Page 54 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

And the wall of thick-muscled men turned to face me.

I couldn't see anything. All of these men were much taller than me, and I felt like I was staring at their crotches more than their faces. I walked over to a chair in the corner and stood on it, trying to seem more even with the crowd. I cleared my throat as they all looked at me, waiting for me to feed them more information.

At least they don’t look angry.

“We all know Max is in trouble,” I said.

“What?” one guy asked.

“Speak up, Bambi. Can’t hear ya.”

“Yell like this!”

The guys laughed and the sound almost drowned me in its vibrance. I clenched my teeth, girded my core, and drew in a deep breath.

“We all know Max is in trouble. Right?” I asked.

The men nodded, signaling that they’d heard me. And the more I continued to speak, the more my nerves dwindled.

“Right now, we are the only thing standing between him and his father. There’s corruption in the police precinct where he is being held. His father’s minions have him right where they want him, and I know they won’t stop until Max is buried up to his neck in litigation and charges.”

My eyes danced around the room and I noticed something. Not only did I have their undivided attention, but they were nodding along with me. Really, truly listening to me. Intent on hearing what I had to say. They weren’t snickering or rolling their eyes. They weren’t correcting me or trying to interrupt. It was as if they regarded me as one of their own. Deserving of the respect they gave one another, including Max.

I knew these men would help me. Fearlessly. And my worries about whether or not Max would be all right quickly melted away.

“Gentlemen, I saw it with my own eyes. I heard the discrepancies with my own ears. And Ashton Ryddle is going to use everything he can as leverage against Max. Against all of us, really. We have to move quickly if we want to get Max out of there legally. And at this point? Legally is our best option if we don’t want to be on the run for the rest of our lives.”

The giant spoke. “What do you suggest?”

I swallowed hard. “We have to turn the story around. We have to finish Ashton Ryddle before he finishes Max.”

A chuckle trickled across the room and I felt my strength falter.

“And how do you plan on doing that, Bambi?”

“If he has the cops in his back pocket

there ain’t shit we can do against him.”

“He runs this town, Bambi.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t already killed--”

I tightened my fists in my pockets. “Don’t you even say it.”

My growl silenced the men as a few of them nudged one another.

“And no, he doesn’t. Ashton Ryddle wants us to think he owns this town. But the truth of the matter is that the rules of this place have been lying under the surface waiting for our call to action all this time.”

The men stared at me with apprehensive glances as I gathered my thoughts.

“Look, we rule this town. The Red Thorns have been here much, much longer than Ashton Ryddle. Yes, that man might have founded this crew. But Ashton Ryddle wasn’t Ashton Ryddle before this club was founded. That man made his dark fortune off the backs of this crew. You guys are the reason why he stands in the position he does, and all because he played every single person in this room for fools.”

The men looked around at each other as hope filled my chest.

“And I think it’s about damn time we shook those chains from our wrists, put our boots down, and took this damn city back. I think it’s about time we pushed Ashton Ryddle out of this place. I think it’s about fucking time you guys got your due around here!”

“Yeah!” they exclaimed.

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