Page 85 of Ghost

“Enlighten me.” Zane smirks.

“You and your Iron Sinners didn’t fund the Merciless Skulls to help them win against the Road Rebels. If youdid, your inside man wouldn’t have made it so easy for us to hack their servers and drain their bank account. You wanted them to lose it. You wanted the club to fall. Did they know that?”

Rick Zane taps the table, not answering.

“I think that’s a no,” Havoc answers for him.

Steel hums. “If the Iron Sinners were always going to let the Merciless Skulls lose to the Road Rebels, why send them there? To draw us out?”

“Always thinking it’s about you…” Zane’s eyes gleam. “Do you want to know the difference between real business and your little club, Steel? I can see the big picture—the future—while you’re still focusing on the past. I see possibility, while you’re staring at a loss. I grow, and you shrink. Eventually, that will be how I crush you.”

“So that was the plan—to grow. You did all this to absorb the Merciless Skulls? There are easier ways to do that.”

Zane’s eyes gleam as he sits silent.

“Unless…” Steel shakes his head. “Titan didn’t want to look like a traitor to his allies by overtaking a friendly club. You helped them start a war they’d lose so we would show up and take them down for you.”

“When someone falls, someone wins, Steel. You should know that. And you should be thanking me. From what I heard, you picked up a pretty little hacker for all your trouble. Has she been getting along with your men?”

At the mention of Luna, I reach for my gun, slapping it on the table and aiming it at Zane. His security guards immediately make a move, and two barrels are aimed atme. My finger itches to pull the trigger, but Steel holds up a hand.

“Not here, Ghost.”

I know he’s right. Killing Zane in a Twisted Kings strip club will bring nothing but heat. He’s too rich and connected. Still, it takes everything in me not to pull the trigger.

“Interesting that you’re fond of her. Titan has a friend who wants her back.” Zane taps the table, and my finger tenses on the trigger. “I couldn’t care less what happens to the little hacker. Pussy isn’t worth this much trouble. But for the sake of your club, it might be easier if you hand the cunt over in a show of good faith.”

My teeth clench. “You can tell your friend she’s where she belongs now, so he can fuck off with that request.”

Zane crosses his arms over his chest. “And here I thought we were at this table to negotiate.”

“I never said this was a negotiation.” Steel stands up, planting his hands on the table. “I’m here to make you a one-time offer.”

“This should be interesting.” Zane smirks.

“Cut off your funding to the Iron Sinners, and once we burn those pieces of shit to the ground, we might actually let you walk away from this.”

We won’t, but Steel has to let him think it.

Zane stands up, facing off with Steel. “It’s good to see you’ve got a backbone. At least more than your father ever did. He was too afraid of war because he knew better than to go after me or my interests.”

“You’re going to burn with the Iron Sinners if you don’t walk away from this. And that’s if they don’t turn on you first. Titan isn’t loyal to anyone but himself, no matter how much money you throw at him to clean up your messes.”

“Titan is a puppet. Just like you’re going to be. The Iron Sinners are one link in a very long chain. I don’t need them to get to you. You’re going to stop fucking with my plans one way or another.”

Zane’s phone chimes, and he glances down. His eyes gleam when he reads the message.

“Speaking of, consider this a warning.” He tucks it back in his pocket. “It’s always good meeting a formidable champion on the battlefield, Steel. But Vegas is mine. Not yours. And not Titan’s. Remember that.”

Zane turns and leaves with his bodyguards trailing him, but his threats loom heavy in the room.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” I cross my arms over my chest.

Havoc shakes his head. “Me either.”

My phone dings, and I pull it out, hoping it’s Luna. Instead, I’m met with a notification from one of my perimeter sensors. I open the app, and every single one on the East side is going off.

“What the—”