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“But why?”
“I don’t know,” Vicious admitted. “But I’ll find out.”
I glanced back at the window and watched as the man spit blood on the floor. He lifted his head and glared at the window like he knew I was watching. He tugged at the restraints as he shouted, “You motherfuckers are gonna regret this!”
Annoyed, Vicious started for the door, but stopped when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. A prospect rushed up and seemed more than a little rattled when he said, “Prez… We’ve got company.”
Prez’s back stiffened. “Who?”
“Tank,” he answered nervously. “The Viper’s president.”
“I know who he is, son.” Prez sounded unfazed as he asked, “Where is he?”
“It’s not just him. He’s got Blade with him.”
“Of course he does. Now, where the fuck is he?”
“The bar… Knox and Lucky are with him.”
Prez nodded, then started down the hall. He knew there was no way in hell that we weren’t going with him, so he didn’t say a word when we all followed behind him. When we got to the bar, we found Tank standing front and center with Blade at his side.
There was a heaviness in the air, and it was all Tank. Men like him didn’t need to raise their voice or make a show of power. We all felt it just standing there, and every brother in the room knew better than to ignore that kind of quiet.
I didn’t know Tank all that well, but I’d heard the stories. He led his boys with a harsh hand, and from the looks of him, he wouldn’t have any problem holding his own against anyone. He was a big fella, with broad shoulders and ink covering his arms and neck. Silver was beginning to cut through his dark hair, just at his temples, and the hard, weathered lines in his face had been earned.
It was what happened when you lived a life like ours.
Blade stood next to him. He was younger, but he carried himself with the same kind of threat, only sharper around the edges. He was tall, thick-necked, and covered from head to toe in tattoos. I liked ink as much as anyone, but this guy took it to a new level.
He was silent and still in a way that let me know he wasn’t one to miss much. He kept his eyes trained on us, and his body angled toward Tank, like he was ready to put himself between his president and any trouble that might come his way. And he would. No doubt about it.
Nobody in the bar moved. We just stood there, weighing the situation. We weren’t scared of them. Hell, we had no reason to be. Any one of us could have held our ground against either of them, but Tank was a smart man. He knew we would have no problem taking them out, which meant he was putting his life in our hands. No president does that without good reason.
With his eyes trained on Prez, Tank stepped forward and announced, “I got your call.”
Prez didn’t answer.
He just stood there, eyeballing Tank like he was ready to take out his throat. “I wanted to come to you personally and let you know that there is no truth behind the rumors. The Vipers aren’t fucking with you and your boys.”
A heavy silence settled over the room, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure what Prez was going to do or say. Then, with a face void of emotion, Prez replied, “Three men wearing Viper cuts jumped two of my boys less than an hour ago.”
“Not my guys.”
“You sure about that?”
“If he said it wasn’t us, then it wasn’t us,” Blade snarled.
“Let’s hope that’s true.” Prez crossed his arms. “Because we got one of them… brought him here, and we’re going to get answers.”
Tank glared at Prez. “Maybe he can tell me who has been stirring up trouble in our territory.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Setting fires, vandalism, following my boys home at all hours of the night, and that’s just the start.”
“You getting threatening messages?”
“Been a few here and there.” Tank’s expression was cold as he added, “Got your call and thought you were just fucking with me until I got word about what happened to your boys… That’s when I started thinking maybe somebody is trying to start a war between us.”
