Page 17

Montana

Looking at the phone on the small table before me, I stared at it, watching and waiting for him to call. I fucking knew he would. It was only a matter of time before he learned what happened.

It was all over the fucking news now. The news of the event spread like wildfire, with every media outlet covering it, creating an unstoppable momentum that made it impossible to undo the damage.

The entire underworld now knew that the president of Satan’s Angels, Steele, was alive. More importantly, the table now knew I had failed to uphold my end of the marker. If that wasn’t bad enough, I learned the fucker got away in the chaos of the night’s events and no one had seen him since.

Pandora’s box was completely open now and there was no way I could put the lid back on the box. My only hope was that I could find a way to persuade him from destroying everything I held dear. It was a long shot, but I was banking on the fact that I had a direct blood link to his club in my possession.

Never thought I’d be grateful to have Golden blood in my club, but if they saved my ass, then I would gladly use them.

I never claimed to be a decent man.

Hell, I was a bastard, and I fucking knew it. But when it came to me and mine, well, I didn’t give a fuck who I threw under the bus, as long as my family was safe.

Did that make me a fucking bastard? Probably, but I didn’t give a shit because I knew he would do the same damn thing for his family. That was the one thing we had in common. There was nothing either of us wouldn’t do to protect those we loved. And for that reason alone, I knew when he learned what happened, he would come for me.

I wasn’t scared of him, just like I knew he wasn’t scared of me.

It was the waiting, knowing that he was out there, plotting and planning. Anything and everything was now on the table, and when he struck, it would be when I least expected it.

That’s what scared me.

So, when my phone vibrated, I took a deep breath and connected the call, putting it on speaker.

“Reaper.”

“Fucknuts.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes.

He was too fucking calm, which instantly had me silently groaning as I sat up a bit.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Not particularly, but I’m going to guess you saw the news.”

“Hard to fucking miss, since it’s on every goddamned channel.”

“How do you want to handle this?”

“You can do me a favor and put a bullet in your brain.”

“Not doing that.”

I heard him sigh.

“I warned you, Montana. I even offered my help.”

“I didn’t order the hit.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing would have happened if you had kept your word.”

“Is there any way around this besides going to war?”

Silence.

Dead motherfucking silence.

“Reaper?” I growled as Mercy and Payne hurriedly walked into my room. Holding up my hand, I sneered, “Reaper!”

Rushing toward me, Mercy snagged my phone, covering the speaker.

“What the fuck, Mercy?”

“You do not want to talk to him right now.”

“The hell I don’t. I’m trying to stop a fucking war.”

“Nothing you say will change his mind, brother. Trust me. Just hang up the phone. Fury is out. He dropped his cut. Threw his marker too. We can’t touch him. Vicious is gone. Took his kids and left.”

“Delany?”

“Gone,” Payne stated, handing me a sheet of paper. “Drove over this morning. All I found was that note nailed to the front door.”

I am not a bargaining chip.

Delany.

Muffled laughter filled the room as I glared at Mercy.

“Tell me you muted that call.”

Shaking his head, Mercy placed my phone back on the small table while I waited for Reaper to lower the boom.

“See ya soon, fucknuts.” He laughed ominously before disconnecting the call.

Grabbing my phone, I threw it across the room. It shattered into hundreds of pieces.

“FUCK!”