Page 91 of Twice the Rivalry

Glitch had to agree. “Simba, are you all wrapped up and ready to roll?” she asked.

“We’ll deliver our target to the rendezvous,” Simba told her. Glitch knew him well enough to decipher his meaning: they were going to escort Amanda and her son back to her grandfather, but he didn’t want the Murphys, or Lewis Kroll, to know that. “Then we’ll head back your way.”

“Law enforcement is about three minutes out, so you better get out of there,” she warned him.

“Don’t worry, babe, we got this,” Taz assured her. “We’ll be back to you before you know it. And then I’m taking you to the mats.” Glitch laughed.

“Take it easy coming back,” she cautioned them, then she disconnected. When she turned to Karissa, she grinned. “You know we are going to have to take his ass down when they get here. Asshole is going to come back cocky as shit for a job well done. Can’t let it go to his head.”

Karissa grinned. “Oh, I know. We’ll have to be strategic, though. Knowing him, he’ll suspect it’s coming.”

Glitch snickered. “As long as I don’t have to listen to him whine and bitch too much, I’m down for anything.” Before Karissa could open her mouth to reply, her system blared an alarm and Glitch froze. “Fuck,” she hissed, turning back to her computer. “What the fuck?”

“Let me back in so I can help,” Code ordered.

She ignored him, too focused on trying to understand what the hell was going on, but a sinking feeling built in her gut, until she found it. Along with a message.

Slip: Checkmate, Eliza. Time to pay.

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

CODE

The moment he saw the message over Glitch’s shoulder, he jumped into action. Since they were trying to leave Savage alone with Royal and the twins, he messaged Rogue and had him call an emergency meeting. Then he sent a message to the Predators to let them know. Now, all of his brothers, along with Karissa and Glitch were sitting in Church, with the Predators joining through a secure call. Code fought not to panic, and instead settled for sitting as close to Glitch as possible without being overbearing. He caught her glancing at him in surprise and a bit of annoyance.

“Alright,” Rogue said briskly, making everyone shut up. “I don’t got time to beat around the bush, so let’s get down to business.” He looked at Glitch expectantly.

He expected Glitch to give a smart reply, but she just got down to business. Her mouth was set in a thin line. He knew her well enough to know she was pissed, but underneath, there was tension there. Still, there was no fear, and that settled a small part inside him.

“It seems the Ghost team has finally snuffed out our location,” Glitch announced grimly. “And they’re on their way here. Which means we don’t have a lot of time. Because they’ll come in guns blazing.”

“There are only five of them,” Jax pointed out. “And there are a hell of a lot more of us.”

“Numbers don’t matter,” Karissa said grimly. “Not when it comes to these guys. There is a reason they got away with shit for so long. They know how to get in and out without being seen, and they’ll kill anyone in their way. Including women and children.”

“And then they’ll wait until you’re all asleep and slit your throats,” Simba growled through the phone. “These bastards are a whole other breed, and they aren’t to be underestimated.”

“There are quite a few of us with military experience,” Ice pointed out coolly. “I’d like to see them try and get past us.”

Glitch made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. “You really think it’s that simple?” she asked irritably. “They also have military experience. Highly classified, deep cover, blackest-of-black-ops military experience. One well placed bomb, and we’re all dead. Every single one of them has the skills to pull it off. You can’t watch every inch of this property. You don’t have enough men, and the system here isn’t large enough.” She glanced at Code, even as he tried not to let her words bother him. “I’m not saying that to be a bitch,” she told him directly. “But you’re not set up here to handle this kind of attack. Your setup is great for keeping the average Joe off your property, but that’s about as far as it can go. The kind of equipment you’ll need to catch these guys isn’t easy to get your hands on. And we don’t have time to order it, anyway.”

“How long do you think we have before they show up?” Code asked her somberly.

Glitch shrugged. “Depends on how badly they want to get here. They were able to get state-side without triggering any alarms, and haven’t done anything to alert law enforcement since, so while it’s hard to say for sure, I don’t think they’ll waste any time.”

“Wouldn’t it be smarter for them to strategize before they launch some big invasion?” Ink asked.

“None of these guys are all that smart,” Taz drawled through the line. “Especially when they’re pissed off.”

“The only one who might still have his head is Slip,” Jag said.

“I’d agree with that,” Glitch interjected. “But Spook was also pretty level-headed, so we can’t rule him out, but he’s not the leader. Hazard was always a wild card, so I can’t see any of them acting against him. He’d just kill them and keep on going.”

“Alright, so we have a bunch of homicidal maniacs heading our way,” Fury summarized. “Glitch, you think they’re going to be here in the next twenty-four hours?”

Code watched her hesitate. “Possibly, but I’m leaning toward forty-eight. They’re going to need to steal some transportation. Once they get to town, they’ll need to get ready to attack, once they actually locate the clubhouse.”

“Alright, we’re talking any time between the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours,” Rogue clarified. He looked at Fury. “Have you heard from Savage when they plan to come home with the twins?”