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I lay it out for them as clearly as I can, looking each one in the eye. “We either work together to stop him now, or he becomes unstoppable. It’s as simple as that.”
Tension rises in the room as each group digests that statement. Then the cocky little shit from the Stonebrew gang sums up the general feeling for all of us.
“Motherfucker.”
Dante snorts, then shakes his head. “Yeah, he really fucking is. So what are you all gonna do about it?”
Their voices rise to a low hum, each gang talking quietly among their people as Dante’s question reminds them that they each got where they were by being men of action, and I exchange a look with my brothers, trying to gauge their take on the mood.
Eventually, the other leaders have a few questions about what McKenna is planning, and I answer them to the best of my ability.
It pisses me off that the “to the best of my ability” isn’t much more than a few predictions and best guesses, given that we haven’t been able to get any concrete information from our informants yet, but we still share everything we’ve got even though it grates on me to be so fucking open with people whose loyalties aren’t solidly with us yet.
But like Riley reminded me, the main thing is living to fight another day. And right now, we need strength in numbers to do that.
“Okay, Maddoc,” Ruiz finally says with a respectful nod. “We’ll take this back and chew on it, then be in touch.”
“I appreciate you coming,” I tell him, signaling some of my people to escort the 17th Street group to the edge of our territory, ensuring their safety as long as they’re within our borders.
Once they leave, the other gangs quickly follow. None of them outright committed to allying with us, but it’s clear that at least a few of them have reevaluated their perception of West Point and the threat that McKenna poses.
“It’s a win, Madd,” Dante says once we see the last of them off, obviously reading my frustration. “It’s not like we can expect more right out of the gate, yeah?”
“Sure,” I say, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Butfuck. McKenna’s not gonna wait around for them to get their heads out of their asses and recognize what’s really happening here.”
“No, he’s not,” Dante agrees, his expression somber. “But he’s also not being that fucking subtle, so they'll see it, sooner or later.”
Logan nods. “You’ve laid the groundwork. That’s all today was about.”
He’s right. I know it, even if I wish we could make this shit happen faster, before more of my people are hurt or displaced by McKenna’s vendetta and his insatiable greed.
“Let’s head home,” I say, more than ready to see our girl and not fucking shy about the fact that I want a little of the peace having her with us will bring after the stress of this meeting.
“Good call, Madd,” Dante says, clapping me on the shoulder as we head to the SUV, waving off the security detail that offers to escort us back to the house.
The day we need them right on our asses, here where we should be the most secure, is the day we’re well and truly fucked.
“Is Wolf Mathis going to be a problem?” I ask as we pile into the vehicle, needing to find out if my brothers’ take on things matches my own.
“No,” Logan says immediately. “It was the right call to include him.”
Dante smirks. “Even though he’s an ass.”
“Even though he’s an ass,” Logan concedes with a small smile. “He’s been burned by West Point before, though. He’s not going to risk it happening again after the way McKenna humiliated him last year.”
I nod. “I agree. And hopefully, the other gang leaders will see the writing on the wall soon enough to step up and help us take a stand before it’s too late.”
“Yeah, unless McKenna gets wind of today’s meeting and tries to form his own alliances with them,” Dante says, shaking his head. “Short-sighted fucks. I wouldn’t put it past that little shit from the Stonebrew gang to make the mistake of thinking he’ll have a better chance at survival if he throws in with West Point.”
Logan frowns. “We should put surveillance on him and make sure he doesn’t run to McKenna and initiate that.”
“If he does, it’s gonna piss me the fuck off,” I admit, which is news to precisely no one. Then I exhale roughly, and let it fucking go for now, because we’ve done what we can, and given what’s at stake, we already agreed reaching out like this was worth the risk.
Now, only time will tell if we were actually right.
25
RILEY
