Kings of Anarchy

by Caroline Peckham

  "I have a right to go," Tatum said fiercely. "They have the answers I need about my dad. They're the reason he was set up and the reason he's dead. None of you have any right to claim otherwise. Besides, I'm the only one here who can leave the safety of this place with the confidence that I won't get infected with the Hades Virus while I'm out there. And if Kyan is going into that viper's pit then he’ll need someone to watch his back."

  "She has a point," Saint conceded, though he didn’t look all too pleased about it.

  "I said no," Kyan snarled.

  "Well you either want to take them down or you don't," Saint snapped. "If you don't then I suggest you look your new wife in the eye and tell her that you've made the executive decision not to pursue the men who set her father up to die. And I'll look forward to the divorce."

  Kyan looked like he was about to leap out of his chair and rip Saint's head off, but Tatum turned in his lap so that she was straddling him, gripping his face between her hands and effectively stealing his attention.

  "I'm going after them with or without your help, husband," she warned and even though I knew she was calling him that with the aim of softening him, it still set my blood alight.

  There was a long pause that followed where it was clear all of us wanted to argue against this further, but none of us could deny that it was her right to go.

  "Fine," Kyan ground out, his posture rigid as he placed his hands on her ass and gripped her tightly. "But you won't leave my side for a single second. You'll do everything I say and if I decide it's getting too dangerous you promise to cut our losses and run with me."

  "I swear it," she agreed and I bit my tongue against the rest of the protests I wanted to make, my gaze meeting Blake's and seeing the same concern in his eyes. How had this girl won so much loyalty from us four dark creatures in such a short span of time?

  "That's settled then. I'll formulate a plan and you can go this week," Saint said like this whole thing wasn't utterly insane. "In the meantime, I'll continue to pursue the club financially. I have already made a list of likely members from my knowledge of the city's worst assholes and the names you remembered from when you were initiated, Kyan - which would be a lot easier if you’d paid more attention I might add-"

  "It's not about me paying attention or not," Kyan growled. "I have purposefully spent my life having as little to do with the kinds of mean motherfuckers my grandpa involves himself with as possible. Whenever I've been forced to work with the family, I've focused on the grunt work, the bloody work, not the posturing or money grabbing and I've never cared to make friends with old rich bastards who want to rule the world with their wallets."

  "Hail to that," I muttered, giving Saint a look to let him know I thought of him as one of the aforementioned bastards, but he just ignored me.

  "The point is not about you making friends with them, Kyan, it's about knowing who your enemies are,” Saint said in an exasperated tone. “I know you like to think of yourself as the biggest, baddest beast in the woods but you forget that a thousand wasps can take down a bear if they work together and a pack of wolves would do it with even more efficiency. Sometimes I feel like you refuse to allow my influence to take effect on you out of sheer determination to remain ignorant."

  Blake laughed at that and Kyan shrugged like there might be some truth to the statement.

  "I'm still getting over the shock of finding out that there are things the great Saint Memphis can't uncover alone," Blake teased as the mood lightened slightly. "And I'm looking forward to Kyan and Tate figuring it all out for you. Will you be awarding them some kind of prize or will the reward just be in knowing they managed to do something you couldn't?"

  "I'd like to see you do as much as I have to track down an elite secret organisation with endless funding and countless powerful people working to protect it," Saint snarled at him like casting shade on his capabilities was the worst thing anyone could do to him.

  "I still don't like it," I said, earning myself a glare from Tatum, but I ploughed on regardless. I wasn't ever going to apologise for trying to protect her. "Two people in a sea of serpents doesn't sound like good odds to me."

  "I wasn't sure if I should suggest this or not," Kyan said hesitantly. "But I think we could get my uncle Niall on side to help us look into this. He...well he's an evil motherfucker with a mean streak that would make even you assholes shit your pants if he turned it on you, but he also has an axe to grind against people like the sadists running Royaume D’élite. He hasn't made any move against them because he also has no intention to stand against his pa for the position of head of the family so he doesn't like to openly defy him, but I think he would help us get the information we need to take them on. He’s a member too and he'd have our backs if he attended the club with us."

