Rude (King's Harlots MC Book 4)

by J. M. Walker

  Lucas nodded but looked at me over Coby’s shoulder. “I still like you even though you think your boyfriend kicked my ass.”

  I laughed, shaking my head.

  Lucas pushed open the door, thrusting his arm out in front of him. “After you.”

  Lucas Crane was a different sort of character, but knowing that he liked Brogan filled me with all that warm and fuzzy shit. I held a lot of respect for the guy, knowing he would drop anything to help those in need.

  When he let us into his office, Brogan let out a whistle.

  “Holy shit,” she said in awe. “This is what you work with?”

  Lucas stood up straighter. “Only the best. A lot of it has been updated since meeting my girl but the old-school shit still works better than a lot of modern technology.”

  You would never know by looking at Lucas that he had made history with his knowledge in hacking. He did his time. Paid for his mistakes and settled down. But when I needed him to look into someone or something, he had a work around that allowed him to research without getting caught again. He had told me that that was all thanks to his girlfriend.

  Two computer screens sat on a large desk, with three hanging on the wall above them. They showed coding, numbers, shit I could never understand but I was still in awe of it.

  “This is a nerd’s wet dream.” Brogan stepped further into the room, running her fingers along the computer desk.

  “Funny.” Lucas winked with his good eye. “That’s what my woman said.” He looked my way. “What are you wanting to know?”

  “We need information.” I nodded in Brogan’s direction. “Her brother was shot by the head of the organization. He died after getting a blood clot unexpectedly. Zane and his sister wanted Benny but he wouldn’t give in and was shot instead.”

  “Fuck,” Lucas growled. “I’m sorry.”

  Brogan shrugged. “It’s done. The fucker showed up at Coby’s apartment when he wasn’t home and broke in while I was there.”

  Lucas’s gaze snapped to mine. “I’m surprised he’s still alive to tell about it.”

  I smirked, rubbing my jaw. “Not for long he won’t be. Between all of us, these bastards will fall to our feet and beg for their lives one way or another.”

  “I understand.” Lucas walked toward the computer and sat in front of it. “Give me five.” He cracked his knuckles, moved the mouse and the set up came to life.

  “You think he can find more information on them?” Brogan asked, curling her fingers in mine.

  “I know he can.” I pinched her chin, tilting her head. “Have faith, little one.”

  “What if that faith comes back to bite me in the ass?”

  I searched her face, letting out a long sigh. “No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you. We’ll deal with this shit together. You got me?”

  She pulled from my grip, turning in my arms.

  “I asked you a question,” I growled in her ear.

  “Yeah, and I’ll give you an answer when I got one.”

  My dick twitched. Fuck me, her sass turned me on.

  “All right, love birds,” Lucas turned to us. “Names are Zane and Tina Birtch as you already know,” he said more to himself. “Ah. Here’s something new. Adopted by a sick fuck at the age of six. Reports say that Tina was raped and abused repeatedly by him. At the age of sixteen, she had been tried with murder.” Lucas grinned. “This is where it gets good. Zane is actually the one who murdered their adoptive father but Tina took the fall thinking it would get her closer to her brother. That backfired when Zane went on trial and threw her under the bus.” He pointed at the computer screen. “This is all in the reports that I’ve already sent to both of your emails.”

  “Are you kidding me right now?” Brogan looked between us both. “How the hell did you do that?”

  Lucas tapped his temple. “Kidneys.”

  “Tell us more,” I demanded, interrupting their little banter, not in the mood to ask why kidneys would have anything to do with him being smart. I swore half the time Lucas just said shit to confuse people.

  “So damn grumpy,” Lucas muttered, turning back to the computer. “Although Zane stabbed his sister in the back, she fell in his arms the day she was released.” He pointed at the screen.

  Brogan and I took a step toward the monitor.

  Images of the siblings embraced in a hug stared back at us.

  “How the hell did they start this organization? And why would a woman want to kidnap other women to sell them?” Brogan took the mouse from Lucas and clicked picture after picture. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  “They’re sick and twisted. Desperate times and all that shit.” Lucas shrugged. “I have no fucking idea. I’m good but I can’t read their minds.”

  Brogan huffed. “And now they’re starting to kidnap men? Boys?” A string of curse words left her.

  “Dude,” Lucas’s eyes widened. “I bet you have fun with that mouth,” he told me.

  I rolled my eyes but didn’t respond.

  “There has to be something we can do.” Brogan started pacing, ignoring his comment. “And Charles Brian, is there anything on him?”

  Lucas went back to his computer. “Your typical shit. They took him in. He thinks he’s the powerhouse now even though clearly it’s the sister.”

  “It’s always the woman,” Brogan muttered. “My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Somehow I don’t believe that but I obviously can’t ask him about it.” She stopped pacing. “We need to talk to Greyson.”

  ***

  (Brogan)

  Coby let out a snarl, the deep sound rumbling from somewhere inside of him. He didn’t like Greyson. Probably never would even though Grey gave us his blessing and has left us alone. But he was there with Benny that night. I never got a chance to ask him anything about it. When my brothers got together, they tried to leave me out as much as possible. I was used to it but it still pissed me off.

