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“I feel the same.” Lore takes both my hands in hers. “Don’t go.”
Pulling her closer, I press a tender kiss to her forehead. “I made a promise.”
She pulls back. “You made me a promise too.”
“I’ll come back.”
Lore moves away from me, a single tear running down her cheek. “Fine. Go,” she chokes out.
“Lore, I love you, but part of who I am was being the sergeant at arms in the Savage Angels, and that hasn’t changed. I’m still in. I took a leave of absence, but I didn’t quit.”
“Y’know, I never thought we’d find our way back to each other, and you could make me feel like this again. But you’ve proven me wrong, Dirt. You’ve shown me it’s possible to trust and love again, even when we hurt each other so badly before. Don’t destroy what we have now by going back.”
“I know we’ve been through a lot, and there’s no telling what kind of challenges we might face down the road, but I want you to know that I’m in this for the long haul, Lore. It’s just this one last thing, and then I’m out.”
“For good?”
“Yes.”
***
The sun dips low on the horizon as I throttle my Harley, the throaty roar of the engine echoing off the buildings as I ride through Tourmaline. Part of me longs for the days when life was simpler, and the open road was all that mattered to my MC brothers and me.
As I approach the clubhouse, the weight of Dane’s text and my vow to Lore press heavily on my chest. The tension between the Savage Angels and the Abruzzi Crime Family has reached a boiling point, and war is imminent. Dane wouldn’t have called me back if the situation weren’t dire—the decision to leave Lore behind in Willowbrook Falls was a difficult one, but loyalty demanded it.
“About damn time you got your ass back here,” Dane says as I pull into the compound, his ice-blue eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re just in time for the shitstorm.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, brother,” I reply gruffly, swinging my leg over the bike and looking around at the familiar surroundings.
“Things have gotten worse since we last spoke,” Dane admits, running a hand through his long, dark hair. “I’ve sent Kat and kids to Hawaii, under constant guard. Can’t risk them getting caught in the crossfire.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Still working on that,” Dane sighs, leading Dirt inside the clubhouse. “But we’ll figure it out. We always do.”
“Damn right, we do,” I agree, clapping Dane on the shoulder. This wasn’t the first time we’d stared down adversity, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.
As we walked through the dimly lit interior, I couldn’t help but feel the crushing weight of responsibility bearing down on me. With the threat of war looming large, is love worth the price of loyalty? Should I have come back?
“Whatever happens, we stick together,” Dane says as if reading my thoughts. “We’re family, and nothing comes before that.”
“Right,” I whisper, feeling like a fraud.
“We’re flying to Vegas. We need to deal with Bulldog and meet up with Sal. Jonas is going to stay here and look after things, but I need someone I can trust to have my back.” Dane’s eyes bore into mine.
“Always, brother. When do we leave?”
“Now.”
Chapter Eighteen
DANE
The secluded bar on the outskirts of Las Vegas is a far cry from the bright lights and glamour most visitors to the city experience. It is a place where people go when they don’t want to be found, where whispers are currency, and secrets can be traded like poker chips.
I pull up in front of the bar, the motorcycle I borrowed from King roaring beneath me as Dirt parks beside me. We dismount our bikes and lock eyes for a brief moment. We both know the stakes are high, and the meeting we are about to have could change everything. Taking a deep breath, I inhale the scent of stale beer and cigarette smoke drifting out from the dimly lit entrance. I’ve always been good at reading people, and tonight will be no exception.
“Let’s do this,” Dirt says tersely, adjusting his leather cut as he strides toward the entrance.
