by Leah Wilde
“Can you give me any more information?” I had to ask.
He shook his head. “Just remember, you promised to keep them off of me.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I stood up and looked down at the beaten man before me. I could feel my face harden. I could hear my voice grow cold.
“You promised,” he pleaded.
“Don’t beg, Dimitri. There’s nothing more pathetic than a man your size being broken down like this. You’re better than that, or that’s what I thought.” I turned and walked out of the room.
Gage and his two favorite henchmen waited for me in the pit. Gage’s eyes lit up in anticipation when he saw me, and I realized I had leverage. If I played my cards right, I knew I could use the information Dimitri had given me as a way to get out of here and get back to my life.
“Anything?” he asked.
“In private.” I jerked my head to the side to indicate that we needed to talk away from everyone else.
Gage shot a confused look at the two men standing by the door and shrugged as he walked off with me. I needed time to figure out how I was going to approach him to secure my freedom for the information he needed. I led him up to the third floor, back to his room at the end of the hall.
“What’s so important that you couldn’t tell me in front of everyone?” he asked as we closed the door.
I pushed him back against the door and pressed myself against him. I ran my hand down between his legs and stroked the front of his jeans. Two could play at his game and use sex as a tool to earn compliance. I put a hand gently around the back of his neck and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
“I want you to let me go after I tell you this,” I told him in the most seductive voice I could manage.
“Nice try, Julia, but you know you I can’t do that.” He laughed hoarsely and grabbed my arms with his massive hands. He pushed me back away from him. There was no humor, no desire in his eyes. They were hard, stony. In fact, he looked like he was on the verge of another angry outburst.
“I don’t know if I should tell you, then,” I said. I felt like a prisoner in his MC’s headquarters. I wondered if he would ever let me leave, for any reason.
“Oh, you should,” he growled. “That is unless you want me to throw you down there with Dimitri.”
Panicked questions swirled around my head. Why was he turning on me like this? Was Dimitri right about Gage? Had he been playing me the whole time? Was I doomed to share Dimitri’s fate in spite of everything that had happened? I didn’t understand how this man who had seemed so caring could suddenly be so mean and cold.
“I’m waiting, Julia.”
I gave in. “Okay. Let go of me and let me stay out of the basement. If you can do those things, I’ll tell you. Since you won’t let me go.”
“Done, but you’re not leaving until this is over. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
I supposed that was the best offer I was going to get from him. I sighed. I realized I probably wasn’t going to get away at all, no matter what happened. The best I could do was to play along until I found an opportunity to leave on my own.
“He says the mayor is going to be part of a big drug deal that should be going down soon. He said Ivan’s arranging a massive drug deal that’s going to include the mayor and a few other corrupt government and law enforcement officials, but he won’t tell me who the others are.” I said it in one breath, giving up the only hope I had for leverage against my imprisonment.
“I knew I could count on you.” Gage cupped the back of my head and kissed my forehead. Once again, his demeanor was pleasant. I began to wonder if it wasn’t all just a game to him. Maybe Dimitri had been right after all.
Gage held me close to him and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me, pushing his lips forcefully against mine. I didn’t return his kiss, and he gripped my hair, tilting my head back.
“You don’t want to celebrate?” he growled. “I can make you want to.” He placed a hand between my legs and started rubbing his fingers against my jeans.
His touch drove me crazy, and he knew that, but I couldn’t let him distract me. I couldn’t give in and pretend that everything was fine. I decided I wasn’t going to let him use sex as a weapon against me anymore.
“No, Gage.” I pushed his hand away from my crotch and pulled myself back from him.
“No? You don’t tell me no,” he said with a cruel laugh.
“I do now,” I informed him. “Besides, you have work to do. You’ve got the information you want. Now is not the time to distract yourself with sex.”
“But it is a good time to celebrate,” he argued, reaching for me again.
“No, it’s not. Nothing has happened. Nothing has been solved. You need to get your men together and do whatever it is you’re going to do.” I was shocked at the strength I heard in my own voice.
Then, in an effort to seal the deal and redirect his attention, I stepped closer to him. I ran a hand gently down the side of his face and spoke in his ear again.
“We can celebrate when this is over. I’ll be waiting for you, and I want you to do all those things you’ve been afraid to do to me because you think I’m too inexperienced.”
It worked. He looked at me with hope in his eyes, kissed me quickly, and headed out the door. He went down the hallway to the stairs without as much as a glance back. He knew—or thought he knew—that I would still be around when the job was finished, but, in reality, I needed the time to figure out how I was going to leave. Getting him off my back and out of my pants was the first step to getting out of here.
