Page 5 of Savage Loyalty

“What the fuck is this?” Chains muttered, his eyes narrowing.

“Looks like more than just guns,” Smoke said, walking up to the truck with his pistol still drawn. “Vipers branching out into new business?”

“Not on our turf,” I said, stepping closer to examine the crates.

The sound of a bike roaring up the road cut me off, and my blood ran cold. I turned just in time to see the figure on the bike pull a gun, the muzzle flashing in the darkness.

The first shot missed, but the second didn’t. The driver nearest to the truck crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. The figure on the bike didn’t stop, firing again as he skidded to a halt.

I didn’t need to see his face to know who it was. Javier Cruz.

The man’s presence was as commanding as ever, even in the chaos. His leather cut gleamed under the headlights, the patch on his chest marking him as the President of the Black Vipers. His gun was still raised, his eyes cold as they swept over the scene.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve,” he said, his voice calm but deadly. “Taking what’s ours.”

“This is our turf,” I shot back, my pistol aimed at his chest. “You knew the risk when you crossed the line.”

Javier smirked, the kind of smirk that made my blood boil. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about turf. This is about power. And you just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

Before I could respond, Chains fired, the shot hitting Javier square in the shoulder,the Vipers’ president, staggered, his smirk replaced by a grimace of pain, but he didn’t go down. He raised his gun again, his aim steady despite the blood dripping down his arm.

It was Smoke who finished it. One shot, clean and precise, right between the eyes. Javier Cruz fell to the ground, his body motionless in the dirt.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I stood there, staring at the lifeless body of the man who’d been the Black Vipers’ king. The weight of what we’d just done settled over me like a heavy fog. Javier Cruz was dead. The Vipers wouldn’t recover from this. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the end. This was just the beginning.

Chains let out a low whistle, his gun still raised. “Well, shit. Didn’t see that coming.”

“None of us did,” I muttered, holstering my pistol. “Torch, check the crates. Smoke, keep an eye on the road. We’re not out of this yet.”

As the men moved to follow my orders, I turned back to Javier’s body, my jaw tightening. Killing him had been the right move, but it had also been the boldest move we’d ever made. The Vipers wouldn’t let this go unanswered.

War was coming.

And it was going to be bloody.

CHAPTER TWO

DELILAH

The rain hadn’t let up all day. It streaked down the windows in relentless sheets, blurring the glow of the streetlights outside. Normally, I found the sound soothing—a steady, predictable rhythm to drown out the noise of my thoughts. But tonight, the storm seemed to echo the turmoil brewing inside me, an uneasy undercurrent I couldn’t ignore.

I sat at the kitchen table, staring at my untouched mug of coffee. The bitter smell lingered in the air, but it wasn’t enough to ground me. The quiet of my apartment wrapped around me like a cocoon, a stark contrast to the chaos I knew too well. This place was my sanctuary, my refuge from the world I’d left behind.

But the moment my phone buzzed on the counter, the fragile peace shattered.

I glanced at the screen, expecting a notification or maybe a text from the café where I worked. Instead, I froze. The name flashing across the screen hit me like a punch to the gut.

Axel Cruz.

My stomach twisted. It had been years since my brother last called me. We weren’t the kind of siblings who kept in touch, exchanging holiday greetings or making small talk. The silence between us wasn’t accidental—it was deliberate. So why now? What could possibly warrant breaking years of radio silence?

The phone buzzed again, insistent. My thumb hovered over the decline button, but I couldn’t press it. Axel didn’t do casual calls. If he was reaching out, it had to be serious.

Finally, I hit accept. “What do you want, Axel?”

The line crackled faintly, the sound of rain and an engine humming in the background. For a moment, I thought he might hang up. Then his voice came through, low and clipped. “It’s Dad.”

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