by Davis, Jen
The mayor shook his head. “But they already hate me. You can still play the injured party. Unless I tell the truth.”
“And what does the truth get you? No leverage over your daughter—”
“That ship has sailed,” he growled.
Malcolm made a show of cracking his knuckles. “But if you were to just disappear, it would be a win-win. My son would never know the truth. I get justice for Scott’s death, and the whole fucking world would be rid of you.”
Beau rolled his eyes. “How many witnesses saw you come in here? I’m the goddamn mayor of the city. You think no one would notice if I stopped coming to work one day? You think no one would wonder what a crew of dirty bikers was doing at my home the last time anyone saw me? Even you aren’t so stupid, Mal.”
“It would be worth it,” Malcolm whispered. “To wipe the smug smile off your face.”
“You’re not going to kill me,” Beau waved him off. “All we have to do is agree to walk out of here with the same story. I let you take a shot at me—maybe a shiner—for show, and I give you a copy of the video on a flash drive. We say it’s the only copy, and you’ve threatened to kill me if I’m lying. You walk away a hero, and I wash my hands of the whole thing.”
“And Scott? What about justice for my son?”
Beau folded his arms. “I guess you forfeited justice when you made a deal with the devil.”
“I hate you,” Malcolm seethed.
“Get in line.” Beau flipped open his laptop and punched a few buttons. He pulled a flash drive out of a drawer and in minutes handed it over to Malcolm. “Call them back.” He stood and pointed to his cheek. “But first, make it look convincing.” He grinned. “Here’s your big chance.”
Malcolm didn’t hesitate. Rearing back, he clocked Beau so hard the man stumbled back. Then he pulled out his phone, presumably to call back the cavalry.
Kane and his girl were the first ones back in the room. Malcolm held up the flash drive. “I’ve got it. Let’s get out of here.”
Amanda wrinkled her forehead. “Just like that? What if he has another copy?”
Malcolm snarled. “Then he knows I’ll kill him. Right, Mr. Mayor?”
Beau nodded in such apparent misery he deserved an Academy Award.
Without waiting for anyone to agree, Kane’s father stomped out the door.
Amanda linked her hand with Kane’s and shot her dad an inscrutable look. “He really will kill you, you know. Kane is the only child he has left. Meanwhile, you have none. We are finished, Beau. Good luck with your run for governor. You’ll understand if you don’t get my vote.”
***
Amanda
Kane rode back to Amanda’s condo in her car. He’d come in on the back of his friend’s bike. It was a quiet drive; they both had a lot to process.
When they finally got inside her place, she was all too happy to change into some fresh clothes before offering to make them both lunch.
Kane flashed her a small smile. “I’m still getting used to the idea you can cook. But let me do it. I need to take care of you.”
He laid out the roast beef, mayo, and bread on the counter and began assembling their meal.
“What now?” Her voice didn’t sound quite as casual as she would have liked, but it would have to do.
“What do you mean?” Carefully, he smeared the bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise, then piled the shaved meat on top.
“The danger to your club is over. You’ve got your revenge. We’ve got the video. So now what? For us? For you?”
He put the top layer of bread on the sandwich and handed her a plate.
She carried it to the table and sat down.
“You’re asking about the club.” He stayed standing at the counter and took a bite of his food. His shoulders hunched. “The million-dollar question, isn’t it?” He bit into his sandwich again and chewed, a blank expression on his face. “I know how you feel about it. Part of me feels the same way. Even with the shit your dad pulled, he couldn’t have done it if we hadn’t given him the means ourselves.”
She knew it was risky to ask about club business. It would be so easy to keep filling her mouth with food rather than cross the invisible line into MC territory. But either they were past this or they weren’t. She opened her mouth to ask for more information, but Kane beat her to the punch.
He sighed. “The club is involved in some bad shit, babe. Guns. Drugs. Hell, we even did a murder for hire once.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Not me. I mean, I didn’t kill anyone for money. But I did kill the man who killed my brother. He’s the only one. You need to understand, and you need to be sure it’s something you can live with if we’re going to make this work.”
She didn’t examine it too closely, but she could understand it.
After her nod, he continued. “I want to go straight. I want to marry you and be a part of your family.” His cheeks darkened. “I want to have children with you and be the kind of dad our kids can respect and look up to.”
“I want the same thing,” she whispered.
“But how can I turn my back on my family right now?” He rubbed his eyes as he took the chair across from her. “My parents have already lost one son. If I patch out, it’s like losing another.”
Amanda shook her head. The whole line of reasoning was stupid. “Only if they choose to. It’s on them.”
He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe. I get where you’re coming from. But the code is the code. To them, I’d be the one abandoning them, not the other way around.” Pushing his plate away, he laced his fingers on the table in front of him. “It’s not only my parents, either, it’s also my friends. Cue Ball and Frank have been there for me more times than I can count. Walking away, I’m kicking them when they’re down.”
She got up to pour two glasses of iced tea, then rejoined Kane at the table. “I don’t have the answers, baby. If those guys took care of you when I wasn’t there, I’m grateful to them. If you love them, I don’t want you to lose them. You know what I think of the club, but I can’t tell you what to do. It has to be your decision.”
