"Sure," I muttered because I didn't have any other words for him, but I couldn't understand what this had to do with anything either.
Luther ran a tattooed hand across his jaw, hesitating before he began and then pinning me in his gaze. He looked so like Fox in so many ways, but his eyes were a world of their own, this dark and chilling void which spoke of some deep hurt in him as well as reeking of the screams of his victims. I was no fool. I knew this man's reputation and I knew that he would have no qualms at all about adding another body to the list. What I did have to wonder about though was why the fuck he hadn't done it already, and I found I was really damn curious about that.
"Adriana was a beautiful woman," he began. "Sexy, funny and ambitious. She was the kind of woman no man could take his eyes from and that was how it was for me. I was...enraptured. But so was my brother Deke. Back then, the Harlequin Crew were little more than a ragtag band of assholes, but I was making something of them. I was smart and ruthless and piece by piece, I was carving out a place for us right here in Sunset Cove. Adriana saw that, she saw me and she wanted a taste of my power. What else can I say? We were young and we fucked a lot, it wasn't a surprise she ended up pregnant. So she had the baby and all the while, I kept building my empire, working tirelessly to claim more and more power for her, for Fox, for all of us. I wanted to provide everything, and I wanted to have it all. But Deke had set his gaze on a prize closer to home and I suppose that with me gone so much, he found a way to convince Adriana that he might be a better choice for her."
"They had an affair?" I breathed, the idea of that making so much sense. Because he fucking hated women. Fox had told me his dad said she was the worst mistake he'd ever made and warned him not to trust women. So if she’d broken his heart with his own brother then a lot of that hatred was understandable.
"I gave that woman everything," Luther snarled and I had to fight a flinch. "And I made sacrifices for her which she clearly never appreciated. Because while I was out, risking my fucking life and building her an empire, she was in my bed with my brother's dick between her thighs."
My pulse was racing at his words because he clearly wasn't over that betrayal, and he'd literally just accused me of being something to all of my boys while telling me Fox loved me. Did he think I was going to hurt his son like he’d been hurt? But it wasn't like that with us. I didn't know how to explain it, but it wasn't.
"I found out of course," Luther went on. "And I told her to choose. Me and Fox or him. I told her that if she chose my brother then they had to leave that night and never return. Or she could choose me and I’d banish Deke instead. That was it. Simple."
"So they left?" I asked, my heart twisting with pain for Fox as I realised that his mom had chosen a life with some other man over her own son. But Luther was shaking his head, his gaze darkening and I got the feeling it got a whole lot worse than that.
"Turns out, Deke had only wanted a taste of what was mine. He'd enjoyed the thrill of fucking my woman, but he had no intention of keeping her. It was all just a game to him. I'd grown more powerful in Sunset Cove than him with my gang and though I'd offered him a place at my side, he hadn't liked his little brother claiming more power than he owned. So he thought he could take a piece back from me by fucking Adriana. But when she went to him and told him he had to leave and that she wanted to stay with me, he didn't like that. And I guess he decided that she was the problem between us and took it upon himself to get rid of her."
I was chewing my bottom lip as my heart hurt for Fox and I tried to deny the truth of what Luther was saying.
"She called me and told me she loved me," he said. "She told me she was sorry and that she was going to tell Deke to leave. But when I didn't hear back from her again for hours, I went looking for her. It doesn't matter how much blood I may have spilled in the years since that day, I swear I've never seen as much as there was in that room."
"Deke killed her?" I breathed and Luther nodded, his eyes haunted as he remembered the moment.
"He was standing there, covered in blood, her body still beneath him and he turned to me with a fucking smile. Told me it was done and that we didn't have to worry about the bitch coming between us again. I put two bullets in his chest and one between his eyes. My own brother. A man I'd believed would stand by my side through thick and thin, no matter what. But that was the cost of us wanting the same woman."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling his hurt over that even after all these years. He'd lost so much and I could see that his heart hadn't healed from it no matter how much time had passed since.
