MasukRYLAN’S POVThe lodge felt alive in a way it hadn’t since before Dad died.Vipers crowded the main room, drinking, laughing, celebrating our victory. Stitch moved between them, treating injuries…mostly minor injuries , thankfully. We’d lost three men tonight, and another five were seriously wounded, but it could have been so much worse.It should have been worse.“To the Vipers!” Kai raised his bottle. “And to not being dead!”Cheers erupted. Bottles clinked. The energy was infectious.I stood at the edge of the chaos, a beer in my hand, watching my brothers celebrate. We’d captured three trucks full of Skulls' products. Had decimated their fighting force. Had taken their second-in-command alive.This was the turning point. I could feel it. The momentum had shifted in our favor.“We could do it,” I said to Tiny, who stood beside me. “We could actually take them now. Hit their headquarters while they’re weak. End this war once and for all.”“It’s risky,” Tiny said cautiously. “We don
MARCUS’S POV“FUCK!”The desk shattered under my fist, wood splintering and scattering across the floor. Pain radiated through my knuckles but I didn’t care. Couldn’t care about anything except the burning rage consuming me from the inside out.Three trucks. Gone. Millions of dollars in product. Gone. Twenty of my best men. Dead or captured.And Victor. My right hand. My enforcer. My most trusted soldier.In Viper custody.“How?” I roared at the messenger cowering in the doorway. “How the fuck did this happen? We had them surrounded! We had them on their knees!”“Sir, they had backup. A second wave we didn’t account for…”“I KNOW THEY HAD BACKUP!” I grabbed a chair and hurled it across the room. It crashed through the window, glass exploding outward. “What I want to know is how we missed it! How our intel didn’t pick up on fifteen fucking motorcycles waiting in reserve!”The messenger…a kid, barely twenty, shaking like a leaf…stammered his response. “Carlos made it back. He said… he
RYLAN'S POVThe old highway stretched before us, dark and abandoned. Perfect.I crouched behind a rusted shipping container with Kai and Ash, our weapons ready, adrenaline pumping through our veins. Twenty Vipers were positioned strategically along the curve…some on high ground near the refinery, others hidden behind debris and abandoned vehicles.Ray's plan had been executed perfectly. We'd set up the kill box exactly as he'd outlined, blocking the access roads, positioning our shooters for maximum coverage.Now we just had to wait."I can see movement," Tiny's voice crackled through the radio. "Three trucks. With heavy escort. Two minutes out."My heart rate spiked. This was it."Everyone hold position," I ordered quietly into my radio. "Wait for my signal."The sound of engines grew louder. Headlights appeared in the distance, cutting through the darkness.Three semi-trucks, just like Tiny's contact had said. Two SUVs flanking them…front and rear protection.The convoy slowed as i
KNOX’S POVThe lodge was quiet when we arrived, most of the Vipers dispersing to gather weapons and equipment for tonight’s assault. I had maybe an hour before we had to leave…an hour to prepare, to arm up, to get my head in the right space for what was coming.But all I could think about was that Elara was upstairs.Right now. Close enough to touch for the first time in two weeks.Rylan was in his office with Tiny, going over last-minute logistics. Ray had gone with Ash to check perimeter security. The lodge was as empty as it was going to get.This was my chance. Maybe my only chance.I moved through the house like a ghost, silent and purposeful, every sense alert for anyone who might see me heading upstairs. But the hallway was empty, the doors closed.I stopped outside Elara’s room, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.This was stupid. Reckless. If Rylan found out…I didn’t care.I knocked once, soft and quick, then opened the door and slipped inside before sh
KNOX’S POVThe warehouse at the docks was chaos incarnate.Twenty Vipers surrounded a makeshift table…an old shipping crate with a map spread across, both old and new members…while Rylan stood at the head, his face grim in the dim lighting.I’d arrived ten minutes ago, still smelling like rain and road, and immediately been pulled into this emergency council.“Marcus is moving product tonight,” Rylan was saying, pointing to a marked location on the map. “Heavy shipment. Weapons, drugs, cash…everything. Tiny’s contact says it’s their biggest move in months.”“It’s a trap,” I said immediately. Everyone turned to look at me. “Has to be. The Skulls have been quiet for weeks. Now suddenly they’re moving everything at once? In our territory? They want us to hit them.”“Or they’re desperate,” Kai countered. “We’ve been cutting off their supply lines. Maybe this is a last-ditch effort to consolidate.”“Doesn’t matter if it’s a trap or desperation,” Tiny added. “If we let them move that much p
ELARA’S POVRay was telling me a story about his recovery from the accident…something about physical therapy and a particularly sadistic therapist…and I was trying to pay attention. Really trying.But all I could think about was the fact that Rylan hadn’t spoken to me in two weeks.Two weeks of living in the same house, seeing each other at meals, passing in hallways, existing in the same space while maintaining perfect, absolute silence.I’d tried. The first few days, I’d approached him multiple times, tried to start conversations, demanded explanations for why he’d reassigned Knox.He’d ignored me. Walked away mid-sentence. Looked through me like I was invisible.It hurt more than I’d expected. Rylan and I fought…that was normal. We’d been fighting since we were kids, pushing each other’s buttons, driving each other crazy.But we’d never been distant like this. Never gone days without speaking. Never treated each other like strangers.I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong. I wish







