bikes. We paused briefly, looking back at the growing inferno engulfing the building, bright orange flames flickering in the darkness.
Blaze tilted his head, admiring his handiwork, and nodded with grim satisfaction. “Now that’s how you fucking solve a problem.”
“Agreed,” I muttered with a gruff laugh, swinging a leg over my bike and starting the engine.
My brothers did the same, the roar of our motorcycles mingling with the sound of the building groaning as its structure was eaten away.
Without another look, we pulled away from the destruction we’d left behind.