Thor (The Black Hornets MC Book 5)

by Savannah Rylan

  “We aren’t hitmen, Dean,” Maverick said.

  “This is just like any other kill you’ve coordinated,” Dean said.

  “No, it’s really not. Those were in the moment and on the job type of things. This isn’t for a job. We’ve been chasing this bunny down its rabbit hole, and we don’t currently have a client. This isn’t for a job, Dean. This is for you,” Jace said.

  “And you wouldn’t kill for your president?” Dean asked.

  The entire group stilled. Even my heart stilled. Holy shit, Dean had lost his fucking head.

  Colt stepped up to the plate. “This isn’t how we run things.”

  “It is if I say it’s how we run things,” Dean said.

  “I agree with Colt. This isn’t us,” Jace said.

  Dean’s eyes locked hard with his V.P.

  “You what now?” he asked.

  “I’m with Colt. I don’t think you want to take Diego out because of some wrongdoing. I think you want to take Diego out because your pride is wounded. Because up until this point, we haven’t been able to touch him. And that pisses you off,” Jagger said.

  “You don’t have a stake in this, newbie,” Dean growled.

  “Yes, he does. Because he’s one of us. He became one the second he put on that prospect leather cut. Dean, this isn’t right. One of our rules is to only kill if there’s a client involved. There’s no client here,” Colt said.

  “Then what the hell do you call Leti?” Dean asked.

  “Don’t drag her into this,” Jace glowered.

  “Or Gabby? And her entire family who’s still holed up in our safehouse?” Dean asked.

  “Keep her name out of your mouth,” Maverick said.

  “Or Olivia? The girl you claim to love that’s been threatened by him,” Dean said.

  “Those are different circumstances, and you know it. They aren’t clients. They are family we’re trying to protect. And even then, the killing has to be personal. Dealt with on us. It’s my responsibility to watch over Liv just like it’s every other man’s responsibility in this circle to protect what’s his. They’re family, Dean. Not clients,” Colt said.

  “He’s right,” I said.

  Everyone turned their eyes to me.

  “I won’t go along with your plan, Dean. Not because you’re sending me in there, but because of your reason behind it,” I said.

  “Great. Even our giant has pussed out,” Dean said.

  “No one’s pussing out of anything. Dean, you aren’t thinking things through,” Jagger said.

  “Shut up, prospect!” Dean roared.

  “Back off,” Colt growled.

  He stepped in front of Dean’s icy stare and Jagger’s practically-foaming mouth.

  “Dean, take a breath,” I said.

  “No thanks,” Dean murmured.

  “You aren’t thinking clearly, and you need to remove your pride from this. Yes, drugs have funneled into our town. Yes, at one point, Leti and Gabby were clients. Yes, Olivia has been threatened. That doesn’t mean we have the right to take out a man in jail. Diego wouldn’t even be behind bars if it weren’t for us,” I said.

  “If it weren’t for the deal Colt cut with the woman he was fucking,” Dean said.

  “If you weren’t our president,” Colt murmured.

  “Then what?” Dean asked.

  “Dean!” I roared.

  The guys jumped at the sound of my voice as Dean’s eyes grew wide.

  “Who the hell do you think you’re yelling at?” he asked.

  “Right now? A man who is a little too far gone in the plan he originally had,” I said.

  “Thor’s right. Dean, you’ve been slipping. A lot. Breaking rules. Bending our morals. If you take an honest step back and remove your emotions from this situation, you’ll see what you’re doing,” Colt said.

  The guys murmured in favor of Colt as Dean’s nostrils flared with anger.

  “We’re taking Diego out, and that’s final. Even if I have to do it my fucking self,” Dean said.

  “Then, that’s fine. But I won’t do it, Thor won’t do it, and I’m pretty sure the rest of this damn club won’t do it,” Colt said.

  And when all of the guys nodded their heads, I knew it had happened.

  The mutiny had officially begun.

