It was the first time I’d seen him look nervous, even through all the hazing and shit the boys had thrown at him. “What’s going on?”

“Coupla big Italian guys in suits are waiting at the gate to speak with you. Blizzard’s already heading out there.”

Fuck.

“Find Sugar, tell her to go to my room and wait with Harlyn,” I said as I pushed past him and jogged down the hallway.

I was curious to hear what these guys had to say. They hadn’t come in guns-a-blazing and that for me was suspicious to begin with.

Blizz met me at the door and I made sure I had my pistol tucked in the back of my pants.

“Prospect!” I called into the room behind me. Neil popped up from behind the bar with bottles tucked under his arms and in his hands, obviously restocking. “Round up all the girls and tell them to go to their rooms and stay there until a club member comes to get them.”

“Yes, Prez,” he called followed by clanging bottles and heavy footsteps.

“This could turn to shit very quickly,” Blizzard said as we marched toward the front gates of the compound.

“Honestly, how much more to shit could things get at this point?” I said dryly.

“Bullet-between-the-eyes shit?”

“Did you text, Kev?”

“Yeah, he’s on his way up there.”

There were some large industrial buildings that were spotted around the edges of the compound. We had sensors in them so we’d know if anyone was in them watching us, but they provided the perfect vantage point for our men if anything like this were to happen.

I stepped through the small opening of the gate.

Slider and Wrench stood stoic on the other side, staring down the sharply dressed men who stood next to a large Mercedes. Our third prospect stood just behind them, trying to imitate their stance, but it was quite clear that his hands were shaking.

“What can I do for you?” I asked sharply as I stepped in front of my men, Blizzard right at my side as always.

One of the men stepped forward but didn’t answer. His hair was dark and slicked back and his dark shades hid his eyes. He stared at me for a moment before reaching out for the door handle of the car. The man that climbed out was so cliché that if I didn’t know how deadly he was, I would have almost laughed. He had a black turtle neck shirt underneath a dark gray suit that was perfectly creased. A light black shadow shaded his jaw and around his mouth were specks of gray that matched the color of his hair.

He took a deep toke of the cigar that hung between his fingers before flicking it at my feet as he exhaled. I watched it bounce on the asphalt, the smoke soon reaching my nose and causing me to screw up my face.

“You are Optimus?” His Italian accent was thick to the point where I wondered if he actually spoke fluent English.

I broadened my stance slightly and folded my arms across my chest. “I am, and you are?”

He nodded. “Anthony DePalma.”

“What can I do for you?”

He shot me a dark smile. “I am looking for my son, Kenneth DePalma.”

I scratched at my chin with my hand. “Sorry, don’t know anyone by the name Kenneth.”

“Isn’t there a guy who works at the hardware store in town called Kenneth?” Blizzard offered with a snap of his fingers.

Anthony’s smile didn’t falter. “I believe he joined your club, you may know him as Target,” he continued, his eyes refusing to even acknowledge my brother but instead staying glued to me.

“Can’t help you there. Target hasn’t been around for a while now,” I told him with a shrug.

His eyes drilled through me, I wasn’t even sure he was blinking, but I didn’t waiver. I wasn’t scared of this asshole.

He hummed and pulled on the cuffs of his suit jacket. “Well, that is a shame.”

“If you say so. I’m not really too disappointed myself. He was kind of ugly anyway.”

“Yeah, he reminded me one of those animals,” Blizzard tapped his head like he was fighting to remember, “What is it called again?”

I stared straight into Anthony DePalma’s eyes. “A rat.”

“That’s it!”

The smile dropped from his face instantly and I was met with a hard glare. This man was used to people cowering at his feet. He practically owned the east coast and seemed like he was looking to expand, and the Brothers by Blood were at the top of his hit list.

The DePalma family had their fingers in almost every type of organized crime that you could think of. Drugs, guns, prostitution, contract killing—if it was illegal then they were in some way involved. They had plenty of competition from others, the Russians, the Irish and other street gangs, but for some reason they’d chosen to come after my club. If that wasn’t a declaration of war then I didn’t know what was.

“I believe you misunderstood. It’s a shame for you that I will have to hold your club responsible for my missing son.”

“Maybe Kenneth got sick of his daddy being up his ass all the time and decided he needed a break.”

“Do you know who I am?”

I didn’t speak, but he knew the answer—of course, I did.

“I have a lot of resources at my disposal. My reach is a lot further than that of your club.”

“Yet you still chose to come after us, well before your precious son went missing.”

He sneered at me, his composure falling. “You hurt my family, and where I come from there’s only one way to rectify that. Blood for blood.” He straightened his suit jacket, his face relaxing as he took a step back toward his car. His little minion quickly pulled the door open for him. “I will be in touch very soon. You can count on that.”

I didn’t speak, but we watched silently as the car pulled away from the curb.

“Well, that was enlightening,” Wrench scoffed.

“Call church,” I ordered sharply. “We need information and a plan. Target must have left a clue somewhere.”

My men quickly scattered and I pulled my phone from my back pocket, dialing a number and holding it to my ear.

“What’s up, brother?” Kit answered.

“She there?”

He laughed. “Yeah man, she’s here. Her and Harms haven’t left the bedroom since she arrived.”

I sighed in relief and pulled at my hair in frustration. “Good. I’ve just had a house call from Anthony DePalma.”

“Any clue as to what’s going on yet?” Kit asked, his tone quickly turning serious.

“No, but until we do, you watch her like a hawk,” I told him sternly.

“I will, bro.”

I hung up. I had full faith in my brother.

Kit and I had known each other for a very long time and even though we came from separate chapters, we were basically raised together.

I knew he’d do whatever was needed to be done in order to keep Chelsea safe, but until she was back here with me and in my arms, my anxiety levels would be through the roof.

God help anyone who tried to fuck with me.

I pulled up to the front gates of the Troy chapter’s compound. A prospect ducked his head to my window and looked me over before gesturing to the other member to open the gates.

I was tired and my eyes were puffy and swollen, but I’d made it. Parking my car next to the large building, I sat in it for a few minutes, needing the time to help myself feel normal again. I’d driven down here on auto pilot, my navigator telling me where to turn. It was a slow ride, but I just wasn’t in a hurry. Jumping when my door flew open, I clutched at my heart.

“Hey beautiful.” The cheery voice greeted me. I ducked my head and looked up, the bright light of the sun stinging my eyes before I finally focused on the figure. He was staring down at me with a grin plastered on his face.

“Hi.”

He held out his hand to me and I took it, my body actually thankful for some support as I climbed out of my car. I got a better look at him now that the glare from the sun wasn’t shading his face. I recognized him from when the Troy men visited up north, but my brain fought to put a name to his face.