It shouldn’t. But if I think about it, this kind of trouble’s been brewing down here for years. Sway’s always run his club a little rougher than we run ours. Looser.

Now he’s got a bullet in the head and I’ve been sliced open by a brother.

Obviously, something needs to change.

“This was bound to happen,” Murphy says, echoing my thoughts. “Remember the first time we brought Hope down here and some hang-around tried to grab her?”

Rock’s jaw tightens. “Yeah.”

“You pounded the shit out of him, and that was the end of it,” I remind Murphy. “The fucker didn’t pull a fucking knife on you. And Shadow did more than grab Lilly’s ass.”

Murphy rolls his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to say. I’m not surprised it’s escalated to this point.”

Wrath’s silent but watching me with an intent expression.

I blow out a breath, not really in the mood for him to mock me right now. “What?”

“How do you plan to handle it, Prez?” he asks with absolutely no hint of sarcasm to the question.

“You know what has to happen. I can’t let this slide or I might as well call Priest now and tell him I’m heading home.”

Rock nods. “You’ve definitely been tangled into a knot here, but I have faith you’ll straighten it out.”

“Thanks, Rock.”

Rooster steps out of the office and nods at us. “Everyone’s waiting in the chapel, Prez.”

Rock shoots a smile my way, like he’s proud to hear someone else referring to me as Prez.

Steer steps out of the chapel and closes the door behind him. He shakes hands with Rock, Wrath, and Dex while thanking them for coming down.

At least that’s a good sign.

When I first started hanging around the club, Sway was a member upstate. A few years later, after some deaths and incarcerations, Rock, Wrath, and I not-so-gently helped the old president retire. Sway made the wise choice to break ties. With the blessing of National and a few other brothers, he founded the downstate charter.

That’s the nice, neat version, the full version’s a little bloodier. Basically, we’re brothers, but there’s always an ounce of animosity between our two charters that runs deep. Old wounds that healed but still ache under certain conditions.

Key members of my club showing up could either be interpreted as support or an invasion.

Thankfully, everyone seems to welcome the upstate members tonight.

Rooster and I are eventually left alone outside the chapel.

“How’s Shadow?” I hope to fuck the prick didn’t die while the doc was fixing me up. I want to be the one to end that motherfucker.

“Alive.” He cocks his head. “I’m behind you, Z. No games. No angles. What went down was wrong and I have your back.”