  Chapter 15

  Willow

  “Do you think we should go in there?” Willow asked.

  “If there’s one thing I do know, it’s never to disturb a church meeting. I was cooped up in a clubhouse during a lot of them when I was growing up with my father. That’ll get us into a heap of trouble,” Liv said.

  “But, the yelling. I mean, what if something’s actually wrong?”

  Liv giggled. “They’re guys. Sometimes, they just need to yell things out.”

  “Yeah, well. It’s getting annoying. I was honestly hoping to catch a nap.”

  “After your private time with Thor?”

  I slowly looked over at Liv and found her grinning.

  “The hell are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Oh, come on. Give me some credit, Willow. I’m your best friend. I know you better than you know yourself. Spill the beans while the guys are sorting out theirs. What’s going on with you and Thor?”

  “Nothing’s going on. We’re just… it’s whatever. Nothing important,” I said.

  “Willow. You’re shit at this. Plus, you have a hickey on your neck.”

  I slapped my hand down onto my neck before Liv busted out laughing. I moved my hand around on my skin, feeling nothing. No bump. No heat. No welt.

  She had tricked me.

  “Fuck you,” I murmured.

  Liv gathered her laughing. “I see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking.”

  “You mean at my ass?” I asked.

  “No. At you, Willow. He’s looking at you. Always. There are moments when it’s like I’m not even there. Even though I clearly am,” she said.

  My eyes held hers before I cleared my throat.

  “I also see how you look at him,” Liv said softly.

  “Look, Thor’s a good guy. And things just sort of… happened. I’m still not sure what it is or what’s going on, but I’m trying not to nitpick it. So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make me,” I said

  “If there’s one thing I do know about you, it’s that I can’t make you do anything. You’ll do what you want, and damned be the consequences. Just like you’re doing Thor.”

  “I hate you,” I murmured.

  Liv giggled. “Love you, too.”

  She reached over and took my hand before she sat down on my bed with me. The room was pretty decent. A couple of small closets. A bathroom. Two queen-size beds with mattresses that could stand to be turned. A window that obviously had bulletproof glass in it. There was a bedside table in between the two beds with a lamp on it, and that was the only source of light in the room. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was enough for us to use to sleep.

  But, no matter how hard I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t.

  Especially with the guys yelling in the other room.

  “I swear, you think they’d keep it down with us in here,” I said.

  “Ah, they’ve probably forgotten we’re back here. Men, in heated states, do that kind of thing. It’s like the rest of them shuts down completely,” Liv said.

  “I forget sometimes how head-deep you are in your knowledge of clubs like this.”

  “And sometimes I forget that you really haven’t gotten past what happened to you at the FBI.”

  I sighed. “What are you going on about now?”

  “I know that’s why you aren’t willing to explore things further with Thor.”

  “I’m exploring him well enough,” I said, snickering.

  “But you won’t entertain the idea of anything serious. Right?”

  “Thor doesn’t strike me as a man that wants something serious, Liv.”

  “And if he did? You know, want something serious?
”

  I thought on her words. “I don’t know.”

  Liv squeezed my hand. “You do. You just don’t want to talk about it. You hardly ever talk about it, Willow.”

  “Because there isn’t anything to talk about, Liv. It doesn’t matter if I have feelings for Thor or if I want something with him, because the truth of it all is that I can’t. Other than the fact that we practically live on opposite sides of the country and he’s practically an outlaw, I don’t trust men. I haven’t since—”

  I bit down onto the inside of my cheek and looked away. I squinted my eyes, trying to force the tears to stay at bay. I knew I hadn’t gotten over it. That asshole appearing in my apartment. And not finding a new place to live out of some unassuming pride hadn’t helped matters over the years. Hadn’t don’t much for my nightmares, either. Liv stroked her thumb against my skin, giving me time to gather myself.

  “You need a new place to live, for starters,” she said.

  “Are you suggesting I come live here?” I asked.

