Page 45 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
Porter nodded. “I mean, just because we take out Chops doesn't mean we’ll take out the entire crew. I’m sure he’s already appointed someone to take over should his death come about.”
Finn pushed forward. “Which is all the more reason why we need to mount an attack. Now, I’m not one to advocate for death, but this has gone on long enough. They’ve taken our clubhouse. They’ve taken our safety. They’ve taken our reputation and they’re about to take our fucking home. That requires a drastic solution.”
Cole sucked air through his teeth. “If we mount an attack in the middle of the night, when they’re surely putting out their weakest prospects as a way to haze them and weed them out, penetrating their forces would be almost as easy as slicing through butter with a hot knife.”
I smirked. “And we’ve got the tactical gear. The night-vision goggles. We could make that kind of an attack work.”
Archer stepped up to the plate. “Especially if we bring our flash-bangs. We could quietly take out the guys surrounding their clubhouse, throw flash-bangs in through their windows, and then they all come rushing out—”
I smiled as I finished his sentiment. “—they’ll all run into traps that take them out at the knees.”
Porter grinned. “And we’ll be at the ready, waiting to put a bullet in whoever gets by the traps.”
Brooks looked around at all of us before he drew in a deep breath. “There’s only one thing I disagree with.”
Porter tilted his head. “What’s that?”
Brooks cracked his neck. “You know damn good and well Chops is much too full of himself to appoint someone to take his place. He thinks he’s God; that he can do anything and get away with it. That means he’s not protecting his blindside. And if he hasn’t appointed anyone, that means if we take him down—”
Finn smiled. “—we take the whole fucking crew down.”
Then, after Brooks looked around at all of us, he raised his hand in the air.
“All in favor of retaliating once and for all, raise your hand.”
And the unanimous vote sealed our fate.
Twenty-Two
Summer
The second I heard their little meeting break up, I went dashing for my bedroom. I eased the door closed and ripped off my clothes, trying to get into the shower as quickly as possible. I turned the water on as hot as I could stand it and slipped inside. I was even impressed that the water fogged up the shower glass a bit.
But once I heard Tanner come into the room, he chuckled.
“Am I supposed to act like you weren’t listening to a word we were talking about?”
I sighed. “Just get in here so we can talk.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He shed his clothes and stepped inside, and for a split second I drank him in. I placed my hands against his chest and let them slide down his rumbling muscles. My fingertips traced the outline of his abs. My palms slid against the lines that led straight to his massive, dangling dick.
Then, I walked into his embrace and let him surround me.
“What’s on your mind, gorgeous?” he murmured.
We both sank to the shower floor as the water beat against our tired bodies. And after crawling into his lap, I laid my head against his shoulder.
“You know that killing Chops, whoever he is, would just make the rest of that crew retaliate, right?”
He snickered. “Man, you were listening.”
“Tanner, I’m being serious.”
He held me close. “So am I. Those meetings aren’t for you to listen in on. They’re confidential.”
“You run with a crew; you don’t work for the FBI.”
“And yet some of the stuff we talk about could get you killed if you were taken by the wrong people.” I swallowed hard as he kissed my forehead. “See my point, beautiful?” he whispered.
I sighed. “I still don’t think that taking out Chops is the answer.”
“Well, you were outvoted, so.”
I peeked up at him. “Who is Chops anyway?”
When I gazed up into his face, I watched his eyes unfocus. It was as if he had been ripped back into a completely different world, and I knew enough about what my sister did for a living—and how it affected her—to know what was going on.
So, I perched onto my knees between his legs and cupped his cheeks.
“Wherever you are right now, Tanner, it isn’t real. Listen to my voice. Wherever you are right now, Tanner, it isn’t real. Listen to my voice.”
I repeated it over and over again until he eyes focused on me. And when they did, he crashed our lips together. He kissed me with such a passion and such a fervor that it robbed me of my breath, and I had to gasp for air the second he released my lips.
“Chops is the entire reason we are in this mess,” he murmured.
I cupped his cheeks and gazed deeply into his eyes. “What did he take from you?”
