“And it’s the middle of fuckin’ winter,” Ozzy complained.
Trip shrugged. “Best time. No cover for their asses to hide behind.”
“No cover for our asses, either,” Judge reminded their prez. “I’m all for gettin’ this shit done and over with so I can sleep easier, but do we really wanna draw them here? To our fuckin’ home?” He shook his head and combed his fingers through his thick beard. “Too fuckin’ risky. Be better to finish this once and for all elsewhere. Not sure it’s smart to spill that amount of blood in our own backyard.”
“What are we gonna do? Just sit and wait? Let them decide when to strike, or is it smarter to force their hand?” Trip added, “It’s better if we control the fuckin’ narrative. When it happens and where.”
“You’re talkin’ about an actual fuckin’ war, Trip. It was one thing to go up there and start thinnin’ the herd. It was quiet and didn’t draw attention. The only people knowin’ about it was us and them. Drawin’ them off that fuckin’ mountain and down here to this farm…”
“We’ll be ready for them,” Trip assured Judge.
“Not likin’ this,” Cage muttered next to Rook. He could understand why it would bother his younger brother. Not because they wanted everything with the Shirleys done and over with, but because of doing it on the farm where his baby and his ol’ lady lived, too. Those motherfuckers took Dyna once. Cage didn’t want those armed rednecks anywhere near his daughter again.
Trip nodded. “I hear you all. But I’m not fuckin’ likin’ the fact they’re bringin’ in reinforcements. We knew they’d eventually strike back, they got no choice if they wanna survive. But us bein’ taken by surprise is riskier than anythin’. Ain’t you all tired of wonderin’ who the next victim will be? Which fuckin’ child? Which ol’ lady? I want this shit cleaned up before I have my own goddamn sons.”
Every man standing in that building could understand Trip’s need for peace before bringing kids into the world. They could also understand the worry of their brothers who already had kids.
“Gotta say I’ve been wantin’ this for a while,” Sig spoke up. “They can’t pay enough for what they did to Red.”
“Yeah, well, I fuckin’ worry about Dyna every fuckin’ minute of every fuckin’ day. What’s to stop them from just killin’ my daughter instead of only usin’ her for bait like last time? I’m with Trip, this shit’s gotta end. Just don’t like the idea of doin’ it here,” Cage said.
“And now there’s twenty-two of them, not countin’ their male teens. They get them involved, they outnumber us big time. We not only need boots on the ground for this, we need men to protect our women and children while it happens,” Judge said. “Not even sure how to address this shit with our women. Don’t want them to know, also don’t want them not to know. Need to be upfront but don’t want them to worry. Not only for themselves and the kids, but for us.”
“That’s why we need to control the situation. The where and when,” Trip said. “If we do that, we can move our women and kids out before it happens.”
“And take them where?” Sig asked.
“Reese’s house in Mansfield,” Deacon volunteered. “Perfect spot. We can get them there quickly. They’ll still be close but far enough to keep them safe. Not one of those dumb hicks knows about that location. It’s perfect.”
“Reese gonna be okay with that?” Judge asked his cousin.
Deacon nodded. “She wants this shit with the Shirleys over with as much as the rest of us. She worries about Reilly. Anythin’ happens to her sister, she will lose her fuckin’ mind.”
Rook twisted his head toward Rev when he made a strangled sound at that. He narrowed his eyes on the younger brother, but Rev’s face gave nothing away.
“Okay, so say we do this. Say we draw them here, so we have the upper hand. How we doin’ that? How the fuck are we drawin’ them here without takin’ one of their kids?” Easy asked.
“Think they’ll care if we take a few of their women?” Rev asked no one in particular.
Trip was the one that answered. “Not sure. Not sure what their women are worth to them. They might have the attitude that they can make more. The other problem is that they start ‘em young. Soon as they start bleedin’, they start breedin’. So, will they care if a few of the older ones go missin’? Not sure.”
“But breedin’ still takes a certain age,” Rook said. “And I ain’t sure if they have any kind of feelings for these women or if they’re just considered livestock.” From what he’d seen the times he’d been up there, none of those men acted like they gave two shits about their women. They seemed to be disposable. Walking wombs who did the men’s dirty work.