Where we’ll have total privacy.

Rooster brings interested brothers into the office to share what he has on Shadow.

Since I want the motherfucker dead no matter what, I don’t need to examine anything.

The rest of the brothers slowly find their way outside. A few men stop to shake my hand or offer words of encouragement and thanks.

When almost everyone else has gone outside, Rock slaps his hand on my shoulder and turns me to face him. “You did good in there, brother.” Pride shines in his eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m really proud of you.”

I flash a quick, tired grin. “Learned from the best.”

“Nah, those were thoughtful, powerful words.” He pokes me in the chest. “Straight from the heart. Everyone could feel it.” He glances around to make sure we’re not overheard. “They’ve needed to hear it for a while. I hope it sinks in.”

“I think it did.”

“I think so too.”

Wrath comes up behind me and hooks his arm around my neck. “Proud of you, Angus,” he says against my ear.

“You hit your head sometime tonight?”

He doesn’t laugh, but he does release me from the chokehold. “That’s some fucked-up shit, Z. I knew there was a reason I never liked him.”

“Take a number.”

“Rooster’s smart,” Rock says. “He could’ve told you what he had in secret. He earned everyone’s respect by waiting and building his case before bringing it to the table.”

“Yeah, he told me straight-up a couple weeks ago, he was loyal to the club, not any one brother.” I glance around at the now mostly empty clubhouse. “You guys don’t have to stay for this.”

Rock and Wrath share a look. “You have everything handled,” Rock says. “If you want us here for any reason, we’ll stay.”

“No, brother. I appreciate it. But you’ve got a baby at home. You should be there. It’s gonna be a long, dirty night. If you wanna catch a few hours of sleep at the house before heading back or something, let me—”

“Nah. We’ll be all right,” Wrath says.

Dex walks up and waves his hand. “I’m gonna stick around, if that’s all right, Prez?”

“Yeah,” Rock says. “I think that’s a good idea. “You all right with that, Z?”

“Absolutely.”

I’d have no problem with Rock and Wrath staying either. I understand why they think it’s better to head out. The upstate president came down here tonight to let everyone in this club know he has my back. Now, he’s leaving to show them I can handle this on my own.

Since Dex isn’t an officer upstate, it’s less of a big deal for him to stick around. Teller and Murphy will definitely be attending since they were part of the Malone fiasco.

Tonight will be bloody.