Chapter 12
12
INK
I sent a text to King as I jogged downstairs to the lounge. Rafa’s call had been shitty timing. Although, twenty minutes earlier would have been even worse. But no matter how much I would have preferred to spend the rest of my day worshipping my woman’s naked body, I wanted this crap dealt with.
Ace met me at the door to King’s office and lifted his chin in greeting. “Found the bookie,” he said as we walked inside.
“So you know who he owes?” I assumed.
“Yeah. Guessing you talked to Rafa?”
I nodded.
King sat at his desk with Blaze sitting in a chair next to it. Wizard and Kevlar were at the conference table with a few of our enforcers, while Ash and Echo were talking in the small sitting area on the other side of the room.
“No identity on the pro, yet?” Blaze asked.
Shaking my head, I moved to stand against the wall, too restless to take a seat. “But he got us something else.”
“Uncle’s location,” King stated.
“Yup.” After confirming, I waited silently, knowing that King would give the orders when he was ready.
After some contemplation, he looked over at Ash. “Got anything?”
“I can put him away. Permanently.”
“You’re one hundred percent?” King pressed.
Ash jerked his chin up and down. “Got enough to get him locked up till he’s dead and buried.”
Picking up on their conversation, I frowned. “You want to hand him over to the police?”
“It’s the fastest way to untangle the legal shit,” Ash explained. “Going to prison voids the agreement between him and Annika’s parents, as well as the parameters for guardianship over her trust. If Alec disappears, she’ll have to wait until he’s legally declared dead. Since she’s an adult, guardian abandonment no longer applies. Or she’ll spend who fucking knows how long gathering all the evidence of his actions while trying to navigate a court system that moves about as fast as a fucking inchworm.”
“I have some of it,” Wizard interjected. “But the money trail has been a nightmare for Ace and me to document since the bookie is a dinosaur, and all the transactions were done in cash with handwritten receipts.”
“Might be a dinosaur, but you gotta admit that it kept him off our radar for longer than it would have taken with anyone with a digital presence,” Ace reminded him.
I ignored them, still stuck on the fact that King hadn’t given me the green light to put Annika’s uncle in an urn. “Am I hearing you right, Prez?” I growled. “You want me to stand the fuck down on this?”
Despite my efforts to stay calm, Cerberus picked up on my tone and lifted his head from where he lay near King’s desk. He rumbled a low warning in his chest.
King’s steely gaze told me I was on thin ice, so I shut my mouth and silently fumed.
“Not stand down, Ink,” he finally replied. “Teach him a lesson but keep him breathing.”
“Breathing,” I echoed.
“Know you want to end him, Ink,” Blaze spoke up. “I get it. Anyone with an old lady understands. But if you can clear out that cloud of fury for a bit, you’ll see that this is what’s best for your woman.”
I didn’t want to be logical. I wanted the threat eliminated. Preferably through extremely painful methods. But when I’d patched, I hadn’t done it so I had an army of bloodthirsty, lethal cohorts at my back. I’d joined a brotherhood, and real loyalty also meant forcing each other to see reason when one of us was spiraling out of control.
I scrubbed my hands over my face a few times, then turned to face Ash. “Guarantee me that he won’t have the slightest crack in his case that could put him back on the street.”
Ash’s expression was dead serious. “You have my word.”
“He’s gonna get a hell of a surprise when he sees all the charges,” Wizard said with a wicked chuckle. “Mighta added some drugs and soliciting arrests to his record by accident.”
“Trust me,” Ash insisted. “Every one of us would protect an old lady with our lives.”
I chewed on that for a good minute, giving myself time to think clearly. “Fine.”
My attention returned to my prez, who nodded in approval.
“Go with Kevlar to the armory, take whoever you need. Pick him up, teach him a lesson, then dump him where the cops will find him before he dies.”
I followed Kevlar to the room where we kept some basic weapons—things we used frequently. Once we were inside, the sergeant at arms opened another inconspicuous door that led to a set of stairs. At the bottom was a much larger storage room, this one holding anything else we might want or need to get shit done. It also had another exit that led to a series of interrogation rooms.
Ace, Rebel, Kevlar, and Blaze suited up as well, then we headed to our bikes. My phone pinged, and I quickly checked the text, finding an address from Wizard. Along with a digital hotel key.
Then another message popped up.
King
Forget the key. Sending in Shadow and Cruze for the retrieval. Meet them at the warehouse by the abandoned rail yard.
Fuck. As much as I hated handing over the reins to any part of this operation, I understood King’s decision. Shadow and Cruze were both enforcers known for their stealthy skills, particularly in ”acquiring” things…or, in Shadow’s case, people.
I relayed the message to the men with me, then we rode to the meeting spot and waited for the enforcers to deliver my package.
Four hours later, I dropped a body bag with a barely conscious asshole zipped up inside—which made me feel a little better since I hadn’t actually been allowed to kill the motherfucker—back into his hotel room.
After making sure there were drugs, illegal weapons, and other shit that would get his ass busted—metaphorically since I’d already done it physically—we called 911 and left the phone off the hook.
Blaze was leaving the motel’s main office when I arrived at my motorcycle. He was carrying an empty bag that had been holding around ten grand when he went inside. “No security tape, and he’ll keep his mouth shut. Might actually end up being an asset in the future if we need privacy and a hotel room.”
I was about to respond when my cell buzzed in my pocket.
“It’s Rafa,” I explained before answering the call.
“You get your man?” he asked.
“Taken care of. And Ace had a chat with your bookmaker.”
Rafa had given the bookie an order to provide us with anything he had on Alec.
“ Bene . As for the other player, it’s been handled.”
Which meant they’d found the hitman and taken him out.
I exhaled a relieved breath, grateful this shit was finally done. Now, Annika and I could move forward with our life together.
“ Grazie di cuore ,” I murmured earnestly.
“There is no need for thanks, cugino . You might not be in The Family, but you are familiare .”
“So that makes us square after last time?” I joked.
“ Sì ,” he chuckled. “We are even for The Family getting you shot. But…”
I frowned. “But what?”
“Not for Sunday dinner, babbeo . Your mamma is probably already showing your woman wedding dresses.”
Son of a bitch! I was gonna kill him!
Rather than waste time threatening him with castration, I hung up and raced like a bat outta hell back to the compound.
Just as I hopped off my bike and was stalking to the door of the clubhouse, a message popped up on the screen of my phone.
Rafa
Ra siamo pari.