Prologue
Ruin
“Enter,” Talon called. I opened the door and stepped through with Coyote, my closest brother in the club, at my back. Already in the office were Griz, Blue, Vicious, Killer, Stoke, and Cowboy. Cowboy was a younger member, just twenty-one—a good guy who helped Coyote out at his Harley store.
“You should be restin’,” Talon told Coyote. The guy had not long been in a car wreck with his bakery girl after some thugs tried to take them out. It was lucky I’d arrived when I had, with the brothers not far behind. Coyote stared the prez—his dad—down, earning a snort from Talon. “Yeah, I’d be the fuckin’ same.” We all knew what he meant. He’d still keep going to deal with the fuckers we’d caught.
“Heard from their leader?” Coyote asked.
Talon answered, “We’re expectin’ a call any second, since Killer used one of the guys’ phones and sent a video of one of the captives gettin’ worked over.”
“They tell you anythin’?” I asked.
Griz snorted. “Sang like cockatoos.”
“You mean canaries,” Cowboy said.
Griz glared. “What?”
“The sayin’ is sang like canaries.” When Griz just stared Cowboy down, he added, “But it doesn’t matter what kind of bird it is.”
Blue snickered while my dad, Stoke, flat-out laughed.
“What did they say?” Coyote asked, wincing when he moved the wrong way.
“Sit before you fall down, Coyote.” Talon eyed his son, nodding to the chair in front of his desk.
“Apparently the main guy, whose name’s Cub, was goin’ after Channa on his own. He roped those guys into helpin’ because he wanted payback on her since she made him look like a little pussy,” Dad explained.
“Did they say what they think we stole off them?” I asked, since I got the feeling they only attacked after the bakery girl made a fool of them in the first scuffle outside her place.
“All he said was that we’d have to take it up with their leader. But if that fucker doesn’t tell us what it is, we’ll do some more work on the guys we have. I want this finished by the time night falls.” Talon rapped his knuckles on the worn oak desk.
“Agreed,” Coyote stated coldly, alongside a few of the other brothers.
The phone rang, pausing the conversation. We shared a look before Talon put it on speaker. “Speak,” he ordered.
“This is Wolf. I’m the leader of the Takahashi family and see you have some of my men.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talkin’ about.” Talon’s voice was guarded. In case the phone call was compromised, he couldn’t say too much. “But how about we meet and sort a few things out?”
There was silence for a few beats. “I’m out the front of the compound.” The call ended, and shock rocked through us all.
Blue’s eyebrows shot high. “He’s got some damn big balls.”
“He does. Let’s go see what he has to say.” Talon stood, and we followed him outside. Other members tried to join, but Talon told them to stay back. When we neared the locked gate, a lone man stood on the other side.
This Wolf guy, who had an Asian background, didn’t look like he belonged to a thug gang. A mobster one, yeah, with his crisp white suit, black shirt, and long jacket. His long dark hair was neatly tied at the back of his neck. His eyes told a whole other story. Confidence mixed with something a little crazy bled through their depths.
“Talon, I presume?” He even didn’t sound like a damn gang member. Each word was clear and correct.
“Yeah, and you’re Wolf.” Talon stopped just on the other side of the gate and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve come alone.”
He nodded. “In good faith.”
Blue snorted. “Good faith? After one of yours caused not one, but fuckin’ two crashes and near-deaths of some of ours?”
Wolf’s jaw clenched. “Cub acted alone. He’s… let’s say… unruly. I never wanted anyone hurt. I only ordered him to ask questions, but he has something against your club that isn’t a part of my gang. I reside in Melbourne and have a few members who travel from here to the city. Cub was one of them. It was lucky I was in town checking on them when the situation happened.”
“You sayin’ he went out on his own for all this shit?” Talon asked.
“Yes.”
Talon’s silence told us he wasn’t sure whether to believe this guy. Still, Talon put his hands on his waist. “He has to pay for what he’s done. Two brothers are injured, and so is a woman who’s under the club’s protection. He was going to kill them all if he had his damn way.”
“I wouldn’t think he’d kill—”
“He had a gun to a brother’s head. A gun to the woman’s, and everyone who was there could see the intent in his fuckin’ eyes. He was gonna kill them. If you don’t believe that, I can give you the reports on the damn injuries. No one gets away with hurtin’ anyone in Hawks.”
Wolf’s nostrils flared, and the hands at his sides fisted. “Fucking fool,” he snarled to the ground. He looked up and met Talon’s hard gaze. “He’s yours.”
“What?” Talon’s brows shot up in surprise. I wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t standing beside him.
“Do with him what you will. He acted alone, thinking he could climb the ladder by doing something foolish without consequences. He was wrong. Punish him however you choose. I don’t want problems with the Hawks MC, just an answer.”
Talon ignored the last part and asked, “The others that were with him?”
“Three, I believe?”
Talon nodded.
“They were stupid to follow Cub in the first place. Put fear in them, and then if they haven’t done anything to anyone in your club, release them.”
“You want us to teach them a lesson?” Griz asked.
Who the fuck was this guy?
“If you believe they need it, yes.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Talon barked. “And what do you think we stole off you?”
He smiled. It was only slight but still there. “As I said, I am Wolf. I control a large part of Melbourne, the women, drugs, and weaponry. I have seen what the Hawks MC can do. I want you to know we don’t have an issue with one another unless you get involved in my business.”
“Stay out of our territory, and we won’t,” Talon warned.
He nodded once. “I have heard this and will abide by it.”
Talon snorted. “Jesus, you’ve got some damn balls comin’ here without anyone with you. Tell us what you think we stole and then this shit will be done.”
“Mimi Takahashi.”
“Mimi?” I said, and everyone looked at me. Mimi was a club girl. She and I had had a night together, but no more. “She’s a club girl.” Meaning he wouldn’t get his hands on her.
Wolf snarled. “So she is here?”
“What do you want with her?” Talon asked.
“She’s my sister.”
“And?” Blue pressed.