CHAPTER ONE

Maverick

The sharp snap of a beer can popping open cracks while another round of hushed laughter echoes over Mount Lee. Smiling to myself as I bring my beer to my lips, my face shrouded by a balaclava, I turn to Noah, the club's prospect, and shake my head. "Alpha's gonna kick your ass for this. You know that, right?"

South, Rip, and Eggs all chuckle before drinking their beers while Noah tilts his head. "Yeah, I do. But fuck, brother, check out this view!"

I turn, glancing out past the ‘Y' of the Hollywood sign as we sit behind it, drinking. Our club cuts back in our saddle bags, so the security cameras recording us right now can't define who we are or where we come from. We distracted the park rangers who patrol the sign by starting a small fire in a dumpster at the back of the communications tower so we could break through the fence and hike the trail to make our way to the sign. They will easily put it out with some help from the LAFD.

Which is where we are now. Hanging behind the letters, drinking a cold beer as quickly as we can before we have to hightail it the hell out of here before we get caught.

"Honestly, when I told you I still hadn't seen the sign since moving from New Orleans to LA, I didn't expect you to suggest this, Noah," I tell him.

He snorts out a laugh, tilting his head. "I never expected you all to go for it. I thought you'd laugh it off and tell me to go polish another bike or some shit."

South raises his beer can. "Don't worry, when we get back to the clubhouse, you're still shining our rides."

Noah smirks. "You got it."

"Yo, bruh, this is some gnarly shit you've pulled here, Noah. In my entire existence, I've never thought about breaking into the Hollywood sign area to sit and drink a beer. Totally righteous, my man. Just wish I had brought a board so I could surf down the side of the hill. I bet no one has ever done that. Wouldn't that be fucking killer?" Rip chimes in, the brightest smile on his face, as if he imagines it in real time.

We all shake our heads at him.

"You're crazy, brother, but it's why we keep you around. For entertainment." Eggs nudges Rip's side. We all chuckle as Rip shrugs, continuing to drink his beer when the sounds of the fire department sirens make their way up the hill.

We turn, chuckling a little more as a slow smile crosses South's lips. "I can't believe I'm going to be a father soon. I hope to bring my kid up here one day and have a drink with him."

I turn to South beside me, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. "You and Ingrid are gonna make fucking great parents. The way you take care of your sister, with all the health issues she is going through right now, you got it all right, South. You're gonna be a great dad."

Noah glances at his cell and exhales. "Looks like the fire department is on scene. We don't have long."

I narrow my eyes on him. "How the fuck do you know that?"

He grins wide, turning his cell to face me. "I hacked their security feed so I could see all angles. I can even see us if I input that specific zone."

We all roll our eyes before I bring my beer to my lips, finishing off the last of it, and scrunch up the can in my hand, shoving it in my pocket, the other guys following suit. Except for Noah, who throws the empty can down in front of the sign and it begins the descent down the mountain. I scowl and slap Noah upside the head. "The fuck are you thinking, Prospect? That's your DNA you're leaving behind. Go pick that up, dickhead."

His eyes widen as he stares at me. "You're kidding… that hill is steep as fuck!"

"You wanna go to jail, then be my guest. Leave your crap on the hillside for the rangers to find."

The other guys chuckle, nodding in agreement.

"You gotta learn this shit, Prospect. Never leave evidence when committing a crime," South tells him. "Not only are we trespassing, we also started a fire, and now you wanna add a calling card to the mix? You really wanna risk all that on your record?"

Noah groans, stands, and holds onto the supports beneath the tall length of the second ‘L,' his arm wrapped around it, then stares down at the hill. "Fuck! Remind me why I said coming here was a good idea again?"

I smirk. "To show me the Hollywood sign from the best possible vantage point. From where I'm sitting right now, I'm getting a real good view."

He glares at me. "Fuck you, Mav."

I snort out a laugh and kick the back of his knee, making him jerk forward. "Go on, get. You said it yourself… we're short on time. Stop your damn dawdling."

He groans, then cautiously eases down the mountain terrain, the rest of us watching him to ensure we don't need to rescue him. He carefully slides his way down to where his can is a few yards below, grabs the offending object, and then raises it in the air in celebration. "Got it!" he calls back.

"Good, now get your ass back up here so we can get the fuck out before the rangers find us," Eggs calls back.

Noah nods, turns back, and huffs at the steep climb. He leans down, using his hands to help himself up the steep incline. Rocks and dust fall from under him as he ascends, which is difficult with a can in his hand. Idiot! If he had a brain, he'd put it in his pocket like any sane person, but he's not thinking clearly. Seems he wants to get back into safe territory as quickly as he can.

He makes it back, throws the can up behind the sign, and reaches out for South to help him. "Little help, brother?"

