Chapter 24 #2
Indi’s face took on a rosy glow as she smiled up at Cricket’s irritated expression.
“No arse kicking necessary, conscious. Our first date was perfect, even with some jerk scratching Sheila’s bumper.
Priest was… sweet.” She grinned at me shyly and made grabby hands for my untouched mug of coffee, which I gave her with a smug smirk.
Snatching her mug back from Cricket, Indigo shot us both a beaming smile and went upstairs, presumably to wake Lennon.
Cricket and I got new mugs filled to the brim with strong, dark coffee and settled in for church before we rode out.
“You look…happy,” Cricket said, settling into his chair.
“Definitely better than you usually do after a hookup lately. You’ve lost that grumpy, twatty little crease between your eyes.
” Gray eyes met mine from across the table, lacking their usual mischievous twinkle.
Cricket and I didn’t usually talk about our feelings because we weren’t adolescent girls, but if he wanted to get something off his chest, it was best we do it before our attack on the Raiders.
We all needed clear heads and laser focus if we were going to survive this.
“It wasn’t a hookup,” I said after taking a sip of my coffee, “but yeah, I guess I am feeling pretty fucking good this morning. You got a problem with that?”
Cricket snickered. “Not at all, brother. It took you bloody long enough to pull your head out of your arse, but I’m glad you got there in the end.”
Duke and the rest of the Crows trickled into church, with Bones being the last one to arrive.
His arm was still in a soft brace, and I could tell being left behind today rankled him.
Knuckles, Blaze, and Thor were also staying behind to protect the compound and keep an eye on our businesses here.
“Alright, I spoke with the other LC presidents, our contacts with the bratva, and the Frozen Furies. Everything is set. Crows from the chapters further away have already left, so we can all be in position at the right time. Bear, Sticks, Tank, and Ratched, you’re with me.
We’ll be hittin’ the Bakersfield chapter.
Rook, Cricket, and Bard, you’ll be with Priest. Y’all will hit the clubhouse outside of Chico.
My team will leave first since we have farther to ride.
Get to the meeting point and rendezvous with Petrov’s people and the Furies.
Once you get a text from me, it’ll be time to execute. Any questions?”
We’d all been over the plan, so we all knew who we’d be working with, but Duke seemed to need this last chance to make sure everyone understood the assignment.
The last time we’d had more than a petty squabble with the Iron Raiders MC was in the early 1980s when we’d gone to war.
Duke had been eleven or twelve when it all went down, and he remembered when his father, Gavin, struggled to hold the Crows together and get them through it alive.
Duke never wanted to see another war in his lifetime, but the Iron Raiders wouldn’t stop until they’d gotten Indigo and used their new Irish allies to destroy our club and everything we’d built. This was a necessary evil.
“Alright,” Duke continued when no one had a question to ask.
“These motherfuckers think they can come into Los Cuervos territory, bend us over, and fuck us. The Iron Raiders want to destroy what we’ve built, what we’ve earned, what we’ve bled for.
They’ll spread like a plague if we let ’em.
Are we gonna let ’em?” A chorus of no’s mixed with various curse words answered all of Duke’s questions in one syllable.
“Crows never forget. We’re gonna make them pay, and end this threat once and for all.
And if you see Pyro’s rat bastard face, put a bullet in it.
He doesn’t get to see the next sunrise.”
Everyone went their separate ways to get ready—the married brothers off to kiss their ole ladies goodbye and the rest of us to suit up and arm ourselves.
I was already dressed, but I went back to my room to get my Smith and Wesson nine millimeter, two extra magazines, and tucked a knife into the holster I wore at the small of my back.
My cut hid my weapons, but I did an extra check in the mirror just to make sure I wasn’t accidentally flashing my gun.
Didn’t want some Karen to see a biker with a pistol and call the cops. It wasn’t good for the brand.
Satisfied I had everything I needed, I turned toward the door when something on my bed caught my eye.
A flash of white in a sea of blue sheets, like a cloud in the sky.
I walked over to the bed, still rumpled from my night with Indigo.
Propped on my pillow was a piece of paper, its edges jagged as if it had been ripped hastily.
Scrawled across the scrap of paper was the outline of a love heart, drawn in purple ink over an oil-speckled background.
I picked the note up and slid it into its new home in my wallet. It still smelled of apples.