As the town came into view, Adelita sat up. Her brown eyes were huge. But she remained the perfect cartel princess—calm and steady.
Styx, Ky, and the brothers up front turned the corner and entered the clearing in the ghost town first. I was on my guard as I pulled in. The minute the clearing came into view, every part of me tensed. Diego stood in the center, flanked by his men . . . his men and my old brotherhood. I scanned over the Klan soldiers I had trained. They were ready and braced for action. A strange familiarity rushed through me at seeing the hate on their faces. The hatred that fueled their need to kill.
And then I saw him. Beau. Standing to the side, just behind the front-line soldiers. My uncle Landry was positioned close to a van. I knew that was where the prospects were locked up.
But my attention strayed back to Beau. His hair was longer than the last time I’d seen him. He looked bigger in build. But apart from that, he was the same.
My little fucking brother.
I shifted in my seat when he looked directly at the truck. When he looked directly at me. His eyes pierced through the windshield.
“Tanner? You okay?” I tried to open my eyes. The light stabbed at my skull when I did. “Shit!” Beau spat and shut the door of the shed. He turned on the storm light and rushed straight over to me on the camping cot. Beau made a move to touch me, but quickly thought better of it. “Tanner, that cunt has beaten you to a pulp.”
If I could have, I would have laughed. I knew the bastard had beaten me. There wasn’t a part of me that could move. “Yeah,” I rasped. “I didn’t kill the kid from the north east gang. The drug dealers.” I wheezed as I sucked in a slow, controlled breath. “I let him go.”
Beau sighed. “You should have just killed him, Tann.” I frowned at Beau. He looked like he was serious. But I knew him. He wouldn’t have killed that kid any more than I would have. I was seventeen. The kid had been only a few years younger. But he didn’t deserve to die. No matter what my old man said.
Beau sat down on the cold floor beside the bed. I was told to stay here until my old man came back for me. In this icebox of a shed. “He’ll beat you if he finds you here.”
Beau looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. “I’ve never been one to follow the rules, Tann. You know that.” It was true. I rarely fought back against my old man. Beau did. Then again, he wasn’t groomed to be the heir. For the most part, our old man didn’t even give a fuck about Beau. He could afford to break the rules. He wouldn’t be almost beaten to death for daring to defy him . . .
But Beau was following the rules now. Like a good little Nazi soldier.
Styx and Ky got off their bikes and stood at the front of us all. Everyone else took that as their cue and got off their bikes too. They filed in behind the prez and VP, their guns and weapons ready.
Styx looked back at me and nodded. Taking a deep breath, I turned to Adelita. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene. “Stay here.” Adelita was a damn statue. “I’ll come and get you soon.” I opened the truck’s door slightly. “Remember the plan, baby. Swerve to the left.” Adelita nodded. I didn’t want to leave her here alone, but I had to show my face. My old brotherhood knew I was a Hangman now. There was no sense in hiding.
The plan was simple. AK was one of the best snipers we had. When the exchange was made, and the prospects were safe, Adelita would swerve to the left beside Diego, and AK would put bullet right through Diego’s skull. I would get Adelita to safety, then the battle would start.
I pushed through Viking and Flame. Flame was like a fucking Rottweiler as he paced, breathing heavy, waiting for his brother to be delivered. Waiting for the go-ahead to tear every one of the Klan and cartel fuckers apart with the knives that were in his hands.
I pushed past all my brothers until I stopped beside Tank. I scoured the clearing and one by one saw my old