Page 37 of The Devil

Santiago bursts out laughing as if it’s the funniest thing he’s heard, then he asks, “Please, can we make him pick one of my cards?”

“Soon,” Dominik mutters. “First, let Enzo deal with things.”

When I lift my arm, gesturing with my barrel at Ricky, the members of the MC all scramble to draw their weapons, panic flashing over their faces, which has all our guards training their submachine guns on the idiots.

Santiago snorts, and even I have to admit it’s funny.

“A hundred and twenty-five thousand,” I mutter.

Ricky frowns at me. “What?”

“That’s how much it will cost you for ten minutes of my time,” I say, my tone emotionless. “Come back when you have my money, and we can sit down and talk.”

“I have to remember that line,” Leo whispers.

I turn around and gesture to Cassia’s room. “Let's have our meeting so I can head out to the factory.”

“You better watch your back,” Ricky calls out. “The roads around these parts are dangerous.”

I open the door, and as I step inside, Cassia looks at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

The sound of engines starting fills the air, and I’m surprised when the MC actually leaves.

Shaking my head, I say, “All bark and no bite. It takes all the fun out of the war.”

“That sounded pretty anticlimactic,” Cassia mutters. When Santiago comes into the room, she levels him with a glare. “Never again. If I can’t stand beside you, what use am I to the alliance?”

“I’m only thinking of the baby,” he replies. “And Knight would kill me if I let something happen to his wife and unborn child.”

“So that’s the MC?” Leo asks, wisely changing the subject. “I only counted nineteen men.”

“There are more,” I reply. “Probably double that number. Ricky wants us to underestimate him. My guess is he came here to see what he’s dealing with before they plan an attack.”

“I think so, too,” Dominik agrees. “Just as well half our guards are sleeping right now, so the MC doesn’t know how many we have in total.”

Santiago lets out a chuckle. “None of the MC members looked trained. They don’t stand a chance against the five of us, never mind our guards.”

Dominik looks at me. “How do you want to play this?”

“Let them sweat and bring the war to us,” I say. “I’m going to the factory. I have work to take care of instead of worrying about a bunch of idiots.”

“I’m coming with,” Leo says. “I’ll die of boredom if I stay at this motel a second longer.”

“Field trip,” Santiago jokes.

So much for getting some time away from the alliance.

As much as I appreciate having them here, I’m not used to being surrounded by people, twenty-four-seven.

“You guys have fun.” Dominik walks to the door. “I’m calling my wife.”

“I’m going to check on Jenna.”

My eyes snap to Cassia. “Really?”

She shrugs. “She seems like she could use a friend, and I need some female company. All this testosterone is a bit much for me.”

“Don’t wake her if she’s sleeping,” I warn Cassia.