They both started when his phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at the screen. “Brick wants to talk to us. Do you mind if he comes over?”
Brick. He was a friend she could get on board with. He had a sketchy history too, but by all accounts, he’d turned his life around and got engaged to a school teacher he was crazy about. “It’s fine. He’s always welcome here.”
She called down to alert the doorman, and within minutes, Brick’s heavy knock sounded at the door.
Kane ushered him in with a pat on the back. “Thanks again for helping out this morning, especially since you had to stuff yourself in such a tiny space for nothing.” He hadn’t had a chance to speak to his friend at all after Malcolm secured the video.
Brick rubbed at the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t say it was for nothing. You learn a lot when no one knows you’re listening.” He gestured to the couch. “You’d better sit down, man. This isn’t going to be easy to hear.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kane
Kane hadn’t been inside a hospital since he’d been stabbed all those years ago. Northside hadn’t changed much in the time since. The smell, especially, threatened to take him back to one of the worst nights in his life. A pungent mix of antiseptic and death.
He’d successfully avoided returning like the plague, but the conversation he needed to have couldn’t wait until his friend was discharged.
Frank was already in Cue Ball’s room when Kane came in. “I heard everything went smoothly with your old lady’s father yesterday. I’m happy for you.”
Cue grunted. “You’re really back with Mandy Griffin?” He shook his head. “How the hell did you end up there? She tossed you out like hot garbage.”
He settled into the seat next to Frank on the left side of the bed. “It wasn’t what it seemed. She thought she was protecting me, but
the whole thing was a set-up. One my dad and hers came up with together to keep us apart.”
Frank frowned. “Your dad? You’re saying Malcolm and the fucking mayor were working together just to make you break up with your girlfriend? You’ve got to know how ridiculous you sound.”
“I heard them talking about it. My buddy recorded the whole thing. My dad told Scott to bring me along the day everything went down with the apartment fire.” His fingers pressed hard into the wooden arms of the chair. “He fucking set it up so Mandy thought she was protecting me from prosecution for being there.”
Cue groaned as he adjusted to face him more fully. “Why? Why would he?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Frank growled. “It’s the only reason Kane joined the club. He got fucked-up, he lost his girl, and we were there to put him back together again.” His friend faced him. “You were never going to patch in. It was all about college and getting married.” Frank closed his eyes. “Fuck.”
Cue Ball shook his head. “Her dad is the same guy who brought the Russians to our front door. He’s the reason I’m in here…the reason Scott is dead. And Malcolm was working with him?”
He nodded. “Before, yeah. And keeping it a secret is why he’s not pushing for revenge now.” He put his hand on Cue’s shoulder. “You know how much you guys mean to me. You’re my brothers. I couldn’t love you more if we were related by blood.”
Frank sighed. “You’re patching out.”
Cue scowled. “No, he’s—Kane?”
“I am.”
His friends looked stricken. Tubes stuck in his hands, Cue rubbed tiredly over his bald head. Frank dropped his head into his hands.
“My father manipulated my entire life to get me into this club. I can’t live with that. I don’t want to sell drugs or guns; I never did, and you guys know it. My future is with Mandy. I want her to be my wife and the mother of my kids. This isn’t the life I want; it never was.”
“I get it,” Frank said softly and looked up. “What your dad did was all kinds of fucked up. But the rest of us…we never betrayed you. You’d walk away from all of us?”
“I don’t want to.” He banged his head against the back of the chair. “I want to keep you both in my life. Fuck, my mom, too. But you are the ones who have to decide what the code means to you. I know what my mom’s going to say, and it breaks my heart. Still, I’ve got to try, here, with you. I’m trying to tell you I want you both to be part of my future. But as for the club, as of today, I’m patching out.”
Cue flinched. “You need to go now, brother.”
Frank stared at his boots.
He respected his friend’s wishes. “I’ll always be your brother, man.” His heart in his throat, he walked out of the room. His next stop wouldn’t go any better.
***
The clubhouse had returned to its regular condition when Kane arrived. Someone had replaced the broken window and patched the bullet holes in the walls.
He found his parents together at the kitchen table, an open box of Papa John’s between them. Mama V greeted him with a watery smile. “Hey, KC. Want to join your daddy and me for some pizza?”
Wordlessly, he dropped his cut on the table next to the box.
His father’s eyes darkened. “What’s this, boy?”
“I’m out.”
His mother gasped.
Malcolm shot to his feet. “Bullshit. This club just stood at your back against your old lady’s father, and this is how you repay us?”
His fingers curled in the front of Malcolm’s shirt, the urge to hit him coursing hot like the blood in his veins. “Repay you? For setting me up in the first place?” He gestured to the scar on his face. “For this? For conspiring with the man who got Scott killed?”
Mama V tugged at his arms. “What are you talking about, Kane? Let your daddy go.”
He released his grip, but he stepped further into Malcolm’s space. “You gonna admit it, or are you gonna lie like a fucking coward?”
Malcolm shook his head tiredly. “Do what you want. I’m sick of fighting to hold this family together.”
