Page 25 of My Prince

I nodded and searched the ground for another skipping rock. “Insane doesn’t even scratch the surface, cupcake.” I took a drag off my cigarette and spotted another flat rock.

“How do they even think that this is right?” she asked. “Why the Iron Fiends?”

“Because Gibbs took out that other gang, and so since the Iron Fiends are a well-known MC in Texas, we were the obvious choice for the next group to take down. Even if they have to make shit up and lie.”

Adalee stared at the lake. “This is so much bigger than I ever imagined. I thought... I don’t know what I thought. That it was just club rivalries or something.”

I flicked my cigarette away. “It’s always been more than just club rivalries. There’s a lot of power and money at stake, and these guys will do anything to get it.”

“So what are you guys going to do?” Adalee asked.

“Russ is coming to the clubhouse this afternoon.”

“Dove’s dad, right?”

I nodded. “We need to get every piece of dirt we can on Boone and Gibbs. Russ is hopefully the person who can help us.”

We were silent for a bit, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

“This is huge, Fade,” Adalee whispered. “Like, ginormous.”

We all knew it was, but we weren’t going to let it take us down. “We’ll get it figured out, cupcake.”

“All while filming a TV show. My god,” Adalee sighed. “I can see why you guys didn’t want to say any of this on camera. No one would believe it, and then Boone and Gibbs would really come after you guys.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think they can come at us any harder than they are. Yesterday shows that they aren’t going to mess around.” My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. “I gotta take this, cupcake.” I connected the call and stood. “Hey,” I called into the phone.

“Where are you?” Yarder asked.

“Lake Arrowhead.”

“Get your ass back here. Shit is hitting the fan more than we anticipated.”

“What the hell is going on now?” I asked.

“Poppy turned on the news, and there was a story about the shooting yesterday.”

“And?”

“And it looks like they’re trying to pin it all on you and the club. People who were there yesterday were interviewed, saying they’re afraid for their lives and wish the Iron Fiends would get taken down. They reported about the gym and garage explosion, saying we’re just a bane on the town and surrounding areas lately.”

“That’s all fucking bullshit,” I spat.

“Yeah, we all know it’s bullshit, but this is just the new web of bullshit Boone and Gibbs are spreading about us. Now they’re not only trying to kill us, but they’re also turning the public on us.”

I wished Boone and Gibbs would just jump off a fucking cliff.

“Get back to the clubhouse. We need this meeting with Russ more than ever right now.” Yarder ended the call.

I fought the urge to toss my phone in the fucking lake because I was so pissed. “We gotta go, Adalee.”

She got up quickly and brushed off her butt. “I’m assuming more shit is hitting the fan.”

I nodded and held my hand out to her. “Yeah, and it’s more bullshit. Turns out I’m the reason behind the shooting yesterday, and the public now hates the club.”

She put her hand in mine, and we trudged back to the bike. “I can’t believe all of this.”

I couldn’t either. Just when I thought Boone and Gibbs had done some fucked up shit, they upped the ante.

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