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Gunner stood up and began to pace, his hands running through his hair, tugging on the ends. “And you didn’t think to mention any of this shit to us before now?”
“The less you knew about the brotherhood and my involvement in it, the safer it was for all concerned. I never wanted the club and the Braterstwo to cross paths, but my brother’s actions combined with Cannon overhearing a phone conversation of my sister’s, left me no choice. She never mentioned the club, but she did reference Piotr and I fighting for control to an outsider. Should that information become common knowledge, it will further weaken my family’s position.”
“What exactly does that mean,” Ryder asked, a bite to his voice I’d never heard before. He was about to get a crash course in how my world worked. It was going to be a rude eye-opener for the man who refused to use a politician’s family against him.
“You’ve seen the pictures in the paper of my father’s garish displays. He got off on torturing rats, federal agents, and enemies alike, dumping their bodies for all the world to see. Hadn’t you ever wondered how he could get away with it?”
Ryder winced, but nodded his head. Sometimes I wished I’d been burdened with a heart like his. It wasn’t exactly pure, but he had plenty of noble convictions he stood by. I hoped for his sake he could set them aside, just this once, so they wouldn’t get him killed.
“No branch of law enforcement knows the full extent of the reach, power, and capabilities the Braterstwo possesses. That’s why it’s expressly forbidden to discuss the brotherhood with those who haven’t passed the trials and taken the oath. If the little I’ve told you today ever left this room, it would mean my death. But I couldn’t leave you defenseless when it’s my fault you’re in danger to begin with. Believe me, if I thought there was a way to kneel on the sword, take the hit for all of you, I would.”
Beast’s chair brushed against mine as he angled himself to face me. “This might be a stupid question, but how is this your fault, exactly? Sure, a heads up when you joined the club would have been nice. Hi. My name is Hunter. I’m an unfeeling assassin with the ability to find shit and a genius level IQ. There’s only one minor problem. My old man is a part of a crazy criminal underworld, the likes of which is straight out of a movie, and my brother is an asshat bent on world domination.”
“Not in the cute way, either, like the mouse on that cartoon,” Tweak piped up, his usual careless attitude in place even now.
“You’re thinking of the Brain,” Dagger supplied from beside him. He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand down the graying center of his beard. Oddly enough, the hair on either side of his mustache and beard remained jet-black. It made his gray streak that much more pronounced. “Beast has a point. There was no way Hunter could have known when his father would die or that this would happen when he did.”
“Even if he saw this coming, would it have made any difference?” Colt asked, his chair slid back and his elbows on his knees. “If it weren’t for Hunter, Valentina’s father would have already taken us all out, anyway. At least Hunter warned us about the possible fuck-ton of trouble knocking at our door and didn’t roll out without a word, hoping to save his own skin.”
“And to think, I was worried Diego would have all the fun in Mexico while I rotted away here in exile.” Marco’s dark eyes gleamed, the cunning and ruthless nature he normally kept contained rising to the surface. “There is nothing to be done about your brother until he’s no longer of any use to us, but tell me about this sister of yours. Can you talk to her? Bring her to heel.”
“If I can’t, then she becomes my problem to take care of.”
I let the threat hidden in my words sink in. My sister, my problem. Besides, our fates were intertwined now, whether we wanted them to be or not. Their father would have taken Valentina out with the club had I not helped Diego take over the cartel. If we hadn’t succeeded, the club wouldn’t have been the only ones dying by Miguel’s hand.
Marco inclined his head, his eyes searching mine, before he finally nodded. “It’s just as well you’re handling the Braterstwo threat because the CIA just came through with the old file we requested. Diego said he would have it in the next hour and forward it to me. Should make for some illuminating reading.”
“Marco,” Ryder said, drawing Marco’s dark eyes to him. “Dagger, Pops, Mad Dog, and Tweak’s father were all founding members of the club. Have them go over that file with you. One of them may catch something you might overlook because you don’t know the club’s history the way they do. Everyone else cover shipments and anything Hunter may need.”
Ryder pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers as he asked, “Gunner, how are we on guns and ammo?”
Gunner had stopped pacing, his back against the far wall, his body still but tightly coiled. His demons were unraveling. Not a bad thing if I had a target for him to aim for, but the fact of the matter was I didn’t. That left him to wander his own headspace, but there wasn’t much I could do about that until either my brother or the Braterstwo made their move. There could be no mistakes going forward with Piotr, and that included taking him out before we knew the cards he held in his hand.
“We’d be flush under normal circumstances, but we won’t have enough to go to war with the brotherhood. I’ll call some buddies of mine and see what sort of heavy firepower I can acquire along with added rounds for the sniper rifles. Might also want to have Val on rooftop shifts with me instead of with you at the club. She’s the best we have next to me.”
“I can work the club with Ryder,” Beast grunted from beside me. “Gunner’s right. We need to see any threats coming at us before they knock on the door.”
Ryder’s finger tapped against the table as he spoke. “I don’t like Val being in the line of fire. Not with these guys.”
“She’ll do whatever she wants no matter what you tell her,” Marco spat, the words like venom as they left his mouth, his hand running through the tangles of his dark hair. “Trust me. I’ve been eliminating threats to my sister for years, and even now, she still refuses to listen. You’re better off letting her play sniper. Otherwise, when shit hits the fan, you’ll be chasing your asshole all over town trying to find her because I guarantee you, she won’t be where she’s supposed to be.”
Even now, she refused to listen. An interesting little slip of the tongue. He obviously considered his sister to already be in some sort of danger, and whatever it was, it worried him more than the impending specter of the brotherhood. He knew something, something he wasn’t sharing with the club. I’d stake my life on it.
Ryder ran a hand over his face and grabbed the gavel, banging it on the table. “All right. We all know Marco might have a point with Val, so Gunner and she will take shifts on the roof to cover us on the off chance the brotherhood makes a move against the club. In the meantime, everyone else has their marching orders.”
He threw the gavel down and stormed off. Everyone looked after him for a minute, silence filling the room. Ryder had a depth of emotion for his woman that I would never possess, so I could only imagine what was running through his mind. If anyone ever touched a hair on Brandy’s head, they were as good as dead, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
“That went well,” Tweak said with something between a sigh and a laugh, his dark eyes staring out the door.
The guys began to stand up and file out of the room, but Tweak never moved. He sat there, staring off into space, his brows drawing together, until just the two of us remained. I wasn’t even sure why I sat there watching his knuckles turn white against the wood of the table.
Tweak was normally the epitome of calm, cool, and collected, always making a joke out of every situation. Ryder envied him his ability to do that, but I didn’t. It was a very convincing act, I’d give him that, but hiding behind his dimples all the time had to be about as exhausting as faking emotions you couldn’t feel.
“Something’s up with Marco.” He looked over at me. “And don’t even try to pretend you don’t know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about either.”
No one would ever expect Tweak to have this level of insight because he played the role of selfish playboy to perfection. Even I forgot sometimes that there was more going on beneath the surface than he let on. Maybe I could use it to my advantage.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Though, I am wondering if you plan on bringing it to the attention of Ryder and the others.”
