by J. L. Leslie
“We agreed that I wouldn’t sell in Verdana anymore. I’m a man of my word, Mr. Knowles.”
I doubt that. He was completely against this arrangement to start with. I knew I could nail him eventually though. I may have had help bringing down the Rykers, but the task was accomplished. The Drycos went down shortly after I got the tip to raid their warehouse. Two down, one to go.
I’ve known for a while that the Ravens make their profit selling military grade weapons. I had a tip from a snitch a while back that this was their product and when to raid one of the delivery trucks. Unfortunately, the raid was a bust and turns out, the snitch couldn’t be trusted.
I reminded Dax that I knew all about his dealings and would take him down if he continued to make deliveries in Verdana. The fact that Raiden had saved my life was the only reason I would turn the other way for him to continue dealing in other cities. It took him an entire week to send Raiden to tell me he agreed to my proposal.
“Ian Tate is being reluctant. He wants confirmation that you believe he should work with me.”
Dax crosses his arms. “Why the fuck would I tell him that? I don’t agree that what you’re doing is helping anything.”
“My guys knew about the man the Sinners sent here before you did,” I state. “I don’t even want to know where you put that damn body. We haven’t seen any official retaliation activity from them, but you and I both know they haven’t just rolled over and surrendered. We know that clubs don’t just shut down when their presidents die. What happened to the Rykers when Cal died?”
“Had Warren Mathis not gotten himself locked up, he would’ve stepped into that role. He was the vice president. With him gone, that sorry sack of shit, Burch, stood in. He was not president material. I can guarantee that’s why dear old dad came here to stir shit up. As far as the man the Sinners sent, you need not get a big head about that shit. I have my own men on lookout.”
“My point is, the club didn’t shut down because the president died. A new president stepped up, and it was business as usual. The Sinners have a vice president as well. He’ll be stepping in and taking over, regrouping. My men informed me the asshole was here weeks ago. How long did you know?”
I see his jaw clench, which tells me it wasn’t as long I’ve known. “You need to fucking let me know when you know things.”
“Because you’re so damn forthcoming?” I counter.
“I’m the one protecting this fucking town!” he yells.
“And I’m the one protecting you!”
He fumes at this, slamming his fists on the desk. “The hell you are!”
“You think you’re walking free because you’re invincible? It’s because I’m allowing it. I want this town safe, and for now, you’re helping me do that. I know that this fucking war you started years ago isn’t over. Only now, we have new players involved.”
“Damn right we do! And you went and got that girl’s sister like everything was okay,” he sneers. “You aren’t protecting any fucking body!”
“She’s fine! Don’t you remember, the man she ran from got a bullet to his chest? Besides, she’s been in protective custody two years.”
Dax laughs and shakes his head. “If you think they’ve forgotten what she’s done, you’re wrong. She betrayed their president. They will come for her,” he assures me. “And they won’t stop until she’s dead.”
~Katy~
I patiently wait for Griffin to come out of Dax’s office. I opt to sit at the bar rather than the sofa. It seems to get too much action and doesn’t look near as comfortable as Leon’s.
I stare at the empty whiskey bottle still sitting where I left it last night. I grab it and go toss it in the garbage. I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t handle alcohol too well. I might have allowed Kane to do more than get his fingers wet before I passed out. Good thing he’s not into necrophilia.
When we woke this morning, he laughed it off. Even told me it might be best that things hadn’t gone further. He said he had to run some errands and offered for me to use his shower if I wanted. That he would take me home when he gets back. I can tell there’s more to Kane Bryce than meets the eye. He might have a tough exterior, but there’s something else to him.
He wasn’t an asshole about me passing out. He was actually nice about the whole thing. I hadn’t expected to find his strong arm curled protectively around my waist when I’d opened my eyes. His warm body was pressed against mine. I actually felt safe. Secure. For a split second, I regretted passing out.
