EIGHTEEN
ARCHER GREEN
TWO DAYS EARLIER
Rage wasn’tsomething I felt often, at least not anymore.
People around here knew what the patch on my back meant. When Mayhem Riot was mentioned, eyes would drop, and people would usually get the fuck out of dodge. But that was a long time ago…we rode mostly for fun these days. Not much was running through our club, not since my wife’s family made their position clear on who owned this city.
I’d be a fucking moron to enter into a turf war with them, so we ride for fun. We act as muscle when needed, but rarely does dust get kicked up. Especially in the winter, when Christmas was merely a few days away.
Today, I felt rage.
I felt it so strongly that the casing around my heart, and all the darkness in my soul, threatened to leak out and smother every move I made and every word I spoke.
“To be clear, you’re making a threat?” I asked, staring directly at the man in front of me.
The man in the middle, he was the leader. He didn’t say he was, and he wore no patches indicating as such, but he had a presence about him that made my skin crawl. It was the gut check you got before something bad was about to happen. It’s what I felt the second he walked into my club.
He had dark hair and dead eyes. Eerily similar to another man I knew.
Sitting back in his chair, surrounded by his men, made him untouchable. In his left hand, he held something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. In his right was nothing but a dark ink stain of some symbol. It was faded, so much so I couldn’t make it out.
“At the risk of sounding sardonic, I don’t make threats. I merely deliver you a headline of what’s to come. So if you’d like to be aware and change course, then you can.”
His voice was clear and without emotion; his pale skin was marred with a long scar along his cheek and eyebrow, and all along the back of his hands.
“What club are you a part of?” I flicked my gaze over his men’s patches, but none of them were wearing anything that tied them to an affiliation.
The leader tipped his head and let out a small sigh.
“When it’s needed, I’ll inform you.”
My vice president glared at me, silently telling me not to do anything stupid. The men behind me were likely all thinking the same thing. There was something sinister about this man in front of me, and I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore that.
I was, however, not smart enough to remove my wedding ring prior to this little meeting, which is why my rage was simmering.
“So, if I agree to go to war with you against the Stone Riders, you’ll ensure my wife doesn’t befall any mishaps?”
The leader inclined his head.
“Heard she’s awfully clumsy in heels.”
Mother.Fucker.
My fists clenched tightly under the table as my vice president shifted beside me. My men moved forward, forcing his men to raise their weapons.
“She’s pretty too, right? I heard that…haven’t seen any pictures yet, but I was thinking I might go see her in person. That might be a fun little project for me. Just watch her move.”
I was going to fucking kill him.
But it was very likely that I wouldn’t even get the chance. Fucking idiot obviously hadn’t looked into who my wife’s family was. I’d let that get back to him at the least inconvenient time as humanly possible. As itwas, my security footage was being shared with her brother as we spoke.
Whoever this man was, was completely fucked, but he didn’t need to know that yet.
I forced a smile and stood up.
“You got yourself a deal. We’ll help you go to war against the Stone Riders. Never much liked those fuckers anyway.”