  I considered that, liking the idea of them having someone else there on their side even if it was a member of Kyan's criminal family.

  Tatum scrunched her nose up. "I dunno, Kyan, I know he helped us out with the wedding and all, but he also turned up at Christmas dinner with two severed heads in a Santa sack..."

  "You people come from fucked up families," I muttered, shaking my head as I tried to figure out if the guy being a psychopath was a good or a bad thing from the point of view of this plan.

  "Just them, not me," Blake protested, pointing between Saint and Kyan and I nodded vaguely to placate him.

  "If you think we can trust him then I say reach out," Saint decided for all of us and I had to say that just pissed me off more, but I didn't argue. "I have dirt on him anyway so if he becomes a problem, I can easily neutralise him."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked and Saint smirked like a smug bastard.

  "I’ve spent years gathering intelligence on every notable member of the O'Brien family and I have more than enough evidence filed away on each of them to send them to prison indefinitely if I so choose. One email to my contact in the FBI would remove them from our lives if needs be. But it wouldn't entirely remove the threat of retribution as their empire is so large, which is why I haven't pulled the trigger on the whole lot of them to free Kyan from his Grandfather's bonds."

  "Who the fuck are you?" I muttered and not for the first time since I'd set myself on this mission to destroy Saint's family, I had to wonder if I wasn't way in over my head. What kind of high school kid just casually mentioned the fact that he owned all the information necessary to take down an entire criminal organisation as well as having FBI contacts?

  "He's Saint Memphis," Blake said with a cocky grin like he'd just revealed that he was Batman and Saint just kept smirking. Asshole.

  "Done," Kyan agreed, making his decision while I was distracted by the megalomaniac in the room. "I'll get Niall in on it and we'll go to the fucking club. Whatever it takes to bring them down and get justice for my girl."

  "Our girl," Blake corrected.

  "Sorry," Kyan said, not sounding sorry at all as he dragged Tatum closer to him and pressed a heated kiss to her lips. "I meant to say my wife."

  "I'm already sick of that shit and it’s only been twenty-four hours," Blake snapped and I wholeheartedly agreed with him on that even if I had to bite my tongue on saying it.

  "Yeah," Kyan said as he pushed himself up to his feet, keeping his grip on Tatum's ass as he lifted her and she was forced to wrap her arms and legs around him so that she didn't fall. A laugh fell from her lips but she didn’t try to escape him. "Well it sucks to suck but the truth is the truth. See that ring on her finger?"

  "As if anyone in their right mind could miss that monstrosity," Saint hissed.

  Kyan laughed loudly as he started to walk away from us in the direction of his room with Tatum still in his arms. She was protesting but it was a pretty weak attempt on her part if she really wanted him to let her go.

  "I'm glad you like it. Now I need to go consummate my marriage some more, so I'll see you assholes in the morning,” Kyan called over her laughter.

  "It's not your fucking nig
ht with her!" Blake shouted as he got to his feet and tried to follow them, but Kyan's door slammed in his face before he could stop him.

  My skin prickled as the sound of Tatum arguing carried through the door followed by more of Kyan's laughter and then a shriek of laughter from her too. She certainly wasn't protesting all that hard to him claiming ownership over her. In fact, it seemed like she was quite happy with the turn of events.

  "What the fuck are we going to do about this?" Blake demanded as he strode back into the room and Saint turned up the music so the three of us wouldn't have to sit here listening when the two of them inevitably started fucking again.

  I stayed quiet because I was so consumed with jealousy and anger that I knew if I spoke there wouldn't be any hiding it and I needed to calm the fuck down before I gave myself away.

  "We give them this week," Saint said thoughtfully, his own face a carefully blank mask which told me he was fucking fuming too. "One week where we put up with this shit and get through this trip to Royaume D’élite. After that we call a meeting and make our decisions over this marriage one way or another."

