Slick (The Grayverse #1)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“I’m sorry, boss…”

I shake my head at Watts, who is checking over Peterson, only to find he’s still out cold on the floor. My remaining conscious bodyguard is now looking at me like a whipped dog, and I feel a familiar stir of frustration. Kane would never have let them ambush me in my own fucking hotel room.

Swallowing a growl, I wave a hand at Watts. “Just make sure my car is ready downstairs.” I adjust my suit jacket, because while I know it’s as neat as usual, it doesn’t feel neat. Not after the way I nearly grabbed that omega by the neck and shook him until his teeth rattled.

Watts’ eyes dart around, taking in the sea of unfinished paperwork spread across the table. The guy is pretty inflexible for personal security, and I can see the annoyance brewing in his face. “You’re heading out?”

“Yes. Nathan can clear this up and take it back to my office. The convention is over.”

Or my part of it is, and I don’t waste any time grabbing the few things I need from my suite before heading down to my car. Lukas, my driver, must sense my mood, because he’s all business as he pulls out into the early morning traffic. I grab my phone, scrolling to a name I’ve put off calling for a long time. Trust Kane to use blood and slick to make me reach out first. “Fox, I need to talk to Kane.”

“Hello to you, too, bossman.” There’s a matching growl in his voice, and I mutter a slightly more gracious greeting for Fox Straw, President of the Jackals MC. “That’s better. Now, tell me, what’s got you barking like a junkyard dog at the most powerful guy in the state?”

I roll my eyes at his boast. “Must have missed seeing you at the winner’s podium at the last election.”

“Bossman, you can have the city. The rest of the state is mine.”

Unfortunately, that’s not just empty bragging. Within the city limits, I’m a household name, while everyone with a drop of country in their blood knows Fox Straw and his Jackals. “And Kane? Is he still yours, too?”

Fox snorts down the phone. “I didn't steal your boy, bossman. You hurt his feelings, and he came to me to escape ‘em.”

I clench my hand into a fist where it rests on my thigh. Even in jest, I hate to hear that Kane is hurting. But I’m sure as fuck not taking the blame for our rift. “Is that what he told you? There are two sides to every story, Fox.”

“Not the way he tells it,” he says dismissively, then starts a side conversation with one of his guys, muttering something about a run to Kirkland that they need to reschedule. The fact he’s comfortable discussing his business in earshot of the highest authority in the state goes some way to illuminating the size of the man’s ego. “You want to leave a message for your boy if he heads back this way?”

“So, he’s definitely not with you?” I rub at a painful tick in my temple. “Or out on one of your runs?”

Now he has me talking about his business, but I need answers, and Fox usually has them.

“Haven’t seen him for nearly a month. He was actually down your way a week before he disappeared, and I thought you two might finally be patching things up.”

I mull over that for a while, staring blankly out at the city we grew up in together. We might have been born on different sides of the tracks, but by the time I started college, Kane and I were inseparable. He even dropped out of high school so he could follow me, shadowing me on campus until I graduated, and he could officially take over as my bodyguard. Of course, I had enough money for him to never work a day in his life, but Kane wasn’t built that way. His high school principal might have sent me a thankyou card when he dropped out early, but the guy is responsible down to his marrow.

“Do you think he could be mixed up with the Carrillos?”

“Jesus, bossman,” Fox spits, sounding angry for the first time. “You need to sit down with your brother and talk this the fuck out.”

His anger just stokes my own. “I would if I could fucking find him!” When Fox’s laughter rolls down the line, I bark, “What?”

“You start stitching his name together with those scumbags, and he’ll find you , you poor bastard.”

I cut the call, almost slamming the phone on the floor at the echo of his laughter in my ear. For fuck’s sake. Those two assholes deserve each other.

I’m still stewing by the time Lukas pulls through the gates of the governor’s mansion. It’s actually smaller than the house I grew up in, but still too big for me to rattle around in alone. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been thinking about finally asking Lily to move in with me after a year of courting. I’d hoped it would be the three of us, but Kane fucked that plan up when he told me he wouldn’t touch Lily with a cattle prod and a Hazmat suit.