I cannot allow myself to have these sorts of thoughts. He’s a biker. I want nothing to do with bikers. Except my sister…and her boyfriend. Well, and I like Raiden and Luka as well. Just them. No one else.
I hear a noise behind me, breaking me from my thoughts, and I turn around to see Griffin opening the door to leave the clubhouse. I scurry off the barstool and rush out after him, calling his name.
“I have somewhere to be,” is his clipped response.
“I just need to talk to you,” I tell him, feeling as though I need to let him know that nothing happened between Kane and me.
“Really?” he questions me. “You didn’t want to talk to me last night. In fact, I stood in a parking lot while you rode off with another man! The same fucking man whose bed you were lying in this morning!”
“I can explain!” I argue.
“I don’t need you to, Katy. If this is the world that gives you comfort, then stay in it,” he spats and slams the door to his car.
I knew he would be angry, but his words still sting. I don’t know how to explain to him that I don’t want this life again. I simply don’t know how to escape it. My sister is part of it. I spent five years entrenched in it and two years hiding from it. The life I used to know back in Tennessee is long gone. I don’t even know that girl anymore. I don’t know how to go back to being her or bringing her back to life, although I desperately want to.
I slowly walk back inside the clubhouse. Dax is coming through with a prospect beside him. I know he’s only a prospect because he’s not adorned in the Ravens cut like the members typically wear.
Dax is holding what looks to be some maps in his hand. I don’t question him or get involved in any club business. The less I’m around this clubhouse, the better.
“I’m heading out to check on something. Why don’t I take you home?” he offers.
I’m pretty sure it’s because he isn’t too fond of me being around here. I’m not a member, I’m not sleeping with a member, and I’m certainly not a club asset. That’s the only type of people he wants around his clubhouse.
“Yes, that would be great,” I accept, knowing declining his offer would be disrespectful. Dax Daughtry doesn’t look like a man who takes being disrespected lightly. He’s the Ravens president and has been for a long time.
We’re only on the road a few minutes, and the silence is deafening to me. I glance around the interior of the Expedition. I’m not sure how many vehicles the Ravens own. They are all black and all extremely nice.
“This is a nice vehicle,” I comment.
“You fucking Kane?”
My cheeks flame at his blunt question. “No, sir.”
“Griffin, then?”
“No, sir.”
“I won’t lie to you, girl, I think it’s a risk having you near my club. I don’t want you causing trouble with my members. Kane is one of my best. We’ve got a shit ton to worry about, and I don’t like worrying about women. Those damn Sinners will eventually find you, but Lincoln has earned the honor of being called a Raven. You’re his old lady’s sister, so we’ll take care of you.”
“The Ravens are nothing like the Sinners,” I say, quietly. “Lincoln would have a bullet to the head. It wouldn’t matter that he chose this club and turned on his own. I understand he found out what they did to him. He had a reason for breaking his loyalty to them. To the Sinners, the fact that he broke loyalty would mean a death sentence regardless of his reasons.”
“W
hat they see as weakness, I see as an asset.”
“What happens when he’s no longer an asset?” I ask him and see his jaw clench.
“I’ll remind him of why he’s a Raven.”
Chapter Seven
~Kane~
Leaving Katy lying in my bed wasn’t exactly what I planned for my morning. I sure as shit didn’t plan for her to pass out on me last night. My fingers had still been wet with her sweetness when I realized she had closed her eyes. I was getting a condom from my dresser. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get it opened.
I don’t usually let women sleep in my bed. We fuck. They leave. I couldn’t stand the thought of waking her up though. She looked too peaceful. I sent Lincoln a text and let him know that she was out cold. I crawled into bed beside her, and it hadn’t taken me long to fall asleep.
This morning, she woke up and snuggled her backside against me. When she realized where she was though, she sat up, and I could see it on her face that she wasn’t sure if she should lie back down and pretend to be asleep, or fucking bolt. The second I assured her nothing happened, she relaxed. I’m sure having a one-night stand with me wasn’t on her agenda last night.
