by Nina Levine
King’s Reign
Nina Levine
Dedication
This one’s for all my amazing readers.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Excerpt from Storm
Acknowledgments
Also by Nina Levine
About the Author
1
King
Some say the art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. I didn’t buy that shit for a second. I’ve always said show the fuck up with the biggest army you can amass and crush the motherfuckers with brute fucking force.
I was here to crush Tony Romano’s empire with the kind of force that would tell the world never to fuck with Storm again.
We’d arrived in Melbourne just after 8:00 p.m. and had staked out both his home and his business headquarters for the past two hours. Biding our time. Something I wasn’t good at, but Axe had convinced me this was the best course of action to ensure we were running on good information that left little room for surprises when we did attack. I’d left a skeleton crew back in Sydney and brought just over forty men with me. Zane and Griff were in charge of surveillance, pulling intel on how many men we were dealing with inside. Last week, they’d found the floor plans for each building and had mapped out different scenarios for how to infiltrate and attack. The thing I wanted to make sure of before we went in, guns fucking blazing, was that there were no women or children who’d be caught in the crossfire. The intel so far led us to believe there weren’t, but Zane was making sure that information was accurate.
Hyde approached me as I watched the entrance to Romano’s headquarters. A van had just arrived and five more men were about to enter the building. “You sure you don’t wanna just burn the joint down and be done with it, brother?”
I turned to him. We’d been going back and forth over this question for about an hour, and disagreed on it. As far as we knew, there were about thirty guys in the building. Hyde held concerns that was too many for us to deal with. “I want to look these motherfuckers in the eye and see them bleed. And I want to make sure every last fucking one of them dies. There will be no survivors here today.”
“Okay, we do this your way, but if shit gets out of hand, I’m torching the place and getting us the fuck out of there.”
I clenched my jaw, pissed that he kept arguing over this. “No.” No fucking way was I not getting my hands dirty with these cunts. If they wanted to come at me the way they had, they would feel the full extent of my wrath.
He returned my scowl. “King, you’re running on emotion, and we both know that’s a dangerous headspace to be in with this kind of shit. I don’t wanna see our club wiped out because you couldn’t fucking think straight.”
“I fucking said no, so drop it. And if you can’t, you can stay the fuck out of this entire operation,” I barked before turning back to continue watching the building.
“Fuck,” he fired back before stalking away from me, muttering some other shit under his breath I couldn’t work out, nor had any fucking interest in trying to.
As he left, Zane made his way to me. “Best we can figure, there won’t be any collateral damage if we go in now.”
“You’re sure?”
He gave a quick nod. “Yes.”
I glanced at Axe who’d also joined us. “You agree we’re good to go?” My brother was the only person whose opinion I ever gave this much weight to. He’d proven his skill in this kind of situation a long time ago, and while it sometimes killed me to take his suggestions on board, I almost always did.
“I do. There may not be a better time than right now. Most of the guys inside are concentrated in the back corner of the building. That neutralises a lot of the risk associated with this. And there’s no one at Romano’s home, so it’s good timing there, too.”
I texted Nitro who was at Romano’s home and told him to proceed. I then spoke into my handheld radio that connected me to Kick and Devil who were at various points around this building. “Go!”
We moved fast and silently towards the perimeter, entering the building as Zane and Griff had planned. That was after Axe and I slit the throats of the two guys guarding this side of the building. Griff had shut down the video surveillance, allowing us to enter with ease. That I finally had some of Romano’s men’s blood on my hands lit my fucking mind up.
I needed more.
I fucking hungered for it.
This shit had been going on for too long; I was like a jittery fucking addict waiting for his next hit.
My finger twitched at the trigger of my gun.
If only Romano were here.
Fuck, I wouldn’t kill him on sight; I’d take him with me so I could keep him like a fucking toy that needed to be played with daily. Pull that fucker out every hour and give him some King love. The kind of love my father taught me.
Once inside, I led the way to the back corner room, meeting the two other teams of men who’d entered at different access points. Darkness blanketed the building, the only light spilling from the back like Zane had predicted.
Devil, Kick, and Hyde locked eyes on me. Without pausing for even one fucking second, I stormed through the door and opened fire the minute my gaze landed on the first of Romano’s motherfuckers.
Surprise rolled across his face before terror as he took in my gun. I zeroed in on that terror, feeding the craving that lived deep in my soul. Satisfaction filled my veins exactly like the addict I was, and every instinct I had for death and torture roared to life in a way it never had before.
There will be a bloodbath here today.
I’d been shutting my shit down for far too fucking long.