I grit my teeth as I storm inside, brushing past my housekeeper with another barely civil greeting. If Kane doesn’t pull his fucking head in and come back to me soon, I might lose my title of most charming politician to ever sit in the governor’s office.

As I enter my office, the thought spurs me over to the bar. I have one hand on my crystal decanter when a knife flashes my way, and I leap aside, the weapon embedding itself in my mahogany sideboard. I whirl with a glass in hand, ready to smash it into the face of my intruder, only to find Kane reclining in my favorite chair.

He looks… rough. He was always a confronting sight with his massive build and preference for leather, but he’s gone feral since I last saw him. His hair and beard are a shaggy nightmare, his body covered in so much grime it’s hard to tell if he has new ink, or if the smears of color are fading bruises. Instead of looking closer, I turn and stare at the hunting knife, which is still vibrating despite being buried five inches deep in the wood. “That's an antique, asshole.”

“Just like you,” he smirks, swirling a generous shot of whiskey in another one of my crystal glasses. “If your reflexes were any slower, you’d be bleeding all over your antique rug.”

“My reflexes are fine,” I snap, grabbing my own drink and taking a gulp. “And you’re only three years behind my forty, in case your senility has set in.”

“Youngest governor in history,” Kane says in a sing-song voice as he slaps dust from his jeans. “Blah, blah, blah.”

“You know I don't care about any of that shit.” I carry my drink over to my desk and lean against the edge, facing him. “So, where have you been?”

“On the road.”

“Really? Fox told me you disappeared a month ago.”

“I go where I go.” He gives an infuriating shrug. “Fox doesn’t own me.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to snap, because I do , but I let the moment pass. I have plenty of other fights to pick with him, after all. “Tell me about The Serenity Center.”

His gaze slides away from me as he takes another drink. “Don't know it.”

“Then how do you explain your blood all over one of their jumpsuits?”

He’s out of his chair so fast, I expect him to go for his knife, but he stomps over to me like a grizzly bear. Every line of his body screams violence, and I’m a second away from tossing my drink in his face when he stops, a shit-eating grin stretching his face. “How did it smell , brother?”

It’s the last thing I’m expecting him to say. Yes, it smelled amazing, but Lily’s perfume has captivated me since we met. I’m still trying to frame my reply when he cocks his head, his eyes burning into mine. “Where is she, Jake?”

No one, not even my own mother, calls me Jake. Just Kane, and it takes me a moment to shake the impact away. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Because I’ve got some pretty concerning visuals about how your blood and Lily’s slick ended up on the same jumpsuit.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Lily’s slick and your blood. Tell me how the hell that happened?” Not that I’d begrudge them a good, hard fuck, but the blood is a step too far. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

Kane’s eyes widen until I can see the whites, and then they narrow, but not before I catch a flash of hurt. “You think I fucked that bitch?”

“Watch your mouth.”

Kane stretches to his full height, which is admittedly, a few more inches than my own. “Just tell me where you saw her.”

“Saw Lily? Two nights ago, right here…” The words die on my tongue at the scorn in his gaze. It burns . Because up until a couple of years ago, Kane never turned that look on me . I take a breath, pushing down the sting of his rejection. “Just tell me what’s going on, Kane. I’m hearing some disturbing rumors, and I’m getting sick of the riddles.”

Instead of sneering at me some more, he steps back, already shaking his head. “You're too thick-skulled to hear the truth, so why waste my fucking breath?”

Fuck. The disappointment in his voice makes me grip his arm, my heart pounding as I realize he’s about to walk out of here. Again. “I’ll listen. Just tell me what’s going on between you and Lily.”