  Liv shrugged. “No. But you never did like D.C. Even when we worked for the FBI, you couldn’t stand the city. Always wanted something smaller.”

  “Look, it isn’t just what I went through. I can’t get past all the stuff Thor’s part of. I mean, killing a man in jail? Busting into homes and tying people down for information?”

  “Busting into a home and saving five sisters and a mother? Taking on multiple clients that need protection and saving?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t overshadow what’s going on right now. Thor’s right. This club has made some reckless decisions. He filled me in on all of it a couple of nights ago. And he’s blindly followed that,” I said.

  “Not blindly. But they’re a club. There’s a code of brotherhood between them. There has to be trust, and if trust is broken, there are things they can do in order to establish that trust and get the club back on track.”

  “Like…?”

  “Like, overthrowing people in their positions. Like voting against certain actions. They’re a motorcycle club, sure. Yes, they live in the gray area. But they aren’t without their own moral code and their own rules they abide by. And above all, they protect their own,” she said.

  “How do you make all of this work with Colt?” I asked.

  Liv scooted closer to me. “It’s hard. Colt and I fight more than we should sometimes. Especially with our respective backgrounds. I’m not happy with this Diego thing at all. Not by a fucking longshot. But it’s all about compromise. Talking things out.”

  “I hate talking.”

  “Tough tits if you want to be with Thor.”

  “And who said I did?” I asked.

  “Your eyes whenever you say his name,” she said.

  I stood up from the bed and made my way to the window. I placed my back against the wall next to it, then leaned my head back. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. The guys were still yelling at one another. Still causing some bullshit ruckus.

  “I still think we should go in there and break it up,” I murmured.

  “They wouldn’t appreciate that,” Liv said, grinning.

  “I could take them all.”

  “Trust me. I don’t doubt that for a second.”

  “I don’t know how you rationalize your relationship with Colt,” I said, sighing.

  “I know the club isn’t always squeaky clean. But the club is trying to be that way. Colt’s told me about their history. How they’ve navigated their way out of certain things they knew were illegal and shut down some of those clients. It’s their intentions that matter to me, and the actions behind those intentions. Yes, they’re not fully clean now, but they’re on their way to becoming that. And that’s the compromise I’m willing to make,” she said.

  I nodded slowly as I pushed off the wall. I opened my eyes and turned on my heels, gazing out the window. There was nothing except darkness. A million stars dotted the sky. My eyes danced over them, counting out as many as two hundred. I was entranced by them. By the beautiful and thickness of the night. I’d always been a night owl. I preferred it over the daytime. It was why I had blackout curtains strung up all over my apartment.

  “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

  “The desert darkness is very calming,” Liv said.

  “I could see why someone would—”

  A glint caught my eye and my eyes darted. There was something off in the distance. Something I couldn’t quite place. I leaned toward the window a little closer, watching my breath condense against the glass.

  “Willow? What is it?” Liv asked.

  Then, I saw it again. A glint and a shadowed movement. And the shadow was just long enough on the ground for my mind to piece things together.

  “Liv, get down!” I roared.

  “What!?” Liv asked.

  I heard the bullet soaring through the air. Someone tackled me to the ground as the bullet bounced off the window, cracking it into spider web fractures. Another bullet connected with the glass. Right in the same spot.

  “Stay down,” Liv murmured.

  A third bullet came whizzing through the air, shattering the glass. The thick shards rained down on Liv and myself, then I heard her screaming. I felt her body being pulled from mine. I felt her scrambling and crying out.

  “Willow! Run!”

  Like hell, I’d run.

  I scrambled up from the floor and saw a pair of large, dark hands thrusted through the window opening. Another bullet whizzed by, penetrating the weakened glass. It threw me to the floor so I wouldn’t get hit, and I watched the hands fist Liv’s shirt. Pull her from her feet. Her body was halfway out the damn window when I managed to reach for her feet.

  “Hell. No,” I growled.

