Guns & Dusty Roads: The Iron Brotherhood Series by Samantha Westlake Read Free Book Online Page A

Brotherhood.”
    There was no other comment from the circle, but Kara thought that she sensed a few of the men holding their breath, waiting.  They were all listening to her, now, she realized.  This was her moment - she would either sell them on her story, and get the help in this case that she needed, or she would make some misstep and would be out on her ass - or worse.
    No pressure, Kara, she thought to herself.
    Kara took a half-step forward, bringing her closer to the center of the circle.  She kept her body angled forward, towards Bear where he sat at the far side of the lopsided shape of chairs, but she made sure to bring her eyes around to look at all of the men, holding eye contact with each one for a few seconds as best she could.
    “The Hellraisers,” she began, her voice high and clear.  “They are your enemy, and they are growing stronger.”
    One of the men leaned forward slightly.  “We have an agreement-” he started to say.
    Kara cut him off.  “You have an agreement for now, but it is far more fragile than you believe,” she overrode his voice.  “You may be men of honor, but I have come to know enough about the Hellraisers to say that they possess no honor.
    “Instead, they are using deceit and lies to further their own goals,” she continued.  “I have heard whispers and comments of how they use truckers to move their shipments of illegal guns - and more and more truckers are now turning up dead.” 
    Kara pulled her eyes back to Bear, at the head of the oval.  “They are cleaning up any potential threats,” she emphasized, glaring at the man with every ounce of intensity she could muster.  “And how long before that list of threats includes other gangs, competition, in the area?”
    In her peripheral vision, Kara could see some of the men nodding along with this story.  It was making sense to them.  They might have had an agreement with the Hellraisers, but to these outlaws, an agreement was only as good as the word of the man who made it.  And once that man had broken one agreement, there was no reason to trust that he would honor any others.
    Bear, however, still didn’t look convinced.  He stared at her, his big eyebrows making his brow jut out even more.  “And how do you know this?” he asked.  The tone of the question was light, but there was a barb hidden in among the candyfloss.
    Kara knew that barb was there, and she expertly flicked it aside.  “Savage,” she replied, using the name that Cross had given her.  “He likes to brag.”  Kara knew that it would take more, so she glanced down at herself, putting on her best impression of embarrassment.  “Even to his casual conquests,” she added.
    Her ears caught the murmurs of a couple men off to the sides, and she knew that she had nailed the sympathy play.  But when she looked back up at Bear, he wasn’t falling over himself to agree with her argument.  He gave her a single nod.  That might represent that he believed her - or just that he thought she had made a solid play, even if it wasn’t true.  Kara had no way of knowing what thoughts were inside the giant’s skull.
    After a minute, Bear pulled his eyes up to the rest of the gang, scattered around.  “The outsider has spoken,” he called out.  “Shall we discuss?”
    “Aye!”  That was Gimli - Kara already knew the voice.  “I move we open discussion.”
    “Seconded.”  Cross’s smooth voice, cautious.  The man was waiting to see how this would play out, Kara knew.  It was the smart play, the play that she would make in his shoes.
    For some reason, this fact still rankled at her.
    But Bear nodded.  “Then what say we?” he asked, addressing the bikers around her. 
    Kara was still standing in the middle of the circle, listening as these men spoke around her.  She felt slightly self-conscious, put on the spot, but no one had told her to take a seat, so she remained there, waiting and listening.
    “I think the lass has got a