Page 121 of Stone

Abe’s hand slid onto his woman’s thigh. Then, meeting my stare, he said, “Shoot.”

“Gonna leave here, go to the club, and fuck shit up, including Dad and Seth. Want you by my side.”

Abe smirked. “That I can do.”

“We’re gonna start moving in for a takeover. I wanna take the club legit. Get rid of the deadweight who are only interested in free weed, pussy, and booze, look at moving the compound to the warehouse, and open the auto shop. I wanna get the word out that we take ex-military with skills. In return, they get ahome, brotherhood, jobs that pay well, and security. We’ll phase out the guns and weed gradually, and any brothers who protest too much can get phased out with ‘em. Won’t lie, dunno how long it’ll take, maybe years, but it’ll be done.”

Abe leveled me with a stare before glancing at Iris. “What do you think, baby?”

She rolled her lips, feeling the idea out for a few seconds. “I like it. And if anyone can do it, it’s you and John.”

“You’ll be my number two, Abe,” I added. “None of this enforcer shit. Eventually, I want you to run it with me, by my side, as a team. You’re my voice of reason.” My stare slid to Iris. “Need you, too, sweetheart. We need a new Connie. A woman who’s got a lotta love and care to give, someone strong who can run the whores and take care of the place but still has a soft touch. The club needs a heartbeat, Iris. Always thought it would be—” I took a breath, tamping down the wave of emotion threatening to eat me whole, but somehow I kept it together. “Now I know it’s you. You’re who Mom would’ve chosen.”

Sadness filled her blue eyes. “I’m not sure I want to take her place. Some shoes are impossible to fill. I know it should’ve been Elise, John. I’m so sorry.”

I jerked my chin, throat so tight with unspent pain, I couldn’t speak.

Iris and Abe stared at each other for a beat while they conversed silently.

Taking a breath, I steeled myself.

After a long pause, Ris’s eyes met mine again. My gut jerked when I saw her sadness had been replaced with an iron determination that wasn’t there before. “We’ll try it your way, John. See how it goes, yeah?”

My breath left my lungs, and my shoulders slumped. “Thank you.”

“You know this won’t be easy?” Abe pointed out. “The brothers have a way of life they’ll cling onto by their damned fingertips. Bandit’s made himself and the boys rich beyond their wildest dreams,” he swept an arm out, “point in case. I bought this place outright with only two months' earnings. They won’t wanna give it up.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “I can’t compete with that kinda money but look at the shit that’s their lives. Personally, I think we can live large by working hard and staying mostly on the right side of the law. We’ve got six brothers in the clink, the Sheriff breathing down our necks to the point where we walk on eggshells daily. The lifestyle’s rotten at best. I’m banking on the boys bein’ ready for some clean.”

Abe shrugged. “Some will, some won’t.”

“So they take early retirement,” I declared. “I don’t give a fuck. The club’s mine, my legacy, mine to mold into what I want. If they don’t like it, they can get the fuck out.”

Abe’s lips twitched. “And the boy becomes a man before our very eyes.” He looked at Iris again and nodded toward me. “See this, Rissy? You’re witnessing history in the makin’.”

Iris’s gaze darted between us, and she beamed.

“How ‘bout we get our asses down the club. I got some skulls to crack.”

Abe jumped to his feet and let out a loud hoot. “Lemme grab my cut.”

“Brother,” I called out.

He halted.

“There’s gonna be bloodshed. Somebody could die.”

His blue eyes turned on me, and his mouth twisted with determination. “I’ve got your back, brother.”

And you know what? I never realized then how true that statement would be, because Abe did have my back.

For evermore.

The deafening sound of gunshots splintered the air as I fired two off at the barn. A sense of satisfaction filled my chest as I watched the old, rotten wood fly off in tiny shards, pinging through the ether.

Within seconds the door flew open, and men filled the parking lot, some with whores plastered to their sides.

“Where is he?” I bit out, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

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