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Looking around me, the other women do the same.

Not a tear is shed as they all stand beside me, heads held high, the gripping of each others’ hands the only sign that we are holding our emotions, tamping them down inside to show a united front for our men.

This is what being a family is about. In good times and bad we stand together, and we overcome, no matter what happens.

We stand there until long after the last pipe can be heard in the distance, when a dark car comes rolling up the drive.

“Who the fuck is this?” Mad Dog mumbles under his breath, stepping in front of us, Chef, TumTum and Pops at his side.

The car slows to a stop, and I can’t help the sly grin that grows on my face when I see who exits the car.

“Ladies. I have information for you.”

Marx

Having to leave Lovely’s bed this morning almost fucking killed me.

Actually, being in her bed almost killed me.

Seeing her in all her glory for the first time, pale skin on display, soft curves, those delicious, fat tits, the fucking sight of her almost gave me a heart attack.

I don’t think she gave me enough credit for not coming all over myself and the bedsheets.

Then to have the pleasure of discovering her, making love to the woman who has driven me crazy all this time, I felt like the luckiest bastard to ever walk the earth.

Sure, we had a moment there where that bastard Royal reared his ugly fucking head, ruining the moment, but with clear communication we worked through it. Well, that and I left the room to go punch some shit outside. I would kill that fucker all over again if it meant I could slay Lovely’s demons.

The stomping of boots pulls me from thoughts of my woman, reminding me that today is the day we’ve been counting down to.

Today we put a stop to the shit that rained down on us, almost taking some of the most important people in our family away.

Casting my eyes around the living room I hold the gaze of each of my men, both original members and new.

“We got shit to do and I don’t have to explain to you what is hanging in the balance. The most important thing is we get in, destroy the fuckers, and get out unscathed. I’m not coming home without each and every one of you riding beside me, got it?”

“Yes, Pres,” the words are all said emphatically, brothers slapping hands on each other’s backs, the mood jovial despite what we need to do.

“Mad Dog, Chef, TumTum, Fox, Niko and Flack, I need you on the women, children and Pops.”

“Ah, shit, are you sure we can’t come with?” Flack grumbles, a small smirk playing on his lips.

“I’m trusting you with the most important job.”

Flack straightens, dipping his chin once.

“Landrys, you know Louisiana better than any of us. I’m sending Dex, Sniper, Tav, Rider, Switch and Judge with you. Roman has men on standby for both backup and clean up. Any questions?”

“We have our own backup as well. A small number of men who work at the Keep with us. They have good links into the railroad system we use to rehome women and children. If we come across any in our raid we’ll get them out of there and to safety,” Vic says, looking around the room.

Running a hand down my beard, my shoulders lose some of the tension I’ve been holding. Knowing that I can trust these men to not only follow instructions, but to also have plans for the aftermath, takes a lot of weight off me.

“Good, that’s good. Rhodie, Tank, Nitro, Savage, Wire, the Tombs and myself are taking care of the Cartel de Silencio.

As with Louisiana, Roman will also have men there.

Remember that they may have your back, but they work for the bratva, so keep your heads about you.

Roman is after their drug trades so, as long as he gets that, everything will remain as it stands now. ”

“An uncomfortable partnership?” Rhodie, the bastard, smirks.

“Something like that,” I deadpan. “Wire will be working surveillance with us, Tav for those in Louisiana. Chewy and Remy will be coordinating here. We need to hit at the exact same time. All it would take is for one team to be off by 30 seconds and that gives them time to make a call and flip the script on us.” My men all nod. They know what’s at stake.

If we can’t shut this shit down then we’ll never be able to go back to our lives.

There is no way to thrive when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, and I owe it to Lovely to see her and Bee thrive.

I owe it to all the kids and the brothers and Ol Ladies. It’s time that we put this shit to bed.

“OK men, let’s get ready to roll out.”

Whoops and hollers and bangs assault my senses as my men rev themselves up to an almost fever pitch. I know I have my shit pretty much ready, so I make my way to the nursery, taking the stairs two at a time to reach the door in time to see Lovely burst into tears.

“Who the fuck made my woman cry?” I growl, mean mugging all the women in the room.

Instead of shrinking back in fear, they all snort simultaneously. “Calm down, caveman,” Blanche says, rolling her eyes.

I ignore her as I bring my woman into my arms, feeling everything in me settle down as soon as she’s there.