As he walked away from me, trusting me to be here when he came back for me, I couldn’t help but feel a certain measure of satisfaction that I’d completed my task. I sat down on the bed behind me and let the small sense of closure wash over me. I had finished my job for him, and I would be rewarded handsomely if the information checked out. I would be able to pay off some of my mother’s medical debt and start moving forward with my life, instead of always trying to live in the shadow of her dementia.
As long as she suffered, there would be new bills, but paying off the old ones would help immensely. I hadn’t said anything to Gage about it. Giving myself time to think about it, I realized we didn’t know each other all that well. It had been one hell of a whirlwind romance, but I hadn’t really let him that far into my life. He’d been in my body, and I couldn’t help wanting him back in there every time I saw him. Dear Lord, there was something so incredibly sexy about that man. He was everything I had never wanted, but with him, it was right. Gage Noll made the undesirable irresistible.
Even sitting on the bed, staring at the perfect opportunity to leave without being noticed, I wasn’t sure if I could. I wasn’t sure if I should. I wondered if the insatiable desire I felt for this underground crime boss could be transformed into something more, something deeper. I felt myself already growing worried for his safety as things moved forward. I knew that he would soon be making the move he’d been waiting to make, and I knew that he would be putting himself and his men in danger.
That probably meant I would be in danger too if I stayed around.
“Come on, Julia. Get it together. You know what you need to do,” I told myself out loud on his bed.
Chapter 21
Gage
When Julia turned me down and told me I had work to do, I realized I’d been getting soft around the edges for her. I had to toughen up for the road ahead if I expected to take Ivan down. I focused on hardening my resolve as I walked down to the pit to get Juarez and Chase.
“What did she say?” they asked in unison when they saw me.
“We know at least one person who’s going to be involved in an upcoming deal Ivan has planned. Let’s get everyone together in the boardroom. We’re going to see the mayor,” I told them.
“What about Dimitri?” Juarez asked.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine,” I said, dismissing any concerns about leaving the Russian unatten
ded.
A few minutes later, I sat in the boardroom with Juarez, Chase, Angelo, and Ricky, the heads of the MC. We were the kings to the princes beneath us. A few of the other guys crept in and stood along the back wall, waiting to hear what the news was and what my plans were.
The round boardroom table had our logo carved into it—a grim reaper with horns, a crown, and two smoking revolvers—with a plate of glass set over the carving to create a flat surface. The walls of our boardroom had photos of prominent members of the Kings of Hell from the early days of the MC up to the current roster. Our current club didn’t use the boardroom nearly enough, I thought. It felt good to walk in and get a sense of history, to see the founding Kings standing together in a framed photo behind the president’s throne.
“Brothers, I called this meeting today because we are about to embark on the next chapter of the Kings of Hell legacy,” I started, standing in front of my throne. “We are about to eliminate one of our biggest rivals.”
A murmur of anticipation and restrained excitement flowed through the room. I could feel the energy being held back by almost every member present. It was no secret that something big was about to go down.
“As everyone knows by now, we captured Ivan’s muscle, a Russian bear who goes by Dimitri.”
Juarez and Chase beamed at their success in taking him down.
“This fucker’s so damn Russian that we had to get someone to translate for us. He doesn’t speak a lick of English, but thanks to Juarez and Chase, we were able to get through to him in our own language.”
The boys chuckled, obviously remembering the fun they had beating the man nearly to death.
“Now, we know that Ivan has a large drug deal coming up in a few days, but we have some information as to where the drugs are going, who is buying them. It may be enough information for us to finally take his ass down and take over his operation,” I told the room.
Eyes shifted side to side as members looked at their neighbors, sharing the realization that we were about to finally eliminate this cock sucker.
“The Kings of Hell will be on top again. We will own Chicago and all of the surrounding areas once again. We won’t just be dealing with the street rats or the yuppies who want to relive their youth. We’re going to be on top. We’re going to have the city in our pocket once more. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go to a fucking bar without getting picked up by the cops?”
Everyone cheered.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to reclaim some of our lost business and keep members from having to spend nights in this hell hole?”
The Kings at the table pounded their fists in support.
“What do we have to do?” Angelo asked. Angelo was our field operative. He monitored chapter operations outside of our home here in downtown Chicago. We rarely saw him unless we held a meeting or there was an emergency.
“We are going to see the mayor. According to Dimitri, he’s one of Ivan’s guests for this little deal he’s got going down. Apparently, he’s not the only heavyweight in attendance, but he’s all we’ve got to work with.” I eyed the rest of the room. “The rest of you princes can go. I’m only taking the kings with me.”
