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  “We won’t know for a few more days. I might have taken a couple strands of hair from your brush. Dad had a DNA test conducted between you and Machk, but we won’t know for a little while longer.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell didn’t you tell me you did that?” she hollers at me. I bet if the lights were on, her hands would already be thrown up in the air.

  “Because I didn’t want to stress you out,” I say truthfully.

  “Whatever. I’m tired and I’m going back to bed before this baby makes me vomit again.”

  “Okay, love you.”

  “Love you too,” she mumbles in response.

  I’m quick to get out of the room and shut the door behind me before she complains about the light coming in, and head down into the living area. My thought is right and the one person I expected to be there is standing, waiting on me. “Looks like you’re making a special visit to Ashley’s Mane.” She giggles and I roll my eyes at my sister's ridiculous humor.

  It’s go time.

  Chapter Twenty

  The chains that hold you back the most are the ones you place on yourself

  ~ Unknown

  Kade

  The atrocious sound of my alarm going off in loud beep beep beeps jolts me straight from my dead sleep. I toss my legs over the side of the bed and stretch, knowing if I don’t, I’ll end up falling straight back asleep. I’m not much of a morning person. Reluctantly, I stand and grab what I believe is a shirt off the floor, pick my holster and cell phone up from my bedside table, and escape out of our bedroom before I wake Ivy.

  Sliding on my shirt with my holster hanging between my teeth, I walk down the hall and see almost everyone is ready in the club. My alarm was set to go off at three-fifty-five. I cut it a little close, but I don’t need to be awake for an hour to be alert. I’ll be fine and dandy when we get down to shit.

  “Ah, there’s our baby bear.” My dad chuckles, causing a few of the boys to laugh with him.

  “Say it again and I’ll shove my fist up your ass,” I hiss, needing him to realize he can’t fuck with me when it comes to those choice words. Connor said that to us before dad shot him, and boy did they sting. I’m just so relieved that the baby is mine and that Ivy and I are going to start our family.

  He stalks toward me with purpose. “You might want to think who the fuck it is that you’re talkin’ to.”

  “I know who I’m talkin’ to, but be careful with your words, Pops.” I can tell it registers in his mind when his irises expand and go back to their normal size.

  “It’s snowing again, so we need to be careful when we leave,” he announces to the entire room, “We’re going to leave a bit early and see if we can grab any advantage points. From what Grizzly has sent to me, they’re held up in the farmhouse Austin grew up in and they’ll be waiting for us inside. He doesn’t want us to come inside with guns.”

  “You’re not really thinking of us walking into an ambush, are you?” Cracker asks, looking at Dad.

  “Fuck, have you lost your mind in your old age? Hell no! As I said a few hours ago, we’re packin’ heavy and concealing as much as possible. I don’t want the Bears to know what hit them when we roll up. As you know, our first priority is getting Austin, and our second is killing every Bear we see in our sights. Anyone have questions?”

  The room is silent, signifying that we all understand what to do. We’ve been preparing for this for so long, knowing that it would come down to a fight like the one we’re about to have. I can’t explain it, but that eerie feeling sits heavy in my stomach and I’m going to be on guard more than I usually am.

  “Alright, let’s roll out and make shit happen. This could be the day that we finally put an end to the Bears, boys!”

  A round of cheering comes from almost everyone’s mouths. The only man remaining silent is none other than Machk. “You and I should ride together,” I suggest, wanting to take the opportunity to speak to him on the way out.

  The group of us all head for the front door, exit the club, and get into separate trucks or SUVs. I start my engine, letting the truck warm up for a couple of minutes before Machk and I head out. Dad texted us all the address of Austin’s farm last night, so we all know where to go. Dad always wants us to come in from different angles, he’s particular that none of us even dared to ask him if he wanted us to do it this time, ‘cause we damn well know at this point.

