Ryder POV
The call comes at eleven PM while I'm reviewing territory maps with Cass.
"Boss, we have got a problem," Knox's voice crackles through the radio, tense with controlled anger. "Steel Serpents jumped two of our guys at Murphy's Bar. They beat the hell out of them."
I set down my pen carefully, feeling that familiar cold settle in my chest. "How bad?"
"Tommy's got a concussion. Jake's got three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder." Knox pauses, and I can hear engines revving in the background. "They left a message carved into Jake's back. Says the Iron Fangs are going soft."
The cold in my chest spreads outward, turning everything sharp and clear. The Steel Serpents have been testing our boundaries for weeks, small provocations to see how far they can push. But attacking my m