The members who had been lining the back wall left the room. I wondered if any of them would be ratting me out to the mayor or the police. I always wondered that. That was why I rarely allowed them in for meetings, but today was an exception. Today’s good news had to be shared with everyone, I felt.
“Are you suggesting we just waltz into the mayor’s mansion and question him?” Ricky asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. But we’re going to keep this interaction with him professional. I don’t want anyone flying off the handle,” I explained.
“But won’t he hear us coming on the bikes?” Chase asked. “Won’t that give him a heads up so he can be ready for us?”
“That would, yes. That’s why we’re not taking the bikes. We’re going in the Suburban. He’ll probably see us coming either way, but he won’t recognize us as quickly that way,” I told the kings.
“When are we leaving?” Ricky asked.
“Why not right now?” Juarez chimed in.
“I’m with Juarez,” Chase said.
“So, it’s decided,” I said. “We’re going now.”
We pulled up to the mayor’s gated residence a few minutes later in the black Suburban. With the gates closed, we were unable to pull into his driveway, so we parked beside his property and climbed the wall surrounding his house. We approached from the front, trying to look as transparent as possible in our intentions to talk with the mayor.
He had obviously seen us approaching. He opened the door to greet us himself.
“Gentlemen! I’ve been expecting you,” he said with his trademark white smile.
I shot Angelo a look. He caught the expecting, too.
“Of course,” I said politely. “I think we have some important business to discuss, Mr. Mayor.”
“In private,” Angelo added.
“Certainly. Right this way.” The politician didn’t miss a beat. He ignored the implication of five bikers in t-shirts and fully decorated cuts standing on his stoop insisting on a private meeting with him. Seeing as how he was one of Ivan’s clients, he was probably accustomed to the risks that came from dealing with people like us.
He led us into what looked like a personal library. It was a large, mostly square room with floor to ceiling windows gazing out onto the front lawn. Across from the windows was a large, dark wooden desk immaculately clear of clutter. The walls were lined with bookshelves. I sincerely doubted he even knew what titles he had on those walls.
“So, are those real books, or just fakes to make you feel smarter?” I couldn’t resist the jab.
“Most of them are real,” he answered. “I don’t remember which ones.” I got the feeling he was playing along.
He motioned for two of us to sit in the two large leather chairs in front of his desk. Angelo and I took the seats. Angelo took seniority and rank over the other Kings, though he was rarely present. In fact, his field position came from the time he’d served under the president before me.
“I’m sorry I can’t accommodate more guests,” our gracious host apologized as the other three lined up behind us.
“That’s fine,” Chase said. “We don’t mind standing.”
Calm down, boy, I thought. I could hear the unspoken threat of violence in his voice. As he stood behind me, I was sure he was imagining jumping across that desk and handling this conversation with his fists.
“So, how can I help you gentlemen?” The sleaze ball politician sat down in the chair behind his desk and leaned back. He wore a slate gray suit with a red tie. His salt and pepper hair was slicked back. He looked like he should have held a cigar in his mouth when he spoke, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he offered us a car while we were there.
“We understand you have a meeting coming up soon with Ivan Danilovich, the Russian drug lord operating here on our streets,” I said, trying my best to get right to it. I felt the air thicken with silent tension at my use of Ivan’s full name.
“I know who Ivan is,” our mayor said.
“And?” Angelo asked.
“And what?”
“And answer the question,” he finished.
“I’m sorry, but do I look like I have time to deal with that kind of scum on my streets?” he asked.
“Yes, you do.” I looked around his study. “In fact, I’m willing to bet you make more money off of Ivan than you do at work.”
“Listen, punk,” he said, sitting forward suddenly in his chair, “I’ve got a city swamped in crime, poverty, and drugs. Why would you assume I would be buying drugs to further pollute my streets with?”
“A little birdy named Dimitri told us,” I answered.
His face when pale white.
“That’s what I thought.” I stood up. “So, here’s how the rest of our little meeting is going to go, Mr
. Mayor. You’re going to tell us when the deal is going down, and where you’re meeting your boy, Ivan. If you don’t, my boys Chase and Juarez will be more than happy to persuade you.”
“I…I don’t know when or where. He’s supposed to call me,” our host protested.
“Guys,” I said, ordering Juarez and Chase in position. They stepped around the desk and stood on either side.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Again, Mr. Mayor. When and where?”
His eyes darted back and forth. He didn’t look the least bit worried. In fact, he seemed to be weighing options he didn’t really have.
