Hitman (Savage Crows MC (Texas Charter) #14)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Solace

I was boiling . I’d never been so angry in my life. Julian mother fucking McKenzie had destroyed everything tonight. Not only would my mother be at home panicking because I wasn’t going to be home on time, which would send her into a spiral that would require more medications and sedatives to keep her calm, but my paycheck to take care of her was gone .

How the fuck was I supposed to cover her care now that Julian had taken out my father? I didn’t have to see his body to know he was dead. There’d been no mistaking that gunshot as I laid on that fucking couch, bound and unable to escape or stop him. The bindings around my wrists and arms were inescapable.

Julian was a pro in every sense of the word, and I hadn’t been prepared nearly enough to take on someone of his magnitude. He’d known my knife was coming without even opening his eyes. Had halted me with his eyes closed, no hesitation in his movement.

I’d been set up for failure from the get-go. I didn’t know where he got that kind of training. The only time I’d seen anyone with that level of skill had been in the training camp my father had sent me to after I graduated. Those people were top-tier assassins. The best of the best of the best. Finding someone else in the game better than them would be near impossible.

I wiggled, trying to get more comfortable on the hard, metal chair Julian had deposited me into, but it was futile. I was tired, my ass was hurting, and my arms and legs were beginning to go numb. Not to mention, the taste of the bandana in my mouth was getting really fucking old.

The door to the basement I’d been left in opened, and three pairs of feet began making their way down the stairs. A light flickered on, and I squinted, momentarily blinded. My eyeballs burned as they tried adjusting to the new lighting. Once I could see, even if my eyes were watering, I took in the three men who’d come downstairs.

Julian was easy to spot with his platinum blonde hair and dark eyes. The man standing to the left of him was wearing the president patch on his motorcycle vest. I’d already known Julian was a patched member of the Savage Crows MC from the file I’d been given on him, which meant the president was more than likely Grim.

No one operated in the field I did and hadn’t at least heard of Grim. He was a cold-blooded man, and he wasn’t afraid to drop the bodies of anyone who got in his way. Whereas Julian and I had been trained by the military, Grim had been trained by the streets.

His presence didn’t bode well for me.

The man standing to Julian’s right was the vice president, Alex. I only knew his name because of his attachment to Grim and the club. Otherwise, I didn’t know a single thing about him.

This had been the group my father had mentioned Julian was tied to. A fucking biker club. A biker club with more connections than the president of the United States himself.

Fuck .

Grim strode forward and removed the bandana from my mouth, tossing it aside. I rolled my jaw around and licked my lips, trying to relieve the ache in my face from my mouth being forced open for so long. He crouched in front of me so we were eye level with each other. His dark eyes were unnerving and sent a trickle of fear rolling down my spine.

“Solace Dukes…” he drawled. I swallowed thickly. It sure as fuck hadn’t taken him long to find out who I was. I’d been careful not to reveal my identity to Julian. “Your father is dead. You know that, yes?” When I nodded, he continued. “Do you know why he was on my hitlist?”

I shook my head. Julian grunted. “He financed a sex trafficking ring in Washington,” Julian answered for Grim. My gut churned, and my face paled. My dad was a piece of shit and a real bad work of art, but he hadn’t been that low of a human being, had he? One look at Julian’s face, then Alex’s, confirmed he was, in fact, that much of a piece of shit.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. This information was coming out of left field. Stewart had been the kind of man to stick to a routine and never deviate from it. He never seemed to do anything shady.

“I take it you had no clue,” Alex said as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“No,” I rasped, my throat too dry for comfort. “I only worked for him because my mother needs the care. He tried cutting her off when I graduated high school. She’s not well.”

“We know,” Grim said. I gritted my teeth. I didn’t like them having information on my mother I hadn’t given them. She was innocent in all of this. “So, now, you have a choice.” I looked back at the president, who was still crouching in front of me, those dark, unnerving eyes locked on my face. “One, we can put a bullet through your skull and wipe our hands clean of this whole mess.”

I immediately shook my head. I didn’t care about dying. Death never frightened me. I bathed in the blood of my father’s enemies on a monthly, sometimes even weekly, basis. But my mother could not live without me. Who would take care of her? Who would make sure she didn’t end up in an institution or hurt herself?

“My mother?—”

“I’m not done,” Grim snapped. My jaw shut so quickly, my teeth clacked together. I didn’t bow down to anyone, but Grim wasn’t just anyone.

He was a monster, and everyone was a pawn on his chess board.

“You can pledge your allegiance to us, agree to work for my club, and we will take over financing your mother’s care.”

“That’s it?” I asked. Seemed too good to be true, especially coming from a man like him.

“Our list grows daily of people we need taken out,” Julian said. I lifted my head to meet his dark eyes. They were a beautiful shade of brown—almost black. That haunting darkness in them called to me, even when I wanted to hate him. But I was finding that hard to do now that I understood why he’d taken my father out and why it’d been necessary.

Couldn’t hate a man for trying to protect the innocents in this world.

“You were trained by the same government agency I was—” Julian continued— “which means your skills are top-tier. We can use that.”

“What do you say?” Alex asked. “We’ll give you a trial run. Prove your loyalty to us, and you’ll never have to worry about your mother again.”

“And we’re not in the business of breaking our word. But if you betray us, we’ll make you disappear,” Julian warned me. “So, don’t do something fucking stupid.”

“What’s it going to be, girly?” Grim asked impatiently, drawing my eyes away from the beautiful man who’d taken me captive.

“I’ll take the job,” I answered without hesitation. Being an assassin was what I was good at. It was what I knew . And if I had to continue dropping bodies to take care of my mom, then that was what I would do.

Grim stood, nodding his head. “Smart girl.” Heading for the staircase, he called over his shoulder, “Release her. Alex, get someone to take her home. Julian, get your fucking ass back in that chapel. Copper will be calling soon.”

Julian sighed, his lips tightening. “Fuck,” he finally muttered, heading for the stairs.

Alex clapped a hand to his back as Julian passed him. “Toughen up. You fuck up, you pay the price. Just be glad it’s a phone call and he’s not riding his ass down here.”

Julian just grunted. Alex walked over to me and began undoing the bindings around my wrists and ankles. I breathed a sigh of relief once I was free, moving my extremities to get the blood flowing back to them again and relieve the stiffness in my muscles.

Alex held a hand out to me. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home. No sense in waking up anyone else when I’m available.”

I eyed his offered hand with distrust for a moment before I grabbed it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

I had no idea what the future held for me as an employee of the Savage Crows MC. I just hoped I hadn’t made a huge mistake.

“Will Grim uphold his word to me?” I asked Alex as we ascended the staircase.

“Grim never says anything he doesn’t mean,” Alex assured me. “He promised we would provide the finances to take care of your mother, so we’ll do that.”

“Even if something happens to me?” I asked as I walked through the doorway. I needed to know she’d always be taken care of.

“Yes,” Alex promised, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Think of it as a pension for her.”

That was good enough for me. Silently, I followed him out of the clubhouse and to an old pick-up truck parked near the garage.

I climbed into the cab, then lifted my wrist, looking at the time on my Rolex. Blowing out a harsh breath, I dropped my arm back to my lap. Hopefully, I made it home before my mom woke up and realized I was late.