He blew out a breath, took a long drink from his can then sat back, eying me with interest.
"So I assume you understand now why I thought sending you away was the best choice ten years ago? I could see the way my boys looked at you, hungered for you, and I could see it all ending in tears one way or another. I didn't want that for my boys. I wanted them to be together, a unit, unbreakable. But ten years later they're broken anyway. There hasn't been a single thing that I could do or a plan I could form which has had any hope of uniting them. Or at least there wasn't - until you came back."
"Me?"
"They should have forgotten all about you - sorry to be crass, sweetheart, but teenage boys hunger for pussy and I assumed that once yours was out of mind they'd move on to another. Each find girls of their own and forget about you. But they didn't, did they?"
"The five of us were something special once," I said, running my thumb up and down the lemonade can in my grasp. "I don't know what we are now, but that bond...it's still there."
Luther nodded. "Then I think we can come to a new arrangement. I want you to help me reunite my family. Fox and Maverick have been caught in this spat for too fucking long and I want my boys back in harmony with one another."
"Spat? Maverick despises them - you especially. He literally hungers for your death and-"
Luther waved a hand dismissively and I arched a brow. "That boy has always had a hot head. He throws a fit when things don't go his way and acts out. He's just pissed because I stopped him from chasing after you all those years ago, but now you're back. So he needs to stop spitting his pacifier out like a baby and come home."
"He formed a rival gang," I said in disbelief and Luther chuckled.
"I think we can all agree that The Damned Men are more of a sub-sector to The Harlequin Crew than a rival gang. Besides, gang politics are my domain, so you don't need to worry about that. All you need to concentrate on is getting my boys back together. I'll give you whatever you require to achieve that and in return, I won't blow your brains out."
"I do prefer my brains in their current position," I agreed, while I turned over what he was asking. "What about Chase and JJ?"
Luther shrugged. "They're not my kids but I know that they’re important to Fox and Maverick just as you are. And they're good soldiers. So I'm willing to allow them to be a part of this truce you’ll form."
I opened and closed my mouth at a fucking loss. How the hell was I supposed to do what he was asking of me? On the other hand, I really wasn't keen on the whole idea of him shooting me as an alternative, so I was willing to bet I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.
"I have no idea how I'm going to do what you want," I said slowly and Luther raised an eyebrow. "But, I guess I can try and figure it out. Somehow."
I didn't sound in any way convinced but Luther beamed like I'd just made him a promise.
"Good. I want Maverick home. It's long overdue and we need to unite his people and mine against the fucking Dead Dogs. You can report back to me on your progress as you go. I don’t care what it takes for you to bring them all together again, Rogue, but you’ll figure out a way."
"Err-"
"Come on. This place is a shithole. Let's get back to civilisation." Luther stood and motioned for me to join him so I got up too, walking at his side as he headed for the exit.
He was all smiles now, acting like everything in the world was
great and I had to wonder if he was a little unhinged. But as I took a breath of fresh air, I decided that shit didn't matter because this dead girl was still kicking and today was looking like a particularly beautiful day.
W e arrived back at Harlequin House and my men were all looking sheepish as I drove past them at the gate. By the time I was parked in the garage, my instincts were burning and I jumped out of the truck, leaving the door wide open as I ran up into the house.
“Rogue?” I called and Mutt came running down the hall with a frantic bark. My heart hammered in my chest as I got no answer. “Rogue!” I tore down the corridor and up the stairs, racing to her room and shoving the door open as Mutt ran at my heels. Empty.
I ran back down to the ground floor as JJ and Chase appeared with frowns on their faces.
“Has she escaped again?” JJ asked, looking kind of impressed and if I hadn’t been so busy hunting for her, I’d have punched him for it.
I made it into the kitchen as the guys jogged after me, unlocking the patio door and hunting the area. Nothing.
Mutt whined like he was trying to tell me something, looking anxious as hell and I didn’t like that one bit.