  I tugged at her legs as I placed my feet against the wall. I pulled and grunted as the yelling of the guys finally stopped. Of course, that would get their attention. Some bullets and a damn girl yelling.

  “Willow,” Liv choked out.

  “I’ve got you. Hold on,” I grunted.

  I wrapped my arm around her waist and the hands that held her finally relented. Liv and myself tumbled to the floor and I tossed her to the other end of the room. That asshole wasn’t getting away. I lunged off the floor, tearing to the window and dove through the hole.

  “Willow! No!” Liv shrieked.

  I hit the ground and rolled, hearing footsteps racing around me. I got up and surveying my surroundings, but the darkness was too thick. My eyes hadn’t adjusted well enough. And before I knew it, I felt an arm come down around my neck.

  “Willow!”

  I felt a hand clamp down over my mouth.

  “Liv,” I choked out.

  I felt someone knock my knees out from underneath me before I was hoisted into the air.

  “Willow! No!” Liv shouted.

  And as the arm tightened around my windpipe, I felt the darkness around me seeping into my bones.

  Chapter 16

  Thor

  “So, you all agree with this traitor?” Dean asked.

  “Far as I’m concerned, I’m the one looking at the traitor,” Colt said.

  “The hell, I am! I helped found this club. If it wasn’t for me, none of you guys would even be here!” Dean exclaimed.

  “And even founders can lose their way,” Maverick said.

  “And I think that’s what you’ve done,” Jace said.

  “What? So, you’re going to step up and take my position?” Dean asked.

  Jace shook his head. “No. Not me. You know I never wanted that position.”

  “Well, you can’t take down the damn president without a successor, now can you?” Dean asked.

  Then, all of the guys looked to Colt.

  “Oh. I get it,” Dean said.

  “This isn’t how it looks,” Colt said.

  “It’s exactly how it looks,” Dean roared.

  “No, it’s not!” Colt yelled.

  “Everyone needs to take a breath. We need to discuss
this like men,” Jagger said.

  “And I know exactly how men discuss things. It’s why I chose the profession I did for this club,” Dean glowered.

  Before we all knew it, the man had a gun pulled on Colt. He raised his hands, as did we all. And I held out mine as I came out from the shadows again. This was not the way to deal with shit. This was not how we settled things.

  “Dean, look at what you’re doing,” I said.

  His eyes connected with mine.

  “Look at what you’re doing. Who you’re pointing that thing at. And then you tell me if it’s a sound decision made by a sane man,” I said.

  Dean’s eyes followed the butt of the gun before his eyes met Colt’s. Everyone froze. Stared. Watched our president’s movements. There was something in his eye that flashed, then he holstered his gun.

  “That’s what you get for pissing me off,” Dean said.

  “No, that’s what we get for telling you a truth you don’t want to hear,” Colt said.

  “You have no right to do this! Any of you!” Dean exclaimed.

  “We do, Dean. It’s right there, in our bylaws. If we ever feel that one of the main club members is mentally unfit, we can meet and discuss a successor before taking a formal vote,” Colt said.

  Dean looked around the room as all of us stood strong.

  “So, that’s what’s been goin’ on? Hmm? You guys are meeting behind my back!?” Dean yelled.

  “You haven’t been the same since we faked Brynn’s death,” I said.

  Dean’s eyes fell onto me and I knew I was in trouble. There was anger in his eyes. Death in the grip of his fists. Dean strode over to me, standing on his tiptoes to come just within inches of my face. I craned my neck and looked down at him. Stood my ground, like I always did with the men of this club. We were a bunch of hotheads, but we were brothers.

  And this had gone way too fucking far.

  “Don’t you ever speak about my daughter again,” Dean glowered.

  “Then, don’t you ever put my name in plans before discussing them with me,” I growled.

  Colt rushed over to me and gripped my arm. He pulled me away from Dean before stepping in between the two of us. A smart move on his part, because I didn’t have any issues slugging the man that stood in front of me. The corpse of a president and a man we used to know.