ログインRain hadn’t touched BROTHERHOOD territory tonight.
That made Ashley uneasy.
Too clear. Too quiet. Too still.
Storms always hid movement. Silence never did.
She stood outside Viktor’s main hall, arms crossed, watching Jax and Cole limp their way toward the med shack while arguing about who saved who on the canyon mission.
Nolan was inside with Viktor, talking in low, clipped voices.
And Ace?
Ace was not here.
Which was a problem.
Because Ace had left at dawn with a mission only he could pull off.
He’d gone to meet the one person even the Vipers despised more than the cartel.
Deputy Director Hale.
Corrupt.
Cunning.
Bought seventeen different ways.
And Delgado owned his de
Night hadn’t fully fallen, but the clearing felt dark already.BROTHERHOOD members and Vipers rushed to reinforce barriers, load ammunition, and patch weak points in the defenses.Ashley stood in the center, watching the chaos, Delgado’s chilling words still ringing in her mind—No survivors. No mercy.She inhaled slowly.They didn’t have the luxury of fear.Not tonight.Nolan’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.“Ash.”She turned.He walked toward her with that steady, controlled intensity that always made her chest tighten. His shoulders were rigid. But his eyes—those storm-gray eyes—softened the moment they landed on her.He stopped just inches away.&ldqu
Smoke still clung to Ashley’s skin as they rode back up the mountain road.The BROTHERHOOD split off to check the forest trails. The Vipers formed a tight defensive column around Nolan and Ashley as they rode back to the ranger station.They had just destroyed a huge part of Delgado’s western operation.And everyone knew the same thing:A hit this big meant the payback would be brutal.Ashley kept one hand on the rolled-up map on her thigh. Nolan’s hand rested over hers as he maneuvered the bike along the winding path. His silence wasn’t coldHe was thinking and preparing for whatever hell Delgado would unleash next.On reaching the ridge, Ace’s voice burst through the earpiece.“Everyone stop. Now.”Nolan hit the brakes instant
The ranger station felt different and charged with readiness after Ramirez left.Ashley could feel it in every BROTHERHOOD member patrolling the perimeter, every Viper checking their gear.Delgado wasn’t just coming.He was already here—inside their systems, crawling through their shadows while tightening the noose.Ramirez had made one thing painfully clear;If they didn’t hit Delgado now, they’d lose everything.By sunrise, the truth was clear across the camp.Viktor rallied his men.Nolan gathered his.Ashley stood beside him, map in hand, heart steady.By late morning, the clearing was buzzing with noise—engines roaring, weapons clicking.The BROTHERHOOD and Vipers moved as one—two worlds forced together,
The ranger station felt almost peaceful at dawn.Weak sunlight filtered through the trees, casting long shadows over the clearing. The BROTHERHOOD rotated watch. The Vipers checked their weapons.Ashley stood at the edge of the clearing, sipping a bitter cup of BROTHERHOOD-brewed coffee. She wasn’t even sure she liked it, but it kept her awake.Behind her, Nolan was talking with Viktor, planning the next move. Jax was poking at the remnants of last night’s fire. Cole sat on a stump, adjusting the wrap on his leg. Ace leaned against a tree, quietly tapping through the last intercepted cartel messages.Ashley took a slow breath.Then the hair on her neck lifted.Someone was there.Not cartel.Not BROTHERHOOD.Not Viper.
The BROTHERHOOD’s temporary outpost was just a half-collapsed ranger station hidden deep in the pines. It wasn’t safe or comfortable.But it was hidden.After the siege, hidden was barely enough.The Vipers and BROTHERHOOD moved through the small clearing—fixing gear, reloading bullets. Quiet talks floated through the night.Ashley sat at a workbench under a flickering lantern, sorting through the cartel intel they had salvaged. Her fingers moved fast, almost like a machine, while her mind turned over all they had lost—and all they still had to do.Across the clearing, Nolan spoke quietly with Viktor, heads close together, both tired but determined.Jax sharpened a knife by the fire, scraping stone against metal with steady rhythm.Cole helped a BROTHERHOOD member strengthe
Smoke still hung in the mountain air long after the BROTHERHOOD’s compound disappeared behind the ridge.The night was colder here. Ashley felt every second of it.They had escaped hell by inches.But escape wasn’t victory.They were tired, bleeding, and scattered across the trees.Nolan paced in the dark, hands still shaking—maybe from the fight, maybe from almost losing her.Jax leaned against a fallen tree, breathing hard, face streaked with sweat and dirt.Ace crouched beside a stump, tapping restless patterns into the bark.Cole sat on a rock, chest rising fast, knuckles white around his rifle.Around them, the BROTHERHOOD regrouped—fewer now, but tougher, and angrier.Ashley looked at them all—