  “Why weren’t you hooting and hollering with everyone else back at the club?” I ask Machk as we get on the state road. It’s barely paved, making me thank fuck for the inventions of chains. It makes snow driving that much easier.

  “Do I really look like the type of man who hoots or hollers?” He raises a brow, snickering at the end.

  “You’ve made your point. Call it a gut feeling, but something tells me you know something won’t go as planned.” I don’t feel the need to hide shit from Machk, so I don’t. I shoot it straight like I would with any other brother.

  “The great spirit guides me through many phases of life, Kade. He speaks to me when I need him most and warns me of the troubles that this world will bring forth. I received a warning about our venture today, one which came to me in a dream. We must be careful, for whatever we’re walking into is not as it seems. I have doubts about what Grizzly has said to Fist. I believe that this may be an ambush in its entirety.”

  I’m having a hard time believing that Machk’s God-like great spirit actually spoke to him and warned him that this is all a trap, but I’ve never been a man of faith. In fact, I’m the type of man who has very little of it. “I’ll be honest, it’s a little hard for me to process that he came to you and said that.” I focus on the road and see the mile marker, indicating that we have another twenty miles before we’re going to be at the farm.

  Machk smiles. “You don’t have to understand the way of my people, Kade, but you must respect it. If we discover that Ivy is my daughter, I will introduce her to the rest of my family and my tribe. She will be exposed to the culture she should’ve always been involved in, and more importantly, she will know the people who already have her in their heart.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “In my tribe, we hold our people in our heart regardless if they are born with us or come to us later. We respect them, appreciate them, and thank the great spirit for allowing us to cross paths with them. You see, Kade, our culture is dying, and it is my job as chief to make sure that this doesn’t happen. Only by educating others can I do this, and so I shall educate Ivy if she is my daughter just as I’ve educated my other children, including Austin. He has even come to powwows, and I hope that Ivy might do the same if the test proves she is my daughter.”

  “I think you and I know that she already is,” I say. To our knowledge, there was no one else in Cora’s life besides Machk. There is nothing that gives any of us the impression that someone else could be her father.

  “We won’t know until the tests are back,” he states, and I can’t help but push his buttons.

  “Has your great spirit not come to you and given you an answer?”

  “He does not work that way, coming to us all when we ask. He understands our struggles and offers us guidance when the time is right. Much like your God, he does not answer at every beck and call.”

  I glance down at my phone and see we’re a few miles out, choosing not to continue talking about this and focus in on the road. As we venture out the snow is getting thicker, proving that this morning isn’t going to go as easily as we thought.

  My cell rings just as we approach the lane that leads back down to the farm. “Hey,” I answer, not bothering to look and see who’s on the other line.

  “Something’s up. We just got here and there aren’t any other trucks in sight,” Dad mutters.

  “What? What do you mean?” I know I haven’t heard him wrong, but I have to know more. “Is it possible they aren’t here yet?”

  “I don’t think they are here, but something is of
f. Newspaper is plastered across every window in the barn and house. All the lights are off around the property. Shit doesn’t feel right.”

  “It looks like your great spirit is right,” I say to Machk, pressing on the gas. I shift gears and tear down the lane being as careful as I can with the speed I need. We arrive, and I can see Dad isn’t bullshitting me. It’s pitch black out here besides where the snow is illuminated.

  “Listen up, everyone needs to be fuckin’ careful! This shit doesn’t feel right,” Dad shouts out to all of us.

  We heed his warning and split up, but I see my uncle Cracker has already made it up to the steps on the house. He opens the door and turns back quickly, screaming from across the yard. “Gas, get down!”

  Before any of us can react, we’re flying back from a massive force. I watch as the house before my eyes explodes in slow motion. The windows and doors blow out at the same time. The siding flies from where it was nailed in. With it comes a loud sound, much like a raging inferno. I could describe it as a boom, but that wouldn’t be accurate. My body flies back into the snow behind me and blood orange flames fill the early morning sky.