  “Who’s Greyson?” Lucas asked, stretching his thick tattooed arms above his head.

  “My stepbrother.” I pulled out my phone and searched for his name until the picture of him and I popped up. My heart jumped. Letting out a sigh, I met Coby’s gaze. “You fine with this?”

  “I have no choice, do I?”

  “Yes, you do. You could tell me that we’re going to do this on our own.”

  He searched my face. “Call him.”

  The breath I had been holding left me on a whoosh.

  But I knew Coby. He was challenging me. Things may have been better, Benny’s death making them civil but it was still touch and go.

  Leaving Lucas’ office, I called Greyson, waiting in anticipation for him to answer.

  “Now to what do I owe this pleasure?” Greyson purred when he answered.

  I rolled my eyes. “I need you.”

  “Well, then,” his voice lowered. “I can always accommodate that.”

  “Shut up. That’s not what I meant.”

  He chuckled. “What’s up, Brogie?”

  I explained everything. From Zane breaking into the apartment and telling me about Benny, to us meeting up with Lucas and him giving us as much information about the siblings as possible.

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “Exactly. Listen, I need you to tell me what happened that night.”

  “What night?”

  “Greyson, you know which night I’m referring to.” I slid down the wall, landing hard on my ass, and pulled my knees up to my chest. “Please.”

  “I don’t know what information you want.”

  “Yes, you do.” I huffed. “Come on, Greyson.”

  “Brogan, there’s nothing to say. We were at a bar. Benny let himself go and got shit faced. Everything after that happened so fucking fast.”

  “I never thought I would meet the man who killed him.” I dropped my head in my hands. “He was there. Right in front of me and I didn’t do anything.”

  “What could you have done?”
>
  “I don’t know but I could have done something,” I cried.

  At my outburst, Coby appeared in the hallway. “Hang up the phone.”

  I frowned. “I have to go. When you remember something, call me.” And with that, I hung up.

  “Care to tell me why you never told me how you feel?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Denying everything seemed to run in my family.

  “Try that again, little one.”

  My heart raced, jumping to my throat. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Tell me why you told Greyson that shit instead of me. I am the one you’re with, Brogan. Not him. Me.” He pointed to himself.

  “I didn’t think of it until I was talking to him. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it was a big deal.”

  “That’s not the point,” Coby shook his head. “I need you to come to me.”

  “I do,” I cried.

  Lucas took that moment to peek his head out into the hall. “Hey, I found something—”

  “Not now,” Coby boomed.

  “So damn cranky.” Lucas headed back into his office, slamming the door behind him.

  “Tell me why,” Coby demanded once we were alone again.

  Crossing my arms under my chest, I tilted my head defiantly. “I don’t know what you want me to say. Zane told me he killed my brother and I couldn’t do anything about it. I was paralyzed with what he was telling me. Excuse me for not telling you how I felt and told my stepbrother instead.”

  Coby’s jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring. “I’ve accepted that you two have fucked. I’ve accepted that you will always love him. But don’t you fucking dare stand there and rub it in my face like I’m not supposed to be affected by it.”

  “Coby, I—”

  “You are with me—” he took a step toward me. “Or did you forget that?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I could never forget that.”

  “Then, baby, figure out whatever the fuck is going on and be with me.”

  ***

  (Coby)

  I was pissed. Angered the fuck out. I knew a part of it didn’t make sense but knowing that Brogan and Greyson had a history would always eat at me. I just needed to learn to control my anger before it pushed her away.

  “I love you,” Brogan said. “But right now, I don’t need your alpha male shit. I need you to be my boyfriend and support me and just be there for me. Anything else and you can go fuck yourself.” She pushed past me, heading into Lucas’ office.

  “Shit,” I muttered, shoving a hand through my hair.

  Following her, I shut the door behind me before they both turned to me.

  Brogan glared my way.

  God, what I wouldn’t give to bend her over that desk and fuck that sass right out of her. But she was right. I was an asshole.

  “Okay, so what I found out is, Tina and Zane inherited this organization or business. Whatever the fuck you want to call it. It was actually left in Tina’s name but I can only assume that she wasn’t able to run it by herself.” Lucas clicked a couple more buttons before he continued. “The only thing I haven’t been able to find is who left them this shit. A grandfather. Uncle. Their real father maybe.” He shrugged. “That information is locked up tighter than a virgin.”

  “How do we find out where the headquarters is?” Brogan asked, crossing her arms under chest.

  “That, my dear Brogan, is an excellent question. You see this dot?” Lucas asked us, pointing to the center screen of his set-up.

  Brogan moved beside him, nodding.

  I stepped up behind her, running my hand down her arm, and linked my fingers with hers.

  She sighed, leaning into me.

  I craved her touch and I was thankful she gave in.

  “This is where they are.” Lucas tapped some more buttons. “But there’s an issue.”

  “What?” I grumbled. “We’ll just blow the place up.”

