Wirth (Dirty Aces MC Book 5) by Lane Hart (carter reed TXT) 📕

times before I can finally speak. “I’m sorry,” I tell him honestly. “You do…what you have to…for family.”

Grabbing my chin roughly between his finger and thumb, he forces my head back to look up at him. “Exactly,” Hunt says. “Which is why you’re lucky to still be breathing.”

From the look on his face, I can tell he’s still not convinced he shouldn’t end me right here and now. But thankfully, the bedroom door opens and the pretty guy with jet black hair is filling it.

“Let her go,” he orders Hunt. The furious man releases my chin but then his palm hauls back and slaps the shit out of the side of my face. “Enough, Hunt! Let’s go. Wirth’s called a meeting.”

Just hearing his name stings more than my burning cheek.

“Coming,” Hunt says, finally turning away and leaving me on the floor to stomp past the guy holding the door open.

“You okay?” he asks, his voice and his handsome face sounding sincere.

“Yeah. I’m just fucking awesome,” I tell him sarcastically when I grab the side of the bed to pull myself up to my feet.

“Stay here. I don’t think it’ll be much longer,” he says before leaving. I hear the lock turn from the outside, and then I’m a lonely, miserable prisoner again.

Wirth

“What the fuck was Hunt doing in there with Maeve?” I go ask Devlin in a frantic rush.

“She’s fine. He just slapped her around a little,” he says. “Nothing she didn’t deserve.”

That’s easy for him to say. I wonder what he would think about an angry man being alone with Jetta.

Except, Jetta would never be a traitor to the MC or betray Devlin.

Fuck. Nothing is ever simple.

“What’s going on, man?” Malcolm asks when everyone is gathered in the kitchen – all the original Aces, except for Fiasco, and the old Knights.

Maeve will have to wait. Right now, I need to convince ten men to put aside their pride and egos to prevent going to war with the Irish.

“I’ve worked out a truce with Cormac, the guy leading the Irish,” I explain.

“You did what now?” Malcolm exclaims.

“I went and talked to him, trying to figure out what his problem was,” I say, noticing that Rian, who is still seated in a kitchen chair in the middle of the floor with a swollen lip and eye but is otherwise no worse for wear, suddenly looks very interested in our conversation.

“Are you fucking insane?” Nash asks me. “You could’ve been killed!”

“I went in unarmed to talk, that’s it,” I assure them, and Rian seems the most relieved. “Apparently the Irish were under the impression that the Knights were still dealing heroin. They were concerned about the competition. I assured them that the Knights gave up heroin as part of their agreement to join the Dirty Aces. That is true, isn’t it?” I ask Hunt.

“Well, ah,” he rubs the back of his neck. “We’re still…transitioning.”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re ‘transitioning’?” Malcolm turns on him to ask. “We had an agreement.”

“We haven’t sold any in Wilmington,” Hunt says. “We’re just unloading the rest of our supply back in Fayetteville.”

“I don’t care if you have to flush it down the toilet. I want that shit gone today!” Malcolm shouts at him. “Either it goes, or you go.”

“Fine, fine,” Hunt agrees. “I’ll make a call, and it’ll be done.”

“Good,” I say. “And that means there’s only one other thing left to deal with.”

“What’s that?” Silas asks.

“Cormac’s agreed to make amends for the shooting by taking a bullet himself,” I explain.

“What? No!” Rian yells. “He can’t do that! Shoot me instead!”

Malcolm and the guys look from the boy to me with their brows raised in question. “Cormac was pretty adamant that he wanted it to be him and not Rian.”

“That’s ridiculous! He’s in charge. He can’t do this!” Rian declares.

“He said you were actually supposed to be the man in charge, once you decide to be a man,” I tell him and the others.

“I’m not ready!” Rian says.

“Obviously,” Malcolm mutters to him before turning his attention back to me. “So that’s it. The Knights give up heroin, Cormac takes a bullet, and all is well in Wilmington?”

“That’s it,” I agree.

“Huh,” Dev says. “If it was that fucking easy, why didn’t the Irish just talk to us before?”

“That’s what I said,” I reply. “Guess they assumed the worst. From what I gather, they had an antagonistic relationship with the Knights.”

“I still can’t believe you went alone to negotiate,” Nash says with a shake of his head. “You’ve got balls of steel, man.”

“And I’m guessing he’s also got a dick of steel if he’s willing to go to all this trouble for a woman,” Malcolm says with a chuckle. “She nearly got us all killed!”

“I know,” I tell him. “But so did these assholes, and you voted to let them in.” I point to Hunt and his crew.

“Touché,” Malcolm replies. “So, when do we meet?”

“Tonight at seven at the pier?” I suggest. “There are no cameras and shouldn’t be much of a crowd.”

“Set it up,” Malcolm agrees.

“Take me with you!” Rian begs. “I’ll change Cormac’s mind.”

“What are we going to do with our captives?” Dev asks.

“Leave them here with you and Silas until the deal is done?” I offer.

“You good with that, Dev? Silas?” Malcolm asks the two men.

“Yeah,” Devlin agrees.

“Sure thing, prez,” Silas says. “As long as you take at least one of the other chapters with you to have your back.”

“Will do,” Malcolm agrees. To Silas, he tips his chin toward Rian and says, “Now that we’re done with him, you can lock him in the bedroom with his sister.”

“Will do,” Silas responds.

“You coming with me?” our president asks.

“Hell yes. I set this up, so I want to be there to make sure it goes off without a hitch,” I tell him.

“Good. Now I’ve got a few hours to decide where to shoot the bastard.”

“Please don’t! Take me!” Rian pleads as Silas and Dev pick up his chair and carry it and him