Keeping a tight fucking rein on my crazy.
No more.
I would allow every impulse I had to take over and run its course. And when the chips fell wherever they did, I would pick those fuckers up and do it all over again with the next enemy on my motherfucking list.
The sound of gunfire filled the room, mine leading the way. There had to be twenty guys in here, some cutting coke, some counting cash, some watching over the operation. That they only had four guards on the building—the two where we’d entered, and two more at other points—told me whoever Romano had left in charge didn’t know his ass from his elbow. With this kind of shit going on in here, I would have blanketed the building with protection.
We were thirty to their twenty, and we had the element of surprise. But while I didn’t think much of whoever was running this show, I had to give it to them—they were ready enough for an invasion like this. Guns swiftly appeared, and we had to react fast to avoid bullets. That only sparked my mania.
My mind disconnected from everything but the task at hand.
Kill.
Annihilate.
Ruin.
The carnage surrounding me stoked the fire of hate burning deep inside me.
Romano had kept me down for long enough; I was back on my fucking feet now.
Give me all you’ve got, motherfuckers.
“King!”
My gaze sliced to where Kick pointed, and I roared with rage as I eyed one of our men going down. A moment later, I had my arm hooked around the neck of Romano’s guy who was about to bring his blade down on my man.
Squeezing tight, I snarled, “You ever felt the cut of a knife, cunt?”
He thrashed against my body trying to break free of my hold. “Fuck you, asshole!”
I jerked him against me again, making sure I choked some of the life from him. “It hurts for sure, but I’m not here just to deliver some fucking hurt. I’m going to sink that blade into your body and twist and dig the fuck out of your insides until your screams are burned into my brain. And until you’re eyeballs roll back and you’re dreaming of hell because even it’d be better than meeting me.”
“Do your fucking best,” he managed to get out as I shoved him to the ground.
Dropping my gun, I ripped the knife from his hand as our eyes locked. I bent over him and sliced his shirt down the middle. I needed to see the blood drain from his body. Needed that seared into my brain. Romano wasn’t here, but I would take what I required from this motherfucker. And what I fucking required was to channel every ounce of my fury and pain into making someone else hurt like I did.
I plunged the blade into his chest. The kind of rush a junkie would do anything for surged through me. But it wasn’t enough.
The second thrust of the blade sparked a disconnect between my mind and my humanity.
I detached myself from everything with the third.
Almost there.
I floated outside of myself as I stabbed him the fourth time.
Now I was chasing pure darkness.
Succumbing to the needs I’d forced to the far edges of my soul.
Running like a madman towards the evil that infected the parts of me I could never eradicate.
His blood was my blood.
I fucking bled the same pain he did.
His cries were my cries.
And finally, when he took his last breath, he was as dead as I was.
My frenzy finished when blood and guts lay sprawled out before me, a feast for my black heart.
I stood and dropped the knife on his dead body. Blood covered every inch of my skin. I barely noticed it, though. The high buzzing my veins stole my attention. Every single last speck of it.
I was just getting started.
Tonight we would blaze chaos through this city.
Anarchy was the only answer to Romano’s deeds.
Hyde stepped in front of me and snatched up the knife. “It’s done, brother.”
My eyes cut to his briefly before glancing around at the slaughter. Death surrounded us. It filled my senses in exactly the way I needed it to. But my wrath still raged, and I knew it wouldn’t be sated until I had Romano’s blood on my hands.
I looked at Hyde. “Everyone?”
He nodded.
I picked up my gun. “Light the fucking match.”
Sweeping my gaze over the room one last time, I stalked out, my mind already shifting to the next stop on tonight’s death train. My men followed, Hyde and Devil torching the joint, leaving Romano’s empire in a state of destruction. Next stop, his allies. If they didn’t agree to our terms for how we would conduct business going forward, they would suffer my wrath, too.
2
King
The headache I’d had for days sank its claws deeper into me. Nothing I took came close to easing it. Not even the shit Lily had given me.
Fuck.
I exited the clubhouse bar and headed to my office. Shutting myself in, door closed, I dumped my phone on the desk, switched the lamp on, and reached for the bottle of whisky that had become my saviour. I guzzled a mouthful, hardly noticing the burn as it slid down my throat.
Sitting, I rested my head back against the top of the chair and took another swig of whisky. I couldn’t get this shit into me fast enough. My only goal tonight was to knock myself the fuck out and silence the thoughts and feelings slowly killing me.