  “Yeah.” Lucas nodded, clapping his hands together. “Do that and see how fast you have the authorities at your fucking door.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Brogan thrust her arm out. “We have them.” She turned to me. “Why didn’t we call on Lucas before?”

  “Yeah, Coby.” Lucas sat back in his chair, crossing his arms under chest. “Why didn’t you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “You know why, fucker.” I met Brogan’s gaze. “This place is like Fort Knox.”

  “He’s right.” Lucas rapped his knuckles on top of the desk. “Nothing we can do but wait.”

  “What are you talking about?” Brogan looked between us both. “Are you telling me we need someone on the inside? How come we haven’t sent someone in already?”

  “Because it’s been done.” I grabbed her hands, forcing her to meet my stare. “Brogan, I understand where you’re coming from.”

  “No.” She pulled from my grip. “You don’t.”

  “Listen to me.” I gripped her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze for added reassurance. “I do. I get it. You want to avenge your brother but we have to be smart about this. Trust me. I want to go in there and make them fucking suffer for all the shit they’ve done. For all the pain they’ve caused our friends. Our family.”

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered.

  “Let me see if I can help.” Lucas cleared his throat. “Tina and Zane are good. They’re highly respected and have their hands in everyone’s pockets. They’ve bought their freedom. The only way they can be brought to justice is if someone bigger and more powerful comes into play.”

  “But you,” Brogan gripped my jacket. “You’re powerful.”

  “As much as I appreciate that sentiment—” I kissed her forehead “—I’m not as powerful as you think.”

  “Then what are we going to do? And what about Charles Brian? He just disappeared.” Brogan pulled from my grasp.

  “I haven’t heard anything about him.” Lucas rubbed his jaw. “He seems to be hiding. You guys must have really scared the shit out of him.”

  “How do you know about that?” Brogan asked, frowning.

  “I know all.” Lucas winked.

  We were fucked.

  The only new pieces of information we got were the names of the people running this shit show and that Charles Brian was still hidden. Greyson was being difficult and wouldn’t give me what I was looking for even though I knew there was more to that night with Benny then he was letting on.

  I stared out the window, watching the few cars drive by even though it was late into the night.

  “We should head to the hospital,” Coby said, coming up behind me.

  “Aren’t visiting hours over?” I asked, not meeting his gaze.

  “Yeah, but everyone is in the waiting room still according to Angel.”

  “Really?” I turned to him. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

  “I love you, Brogan.” He kissed me hard on the mouth. “I understand where you’re coming from but right now there’s nothing more we can do.”

  I tried believing that but the fighter in me felt like we were giving up and pushing everything aside. There had to be something more we could do.

  We said goodbye to Lucas and left the tattoo shop with Coby promising to visit more frequently.

  “I’m going to go see Greyson,” I told Coby. It was a last-minute decision but I knew Greyson wouldn’t deny me the information I was looking for if I was standing in front of him.

  “I’ll go with you,” Coby told me.

  “Yeah,” I scoffed. “Because that will go over well.” I raised a hand, stopping him from doing that possessive alpha shit. “I know this is probably a bad idea. I get that. But I need you to trust me. We need to find Zane and Tina. I don’t feel like being alone and Zane show up again because I don’t know what I’ll do the next time I see him.”

  “What do you want to do?” Coby asked, stepping toward me and pulled me against him.

  “You know what I want to do.”
Talking about death and murdering someone like we were only talking about the weather was not normal.

  “Tell me,” he demanded, running his fingers through the hair at my nape.

  I swallowed hard. “I want them both to suffer. I want to watch the life leave Zane’s eyes while I gut him like a pig. I want to hear him scream. Beg. Plead for me to let him go.”

  “And?” Coby asked, his voice lowering.

  I looked up at him. “I want Tina to suffer more. She’s a woman, taking women and girls and throwing them into a life they don’t deserve. She should be against this,” I cried. “It doesn’t make sense. None of it does.”

  “She clearly needs to be in control.”

  “I want to take that control away from her.”

  Coby nodded and kissed my forehead. “I know, little one.”

  Once we reached the SUV, Coby opened the door for me.

  I realized after all this time, that I was the type of woman who needed to do everything herself. With Coby, I didn’t mind if he did the small things like holding the door open for me or paying the check on our date. Even though we had never been on one.

  “Brogan?” Coby leaned against the open door, staring down at me.

  I sighed, stepping into the vehicle but stopped him from closing the door. Crooking my finger, I indicated for him to lean down.

  He raised an eyebrow but did as I asked.

  Gripping his jacket, I kissed him and gave him everything I had been feeling over the past couple of days.

  “Give me your worries, little one,” Coby whispered against my lips. “Put all of your pain on my shoulders and let me take care of you.”

  My eyes welled, burning with unshed tears. These tears would be the end of Zane and Tina. I didn’t cry for anyone but they took a part of me and shoved him six feet underground.

  “I’ll kill them,” I leaned back, cupping Coby’s cheek. “I’ll destroy their organization and burn it to the mother fucking ground.”

  His eyes darkened. “And I’ll be right there beside you.”

  “Fuck, I love you.”

  He grinned. “Once this shit is done, you better show me just how much you love me.”