“I swear she wants to get caught by Shawn,” Chase growled as we made it back inside and I swung around, shoving him back against the kitchen island as I knotted my fist in his shirt.
“Well maybe if you weren’t such an asshole to her all the time, she’d prefer staying here over that shitty trailer,” I snapped, then left him there with a snarl on his lips as I marched past JJ back towards the garage, preparing to rip the town apart again to find her. But before I made it outside, a loud knocking came at the door and I practically sprinted to answer it. Please be you.
I swung it open, finding Basset there with red ears and a guilty expression. “Sorry, boss. Luther came home and er-”
I didn’t hear much else of what he said as my whole universe imploded and the breath in my lungs was strangled out of existence.
“No,” I gasped.
“Luther took her?!” JJ bellowed from behind me, his voice sharpening my thoughts in an instant.
“How long ago?” I roared at Basset and he stumbled backwards in alarm as he scrambled to come up with an answer.
“Er, um, I, er,” he stammered and I lunged at him, locking my hand around his throat.
“Answer me!” I bellowed.
“A few hours?” he guessed and I released him, my ears ringing, my heart fighting with my ribs to get out and find her.
Mutt was barking with all the fury I felt in my soul and panic seized me more fiercely than it ever had in my life. I knew in that moment that if my father had killed her, I would never, ever recover.
JJ tugged on my arm, dragging me back into the house and grabbing my face between his hands as he forced me to look at him.
“I need you to focus,” he demanded as Chase started loading a gun behind him, his features twisted with terror. “Where would Luther take her, Fox?”
I tried to drag in breaths as my brother held onto me and gazed into my eyes with the most desperate, urgent need of his life staring back at me.
“I don’t know. Maybe the woods,” I forced out. “Where Luther made us kill to initiate into the Harlequins.”
JJ nodded, his face pale and fear pouring from his gaze.
“Come on,” Chase snapped. “We have to hurry.”
We rushed to the garage, tearing down the stairs together and diving into my truck. My mind was a haze of bloodshed and terror, swirling into this raging storm that blinded me. If he’d laid a finger on her, I would kill my own father today, and I would not make it quick.
I slammed my foot on the gas as the garage door opened, speeding outside and racing for the gates. But they were already opening and as a black van drove in, I spotted my father in the passenger seat and slammed on the brakes, diving out of the car and raising my gun at him.
“Where is she?!” I roared so loud it shredded my throat and as if answering my rage, the heavens boomed with an oncoming storm.
Luther jumped out of the van, holding his hands up, his eyes wide as he grabbed hold of the side door to the van and yanked it open. Rogue stepped out and my heart thumped two furious beats before I ran to her, falling to my knees on the drive and wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Fox,” she gasped, her hands gripping my hair as I shut my eyes and pressed my forehead to her stomach, just feeling the reality of her still being here with me.
JJ and Chase were suddenly upon us, slamming into her until we were all on the ground, fighting to hug her tightest. Mutt dove between us, licking her like mad and she hugged him along with us.
“You guys,” she half laughed, half sobbed as we clung to her and my father’s shadow fell over us all.
I looked up at the man who’d threatened her life all those years ago as the dark clouds drew in behind him in the sky. My fingers were still tight on the gun as I raised it, but he knocked it aside and dragged me out of the dogpile, hugging me firmly against him, the scent of coffee and earth hanging around him like always.
“You and me need to talk,” he said in my ear.
My emotions were shot to shit and I was still in a daze as I looked for Rogue over my shoulder. She was pulled to her feet by JJ and Chase got up, brushing off his knees and looking awkward as he stepped away from her. Fucking idiot would never admit he cared about her even now.
Luther tugged me toward the house, his arm remaining firm around my shoulders and I wondered if he was just reminding our men of our solidarity seeing as I’d pointed a gun at him two minutes ago.
