Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
"Where's Ace?" I ask after a few seconds of silence, wondering if I'm going to have to work on my demeanor now that I'm a leader.
Fuck, I probably should've asked to read the fine print before agreeing.
"He left," Kincaid supplies, but I can tell from his tone that there's more to it than he just went home.
"He isn't too happy about the changes being made," Hound explains.
I nod my head. I knew the man wouldn't be happy, but maybe he just needs a little time to wrap his head around the new direction this part of the club will go.
"How does it look if ICE backs out?" I ask, wondering if this branch of Cerberus is dead in the water before it even takes off. Talk about the shortest presidential term ever.
"If Ace and ICE pull their assistance, then we use Max back in New Mexico to find jobs that need to be done," Kincaid explains. "We've always turned down most domestic jobs because we wanted to put some literal miles between our work and home. I always felt a little safer when someone who might have wanted to hurt the club had to pass through customs to get into the United States."
"ICE's help is definitely a benefit," Hound says. He's one of the team leaders from the chapter in New Mexico and is greatly respected by everyone. "But we don't exactly need them. We always knew this team would have to work with a little more finesse than we use in South America and other countries."
"Technology is so advanced now. Had we known this is where we'd be, then New Mexico would've been handled much differently than it was. We didn't have much of a need for hiding who we are," Kincaid says. "We were a bunch of mean-looking bikers moving into a small community, and I didn't want people to be afraid of us, so we explained who we are and what we do."
I watch as he shakes his head. I know for a fact that he wishes things were different. New Mexico has taken a lot of heat and unwanted attention, because of both victories and losses. People are grateful when Cerberus was able to help, but get to a situation too late, and it's like the club was responsible for the entire situation, as if we were the ones who abducted someone and sold them to a sex trafficking ring. There's hardly any neutral ground, and all of that attention has made operations in New Mexico take a different approach.
They've had to expand their property and are in the process of closing off the land. Patrols around the place are a constant now, especially with Nathan Adair still on the loose. His son was killed and his stepdaughter betrayed him by falling in love with one of the good guys. I have no doubt the man is planning murder. With the popularity of Cerberus and anyone being able to find them in Farmington, it's not like Kincaid and the rest of them can hide.
They've gone from co-existing peacefully to having to take on a more tactical role to protect the ones they love. It's why this organization was planned to fight domestic issues in silence. Only people who need to know about us will, and even then no one will have all the information.
Kincaid assures me we can still do that and have lives of our own. It's not supposed to be any different for us than if we were undercover agents for one of the other branches of the military. We're supposed to be a black-ops sort of group that isn't working without impunity, but we're also not held to the same rules a local law enforcement organization would be.
Kincaid spoke of technology, and I know it's advancing every damn day. Face recognition software is becoming more mainstream, and it would be foolish to think that the bad guys aren't utilizing that. It makes what we're doing and how we'd like to handle things around here even harder. Technology helps us a ton, but it also aids sex traffickers as well.
The front door opens, pulling all of our attention, but none are alarmed. I don't know who I'd rather it be, but realize I'd rather deal with Ace when fucking Jersey walks into the kitchen with a wide smile on his face.
"Roman," Kincaid says with a smile, and I feel a tinge of betrayal. I watch as the two shake hands. "Glad you made the switch."
"Did you know he was put on the bar?" I ask, that cynical part of me already trying to find a reason to shirk the responsibility I agreed to take on by stepping into the presidential role for this Cerberus chapter.
"I knew he was working in the area, but he initially turned down the offer to join Cerberus," Kincaid explains.