6. LINK
Tink scowled at me when I shoved the plug into her ass and told her, “Keep it there until I get back.”
“It’s cold.”
Amused, I informed her, “Your asshole will soon warm it up.”
She huffed then rolled onto her front, displaying that fine tushy of hers for me to ogle. And fuck, if I didn’t accept the invitation.
She was both small and curvy yet frail with it too, and she wasn’t a bitch.
Today, I’d needed that.
We’d screwed but Tink was kind too, and when I’d fucked her to try to forget what I’d seen in the early hours of the morning, she hadn’t minded.
She’d just spread her legs and let me find solace between them.
You couldn’t fuck your way out of a bad place, but it was better than nothing in my opinion.
I slapped her perky ass cheek after I pulled on my jeans and tugged up the zipper. I had half a boner so it wasn’t comfortable, but I’d done worse for the MC than go to some swank as fuck country club and talk to some rich bitch.
Especially when that rich bitch seemed to need to talk to us.
She’d given us those coordinates when we’d been fucked over trying to find any hint of land the Lancaster cunt might have owned, somewhere he could store humans like they were fucking hamsters, but we’d come up with nothing.
Lancaster’s sister had been the key.
“Hurry back,” Tink whined, and although I didn’t like whiners, I just grinned at her because I knew she hated butt plugs and she knew I loved them.
That was the price of fucking me.
I was all about the ass.
Just thinking about it made my dick harden as I strolled out of my room and headed down to the office where I knew Rex would be.
I tapped once but didn’t bother waiting on his shout—perk of being on the council—and the second I was inside, scanned it, saw Nyx and Stone were there, and muttered, “Heads up.”
Tossing my phone at Rex, he caught it with a scowl, then eyed the text and frowned even harder.
“She wants to meet with you again?”
“You’ve learned to read at last,” I joked, grinning when he flipped me the bird.
That was usually how I was greeted.
Most people got a wave hello, I got told to ram something up my ass.
Yum.
Better than any greeting I knew, that was for fucking sure.
“Lancaster’s sister?” Nyx questioned, his brow puckering as he strode around the desk and leaned over Rex’s chair to study the screen too.
Why a few text bubbles were causing such confusion, I wasn’t sure, but from the way they were analyzing it, it was like they were trying to translate the Rosetta fucking stone.
“Yep. Just texted now. At a really inconvenient moment.”
Stone snorted. “Always thinking with your dick, Link. Glad to see some things never change.”
“See you’ve still got a stone up your ass, honey,” I retorted with a beaming grin. “Wish I’d been the one to put it there. But then, you always were Steel’s, weren’t you?”
She hissed, her mouth tensing before she surprised the shit out of me by muttering, “Shame he’s the only one who never figured that the fuck out.”
I arched a brow at that, and so did Nyx and Rex.
If any two people were made for each other, it was Steel and Stone—even their names sounded like a folk band.
A match made in heaven.
Rex cleared his throat and instead of commenting on her bitter retort, asked, “You’re going?”
“Told her I would. Just keeping you in the loop.” I folded my arms across my chest and turned to Stone, none of the fire in my voice this time as I questioned, “How are things?”
“They could be worse,” she admitted. “But they’re not at death’s door. With all the stuff Rex managed to get in—I want to know how you got that kind of shit so quickly too,” she intoned darkly, shooting him a glance to which he just smirked. “Anyway, we kept them alive, but there are a lot of sores to deal with, infections…
“They need IVs with antibiotics, more shit than we have on hand honestly.”
“I’ll show you our stock,” Rex told her softly.
“What stock?”
“Rex has turned into a Doomsdayer,” I teased, laughing when Rex glared at me.
“I’m not a fucking Doomsdayer. I keep that shit because our world can turn upside down in an instant. Case in point right this fucking second.”
Stone shoved her hands into her jeans pockets, which made the denim cupping her ass tighten delightfully.
