Page 38 of Vendetta
“And now you’re here,” Razor said, his voice unreadable.
“You already know I was going after Oak Grove for what they did to those girls.To me,” Vendetta said.“And I’m sure as hell not letting them get away with what they did to Dylan.”
Outcast nodded.“Vendetta got me and Anya back safe and helped us take out Sebastian Six.I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m definitely in.”
A beat of silence followed Outcast’s words, heavy and meaningful.
Crash leaned forward, resting his tattooed forearms on the table.“Six was a bastard.After what you told me he did to you and Anya,” he said, glancing at Outcast, then back at Vendetta.“You’ve got my vote.”
Beast gave a grunt of approval, already looking to be itching for a fight.“They’re moving girls like cargo.Anyone helps stop that, I’m down.”
Axel exchanged a look with Ryder, then gave a sharp nod.“We all saw what Sinister Skin tried to do here.If it’s spreading through Oak Grove, we’ve got a choice.Shut it down now or let it come knocking again.”
“Margot’s going to be pissed,” Ryder said.“But yeah, I’m in.”
Player tapped the table with a finger, his eyes flicking to Vendetta.“Just tell us where to hit.”
The air shifted.Suspicion turned to solidarity.The kind forged in blood, not just patches.
Razor looked around the room, reading the temperature.Then his gaze returned to Josh.“Looks like you’ve got more than one in.”
“I trust you,” Vendetta said simply.“And I need backup.If I go back in alone, it’s suicide.But ifwego in right, we can burn their whole fucking operation to the ground.”
Crash leaned forward.“What do you need from us?”
Vendetta looked around the room, meeting every set of eyes.
“Intel.Manpower.Leverage.If we cut off the supply lines, expose the connections, and turn a few of their guys against them, we can run Sinister Skin out of Oak Grove.”
Silence held for a long beat.
Then Razor sat back in his chair.“We’re listening.”
Chapter Eight
Eli
The office reeked of cigar smoke and sweat.He had a horrible, fucking headache that rage and panic had started building the minute Rick Earle called him last night.
He’d painstakingly set up that evening at the lake house for Earle, a higher-up in the organization that he needed to keep happy.When he signed up to be part of their operations, he hadn’t realized how often some of the Sinister Skin lieutenants would be coming around to “check on things.”And on one such evening, the night he met Earle to begin with, he took him over toNed’s and the man’s eye fell on Dylan, his niece.Of course it had.
That was another sore subject all in itself.He hadn’t wanted Dylan working atNed’s.Eli had explained it wasn’t the kind of place for her, not with the deals being made in the back and the kinds of men sliding into booths like they owned the damn place.But she was stubborn, just like her mother had been, and refused to take no for an answer.Dylan said she needed the money, and that she could handle herself.
Eli knew he should have shut it down right then.He should’ve found some strings to pull to make sure she didn’t get the damn job.Then he could have kept her at arm’s length like he’d originally intended.But she’d worn him down, and somewhere along the line, he started to believe maybe having her close was better.It would be easier to keep an eye on her atNed’s, keep her out of trouble.It would also be easier to make sure she didn’t start digging into things she didn’t understand and didn’t need to be a part of.
The choice blew up in his fucking face.Eli told himself at the time when he made the arrangement that it was just business.Handing Dylan over to Earle wasn’t personal, it was leverage.A show of loyalty to the network, and solid proof that Eli Crizer was still useful to them and dependable.
But deep down, he knew the truth.It had been about control.
Dylan’s involvement in his world wasn’t the best look for him.She’d come back to Oak Grove and turned a blind eye to how the town had changed.She’d insisted on working at the bar against his advice.She’d run her mouth about independence, like her blood wasn’t soaked in Cottonmouth legacy.
Worst of all,she reminded him of her mother.She’d been a firebrand too.She’d been defiant and independent, always questioning club business, and pushing boundaries.She never quite bent the way women in their world were supposed to.She’d called him out, challenged his leadership.And when she got pregnant with Dylan, she’d walked away from the club entirely.From him.And she never came back.
He saw that same rebellious look in Dylan’s eyes now.The quiet judgment, the stubborn pride, and worst of all, her refusal to fall in line and follow orders.It was like looking at a ghost.Maybe that made it easier to hand her over to Earle.Dylan wasn’t just another mouthy girl trying to slip out from under his thumb, she was a reminder that the blood in his family hadalwaysrebelled.
Jared had been the same way.His only son had thought he knew better.After taking the name Babyface in their MC, he’d thought he could game the system, cut corners, and make deals without Eli’s approval.When he went too far and crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed, Eli did what had to be done, family or not.Besides, putting a bullet in his son’s brain put the fear of God into the rest of the Cottonmouths.Operations in his chapter had been smooth as glass until recently.
Dylan was walking the same path right now.Blood didn’t make them loyal.If anything, it made the betrayal so much fucking worse.