  "I don't like it," I growled, unable to help myself.

  "None of us like it, but that isn't going to change it. And we have enough shit on our plates with the fucking Justice Ninja and Royaume D’élite, let alone Kyan's family breathing down our necks. It isn't worth fighting amongst ourselves too. One week for him to play the controlling husband and fuck the life out of her and then we remind him of the oaths we all swore and end this nonsense."

  "Perfect," I deadpanned, shoving out of my chair and heading for the door. "Well, if there's no further need for me to be here, I'll head home for a shower."

  "See you tomorrow," Blake called, and I couldn't help but notice that his anger had slipped already and in its place was a heavy kind of sadness which I recognised all too well from my own grief.

  Saint said goodnight and headed upstairs while I hesitated by the door with my eyes on Blake.

  He shifted forward and slowly switched the Xbox on, but the sigh that escaped him as he leaned back in his seat made my mind up for me. I headed for the fridge and pulled out Saint's bottle of disgustingly expensive vodka before unscrewing the cap and taking a long swig of it then moving over to join Blake. There was only about a quarter of the bottle left but that would be enough to get a nice buzz going at least.

  "Go easy on me, I haven't played this before," I said to him as I dropped down beside him and offered up the vodka.

  He looked at me in surprise before barking a laugh as he accepted Saint's drink and swigged from the neck of it too while I grabbed myself a controller.

  "I can't promise to go easy on you, sunshine, but I do swear to take Saint's wrath alongside you when he realises we drank his precious vodka," he teased.

  "How about we finish the bottle then refill it with water?" I suggested.

  "Fuck yes." He laughed as he swallowed more of it and I grinned at my new ally in the war against Saint.

  It didn't take me too long to figure out the basics of the game. It was basically a survival based bloodbath with plenty of zombie skulls to cave in. Blake did me the favour of selecting simple missions while I got used to it and we were soon laughing while we stabbed and slashed our way through the apocalypse and slowly worked our way through Saint's vodka.

  "My mom died too," I said as we managed to get our characters back to their camp after stealing a load of shit from some other survivors. "Not that you have to talk about it with me or whatever, but I was alone after that. I know how much it fucking sucks to have no one around when you're dealing with that. And even though you're not in that situation, and you have people here who care about you, I just thought you should know that I get it."

  Blake was silent for a long time, finishing the last inch of vodka in the bottle with a grimace before making his character on the game wander aimlessly through a field.

  When I'd basically accepted the fact that he wasn't going to reply, he finally did.

  "How did she die?" he asked and I cursed myself because I should have expected that, but then again, it wasn't like I had to give him any details. I had a fake name now and I was sure Saint wouldn't remember me among the countless list of people his father had fucked over in his lifetime even if I still went by my old one.

  "She was murdered," I replied, my gaze fixed on the game too.

  Blake took a moment to digest that before nodding. "Did you get the fucker who did it?"

  My hesitation went on longer this time, but I'd already opened up this line of conversation, so it seemed pointless to lie. Besides, despite my better judgement, it was hard to dislike Blake. There was just something about him that drew people in and whether it was charm or bullshit I'd clearly already begun to fall prey to it.

  "Not yet."

  "Well, if you ever need any help with that, I'm in," he said and I was surprised to find that I believed him. He meant that wholeheartedly and without any reservations.

  "Same goes for you," I said. "I know that this whole vendetta against Royaume D’élite is important to Tatum because she needs the truth to come out to clear her father's name. But it's important for you, too. So that you can get vengeance against the people who released the Hades Virus into the world and make the real culprits pay for your mom's death. I just want you to know that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to bring those motherfuckers down."

  Blake turned to look at me and I met his gaze with a heaviness in my own which swore to him I meant that.

  After a long moment, he cracked a smile. "Looks like you really are a Night Keeper, aren't you?" he teased. "I knew you couldn't keep fighting it forever."

