She grabbed a fistful of the soon to be dead man’s hair, pulling until the tension was apparent. He tried to fight her off but his attempts were weak and uncoordinated, serving no purpose other than to hasten his own end. The snarl on her face was made twice as fearsome by the utter silence with which she put the long blade to his cheek and drew a slow line, blood quickly welling to the surface and running towards his chin while he whimpered.
As much as they all deserve for her to lose it completely, I don’t have time for this.
“Sly,” I said again, tone sharper. Her head jerked towards me, the movement more violent than it should’ve been. Eyes normally a lighter grey than Rain’s or my own were dark with the promise of violence and swelling rage. I met that stare evenly, mentally releasing a quick sigh when recognition registered. She let go of her prey and the man slumped bonelessly. Her empty hand flicked out to reclaim her knives before he flopped to the ground.
My skull protested as she loudly carved another gash through a segment of lines on the large blade, the screech of metal on metal uncomfortably discordant. That done, she wiped the blood on her jeans and returned to her position behind me.
I banished any other thoughts as I spread my arms wide. “Anyone else want to interrupt?” The Cartel made no effort to hide their bloodlust but I didn’t give a shit so long as no one stepped out of line. Not like any of them were leaving here alive in the first place. When no one answered back, I folded my hands atop the table, mimicking my enemy. Judging by the way his eye twitched, the intent wasn’t lost on him.
Hector cleared his throat, adjusting his cufflinks. “Glad to see you’re still so very pleasant to work with, Creed. But I’m assuming you didn’t call me out here just to kill one of my drivers, and our next exchange wasn’t scheduled for weeks.”
“Change of plans.” I didn’t elaborate, choosing to let the silence stretch out again instead. His lips pursed and it gave me a vicious thrill to be able to draw this out while annoying the hell out of him at the same time. I could only kill him once after all.
Our gazes locked in a stalemate that I knew I wouldn’t be the first to break.
After several long minutes, his eye twitched. My win.
“These games don’t suit you,” he said finally. “Should I start guessing before we sit here all night?”
I leaned forward, flashing my teeth. “No games then. We had an agreement, Wolf. It was as easy as can fucking be. I allowed you to bring in all the weed you wanted. All the liquor. All the over the counter shit you could get your hands on. Hell, I even buried all your competition. What did I ask you for in return?”
His jaw clenched, lips thinning.
“Answer me!” I screamed, fist coming down on the table. My Sinners bristled around the room, feeding off my rage as if it was their own. But even in my fury I didn’t miss one of his flunkies discreetly slipping a phone from their pocket and sending a text.
“Rebel renegotiated the terms of our deal. He has vision. He recognized the money that was being left on the table and he assured me that you would see the worth in this venture. It appears he was mistaken. If you wish, I can cease all distribution immediately.”
I stared at him hard, searching for the lie and not finding it. He had conveniently left out the fact that our accounts hadn’t seen any deposits from this new deal, not that I wanted that money anyway. Except it shouldn’t have been possible for someone to pull the wool over Hector’s eyes this easily.
What the hell are you up to, Rebel?
I found myself glancing back at Texas and even though his expression didn’t change, I could tell he shared my confusion. None of this made sense. The three of us were already rich as kings. Had been for years now. Assuming Rebel had been skimming off the top and setting up side deals all this time, he should’ve been beyond set for life. He didn’t have a crazy house that I knew of. He didn’t drive fancy shit or wear expensive jewelry. So what was the point of all this money? Where was it going? Why had it suddenly become so urgent for him to get more that he allowed himself to become sloppy?
Using that prospect punk Tex dealt with months ago had been careless, and he had to know this deal with the Cartel would be noticed before long.
On top of it all, offering up his own sister to buy time? Hell, that went beyond sloppy.
It reeked of desperation.
I wasn’t going to lie. That worried me.
Putting aside my current feelings for the bastard, he was as easy going as they came. I cast my mind back, searching for any instance where he had seemed unstable and coming up empty. Back in the early days when we first met, he had been a little wild, sometimes even a bit bloodthirsty, but none of us were much better in the beginning. Over time, he mellowed to the point that we could charge into a losing gunfight and he would still look like he didn’t have a care in the fucking world while the slugs flew and the blood flowed.
Rebel wasn’t careless. Not in the least. Which meant I needed to answer one very important question.
What had changed?
“So it's true,” Hector murmured, looking like the cat who ate the canary. “There's strife among the Sinners. I knew it was only a matter of time before you leather wearing animals started tearing each other to pieces.” He stood, buttoning his suit jacket, the absolute pinnacle of misplaced arrogance. He held out his outstretched palm and the phone from earlier was dropped into it. “So, this is how things are going to go.”
This should be good. I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms.
