My eyes darted behind him, to Stan's house, a reflexive movement, really. But Jed noticed, and turned, looking behind him. When he faced me again, his expression was dark. "Him," he said. "I heard he was back in town."

I shook my head. "No, it's not him. It's me. I'm just not comfortable - "

I was lying. I wasn't fooling anyone. Including myself.

Jed held up a hand. "Say no more. I know when I'm being let down easy." He stepped down from my porch, and turned toward his car. "I'll see you both around, June."

You both.

I swallowed hard as I watched him walk away. d.a.m.n it. I didn't need trouble with Jed now, too.

As he pulled down the driveway, I looked up to see Cade, standing on the front porch at his father's house, his arms crossed over his chest.

Watching me.

Axe "Where were you?" Crunch asked.

"I went out for a ride," I said as I pulled off my boots and stood them by the front door.

"That was a long a.s.s ride," Crunch said. "You've been out most of the day."

"What are you, my f.u.c.king mother?" I asked. I'd been out riding since dawn, and I was still worked up. Seeing Jed bring June home last night, watching them stand on the porch like that, after what was obviously a date, had my guts churning. But I was trying to be a better man. No drinking, no crazy jealousy. No going psycho and beating the s.h.i.t out of someone.

I could do it, right? I proved it to myself by not jumping the fence and going over there.

If Jed would have kissed her, though...

s.h.i.t, I'd be in jail right now.

"It's quiet in here," I said. "Where is everyone?"

"April is giving Mac a bath," Crunch said. "You and I, though - we need to talk."

"Yeah, sure, man," I said, looking around the room. "Where's my dad?"

"I think he's in the bedroom or something. Not sure."

"Is this business we need to talk about?"

"Yeah," Crunch said.

"Alright, let's go out on the porch."

"Let me just grab the laptop. I need to show you what I found."

Crunch pulled up a rocking chair across from me, his voice low. "I've been searching around, looking for intel on the warehouse fire."

"What's the deal?"

"See for yourself." Crunch turned the laptop screen toward me, and I read the headline, my brain barely processing the words.

"Multiple Bodies Found in Warehouse Fire Outside Las Vegas," I read.

"Yup," Crunch said.

I looked up at him. "Multiple bodies."

What the f.u.c.k?

"Read the article."

I scanned the words, willing it to sink into my brain. Three bodies found.

Incinerated.

"Three bodies found." I spoke the words slowly.

"s.h.i.t." I scanned the rest of the article, willing it to sink into my brain. "That's us."

"Obviously it's not us," Crunch said.

"There was no one else in the warehouse," I said. "Who the f.u.c.k would it be? Did you see anyone in there?"

"I don't know, man," Crunch said.

"This is not good."

"No? What are you talking about?" Crunch asked. "From where I'm sitting, it's f.u.c.king ideal. The club thinks we're dead. The heat's off of us. We're f.u.c.king dead men."

"Yeah, the club thinks we're dead now. What about when those bodies get ID'd? They're not ours."

"You read the article. They were incinerated. You think they're going to be able to f.u.c.king ID them any time soon? No."

"DNA testing, dental records, whatever, man," I said. "You're the f.u.c.king nerd. You should know this CSI type s.h.i.t."

"Dental records?" Crunch laughed. "When the f.u.c.k was the last time you were to a dentist, man - either of us."

"I was in the military, jacka.s.s," I said. "They could get those records."

"Good luck with that, and with the DNA," Crunch said. "Both of those things take time. You were in the military years ago, which means your records are with the VA now. And that place is a hot f.u.c.king mess, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Could it really be that easy?

"None of this is going to come back on us for a while. Right now, the club thinks we're dead. That, my friend, is a good thing."

"I can't believe I'm reading about our own deaths," I said. It was bizarre, like it was a story about someone else.

"What a trip, huh?" Crunch said. "I wonder if we'll get a funeral."

My thoughts were racing a mile a minute. "They think we're dead. Do you know what that means?"

"We're free," Crunch said.

Free.

No. It was impossible.

I looked up at him. "You ever think of doing something else, Crunch?"

"Think about starting a new life, you mean? All the f.u.c.king time," he said. "I've been thinking about it for years, ever since before I went to the Pen. You think about it?"

Every day.

"No," I lied. "I mean, yeah, lately. I've been thinking about it more, I guess."

"What would you do?" Crunch asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"I speak Spanish," Crunch said. "Thinking about taking April and Mac, going to Mexico, starting a f.u.c.king surfing resort or something."