  It doesn’t hit me at first, not until I see my father on his hands and knee’s screaming my uncle’s birth name. “George!”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “May the radiance and beauty of their lives never be defined by their death.”

  ~ Unknown

  Kade

  As if a grenade went off, a loud ringing fills my ears. I can make out names being called, and orders being given but I can’t process what just happened. Because it didn’t just happen. This has to be some fucked up dream.

  “George!” My father sobs from the ground. Machk is next to him, placing his hand on my father’s shoulder as the reality of what isn’t a nightmare sinks in. I know this isn’t a dream, but fuck if I want it to be. Fuck me for wanting this to be fake.

  I shake my head back and forth looking out to what was a house and is now a massive pile of wood blowing up in smoke. “Kade!” I don’t notice my brother standing beside me until I feel my body being shaken. His hands are on my shoulders, rattling me from the state of shock I’m in.

  “The fucker set us up,” I hiss, looking at Zane with nothing but pure fury.

  I’m not sure how angry I look, but if Zane isn’t matching it, he’s sure as hell close. “No shit. We need to call Roy.”

  “Roy?” I question. Why would we call Roy? He’s the Sheriff for Yellowstone County.

  “Did you hit your head or some shit? We bought Roy.” Ah, fuck. I forgot. We haven’t spoken to Roy in quite a while or needed him for that matter. I figured we all parted ways and didn’t need him anymore.

  Roy is a sour cop, one of the very few who don’t have the blue blood running through his veins. He’ll do anything for a quick buck, and I mean anything. He’s roughed up a couple people, planted evidence and has even snuck shit out of the evidence locker. Only thing is when that happened, he somehow had the blowback hit a rookie. I don’t even know how he managed it, but it showed all of us that the old fool wasn’t so useless after all, or stupid, for that matter.

  Zane takes his phone from his coat and presses away fearlessly, putting it up to his ear. I see Blackjack lookin’ around with his gun pulled out, ready to fire at whatever Bear is around. Grizzly always has someone watching. We’ve learned that lesson a few times over the years.

  “We need to find Austin,” I say to Zane. “He’s the reason we came out here.”

  Zane glances at me while he mutters into his phone and looks back at where the house was. I’m sure he’s thinkin’ Austin is as good as dead, but we won’t know until we have proof. Grizzly could be holding him somewhere else for all we know. “When can you be out here?” Zane asks into the phone, just loud enough so I can hear their conversation.

  I put my hands below me into the freezing cold snow and push myself up, standing, taking in everything that’s transpired before my eyes.

  “What the fuck do you mean you’re not getting out here?” There’s a short pause before Zane raises his voice and starts to scream into the receiver, “If you don’t get here in ten minutes, I’ll be sending those lovely videos we have of you fuckin’ Becky to your wife. How much you wanna bet she’ll enjoy seeing those? It would be a shame if your wife took you for everything you have and left with the kids, wouldn’t it?”

  It’s moments like this that affirm Zane is the one who should lead when Dad is ready to step down and hand over the gavel. I’m not meant for that. I never have been. I’m sure as fuck not the type to be the VP either and I know my dad, which means I know he’s gonna try to push it on me. We haven’t gone too in depth about Ivy and I still choosing to go to Vegas, but I know he’ll bring up the fact that Damon is the Prez and Amara is the VP.

  Ever since I was adopted, I’ve been a Monroe, and if there’s one thing Monroes don’t do very well, it’s taking orders. I’d much rather be the one takin’ them than the one givin’ them. It’s way too much pressure if you ask me. The entire livelihood of the club falls on the Prez’s shoulders and that’s a fuck load of responsibility.

  My brother shoves his phone back into his pocket. “I’m betting he’s gonna come now.”

  “He’d better, or else I’ll fuck up his world in ways he can’t even imagine.” Zane has always been a fearless fuck. When we were in high school, all the girls thought I was the freak when in reality, he was the one to be afraid of.

