The dust had barely settled from the brawl with the Nevada crew, but Raven knew the fallout was just beginning. Word would spread fast, not only among the clubs but within Charming itself. The Sons had made their stand, but the war was far from over.
The morning after the fight, Raven sat in the clubhouse, nursing a cup of coffee and staring at the old wooden table scarred by years of wear. The familiar sounds of the clubhouse filled the background—clanking bottles, low voices, and the hum of bikes outside. Despite the calm, there was a tension in the air, a sense that things could snap at any moment.
Jax entered the room, his face set in a grim expression. He was always composed, but the weight of leadership had been wearing on him. His eyes met Raven’s, and she could see the exhaustion beneath his hard exterior.
“We need to talk,” he said, motioning for her to follow him outside.
Raven set her cup down and stood, following him out into the bright morning light. The air was crisp, and the rumble of engines echoed from the distance as a few of the guys worked on their bikes. Jax led her around the back of the clubhouse, away from prying ears.
“What’s going on?” she asked, crossing her arms.
Jax lit a cigarette, taking a long drag before answering. “That fight last night? It’s gonna have consequences. We sent a message, but now we need to figure out how to deal with the fallout. The Nevada crew isn’t going to take this lying down. They’re gonna come back, and they won’t be alone.”
Raven wasn’t surprised. She’d known the moment they stormed the warehouse that the Nevada crew would regroup and come back for more. “So what’s the move? Do we hit them first before they can retaliate?”
Jax shook his head. “It’s not that simple. We’ve got intel that suggests the Nevada crew is being backed by someone bigger, someone with deep pockets. We don’t know who yet, but it’s not just about territory. This is part of something larger.”
Raven frowned. “Bigger how?”
Jax flicked his cigarette into the gravel, watching it smolder. “We think someone’s funding them. Drugs, weapons, connections—it’s all tied together. And now we’re caught in the middle.”
That changed things. If the Nevada crew was just the front for a larger operation, it meant the Sons were dealing with more than just a local turf war. They were up against an organized, well-financed enemy, and that meant the stakes were higher than they’d anticipated.
“We need to find out who’s behind this,” Raven said, her voice steady. “If we take out the head of the snake, the rest will fall apart.”
Jax nodded, though his expression remained grim. “I’ve already got Juice looking into it. He’s digging through contacts, trying to trace the money. But until we know who we’re dealing with, we have to be careful. One wrong move, and we’ll be facing an all-out war.”
Raven leaned against the wall, her mind racing. She didn’t like being in the dark, especially not when it came to threats against the club. Whoever was backing the Nevada crew had to be powerful, and they were making a calculated play. But what was the endgame?
“Who do you think it is?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she watched Jax.
Jax looked away, his jaw clenched. “Could be a cartel, could be another MC trying to expand. Hell, it could be someone with a grudge. Right now, we’re chasing shadows. But we’ll find them.”
Raven didn’t doubt that. The Sons had always been resourceful, and Jax was nothing if not determined. But this was different. The enemy was playing a long game, and the Sons were at a disadvantage.
“I’ll talk to some people too,” Raven said. “See what I can dig up.”
Jax gave her a small nod of appreciation. “Good. We’ll need all the intel we can get. In the meantime, we need to tighten security. No one rides alone, and we keep our eyes open. If they make a move, we hit back twice as hard.”
Raven smirked. “You know I’m always ready for a fight.”
Jax chuckled, the tension easing just a bit. “I know you are. That’s why I need you on point with this. If something goes down, you’re one of the few I trust to keep a cool head.”
She met his gaze, feeling the weight of his words. Trust was everything in the club, and Jax didn’t hand it out easily. She’d earned her place, but with that came responsibility. And right now, the club needed her more than ever.
---
Later that day, Raven was in town, running some errands and checking on a few contacts. Charming had always been her home, but it felt different now. More dangerous. There were more outsiders in town—faces she didn’t recognize, and that made her uneasy.
As she made her way through one of the local bars, she spotted an old friend sitting at a corner table—an informant she’d used in the past for information on rival clubs. He was a small-time dealer, always hanging around the edges of MC business, picking up scraps of intel.
Raven slid into the seat across from him, her expression all business. “I need some info.”
The man looked up, his eyes darting around nervously. “You’re not the first to come asking, Raven. Things are heating up out there.”
“That’s why I’m here. I need to know who’s backing the Nevada crew. They’ve got resources they shouldn’t have.”
The man hesitated, clearly torn between self-preservation and his loyalty to Raven. After a long pause, he leaned in closer. “I’ve been hearing whispers. There’s a big player involved—someone who’s not afraid to cross lines. Word is, it might be the Russians.”
Raven raised an eyebrow. The Russians? That wasn’t what she expected, but it made a certain kind of sense. The Russian mafia had been making moves on the West Coast for years, setting up lucrative drug and weapons deals, but they hadn’t crossed paths with the Sons in a major way—until now.
“What do they want with Charming?” Raven asked, her voice low.
“Territory,” the informant said, glancing around again. “They’ve been looking for a new hub to move product. They see Charming as a good spot—small, but with connections to bigger markets.”
Raven cursed under her breath. If the Russians were involved, this was bigger than she’d thought. The Nevada crew was just a pawn in their larger scheme. The Russians were cold, ruthless, and they didn’t care about the lives they destroyed in the process.
“Thanks,” Raven said, standing up. “Keep your ears open. If you hear anything else, you know where to find me.”
The man nodded, relief flooding his face as Raven walked away. She didn’t like what she’d just learned, but at least now they had a direction.
The Russians weren’t just an enemy. They were a force, and if the Sons wanted to survive this, they were going to need every bit of strength they had.
