Page 37 of Triplets for the Rival MC

My hands curl into fists before I can stop them. Hunter’s hand comes down on my shoulder, grounding me. Cyrus’s presence is steady, solid. We’re a wall. King is the one who is weak and stupid. He must be if he can’t see how incredible Tori is, how strong, intelligent, and kind she is. That she became the woman she is today is a miracle. She’s the woman she is despite him, not because of him.

“Tori hates you,” Cyrus says flatly. “She doesn’t want to go back.”

King scoffs. “She doesn’t know what she wants.”

I lean in, my voice low and deadly. “Funny. Tori’s been pretty damn clear about it.” I try not to take pleasure in the flicker across his face as he wonders exactly what her relationship with us is.

“How much?” King says with a sigh, as if naming the right price will change our minds.

“She’s not for sale. The answer is no.”

Silence crashes down. Even the wind seems to pause.

King stares at me, really looks this time. He sees something he doesn’t like, perhaps he senses my feelings for Tori, realizes there’s nothing on earth he can offer, nothing he can do, to get her back. He’s lost her forever. She’s ours now. Like a child who only wants something because he’s been told he can’t have it, King wrestles with taking no as an answer.

“You think this ends well?” he asks quietly.

I shrug. “As long as it ends with Tori far away from you, I don’t care.”

He glowers, frustrated by my stubbornness. “You think I’m scared of you? I’ve buried men tougher than you.”

“Maybe,” Cyrus says. “But you’ve never scared us.”

King’s eyes flick to him. He studies Cyrus as if seeing him for the first time, as if finally realizing he shouldn’t underestimate him. King straightens, unwilling to lose face. Tori was right, he can’t stand being humiliated in front of his men. “Last chance. Give her back, and I’ll forget last night ever happened.”

I laugh sharply and humorlessly. “You think trafficking women is something I’ll ever forget? Your name is dirt now, you’re scum.”

One of King’s men shifts uncomfortably. So, King’s decision to get involved with the mafia’s sex trafficking doesn’t sit well with all of them. There’s dissension among his ranks, even if he doesn’t know it yet. Good. We can use that against him, take him down from the inside as well as the outside.

King’s face turns puce. “Careful.”

“No,” I snap. “You be careful. You laid hands on your own daughter. You sold women like cattle. You’ve allied with a monster and sold your morals to the highest bidder. You don’t deserve the title of president. You bring shame to the motorcycle community.”

I step forward, towering over him. There’s the slightest flicker of worry in his eye as he realizes that man-to-man, he’s no match for me. Hunter and Cyrus flank me without a word. “You don’t get Tori,” I continue. “Not today. Not ever. Under no circumstances.”

King’s eyes are burning now. “You’re choosing war.”

I think of Tori asleep between us, finally safe. I think of the women crying in relief as we cut their chains. I think of every line King crossed and thought he could get away without consequence, without punishment.

“Yes,” I say. “I am.”

He stares at me for a long moment, then nods slowly. “Then I’ll burn your club to the ground.”

Hunter smiles, cold and sharp. “I’d like to see you try.”

King turns away, signaling his men. Before he mounts up, he looks back at me one last time. “She’s still mine,” he says.

I meet his gaze, unblinking. “She never was.”

The Bulls ride out, the sound of their engines fading into the distance like a storm moving away, only I know it’s not over, like the rain clouds brewing above us, they’re gathering their strength.

Hunter claps my shoulder. “You good?”

I nod, letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Yeah.” It’s a lie, but it’s close enough. I let my anger fuel the fire within me.

Cyrus looks toward the road King disappeared down. “War’s official now.”

I swing my leg over my bike, hands steady on the grips. “Good.” We knew it would come to this; we’re ready.