Page 26 of The Devil's Viking

“You never – and I mean fuckin’never– tell anyone about what you saw in the woods. I don’t care if you save up what money you need in two months and move on then, I don’t care if you stay workin’ for us until you die. You forget what you saw…it never happened, you get me? I ain’t crazy about threatenin’ you all over again, but here it is: we may look like a bunch of loser pricks in leather cuts who can’t write our own names, but we got guys in the MC with serious skills, skills you don’t want comin’ your way. Youdo notwant those boys downstairs mad at you, or gunnin’ for you. If you think that you can walk into a new life and just start talkin’ to the cops or anyone else, you’re wrong.”

Iris swallowed hard

“If you leave here, we’ll know where you are all the time. We’ll be watchin’ you, and the second any interest comes our way about anythin’ in that forest, we’ll grab you up and take you straight back to Gideon.” Wolf locked his eyes on hers. “Youmaybe able to hurt us, but we sure as hellcanhurt you. We can always go back to Utah and remove anythin’ incriminatin’, but Gideon willneverforgive or forget that you escaped. Remember that.”

Iris nodded, chastised. It was crystal clear that Wolf held all the cards and she had nothing. She’d certainly overplayed her hand, and not even in a smart way, and she was lucky to still be sitting at the table. It could have all gone way worse. She could have lost a whole arm – or her head.

“So.” Wolf stuck out his hand. “We got a deal?”

Right away, she extended her hand and shook his. “Yes. Deal.”

“OK, then. We’re done. We never need to talk about any of this again.” Wolf got to his feet and gave her a wink. “You start tomorrow at ten a.m. Cain will be watchin’ your door overnight, you understand, just until we get some trust built up between us. He’ll bring you down to Rebel in the mornin’.”

“Thank you,” she said, and she was teary again. “Wolf – thank you.”

“Remember that I drink my coffee scaldin’ hot and black, and I ain’t good about waitin’ for it.”

“Got it, boss.”

Scars nodded at her, then the men left the room. Holt looked askance as they passed, but said nothing. He knew that the Prez and Vice-Prez kept everything to themselves until they decided to let the MC in on it; they’d share if and when it was time. For now, he’d maintain his post like the good foot soldier that he was, and not worry about anything beyond that.

He subsided back onto the sofa and picked up his book.

**

When Wolf and Scars came back downstairs, Ice was standing down at the bar with Cole. His face was its usual granite and his eyes gleamed coldly.

“Into my office,” Wolf said. “Scars, come with us.”

Once they were inside, Wolf turned to Ice. “You’re goin’ to Utah.”

Ice nodded; he wasn’t even slightly surprised. “To Walton?”

“Yep. You’re gonna find out everythin’ that you can about the Garden of Fucked-up Psychopaths, and you’re gonna report back every night.”

“And Iris?”

“Stays here with us. I ain’t handin’ her back to a guy who’ll just kill her.”

“Even if she can hurt us?”

“She can’t. I got that covered.”

Ice nodded again, didn’t press for details. If Wolf said that he had taken care of it, then he had; Ice had learned many years before to take Wolf Connor at his word in everything. It was why Wolf was such a great President, and why Ice had stuck with the Road Devils even as several of his ex-brothers had peeled off with Dawson Kinney and started their own MC. Ice was a lot of things, but a traitor to Wolf sure as hell wasn’t one of them.

“I’ll go pack and leave for Utah right away.”

“Take the cage,” Wolf told him. “And take one more thing – well,two, actually.”

“What’s that?”

“Take the twins.”

Ice paused. “The twins?”

“Yeah. You might need the extra Enforcer muscle if this Gideon asshole starts anythin’, and if we need someone to charm the locals for help or information, it’s hard to beat the dream team of Dux and Drake. They could charm the panties off a nun, and we all know it.”

“According to Drake, theydidactually do that once,” Scars said. “ Back at Catholic school.”

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