I looked back at Rogue again as she offered a small smile and my dad shoved my face to make me look forward as we stepped into the house. He pulled the gun from my grip when we were all inside, taking the bullets out as he placed it on a table in the hallway and gave me a pointed look.
“It’s never a good idea to have an argument with a loaded gun in hand, kid,” he warned.
“Is that what we’re about to have?” I growled.
“Your face says so.”
We moved into the kitchen just as the first droplets of rain plinked against the patio doors and Luther took a seat at the island.
JJ, Chase and Rogue appeared and Luther eyed us all with intent.
“Sit,” he commanded and though I didn’t wanna obey the asshole right then, I knew I wasn’t going to get an explanation unless I did.
I moved to sit beside Rogue with JJ next to her and Chase on my other side. We were a unit, the four of us - okay five if you counted Mutt on Rogue’s lap - gazing across the island at my father who casually flexed his inked hands and rested them on the surface.
“Where’d you take her?” I snarled.
“Why is she still alive?” JJ demanded, shifting closer to her.
I looked at Rogue and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, needing to touch her and finding my hand was still shaking over the fear of almost losing her. She leaned into my touch, meeting my gaze with those astounding eyes of hers which held my entire soul in their grip.
“It’s okay,” she breathed and I nodded, dropping my hand and taking her fingers into my grasp, thankful when she didn’t pull away. I would have died if I couldn’t touch her then.
I looked to my father for the answer to those questions, finding him regarding us with satisfaction in his eyes. What the fuck was going on?
“I’ve known Rogue was here for a while now,” he said, making my heart stumble. “Your men are my men, Fox, and I’m afraid when it comes down to it, they will always be more loyal to me than you until I die.”
My jaw ticked at that and my grip tightened on Rogue’s hand.
“So why didn’t you say something?” I demanded.
“I was trying to decide what to do, kid,” Luther said, scratching at the tribal tattoo covering his throat. “Do you think this shit is easy for me? You think I wanna be the asshole who takes your girl from you?”
“I’m not his girl,�
� Rogue offered unhelpfully and I practically growled at her like an animal, making her eyebrows arch in surprise.
“Well, he thinks you are,” my dad chuckled like this was fucking hilarious and Rogue fucking laughed too.
“Excuse me,” Chase interjected. “But have I stepped into an alternate reality or something because you’re the one who sent Rogue away, boss, and now what? You’re just laughing with her, letting her sit there like it never happened?”
Luther frowned as me and my boys stared at him, desperate for the answer to his change of heart on all of this shit. The shit that defined our entire lives. It didn’t make any sense.
He sighed, looking to me. “All I ever asked was that you were loyal to me, Fox. But when Rogue killed Axel for trying to rape her all those years ago, you went down there and took it into your own hands, bundled his body off on my fucking boat and dumped him in the water.”
“And?” I snarled.
“And you fucked everything, didn’t you?” Luther growled, his features twisting in anger. “You lied to me. And tried to cover the whole thing up. Then the body washed up and every Harlequin in town knew one of our own had been murdered, so I had to be seen to take action too, didn’t I?”
“So you’re saying if I’d come to you, you wouldn’t have sent Rogue away?” I scoffed.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” Luther said with no hint of a lie in his gaze. “If you’d been honest from the start, I would have dealt with it. You think I care about avenging some piece of shit rapist in my gang?” He sneered. “It wasn’t about that. The fact was, you betrayed me, son. So did Maverick. And you almost shot to hell any chance of Chase and JJ joining the Harlequins too.”
“There’s no reality that exists where we wouldn’t have shown up to help Rogue that night,” JJ said icily. “And who said we wanted to be Harlequins back then anyway? You forced our hands.”
Luther shook his head at him. “Showing up for her could have looked a whole lot different if you’d gotten me involved. And you might not have wanted to be a Harlequin, Johnny James, but joining the Crew is the only chance you kids ever had of making something of yourselves.” He turned his gaze on Chase. “Where do you think you would have ended up if you didn’t have this home handed to you?”
Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2) Page 37