"You surf?" I asked.

"I could learn," he said. "You need to get your Plan B in line, Axe. We're dead now, but when someone does get to figuring out whose those bodies are, we're f.u.c.ked. And we'll probably be on the hook for murder. We need to give serious consideration to plans for relocating. Permanently."

"Can you see me, living in the tropics, sipping one of those f.u.c.king fruity drinks with a pink umbrella or some s.h.i.t?" I asked.

Crunch laughed. "I'm going to be a f.u.c.king surfer, man."

It was a nice fantasy.

Was it possible?

You can't change who you are.

"On the other hand," Crunch said. "If we ditched everything, it would mean Mad Dog gets away with killing Tank..." His voice trailed off.

Back to reality.

"If we take care of Mad Dog, you know what that means," I said.

"War."

"Mad Dog started it."

"We just need to figure out if we're willing to finish it," Crunch said.

Inferno Motorcycle Club Los Angeles, California "The three men killed were our brothers," Mad Dog said. "Tank, Axe, and Crunch were our family. We will never forget them. And we will avenge their deaths."

Mad Dog looked meaningfully at Mud from across the room. Mud knew what that look was about. It meant that Mad Dog was finished with his tearful speech about brotherhood and loss, and was ready to get down to business. He nudged Tink and Fats.

"In the back," Mud whispered.

One at a time, the three backed away from the gathering of club members, who were busy drinking and regaling each other with stories.

Toasting their fallen brothers.

It was a spontaneous, informal memorial service of sorts, a reaction to the news reports of the bodies discovered in Benicio's warehouse. The brothers were angry. They wanted blood. And it happened in Benicio's warehouse, which meant Benicio was involved. It was a new day for Mad Dog.

In the back room, Mad Dog gathered his allies.

"Now," he said. "Axe was one of the closest people in the world to me. I considered him like family, and I meant every word of what I said out there. It pained me to have to get rid of him, but he was in the way. So, understand that if I erased him, I would not hesitate to do the same to any of you who cross me. This is your only warning. You won't get a second one."

"Understood, Prez," Mud said. "You have our undivided loyalty."

"Good," Mad Dog said. "Now, onto the business at hand. The Veep is still gone, but he'll be back soon."

"Has anyone been in contact with him?" Fats asked.

Mad Dog shook his head. "He's off the grid. On his honeymoon." He rolled his eyes. "Overseas- told us he was going to Mexico, but I wouldn't put it past him to tell us he was going one place and go another. It doesn't matter. All that matters is he's out of contact, and he will be back."

"You have a plan, Prez?" Tink asked.

Mad Dog smiled, the expression not a pleasant one. "Of course I do. He needs to be dealt with. But we need to play this right. We can't afford any f.u.c.k-ups."

June "Hey, June." Stan waved as he came walking up to the deck. Bailey ran out to greet him, and he bent over to pat her. Satisfied, she ran off to sniff the yard.

I waved back, my paintbrush in hand. "Good morning."

"This place is really coming along nicely," he said. "It's shaping up real well. I saw you out here working on the porch, and thought I'd stop by and see if you needed any help with the house."

"Oh, things are going fine here," I said. "I won't say no to help with the sealing, if you want to give me a hand. But don't you have other things to do?"

Stan shrugged. "Cade and Joe went into town to run an errand, and honestly, between the two of them, they've got everything on the ranch caught up. April and MacKenzie are napping, and I didn't want to disturb them. I was just sitting on the front porch having a cup of coffee, and saw you out here. I couldn't just watch while you worked on the porch."

"Well, here you go then." I handed him a paintbrush. "You're more than welcome to help."

We painted in silence for a while, before Stan spoke. "I just can't tell you how glad I am that you came back to West Bend, June."

"That's nice of you to say." I moved along the porch railing, the rhythmic movement of the paintbrush soothing.

"It's the truth," Stan said. "It's selfish of me, and I'll admit it. I know Cade and Crunch's family are back here due to trouble, but having all of you back here has made me the happiest I've been since Molly died."

"It's nice to have family around."

Stan bent over, painting the underside of the porch railing. "Having a kid around again," he said. "It's like stepping back in time. Back to when you all were kids. I always considered you like - well, I'd say like a daughter, but then that makes it sound weird, since you and Cade used to date."

I laughed. "No, it's not weird," I said. "I know what you mean. I always thought of you and Molly fondly."