20. Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Gage
S weat drips down my face as we bury the last of the bodies in the large hole.
I count a hundred and twenty-three men and women.
Eighty from Daringville and forty-three from Daringhood.
Twenty of those were our men—councilors or soldiers, distributors or dock workers of some sort.
People who help The Brotherhood function.
Our lifeblood.
Most of them are unrecognizable due to the burns on their faces.
We are still processing the DNA records to get names of every single person.
What a nightmare.
To see this many people gone and have no fucking clue as to who’s responsible?
That’s what pisses me off the most.
I need answers before I lose my fucking mind and kill anybody who questions me or our choices.
We’ve been getting looks from our men as they bury the bodies, as though they are waiting for us to give them answers that we simply don’t have yet.
I know they suspect someone from Daringhood.
How could they not?
The numbers are in their favor.
And why else would so many of them have refused to come to our meeting if they didn’t know something was going on?
I won’t sleep until I find out who did this.
We buried each body in the same hole out back of the town hall as a reminder of what happened today.
Some of the men wanted to stake the members of Daringhood, like we usually do when they dare disobey us, but it’s not appropriate this time.
No matter what side they are from, they all deserve a proper burial.
Everyone who was in that town hall was there because we asked them to be.
We didn’t ask for this massacre, but fuck do I feel responsible for it.
Hazen drives us back to his new place and we remain silent, my thoughts tangled in a revenge plot against whoever did this.
Someone will come forward and claim responsibility—it’s only a matter of time.
What else would be the point?
Killing is power, but there’s no point having power if no one else knows about it.
I shoot off a group text message to our councilors to gather all The Brotherhood and meet at Hazen’s place.
The full moon shines brightly against the dark, clear night sky.
The sun has just set over the horizon; it took us all day to sort through the bodies and bury them.
Lucas pulls up behind us, and I step out of the car, expecting Freya to be with him, but he exits his car by himself.
“Where’s Freya?” I ask, and Lucas slams his door shut, moving around the front.
“Gone back to the Hood after she was discharged.” Lucas storms past me, and I grab his arm.
He stops and whirls around, glaring at me.
“For fuck’s sake, why’d you let her go back there?” I growl.
Lucas pulls free, scoffing.
“You know better than I do that she does what she wants.” He walks off toward Hazen’s front steps and looks back over his shoulder.
“And that dick-tard Kai came to get her. Apparently, he’s her next of kin.”
Lucas storms inside and my body shakes with anger.
He what?
Fuck me.
That kid needs to die.
He keeps pushing and pushing, and soon enough, he’ll be gone.
I can’t have Freya in the middle of this fucking war.
She needs to be on our side of the tracks and stay here—there’s no going back and forth anymore.
This is it.
She’s here or she’s gone.
As much as it would fucking kill me, I’d let her go if it meant that she was safe, but fuck that.
She’ll never be safe in Daringhood with Kai.
We can’t protect her there, not like we can here.
We can’t protect her from them.
“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Hazen says, lighting up a blunt, and he passes it to me.
The smoke hits the back of my throat and does fuck all to calm my racing heart.
Cars drive down Hazen’s driveway, and members follow us inside Hazen’s front door.
We don’t usually have full Brotherhood meetings at our houses, but after what happened, today is different.
Our security is our top priority, and I won’t be losing any more men if I can help it.
I follow Hazen inside, heading downstairs into the massive open den.
There’s not much in here yet; Hazen is still setting it up.
A large pool table sits to the left, next to a kitchen, and a couple of couches.
There’s not nearly enough furniture to fill all the space.
Lucas is already leaning back against the living area’s wall, bringing a bottle of vodka to his lips, and for once, I’m not going to say anything.
Hell, even I want a drink to numb everything that’s happened today.
Each member comes through the set of double doors and finds their place, sitting on the couches or standing around the den.
I stand next to Lucas and Hazen’s next to me.
He leans back against the pool table, gripping the edge, and I know he’s blaming himself for this just as much as I am.
We didn’t light the bomb, but we organized a group of sitting fucking ducks.
We haven’t talked much all day, and there’s nothing we can say other than what the fuck .
I have no idea how this meeting is going to go, but I’ll do everything I can to reassure our brothers that we’ll sort this out.
Now that we’re leaders, everything comes back to us—this is our responsibility, and these men, like us, want answers.
The den’s almost full.
There should be over seven hundred members here, but with today’s losses, there’s less.
Once this is settled, we need to start recruiting again and get in fresh blood.
War is here, and we’re going to be ready for it.
