❥ KNOX'S POV

The kiss should've lasted longer than it did.

That thought is the only one lingering at the forefront of Knox's mind. It stayed there for the rest of the evening, and after Everett fell asleep while watching another one of his silly little movies, the thought rang even louder in Knox's head.

It was like a siren call stuck on a loop, taunting him for not having done more with Everett when he'd had the chance. The boy had become so needy and flustered that he ended up finishing what Knox had recklessly started, effectively taking control and completing the kiss.

Trying to think up a logical explanation for why he froze at the very last second has led Knox to a dead end every time. But that was then. The moment is long gone now. No more wallowing in past mistakes.

There's important business to handle.

"Jesus Christ, can I get any fucking cornier or what?" Knox mutters to himself while scribbling down the reason behind his absence on a yellow sticky note.

He makes sure to include phrases like don't worry, everything is fine and stay in the room until I come back because he isn't sure how Everett will react when or if he wakes up to find he has been left all alone. The buttons that set the boy off seem to change day by day.

Seeing how broken Everett looked after having that panic attack in front of Finn, Knox concluded he had to do better. Despite his conflicting feelings, he could no longer be careless with Everett. No matter how ridiculous he feels in the moment, Knox will do whatever is necessary to make sure that Everett feels safe and secure while they live together.

When finished with the note, Knox places it on top of his pillow. Everett is asleep on his side and facing Knox's direction, so the note will be the first thing he sees if he wakes up before Knox returns.

On to business. Knox exhales a deep breath before turning to leave the room, anxiety at what's to come and irritation over leaving Everett alone weighs heavy on his shoulders. He gently closes the bedroom door shut behind him, sporting a look sinister enough to deter a person from stopping to interact with him as he sets off down the hallway.

Tracking down a man like Mason has never been a difficult chore.

The guy is obsessed with only two things: tech and women. If he isn't in his bedroom on his computer working a job for Gavin that usually consists of him hacking into some shit that he has no business being in, then the horny bastard is most likely getting his dick wet with a patch whore in the jumpoff room.

A place Knox hasn't visited in a long while.

It's the only spare room at the clubhouse that no one wants to clean because it's strictly used for sex.

Truthfully, half the members don't think twice about bringing a random to the place where they lay their head at night, but the other half prefers to keep their bedrooms off limits when it comes to strangers. That private space is typically reserved for their partners.

Funny how Knox barely bat an eye when Everett had to officially 'move in' with him. What that says about his cold heart and current state of mind... well, he'd rather not acknowledge it right now.

I don't think this room has ever gotten a proper break. Knox's first stop is the jumpoff room, being that it's the closest. From several feet away, he can hear a couple moaning and the headboard of the bed thumping aggressively against the wall inside.

Knox isn't in the mood to be polite, so he opens the door instead of knocking like a sane person.

"I'm close, baby! Holy shit, you're so fucking big. I-I think I'm going to—" screams the blue-haired woman riding one of his brothers. The position that they're in has her pale back facing the door, preventing Knox from getting a look at who she's presently fucking the soul out of.

"Mason?" Knox calls during the couple's climax. "That you under there?"

"Nah, man. It's me." Alvin, the club's VP, laughs and comes into view after the woman slides off him in a hurry, pulling the sheets up to her blushing face. "What can I help you with? Or are you looking to join in?"

Knox rolls his eyes. "Not interested. Have you seen Mason around?"

"No. He's probably holed up in his room doing work on his computer." Alvin flashes Knox a look that only he could decipher, not wanting to verbally give anything away while his company is around. "Since you don't plan on participating, can you kindly shut the fucking door? My dick is gearing up for round three and my girl ain't into that exhibitionist shit."

Knox doesn't waste his breath on a response. He closes the door and continues on his way, making Mason's bedroom his second stop. This time, he knocks.

"Hey, man! You're right on time," Mason says after opening the door.  "Pres just called for church. We can head there together while I fill you in on the news." He steps outside and locks the door behind him.

With the kind of shit that he gets into for the club, every single member could go under if his computers ever fell into the wrong hands. Not implying that he doesn't trust his brothers, but more so the naughty company they keep.

"What news? And when did he call for a meeting?" Knox asks as they walk.

"The news I tried to tell you about earlier today when you were all hugged up with the kid," Mason smirks. "Pres just sent a text to everyone about a minute ago. You didn't get it?"

Knox shakes his head, ignoring the teasing remark. "I forgot and left my phone back in the room. Tell me more about this news of yours."

