American Street Kings: The Complete Series

by Bella J

  The PC walked in, the look on his face making his distaste for me known. “You son of a bitch. All this time, you lied to me.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me exactly how it is?” He sat across from me, and I tugged at the cuff keeping me in place in the chair.

  “You need to let me go so I can find your daughter.”

  “Not this time, Lincoln Walker.”

  “Oh,” I snorted, “we on a first name basis now? That puts our relationship on a whole new level, doesn’t it, Timothy Green?”

  “Cut the crap.”

  “Then let me the fuck out. Someone took Alyx when you and your fucking squad decided to be fucking heroes by storming into our motherfucking safe house.”

  “Do you seriously think I’m going to believe you now, after you’ve been spewing me bullshit all along?”

  I lolled my head back, frustration boiling in the pit of my stomach, threatening to fucking burst right out of me. “You got it all wrong, Commissioner.” I glared at him. “Ever consider that the info you received might be bullshit?”

  He clasped his hands, leaning his elbows on the table. “As I’m sure you already fucking know, we got an anonymous tip saying my daughter was being held hostage by the American Street Kings in Coney Island. What kind of father would I be if I didn’t act immediately?”

  I almost fucking laughed in his face. “It’s a little late to start acting like a father, isn’t it?”

  His eyebrows lifted, the creases on his forehead joining his widow’s peak. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  I bit into my lower lip, wanting to fucking growl like an animal. “I always knew you didn’t have balls. That’s why you got the Kings to do your dirty work for you, because you couldn’t do it yourself. But the fact that you couldn’t even stand up to your psycho wife, abusing your daughter—”

  “Stop right there, you son of a bitch.”

  I jerked forward, the steel cuffs clanking against the metal frame of my chair. I snarled, wishing I could fucking bash his face in and feel the crack of bone. “You watched while your wife shoved her finger down Alyx’s throat, and you did nothing. Nothing!” I yanked at the cuff again, the adrenaline and rage making it impossible for me to stay in control and remain still. “For years, you watched your daughter wither away, sat on the fucking sideline while her own goddamn mother ruined her. So, do not sit there and pretend you have the moral high ground, you fucking coward.”

  “Fuck you,” he blurted, slamming his fist on the table as he flew up, his chair screeching across the cement floor. “You are nothing but a low-life criminal—”

  “A criminal who you paid to take care of the scum you and your fucking laws couldn’t take off the streets.”

  He gritted his teeth, his cheeks flaming red. “You took my daughter, and then pretended like you were actually helping to find her.”

  I stood, my body awkwardly pulled to the side because of the cuff around my left arm. But I wanted to look the fucker in the eye. “You. Know. Nothing.”

  “Tell me where my daughter is, or I swear to God, I’ll lock you up and make sure no one finds the fucking key.”

  I leaned closer, real close so I could whisper just loud enough for him to hear. “You and I both know I have enough shit on you to make you lose everything. Your job, your home, your holiday mansion in Beverly Hills. And let’s not forget that stunner of a yacht anchored at North Cove Marina.” I inched forward, my jaw clenched. “Do not fuck with me, Commissioner. Do not think because you’re on that side of this goddamn table you have the upper hand here.”

  I noticed his gaze flick from me to the one-way mirror, then back at me.

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’d be more than willing to speak a little louder so our audience behind that glass can hear every goddamn word I just said.”

  He sat back in his seat, eyebrows slanted down, his finger nervously tapping on the table.

  I sat back down. “You need to let me go so I can find Alyx.”

  “Not a chance, Granite.”

  “I’m serious. In here, I can’t do shit to find your daughter.”

  He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. The confidence he had when he strode in here was no longer there, but rather uncertainty. And maybe a little panic since I fucking threatened to make our business arrangement public.

  “Did you take Alyx?”

  “No.” I looked him square in the eye without batting a fucking eyelash. It was only half a lie, anyway, since I technically didn’t take her. The dead Python prospects did. Besides, if I wanted any chance to get out of here, I needed to convince our commissioner that I was still one the good guys.

  He crossed his legs, finger still tapping away on the table. “Are you telling me you didn’t have my daughter? That three of my officers who claimed to see her at the scene are talking bullshit?”

  I almost laughed. “I’m not that fucking stupid, Commissioner. I ain’t fucking talking in here.”

  “You might as well, because you’re not leaving here until I find my daughter.”

  “Goddammit!” I jerked up, the table screeching on the cement floor. “I can’t fucking help her if you have me locked in here. Get that through your thick motherfucking skull.”

  Two uniforms came rushing in, but the commissioner held his hand up. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

  One of the cops scowled at me, holding his gun at the ready.

  “I said I’m fine. Get out,” the PC ordered.

  “Yeah,” I snarled at them. “Get out.”

  “Granite, for God’s sake. Sit the fuck down.”

  I glared at the uniforms until they left, and only sat when the door closed behind them. If it wasn’t for these motherfucking cuffs, I would have gone savage on all of them.

  The PC studied me, and I could fucking hear the wheels turning in his head. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

  “I told you, not in here.”

  “I can’t let you go, Granite. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, even I don’t have that kind of power to pull you out of this fucking mess.”

