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“No,” he growled, slamming his fist on his desk. “But you could be bringing war to our doorstep right when we finally found peace. Undertaker’s bullshit and that fucking loser Hammerhead put enough stress and pressure on the club. Half the members have ol’ ladies and babies on the way. For fuck’s sake, Cuckoo.”

I inhaled a deep breath and slowly released it. “I’ll talk to Rael.”

Crow threw up his hands. “I’m not going to the Reapers in Tonopah every time this club has shit to deal with.”

I knew I pissed him off with that statement, but the Graven Bastards were our allies. Not to mention the fact that theyreaped souls and hungered for the chance to rid the world of scum. Hell, so did we. “It’s what they do, Pres.”

His head tilted back, and a heavy sigh followed. “Don’t make me fucking regret this, Cuckoo. If Katrina wasn’t your mate, we wouldn’t be considering the club’s protection right now.”

“I know.”

Did that mean the Devil’s Murder would have allowed her to be harmed? No. But we wouldn’t be placing her home under surveillance twenty-four hours a day or providing a shadow that tailed her wherever she went. And if anyone tried to hurt her, they would face our crows. That was a given.

But when a mate was involved, that changed everything. Our crows mated for life. Once we bonded to our female, that was it. Every focus centered on her well-being, protection, and care.

There wasn’t a choice. Our crows insisted on it. So I knew Crow understood my position. I didn’t have any other option. There wasn’t a debate. Ihadto protect Katrina. If and when I discovered a threat, I would act on it.

My crow began cawing outside. His fierce agreement riled up the other crows outdoors. I heard wings flapping as the murder took to the sky, catching the dark cloud of onyx out the window as it briefly blanketed the sun.

He didn’t leave with the murder. My crow remained close. A single kraa belted from his throat. He already staked his claim on Katrina. To him, there was nothing that mattered more.

Crow scrubbed his hand down his face. I knew that expression. He understood my stubborn refusal to back down. Hell, when he met Bella, he didn’t give any of us an option to refuse or debate her protection. Of course, the club had been targeted in that instance, not just Bella and her sister, Bree.

“Whatever happens, I accept full responsibility, Pres.”

His hand dropped from his face as Crow shot me a glare. “Fuck off with that, Cuckoo. You’re my fucking brother. If you need me, I’m there. Same with the club.”

Then taking this to vote in church was just a formality.

I nodded. “I appreciate it.”

“Which means we need to know what’s in that cold case file.”

My thoughts exactly. “Agreed.”

“I’ll speak to Eagle Eye. If need be, he’ll reach out to Xenon.”

Xenon was the tech expert and hacker for the Tonopah Graven Bastards. He helped us on multiple occasions in the past. When his efforts were combined with Eagle Eye’s, they were unstoppable. Downright frightening if you asked me.

Two geeky dudes who could make you disappear in the blink of an eye. Or, even worse, destroyed completely. No one wanted to piss off Xenon or Eagle Eye. With a few keystrokes, they had the ability to alter an entire life.

Blinking, I realized how useful that could be. Maybe Katrina should change her identity. She couldn’t be found if she didn’t exist. It was an attractive option. One that I would keep to myself for now.

“Fuck, it’s scary as fuck when you smile like that,” Crow muttered.

“Just thinking about my options if a threat surfaces.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Cuckoo.”

“Do I ever?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“Shit,” he laughed, leaning back in his chair. “Get the fuck outta here.”

I left his office, entered the hall, and passed by the bar on my way out. There was only one person I wanted to see, and she wasn’t off work yet. I had time to kill until five when Katrina would leave work. Until then, I decided on new ink.

I knew exactly who to go to for my newest tattoo.

Diablo, the cleaner for the Tonopah Graven Bastards, was a fucking magician with a little ink and a needle. He owned and operated several of his own shops. It had been a year since I walked into Revelations Ink.