With Loco on board, I want to sit down with my brothers and discuss how things will go down.

Smoke’s bitching all those weeks ago about how we should return to the old ways has stuck with me.

Wrath, Rock, Murphy, and Teller meet me at the war room table.

They don’t need a lot of information. I wouldn’t be coming to them, asking to murder someone in Kelly’s league unless it was bad.

“That’s why she left?” Wrath asks.

“Pretty much. The government wanted her to cooperate but she couldn’t stand seeing him day after day. Or risk it.”

“Fuck.” Teller shakes his head and stares down at his hands.

“She didn’t want you taking care of it, because of how close he was being watched,” Murphy says.

“Right.”

“Explains California,” Wrath says. He’s taken this much more calmly and with a lot less skepticism than I expected.

When I question him, he shrugs. “Why the fuck would she lie about that? She gains nothing by telling you now. Assuming you’re telling the truth and you two were finally going stop fucking around, she blew up her entire life to get away from him. I believe her.”

His answer makes me laugh for a solid minute. It’s really not what I expected out of Wrath. “Speaking of blowing up shit, how about a nice, old-fashioned car bomb?” I suggest.

Rock raises his eyebrows. “You don’t want to gut this fucker personally?”

“I do, but with him under so much scrutiny, I can’t take the risk.”

“And a car bomb will be under the radar?” Murphy shakes his head. “That’ll attract a lot of attention.”

“We can wait until he’s inside…” Teller suggests.

“No,” Rock answers. “Tony says even if he’s convicted, he won’t do much time. Even if he does, it’ll be in a federal facility.”

“You fucking kidding me?” Murphy shakes his head. “Fucking government’s more criminal than we are.”

“Hell, give the guy a few years. He’ll probably get re-elected and do it all over again,” Wrath says. “They’re all fuckin’ crooks.”

“Let’s save the political discussion for later.” Rock taps the table. “Car bombing, huh? LOKI haven’t gone that route in a long time.”

Meaning no one currently in our club has any bomb-making skills.

“Rooster can do it.”

“You want to involve him?” Murphy asks.

“I trusted him enough to make him VP,” I remind everyone. “He’s had our backs down there. He’s cautious too. Didn’t bring the Shadow issue up until he had solid proof even though he knew I wasn’t happy with Shadow.”

“I don’t know him as well as you do, Z, but I trust your judgment,” Wrath says. “Besides, it’s your ass, ultimately.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”