Spark of Hope (MacKenny Brothers #3) - Kathleen Kelly Page 0,33

in favor of finding the junkie bitch, Yvette Cartland, and putting her down for getting us in this fucking mess?”

Everyone puts up their hands.

“So voted. And finally, all in favor of severing ties that I didn’t know we fucking had with the Rocha’s and helping out Wheels’ kids?”

No one puts up their hand.

Arrow looks at me. “We’ve voted, brother. War it is.”

Sean

Kyle is standing at the head of the table, a man defeated. Our MC is small. We don’t stand a chance in hell of defeating the Rochas, but there’s no way we can let Smokey’s death go unpunished. The Rochas, if they agreed to Kyle’s plan, would offer up a lower-ranking member of their organization, one who likely had little or nothing to do with Smokey’s death. I know Kyle is disappointed and will perceive this as a betrayal, but it’s not.

Clearing my throat, I stand beside Kyle. “The first thing we need to do is get Lola back.”

“You all voted that down, brother,” replies Kyle.

“No, we voted down paying the ransom. No one said anything about not getting her back.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “We will get her back.” I stare at the men around the table. “Kyle’s right. We won’t survive a war with the Rochas. We need to find Yvette Cartland. Smokey was killed in her house, so she might know who did it. That way, we can get the killer and her. Two birds, one stone.”

“Yeah, she might be able to identify the killer, but who gave the order? That’s the asshole I want,” states Arrow.

“Look, man, I get it. But if we do go to war, we’ll lose. Then all of that blood will be on your hands and the hands of every man at this table. The Rochas won’t only go after us. They’ll take out our families, too.”

The room goes quiet. Arrow has a scowl on his face, but his eyes betray his emotions. He knows I speak the truth. Bags sighs and leans back in his chair while Rocky sits straighter and stares directly at Kyle.

Kyle nods at me. “Sean is right.”

“It can’t go unpunished,” states Arrow.

“Agreed,” states Sean. “But we have to be smart about it. If we go at them head-on, we’ll lose. So, let’s play their game. For now, let’s work together, and then we’ll take them apart one by one. Make it appear like a series of accidents, so many that they pull out of our town, our state.”

“You’re a scary fucker, you know that?” says Cutter with a laugh.

I shake my head. That’s high praise coming from Cutter, considering he’s a psychopath.

Arrow nods. “Okay. I don’t like all this covert shit, but most of us have families. I don’t want any innocents getting caught up in this shit.” Arrow looks at Kyle. “So, Prez, what do you need me to do?”

“What do you need us to do?” counters Bags.

And just like that, Kyle, with my help, has won back his MC. I sit down, but Kyle remains standing. He takes in a deep breath and nods. As I take in his appearance, his exhaustion is self-evident by the dark circles that lay underneath his eyes, but I know he won’t quit until Lola is safe.

“First order of business is finding Yvette Cartland. Put feelers out. Let’s try and get her before the Rochas.”

“On it,” says Cutter, pulling out his phone. “Do we have a photo?”

Kyle nods. “Maybe, I’ll need to go through Lola’s things.”

Kyle opens the door and walks toward his room. I watch him go, and when I give my attention back to the men in the room, I find Bags studying me.

“What?”

“You’d make a good president.”

I shake my head. “No, brother, I wouldn’t. I want a war, that’s who I am, but Kyle is right. We won’t survive. I’d bring you all down with me.” I grin at him, and Cutter laughs.

“We’d all burn with you, brother.”

“Cutter, you would, but the others are smarter.”

The fucker grins at me again. I have no desire to be president. It’s bad enough being VP, I don’t have the patience Kyle has. He gets to know all the members and their families. He could tell you their kids’ names, wives, girlfriends, all that shit. Me, I like it simple, and I like Kyle in charge. My brother is the heart of this MC. I’m its protector.

“Is he all right?” asks Rocky.

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Smokey’s body?” asks Arrow.

“The pit, in the shed. And we have a guy in