Page 18 of Ruined By King

"Church," I say. "Now. Just us three."

They don't ask questions. They never do when I use that tone.

We move to the chapel — the room at the back of the clubhouse where we hold our meetings, make our decisions, plan our wars. I close the door and turn to face my VP and my Sergeant-at-Arms.

"We've got a problem," I say. "The Road Kings are planning to hit our deal tonight. The warehouse on Route 10."

Lock's expression doesn't change, but I see his shoulders tighten. Rogue's jaw goes hard.

"How do you know?" Rogue asks.

"I have a source."

"A source." His eyes narrow. "Would this source happen to be the woman who just walked through the clubhouse? Rocky's daughter?"

"Yes."

The silence that follows is heavy. I can see Rogue working through it — the implications, the risks, the thousand ways this could be a trap.

"And you trust her?" he asks finally.

"With my life."

"King—"

"She just betrayed her own father to warn us. She walked into this clubhouse in broad daylight, knowing what it would cost her. She's got nowhere to go now. No one to protect her but us." I hold his gaze. "Yeah. I trust her. And even if I didn't — if she's right and we walk in blind tonight, we're not walking out."

Rogue stares at me for a long moment. Then he nods slowly. "Okay. What's the play?"

"They're expecting us to walk in blind. Six of us. They're bringing twelve." I lean against the table, my mind already working through the angles. "We're not going to give them what they're expecting."

Lock speaks for the first time. "We hit them first?"

"No." I shake my head. "No violence. Not tonight. We show up, we let them see that we knew they were coming, and we let them leave with their tails between their legs. No blood, no bullets. Just humiliation."

"And what message does that send?" Rogue asks.

"That someone in their club talked. That they can't trust their own people." I smile, and it's not a nice smile. "It'll tear them apart from the inside. Way more damage than a few bullets ever could."

Lock nods slowly. "I like it."

"I thought you might." I push off the table. "We leave in an hour. The three of us go in — I want them to see we knew, not that we're starting a war. But I want the rest of the brothers close by. Every patched member we've got, parked out of sight, ready to move if things go sideways."

Rogue stands, already shifting into mission mode. "What about the girl?"

"She stays here. In my room. No one goes near her, no one talks to her, no one even looks at her wrong. Understood?"

"Understood." He hesitates. "And after tonight?"

"After tonight, she's under our protection. Officially. Anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me."

Rogue doesn't argue. He just nods and heads for the door.

Lock lingers for a moment, those quiet eyes studying me. "You sure about this, Prez?"

"I've never been more sure of anything."

He holds my gaze for a beat, then gives me one of his rare almost-smiles. "Good enough for me."