  I cursed, letting my head hang down. “How did you figure out where our safe house is?”

  He shrugged. “It was an anonymous call. Said you had Alyx hidden in a house in Coney Island.”

  I scrunched my nose and tugged at the cuffs again. “You tracked the call?”

  “Yes. We tracked the call two streets from your house.”

  “Fuck.” I let out a breath and leaned my head back, trying to figure out what the actual fuck was happening. Was it a coincidence that the same day the call got logged, cops ransacked our safe house, and Alyx disappeared? I thought not. It had to be the same person—the one who called, and the person who took Alyx. Or it was two different people working together. Jesus, if only I could get these goddamn wheels in my head to stop spinning and start figuring shit out.

  “You know,” he started, “you and I have come a long way, and a part of me really wants to believe you are not the scum behind my daughter’s kidnapping. But currently, everything is pointing right at you, and I can’t ignore that.”

  “Yet you can ignore how your wife is killing your daughter.”

  That shut him right up, and his face went from pale to pink to bright red.

  The commissioner flattened his tie down his chest, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “My personal life is not the issue here.”

  I slanted my head to the side. “Is finding Alyx not personal to you?”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “You know what? We could go on all goddamn day, pointing fingers. But that won’t help us find Alyx. So I’m going to say this one more motherfucking time. You need to let me go. In here, I can’t do anything. I need to be out there so I can find her.”

  The commissioner shook his head again, and this time I slammed my free fist on the motherfucking table.

  “Let me fucking go!”

  “Not a
chance.” He leaned forward. “Right now, I don’t trust you, so until I figure out what the hell is going on, you’re staying here.”

  That was the moment I decided to play my last fucking card. “I’ll talk, tell you everything you want to know.” I leaned over the table, pulling my lip up in a snarl as I whispered. “But you better make sure those recorders aren’t on and no one else is listening in on us because I will be mentioning our business during this conversation, Commissioner. As collateral. So, if by any chance someone is listening in on us, they’ll find out how dirty you really are, and you’ll end up going down with me.”

  His thick eyebrows curled up. “Are you threatening me?”

  “You bet your fucking ass I am. I’ve never had any problem playing dirty. But with Alyx’s life on the line, I’m willing to go far beyond simply playing dirty. I’ll turn fucking lethal, I swear to God.”

  It was a good thing they had me cuffed, or they’d be arresting me for killing the police commissioner in the next five fucking seconds.

  He stared at me for a few more moments, nothing but my wild heartbeat and rapid breaths cracking through the silence.

  Finally, he stood, fastening the buttons of his suit jacket. He didn’t say a word as he walked out, leaving me behind. I yanked and tugged at the fucking cuffs, but I knew it was pointless. Didn’t stop me from trying, though. “Let me the fuck out of here!”

  I lifted my knee and kicked the table, sending it flying across the goddamn room. I screamed, roared like the fucking devil. My insides were coiled with the flaming chains of hell, my heart on the verge of exploding as desperation to find Alyx consumed every molecule of my being.

  The door opened, and the PC appeared. “I leave you in here for ten fucking seconds and you decide to rearrange the furniture?”

  “Let’s just say I’m feeling a little on edge.”

  As the door slammed shut, he stayed on the other side of the room. “Talk.”

  I raised a brow. “Are we alone?”

  He nodded. “Say whatever the fuck you want about our business. Just tell me what is going on with Alyx.”

  That settled me a little, the fact that he mentioned we had ‘business’ clearly proving our conversation wasn’t being recorded. Alyx might be his daughter, but I knew he wouldn’t risk his reputation for anything…and that included saving his daughter.

  I sniffed and wiped my face on my shoulder. “Alyx was with us, yes.”

  “You son of a bitch.”

  “Calm the fuck down and listen,” I warned. “We found her a few days ago, but I didn’t tell you because the threat hadn’t been eliminated yet.”

  “What threat?”

  “The Pythons. Slither made it clear he would come for her again, so we decided to keep her at our safe house until we managed to take them out. I didn’t wanna chance it by sending her home then letting her end up in Python hands again.” God, the lie sounded so fucking real, even I would have believed it.

  The PC started pacing, rubbing his chin. “So, are you telling me you had her, but you didn’t tell me?”

  I snorted. “Think about, man. If you knew she was safe, if you knew we had her, you would never have been able to pull off the act of a concerned fucking daddy. Slither is sly as fuck, and believe me when I say there’s no bullshitting that asshole. We couldn’t chance it by telling you.” I rolled my neck from side to side. “I wanted to make sure Slither wouldn’t be able to get to her, so I did what I had to, to protect her.”

  He kept pacing, eyes downcast, mind seemingly running in every fucking direction. The tap of his leather dress shoes on the cement floor was starting to fuck with my brain.

  “Can you stop pacing?”

  He turned on his heel, his eyes pinned on mine. “Let’s say I believe you. Where is she now?”

  “Jesus. Do you not think if I knew that I’d fucking tell you?”

  “I need to think.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ. There is no time for you to fucking think!”

