“So, what? We just hand him over?” I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe he gets injured in the process. Spends a lot of time with a very hard to heal kind of wound.”
I nodded.
“That could be arranged. And we know plenty of guys on the inside to keep an eye on him. Or arrange an accident. That way, you don’t get your hands dirty.”
“I want my hands dirty,” Cain growled before adding, “but I don’t want to upset Kelly.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. That hot little spitfire of his had Cain firmly under her thumb. The big man was just as weak as the rest of them when it came to their women.
That would never happen to me. I was a free man, riding where the wind took me and landing where the tequila flowed and the women were soft and eager. So pretty much anywhere and everywhere.
But mostly south of the border.
“If you assholes end up in jail, it’s going to create a lot of work for me.” I grinned. “Keeping all your women pleased is going to make my dick sore.”
Cain stepped forward and gripped my jacket. We were eye to eye, me being one of the few motherfuckers quite as big as him. Mason and Conn were pretty much the same size, though neither of them looked like they were carved out of stone.
“Touch her and you die.”
“Cain, you sonofabitch, I’m doing you a favor.”
“What’s that?” He growled, trying to lift me off the ground. Trying and failing.
“Giving you second thoughts. Unless you want me to use your pretty little lady as my personal cock warmer.”
He twisted my jacket even more, but I just smiled at him. My jacket had been through worse.
Mason cleared his throat.
“Cain. He’s just trying to lighten the mood.”
“Is that right, Preacher?”
I nodded at him and was released. I smiled at Mason but then noticed the FBI agent who’d married our little Casey was frowning at me. I lifted my hands.
“Don’t you worry. I’m not talking about Cass. I’ve known her since she was in pigtails. I’m her favorite dirty old uncle.” His frown eased up before I threw in. “Then again, she’s exceeded all expectations on the boner meter.”
This time, even Cain laughed, giving Connor a smug look. I’d never heard the big man laugh before. Hell, I’d never even seen him smile. It was like watching a dog walk on its hind legs and talk. Fucking weird.
We all turned at the sound of the engine outside. Cain’s guys were standing guard outside, so it wasn’t them. That meant only one thing.
Shane was here.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cain
We were all tense and quiet as we listened to the heavy footfalls approaching. Smith and Dante had taken so much from all of us. Conn’s partner. Frightening our women. Mason and I knew good guys who had been taken out in horrific ways, plus worrying about him hurting our women and families for years had taken a toll on all of us. He’d hurt my club and my family. I wanted him dead.
But Shane had lost the most of all.
He’d lost his brother and nearly lost his woman. I could see he was serious about her from the way he’d acted during the rescue. I’d thought he was a crazy sonofabitch before. I’d been right about the crazy part. But I hadn’t understood why.
Shane was just a man. Not born crazy. He just was driven to extraordinary measures to avenge his brother under horrific circumstances.
It was one hell of a price to pay.
He’d become the very thing he wanted to destroy, which was both smart and incredibly stupid. What kind of man gave up his self? A desperate man. A man with nothing to lose.
I wondered what kind of person he’d been before. Whoever that was was gone. Dead and buried, just like his brother.
Shane had clearly fallen in love along the way. He’d nearly lost her too. He wasn’t a sick fuck. He was a goddamn hero.
I wanted to let him have his say, to fight for it if he needed to kill Smith. I didn’t blame him one bit for wanting that.
But killing the man would change him. Change all of us.
“It would be like putting down a rabid dog,” Shane said by way of greeting as he walked into the room. It was another empty factory, this one bigger and brighter than the one we’d pulled Parker out of. A streetlight outside was enough to partially light the room, though it was impossible to see inside unless you had a drone.
Nobody ever drove through here. My team and my club would make it part of their rounds after this though. The area was way too irresistible to criminals. And the only criminals I would allow in this town were the ones in my club. They knew where the line was and they didn’t cross it. They didn’t fuck with regular citizens. They managed their shit.