South groans and rolls his eyes but places his hand out to hoist Noah up. As he does, Noah steps on a rock, his feet slipping, causing him to fall. South isn't securely held in place, so he tumbles headfirst, straight over Noah, and they fall straight down and begin to tumble down the mountain.

"Fuck!" The rest of us blurt out while we can do nothing but stand and watch the two of them fall, grappling at anything they can to stop them from falling down the giant mountain.

For fuck's sake!I hold my breath while South groans and moves to stand at the same time Noah does. South dusts himself off, but he clearly has scrapes along his arms while moving up to meet Noah, who seems equally banged up.

"You guys alive?" I call out to them.

South continues to dust himself off once they return to the top, saying, "Yeah, I can tell you now, Rip, surfing down the side of the mountain isn't nearly as fun as you think." We all chuckle when South continues, "We really gotta get moving. I'd say help us up, but we can't all keep falling down this motherfucking hill," South states, glaring at Noah, who grimaces.

South hoists himself up through the letters, and I grip his shoulder. "You sure you're doin' okay?"

"Yeah, brother, I've been through far worse than this shit. I'm more concerned about the beatdown Ingrid's gonna give me when I get back to the clubhouse for getting hurt."

We all smirk as Noah finally hoists himself up and groans loudly. "Fuck, man, I didn't mean to pull you down, the rock made me slip."

South turns, gripping Noah's shoulder. "Forget it. We gotta get our asses out of here before we get caught by the rangers."

A smile lights my face while taking one last look at the breathtaking view. "You did do a fucking good job at getting me the best view of the Hollywood sign, Prospect. I'll give you that."

Noah snorts out a laugh, picking up his stupid fucking can from the ground. "Enough to get me my patch?"

The rest of us laugh while we shove him playfully and start walking toward the hiking trail, with Noah striding behind us.

"So, is that a no?" he queries.

We keep walking, ignoring him.

After the shit he's just pulled, his patch is probably going to be delayed by another six months.

As we make our way up to the front of the communications tower, we gather and slowly edge through the bushes, keeping an eye out for any rangers. However, we can still see the smoke from the dumpster fire and the LAFD truck with the firefighters hosing it down. So, knowing they will be a while, we continue down the side of the mountain until we reach Mount Lee Drive.

We all chuckle that, by some miracle, we've gotten away with this prank. But as we make our way toward where we parked our bikes on Mulholland Trail, a black SUV drives toward us at high speed.

I glance at South, his focus flicking to Rip before Noah pulls out his cell. "You expecting anyone else to be coming up this mountain, Noah?" I ask.

The five of us are clearly in sight but still wearing our balaclavas as the SUV approaches, windows tinted so dark we can't make out who's inside.

He frantically searches through the feed on his cell, and his eyes widen as he looks back at me. "I have no clue who this is. The rangers and fire department are still at the tower."

All of us stop, cautiously reaching around the back of our jeans for the guns stowed in our waistbands when the car grinds to a halt. The passenger window slowly winds down, my anxiety beginning to rise, then I see it. The twinkle of something metallic hits the summer light as it exits the window.

"Gun!" I yell at the top of my lungs before I lower my body, pulling my weapon to the ready.

The guys all draw theirs too.

When the doors to the car push open, we all duck to the front of the vehicle for cover. A single shot is fired into the air, and we drop in front of the hood of the SUV for safety.

We're sitting fucking ducks.

I glance at South as we hear the footsteps of multiple people stepping out of the vehicle.

South gestures to me. "Mav, we gotta take these guys out. It's the only way we're gonna get out of this."

"We can hear you, you know?" A voice chimes from the passenger side. "The thing is, whoever you are, you're on our turf. This is our land. So you have one chance to come up with a good reason why we shouldn't end you right here before the rangers show up."

We slowly stand, guns raised cautiously to see who the fuck thinks they own LA land, but as we do, I spot the Heron tattoos on their forearms. My nostrils flair, instantly realizing these fuckers are members of the Rojas Cartel—our biggest damn enemy—and right now, they don't know who we are because we're wearing black and have balaclavas covering our faces.

The four cartel members have their guns aimed firmly in our direction.

It's a standoff.

But we don't have time for this.

The rangers will be coming down that hill any moment, and if these cartel members figure out we're Defiance, this is going to end bloody.

Eggs is the first to talk. "We're on our way out. We're not here for any trouble."

The guy who appears to be the leader of this pack of cartel assholes smirks, waving his gun at Eggs. "You're covered up like you have something to hide. The LAFD is up there, on our land, putting out a fire we're pretty sure you idiots started, and you're here,lying to my face,telling me you're not here for any trouble?" The asshole lets out an obnoxious laugh, turning to his cartel scum beside him, shaking his head. "I don't know, Carlos, you buying what he's selling?"