"I know it's been a while since you last checked in, but I finally got into that damn USB. Pres was so impressed that he ended up paying me double for the job," Mason says. He cracks his knuckles as if he'd just finished working the world's toughest shift. "The Jackals are fully exposed, man. More than they've ever been before. And now that their secrets are in our hands, if we play this the right way, we can put an end to them for good."

"Keep talking," Knox says, intrigued. "What secrets do we have of theirs?"

"All of them." Mason grins something wicked, looking exactly like an evil villain that succeeded in taking out the hero. "Okay, so check this out..."

Knox gives Mason his undivided attention during their walk to the basement.

Apart from the underground brothel that the state knows nothing about, The Jackals also run a construction business. But like most MCs, it's used as a front for washing money gained from their illegal activities. That much is neatly documented inside a lengthy excel sheet on the USB, along with a list of people—some being high-ranking officials—that The Jackals have done and currently do business with. Many of them are married yet remain frequent patrons of their brothel.

"Some of the shit on there is prime blackmail material," Mason explains, excitement dripping all over his tone. "The son of the goddamn mayor goes to that brothel every other week! Do you realize how many strings we could pull by having the mayor's son in our pocket?"

Knox merely grunts in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "What did Pres say when you first told him all this?"

"Not much," Mason replies. "He wanted to call a meeting to tell everyone else about it and get their input. I've already told him my stance. It doesn't matter what The Jackals were planning on doing with the USB that night. It's in our possession now, so we need to work on flipping their clients. We have to—"

"Slow your roll, brother." Knox chuckles, clapping Mason on the back. "Save that shit for the meeting. What else did you find in that thing?"

"Right. Well, there are also tons of..."

Documents that contain information and transactions related to The Jackals clients, plus those overseas. It includes street names of gun suppliers, drug lords, and how much money The Jackals earn in exchange for doing business with them.

Money that could become The Fallen Angels if, like Mason said, they successfully flip The Jackals clients.

The greatest discovery, however, has to be the sheet titled SCHEDULE. Covering the next thirty days, it lists the time and location for all local and international jobs The Jackals plan on executing. Jobs connected to some very dangerous people, but in turn will result in glorious payouts.

"They're going to make a move tonight," Mason finishes. "A shipment of weapons is supposed to arrive sometime around ten at that old dock by Hickory Springs. Under the assumption they think we haven't been able to get into the USB, we can intercept and take the weapons for ourselves. Flip them and sell them for double the price."

"And then we become the target of their supplier," Knox adds, shaking his head. "It's too risky. We first need to get rid of The Jackals before we go pissing off their partners."

"Point made. But we could always take the weapons and then present them to the supplier. Make a case for ourselves that The Jackals are incompetent and explain why they should do business with us instead," Mason suggests. "You think Pres would go for something like that?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Knox says. 

When they arrive at the basement, Knox greets the members that are already there and then he takes his seat. For several minutes, people continue filing in one by one. The last to arrive, sporting mismatched clothes and disheveled hair, is Alvin. He closes the door behind him and runs to take his seat.

Knox flashes him a mischievous smirk. "Didn't get to finish round three with whats-her-face?" he jokes.

"Fuck off. At least I'm not out walking around with blue balls." Alvin laughs. A few others make a face but remain quiet. "Yeah, everyone here knows you're attracted to your new twink roommate. You've never been the 'waiting for marriage' type, so it baffles the hell out of me to see you playing the gentleman role. Never knew you had it in you, buddy."

Knox scowls. "You motherfucker—"

"Let's settle down, fellas." Gavin knocks a fist on the table, gathering everyone's attention. "I called this meeting because Mason, our talented little magician, managed to crack the code and get into The Jackals USB drive. The information he found should guarantee that we will come out victorious in this war, but at the same time, that'll depend on how we handle things moving forward. I'm eager to hear everyone's suggestions." Gavin takes his seat to give Mason the floor. "Tell us what you've discovered, brother."

"Thanks, Pres." Mason nods, then stands to give his report. He wraps it up by repeating the proposals he mentioned earlier to Knox. "The supplier responsible for the weapons shipment tonight goes by the name of Oz in the streets, but his government name is Rodrigo Gonzalez. He lives in Barton County and took over the Westside Riders seven years ago. Apparently, when it comes to getting military-grade weapons, he's the guy you go to."

"Hold on a damn minute. So you want us to steal from a man who has access to military-grade weapons... all to piss off The Jackals?" Finn asks, raising a brow. "Hacking aside, you're kinda fucking stupid, Mase. We don't have the time or resources to pick a fight with this Oz guy and his crew."  

"Basically what I said," Knox interjects.

