Page 48 of Tempting Fate

“Prez’s orders.” Toker’s dad, Duke, folds his arms over his barrel chest. Although his posture is telling me to stop, the way he avoids my eyes says that he’s not totally on board with Brutus’ decision to keep everyone away from Lily. “Said she needs to work through it herself. That it’s the only way for her to get over it.”

“Yeah?” The edge in my voice forces him to lock his gaze on mine. “You think that’s somethin’ Scarlett would agree with? Think she’d appreciate you leavin’ your niece to suffer alone?”

Throwing his dead sister in his face is low, but I don’t care. If he doesn’t move, I’m going to start swinging, and if the heat from the bodies crowding behind me in the doorway is an accurate indication, Brutus’ faction is well outnumbered.

“Fuck’s sake, Uncle Benji,” Wyatt, Lily’s middle brother, snarls from over my shoulder. “Have a heart… let Venom through, at least.”

Indecision flickers across our road captain’s face, then his eyes harden. He moves to the side and jerks his chin for me to step around him. With a scornful shake of my head, my displeasure at the time he took for him to make the right choice clear, I take a stride forward. Duke grabs hold of my upper arm to stop me.

“Changed ya mind?” I bark. “’Cause I’ll happily change it back for you.”

“Nah.” He presses his lips together, apparently wedged between his desire to speak up and the loyalty that’s been drummed into all of us since birth. “Not sure what’s goin’ on here, but I don’t like it.”

“Take a number,” Slash tells him as he comes to stand on my six.

“Then get in line,” Toker adds when he takes up his spot on my other side.

I dart a glance over my shoulder. Behind me stands the three remaining Mayberry brothers—since Sander is in Brisbane for a basketball game—plus Cub, Hunter, and four other third-generation sons who’ve recently earnt their top rockers. Even our prospects have chosen my side. Right now, with eight old-timers filling the hallway between me and Brutus, who’s guarding the bedroom where Lily has finally stopped screaming, the Shamrocks stand divided.

Hanging off to the side, Angelis remains neutral.

It looks like Duke refuses to pick a faction, too.

The only other outliers are my father and Brutus’ twin brother, Cassius, who aren’t here tonight. They’re hidden away at my father’s hobby farm near Beechina in the Perth Hills area. Technically, they should be here since we’re on lockdown, but even though Cassius is our chaplain, he’s never been a social man. His rift with Brutus is on-again, off-again, a rotation of old grudges and new arguments, and my dad is the closest thing he has to family. They’re best friends, next-door neighbours, and I fully expect either Cassius or Slash’s father, Angelis, to be the one who informs me of my father’s death.

My dad is too stubborn to die in my presence.

Even with their support and that of the two non-aligned old timers up for grabs, it’s clear that my side has the numbers.

What we lack is the patches.

Fret is the only Mayberry on the path to gaining a full Shamrocks rocker. Sander is concentrating on his sport career right now, and Wyatt and Nate are too young to prospect. In any case, Sander will always be a wild card—too self-centred and impulsive to really be trusted. Lily’s two younger brothers will eventually prospect, and I figure they’ll follow Fret’s steps and make it clear that they’re not interested in becoming yes-men for their father. Cub and Hunter have been in for a little more than a year, their patches still shiny. The only other son of a direct legacy member, Gabriel’s son, Isaiah, is still a prospect like Fret.

If there is a mutiny tonight over Brutus’ bullshit, we’ll find ourselves outvoted and on the lethal end of a bullet within an hour, and the VP patch that sits uneasily on the left lapel of my cut will go to one of Brutus’ faction. Whether I’m right about Brutus being up to his old games or not, it’s up to me to play this smart. One misstep and I could have not only the blood of my brotherhood on my hands, but more of Lily’s if she gets caught in the crossfire.

That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

“Why don’t you all head back to the bar,” I direct the group backing me. Slash immediately frowns, his ice-blue eyes chilling as his fury solidifies. With a sharp look, I do my best to wordlessly tell him that I need him to back down, even as the words I speak do a poor job of concealing my rage. “I’ll check on our little Cherub and be right back with an update.”

Although, I’m unsure if the emphasis I place on “our” will be enough to remind them of the additional oath we made back in Cub’s garage, the strong nods I receive from the brothers who were present settles some of my worry. As one, they turn and stalk into the bar, and the Mayberry boys fall into step behind them.

Of course, Slash and Toker hover.

They’re ride or die. Or more accurately, torture and kill.

“Sure about this?” Slash mutters. “Brutus is on a bloody rampage tonight.”

“Not sure about anythin’ anymore.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Times are a-changin’, old man.” Toker nudges his father’s shoulder after nodding his agreement with mine and Slash’s assessment of the situation. “Hope you at least choose to duck when the shit hits the fan if you can’t find the balls to pick the right side.”

Duke slants a look at Brutus, and we follow suit, directing our attention to where he’s still using his bulk to keep Charlie from consoling her beloved stepdaughter. I’m at a loss to explain our president’s behaviour and I can tell the other three men are similarly floundering for an explanation. He’s always been cruel. Cold-hearted. Overly ambitious. Five years ago, he made bad choices that resulted in Lily getting hurt. During the aftermath and the time since, he’s displayed remorse for his part in it.

Right now, he has none.

It doesn’t sit right with me.

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