Zero Regret (Lost Kings MC 13)

“Anything’s possible.” Rooster shrugs. “My guess is Malone hired Shadow to burn the place down. Maybe when Shadow showed up with more people, it made Malone trigger happy. Or maybe Shadow thought it would be an easy way to get rid of his Z problem.”

Fury burns through me. “Y’all need to get your priorities straight. After what went down with Bull, every single member should’ve been vetted more thoroughly.”

I should rein in my temper. Antagonizing everyone at the table when I’m trying to bring them together isn’t the smartest move, but fuck, I’m pissed.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lilly

I’m exhausted, but too anxious to sleep after talking to Z. While I told him exactly what Shadow said and did, I left out the parts where I encouraged Shadow’s behavior in the beginning of our encounter.

I feel that’s something I need to confess in person.

My phone buzzes and I notice a text from Hope.

Instead of answering, I call her back. Obviously, she’s up.

“Hey, everything okay?” I say as soon as she answers.

“I was going to ask you that. Rock, Wrath, and Dex just headed down your way.”

“Oh. Wow. Okay.” Does that mean Z’s in trouble? Or is Rock coming down to support Z? Either way, I’m relieved Z will have more people he trusts at the clubhouse.

“Did he say why?”

She chuckles softly. “Only that he thought you might appreciate a phone call. Everything okay?”

I consider my words carefully.

“There was a small incident. One of the brothers…I don’t know, put his hands on me. In a rather hostile way.”

“Jeez.” She’s quiet. “A full-patch?”

“Yup.” I try to laugh it off. “I punched him in the nuts, so it worked out fine.”

She doesn’t join in on the laughter. “Lilly, I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t happen.”

“That’s what everyone said.”

“Poor Z. That’s not what he needs right now.”

“I’m aware.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know you didn’t, Hope.”

“Do you want me to come down tomorrow?”

Do I? She has a baby at home to worry about. If things get uglier down here, I don’t want to bring her into unregulated chaos. Although, I suppose if it’s really a problem, Rock wouldn’t let her come down anyway.

“You don’t have to do that, but why don’t we make plans to meet up sometime this week? We can meet somewhere halfway if you don’t want to drive all the way down here.”

“We could meet in Woodstock and have lunch at that fancy Chinese place right outside of the village?” she suggests.

“That sounds good. See if you can get Trinity to join us.”

“You sure everything’s all right? Is there anything I can do?”

“Honestly, no. Chance is next door at Heidi’s. I just talked to Z and he said it’s going to be a long night. Teller brought me home.”

“That’s good. If you need something or you decide you do want me to come down, you know, if this goes on for more than tonight and you want some company, don’t be afraid to ask me.”

“I won’t. Promise.”

We hang up and I feel a little better after talking to her.

Less alone.

Z

“All those in favor of halting the vote until we get more information from Shadow?”

This time, the vote goes all the way around the table and it’s unanimous.

Shadow’s execution at the hands of the club has been granted a stay.

Tension twists through the room, thick and suffocating. “Let’s take a break and meet in the bunker in thirty.” I slam down the gavel and follow Steer out of the room.

As our SAA, he’s the one who gets to hoist Shadow up. Jigsaw helps him drag Shadow to the old storm shelter out back. Well, it started out as a storm shelter. Sway got on a doomsday-prepper kick a few years back and turned it into something more secure.

Where we’ll have total privacy.

Rooster brings interested brothers into the office to share what he has on Shadow.

Since I want the motherfucker dead no matter what, I don’t need to examine anything.

The rest of the brothers slowly find their way outside. A few men stop to shake my hand or offer words of encouragement and thanks.

When almost everyone else has gone outside, Rock slaps his hand on my shoulder and turns me to face him. “You did good in there, brother.” Pride shines in his eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m really proud of you.”

I flash a quick, tired grin. “Learned from the best.”

“Nah, those were thoughtful, powerful words.” He pokes me in the chest. “Straight from the heart. Everyone could feel it.” He glances around to make sure we’re not overheard. “They’ve needed to hear it for a while. I hope it sinks in.”

“I think it did.”

“I think so too.”

Wrath comes up behind me and hooks his arm around my neck. “Proud of you, Angus,” he says against my ear.

“You hit your head sometime tonight?”

He doesn’t laugh, but he does release me from the chokehold. “That’s some fucked-up shit, Z. I knew there was a reason I never liked him.”

“Take a number.”

“Rooster’s smart,” Rock says. “He could’ve told you what he had in secret. He earned everyone’s respect by waiting and building his case before bringing it to the table.”

“Yeah, he told me straight-up a couple weeks ago, he was loyal to t

he club, not any one brother.” I glance around at the now mostly empty clubhouse. “You guys don’t have to stay for this.”

Rock and Wrath share a look. “You have everything handled,” Rock says. “If you want us here for any reason, we’ll stay.”

“No, brother. I appreciate it. But you’ve got a baby at home. You should be there. It’s gonna be a long, dirty night. If you wanna catch a few hours of sleep at the house before heading back or something, let me—”

“Nah. We’ll be all right,” Wrath says.

Dex walks up and waves his hand. “I’m gonna stick around, if that’s all right, Prez?”

“Yeah,” Rock says. “I think that’s a good idea. “You all right with that, Z?”

“Absolutely.”

I’d have no problem with Rock and Wrath staying either. I understand why they think it’s better to head out. The upstate president came down here tonight to let everyone in this club know he has my back. Now, he’s leaving to show them I can handle this on my own.

Since Dex isn’t an officer upstate, it’s less of a big deal for him to stick around. Teller and Murphy will definitely be attending since they were part of the Malone fiasco.

Tonight will be bloody.

Tomorrow, I have a feeling I’ll need a new VP.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Z

It’s been a long time since I’ve attended the execution of a brother.

Our national president keeps hounding us to recruit new numbers. Tonight is why we’ve always been selective and few men ever earn a full three-piece patch.

A brother going behind the club’s back to work against us with a rival club is a huge betrayal. The only thing worse is a brother who snitches to the cops.

Trying to take out our president because of greed or because he couldn’t get enough members to rally to his side, that’s a whole new level of treachery. Every decision an officer makes is supposed to be for the good of the whole club. We may not always like all those choices, but we stand by our brothers.