"Okay, I get it. That was a dumb suggestion," Mason mutters. "But we should at least try to make some sort of deal with the guy because let's face it—based off everything I've read on that USB, The Jackals have more connections than we do. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't already begun reaching out to them for help in eliminating us. But if we take away all those connections, which essentially destroys their primary source of income, they'll have nothing left to lean on. They'll be defenseless. Easy to kill off."

"To be clear," Alvin says. "What exactly are you proposing here?"

"We need to steal their clientele if we want to get the upper hand in this war. It's something they won't see coming," Mason says. "I told you guys they abandoned their old clubhouse not long after the Shaun incident, so it's not like we can drive by and shoot their shit up, end of story. And the phone numbers that I found on the USB, which are supposed to belong to Russell's inner circle, are no longer in service. I can't get the drop on where any of them could be hiding. We're practically sitting ducks waiting for them to make another move. This isn't what we do. We don't wait on the enemy."

"Mason is right," Gavin declares, scratching at his beard with one hand and thrumming his fingers on top of the table with the other. "With Russell and his crew deep in hiding, we're essentially waiting for them to pop out and pick us off one by one. I refuse to let that happen." He looks at Mason and asks, "Think you can dig up Oz's phone number for me? I want to start with him."

Mason nods. "Already done. I'll text it to you now."

"Hold on," Knox interrupts, his confused expression mirroring everyone else's at the table. "Where are you going with this? And what do you want from Oz? We don't know shit about him, his people, or how deep their relationship goes with The Jackals."

"All the more reason for me to set up a meeting and introduce myself," Gavin says. "I'll let him know that I'm aware of his deal with The Jackals and I'll see if he wants to make a new deal with us instead. Without going into too much detail, I'll inform him that The Jackals are on our shit list, so they won't be around for much longer. This will put Oz in a corner. He will need to find himself a new replacement, which I'll suggest is The Fallen Angels. If it comes to the point where he wants us to prove our worth, we'll already have that part covered."

"How?" Alvin asks.

"By following through on Mason's plan," Gavin answers. "We're going to intercept tonight's shipment, hold the weapons for ourselves, and kill whatever Jackals get in our way. It'll prove to Oz that he put his trust in the wrong gang. Ultimately, this will end one of two ways: he gets pissed and threatens to retaliate, or he dumps The Jackals and we become partners."

"Shit, man. I don't know about this," Finn mumbles, mostly to himself. "This sounds like it's going to be a big fucking gamble on our part."

"A risk I'm willing to take," Gavin says, looking around the room. "If anyone else has a better idea on how we can end this war with minimal casualties while being unable to locate our enemy, then by all means, speak up."

No one does.

"Right, so we proceed with my idea." Gavin pauses to check the new text from Mason. He adds Oz's number to his phone and types out a quick message to the man, putting his plan in motion. "If no one has anything more to add, you're dismissed."

"We shouldn't kill all Jackals that we come across tonight," Knox speaks. "We should bring one of them back here, torture them for information on where Russell may have fled to. He'll probably have some of his best men working the dock tonight, and one of them will have to know where the fuck he is. So I say we watch them from a distance for a while before running in guns blazing. After determining who the leader of the group is, then we finish everyone else off. We snap a few pictures of the weapons, send them to Oz for proof if he asks, and then I deal with the Jackal we captured."

Gavin looks around the table for input, collecting nods from the remaining members. "No disrespect, but part of me worries that kid may have softened you up a bit. If we capture a Jackal and bring him back here for questioning, I don't need Knox to take the lead. I'll need The Beast."

The muscles in Knox's face tense, his hands balling into fists on his lap. No one, not even Gavin before now, has ever questioned his character. He'll be damned if he lets that happen now.

"That won't be a problem," Knox grumbles.

"Good." Gavin pauses again to type out another message on his phone. "Looks like I've piqued Oz's interest. He says he's heard of us before, and that he's never had a problem with The Jackals. He's curious to see how The Fallen Angels move against them, whether or not we can truly hold our own."

"Well, let's fucking show him!" Alvin slams a hand down on the table, eliciting cheers throughout the room. "How many men are you thinking about sending off tonight? I'm always down to ride."

"I haven't decided yet," Gavin says. "But The Jackals have no idea we're coming, so I doubt Russell has sent out his entire crew. We'll follow Knox's plan, figure out the Jackal in charge, and then we go from there." He glances at Knox for confirmation. "Sound all right with you, brother?"

Knox nods, his demons howling in agreement. "Ready when you are."

. . .

a/n: don't forget to drop a ⭐️ like ⭐️ if you're enjoying the story! the pace is about to pick UP... 👀