Page 77 of The Devil's Pair

“No ‘buts’, man,” Wolf interrupted him. “None. I decide how far I go in, and King and Denton have my back when I do. I’m gonna need you here, supportin’ Scars as he basically steps up as temporary Prez. Youallneed to do that.”

“What?” Scars stared at Wolf in utter shock and horror. “Me, Acting-President? No, Wolf… I can’t take the role when you’re still alive and kicking. That’s not how it works.”

“And just how exactlydoesit fuckin’ work, man?” Wolf said. Despite his harsh words, there was no rancor or even challenge in his tone. Instead, he sounded weary and a bit questioning, like he was actually requesting an answer. “How? Because if you know somethin’ that would help this diabolical situation, now’s a great time to tell me.”

Wolf looked round the room again, saw that he had the complete attention of every man there. He shook his head, decided to talk to his brothers really openly, right from the heart. He rarely did that – it made him feel weak and vulnerable, two things that Wolf Connor swore to never be again – but things were bad.Reallybad. Maybe some frank honesty was the only way forward now, and if that went against a whole lifetime oflearning and conditioning, then Wolf had better learn a new skill and fast. Things were changing, and they all had to change with them. As President, he had to lead by example – so he took a breath a dove right in:

“Guys, look… nothin’s workin’. You’re right, Cowboy, that I pulled us out of the life years ago, and we’ve all taken some direct hits for that. Dawson leavin’ and takin’ a lot of our brothers with him, startin’ up The Blood Crew, stabbin’ us in the back, pickin’ up all of Jensen’s dirty contracts and money. We all took personal financial hits, ‘cause workin’ honest jobs isnothin’ like doin’ shady shit, but we accepted that and we adjusted. You’ve been there with me every step of the way, supportin’ my decisions and stayin’ the course with me. I haven’t said it enough, I know, but I’m so fuckin’ grateful to you guys for doin’ that. I really, truly thought that if enough time passed, if we just put some distance between us and our old lives, all that shit would fade away. Just kind of get smaller and then disappear in the rearview mirror, you know?”

Wolf sighed.

“But that ain’t what’s happened, and I meanat all. It’s been mayhem and chaos for years now, just one crisis after another, and all we’ve done is cope by bein’ exactly who we were before I tried to take us straight. What that means is that we ain’t out of the life, likeat all. Oh, I’ve fooled myself, told myself that we are and have been – but I’ve been lyin’. We all know that hidin’ what happened to Jo’s ex was our classic old-school shit, and so was takin’ down the cult compound to rescue Elle. So was killin’ those fuckers in New Mexico for information,andcoverin’ up what Briley did to Michael. So was puttin’ our women and Keira into King’s safe house so they don’t get kidnapped or killed… so was what happened to Rebel. It’sallconnected, guys, andnoneof it is what happens to a bunch of good, law-abidin’citizens. It’s what happens to MC members, and most especially to one-percenters.”

He shut his eyes for a second, then looked at the other men again.

“It’s time for me to stop pretendin’, and that means acceptin’ reality. More than that, actually, it means embracin’ it, goin’ after it. Reallylivin’ it.”

“Butwhydoes that mean walking into Viper’s viper pit?” Cain asked. “You’d be like – like – a human sacrifice.”

“Not quite.” Wolf managed a quick grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’d be more of a canary down a coal mine.”

“Not making me feel any better,” Cain muttered. “The canariesdied, Wolf.”

“Better me than all of you. Or the women. Or the kids.” Wolf stared around the room. “I offer myself up to Viper and work with him in exchange for everyone’s safety. I act like I’ve come down to heel, and the whole time, I’m workin’ with Denton and King to finish The Hellions once and for all.”

“Jesus, Wolf,” Holt blurted. “You’d be a triple-turncoat, or something equally messed up. And what do we do in the meantime, with you gone, with Rebel and the twins gone? Our numbers are dropping and we’re losing people left and right… how do we deal with all of that?”

“You follow Scars, and Scars leans on all of you. You all get to stay on the straight and narrow, and you’ll be safe. So will the ladies, so will Keira and the babies out in Pennsylvania. Everyone will be OK.”

“How the hell can you say that?” Scars demanded. “Youwon’t be OK, Wolf.”

“You think I’veforgottenhow to live the criminal MC life, Innis?” Wolf said, and he almost sounded amused. “As I think I just said, I’ve never reallystoppedlivin’ it.”

“That was here, with us,” Ice said quietly. “We had your back, Wolf, one hundred percent. If you wander on over to Utah and offer to give Viper your help, and you set him up for whatever you and King and Denton have planned, you’ll do it alone. We’d have no way of helping you, or protecting you. What you’re proposing isnotthe same thing that you’ve been doing for the past few years, not by a long shot, so stop trying to convince us that it is. We know you’re bullshitting us.”

“Guys.” Wolf was almost pleading. “I don’t know what else to do. I need to keep everyone safe, and I need to trade what I can to do that. Like I said, if you have any better ideas, if you know how to make this work better for all of us, I’m beggin’ you,pleasetell me.”

“Whatexactlyare you planning to offer them?” Viking asked. “How do you expect to just show up at The Hellions clubhouse and not be shot on sight? What have you got that they want so badly that they’ll overlook everything?”

Wolf was silent, but once again Ice surprised everyone by speaking up:

“You’re going to give him Dawson Kinney and his Blood Crew boys, aren’t you?”

Wolf’s eyes flickered, but he still said nothing.

“Jesus, Wolf,” Scars said, scarcely believingthisnew drama. “Is Ice right?Areyou going to help Viper take all of the old Kirk Jensen work and money away from Dawson, and then end him? I mean, youcoulddo it, easy enough – you have all the insider knowledge, and you know all the players, and you know the terrain. I mean, until a few years ago,youwere running everything.”

“I’m right,” Ice said flatly. “You all know that I am.”

“Shit,” Saint muttered. “I hate everything about this plan.”

“Take me with you,” Ice said. “Offer us to Viper as a package deal, you with the logistics, me with the enforcement. Don’t go by yourself, Wolf. It’s too fucking dangerous.”

Wolf smiled now, and it was a real smile. “I knew that you’d say that, man, and I thank you for it… but my final answer is no. I need you here, keepin’ watch. Iknowthat I can negotiate everyone’s safety in exchange for a waterfall of dirty money to go direct to The Hellions, but I’dstillfeel better with my Chief Enforcer on-site and watchin’ everyone’s backs.”

“Dammit, Wolf.” Ice was losing his legendary cool at roughly warp-speed. He got to his feet now, and the other man all froze in shock as he turned his back on his President. “Fuck you.”

And without waiting to be dismissed, Ice wrenched the door open and stomped out.

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