Casting her tight butt a longing glance, I focused on her when Nyx, having returned to the other side of Rex’s desk, elbowed me in the side.
I knew why.
She was Steel’s.
She pretty much had a ‘no entry’ sign tatted on her pussy. Even if Steel hadn’t staked a claim, not officially in the bylaws of the MC at any rate, that didn’t mean a claim hadn’t been made.
Fuck, it had been made when she was eight.
I rubbed a hand over my face as I thought back to then, thought back to those times when shit had been so much simpler and yet so fucking complicated too.
We hadn’t had the weight of the MC’s governing on our shoulders, but somehow that made things easier also.
We were in charge now, we answered to no one, and I was big enough to admit that I loved that Rex was the only one who could boss me around.
Rex narrowed his eyes and, utterly unapologetically, stated, “I get my gear here and there.”
The answer just irked Stone all the more. “You mean you steal it?”
He shrugged. “I buy it. It’s all above board.”
“How can it be above board if you have vials of antibiotics?”
“Told you, he’s a Doomsdayer,” I muttered. “He’s got all kinds of shit on hand, and we have contacts now. We’re pretty much pharmaceutical reps.”
Even though I knew she was pissed, Stone laughed at that. “Don’t think pharma reps wear cuts and ride Harleys.”
I grinned at her. “They don’t know what they’re missing out on.”
“I’ll bet,” she said drolly. Blowing out a breath, she muttered, “Guess it’s for the good in this case, but I want it known that I’m not happy about it, Rex.”
“I’ll take note of that, Stone.”
“You should,” she grumbled. “If I’m gonna be your resident doctor, then you should fucking listen to me.”
Despite myself, my shoulders straightened at that. “You’re gonna be our doc?”
“Why the hell do you think Rex has paid for my education?” Stone frowned at me. “I’ll be working in West Orange the second I get my board certification and relicense to practice in New Jersey, but I’ll be on hand for the MC.”
Rex was a clever bastard. He’d done pretty much the same thing with Rachel Laker, the MC’s attorney. She was homegrown too, her career funded by the Sinners.
We were criminals with a team of white-collar folk to save our asses when shit hit the fan.
“Huh,” was all I said to that, because, in all honesty, I never imagined Stone would return home after completing her education.
There was a lot of water under the bridge for her here, and I’d thought she’d just pay Rex back when she was a rich as fuck doctor with her practice.
I reached over to hook my arm around her shoulder though and, squeezing her tight, groused, “You’re a pain in my ass, Stone, but I’ll be glad when you’re back.”
“Thanks, I think.”
I bumped her side with mine, then asked, “You gonna get them girls right before you leave?”
She sighed. “They need constant attention, so I’m calling in a few favors. I have maybe ten days of vacation time to play with. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I can afford at this point in the year.”
Rex nodded. “I get it, Stone. You’ll do what you can and, in the interim, maybe show Giulia how to help? JoJo and Jingles too?”
She pulled a face. If Giulia had made her dislike of the sweetbutts known with broken noses and bald patches from hair-pulling, that was nothing compared to what Stone had done in her time.
“The first few days are critical, so I’m hoping to steer them out of the infections they’re all dealing with. But, without more equipment on hand…” A puff of air escaped her. “I can only do so much.”
Rex rocked back in his seat, his expression thoughtful. “Might be time for the MC to start thinking about saving up for some kind of private office for you. That’s some costly shit so we’ll need to prepare a budget.”
Her brow puckered. “I haven’t got my board certification yet.”
“So? You will soon. Rex is right. Can’t imagine that shit is cheap.” I knocked her in the side again. “I can just see you being the physician in West Orange.” I snickered. “Just think, all those fucking brats at school who used to think they could laugh at us…who’s laughing when you roll up in a Beamer?”
Stone narrowed her eyes at me, then to Rex, growled, “You can’t just change my career plan, Rex. I want to work in the ER. It’s where my heart is.”