What a load of shit. “The only person you ever fought for was yourself.” He turned to his mother, but her gaze was rooted to the floor. “Mama.”
She shook her head, tears already falling down her cheeks. “I can’t be your mama anymore.”
“We’re gonna lose everything,” Malcolm muttered. “The deal with the Russians is gone. And you know Ace will only negotiate with you. You don’t care. You don’t care about anything except your precious piece of pussy.”
He did hit his father then. A hard right-hook to the jaw. “You just showed the difference between you and me. I don’t think of the woman who loves me as a piece of pussy. She’s going to be my wife, and I will always put her first. Thank you, Malcolm, for teaching me what kind of husband and father I don’t want to be. And Mom, if you ever decide you’re worth more than this, my door is always open.”
Breathing deep, he turned his back on his parents and left the Skulls MC in his rear-view mirror.
***
Amanda
Amanda traced her fingers nervously over the tattoos on Kane’s forearm as they waited for his friends to arrive. Brick and his fiancé were coming over for drinks, and even though Kane promised she’d love Olivia, she didn’t make friends easily. It was hard to simply be herself around strangers.
She jumped up when the bell rang.
Brick’s broad shoulders filled the doorframe as Kane let them in. “I hope it’s okay. I brought Robby along too.”
“It’s fine.” Kane had told her he and Brick had sort-of adopted Xander’s young assistant. “Come on in.”
Brick’s fiancé was a willowy blonde who greeted her with a hug. “It’s so great to meet you. It’s about time Kane got a little happiness in his life.” She lowered her voice. “And great job with his new look. I barely recognized him without the beard and all the hair. What a lucky lady you are.”
She chuckled. “Oh, I know. I’m reaping all the benefits of his makeover.”
Kane was already handing out beers to the guys. “You want something, Liv? Beer? Wine?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Do I see zinfandel over there?”
Once everyone had a drink, Kane caught them up on what happened with the club. Robby made a noise of disgust and wrinkled his brow at her. “Your dad gets off scot-free? It doesn’t feel right.”
Kane shrugged. “No, it doesn’t. But if it helps to know, Nathan Shaw’s death at his house has ruined him politically. He’ll never be governor of this state, and I doubt he stands a chance at re-election for mayor since David Bennett talked to the media.” The new president of the Christian Soldiers gave a tell-all interview about his ties to the mayor, obviously worried keeping it a secret could provide a healthy motivation for making him disappear. He conveniently left out any details that could incriminate himself. “Beau will be lucky if he doesn’t go to jail.”
“And your club?” Robby pressed. “They’ve all turned their back on you?”
“Frank has called me a couple of times. I think he’s willing to buck the rules, but otherwise, yeah. They’re gone.” It had been two weeks since he patched out, and from everyone else, it had been radio silence.
“I’m sorry.” Robby tapped Kane’s beer bottle with his own. “I know it’s not the same, but you know you’ve got me. We’re family, remember?”
“Yeah, man, I remember.” Kane nodded gratefully, then turned to Brick. “Speaking of family, when are you two going to make it official?”
Liv snuggled in Brick’s side. “Valentine’s Day. It’s going to be a small wedding, but it would mean the world to us if you were both there.”
“What about you two?” Robby elbowed Kane in the arm.
Amanda grinned. “Kane’s moving in this weekend. We could really use a few extra pairs of strong arms to help with the boxes.”
“Count us in.” Brick smiled.
Kane leaned over and wh
ispered in her ear. “Not a bad little family we have here, huh, babe?”
She brushed her lips over his smooth cheek. “Not bad,” she whispered. “Not bad at all.”
EPILOGUE
Kane
Sliding into Gerry’s chair at the Slipknot felt as familiar as breathing. The old tattoo artist had given Kane every piece of ink he’d ever gotten, including the bold letters of Mandy’s name he wore on his back.
Other than his first tat, this would be the only art he wore that actually meant something.
The vinyl seat was cool against his bare back, as Gerry disinfected the skin of his left pectoral where Mandy had shaved him last night. At first, he’d considered putting the new tat on his hand, but in the end, it felt better to wear it over his heart.
They’d gone over the design last week, and the stencil was already done. The only thing left was making it a permanent part of his skin.
Mandy laced her fingers with his while Gerry worked, although the sting of the needle was barely a blip on his radar. She knew, of course. She was there for emotional support. Without her, it would be far too easy to fall back into memories that might break his heart.
Thank God for his wife. They’d quietly made it official after Brick—who went by Jonathan these days—and Olivia said their I Do’s. There was no ceremony, just an exchange of gold bands and a justice of the peace to make it legal. Mike and Cindy grumbled about it, but in the end, they understood. Kane couldn’t live another moment without tying her to him forever. He was blessed beyond measure she felt the same way.
Still no word from anyone but Frank in the club. It was better than he’d hoped, honestly. At least he kept one of his old friends, even if he missed Cue Ball every day.
The design on his chest was simple, but Gerry was a pro and took his time. It was a couple of hours before he held up the mirror and surveyed the scorpion so like the one Scott had drawn for them months ago.
