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“I couldn’t give a damn about Ralph’s kid,” I said, automatically.
“So, your Royal Bastards won’t interfere in that custody battle?”
“You have my word.” That was easy since I had the Road Monsters, as well. They could get Sky’s boy back after the dust settled.
“And what about your fealty?” Getty asked.
Under Pharaoh, our old Prez, the Nashville Bastards did the mob’s dirty work. Not to mention, Prez took his life over his dirty deals with Fond. I’d worked hard to get out of every strangle hold either of them had on the club. Slowly but surely, I’d paid debts and escaped obligations, finding a way to thrive independently, building my own empire.
“That’s a big ask, Getty, and you know it. I won’t give up Royal Road. I’m not lookin’ to be under anyone’s thumb again. Our debts have been paid.”
“You’re asking us to take down Fond for you. Sure, you can kill him tomorrow at your meeting and we can look the other way. Let you live. But his power runs deep. You don’t have the reach or influence to take over his allegiances from within. We do. You have no choice, Kingpin. Otherwise, you’re just chopping off a head that will grow back and bite you in the ass. You’ll owe me.”
Getty was right. But we could also kill an evil man and the mob, just as evil, would take over his empire. Agreeing to this, I would be making the Music City Syndicate stronger and be in their debt once again. But a helping hand was a helping hand, whether it was clean or dirty. As much as I hated to, I agreed.
“Fuck, Getty, you drive a hard bargain. But it’s a fucking deal, again.” But I warned him. “If you betray me tomorrow, me and my men will hunt down and kill everyone with a speck of your blood, you hear?”
The fat fuck shook on it. He wouldn’t be there tomorrow. Getty was smart. He didn’t wipe his own ass, let alone get his hands dirty, put himself in danger. Fond thought he’d made the mob into a lapdog. I hoped Getty would truly turn on his master.
Mateo and I left the meeting, a fragile thread of alliance woven between us and the mob. The crushing weight of uncertainty was still there, but so was a renewed sense of purpose. We were walking along the razor’s edge, but now, at least, I felt more confident. The game was on, and I was ready to play my part to the hilt. For Eve, for Sky, for Royal Road, I would do whatever it took to ensure our enemies found themselves on the losing end.
And I still had my ace in the hole. Unbeknownst to anyone, I had the Road Monsters MC at my disposal. I hadn’t been quite sure what to do with this winning piece to the puzzle until then. But suddenly, it all came to me.
First, I told Hallow my plan and got on the phone to Scar for him to put it all in motion. He’d contact the nomads to join up with Hallow, or rather Maverick, and rain some real terror down on the Mob while the Royal Bastards had my back. I couldn’t risk being double crossed or being beholden to Getty again.
I planned to come out on the other side of this as the only winner.
Chapter 21
Kingpin
Royal Road was like a live wire, every one of us feeling the electricity of the impending conflict in our bones. An undercurrent of strategic anticipation steadied me. Fond and his cronies, even the mob, they wouldn’t know what hit them. They didn’t expect that all the bikers from every chapter, most who’d come for the wedding, were still here a week later, a hidden army ready to defend our own.
We took no chances, hiding the motorcycles away from prying eyes. The element of surprise was crucial. Our true numbers were a secret weapon no one would see coming. Fond planned to take over Royal Road today, so he’d bring enough muscle to see that through. He’d know how many men I could usually count on, but I’d have a shit ton more. I couldn’t afford any mistakes, not with Eve and Sky’s lives hanging by a thread.
Sending my babies off with Bubba and Maddie was a decision that tore at me, but it was necessary. Their safety was paramount. We sent a crew out to Brentwood as an extra layer of protection, making damn sure that if Fond tried to extend his reach, he’d find himself in a cold, dark grave.
When a damn motorcade showed up at Royal Road, Fond with the mob in tow, along with some of his unaffiliated thugs, it was on. But nothing, not years on the road, not countless confrontations, could’ve braced me for the sight that unfolded before my eyes.
Eve and Sky were pushed forward, their appearance a visceral shock to my system. Eve, my love, my ol’ lady, looked like she’d been dragged through hell itself. Her face was deformed with lumps, bruises, and cuts. Blood had dried on her pale skin, her clothes torn, hanging off her in tatters.
Sky was in much better shape, dirty, but seemingly whole and unharmed. Although she still wore the scars from when she’d been mutilated before. Eve’s battered condition sent an incendiary mania spilling through my veins, igniting an inferno so ferocious it threatened to consume me whole.
Fond’s voice cut through the charged air, smug and self-assured. “Kingpin, I believe this belongs to you,” he taunted, gesturing dismissively at Eve, who had slumped to the ground. “Though I must say, girl’s seen better days.”
The laughter that followed from his men was like gasoline on the flames of my anger. My hands clenched into fists so tight I could feel my nails digging into my palms, the pain nothing against the storm of emotions raging within me.
Eve’s heavy eyes met mine across the distance, a silent plea in their depths that tore at my heart. The vulnerability, the pain I saw there, it was more than I could endure. But Fond’s men had their weapons drawn, pointing at her, pointing at me. Just as my men had their own at my back.
“You son of a bitch,” I growled, low and lethal. “You’re gonna pay for this. I swear, you’re gonna pay.”
Fond merely smiled, basking in the pain he caused. “Let’s not forget why we’re here, shall we? The deed to Royal Road, Kingpin. Sign it over, and you can have your precious whores back. Refuse, and well…” He let the threat hang in the air, a noose waiting to tighten.
Every instinct screamed at me to launch myself at Fond and tear him apart with my bare hands. But I knew that wouldn’t end well, not with his men’s guns trained on Eve and Sky. This was a chess match, and Fond had just put me in check.
But he didn’t know I had a few moves of my own yet to play.
Reaching into my cut, I pulled out the deed to Royal Road, the paper feeling absurdly flimsy in my grasp, given the power of what it represented. My eyes never left Fond’s, a silent battle of wills playing out between us as I brandished the document like a white flag that was anything but.
