Page 48 of Sweet Anarchy

"My bad," I grin. "I had to take care of some business first."

Mack's present too, his grim features looking even darker than usual in the dim light. He looks over at Bill, obviously holding him accountable for my tardiness.

Bill glares back at him. "He's referring to his girlfriend."

The others snicker quietly, obviously thinking I'm referring to something else. I mean, I wish it could have been that but alas, I'm cockblocked. I take the chance to look around at the familiar faces. Butch is here, a small smirk on his face as we lock eyes. Without a doubt, he knows that Rylee needed to be dealt with for me to be here. Frank has also been called in, as well as a few other various members.

"Let's get this sorted," Mack starts. "We're going to break into two groups. One group is going to attack the Linton clubhouse. The other will target the clubhouse near the Brightmore border."

"And how do we do that exactly?" I ask.

Bill nods off to the side, motioning towards jerry cans. "Accelerates. Burn the clubhouses down. There's enough here to set them completely alight. I trust some of you have Zippos on you."

There's murmurs of confirmation which appear to please Mack and Bill.

I'm placed with Mack, Butch and a few others and given the Brightmore clubhouse. I have no issues with that. When I'm finished, it will be a nice short drive back home.

We start loading the jerry cans onto the bikes, placing them in the storage compartments or tying to the plate racks. We go over team plans, deciding who will do what and when, orchestrating the blaze from start to finish.

"We'll confirm by text when it's done. If there's any signs of movement in the clubhouse, resort to Plan B which is lighting up their motorbikes. But as far as we're aware, both clubhouses are empty right now," Mack tells everyone, swinging his leg over his bike.

I follow suit, pulling the helmet on. Let's get this shit over and done with so I can get home to my girl.

The teams break off in different directions when we exit the State Park, heading to the clubhouses. When I pull up to the Norsemen clubhouse on the edge of Brightmore and Mayland, it's completely shrouded in darkness. Their intel was correct, with not a soul in sight.

Mack walks over to their door, kicking the living shit out of it until it smashes open. We grab jerry cans, circling the perimeter inside and out, pouring gasoline on every surface.

"I've got a Zippo," Butch says, pulling it out of his pocket. He sparks up a cigarette, taking a drag.

"Remember, get straight out of here and head home," Mack directs. "It won't take long for them to realize and you don't want to be caught. Ready?"

Butch nods, taking another long drag before flicking his lit cigarette into a puddle of gasoline just inside the door of the clubhouse. Immediately, it catches, flames shooting up and spitting in every which direction.

We wait for a few minutes, checking that it catches well before mounting our bikes and taking off.

Easy peasy. Home time.

As I ride back through the quiet streets, I spot a gas station open. I pull into the parking lot, killing the engine before heading inside.

Rylee deserves some chocolate. Females love chocolate, right? Nothing is as sweet as her, but maybe it will help placate her after I fill her in on tonight's events.

The gas station attendee is barely awake before the counter, eyes drooping as he scrolls his cell. He looks up, greeting me lazily as I walk past and survey the candy bar selection.

I start grabbing a few different ones and head to the counter, tapping my card on the pay terminal. The young, lazy ass attendee barely says anything, just grunting at me when I'm done. I tuck the candy bars into my leather jacket pocket, zipping it closed so they don't fly out on the way home.

I head back to the bike, spotting another motorcycle pull in as I straddle my seat. It pulls up next to me, the rider gazing over to me through the dark visor. I give a polite nod, shoving my helmet on before revving the engine and walking the bike backwards.

I don't bother being quiet when I pull into the driveway, riding the bike all the way to the garage. It's not because I don't care about being quiet since Rylee can know now. It's more about the fact that as I cruised down the driveway, I spot Rylee standing at the front door, arms crossed as she glares at me.

The candy bars are definitely about to come in handy.

Chapter 15

Rylee

"I can't believe you!" I yell, shoving my finger into Zayn's leather jacket. "You tricked me."

He looks down at my finger with an amused expression before gazing back up at me.