“He might still try to kill her,” Kyle said now, thoughtfully. “She’s not under Leo’s watchful eye.”
“Which makes her vulnerable,” Jesse murmured.
Dread formed in the pit of Hunter. He felt the Savage within him flicker. “I can’t have her locked up like he did. I promised her.”
“You’re going to have to break that promise,” Roy told him. “I’m sorry, Hunt, but she’s safe here in Warlord territory. If you don’t want her in a body bag, you need to keep her here.”
Fuck.
“I think I know what’s happening,” Miles inserted, casting a scathing look at Hunter. “I am not sold on that girl nor her intentions, but she doesn’t deserve a body bag. We’ll keep her safe like our own.” Before anyone replied, he said, “But this isn’t about her. This is something else. If that rich cunt is meeting with Abram on his own, it means he’s forging a path outside his father’s knowledge.”
Jesse nodded. “That’s the likeliest scenario.”
“So, what does that mean exactly?” Kyle asked cluelessly.
“It means Leo’s moving money behind George Itani’s back,” Roy explained, his lips curling into a faint smile as he considered this. “I’d wager that it’s the Itani fortune—”
“He wouldn’t get away with that,” Kyle cut in, shocked.
“Seems like he’s found a way if he’s meeting with Abram.”
“He’s bankrupting his old man,” Jesse drawled slowly with realization. “Forcing him out.”
“Let the fucks battle it out,” Miles growled.
“And leave all that cheddar to one?” Fade returned, chuckling.
Hunter didn’t speak as they all mused over this new development. He stood still, appearing emotionless, though that was far from the truth. They spoke about Leo with such detached interest. He was the Itani Boy or Cunt and nothing else. But Hunter knew better, and there was conflict within him now as he listened to Roy scheme.
“If he’s moving an extraordinary fortune, we may be able to intercept it,” he said, lively.
“We don’t want to step on Abram’s toes,” Jesse rebutted.
But Roy shook his head. “Abram is just the destination. We won’t be fucking with him.”
Then he went on to explain that he wanted to refocus his resources on watching the Itanis. He wanted the club to be at the ready for when it happened. He didn’t know when it would strike, but he felt the payoff would justify the time spent monitoring them. It would be an involved job; they’d have to have eyes and ears everywhere, and they had to do it without raising suspicion. The risks were high, but fuck, Roy looked possessed as he discussed it now, like it was his lifelong mission. Worse yet, the Road Captain was on board, grinning that cruel smile, like he wanted to see the Itanis burnt at the stake.
These were just speculations, Hunter wanted to say, but he would be lying. Because he knew Leo as strongly as he knew himself.
Leo was after his father’s seat.
What better time to strike than while Skye was with Hunter?
A cold feeling washed over Hunter as he considered how dangerous this might be for Leo, and now he was in a room with men conspiring against him.
He….
He did not know how to process.
“If we eliminate the Itani family from Brown Bay, this town becomes ours,” Roy claimed, focusing his attention on Hunter now who remained motionless. “Unless Leo is willing to work with us. Sav?”
They looked to Hunter, waiting for his response, but Hunter shook his head slightly, replying with an even tone, “He won’t.”
Leo was brought up to never negotiate terms of business with “lesser-thans.” The bikers, in the world of the Itanis and those that sat around the High Table, were looked down upon.
It was just the way it was—would always be.
“Why would we want to work with him?” Miles said, angrily. “Fuck that boy and fuck his cunt father—”
“What’s your fucking beef?” Jesse cut in, looking confused.
Miles sniffed and shrugged.. “No beef.”
But none of them bought that.
Miles’ hate for that family was a roaring inferno, and quiet whispers around the club hinted it was because Miles’ upbringing was filled with strife and poverty. That he loathed anyone loaded with money, especially if they flaunted it around like the Itanis did.
“Then we lay low,” Roy declared, sounding resolute as they looked away from Miles and resumed. “We don’t ruffle any feathers, we keep the peace before we strike, and then we rid this town of those fuckers once and for all.”