“Two dozen of my men are about to descend on this place like a plague of locusts.” Ah, at least he had a flare for the dramatic. It made this slightly more entertaining. “You aren't walking out of here alive, Creed. You either, Texas, no hard feelings of course. But because I am a gracious man, I'm willing to negotiate safe passage for the rest of you. On one condition.”
He paused for effect, eyes sweeping the room before landing on Sylvia. She turned to stone behind me, suddenly radiating so much tension that I could feel the pin being tugged free from the grenade that kept her emotions in check. I cursed silently, preparing to act. This was not part of the fucking plan.
Quit while you're ahead you imbecile.
“Give me the used up whore and-”
A broken snarl screeched through the air and I lunged up and to the side, sending my chair flying with a loud clatter. As fast as I reacted, I just barely managed to catch Sylvia around the waist before she got by me, and I squeezed tight, bodily lifting her from the floor while she thrashed. Shouts rang out around us, the kind of aggressive noises that told me steel was being drawn. There was a noisy crash I imagined came from the table being upended, but I trusted Tex to handle the situation as I gave the Cartel my back.
“Shhhhh,” I whispered in Sylvia’s ear, wincing as her heel connected sharply with my shin. “That's over with Sly. You hear me?” Her head came back, knocking against mine hard enough for my ears to ring. Fucking hell. “All those bastards are dead. The two of us made sure of it. You remember that?”
Her struggles slowed enough for me to put her feet on the ground but I still held onto her carefully. I knew dealing with them was going to bring this out of her sooner rather than later, but I had been hoping for later. Her penchant for wanting to kill every member of the Cartel she came across was a vice I encouraged, but only when it was controlled. This shit right here? This wasn't controlled. Sly could lose herself to her rage and chew them up and spit them out like a wood chipper, but the cost was too high.
I laced my voice with steel but made sure to keep our conversation private.
“I need you to keep your fucking head in the game.” She stiffened, attempting to pull away but I tightened my hold. “Listen to me.” She jerked again and I cursed. “Listen.” Finally, she stilled, even though I could feel her chest heaving.
I lowered my voice further, aware of Tanner still watching everything from his position near the exit. Tex, Rebel and I were the only ones in o
n this secret. “I need you to keep that shit in chains, whatever else you do. How long did we lose you last time before I could find you and bring you back? A year, nearly two? That can’t happen. Do you understand me? I won't leave her for that long, not even for you.”
There was no reason for me to clarify. We both knew who I was referring to. Sylvia nodded shakily and I eased up on my grip until I felt I could let go completely but I didn’t step away.
She turned sharply, a scowl painted on her face but her eyes were focused and intent, even a little hurt. I didn't blame her for that one bit. But no matter how foolish it sounded, I knew it was the truth. Even with all this going on, I ached to hold Caitlin in my arms again. And this posturing was only a colossal waste of time that I could be doing just that.
“Remember what I said,” I told her, waiting for her nod of agreement before turning away.
As I expected, Tex had everything well in hand. Each group had formed a wall of muscle and aggression on opposite sides but my men all had their guns drawn while the Cartel shielded a still grinning Hector with their bodies, knives of different shapes and sizes in hand. Despite staring down the barrel of a half dozen pistols, he didn’t look worried. He was secure in the fact that he had backup coming.
That was a mistake.
A feral grin stretched my lips and his grin dropped a fraction. It dropped again when I raised my open palm into the air, pausing several seconds before closing it into a tight fist. Barely a heartbeat passed before an ear piercing explosion came into existence like the thunderclap of an angry god. The Cartel ducked reflexively as the building shook and the windows shattered in their frames, glass falling everywhere. Before they could even recover, Tex unloaded with that uncanny precision of his.
Each squeeze of the trigger was deafeningly loud in the tight space, to the point that I felt like I was watching a silent movie as holes blossomed in the chests and heads of the Cartel. Three of the six remaining lackeys dropped before they even realized what was happening, similar looks of astonishment contorting their faces before those expressions were blown away. In what felt like the blink of an eye, Tex had put two holes in each of their chests, causing them to stagger before he want back through and drilled their brains out the back of their heads, red mist flying. Two more yelled something unintelligible as they came at us, their charge futile. Each one was dropped swiftly, rapid shots to their thighs taking their legs out from underneath them and they went down screaming. Snuff finished those two off, and as the last one tried to run with Hector in tow, Texas shot once more and red splashed the walls, his body falling limply to the ground and dragging Hector with it.
I moved past Tex as he reloaded, clapping him on the shoulder even as my ears rang something fierce. Hector crawled backwards on his hands as I came towards him, his progress halting because of the fast spreading pool of blood and brain matter he was slipping on. There was a gash above his right brow that he must have gotten in the fall and it was bleeding steadily into his eye while the other one remained narrowed on me. His lips were moving in what I imagined was a string of curses, but my hearing was just coming back and it was all a jumbled mess of Spanish anyway.
