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Sam

"You motherfucker." Kade's voice echoes through my cellphone, the anger in his tone making me smile.

"Well, good morning," I reply, a little more cheerfully, now that he knows exactly what I'm capable of.

"You framed me?" he shouts. We both know the answer is yes. I needed to do something with Damien's body. Couldn't keep it in the pizza shop freezer forever. And then Kade decided to be an asshole. It seemed like the perfect solution.

I genuinely wanted the sit-down to work. But when it was clear that Kade had no intention of coming to an agreement, I changed tactics. Instead, I had John swipe the beer glass Kade had been drinking from while I made my exit speech. After that, it was easy enough for my cousin to plant fingerprints on the gun I used to shoot Damien and leave the weapon near the swamp.

The Feds have been looking for a way to take down the Serpents, so one call, and they were at the swamp, gun in hand, pulling what was left of Damien's body from the water.

I guess my aunt will be getting that funeral, after all.

"I can't say I know what you're talking about." I feign ignorance, leaning back in my chair with a grin growing on my lips.

The biker thought he had the upper hand. If only he would’ve sat at the table and came to an agreement with me, then all of this could have been avoided.

I wanted peace, but I can't deny how good this feels. Knowing that I still got it. That I can twist any situation to put me on top.Not the weak little kid now, am I?

Kade sputters on the other end of the line, seething now. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a warning rings out.You should never piss off a snake.But I ignore it. This snake can be as angry as he wants; it won't matter much once he's in prison.

"You've just started a war," he growls.

That should scare me. Especially because I just ended the civil war that's been raging within my family. We can't handle another war, not now.

But his words don't hold much weight. I gave the Feds all the evidence they need to put him away.

"I hope you have a good day, Kade," I reply coolly, about to tap the end call button, when he speaks again.

"This is going to get bloody, kid. Are you sure you're ready for what you've just started?"

I tap the red button, his words ringing through my ears.

They're going to retaliate, and I need to be ready for when they do.

Olivia's name flashes on my phone screen. She's texting me. Something flutters in my chest at the sight. I open the new message.

Olivia

Thank you

She's thanking me. I feel warmer from her gratitude, something she hasn't given me much of. I respond immediately.

Sam

You're welcome. Anything else you need?

Anything she comes back with will be taken care of. I'll have John on it right away. I'm not sure why I care so much. Why I needed to have her bar restored and why I crave her approval of my gesture. I shouldn't. I shouldn't even be thinking about her right now, not when Kade just laid down threats against my family.

But everything in me aches to see her. Visions of her showing me her gratitude in other ways float through my head. The idea of her on her knees, worshipping my cock has me growing hard.

Fuck.

I rub my hand over my jaw and try to shake the dirty thoughts from my mind. I need to focus. I need to get my head back into the game. But before I can stop myself, I'm opening the laptop on my desk and navigating to the program that shows me all the camera feeds for all my businesses. From the drop-down menu, I selectGino's.I made sure when these were installed that I was the only one with access to them.

Multiple feeds appear on the screen, showing different angles of the bar. Olivia is behind the counter and Roman is sitting on one of the stools, his arms folded in front of him on the bar counter. He says something, and she laughs, her lips widening and her eyes crinkling at the corners. The sight ignites a fire in my veins. I want to be privy to that smile, to her laughter. Hell, I want tobethe one who makes her laugh.

My cock is straining against my zipper, still hard from the images of her my mind conjured up. And now seeing her is only making it worse. I watch as she inspects the new glassware. Iwatch as she flips her long, dark hair over her shoulder. I watch as she shimmies her hips to whatever song is playing. I can't seem to stop watching.