2. Jenson
Jenson
I offer a slow, curling smile to the woman sitting opposite me, ignoring the furious scowl of the man at her shoulder. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you. My offer remains open, you know. Should you have any vacancies .”
It’s safe to say that my words will be brushed off.
Alyss Lidell only smirks, tossing her short blond hair back and leaning against her second. Chess glowers at me, his hands clenching as if he’s imagining my neck beneath them. “Stop winding him up, Jenson. I won’t hold him back if he goes for your throat.”
“We have no vacancies.” The brown-eyed man on her other side – who is far too fucking pretty to be in our line of work – offers me a polite smile along with his words before he looks back to her. The dark-eyed one next to him nods, the twins on Chess’s other side echoing the movement with uncanny precision.
I scan her group with unrestrained curiosity. The six of them are always together, Alyss building her empire around the men who fill her bed. It’s a very different approach to that of her father, who held the Hearts before her. Or her brother, who died before he ever had a chance to hold anything at all.
But it works. One woman, and five men. A strong, united front.
“Ask your question.” Alyss’s smile pulls at her lips. She’s completely relaxed here, settling into her role as leader of the Hearts with an ease that I find myself envying. And yet I know that one wrong move will have half a dozen guns pointed in my direction and her knife against my throat before I can do more than blink. “Or whatever thoughts lingering in your head that have you assessing our…arrangement. I think you’ve earned a question, Jenson.”
As I fucking should, given the concessions I’ve made this evening over the remainder of the Spades territory. Splitting it between the Hearts, the Diamonds, and the Clubs following Gryphon’s death two years ago has taken us over a year of careful negotiation that finally completes tonight.
I consider my words carefully, knowing the offer for the gift it is. Glancing around, I check for privacy, although our men have the small meeting room cleared for our discussions. At my shoulder, River has his arms down and relaxed at his side. His body poised to go for a weapon if he needs one, but the twist of his own mouth shows his curiosity. Kai glances down at me, his face expressionless. When I raise an eyebrow in silent question, he nods.
Turning back to Alyss, I slide my eyes up, to the hulking male behind her. Chess stiffens. “My question is for you, actually, Chess.”
“Then it’s his decision on whether to answer.” Alyss’s voice holds a thin layer of steel. A warning.
She doesn’t fuck around where these men are concerned.
With a nod, I focus on him again. “Does sharing have a negative impact on your own relationships within the group? Is Alyss your only connection, or are the bonds between you just as strong?”
Chess’s eyebrows raise in surprise, as do Alyss’s. The men behind me stay silent, but I can feel their attention sharpen.
He considers my question for several moments, glancing at the others around him. Buck winks at him, and Chess rolls his eyes before turning back.
“No,” he says gruffly. His eyes fall to Alyss, softening before returning to me. “No negative impact. I thought it would, at first. But then, we didn’t know each other. We had to work through that first. The friendships came later, and they are just as strong as the bonds we have with Alyss.”
“I knew you loved me really.”
Buck’s quip has Chess sighing. “Most of them, anyway.”
He scans us, taking in River and Kai behind me. “I imagine an arrangement like ours might be easier to navigate when a group already… exists. Our group is also larger, which adds more complexity.”
But it’s Alyss who gives me what I’m looking for. “I don’t lead them around by their cocks, if that’s what you’re asking, Jenson. I’m the leader of the Hearts and that’s not going to change, but outside of the work hierarchy, everyone has an equal say.”
Nodding, I test Alyss’s patience by glancing at the male beside Chess. She tenses, and I keep my voice mild, my body relaxed. “I would be interested in your view, Hatter. No pressure, of course.”
Hatter doesn’t flinch. “They are my family. All of them. They are the family I chose.”
What I wouldn’t give to know the full details of their story. All I know are small pieces. I know that Alyss took up her role and called in a favor from me to get Hatter back from the psychotic bitch who used to have a stronghold in this city. I also know that while she clearly loves all of the men around her with a viciousness I admire, she has a particular softness where Hatter is concerned, a protectiveness that makes me wonder what lingers inside his head.
