“We got an address?”I asked.
Wheels nodded.“Estate on the west side.Private property.High walls.Cameras.Private guards.He’s locked down.”
Hodge cracked his knuckles.“Let’s go knock.”
“No.”I raised a hand.“Not yet.”
Rev arched a brow.“Then what’s the play, Prez?”
“We double our watch.Nobody rides solo.Nobody sleeps without steel on the nightstand.And Tempi?”My jaw locked tight.“She’s never alone.Not for a second.”
“She with you now?”Swift asked.
I nodded.“Left her with Method.I’ll be back there tonight.”
Gramps leaned back, arms crossed.“You’re falling for her, he means.”
It wasn’t a question.
I looked him square in the eye.“Yeah.”
No one laughed.No one blinked.Because when the president caught feelings, it wasn’t casual.
It was real.
“We track every move.We follow the money.We bleed ‘em if we have to.But we don’t run.Madison is ours now,” I said.
Swift gave a sharp nod.“Agreed.”
Podge slammed his palm down again.“Then let’s make sure they know it.”
That’s when the door burst open.
Sully charged in with Chewy behind him.They were out of breath, and their eyes wide.“You’re gonna wanna hear this.”
My stomach dropped before he even said it.I knew it wasn’t going to be good.“Spit it out,” I growled.
“Nick’s dead,” Sully panted.“Frank’s gone.Shop was torched.Cops everywhere.They’re calling it an explosion.”
“Fuck,” Swift muttered, already pushing to stand.
Sully kept going.“Cops found what was left of Nick inside.Not much of him.Frank’s truck’s gone, and from what we gather, no one can find Frank.”
“They were on our radar,” I said flatly.“The Ledger knew we were on to them, and they cleaned house.”
Magnum stood.“That’s a message.”
“No,” I growled.“That’s a power move.”
Gramps’s eyes narrowed.“They’re not afraid to go loud when it suits ‘em.”
“This shit’s accelerating,” Hodge said.“They're moving fast now.”
I looked around the table.“Then we move faster.”
Church wrapped twenty minutes later with new orders, rotating patrol shifts, and tighter security on every inch of the clubhouse and Tempi’s bar.No one questioned it.The air in the room wasn’t panicked—it was focused.Deadly focused.
We were past playing defense now.