Not like today.
Our first official event as leaders, and look at how well it turned out.
It’s fucking embarrassing.
I clear my throat and the room goes quiet.
“You all know why we are gathered here today—to talk about the events that unfolded at the town hall.”
A couple of murmurs travel around the room, and one of the men steps forward—Damon.
“You could have warned us. Why lie?” More yeahs are thrown around the room, and I exhale heavily out of my nose.
Hazen scoffs.
“If you honestly believe we are responsible for the events that unfolded yesterday, then leave now and run. You’ll have twenty seconds before Lucas hunts you down and kills you.”
I scan the room, and a couple of people shift uncomfortably, but no one leaves.
They know better.
Without the protection of The Brotherhood, they will spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders and end up dead.
There’s only one way to leave The Brotherhood, and that’s with your life.
When you join, you sign away every part of yourself.
It’s The Brotherhood or nothing.
They know the risks, and they do it anyway because of how powerful it is to be part of our world, to be one of us.
“If not you, then who did it?” Brax yells out, standing between Zeke and Callan.
One of the other soldiers has eyes on Dominic tonight so Brax could be here.
“Could have been rogue members of the Hood trying to pin something on us to gain extra support for war,” Callan says, and a few murmurs go around the room.
“They’ve been getting cocky lately—more break-ins, pushing the limits. Ever since one of their own started crossing the lines on the reg.”
Freya .
I clench my fists at the insinuation, but I don’t make a move.
If I’m going to lead us in some kind of war, I can’t go around killing everyone who mentions my girl.
Don’t let women make you weak.
“We, like you, want to work out who did this. Who would have the guts to start a war against The Brotherhood?” I say, my voice bouncing off the walls.
“You know Dominic wouldn’t have allowed this to happen under his command,” Damon says, and before I can open my mouth to reply or punch him in the face, Hazen moves right up to him.
He grabs Damon by the throat, pulls out a knife, and rests it against his Adam’s apple.
Leaning forward, he rests his head against Damon’s, and Damon’s eyes go wide.
“Say it again,” he growls, and Lucas chuckles next to me.
I throw him a look, but he just shrugs, bringing the bottle to his lips once more.
We’ve spent our whole lives looking up to Dominic.
He brought us into this world, training us to become the ultimate weapons.
Part of me owes everything I know to Dominic, and the other part hates him for what he put us—and her—through.
I have no idea what Hazen’s feeling now that Dominic is back and wants power over us all, but if it’s anything like me, then he’s battling a war inside of him that’s going to end up either killing or saving us all.
No matter what, I’ll be by his side because that’s what brothers do and what everyone here should do—not question us and our authority.
Somewhere along the way, a couple of members have forgotten that, namely those who are loyal to Dominic and him only.
With a new wave of leadership, it’s clear they need a reminder of who’s in charge around here.
Damon’s body trembles under Hazen’s grip.
“Got it,” he says, and Hazen stares at him for several long seconds before releasing him.
He scans the room.
“In case you forgot how The Brotherhood works, let me give you a little reminder. Dominic is no longer in charge—we are. We have been initiated by our ancestors to lead our brothers into the depths of hell, to fight, control our town, and most of all”—he pauses, moving back to stand between Lucas and me—“to protect our brothers against all else!”
Cheers ring out through the room.
“We were attacked by our enemies. Someone from Daringhood dared to go against us, and they will pay!” I yell, and more excitement surrounds us.
We haven’t figured out who did this, but it has to be one of them.
Kai might not have done this, but he’s declared a war, so that’s exactly what he’s going to get.
“Now that’s settled, I want to open up to any questions,” I say, looking over our men.
A younger member in his mid-twenties raises his hand.
“I’m worried about my family and what will happen now. Has war been declared? We have the guns and power, but people in Daringhood have nothing to lose. They will fight like madmen.”
“Your family will be protected. We’ll set up safe houses and do everything we can to ensure their safety,” I say, meaning every word.
Family is everything to me.
I do whatever it takes to protect Amirah, just like my brothers and their loved ones.
“And, yes, war has been declared by people in Daringhood, and we don’t take those threats lightly. Tax reductions and changes we were going to implement will be canceled.” I scan the room full of my brothers, staring at each and every one of them.
“We are ready to fight, to protect what’s ours, and we will annihilate them!”
Cheers erupt, and a fire burns deeply in the pit of my stomach.
A battle is coming, and whoever gets in my way won’t be breathing for long—but first, I need to get my girl back.
Then it’s time.