“Enough.” Alyss’s voice is steely. “I trust you learned something?”
I nod my head. “Thank you.”
She eyes me curiously, moving to River and Kai. “I find myself interested to meet the woman who could infiltrate your group.”
I school my expression. “Curiosity, that’s all.”
Our circumstances are very different.
Alyss clicks her tongue as she gets to her feet. “A word of warning. These things never seem to happen the way you’d expect. Prepare for the unexpected.”
Valid advice, but we have precautions in place for that reason. There will be no surprises. “I’ll bear that in mind. Staying for a drink?”
The leader of the Hearts shakes her head. “We don’t generally enjoy places like this. Although you’re doing an excellent job, by all accounts.”
Her eyes meet mine. “We do keep an eye on things.”
Not a surprise, given their history. The Hearts are more than willing to leave the nightlife of this city to us and focus on their own territory, the vacuum left by Red’s demise and the closure of Wonder replaced with something less… murderous .
Inclining my head, I glance through the door that River opens, letting the noise spill in. “I appreciate the feedback. River will send the paperwork over with the updated boundary lines, and a copy to Keenan too for his information.”
Our Clubs counterpart was busy this evening, apparently. Not that it mattered, this particular issue one for Alyss and I to hash out between us. But curious, all the same.
With a final nod, the self-styled Queen of the Hearts gang vanishes, taking her group with her. The twins that always watch her back nod at us before they follow her through the door and onto the crowded dance floor, where the crowd swallows them up.
River pushes the door closed, settling his back against it and crossing his arms. He smirks. “I thought she was going to stab you when you looked at Hatter. Dangerous game.”
My brow quirks. “She likes me. She wouldn’t kill me.”
Maybe .
I turn to look up at Kai. He glances down and away, his jaw tight. “What?”
A shrug.
“You don’t think this is going to work?”
Kai’s fingers start moving, the jerking motions a clear sign of his irritation if his words didn’t already get that across.
It doesn’t matter. You don’t want to do this. Not really.
Frowning, I get up and move to the bar in the corner. “I never said that.”
I look over my shoulder to his hands as I grab a beer.
You don’t need to do this.
The emphasis is clear as I return to my seat. River drops down opposite me, Kai taking the space between us after a moment’s hesitation. “Neither do you. You have women on their knees most nights, begging for a crumb of attention. You think any of them care if you’re whispering in their ear?”
His face changes slightly, an old pain in his eyes before it vanishes. They only want me as a trophy. To say they had me. Not for anything real. When they’re done, they leave.
I know he’s tired of it. Kai wants the opposite of what I want, and yet we’ve found a way to meet in the middle. Even on a temporary basis.
River says nothing, his face contemplative. Then he sighs. “Kai is right.”
He’s already raising his hands as I glare at him. “ Not about the trophy part – and seriously, we need to do some work on your self-esteem – but we all have to be on board with this, Jenson, or it won’t work.”
“It’s a simple, temporary arrangement,” I say, my voice dry. “We’re not bringing someone on forever. I’m fine with it, I assure you.”
But if we can’t find the right person, it’s not going to happen at all.
“Why’d you ask them about their dynamics?” River’s brown eyes are darker tonight. He stretches, running a hand over the blond hair he keeps scraped back into a bun. “I was curious too, but you had a point to make there.”
I turn the beer over in my hands. “I had my reasons.”
Because I won’t allow anyone to break what we have. Kai, River and I built this club back up from embers and ashes, clawed our way up and used each other as shields against the fucking chaos of the Diamond hierarchy when it nearly collapsed altogether in the aftermath of my father’s death.
We fought for this life. The men next to me are my family. And I know from bitter experience the damage that a single woman can cause to the closest relationships. Damage it’s taken me fifteen long years to fix, and we still bear the scars. I’m not going to make the same mistake as those who came before me.
They are the family I chose.
Hatter’s words could be my own. River and Kai are my brothers in all but blood. I turn to Kai, the moody bastard glowering at the floor. “We do this together. That’s what we agreed on.”
