“Everyone’s talking about Pike doing something. I just wanted to say that if us being here is causing too many problems, we’ll go.”
“No fucking way.” Grace surprised me by cutting in. “That asshole doesn’t get to take away your choice. Got it? You were lucky enough to meet a man like Ruston, to encounter a club like the Royal Bloods who would give that to you. He doesn’t have the power anymore. You do.”
Sunny looked at her, and if he wasn’t so young, I might be put out that he had clearly just fallen head over heels for my girl.
“She’s right,” I agreed. “Pike doesn’t get to take that away. So, what are you going to do with it?”
“If it’s still okay with you, we want to prospect. All of us,” he decreed, holding his head high.
I looked at my men, looking for the nods of affirmation I received in return.
“Okay. This is your chance. And the first thing I’m going to tell you is that we protect our women.” I gestured to Dallas and Grace. “With everything. Whether they’re ours or not. You got that?”
“I’ve got it,” he agreed readily. “Thank you. We won’t let you down.”
“Hope not,” I replied tersely. “Now, we’ve got business here.”
“One more thing. You should know that I’ve had other members of Pike’s gang reach out, wanting—”
“Fuck no,” I bit out without delay. “You four were in his gang for about five seconds and not of your own choosing. You’re an exception. Anyone that’s been following him, doing his bidding by choice and has suddenly decided they want to discover what loyalty is are on their fucking own.”
He nodded, slipping from the room to no doubt go tell his friends their fate had been sealed.
“So, what’s our plan?” Ryland wanted to know.
“We get someone on the women at all times,” I commanded. “Then we go hunting.”
“Excellent.” Lincoln nodded with a gleam in his eye. “Bodes well that it doesn’t sound like we have to worry too much about the rank and file. Sounds like at least a few of them are ready to jump ship as it is.”
“Are we sure the sister is still all good?” Ryland surprised me by asking.
“What sister?” I asked, not immediately following his train of thought.
“Gage’s. Name’s Alice,” he replied, referring to Gage’s older sister who Pike had taken an interest in.
Cason rose a brow at me. For Ryland to look into someone was unusual. He typically leaned on the action side of things.
“I haven’t looked into her since my initial pass,” Cason told him. “But I can check again.”
“If you could look again, I’d appreciate it,” Ryland muttered.
Cason nodded, not asking anything more—for now.
“All right, I’m taking Grace home. Can someone brief the others that we’ll be on twenty-four-hour shifts until we take this fucker down?”
“On it,” Linc agreed as I reached for Grace’s hand.
“Let’s get you home, baby,” I coaxed. Despite how strong I knew my girl was, I also knew the day had taken its toll. She only confirmed my suspicion when she nodded readily, following me silently out of the club and onto my bike.
When we pulled up the driveway, the dogs’ presence offered the security I’d been looking for against a threat that was now too real.
“Did you eat?” I asked as we walked through to the kitchen.
She shook her head, hanging up her purse before we both started rummaging through the pantry and fridge.
I’d learned that neither of us were great in the kitchen or loved to cook, but we made it work.
I grabbed us a couple of beers as she pulled out leftovers from the night before.
