Page 29 of Kane's Kingdom

His knees give out and I crouch in front of him. "You saw me change the rules and decided that meant I wouldn't enforce them. That's the mistake men like you keep making."

He spits blood onto the floor. "What do you want?"

"I want you to understand the price."

"I understand."

“I don’t think you do." I grip the back of his neck and make him look through the open doors at what remains of his operation. The trucks sit on ruined tires. The boat lists against the dock, slowly sinking. Brothers carry the last of the cash and weapons into the yard while smoke rises from a steel drum where the documents and phones burn.

"This is what it costs when you test my town," I say. "What happened to you is what it costs when you touch her.” His breathing turns shallow.

I release him. "You'll be gone by sunrise."

"And if I'm not?"

"You won't get another lesson."

He thought King was the dangerous Calhoun because King was cruel enough to do anything. What he understands too late is that cruelty without control wastes itself. I know exactly what I'm willing to do. That makes me worse.

Judge approaches as I stand. "Yard's clean."

"Leave them two cars."

His eyebrows lift.

"They need something to leave in."

Judge nods and turns away. Dekker stays on the floor while we finish. He doesn't threaten me again.

***

By the time we ride back into Ransom, the sky is beginning to pale. We pass Bella's street without slowing. The brother beneath the trees lifts two fingers as we go by. She's safe, and for now that has to be enough.

The table is full when I call church. Nobody's changed clothes. Blood marks knuckles and shirts. Adrenaline still runs hot through the room, but it quiets when I take my place behind my father's empty chair.

"What happened tonight is finished," I say. "Dekker's leaving. His operation's gone. Ransom stays ours.” Approval moves through the room, low and rough. I wait until it dies. "Now we deal with what happened here.” Griz's jaw tightens, which is good.

"If anyone's got a problem with Bella being under this club's protection, they've got a problem with me.” Nobody looks away, but nobody speaks either.

"She heard what was said after the fire. She heard men who patched beside Red for thirty years talk like keeping his daughter alive was some favor they were tired of giving."

Griz leans forward. "I was angry. I didn't say she deserved what happened."

"You said she wasn't ours.” His mouth flattens.

I look around the table. "Red Rourke was a brother in this club for thirty years. King decided he stopped counting. The rest of you let that decision stand because it was easier than challenging my father."

A few faces harden. Chains doesn't move. Judge sits beside me, steady as stone.

"My father decided who counted," I say. "I decide different."

Griz's fingers curl against the table. "You can't rewrite every call King made."

"Watch me." The room goes still and I straighten. "My club. My gavel. You answer to me."

Griz holds my gaze for several seconds. He isn't converted, and I don't need him to be. I only need him loyal.

Finally, he dips his chin. "Understood."