One woman for the three of us. But not just any woman. One who can work with our… conditions.
River grins. He’s more than up for this. There’s not much the fucker hasn’t tried, and this unexplored territory has peaked his interest. He waggles his brows at me. “Any new leads? Mallory is skulking around again, you know.”
He’s clearly joking, but Kai’s face mirrors the disgust on my own. “I think she’s lost interest. She’s moving through the men here like a sushi counter.”
Not that we have that many in the first place. Less than a handful.
“They feel sorry for her.”
“Like hell they do.” No. They enjoy the attention she gives them – any of them, not caring which one - when she doesn’t get what she actually wants.
Namely, me.
I’m not up for fucking grabs.
“You need to get laid,” River mutters. “A-fucking-sap.”
Kai signs his agreement, nodding for emphasis. You don’t have to wait for us – for me- to find someone for the arrangement. I’m fine as I am. I’ve waited this long.
“Really?” I take a swig, letting the cool beer wash down my throat. “How many times are you fighting tonight?”
I brush his offer off easily. I’ve never had an issue finding sexual partners, but I’ve lost my appetite for it completely in recent months. Rope play may sound exciting, but years of staring at pairs of tied hands to make sure they’re not trying to touch me, years of fucking in the same position every time so I can’t see their faces… I’m tired. Bored, even.
“Four, isn’t it?” River cackles when Kai’s face tightens. “Do you still fuck your hand in between matches to take the edge off?”
Kai gives him the finger in response. River slips into signing as they bicker, his laughter filling the room, and I lean back in my chair.
I’ll admit – to myself, at least – that their idea is… appealing . No arguments. No expectations. A clear agreement, with set parameters and a start and finish.
Whoever she is, she’ll fit into our limitations and slip right out again when we’re done with her, richer in pocket and life experience and with a signed non-disclosure agreement.
Kai gets what he needs. River gets to try something new. And I can get laid without the poisonous thoughts that cloud every experience I’ve ever had. Without the fear.
It’s sounding better by the minute. “We haven’t found anyone? Not a single person?”
They both turn to me. Kai gestures. None that were right. It’s not exactly a usual set-up, is it?
He has a point.
Kai gets to his feet. His hands are already wrapped and ready.
As River and I follow him out to the dancefloor, cutting through the crowd to get to the large room on the other side, River nudges me. “I’m going to see that warehouse tomorrow.”
Nodding, I let my mind slip back into work mode. “It’s a big expense, River.”
But this building wasn’t built to house a fighting ring and a nightclub. The crowds are growing every day, and while we might nudge the boundaries of what the clipboard warriors call health and safety , I’m also not enough of a bastard to risk hundreds of people getting hurt on my watch. We’re too limited here, even if the idea of adding more feels like a weight across my shoulders that I can’t shake off. “Want me to come?”
“I’ve got it. I’m meeting Vanessa at two.” River claps my shoulder before he heads off to spot Kai, who’s already bouncing on his feet. Their heads lean together as River speaks rapidly, Kai nodding before he yanks off his shirt.
Murmurs ring out around me as they always do. Horrified, enraptured mutters as men watch him with envy and women with blatant desire.
Kai was right. Every fucker here wants him in some way – but only as a damn trophy. None of them give a fuck enough to look any closer.
The savage scarring builds in layers against the skin of his chest, broken only by the celtic tattoos that cover his left side, shoulder, throat and neck. They flex with his movements as he darts forward. I watch as his opponent realizes exactly what’s about to happen and visibly shrinks, the smirk creasing my cheeks as Kai’s fist lands directly in his face.
His chin. The ribs. Lower.
At least Kai’s trying to put on a show for the people who paid to watch him.
It takes less than thirty seconds for the guy to collapse to the mat, face down. Kai doesn’t even crack a smile as the crowd erupts. It’s not a competition for him. He doesn’t need to get in the ring every night, but he enjoys it. And it’s a way of blowing off steam so he doesn’t erupt.
And he said I needed to get laid.