  I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't really deny it. Despite my membership to this exclusive club having been meant to do nothing more than get me closer to Saint and put me in a better position to help Tatum, I had to admit that it was more than that now. In a strange way I was starting to feel like I belonged among these monsters. And that might have been one of the most terrifying things I'd had to admit to myself in a long time. Because if I cared about them then that made me vulnerable to the pain of losing them. And that was something I'd never wanted to risk again after my mom and Michael were killed.

  "Let's make it official by fucking with Saint then," I joked, breaking the seriousness of our conversation as I jumped up to refill the empty vodka bottle with water before placing it in the fridge. I probably should have measured it to the exact millimetre before we’d started drinking but a guess was going to have to do. Maybe we’d get lucky and he’d be distracted the next time he poured himself a glass and not notice the difference. Either way, I was looking forward to the freak out he was going to have over it.

  I stumbled on my way back to the couch and laughter tore from my lips as I dropped back down beside Blake and he laughed too. That expensive vodka was some strong shit.

  "I think you might be drunk, sir," Blake teased and I rolled my eyes at him.

  "As if I'd ever drink with a student," I scoffed and the two of us started up the game again as we fell into companionable silence.

  My heart felt a little lighter as we sat there together, and I realised that I'd probably been in as much need of a friend tonight as he was. My grief might have been older than his, but it wasn't something that ever went away. So maybe I had to accept that Blake Bowman was quickly becoming my friend and becoming a Night Keeper might not have been so bad after all.

  M ila had legit screamed when I'd told her I'd married Kyan and the news had spread around the school like wildfire since. I had to answer questions from a hundred different girls while they all cooed over my ring saying it was so me. As if they had any idea. Half of them shot me jealous looks once they’d offered me their congratulations and I hadn’t missed the whispers in class from girls wondering what made me so ‘damn special’. It didn’t feel all bad being envied for being Kyan Roscoe’s wife. Not that I went around with a smug smile on my face or anything, but I certainly w
asn’t complaining.

  Kyan had made sure the school register was changed to list me as Tatum Roscoe without my permission and I'd genuinely punched him in the dick for it. I'd never agreed to give up my name. My name was what connected me to my dad and Jess, and once he realised why I was angry at him for it, he'd apologised. But he hadn't gotten the school to change it back yet and when I'd emailed the administration about it, they had mysteriously not replied. Fucking Night Keepers with their all powerful bullshit.

  I couldn’t worry about that tonight though. Kyan had been sent a message confirming we would be going to Royaume D’élite and all other thoughts had been pushed out of my mind. He'd been sent a location in Hemlock City and we had to be there at seven pm to be picked up and taken to the club.

  Nerves warred in my stomach, but there was a quiet kind of determination which had settled over me too. I hadn't said much since he'd given me the news. I was stewing on my hate for these people and the monster who lurked amongst them who was responsible for dragging my father into the events that had led to his death. The one responsible for releasing the Hades Virus and killing thousands upon thousands of innocents. For dad, for them, for Blake's mom, I'd fight to bring them down.

  I dressed in ripped jeans and a black crop top in Saint’s closet then took a moment to take out Dad’s ashes which I kept wrapped in one of my sweaters behind a rack of coats. Saint never moved it and Rebecca never touched it and that was all I needed to know about Saint’s respect for the matter. I tugged open the pink sweater my dad had bought me a few years ago and hugged the urn to my chest.

  “I’m gonna find out who’s responsible,” I whispered, vowing it to him. “And I’m going to fucking destroy them.”

  I could almost hear my dad’s laugh for a moment, the way he grinned at me when I swore like that. He’d had a filthier mouth than me and I was sure if I could speak to him now, he’d be cursing the assholes who caused his death far more colourfully than I could manage.

  I placed him back away, wrapping him up in my sweater again before turning and pulling on my bike leathers. I headed out of the closest, walking downstairs and Kyan met me at the base, looking seriously appetising in his own set of leathers.