Last night we’d cut a path through Melbourne, making it very fucking clear Romano no longer held any power in that city. Blood had been spilt. Fuck, for some, it had flowed. But in the end, I’d made every last motherfucker understand that Storm now ran Melbourne. And they’d spread that news around today. I’d taken a lot of fucking calls when we’d arrived back late this afternoon. We’d stepped on a lot of toes, pissed a lot of people off. I couldn’t have cared less. I’d already told Winter to pack his bags and prepare to move to Melbourne. He’d be heading up our operation down there. I’d never been interested in that city; now I’d take it over.
A knock sounded at the door, and Axe stepped inside. His gaze landed on the whisky in front of me, and he frowned. “You okay, brother?”
“Yeah. What’s up?”
He moved further into the office, a look of concern on his face. “Just got word from my guy. He’s been able to confirm that Romano is working with the feds. They turned him.”
I threw some more whisky down my throat. “And his location?”
Axe shook his head. “Still nothing on that.”
I motioned my hand at him. “Get him on the phone.”
“No.”
I worked my jaw, unable to calm my rising irritation. “Axe, get him on the fucking phone.”
His eyes turned hard. “What, so you can fuck this up? I let you talk to him, we won’t have a contact in the feds anymore.”
“Fuck,” I roared, slamming the bottle down. Standing, I met him where he stood, my body tense with determination. “You’ve got skills I don’t, brother, but right now, we don’t have time to fuck around waiting for you to work this guy. It’s time for me to have a word with him.”
Deadlocked, we wasted a minute while Axe got to the realisation I wouldn’t let this go. He could be a stubborn motherfucker sometimes.
“Jesus, Zac,” he muttered, smacking his phone into my hand. “Try not to screw this up for me. I’ve used this guy for a few years now, and he knows his shit. I don’t want to lose him.”
His use of my name lightened my mood. I lifted a brow. “You only use that name when you want something.”
“I want you to tread carefully. You think you’ve got that in you? ’Cause I sure as fuck don’t.”
“No.” He was right—I didn’t have that in me. Scrolling through his phone, I said, “What’s his name?”
He rattled off the name and I dialled the guy. While I waited for him to answer, I looked at Axe. “The time for restraint has passed, brother. We’re not taking any fucking prisoners anymore.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and turned away from me. He hadn’t been this pissed off with me for a long time, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a fuck. This wasn’t anything new for us. He’d come around.
His guy answered my call, “Axe, man, it’s late.”
“Johnny, it’s Zachary King, Axe’s brother. We need to have a talk about Tony Romano.”
Silence for a beat. “No, we don’t. I only talk to Axe.”
I gripped the phone harder, willing my impatience to take a back seat. “Not tonight you don’t. Tonight you tell me everything you know about what the fuck Romano’s doing with your friends.”
The stillness on the other end of the phone was deafening and maddening, causing my agitation to flare. “Okay, let me put this another way, Johnny. You give me what I want or I’ll come at you in ways you won’t like.”
Axe swore under his breath, pacing the office. His angry eyes met mine, but I ignored what I saw there.
I just fucking need to know where Romano is.
“Your brother there with you?” Johnny asked, his own anger bleeding through the phone.
“Yeah, but for the record, he’s not down with this request.” I could be a good brother sometimes.
“Put him on.”
“How about you listen to me, Johnny? You give me the information I want, and then you can talk to Axe for hours if that’
s what you want.”
“I’ve heard a lot of shit about you, and now I’ve had the pleasure of this conversation, I’m guessing all of it was right,” he gritted out. “I’ve told Axe everything I know. They’ve got this investigation locked down tight like I’ve never seen before. Whatever shit Romano knows, it’s big.”
“I’m giving you twenty-four hours to find his location. That’s all I need at this point.”
“Fuck. It’s gonna take me longer than that. They don’t muck around when they’ve got someone in witness protection.”
I decided to take a new tack. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. You speed this up, get me that information by this time tomorrow, I’ll leave you alone and throw in ten grand in cash.”
He blew out a long breath. “Forty-eight hours.”
I balled my fist. I did not want to wait another day, but I knew the truth in what he said. It could well take him that long. “The cash offer is only good until tomorrow. Hurry this the hell up.”
I ended the call and shoved Axe’s phone back at him. “Where’s Zane?”
“In the bar as far as I know.”
I stalked out there and found both him and Griff. They were going over something on Zane’s laptop. I pulled up a seat at their table. “I’ve got a job for you two. Romano’s in protection. You think you can track him down within the next twenty-four hours?”
We’d suspected they had him in witness protection, but it hadn’t been confirmed until now. It slanted this differently than if he was being held in prison. It meant that if we could locate him, we could deal with him ourselves rather than finding someone inside to do it.