It pissed me off just a little, so I made up some bullshit about how it was a good thing we hadn’t fucked to make her feel better. Why? I have no clue. Normally, I wouldn’t care about her feelings. If they were hurt, oh well. But the look on her face bothered me.
“Are you thinking about a woman?”
I roll my eyes at my sister and shake my head. She hands Eli down to me, and I sit back on her sofa with my son in my lap. He takes his tiny hands and pulls my baseball cap off. He chews on the bill as he lies back against my shoulder.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt anything if you were. Maybe she can get you to grow your hair out and cover up those ugly ass tattoos. You don’t have to let those show anymore.”
“Language,” I scold, pointing to Eli. Brandy has always hated my tattoos, even though I’ve had them since I was sixteen.
“With you as his father, he’ll hear and see worse,” she jokes.
My sister was awarded custody of my son when he was only a week old. His mother left him on the clubhouse doorstep with a note saying I was the father. That was just over three years ago.
I have no idea who Eli’s mother is. No one saw her drop him off and her face wasn’t seen on the security cameras. It was as though she knew where they were and purposely kept her hoodie covering her. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the high-tech system we have in place now when she brought him.
At the time my son was born, I was in lock-up for possession. Thank God Dax is who found him and didn’t advertise the newborn that was dropped off. He took him to Raiden, and she kept him at the hospital until I could do a DNA test and contact Brandy. Eli has been with her and her husband, Trevor, ever since.
She keeps telling me that I can petition the court for custody, but I know he’s better off with them. No one even knows he’s mine aside from the four of them. He’s safe here. If word were to get out that I, Kane Bryce, the Ravens’ head enforcer, had a son, there could be a target on his back. I refuse to have that. I refuse to put his life in danger.
“Tell me about her.”
I climb off the sofa and get onto the floor with Eli. He has some toys scattered out, so together we play with a motorcycle, pushing it around and making engine noises.
“Nothing to tell,” I answer Brandy.
“Wow. A woman has my brother tied up in knots. I have to meet her.”
I don’t tell her how wrong she is. Katy McGuire doesn’t have me tied up at all. We hung out one night. Big fucking deal. I’m not replaying our conversation in my head over and over. I’m not tasting her lips on mine. I sure as fuck am not wishing I still had her curled against me.
I don’t do shit like that.
I’ll stick to breaking necks, slicing throats, and burying bodies.
~Griffin~
I turn onto Madison Lane, running fifteen minutes behind to meet my brother. Although I’m familiar with Garnerville, a suburb outside of Verdana, I don’t know where this new place is that he wants me to meet him. He assured me this way was the quickest though so I’ll take his word for it.
My eyes scan the cookie-cutter houses lining the streets, and I nearly slam on my breaks when I spot the family standing outside one of them. Driving a Ford F150 and wearing a baseball cap doesn’t hide the fact that Kane Bryce is a Raven.
I slow my car and watch him pass a little boy over to a pretty blonde woman. He kisses the boy’s cheek and then hugs the woman, kissing her forehead.
I feel like I’m in the damn Twilight Zone. Kane has a family? In the suburbs? Just last night he was screwing Katy at the clubhouse. Now he’s playing dad?
I ease on, not wanting him to see me, and get to the restaurant a few minutes later. This place immediately reminds me of Victoria’s Diner. When it was burned down, I knew, right then and there, that was the turning point in my relationship with Raiden. She chose to be with the Ravens instead of with me. I asked her not to go, practically begged her not to, but she went to the cook’s funeral, assuring me she would be safe with her father. The fact that she was so comfortable going told me something wasn’t right. I just ignored my instincts.
I spot my brother the moment I get inside. I’m grateful that he’s already ordered me a coffee. I greet him when I sit and start scanning the menu.
“Late night?” he quips. Unfortunately, no. I choose not to answer him though.