Carlos chuckles under his breath. "I think the only thing I am buying is a shovel so he can dig his own grave."

Inhaling sharply, I side-eye South. He glances back at me, both of us knowing we're in deep. The club and the cartel are already in conflict. We don't want to escalate things. But I don't see this ending any other way.

"Look, we know who you are. We don't want to fight the cartel. Let us be on our way, and we won't come back. You have our word," South states.

The leader shifts his gun to South and fires a round at his feet, narrowly missing his boot. South doesn't flinch. Instead, he holds his gun higher at the asshole. "We don't even know who you are or why the fuck you're on our land. You think we'll just let you walk after you've damaged our property?"

Rolling my shoulders, the other guys begin realizing the same thing I am. We're fighting our way out of this. The thing is, if we kill these guys, that's going to mean further retaliation back on the club.

We have to keep them alive.

"We don't want to fight. But we will. And if you haven't noticed, you're a man short," I tell him.

He glances around—he has four men to our five—then turns back to me, a slow smile crossing his face. "Then you really don't know who you're dealing with."

Exhaling, I brace myself, ready for this fight. "No… it's you who doesn't know who you're dealing with," I reply, then lower my gun at the same time as my brothers, each of us firing a round into the cartel guys' thighs.

They all drop, and we race forward. Rip runs for the vehicle, and the rest of us take on a cartel member. I run for the leader as he quickly finds his bearings and stands. Just as I reach him, I swing my fist out and slam into his face. At the same time, my brothers move in hand-to-hand with the other cartel members.

The leader falls back onto the hood of the SUV, and I rush forward, reaching for his shirt to pick him up and slam him back down, but his hand comes out with a switchblade out of nowhere and slashes at me. I duck out of the way, but not quick enough because the blade slices across my stomach. I let out a groan. The cut isn't deep, but it's enough to piss me the hell off.

I hear a groan, and out of the corner of my eye, I see South taking a hit to the face with a knuckle duster. He soon recovers, bending and ramming his shoulder into the cartel soldier's stomach, and they land on the ground, rolling in the dirt.

My attention is quickly back when a blade rushes for me again, but I sidestep it, bringing my gun up and aiming it at his shoulder. I pull the trigger, and he growls in pain but still doesn't drop the fucking blade. He's making it real damn hard not to kill him as he lunges for me again, but because he's so wounded, he's slow, allowing me to dodge the movement. I yank on his arm, grabbing his wrist and pulling down, causing him to scream when it fractures. He drops the blade as I spin him to face me, then I slam my fist into his face. The asshole falls back onto the dirt while I pant and puff for breath.

Noah stands over the cartel soldier he has managed to wrangle to the ground, then punches him square in the face. A tooth flies out when his head spins before he finally gives in. Noah bends down, picks up the tooth, and slides it into his pocket. "I'll be taking this. Don't want you fuckers getting any cash from the tooth fairy."

I snort out a laugh as the soldier spits out a line of blood, the four of them panting for breath, completely spent and beaten to bloody pulps. My eyes shift up to South's face, which is banged up and bloody. Eggs has a couple of deep slices in his arm.

And Rip? Well, he looks completely fine as he sits in a vehicle with a bright smile. "I got us a gnarly ride. You wanna get the fuck outta here before those rangers totally fry our asses?"

Glancing down at the leader, I turn up my lip. "You could have let us walk. This beat down is completely on you," I tell him, then signal to the other guys.

As I glance up, the rangers are heading this way.

We run for the cartel's SUV, jump in, and Rip spins the car around to take us back to our bikes.

The quicker we get the fuck out of here, the better.

We do not need to be tied to any of this.

The guys begin to laugh once the vehicle takes off toward our bikes. We remove our balaclavas, shaking our heads.

"Holy fuck! Did that just happen?" Noah asks.

South groans, rubbing at his face. "Ingrid is going to kill me for this."

I scoff. "Ingrid is not the one you have to worry about. When Alpha finds out what we've just done, he is going to feed us to the damn pigs."

Eggs scrubs at his face. "Everyone okay? No one too badly injured?"

Everyone gives themselves the once over, and we all nod.

"Injuries aside, can we take a moment to celebrate the fact we just took on the motherfucking cartel and kicked their damn asses?" Noah declares.

A slow smile creeps across our faces, and we all start laughing.

While it is true Alpha, our president, is going to ream us all new assholes when we get back to the clubhouse, we're going to take this win while we can because this feeling is definitely going to be short-lived.

What we did was reckless.

It was stupid.

It put the club in danger.

It put our lives in danger.

But fuck if it wasn't fun.