the truck and followed my brothers as they roared out onto the road.
My heart started slamming in my chest as I thought of the way Slash had saved Lil Ash. Smiler’s cousin . . . gone. Because of motherfucking Diego. I was gonna kill him. Somehow, someday, I was gonna cut his fucking throat and smile as I watched him die a slow and painful death.
I cut a glance to Adelita. Her lips were pale, and she was shaking. Hooking my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her to me. She immediately rested her head against my chest and put her arm around my waist. She held on tight to me as we drove all the way home. Her tears drenched my shirt.
When we arrived back at the compound, brothers gathered in the bar. Edge and Rider were waiting for the men who were injured. I bypassed the bar and took Adelita straight to our room. I ran the shower and moved to where she stood. Her eyes were full of tears, and her arms were wrapped around her waist like she would collapse if she didn’t somehow hold on. “He killed him,” she whispered when I rubbed my hands up and down her arms. She was so fucking cold. “He killed him, mi amor . . . he killed that boy and it’s my fault.”
My stomach dropped seeing her so broken, so sad. Slash was only a few years younger than Adelita. Right now, she looked so fucking young. “It’s not your fault, baby. It’s that cunt’s fault. He killed him, not you.” My jaw clenched just picturing the way Diego put a bullet through Slash’s head. The fucker had smiled.
“He killed him in revenge. He killed him because I was here . . . he saw me with you. He can’t stand to fail, Tanner. He will have seen my abduction as a failure. This is just the beginning of his payback. I’m sure of it.”
Adelita shook more. “Come on.” I guided her to the bathroom and took off our clothes. I brought her into the hot shower and let the water fall over her head. I cleaned the blood spatters she’d received in the fighting from her skin. And I kissed her. I kissed her, so she would forget, if only for one minute of peace. When I took her to bed, I laid her down and let her break down.
“It’s wasn’t your fault,” I said. Adelita didn’t speak. She was too destroyed. I stared at the ceiling as her breathing evened out. I stared at the darkness and thought of that piece of shit, Diego. Thought of her best friend who was beaten and being dragged around like a slave, all so Adelita would comply. Then I thought of Slash as the kid pushed Ash from Diego’s arms. Thought of that bullet slicing through his skull . . . and his eyes, as they stayed frozen with death. Smiler as he held him in his arms.
Adelita had fallen asleep. Slipping out of the bed, careful not to wake her, I threw on a shirt and jeans and left the room. When I walked into the bar, it was to fucking carnage. Voices were raised—brothers all talking over one another.
Styx’s loud whistle silenced the room. Everyone turned to him. “We need a plan,” Ky said as Styx signed. “They’ll be back. That cunt is never letting this go. He wants Adelita and he isn’t gonna stop at anything until he gets her.”
Tank’s hand came down on my shoulder. “You good?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t. But I wasn’t dead, so I kept my mouth shut.
“We took what he sees as his,” Styx continued. “And he wants her back.” Styx ran his hand through his hair. He paused, like he was thinking something through. “But I saw that asshole’s eyes. It ain’t only about Adelita now. We showed him up. Fuckers like him can’t let shit like that go. So, I’m calling on some of the northern states. We need to end this war soon. We have more men than him. We have more guns . . .” Styx eyes hardened. “And that cunt has pissed me off. He killed one of our prospects. Sent him to the boatman. A fucking kid . . . it’s personal now.”
“Diego is one of the bastards who fucked over Phebe and Sia,” Ky added. “Fuck the Klan. They’ll die in time. Right now, we’re going after Quintana and Diego. And we ain’t gonna stop