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🕑 Added 2025-03-23 23:42:51 +0000 UTCWind in the Smoke
Chapter 167 - Returning to the Ranch
Dante returned to his family's ranch grounds and immediately felt the cold lessen compared to the snowy mountains. Although many were used to the cold, it was still considered a harsh environment for the workers.
Fortunately, Dante was very familiar with the cold—quite well, in fact. If he weren’t, he wouldn't have survived these past few days in the Montana mountains hunting wild beasts.
Looking at Susie, who was waiting for him at the first spot where he conducted business, Dante greeted her with a warm smile. He had indeed shown that he was prepared to have a stable relationship with one woman, but he also knew he wasn’t perfect and had made that clear to this woman who, despite all the challenges, had stayed by his side.
Although many might say that true love consists only of two people, when both are aware of the world they live in, what they do, and what they want for their future, they understand that sacrifices must be made.
"I thought you had abandoned me, but it seems the hunting story was true. I hope you take me with you next time," Susie said, touching Dante's face. His thick beard, neglected from the days he had been away, was not a problem for her to touch.
Dante didn’t complain about Susie's touch. Instead, he held her right hand, which was still on his face, and asked, "Did you have a hard time while I was gone?"
"Nothing I couldn’t handle. I can even say the work here is easier than what I did back home with those disgusting, deranged buyers," Susie said with some disgust as she recalled those memories before sighing.
"Sir, I recommend you don’t stay away for too long."
"It's because of that issue, right?" Dante recalled the matter that troubled the entire organization. It was the reason many of his workers were not by his side and also why William had returned.
"You need to deal with that organization as soon as possible. They're getting very insistent with their spies inside our ranks."
"I'm not going to do what the CIA wants. They're desperate, so we’ll wait a little longer."
SAMCRO, originally founded as an outlaw motorcycle club, had evolved into something far more dangerous over the years. Its members, mostly former military personnel with combat experience, covert operations expertise, and guerrilla tactics training, had turned it into a valuable asset in the U.S. underworld.
Their structure and training had made them more than just sophisticated arms dealers or drug traffickers—they were national mercenaries, a clandestine army with its own loyalties and a network of contacts that reached the darkest corners of the government and global organized crime.
For the CIA, SAMCRO was a paradox: on one hand, a problem that needed to be contained; on the other, a tool with considerable potential. It was well known that during the Cold War, the agency had used paramilitary groups for covert operations abroad, but in the current context, with decentralized conflicts and the growing threat of domestic terrorism, having a force capable of operating off the radar was tempting.
The agency had tried to infiltrate SAMCRO with spies, aiming to dismantle its structure or, in the best-case scenario, turn them into collaborators. But their attempts had been thwarted time and time again. The organization was airtight, loyal only to itself, with a code that punished betrayal with death. However, the CIA was not known for giving up easily.
When Dante returned to the ranch, he planned to address this problem as soon as possible. But first, he needed to know exactly what the CIA knew about him.
"If they're so desperate to talk to us, they must have conflicts they want resolved abroad, and that's a terrible idea." Susie knew they shouldn't get involved in foreign conflicts—after all, that would make them enemies of entire nations.
"I’m keeping that in mind."
Once back at the ranch, Dante took a shower and trimmed his unruly beard, which had been making him look unkempt. Then, he put on warm clothes and walked into the living room of his cabin.
"More than 579 million dollars in net profits need to be laundered. Tell me, Dante, what the hell do you plan to do with that much money?" Beth, having learned that her brother had returned, was waiting for him to have a little sibling talk.
"It's always a pleasure to see you, little sister," Dante said as he sat across from her and took a cup of coffee.
"Did you hunt a grizzly bear?"
"Just a few wild wolves. How’s the family?"
"Why don’t you stop being a damn coward and go see them?" Beth asked again, acting as she always had with her brother. She was one of the most unshakable women despite the situation she was in, which made her what she had always been—a Dutton.
"You’re absolutely right…" Dante didn’t feel ready to return to his family yet; he hadn’t figured out how to approach them.
Beth looked at her brother, who had fallen silent, and said, "Good God, Dante, are you seriously thinking about this? Our father isn’t any more saintly than you, and none of the Duttons are. It was weird thinking you were my brother when you were in school. I thought you’d end up like that idiot Jamie, but it turns out you’re the devil himself."
In that, his sister was right—no Dutton in their family was so righteous that they would see him as an outsider. A villain, a man who embodied everything society condemned.
If Dante could now live a normal life, it was because he was good at what he did. Beth had reassured their father that there was nothing to worry about because nothing could put them in danger.
Dante had ensured that, and yet he could still negotiate with the CIA, which had the authority to grant him immunity in the country as long as he helped them with their problems.
"Why don’t we all have dinner together at our house tonight?" Beth suggested, offering to host the gathering.
"That sounds great. I’ll tell Dad," Beth said as she stood up.
"No need," Dante said, but just as he was about to argue, Beth disappeared from the room.
Susie smiled and said, "Looks like we need to plan tonight’s dinner. What do you want to eat?"
"Really?" Dante knew Susie was doing this for him, so he appreciated it.
"Of course. I’d like some meat—definitely not bear, though."
"Whatever you want."
...
At the stables, in the new facilities Dante had built for the horses he had recently purchased, Rip was admiring a beautiful horse.
"That son of a bitch is my horse," Rip said excitedly, seeing the horse Dante had promised him a month ago.
"It's a beauty. I'd love to ride its descendants, but I don’t think I have enough years left," Lloyd said as he looked at the horse, which snorted at the unfamiliar surroundings. He smiled. He was an old man, and he knew he was enjoying his last years as a cowboy. His life full of excitement would soon come to an end.
That was the fate of every cowboy, after all, and he had lived long enough.
"You’re in better shape than a young cowboy, right, Jimmy?" At that moment, Dante entered the stable, interrupting Lloyd’s discouraging words.
A man who had taught him how to be a true Dutton didn’t deserve to speak that way.
"Dante, you’re back, you damn son of a bitch," Lloyd greeted as Dante approached.
"Welcome back, Dante," Rip greeted in a simpler way, but his look spoke louder than words.
Dante walked over to Lloyd and asked, "Did you think I wouldn’t have a gift for you, old loner?"
"A surprise?"
"It’s not a young prostitute, Lloyd," Jimmy shouted, trying to join the conversation. He hadn’t had many interactions with Dante before, so now that he had the chance to get to know him, he was interested.
"Shut up and take that crap to the storage rooms," Lloyd shouted while smiling.
At that moment, Dante walked over to a stall where a white horse stood and said, "This one’s yours, Lloyd."
"Holy hell…"
In front of them was an Andalusian horse, a direct descendant of a noble breed carefully preserved in Spain.
These horses were extremely expensive—something a cowboy could never afford.
But Dante, who had money to spare, wanted to treat his father’s workers a little and said, "Anyone with the brand will get a horse like this. Find one for Jimmy and give it to him when you think he deserves it."
"That sounds good."
"Yeah, but that son of a bitch doesn’t deserve it yet," Lloyd said with a grin, looking at Jimmy as he walked away.
