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Rogue was only twelve and had never taken a particular interest in Trey. They’d never even spoken, but Trey watched Rogue and his older brother, Oz. There was a strength and dominance the brothers shared. They kept to themselves, ignored everyone else, and constantly went head-to-head with the father, ironically always winning.
“Stay here. Don’t fucking move!”
Trey simply nodded and did what Rogue said. A minute later, Rogue came back into the room with Trey’s duffle bag over his shoulder, dragging Trey’s mattress into the corner of the already cramped room.
“This is your room now. You hear me?”
Trey nodded.
The details were grainy, and they never spoke about it again. Trey had a slight memory of a story about an intruder, which Dale backed up as truth. Rogue’s beating left Dale battered and with possible brain damage. If Dale could recall the incident, he never said. From that day forward, Trey hadn’t left either of the older boys’ sides. When they’d gotten pushback from the mother, it was Oz who’d insisted Trey stay.
It took him years to figure out Rogue’s intention, but as he spent every day with the brothers, it became clear. Rogue looked up to Oz, felt the protection from his brother, but felt inadequate as he’d always be the little brother. Until he’d attached himself to Trey, playing the part of protector and older brother.
Trey never knew how Rogue had explained the scene or his actions to the eldest. But Oz had stayed up with him all night, prepping Trey for his police interview the following day. They went over and over the fictitious story until Trey had it locked to memory. It had worked flawlessly. A year later, Oz aged out of the system, packed up his things, and walked out the door, never looking back. And he did that with Rogue and Trey following close behind.
The future Kings of the Underground were solidified at nine, twelve, and seventeen.
Trey drew in a breath, glancing up at Oz.
“Compromise,” Oz said.
“All right.”
“He ends the deal and cuts ties with Dornan, and we outsource the job to another transport.”
Trey furrowed his brows. “There are no others, Oz. This crew wasn’t Rogue’s first choice. They were the only option. No one will take this.”
“Killcreek Drifters.”
Trey snorted, waiting for some type of laugh or punchline from Oz. It was a few seconds before Trey realized he was serious. “Rogue will never go for it.”
There was too much history and one deal that landed Rogue on the losing end. He was notorious for holding a grudge and was firm on never working with the MC.
Oz’s gaze sharpened. “Make him go for it.”
Trey grasped the back of his neck. He may have been the king of negotiations, but Oz was asking for an impossible task.
“Why the hell does this always fall on me?” Trey asked, not expecting an answer, but he got one.
Oz smirked, arching his brow. “Sal always said you were the levelheaded mediator.”
Yes, he did. Sal Caruso had called it years ago, long before their reign as kings began. Trey had always had a way of coming in between the brothers as a calming mechanism. Trey was never quite sure what he did or how he did it, but he was a clear mediator. The peacemaker.
“This can be over in two days,” Oz said. “We get Killcreek on this, Rogue won’t run into any issues going forward.”
Trey understood and even agreed it was a good option, but convincing Rogue to go along with it was where the issue would lie. The Killcreek Drifters MC had a long standing in the Underground. They were known for taking jobs no other crew was willing to do. The risks were high, but the rewards were lucrative.
Due to the current conflict, Rogue and Trey didn’t do any business with them, but Oz did. To which extent, Trey didn’t know.
“How much business are you pulling with Killcreek?”
“A lot.”
Trey smirked and shook his head. “Not afraid they’ll burn your house down?”
Killcreek’s list of criminal activities were endless, but this act deemed them notorious.
“Killcreek isn’t known for their class. That’s not why I work with them. Aligning with a strong and smart ally only gets me what I want. You and Rogue may not like them, but I trust them.”