A young waitress, probably seventeen or so, comes to our booth. She’s smiling and smacking bubble gum like her life depends on it.
“Mr. Brandon, you guys ready to order?”
I stifle a laugh. He hates this. “Yeah, I’m ready, Brandon, if you are.” I tease, just to rub it in.
We place our orders, listening to the damn gum smacking the entire time. The moment she’s out of ear shot, he glares at me.
“Dickhead,” he scowls. “I’ve corrected her three times already.”
The young waitress calls out over the counter, “Mr. Brandon, do you want ketchup on your burger?”
I chuckle when he sighs. “Yes, please.” He doesn’t even bother correcting her this time. “How hard is it to say Grandon? G-R. It’s not that difficult. It’s like Brandon, but with a grrr.”
“That’s what you need to do, growl at them,” I suggest, and this earns me a muffled curse. “Now there’s the Brandon, oops, I mean Grandon, I know and love.”
“Harassing the sheriff is against the law.”
“Don’t let the badge go to your head,” I tell him. “It’s big enough.”
Grandon has been the sheriff here in Garnerville for the past several years. He knows everything about what goes down in Verdana. He knows about Raiden and me. In fact, he was the first person to tell me she was playing me. I obviously didn’t listen to him.
He even thought it was shitty that I lied about him. Raiden always thought I had a sister. Looking back, she probably knew that was a bullshit lie, but she never brought up Grandon. Never called me out on that. Come to think of it, she never asked to meet my family at all. That should’ve been a red flag to me.
When it comes to my brother, he may seem like a small-town sheriff, but it was his connections that helped me discover who Sully really was. It was his connections who helped me locate Katy. Now, it’s his connections that have been helping me and my CI’s stay on top of the Sinners and everyone else I’m keeping track of.
The men Lincoln sent to me only met with me once. The initial meeting is the only time I ever speak with them. I get rid of their felony charges in Verdana, and they become my CI’s. I don’t care how they get their information.
They know the risks, and it’s their choice how they go about getting what I need. I just want the information. All the info comes back to me through Grandon.
“Dax gave the new guy his approval, so he’s already started out fine with purchasing, but is going to mak
e a move to become a prospect,” Grandon says, his voice low. “It’ll take him some time to get patched in though. No one else has been sent to check on things in Verdana, but according to Jude, he thinks they’re planning a move. As far as the others, they’re still monitoring the area. No luck on finding where they keep the goods yet. Jude will report to me in two weeks with another update.”
He stops talking when the waitress delivers our food, thanking him with the wrong name yet again. He ignores her and digs into his pork chop.
“Any word from Ollie?” I question, and he shakes his head.
“Pretty sure he’s on a bender. He may be too far gone.”
I should’ve known better than to use him. He’s been in and out of rehab, but the judge finally got tired of that act. He faces serious time if this doesn’t pan out.
“Now, onto the serious stuff,” Grandon grins. “When was the last time you got laid? You look like shit. I thought you were hitting it off with that Katy chick.”
I shake my head, taking a big bite of my cheeseburger. I don’t want to tell him that I crashed and burned with Katy. The sting of seeing her in Kane’s bed this morning is still fresh.
“Ali wants to set you up with a friend of hers.”
“No.” I’m adamant with my answer. “I don’t need my sister-in-law setting me up.”
Right now, I just need to figure out what the Sinners are up to. What move are they planning? My bet is that they want to come to Verdana.
~Katy~
I have been lying here on my sofa binge-watching Lifetime since Dax dropped me off. I took a shower first, grabbed a pint of vanilla ice cream and parked it right here in this spot. The only disruption I have had was when Mr. Greene called to give me my work schedule and when Sully called to check on me.
I have not budged, not wanting to let the outside world in on the safe haven I’ve created. I have cried, laughed, and wanted to become a professional dancer, all in one day. Funny how movies can have that effect on you.