“Then it’s over,” Pic said bluntly. “We take your colors and shut you down. We can’t allow a support club to betray us like this and survive.”
Cord nodded slowly. “Not much of a choice, then, is it?”
“Always a choice,” Pic said.
“What about the men inside? You gonna let my brothers serving time—the same men who lied to cover your ass—get slaughtered?”
“No,” Pic said firmly. “They’ll still be under our protection—they’ve earned that right. But we both know they’ll be stronger if they carry the Reaper name. You’d all be probationary members until you prove yourselves, though.”
“Of course,” Cord said, his voice bitter.
“It is what is it, brother,” Hunter said.
“You aren’t my brother.”
“All the Reapers are my brothers,” Hunter said, glancing toward Picnic. “Even my asshole father-in-law. You join the Reapers, you’re getting protection from the Devil’s Jacks, too. Something to remember.”
With that, we walked back out into the main room, leaving the remaining Nighthawks to discuss their situation.
“That went well,” Ruger said quietly.
“You think?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Nobody tried to shoot anyone. That’s generally a good sign.”
“Yeah, I guess if your measure of success is nobody getting shot, we pulled it off.”
“Bro, not gettin’ shot is one of my top priorities,” he replied, flashing me a grin. “Right up there with not gettin’ stabbed. It’s a continuum.”
Pic pulled out his phone, and I figured he’d be calling Shade to give him an update. I decided to step outside, see if the prospects were still there. To my surprise, they were. Cody was polishing Horse’s bike while the big biker stood over him, glaring.
“Piece of shit didn’t even volunteer,” he said, nodding toward the kid. “I had to remind him.”
Hell, I was just impressed he hadn’t run off.
“They’re ready for us,” Taz said, sticking his head back out the door. I walked back into the chapel to find Cord and his brothers waiting, their faces serious. Pic nodded toward him respectfully.
“Guess the important question is whether it feels wrong,” Pic said quietly. Cord shook his head.
“What happened here—it’s nothing to be proud of. A fresh start is for the best.”
“Will the brothers in prison be on board?” I asked.
Cord nodded.
“Nobody has been happy with the way things went,” he admitted. “Pipes started talking to Painter for a reason. He was scared. We all knew if the Reapers turned on us, the boys inside would die. We can’t survive without you.”
“Goes both ways,” Picnic said. “Painter will be losing his parole. He’ll need Pipes at his back, because our coverage down there is minimal at best.”
Cord nodded, then look around. “So how is this gonna work?”
“Gage will go nomad,” Picnic said. “For now he’ll be acting as your president. The situation still needs to be formalized by the rest of the Reapers before you get your colors, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. We haven’t forgotten who you were before Marsh took over.”
“My brother Taz will stay here with Gage,” Hunter chimed in, nodding toward the big man standing next to him. “Officially, he’ll be nomad, too. Unofficially, he’ll serve as sergeant at arms. He’s got one job—make sure Gage stays safe. Gage gets hurt, things will escalate in an unpleasant way.”
“Happy to be here,” Taz said, grinning and cracking his knuckles. “You guys like beer? I could use a beer.”
“We might be able to help you out with that,” Tamarack said, a smile cracking his face. “But I’m sorry to say there’s a serious shortage of pussy. Marsh’s crazy sister ran off all the good ones. We’ll have to work on rebuilding our stock.”
“Anyone seen Talia?” I asked, thinking of Tinker.
“Bitch knew better than to come here without her brother,” Cord said. “If she’s smart, she already left town.”
“Let me know if you find her,” I said. “Oh, and for the record? Tinker Garrett’s under my protection, which means she’s under your protection.”
That startled them.
“Seriously?” Cord asked. “Woman’s gorgeous, but I hear she likes ’em younger. There’s this video—”
I held up a hand.
“Yeah, from now on, nobody talks about the video,” I said. “Or Tinker. I hear anything disrespectful, I’ll take it very personally. We clear?”
Tamarack nodded.
“She’s a solid,” he said. “Knew her in school. You could do a lot worse.”
“Beer,” Picnic said. “We need beer. The rest of this is details.”
“What about the prospects?” Cord asked. “Are they Reapers prospects now?”