“And we need you to have equipment we can use. Legit equipment,” he retorted, waving a hand. “The local ER will be glad to have you working for them, right?”
Her growl deepened. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?” She didn’t give him a chance to reply which, I figured, was smart because she already knew the answer.
Rex had invested in her for a reason, and that reason had just been handed down.
He winced when she stalked off, then pretty much thrust herself out the door before slamming it shut. “I thought I was starting to miss having her around the place.”
“Famous last words,” Nyx drawled. “She was the only bitch who could ever stand up to you.”
“I don’t know. Giulia’s pretty good at that shit too,” I mused.
Nyx’s smirk was enough to make me chuckle. “Giulia’s afraid of no one.”
Maybe her own shadow at the moment, but I knew he was right.
Giulia had balls, that was for sure.
She was entitled to be shaky after what went down, but Nyx wasn’t the only one who liked her attitude.
Moreover, I liked that she was good for my brother.
Nyx needed somebody strong at his side, someone who’d have his back too.
Giulia was all that and more.
Sure, they hadn’t been together for long, but in our world, you lived hard and died young, so you knew how things worked before most people stopped scratching their asses long enough to get on with life.
“Why the fuck Steel let her go, I have zero idea,” Rex muttered, his gaze still on the door like it was wobbling with the force of Stone’s wrath.
“Because he doesn’t know what to do with her,” I said dryly. “She isn’t an easy lay, she’s his friend. Who he wants to fuck. While not wanting to settle down.” Made sense to me.
“Having an Old Lady isn’t too bad.” Nyx leaned against the desk, settling in like we were going to gossip like old fucking bats at the hair salon.
“Not all Old Ladies are created equal,” was all I said, cocking a brow at him, watching as he grimaced, knowing what I was saying without me having to say another word.
Our parents weren’t exactly people to look up to, and though most of our moms had been Old Ladies, they’d also been sluts who’d cheated on our fathers.
Of course, our fathers had cheated on them too.
Sluts and manwhores. Was it any wonder Nyx had settled down when he was close to forty and with a woman who’d probably lop off his cock if he dared stray?
“Look, I ain’t got time for this,” I mumbled. “I need to get going.”
“What do you think she wants?” Rex inquired, his focus back on me now.
“Dunno. Only one way to find out.” I gave him a mock salute—of the one-fingered variety—shared it with Nyx who shook his head, then swaggered out.
Now I’d checked in with my Prez, I could hurry the fuck on.
The second I was on the back of my hog, even though nothing was right with my world, somehow, everything fucking was.
I could blot out the entire clusterfuck that was going down around me when the wind was smashing into my face as I went full throttle, hurtling down the highway to reach one of the swankiest country clubs in the area.
The Originals, the bastards who’d founded Satan’s Sinners, must have had a real giggle when they’d broken ground on our compound.
We were smack in the middle of three of the finest elite clubs in the area, and we pissed them off more than they annoyed the shit out of us.
The sun was bleak today, almost like it was in mourning for what had happened over the course of last night, but the wind was bolstering and the threat of rain encouraged me to edge over the speed limit.
It was only because of the dreary sun that I saw a deputy hiding out behind a copse of trees five minutes away from town, so I slowed down to the legal limit, hiding my smirk as I drove past, smug that I’d caught them out in an attempt to hijack drivers.
Fucking pigs.
Huffing to myself, I bypassed the highway which was boring as fuck with nothing more than row after row of fields interspersed with housing estates, and finally made it onto the country club grounds.
They owned a good twenty acres of land, a big plot of that dedicated to a golf course, naturally.
There were all kinds of other amenities here, most of those I knew because I’d worked here as a snot-nosed kid, bussing tables to get some money together for my first bike.
I hated this place, hated everything it stood for. On the outside, it was beautiful, luxurious. Elite. But it was rotten at its core.
Founded on lies and deceit.
