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EPILOGUE

Declan

It’s too early to be back here already, but Pres called church first thing today. I left a sleeping Violet in my warm bed while Carter was playing his video games on the couch. When I told him I had to leave the house for a little while, he assured me he would keep an eye on things.

“Morning,” I greet Caleb and Ghost as I walk past the bar to grab myself a cup of coffee.

“How are Violet and the kid?” Caleb asks.

“Violet’s passed out. The kid’s playing video games and keeping watch over things. I’m going to send a couple of prospects to empty out their apartment later today. Violet doesn’t want to go back there after everything she learned about the doctor.”

They both grunt.

Hawk comes stumbling out of his room and up the hallway looking like absolute shit. “What the hell happened to you?” He squints his eyes, waving a hand at me, telling me everything I need to know. “You got wasted last night.” It’s not a question. It’s a fucking fact.

“I might’ve drunk a little more than planned. I just need some coffee and something greasy to eat and I’ll be right as rain,” he says as he yawns.

“Hope you didn’t take a club girl to bed while you were so out of it. That’s a good way to find yourself trapped with a kid and a nagging whore for an ol’ lady,” Ghost chuckles.

“Nah. I fucked her before I started drinking. Kicked her out and drank my bottle in peace.” He smirks. He sounds like his usual self, but he’s not doing all right. All the signs are there. I’ll need to keep an eye on him for a while, make sure he doesn’t start to spiral.

Jake and Ethan come through the doors bickering about something. Whatever it is, it has them laughing and flipping each other off. It’s the brotherly affection we’re all accustomed to around here.

“Church!” Gabe shouts from the sanctuary doors. Mack and Jameson stride in behind him, and the rest of us follow. Taking our seats around the room, everyone settles in. Tensions are high. The room is buzzing with apprehension, and I have to say, looking around the room, we all look like shit.

Gabe slams the gavel and gets right into it. “I spoke with Kayce this morning. He’s asking that we continue to partner with Trident and help them shut down the DO and whatever part they play in this trafficking ring that’s made itself known in our town.”

“What does he want us to do? Because no matter what part we play in this, if we go after the Devils, we’ll be starting a war.” Ethan jumps right in. “I’ve gotta say, I’m not too keen on starting shit when I’ve got a pregnant wife and my daughter to think about.”

“We’re all thinking about them,” Caleb says. “But if we allow the Devils or Cusenza, or whoever the fuck else, to get away with what they’re doing, it could be those very people who go missing next.”

“Calm down,” Gabe chides. “I understand everyone’s concerns. I have a daughter of my own living her life out in the open now. Believe me, I’m not feeling all that excited about pissing people off and bringing shit to our front door, either. But if not us, who?” He looks around the table at each one of us. “This is our town. We all know damn well the cops aren’t going to do shit. Especially after what that asshole Swanson was doing. We can’t trust anyone but our own.”

“What about Parisi?” Jake asks. “Can we trust him?”

“For now. But I’m not going into this blindly. I have Hawk monitoring Parisi and his organization. We’re also keeping tabs on Kayce and the Trident team.” Gabe sighs. “Just because they helped us out and Parisi delivered Nate to us on a silver fucking platter, doesn’t mean I trust any of them. Parisi has too many secrets, and Kayce runs his shit like the military, and I’m the fucking president. I give orders. I don’t follow them.”

I snort at that.

“Kayce is a good man. You can trust him. You just have to know how to push back. He’ll buck, but if your reason is valid and you stand your ground, he’ll respect you more.” I tell him.

“For now, I want Hawk to keep digging. I’m not ready to make a decision about the DO just yet. Not until I have enough information on what they’re doing. I know they’re the supposed transportation, but I can’t help feeling like there’s more to all of this and I don’t want to get caught unaware,” Gabe says. “I also want to call Eli and give him and his guys a heads up. I want to know how far this ring goes and who’s involved. I agree with Kayce that there has to be someone who’s funding this shit, and I don’t think it’s just Marco Cusenza.”

“You think he has a partner?” Mack asks.

“It would make sense. The big fish never run anything this risky without having several layers below them to take the fall when shit goes bad,” Gabe agrees.

“So, for now, we watch. We wait. We stay diligent and in the loop with Trident,” He commands. “Now, on to the next part of this fucked up week. Hawk, did you get the cells in the basement and the systems handled? Is everything back online and working properly?”

Hawk scrubs a hand down his face. His eyes are red-rimmed, his face is pale. “Yeah. I changed the door locks and Wyatt helped me upgrade the system itself. Nate’s not going anywhere. I made sure he can’t get out,” he growls the last part.

“How are you doing with all of this? Because I gotta tell ya, you look like shit,” Gabe half teases.

Hawk waves him off. “The asshole in the basement hasn’t meant a goddamn thing to me since I was ten years old. There’s no reason for me to give a shit now. My only regret is that you have to see the traitorous bastard after everything he did to you and VP. You could’ve killed him on sight yesterday, and I wouldn’t have been fazed in the slightest. As far as I’m concerned, he’s been dead to me for years. That’s not going to change.”

“All right,” Gabe replies. “What do we think we should do with Nate, then?”

“He might be useful to us for the time being. If he’s still running with the DO, he could have intel on the trafficking and whatever else they’re involved in,” Mack suggests. “We should keep him alive for a little while and see what he has to offer.”

“He’s not walking out of here alive,” Jameson says, point blank. “The son of a bitch is responsible for my father’s death and Maggie’s. We will serve him justice.”

“No one is disputing that Jameson.” Gabe taps Jameson’s hand. “You’ll get your pound of flesh. You have my word. But for now, we need the little weasel to give us whatever information he may have.”

“But can we trust him to tell the truth?” Caleb tosses out.

“Well, he can’t reach anyone from downstairs, so even if he lies and we listen, he’s got no way to tell or warn anyone. It’s not like the DO would be looking for him, unless it was to kill him, because he betrayed them, too.”

“So, we just watch and see?” Jameson asks, sounding put off.

“Until Hawk can bring me something solid to go by and we know what we’re up against, yes. We wait. We watch. And we keep our family safe.” Gabe slams the gavel down.

THE END