Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
There weren’t a lot of great ways to deal with the pressure building inside of us in a legal way. So organized violence it was going to be.
Stripes met us just outside the warehouse door. He straightened, his foot falling to the ground as we approached. He scanned over us, his gaze dead. Unemotional. “Ready for this?”
I handed over the money. “Rules?”
He tucked the money away and shrugged. “Rules are what we talked about. No permanent damage. No killing, obviously. Just some good, old-fashioned violence between strangers. I ran it past the club, and we got a nice selection of guys to face you. No weapons except your fists in there.”
I grunted. “Sounds good. Give us a minute.”
He tilted his head down and slipped inside.
“What the fuck, Mason?” Nate’s nostrils flared.
I shot him a look. “You don’t have to do shit, but I am.”
Logan bounced on his heels. “I am so down for this. Fuck yeah.”
“These guys have a history with Channing,” Nate noted.
“Which is why he’s not here,” I countered.
Nate bit back his next words, his eyes flicking upward. He stepped away from us. “I’m not okay with this.”
“Then leave,” I retorted coolly.
Logan stopped bouncing, his gaze skirting between us. “What’s your issue?”
“This—Channing won’t be okay with this. It’s like you’re going behind his back.”
“Look.” I moved to face him directly. “I need this. Logan needs this. If you can’t be here, fine. Go. But they run the only underground fighting ring in the area now. There are no others.”
“You could’ve set this up with Channing’s crew. Those guys would fight us.”
“They would’ve held back.”
Nate looked away. He knew it was the truth.
I motioned with my head toward the warehouse behind us. “These guys don’t give a fuck about us. They’re from a different world. They’re also businessmen, and I paid a good amount for this to happen tonight. If you can’t see why we might need this, you can go. For real.”
“It’s not that,” Nate said, his mouth twisting. “It feels too much like back in the day. You cut out Channing. And the violence. Some of us have ended up in the hospital. I just don’t like it.”
That was valid. Nate had tended to be collateral damage for people going after Logan or myself. “I’m sorry about that, but we have a war coming our way, whether you’re here or not. And you need to trust me. I’ll talk to Channing about this later, but right now, there’s another reason we’re here. Are you in or not?”
Nate expelled some air. “I’m not agreeing with this, but I’m not leaving you guys either. I don’t have the same need to spill blood you savages do.”
Logan grinned. He puffed his chest up, cocky. “Fuck yeah we do. And I’m first.”
He turned and headed inside.
I held back, waiting for Nate to meet my gaze. He did, giving me a small nod. I nodded back, some of the pressure leaving me, but a different tension took its place.
A whole host of bikers waited inside—leaning against the walls, lounging. Some were at the ring, talking in groups of two or three, but when Nate and I joined them, their conversations quieted. I scanned the inside, wondering if their president was here. Channing hadn’t wanted to talk about the Red Demons’s Frisco charter. The other reason I was here was because they were my best link to real information about Kai Bennett. Channing was a bounty hunter, so he had some connections to that world, but it wasn’t enough. He hadn’t been able to give me enough information. I needed a more sustainable link, so I had to go around him.
My family was on the line.
My private investigator hadn’t gotten back to me, and with the funeral finished, handling my dad’s business and this mafia threat was next on the docket. I was stepping into a whole new world, and I was already in last fucking place.
Nate looked around and cursed under his breath.
I felt that. These guys were the real deal. Big. Muscular. Tattooed. Real criminals and real killers. Logan was already warming up in the corner. A biker was taping Logan’s hands and talking to him. My brother nodded, listening to him. He was getting himself focused for the match.
Stripes headed my way, stopping a few feet away to look at Nate. “This one all uppity?”
Nate stiffened. He turned cold eyes on the biker. “Mason doesn’t know who you are. I do.”
Stripes paused, his head cocking. His eyes narrowed.
“Cross Shaw’s brother is my brother-in-law.”
Stripes cursed, and his eyes turned mean. “That was a long time ago. I went to prison, and I’ve been a Red Demon ever since. You got issues with me, you can take a hike.” He motioned beyond the warehouse.
There was no other option with him. His tone said to shut up or leave.