Just because something looked pretty on the outside didn’t mean it wasn’t fugly on the inside, and these places were all like that. Cesspits for cunts like the Lancaster dick to find shelter in.
But, because I knew the layout, I knew which places to avoid.
It was why I pulled up about forty feet away from the club, begrudgingly tucked my cut into my saddlebags, and made my way on foot.
Hated doing without my cut, but in these parts, it would only bring attention to me. That was the last thing I needed inside this place.
There was the front entrance which was patrolled by security, then there was a staff entrance that, though also manned, was easier to sneak through thanks to Fat Tony who’d been on guard here for twenty years and who, I felt sure, had spent at least fourteen years of those two decades sleeping on the job.
Slipping past him was a piece of cake, and the second I was through, I eyed the ass of the building.
It wasn’t as fine as the front, but it was bustling with staff. Some carrying dishes, others with laundry. Some with cleaning equipment, others hauling their bags on the way home after a shift.
I slipped in among them, enjoying the commotion as I made my way over the tiled patio toward an area I knew was the kitchen.
When I was in there, I ducked into one of the side rooms that was used for storage, then I grabbed my cell from my pocket and tapped out, I’m at the club. Where do we meet?
Her: The tennis courts. You know where they are?
I didn’t bother answering. The fact that she wanted to meet here was making me suspicious anyway.
What kind of brother would be able to access this place?
It was dumb fucking luck that I was the one who’d approached her last night, and it was more of the same that I knew my way around here.
This had the makings of a trap written all over it, but I knew some of the managers here so, if I got caught, I figured I could talk my way out of it.
They’d been bussing tables and doing all the shitty jobs at the same time as I had, but when I’d cut and run the second I could start prospecting for the MC, they’d made a career out of wiping rich men’s asses.
Not fun.
Nope.
Even for me. Who loved a nice ass.
My lips quirked at the thought, but now I knew my destination, I strolled out, keeping to the staff halls which were a boring mixture of dark brown lino and smudged paint where laundry and cleaning carts had scraped against the gray walls.
Knowing the way to the front of the grounds was only accessible by crossing through the club itself, I peered out one of the service doors, saw the coast was clear in one of the themed TV rooms—this one was for the rich fuckers who liked to lose their money on horse racing—a fact I picked up on thanks to the ten TVs that displayed horse races from around the world, and walls that were loaded down with photos of horses with rosettes on their glossy necks and beaming, tiny pricks who’d rode them hard to win.
Though it was empty, and I was tempted to take a splash of their fine whisky and down it, I decided against it. I was already pushing my luck and, any moment, security could spot me. I’d probably end up in jail for the night if I was caught, but since the info Lancaster’s sister had given us had proven useful, I was eager to know why she wanted to meet again.
She’d had to spike her guards’ beers just to talk to a brother, so that told me there were eyes on her too. And I wasn’t just talking about the pricks who couldn’t handle mixing their drinks.
Darting outside, I headed for the tennis courts. They were clearly visible in the near distance, and the sound of a ball being volleyed and a machine popping out balls so some spineless rich prick could practice their backhand would have given me another clue if I’d gone blind in the past few minutes.
I was, however, grateful for the club’s design. The building was on a higher level than the grounds, which meant the veranda I walked out onto gave me a good grip of the layout ahead.
It made spotting the woman who was sitting on a bench by the courts easy.
Now that I was out here, and aware I wasn’t dressed for the part even if I had taken off my cut, I stuck to the hedges that bisected every activity in the grounds.
From the pool to the courts to the bowling green, all of it was surrounded by a natural fence.
Using them to my advantage, I moved fast and slipped onto the bench at the woman’s side, jolting her because her focus had been on her phone.
Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and I had to admit, bleak sun or the mood lighting in the bar, she was hot.
I didn’t want to say that, not when I knew what stock she’d come from, but sweet Jesus, she was a beautiful bitch.