“No,” he growls, shaking me off with insulting ease. “I’m done explaining the fucking obvious to you.” He turns a shoulder, but he doesn’t stomp to the door, his head lowered like he’s studying his boots. Or my blood-free antique rug. I’m trying to think of a way to get him to sit back down when he blows out a frustrated breath, his gaze searing into mine. “Are you really this dense? Can’t you see that she’s played you?”

It’s pointless expecting more from him, but the rush of frustration makes my head pound. “Don't start this again, for fuck’s sake. I know you don't like Lily...”

“I loathe the bitch!” He slams his drink down on the corner of my desk, reaching up to grip my shirt collar. He almost jerks me off my feet, and I realize he hasn’t just got meaner since I last saw him, he’s got a whole lot stronger. “But I’m not the one about to fuck up my life by bonding her.”

I don’t know if it’s his contempt or rough handling that brings my own beast to the surface. “Enough!” I all but roar. “I told you to shut your mouth. Lily and I are a done deal. I’ve put in the paperwork, and as soon as we can get a free weekend, I’m bonding her. If you don’t want any part of that, it’s your choice. But I choose her , Kane…” He jerks back, pain flashing in his eyes, and I look down at the dark stain spreading across his shirt. “Wait... are you shot? ”

“Damn.” He follows my gaze, huffing through his nose. “You made me bust my stitches, you dumb fuck.”

“Jesus, Kane!” It’s my turn to grab him, and I reverse our positions, parking his arse on the edge of my desk. I can feel my heart hammering in my ears as I storm over to the sideboard and grab a wad of thick, white napkins. “What the hell happened? Was it Jackals’ business? I’ll fucking kill Fox and his goons…”

That gets a rude snort from Kane, who grabs the napkins and presses them to his side. “Yeah, before you put a hit out on the MC, you should check your backyard.” At my confused look, he clicks his tongue. “The Carrillos? They run the slick factory where that jumpsuit came from, and they're also the assholes who popped me. Not that I didn’t deserve it for killing half their goons .”

He smirks at the word, while my brain tries to melt out of my ears. “What?”

“It was self-defense.” He tilts his head, considering it for a moment. “Pretty sure that applies if they tortured me for three days in their basement, hung me from a meat hook, and then tried to shoot me in the face.”

I grip my head, because ripping my hair out of my scalp is less painful than this conversation.

“Who showed you that jumpsuit?” he asks suddenly, all humor melting from his face. “Was it someone from the studio?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say no, but as deep as our rift goes, Kane and I never lie to each other. “Yeah, Rowan Vale.” I scowl at the memory, caught between shame at the way I treated him, and fury at the accusations he spat in my face. “He's Lily's employee... Although, he's a bit of a nightmare according to her.”

“Because we should trust that bitch for a character reference.” I glare at Kane, but he surprises me by reaching out and gripping my shoulder. “Join the dots, Governor. Your precious porn queen has been stealing slick. That scent that has her leading you around by the dick, isn't hers .”

I gape at his audacity, but he just pulls something from the pocket of his dusty black coat. My hindbrain reacts before I can steel myself, and I grip his wrist, dragging the scrap of fabric to my nose. It smells like Lily, but a hundred times more potent, and my dick goes so hard I nearly bite through my tongue. “What is that ?”

Kane is watching me like a man waving a sirloin under the nose of a starving dog. “Have you ever wondered? Has she ever smelled off to you? Did you ever think her perfume was as fake as the rest of her?”

“She's my scent mate,” I mutter, still staring at the fabric. It’s Lily, only… more .

It’s not the first time I’ve told him that, but it’s the first time he’s looked at me with pity instead of rage when I claimed Lily as my own. “Is she though, brother? Or has she tricked you into thinking she is?”

Before I can stop him, he’s tucked the scrap of fabric away and is striding to the door. I follow, because what the fuck else am I meant to do? “Where are you going?”

“To find Rowan Vale and my mate.”

What the fuck?

“Your mate?”

He pauses at the door and gives me another shit-eating grin. “Just wait until you smell the real thing, and then tell me how you’re gonna bond her sloppy seconds.”