I shoot back a text to Loco.

Maybe if the senator walks out and finds us here, I’ll just beat him to death instead. Be a lot less messy. I flip the wrench I’m holding in my hand a few times while I picture sinking it into the guy’s skull.

“Done.” Rooster slides out from under the car. “Let’s roll.”

I text Loco that we’re finished and he tells us to go around the outside of the building.

We jog through the alleyway and slide into our car. This time, Rooster gets behind the steering wheel.

Loco: He’s leaving. Should hit Ferry in five.

“Pull up there.” I point ahead to where Ferry street intersects with the street we’re on. Rooster hands me the cell phone we’ll use to detonate the bomb once the Senator’s clear of any people.

I pull the small laptop out of the backpack in the backseat and check the cameras at Kelly’s house for any visitors. Nothing but some deer frolicking in the front yard.

The white Mercedes passes in front of us and Rooster puts our car in motion. We have to wait to make the left turn and he gets a little ahead of us, but that’s fine. I don’t want to be too close anyway.

The asshole makes a few stops along the way. Which is annoying as fuck and stresses me out each time. “You’re sure it won’t accidentally blow?”

“I’m sure. Chill.”

Finally, he’s on the road to his house.

The property’s secured by a gate, we hang back as far as we can without completely losing sight of him until he pulls into his driveway.

The gate swings shut behind him.

“One more check.” Rooster takes the laptop from my hands and scans the video feeds again. “Clear. He’s parking in front of the house.”

We already went over the procedure a dozen times.

The pressing of the send button feels anti-climatic after all this cloak-and-dagger shit.

The blast is deafening, even from where we’re sitting. Black smoke billows up over the trees. Rooster checks the feed. “Oh yeah, he’s toast.”

There’s a second blast.

That one sounds like Lilly’s freedom.

Chapter Forty-Five

Z

Rock calls early the next morning. I’m sure it’s because he heard about the bombing. It takes him a while to bring it up though.

“You still coming down for family day?” I ask. We’ve been trying to bring both clubs together as much as possible. Reinforce that we’re not rivals. Reassure everyone that the brotherhood is strong.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“You and Hope still want to stay the weekend?”

“If you’ll have us.”

“Fuck yeah. Lilly’s been looking forward to it.”