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Immediately.
Inhaling deeply, I push my breakfast away and stand from my seat, sending a whistle throughout the clubhouse. Everyone turns, and I signal to the mezzanine stairs. “Brothers. Church. Now.”
Swift dips his chin as he stands, and we take off for the stairs.
We make our way in with the rest of the guys following. I take my seat at the head of the table, Swift to my left, Ink to my right, and the other guys filing into their rightful places around the table. The rest stand against the wall before Maverick closes the door behind him as he is the last to enter, and then he takes his seat at the end of the table.
I bang my gavel and sit back in my leather chair, exhaling deeply. “Okay, let’s get this all out in the open. We know I took out the cartel’s shipment yesterday on my own. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have done it alone. The first thing I tell you guys when we head out for this shit is tonevergo it alone. I’m a fucking hypocrite.” The weight of their eyes is on me, and I feel it to my bones, but I continue, “The thing is, we all know when Poppy was killed, I lost myself. You guys have been putting up with me being a mediocre president for the last two years, and I am grateful for you all sticking it out with me.”
“You know we got your back, Pres,” Ink states.
“Ride or die,” Rip follows with.
The rest of the guys nod in agreement, and I turn to South and Maverick, the two newest members of the club. South left to join NOLA, and now he is back. I don’t want him to think his return was a bad idea. “South, I know this shit might be putting a sourtaste in your mouth—”
“Pres, we’re good. Whatever you want to do. However you want to approach this with the Rojas Cartel, you have to know we’re all on your side. What they did to Poppy would make any man act the way you are. You gotta trust us to be here, standing beside you. You don’t have to do this alone.”
Maverick rolls his shoulders. “I may not have been here for everything that went down, Alpha, but I sure as shit can understand the monumental hatred you have for the cartel. You wanna take a fight to Rico… I’m all-the-fucking-way in.”
My eyes shift to Dutch, then to Strings, Eggs, and Weaver, who nod in agreement.
“We’re all in, Pres. No matter how much you might want to fight this on your own because you don’t want to lose anyone else to the damn cartel, we’re in this with you. We know the risks. We take them on as your brothers, friends, and family. Because that’s what we do. Let us help you,” Dutch states sincerely.
Sinking back into my chair, I exhale, letting his words truly sink in. I have been trying to fight this on my own, not going in and attacking the Rojas Cartel in fear of retaliation on the club because they outnumber us. I don’t want to lose anyone else, so I have been going it alone when I attack. The fact is, every time I make a move to save someone, I lose people. I lost my team at the embassy. I lost Poppy. I’ve been playing everything fucking safe, so I don’t have any more blood on my hands.
But I’m letting my brothers down by doing that.
By puttingmyfears into them.
I can’t do that anymore.
“All right… we don’t have the numbers to take down the cartel as it stands. So we need to devise a plan on how we’re gonnafinallyget them taken care of. I don’t care if this is a long-term plan, and we gotta do it over a long-ass period. I want us to work on ittogether.We disrupt their distributions. We stoptheir income. We fuck them up until they have no choice but to either fuck off back to Mexico or give us the fight we’re wanting.”
Swift sits back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “You think we can pull this off?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I’ve spent the last two years avoiding making this shit right for Poppy. We gotta seek the justice she deserves.”
“Here, here!” Ink yells.
And one by one, my brothers begin slowly pounding their fists on the Chapel table in support. My body floods with pride as I sit back, watching. “I can’t tell you if this fight is gonna get messy or bloody or if all of us are gonna make it through. So, if any of you want to leave the club before this war starts, I’m not gonna hold it against you. I’ll file the transfer paperwork wherever you want to go.”
Everyone stands firm.
“We’re with you, Pres,” Loki states.
The others follow suit.
“We’re not goin’ anywhere,” Dutch agrees.
I turn to Swift, and he shrugs. “Looks like we’re going to war.”
Shifting my eyes to Loki, a fierce determination flows over my entire being. “Loki, I need you to check everything to find us another way in. Some other way to disrupt the Cartel that’s going to cause them to go into panic mode. I want Rico and those fuckers on their knees before we go in and slice off their heads.”
Loki grins, opens his laptop, and gets to work. “I like how you think, Pres. It might take me a little while, but I’ll come up with something. You okay to wait while I gather the best intel?”
“Take as long as you need. This plan’s been two years in the making. What’s a little longer going to hurt?” I declare before slamming my gavel onto the table. “Loki, get to work. In the meantime, let’s get back to business. Rip, you can take me to the farm to check that everything’s running smoothly outthere. Everyone else, go about your normal day-to-day business. South, if you want to go spend time with Ingrid and your sister, Bella, then go for it. Now is the time because when we go to war, I’m gonna need you.”
South dips his chin. “Thanks, Pres. I’ll take Ingrid back to the house, but if you need me at all. Call. Don’t hesitate.”
