“That’s not good enough. Jared deserves more justice than he’s gotten,” Niko said.
“Yeah, he does. But those who actually killed him are already dead. The one I want is Falwell himself. He’s not here. We need to help Connor get control of this place and get home to regroup and make sure our own are safe and secure. Maybe reach out to a few others we trust once we leave here and see what they can find out.”
“I need to follow through here a bit more before I’ll feel okay with walking away,” Tate said.
“We’re not walking away, but they have us playing a game here. Let’s wipe them the fuck out, then go home,” Jack said.
“Done!” Rance said, turning and striding in the direction the last few injured males had gone, with some of those standing around waiting for further instruction falling in behind him.
“Leave some alive!” Jack yelled after him.
~~~
A group of the Falwell Pride sat together in the darkness outside of town.
One of them swiped the back of his hand across his cheek, leaving a streak of blood from a laceration on his cheekbone over half his face, before he looked at the blood staining the skin on his hand and wiped it on his jeans. “This is bullshit,” he grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.
“It’s orders,” another said, using his own teeshirt to wrap around a gash in his bicep.
“It’s still bullshit!” the first male said.
“I don’t understand why we’re still here, pretending to take this fucking worthless fucking town, when we really don’t want the damn thing to begin with,” a male from the opposite side of the room said.
“Same. You want to take over a town, send me. I’ll get it done. Don’t fucking send me to play games with the Laighin Pride. They don’t play. We’re either fighting for control or we’re not. There’s no in between.”
“I can assure you, our Alpha knows exactly why he has us here, and is well in control of the situation. If he didn’t want this town, we wouldn’t be here.”
“Really? Where is he, then? Where are his lieutenants? Why aren’t they here holding the line with us? Why did they leave us here after the Laighin Pride arrived, with orders to keep them distracted?”
“You just answered your own question. We’re to keep them distracted. Make sure that they continue to believe that our focus is this town.”
“If this town isn’t truly our focus, why are we even wasting our energy?”
“Because they’re obviously taking care of something more important somewhere else! We’re here holding this line! You’re both beginning to piss me off. Don’t question Alpha Falwell.This town isn’t meant to be a place of power. It’s meant to be destroyed. For now, we’re simply place holders while he tends to other more important issues. Lay low for a few days, don’t let yourselves be seen, and maybe the Laighins will leave. The only ones left will be the damn biker club, and they’re humans — easy to avoid. They’ll never even know we’re still here. When the order comes to burn it down, it’ll all burn, and we’ll be on our way back to where we belong. Now you know more than you fucking need to know, so just do what you’re here to do!”
Rance stepped out of the shadows, surprising the males of the Falwell Pride. “Nobody’s burning a fucking thing,” he growled, as enough males to completely encircle the Falwells where they sat complaining to one another, joined Rance.
“We have no beef with you,” the male defending the Alpha Falwell yelled. “Leave us before we are forced to defend ourselves with deadly force.”
Rance grinned. “Too late!” he said, reaching for the closest male, as did the other members of Jack’s Pride. The bloodiest fight yet took place there in the woods, and at the end of it, some of Jack’s Pride were injured, but all of Falwell’s were dead. There would be no burning of the town on Jack’s watch.
~~~
Several days later Jack stood in front of Connor’s clubhouse, shaking the man’s hand.
“I don’t how to thank you, Jack. With you helping nightly, they turned tail and ran. They wanted no part of you and your Pride.”
Jack took a deep breath and let it out slowly as his gaze touched on the SUVs and trucks behind him filled with his people waiting to get on the road, and then the property aroundthem. “You fought, too, don’t discount that. And you don’t owe me any thanks at all. I just did what Jared would have done had he still been here. You were his friend, it’s the least I could do.”
Connor watched Jack’s demeanor as his eyes slowly moved around the perimeter of his land. “You’re uneasy.”
“We’ve talked about it. It was far too easy. They gave only enough fight to keep us engaged. It should have been an all out war for territory. Instead they left like their feelings had been hurt, instead of standing their ground and fighting like I know they know how to fight,” Jack said.
“You think there’s more to it,” Connor said.
“I do. I don’t know what, but don’t count them out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn up again.”
“If they do, we’ll be ready.”
