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Her shoulders slump, but she nods at Havoc’s words. “It’s hard not to blame myself when I’m the thread that ties everything together.” She frowns then. “Wait, what about when he was with the other Lil?”

“No, there were plenty of complaints made around that time and since you left. The only change was when he had you.”

“Maybe it had less to do with his obsession for his wife and more to do with his obsession with his work,” she says, gently touching her face.

“I’m not sure any of us can understand the whims of a madman. Well, maybe Hannibal,” Kruger concedes, making Midas snort.

“So the police are hunting him down for sexual assault? I figured they wouldn’t bother, what with the kidnapping and—” She swallows, skating over the murder charges. “Sexual assault is dangerously underinvestigated. I know this from my time working in both the hospital and shelter, so just how many reports are there?”

“A lot,” I tell her softly. “It’s more than that, though, Lil. A lot of the women who made those reports have disappeared. Nobody has seen or heard from them since.”

“Because the only thing harder to prove in a case of he-said-she-said is if she’s silenced and can’t say anything at all. Excuse me for a second.” She hurries out of the room.

I stand to join her, but Citi walks over and shakes her head. “I’ll go. I think maybe a different perspective will help.”

I watch her hurry after Lil and hope I’m doing the right thing by not running after her.

“Citi’s right. She doesn’t hear it when we tell her it’s not her fault. Maybe Citi can get through to her,” Havoc says.

I rub my hands over my eyes and turn back to the table. “Okay, back to the plan. You called in other clubs. Does that mean they’ll be sending men or be on standby in case shit hits the fan?”

“It’s gonna depend on the club. Hannibal will send a handful of men, as will Carnage. They’re also offering to put up any women or children who might need sanctuary. Sunshine is there right now, but Orion did want me to mention that she’s flying out to stay with her brother and his wife for a couple of weeks while shit is up in the air, which is just as well. I only have so many bodies here. Chaos Demons are sending help of a different variety, apparently. They didn’t say what that meant.”

“Mysterious as always,” G drawls.

“I’m pretty sure Viper just gets off on being a dick. I’d rather deal with Scope than him. At least with Scope, you know where you stand.”

I tap my fingers on the table. My eyes drift to the back of the room, waiting for Lil to come back. “You think James is going to drag this out, or are we about to see a town at war? Because if that’s the case, the residents here deserve to know what they’re dealing with. Tensions will already be high, given what happened at the high school. People will be scared. Not knowing what they’re facing will cause panic to set in, and when it does, we’ll be dealing with mob mentality. I saw it happen dozens of times when I was deployed.”

“It’s not going to win us any favors with the locals.” Havoc warns.

I shrug. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Maybe if it were just us, yeah, but there is magic in our women. Delphi is hailed as a hero, and Citi as a survivor who so many people have rooted for over the years. They’re protective of her. Amity brought life and, more importantly, money into town when she shot her movie. She and Tink are bona fide superstars in their eyes—not just because she’s a world-famous author but because she tamed the infamous king of the Ravens. Legs and Lil are a little different, I’ll give you that, but their gift lies in their hearts. Babysitting, soup kitchens, helping out at the shelter, bringing food to sick neighbors, organizing charity runs—the shit is endless. I know club girls get a bad rep—or former club girls in this case—but the distinction doesn’t matter. They were like this before they ever got the old lady title. It was never about that for the patch. It’s just who they are.”

“I feel like you need an Oscar for that emotional speech.” Midas’s lip twitches, making me roll my eyes.

“Seriously, never knew you could string that many sentences together,” Circus admits.

I shake my head but chuckle because it’s been a while since Circus joked with us. “You’re a bunch of assholes, which is my point. If it were us telling the town we might have trouble coming our way and that they could get caught in the crossfire, they’d revolt. But knowing the women they’ve all grown to love might be in danger? They’ll close ranks around them.”

“He’s not wrong. I’ve seen the shift in townsfolk over the last couple of years. I mean, we lucked out for the most part, because there was always a healthy dose of respect between them and us. Blade nurtured that, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this to you of all people, but you humanize us along with the girls,” G tells Havoc.

Havoc frowns. “I do what now?”

“Everything Powers said about the women is true, but the men are a different story. You’re the one they look to the most, and it has nothing to do with you being the king of Ravens. Just so you know, I’m never calling you that again. I almost gagged,” Toot states.

Mack smacks him on the back of his head, which he seems to do a lot. I wonder if Toot is brain-damaged because of it. It would sure make sense.

“What? It’s true,” Toot protests. “It’s because you fucked up. You fucked up bad with Lola, and you were pretty vocal about it even if you didn’t share all the deets. Men fuck up all the time. We just never know how to handle it. Some of us double down and make shit worse. And others, like you, own it. So if a big badass president of a motorcycle club can openly admit he fucked up, apologize, and attempt to make amends, then you’re removing the stigma that most of us emotionally stunted men have surrounding our emotions.”

We all stare at him in shock. He tries to look nonplussed about it all, but he looks away. For Toot, who doesn’t back down about anything, it’s telling in itself.

Before any of us can say anything further, Havoc’s cell phone starts ringing, followed by G’s. A sense of foreboding washes over me as Havoc pulls his out and answers. Whatever the other person says, Havoc grips the cell phone tightly, his eyes narrowing and his jaw going tight.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon.”

He hangs up just as Citi and Lil walk back through the door. Both of them have red eyes, but they’re smiling at each other. Whatever Citi said struck a chord with her. Of course, the second she looks over and sees the expression on Havoc’s face, she pales.

“What’s wrong?”