  “Fist. We need to get out of here,” Blackjack calls, seeing trucks speeding down over the hill.

  Four of them are heading our way and my gut is telling me that we’re about to be massively outnumbered. “Fuck that. We’re not leaving at all. We’re going to stay and fight, avenge George,” Dad says in a monotone voice, showing us all just how furious he is.

  The unmistakable sound of tires treading through the snow fills our ears. Gas pedals are being pressed and engines get louder with every approaching moment. “It’s open huntin’ season, boys,” Dad calls out to the rest of us, rising. He unzips his coat and pulls out two Glocks, pulling the slide back to chamber a round. He starts with the gun in his right hand and then goes to the left. “I hope you fuckers brought extra clips. I’m not sharin’.”

  Those of us who don’t have our guns out make sure to show the enemy what’s headed their way. “After this, we must find Austin, Fist,” Machk tells him.

  I can only imagine how he’s feeling right now. I just hope Austin wasn’t in the house when it blew up, but the barns are all covered up as well. There’s no way to tell where he is or if he’s even here. We were told to meet Grizzly in the farmhouse though, and having experienced this fucker over the years . . . I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. I’m betting he figured that he could ax us all off in one fell swoop by telling us to meet him inside the house.

  The sounds of rounds firing alert me that shit’s getting real. The trucks are headed straight for us and like we’re some action fuckers in a Tom Cruise movie, we aim straight for the glass. They get closer while one of them swerves off to the left, hitting a small type of barn building.

  “Watch out!” Blackjack calls over to me, and I run as fast as I can to the left, falling straight into the snow. I just missed getting run over by some piece of shit Chevy. All of us split up, firing wherever we can to get these Bears down. No one has even exited the vehicle.

  The scene unfolds before my eyes, bullet after bullet being fired in the direction of our enemies. Dad fires shots from both guns, looking like full-on Rambo, and the truck in front of him just keeps heading his way. He stands there like a fuckin’ lunatic, lookin’ like he’s about to let this truck drive straight into him when Blackjack runs into him and shoves him out of the way. The truck flies by and runs straight into a silo about three hundred or so feet away.

  Two trucks down and only two more to go. I fire away until I’m out, but thankfully, I did pack extra clips. I unload, releasing my clips into the ground and grab t
wo from my jacket, popping one in the gun I already have out and slide my chamber. I pull another glock free from my holster and insert the other clip, doing the same that I just did a moment before.

  The trucks come to a stop, the doors fly open and out pours two men from each vehicle. Now we’re evened up and there’s no way these fucks are going to get out of here alive. “Shoot to kill!” Zane roars, firing away, getting a nasty look from my father.

  In a matter of moments, the four of them are down, but what surprises me the most is how Zane gets a fist to the jaw. “You stupid boy! Have you lost your damn mind? We needed one of them alive to get any useful information.” Dad spits on Zane, looking at him with nothing but disappointment. “Quick, go around and see if anyone’s alive. Get whatever information you can on Grizzly and the rest of them!”

  Everyone splits up and I run over to the barn the first truck drove into. It went into the barn by maybe about fifty feet, almost sitting smack dab in the middle, but a stall kept it from going any further. Before I check on them, I make sure nothing’s in the stall, and much to my relief, it’s empty. The horse on the end looks a little shaken up though.

  I walk around to the driver's side and see blood coming from the center of his head, so I look over to the passenger side and see his eyes on me. “If you think you’re going to get anything out of me, you’re mistaken,” he says, breathing heavily. It sounds like he’s in a bit of pain, a whisle coming through his tone with each word.

  “Oh, I’m going to get what I want, because if I don’t, I’ll only make it harder for you.” I spot the blood coming from his chest, seeing he must’ve been shot right above his heart. I’m no doctor, but his prognosis isn’t very good if you ask me. The truck isn’t too big, so I stick my arm in and press right on his wound, causing him to scream out. I keep the pressure on for a few seconds before removing my hand.