She clings to me as we make our way downstairs, to our sleds.

Leaning against my bike, Lovely steps between my legs, my arms wrap around her, pulling her close, committing her scent to my memory.

It seems like mere seconds and whispered declarations and I’m straddling my girl, Lovely in the rear view.

She stands like a fucking queen, head held high, shoulders back, a look of determination on her face.

She’s joined by her Girl Gang, each woman looking like the warriors they are.

I circle my hand in the air, leading my men out to the road before Judge takes over as Road Captain.

The rumbling beneath me soothes my nerves as we ride as one to the outskirts of town.

It doesn’t come naturally to me to split my club; in fact, it feels downright fucking wrong, but if we want to have any chance to end this, we have to hit them hard, and without mercy.

“Feeling OK, brother?” Rhodie’s voice crackles through the bluetooth.

“Gut tells me this is right.”

“But your head is screaming power in numbers?”

“Something like that.”

He grunts. “Need I remind you that you’ve been into enemy fucking territory with less men?”

I inhale, then let it out. “I had eyes on everyone. Splitting the club feels like a missing limb but I know it’s the only way to shut this shit down.”

It’s quiet, and we resume the ride in silence, alone with our thoughts until the team heading east peels off, Tav following the bikes in Truck Norris.

My crew raise our fists in solidarity with our brothers.

We have a planned Zoom meeting or some shit later, to go over intel, then I won’t hear from them again until after both hits are complete.

Who the hell would have thought that an MC from sleepy Rose Grove would be having online meetings to take care of two cartels?

I snort, shaking my head. Damn Mad Dog and his OG cronies would be giving us hell if they knew this is how we deal with shit.

Actually, they would have given us shit before now, especially with Chewy being the damned club icer.

The road soothes me, giving me the time to think through all our plans and contingencies.

The only time we stop is to receive updates from Chewy and Remy.

They seem sporadic, both Cartel De Silencio and La Sombre Roja laying low so as not to draw any attention to themselves before handover.

Makes sense as they’re both bringing shipments of drugs and girls over the border.

The girls will be taken by whatever small time shitty gangs they’re working with to transport them to that Renae Sullivan woman.

We’ll be taking care of those fuckers while the Tombs’ contacts in Texas will take care of the girls here, and the Landrys’ contact will take care of them in Louisiana.

After that, the only loose end we’ll have is Renae and let’s face it, we’ll be leaving her up to the women.

My comms beep and I accept the incoming from Chewy. “Word is two groups have crossed the border, one heading your way, one headed toward the other team.” With that she hangs up, no pleasantries, nothing.

“Rhodie, have you spoken to your Ol Lady?”

“Yeah, why?” Rhodie’s voice says over bluetooth.

“I dunno, just a weird feeling.”

He’s silent for a beat. “Do we need to call Dad?”

Chewy is with eight other women, Mad Dog, Chef, TumTum, Fox, Flack and the only prospect we have. Surely they can’t get into any trouble with that many people around.

“Pops is with them, brother.” Fuck. Yeah he is.

Hanging up from my brother I direct dial Pops. If shit is going down he’ll be right in the middle of it so I’ll know whether I need to chew out someone’s ass or not.

“What?”

“Hello to you too, Pops.”

A grunt comes over the bluetooth, “We’re all here, the house is still standing, no one is doing anything and no one has turned up. Is that what you want to know?”

Judging by the noise in the background I can tell he’s in the kitchen with Mama Debs. I can hear some of the men and women we left behind and all the gurgling I could feel in my gut dissipates pretty much immediately.

“Yeah, this is what I wanted to know. We’re just pulling into our target location. We’ll send messages back to our Ol Ladies once we’re set up. Give us half an hour.”

“Huh. The way you worded that is like you have an Ol Lady.” Cheeky fucker.

“You know damn well I do,” I growl down the line.

“Dunno ‘bout that, son. I don’t see a property cut on her. I know buttery leather would look good on those shoulders of hers.”

“As soon as this shit is put to bed, you can guarantee to see one on Lovely.” I smile as I say the words, because I can’t think of anything better.

“Fair enough. Don’t die.” With that the old bastard hangs up.

Rhodie flicks me a side eye as he pulls up even with me, his brow raised in question. I give him the thumbs up. Our women are safe and sound, and we’re well on our way to where we need to be.