AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Once my women are safe, you can have it all. Take the whole damn place,” I declared, my words sour. But this was the play, the bluff I had to make. “My men will be taking the girls far from here, out of your reach. Once they’re clear, the deed and club are yours.”
Fond’s eyes narrowed, a calculating glint appearing in their depths. “You think I’m stupid, Kingpin?” he challenged with a dangerous rumble. “You expect me to believe you’ll just hand over everything? You expect me to hope you keep your word?”
The pressure spiked, a tangible force that seemed to squeeze the chasm between us. Fond’s gaze shifted to Eve and then to Sky, a dark intention evident in his eyes. “Maybe I should kill one of them now, just to prove a point. To show you, I mean business. Which will it be?”
His threat swung in the air, a guillotine blade poised to fall. I had to remind myself that giving over Royal Road for real wouldn’t even save the girls. They were in as much danger with either plan.
“No,” I said, forcing calm into my voice, projecting a confidence I was far from feeling. “The handover will be as I said. You get the deed and the club only after my women are safe and clear of your thugs. That’s the deal, Fond. Take it or leave it.”
Fond’s lips curled into a smirk, but his eyes remained cold, calculating. “You shot my sister and put her in jail, Kingpin.”
“Viv?” Fuck, she was Fond’s sister? I knew right then and there, Fond didn’t plan to hand Eve and Sky over, even when I handed him the deed. Man wanted revenge. He wanted to hurt me.
“Yeah, Viv, I shot that bitch, but I didn’t kill her,” I said, hoping to get him talking. I’d told my men to hold off until the girls were safe, but it was clear Fond had no plan on exchanging. He was waiting for me to make one wrong move so he could kill one or both of them. I needed my men to act now. The men with their weapons trained on Eve and Sky didn’t belong to the mob, like I’d hoped.
“You didn’t kill her, but being in the slammer did,” he started.
My words were useless, but I had to keep him talking in hopes that someone would catch on to the fact things had gone south. The mob weren’t supposed to act until we made a move, and we weren’t supposed to make a move until the girls were long gone. Safe. I had to give Pagan the signal and hope for the best, hope that neither Eve nor Sky were hurt in what was about to go down.
The realization that Fond had no intention of a fair exchange, that this was about vengeance as much as it was about Royal Road, shifted the dynamics of our standoff. Our confrontation became laden with unspoken threats, each second feeling like an hour, loaded with the potential for violence.
“You put her there,” Fond said, his tone a mix of accusation and a twisted sense of grief. This was personal for Fond, far beyond business or territory. Viv’s incarceration, and her subsequent death, had been the catalyst for this vendetta.
“I was only protecting what’s mine, and you know it,” I shot back, trying to maintain a semblance of control over the situation.
My eyes flicked briefly to Pagan, a silent communication passing between us. It was time to act, to take the risk. Fond’s men, not aligned with the mob as we’d hoped, were a problem we hadn’t fully anticipated.
Fond continued his tirade, a diatribe of blame and revenge, while I subtly gestured to Pagan. Our plan was falling apart, but we couldn’t stand by and let Fond dictate the play. Our advantage lay in the element of surprise, in the loyalty and readiness of our brothers positioned just out of sight.
“You think you can just take from me, hurt my family, and there’d be no repercussions?” Fond was saying, his voice rising. “You think you can shoot my sister and not pay the ultimate price?”
His focus on me, on his need for retribution, gave us the opening we needed. “Everyone pays the price, Fond,” I said, my voice steady. “Including you.”
Pagan understood, nodding almost imperceptibly before turning away, his movements casual to the untrained eye but loaded. Within moments, the sound of engines roared to life in the distance. The cavalry we’d hidden away made their move.
The men holding Eve and Sky tensed, their focus momentarily shifting towards the sound, giving our brothers the opening they needed. It was a gamble, a desperate play, but it was all we had.
Chaos erupted, with Fond’s men scrambling to respond to the unexpected threat. I focused solely on Eve and Sky. The fear in their eyes was a knife to my heart, but I held onto the hope that we could pull this off, that we could save them without further bloodshed.
The sound of gunfire shattered the morning’s peace. My brothers were out there, putting their lives on the line for me, for Eve and Sky. And as the battle raged, I knew there was no turning back. We were all in, for better or worse.
Chapter 22
Kingpin
Fond vanished. He got away and his men dragged Eve and Sky with them. The anticipated support from the mob evaporated into thin air. It felt like betrayal, a cold wash of reality announcing that we were on our own, the mob’s allegiance seemingly with Fond. But then, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
Thunder boomed. The distant rumble of engines grew into a deafening roar as the Road Monsters, my ace in the hole, roared into view. Two dozen strong, they rode with a purpose, their arrival a turning point in the standoff. And they weren’t alone. In their midst was a prisoner, none other than fat ass Alexander Getty, looking worse for wear and decidedly less smug than his usual self.
Thank fuck.
The sight of Getty in the bikers’ clutches seemed to realign the mob’s priorities real quick. Suddenly, their guns weren’t pointed at us but at Fond and his dwindling number of loyalists. It was a fantastic turnaround, the balance of power flipping in an instant.
With the Road Monsters backing us, and the mob unexpectedly in our corner, we pressed the advantage. Hallow and I, side by side, led the charge, our focus singular, catching up to Fond.
The mob, their betrayal forgotten in the heat of the moment, proved instrumental as they cut down Fond’s men with ruthless efficiency. It was a mess, but through it, Hallow found his way to Sky, their reunion a brief moment of clarity during the madness.
I didn’t have the luxury of picking my woman up off the ground. I had Fond in my sights, my gun trained on the man who’d caused so much pain, so much damage. He was cornered, his usual confidence shattered by the realization of his imminent defeat.