  But he rushed out of the room, leaving me behind. I gave another solid pull at the cuffs, the skin around my wrist raw from the strain.

  “Let me out of here!” I yelled, but it was no use behind the soundproof walls. I scratched my forehead. “Where are you, Alyx?” I whispered to myself, and I lolled my head back. “Where the fuck are you?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alyx

  It was dark with the bag pulled over my face. My heart pounded, and I could almost hear the swooshing of blood inside my veins.

  The rope tied around my wrists behind my back cut into my skin, but I kept twisting my hands with the hope that I might magically be able to free myself. I had no idea where I was, or who I was with. All I knew was when those men came rushing into the house, chaos exploded around me. It was impossible for me to focus with everyone shouting, cursing, and frantically rushing around like maniacs. When smoke erupted around us, I was too disorientated to realize that whoever pulled me out of the house, shoving me into the back of a van, wasn’t trying to save me from the mayhem. The last thing I saw before a bag got pulled over my face was Granite being taken down by a bunch of men, and I heard him scream my name. Calling me.

  I tried to fight blindly against the masked monsters, kicking and screaming, managing to slam my fists into bodies I couldn’t see. There was a slight sting on my arm, and I became groggy, dizzy, my arms and legs getting weaker…until finally everything went black.

  I woke up in this metal chair, feeling the cold spreading through my bones, my wrists and ankles tied. Everything was still black, the rough fabric of the bag over my head scratching my face. My lips quivered, and my body shook like crazy. Not knowing where I was, unable to see anything, only heightened the fear. Intensified the terror. I tried to listen if there were any sounds around me, but all I heard was my frantic heartbeat.

  God, it was like I had a giant neon sign around my neck reading ‘Kidnap me!’

  “You awake, there, princess?”

  I snapped my head to the sound of the familiar voice. “Who are you?”

  “Aw, have you forgotten me already?”

  Dammit. That voice was so familiar. I just couldn’t fucking place it.

  “I’ll tell you what I can’t forget. Your fucking screams while you and Granite fucked like rabbits in the room next to mine.”

  “Tanit?”

  Abruptly, the bag was pulled off my face, and I wiggled my nose as I opened my eyes.

  True as fuck, it was her standing in front of me, cherry red lips pulled in a wicked smirk. “Hello, princess.” She placed a finger over her lips. “Or what is it he calls you? Ballerina girl?”

  “Tanit, what are you doing?”

  She placed her hands on the chair’s armrest, her long black fingernails scratching against the metal. Dark brown irises gleaming with malice studied me, looking me straight in the eye. “I don’t like it when people become thorns in my side, Alyx. And you have become a thorn in my side.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tanit. What the hell is going on?”

  She straightened, flicking her dark hair over her shoulders. “Granite and I had a good thing going until you fucking showed up.” The heels of her black boots clicked across the floor as she started to circle me. “All I needed was a little more time.”

  I pulled at the ropes around my wrists, my shoulders aching and complaining. “Tanit, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but this is insane. You need to let me go.”

  My scalp stung as she pulled my hair back, craning my neck. “I’ll tell you what the hell is going on here.” She brought her lips close to my ear. “Last night, while I listened to your filthy sex cries, thinking about Granite’s dick fucking pleasure into you, I couldn’t stop thinking about how that used to be me. How it used to be my cries hitting the goddamn roof while he ploughed into me.”

  I shuddered as menace coated her every word.

  “And then I realized there was no chance in hell I�
�d just stand by and let you take him from me.”

  I swallowed hard, closing my eyes. “Tanit, this is insane.”

  Abruptly, she let go of my hair, shoving my head forward. “Come on, Alyx. I think you’ve been kidnapped enough times to know that sanity rarely has anything to do with it.”

  The black skirt she wore about just covered her ass, her naked thighs firm and rounded. Her shirt had to have been two sizes too small, as her breasts were only one deep breath away from popping out the top.

  She leaned against the wall, looking at me like I was a doll she really wanted to play with…right before she ripped my head off.

  “Have you sucked his dick yet?”

  “What?”

  “I do this thing with my tongue, and then bite down slightly, adding a little pressure. Oh, he would shoot cum down my throat within seconds of me doing that.”

  I cringed, having that image in my head. It made my skin crawl and my stomach turn inside out, thinking of her being with him. “Tanit, stop. You don’t have to do this.”

  A dark brow almost reached her hairline. “You don’t even know what I’m doing yet.”

  “I know you’re making a mistake.”

  She gave me a dismissive wave. “No, you don’t. You’re nothing but an underweight rich bitch. You have no clue what it’s like to have nothing, and the only way you’re guaranteed to have something that resembles a life is by opening your fucking legs.” Her forehead creased, her eyes wide and filled with hostility. “You had everything. You didn’t need to have him too.”

  “It’s not like that.” I shook my head.

  “Becoming Granite’s old lady is the only way for me to have a secure future.” She stalked forward. “And you were on the verge of taking that away from me.” The hate in her eyes intensified, and I could feel it slice through me like razor blades. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and seeing how much she despised me was enough to make my bones quiver. It wasn’t mere jealousy that fueled her, but the threat of losing her one ticket to a better life.