In his haste to get away, he backed straight into a wall, and only then did his mouth fall closed long enough to spit blood my way before he was going at it again. Letting momentum carry me forward, my foot came up and crashed into his stomach with enough force to take his breath away, red spittle spraying from his lips as I pinned him in place. A monstrous glee filled me as I twisted my heel into his gut, watching him squirm and struggle to throw me off but unable to do so.
“Under my heel just like the roach you are.” I heard my own voice like it was several feet away, but judging by the way his face purpled, he at least understood me. “Goddamn that’s appropriate.”
Hector snarled up at me. “You’re dead, you fucking lunatic. You hear me? Dead! When the others hear about this they’ll-”
I increased the pressure on his stomach, cutting him off and leaning forward over my knee. “When? I dropped a building on your men. Does that sound like I’m hiding?” He froze, eyes going wide in realization. I nodded slowly. “This is nothing more than a message. A reminder of who owns this city. You forgot. I’ll make sure no one else does.”
His mouth opened but I was done with this conversation. In one smooth motion, I pulled my own Glock from the back of my jeans, put the barrel to his forehead and pulled the trigger. His body jerked with his death before he slumped to the side. I stood and tucked the hardware away as Sylvia showed up beside me, her face composed into a calm mask. Behind us, Texas had everyone else dragging the bodies into a messy pile while Tanner took pictures to send off as needed.
I looked around carefully, burning every image into my brain. My fists clenched as I waited for the rush of victory to hit me, but it was so muted that I barely felt it. More than anything, I was suddenly tired to the marrow of my bones. Shaking it off, I pulled together the path I needed to follow.
The remaining members in the city needed to be dealt with before they could try and reorganize. At the same time, the Sinners needed to make their presence known as a show of force and manpower. There were drugs to get rid of, again. And the new guy in Charlotte. He was too close for us to know so little and too far for me to deal with personally.
Then I realized I wouldn’t have to.
“Charlotte is yours,” I said to Sylvia and she faced me fully, head tilted. “Take whatever and whoever you need with you.”
Her brows drew together in a question as she pointed to her eyes and then ears. I understood immediately. Recon was something she was used to. Without the piercings and with a hat on, she was hardly noticeable. Still, I shook my head.
“We need a presence there. The current chapter is either incompetent or worse, and an unknown player is making himself known. I’m giving you full and total authority to act on my behalf as you see fit.”
She swallowed thickly and her lips parted as her breathing became labored. With trembling fingers, she grabbed her phone and typed a hasty message onto the screen before turning it towards me. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
A cruel grin split my lips and she matched it. “They’re all enemies until proven otherwise. If anybody gives you shit, I’m okay with you loosening those chains as long as you can keep it focused on that one city. Can you?”
Her head bobbed rapidly, her smile uneven, one hand disappearing inside her jacket and I knew she was stroking the handle of the large blade she pulled earlier. It said a lot about me that I found the sight oddly comical when it would probably be downright terrifying to the average person. But she needed this. Her monster was louder than mine and the sooner she scratched that itch, the sooner it would shut the hell up.
Tex came to stand beside me as she all but skipped away. “What the hell are you up to now?” he drawled, folding his arms over his chest.
I quirked a brow. “Chaos. Terror. Pain. You know, the usual. I’ll fill you in on the way back.”
His eyes narrowed and he leaned in, poking me hard in the chest.
I smacked his hand away. “The fuck are you doing?”
“Makin’ sure I’m not hallucinating,” he said seriously. “Can’t say I’m used to you actin’ like a normal person, joking around and smiling and shit. That little comment makes twice in one day. I think you’re comin’ down with something.”
“Really? What’s that?”
Tex waggled his eyebrows, grinning widely. “Well, I’m no doctor but I can safely say you’ve got a case of readhead-itis. Symptoms include kissin’ the hell out of her and threatening a brother. Prolonged exposure may cause-”
“Oh fuck off!” I pinched the bridge of my nose, ignoring his howling laughter.
It didn’t escape my attention that I never said he was wrong.
CHAPTER 7 - Caitlin
If there was one thing in my life I could always count on, it was that pancakes made everything better.
At least until today.
The shortstack in front of me, topped with fresh slices of bananas and strawberries, wasn’t doing the job and I wasn’t even surprised.
The inside of my mind was a theater. The only film showing was five seconds long and stuck on an endless loop. Over and over and over again, all I could see was the disappointment settling into Creed’s eyes a moment before he strode by me without a word.
In two words: it hurt.
If I were to use more than two words, I was pretty sure that pulling my still beating heart out of my chest and dipping it in acid might barely compare.
Things had been going so well too. Starting with the much needed shower. Continuing with Creed’s dominating kiss, his absolute ownership of my body apparent in every slide of his lips. Glide of his tongue. Clench of his fingers. More apparent than that was the way every cell in my body reacted to him.
Owned by a Sinner Page 6
