their moves now."
Dash nodded. "I agree."
"What's their end game?" I said.
Dash replied. "Break the Sons charter. Mass surrender and patch-over."
I gritted my teeth. "Day I wear a Reaper patch is the day they put my rotting corpse in the ground."
"But this shit with Lynch," said Red, "Could really tear the club apart."
I knew he was right. I'd seen shit like this before. An external enemy like the Reapers was dangerous, but an internal enemy was what killed morale and set men against one another. If we were gonna take out Lynch, we had to do it fast, and clean.
"Goddamn," I said, shaking my head. "Never fuckin' thought it'd come to this. I gotta clear my head." I whistled loud and threw a hand in the air to signal a waitress. "Be a doll, Jack shots all around."
The waitress brought us each a tall shot glass of whiskey. "Put 'em down, boys. That's an order," I said.
We put the shot glasses bottom-up, and I felt the gears in my head start to spin the way I needed them to.
"VP," said Dash, "Say we gather evidence, call a Mayhem vote on Lynch, and lay everything out for the club to vote on."
I shook my head no. "That fucker's too deep up Ryker's ass right now," I said. "Ryker ain't thinkin' straight. We call a Mayhem vote on Lynch, and more than likely it's me that ends up on the chopping block after the shit I've pulled."
Dash nodded, understanding my drift.
"We hit him hard, and fast. Make it look like an accident. Make it look like the Reapers got him."
"Yeah," said Red. "Lynch's the most wanted man in the club. He's been out there on the front lines, hittin' them everyday. They want his ass and nobody's gonna question if he takes a bullet to the brain one night."
I nodded, the plan coming together in my mind. "First thing's first," said. "We get rid of Lynch, then we hit Vargas hard enough to send the Reapers back home, lickin' their wounds."
Dash and Red nodded in agreement.
"Dash," I said, "You been closest to Lynch. When's he gonna be off-guard?"
Dash paused, thinking. "At his pad," he said. "Fucker's got a nice vacation home down in Phoenix. Wife and kids are out of town 'til next week. He's there every Thursday."
"Wife and kids gone—you fuckin' sure?" I said, my eyes narrowing. "Sick and fuckin' tired of innocents getting' caught up in our bullshit. We see any sign of a woman or child, we turn around and go home. No debate."
Dash nodded. "I'm sure. His old lady has the kids in Florida right now, up with the in-laws. Two thousand miles away. Lynch will be alone."
I nodded, looking back and forth at Dash and Red. "Hold this in complete confidence," I said. "One word of this gets out… I'll cut both your throats myself." I couldn't fuckin' imagine Dash or Red saying shit. And I sure as hell couldn't imagine cuttin' their throats. But I wanted shit to be crystal clear.
Both men nodded solemnly, not speaking.
"Then it's decided," I said. "I'm layin' low just outside of town. Can't show my face at the club now. Same time here tomorrow, we figure out the details."
"We'll be here, boss," said Red.
"Stay safe, buddy," said Dash, looking into my eyes. He held eye contact just a little longer than normal. "Catch you here tomorrow."
Dash and Red got up and left. I sat there for a few minutes in thought, then signaled the waitress for another whiskey. This one I sipped slowly. One hand on the glass, and the other hand on the Glock on my hip. As I drank, my eyes scanned around the room.
Couldn't be too careful.
30
Holly
The next morning, I was under the weather. I'd gone to bed without eating much, and when I woke up, I felt like I was coming down with a stomach flu. Lovely. I wished I was back home with my roommates, or at my parents' house. Being sick while away from home was the worst.
Fortunately, I at least had my new friend Ashlynn to keep me company. I was lying in bed reading the news on my phone when she came knocking at my door.
"How you feeling, girl?" She asked, cracking the door and poking her head through.
I sighed. "Come in, Ash," I said. "Been better." I was trying to lie as still as possible, because every time I moved it felt like my guts were sloshing around inside me.
"Awe," she said, putting