Long, golden hair that curled around her throat and big, blue eyes that were shielded by the thickest fucking lashes I’d ever seen on a woman. None of those spidery things that looked like beetles had been glued on, but thick lashes she used to hide behind—I could see why.
Those blue eyes of hers were expressive. The color shifted with the light, morphing from navy to royal blue into a cerulean.
I had to wonder if each color corresponded to an emotion, but I wasn’t here for girl talk, was I?
She had lips that were made for sucking cock, and her tits made me want to groan as I peered down the white blouse she wore before taking in her pencil skirt that showed off every curve she possessed.
Though she was hot as fuck, or hot enough to fuck depending on your inclination, she was dressed for a business meeting.
As far as I knew, most of the women who used Crosskeys weren’t here on business. They were either topping up their tans or trying to stay thin so they could catch a rich husband or, if they’d already caught one, keep him interested in them.
A quick glance at her left hand told me she wasn’t engaged or married, but when I lingered on the watch lining her wrist, I had to whistle.
Unable to stop myself, I grabbed her hand, tugged out her arm, then twisted it slightly so I could look at the piece.
“Unusual choice for a woman,” I commented, not really looking at her, mostly just taking in the watch. “George Daniels Co-Axial Chronograph.”
I let the grumpy sun flash over the face, which was a marvel.
Cream inlay with Roman numerals all around the rim, it had gold hour, minute, and second hands, and had two smaller dials at the bottom with a half-moon dial at the top.
It was history in the flesh, fabricated by a revolutionary in the field.
“Beautiful.”
I finally looked at her and saw she was amused. That had me scowling.
“You know your watches,” was all she said.
“I do.”
“My grandfather gave it to me.” Her lips twisted into a smirk. “Luke was pissed. He wanted it.”
I’d just bet he had.
She had over six hundred thousand sitting on her wrist, and her granddaddy had overlooked her brother to give a girl a dude’s watch.
Her amusement faded as she stared at the watch which took up most of her wrist. “He wanted everything. That was his trouble.”
“And because he’s a Lancaster, he could afford to have most of everything anyway.”
“Exactly.” Her smile was tight. “What’s your name?”
“Didn’t you see it on my cut last night?”
“I was too nervous,” she admitted. “Scared too.”
“Why? Think we’d bite?” I bared my teeth at her, but the move had her frowning.
“Of course not. But things are finally on the right path. I didn’t want to fuck it up.”
Coming from a woman as sleek as this one, the curse word had me arching a brow.
I slouched back against the fancy bench that was made of filigree wrought iron which would probably imprint itself into my ass, and after kicking out my legs, crossing them at the ankle, and slipping my arm along the back of the bench, I muttered, “Name’s Link.”
“I’m Lily. Lily Lancaster.”
“Your parents were fond of alliteration, weren’t they?” When surprise lit her eyes, smugness hit me again. “I went to school too.”
“Sorry.” She blew out a breath. “Of course, you know what alliteration is.”
I did. Not because of school, though, that had been BS.
Alex Trebeck had been one of the best teachers under my roof. Learned a lot of shit from him. Some of it random, some of it useful.
Shrugging, I asked, “You bring me here for a reason? Or just to show off that watch of yours?”
“Hardly,” Lily replied, then she pursed her lips and stared down at her shoes.
Last night, before she’d been able to utter a word, she’d had a mini panic attack. I was used to dealing with them, and in fact, preferred to handle that than her staring at her shiny heels.
“I ain’t got all day. The guards will notice me eventually?—”
“I’m sorry I requested for you to meet me here. I’m on a tight leash. All my movements are monitored, but I wanted to talk to you.”
“We got the women?—”
Lily released a shaky breath. “Thank God.”
Her hands moved to cover her face, but she wiped her eyes before rubbing her temples.
“One died.”
Pain flashed across her features before she dipped her chin. “That’s because it took me far too long to figure out how to talk to you.”
I didn’t trust the bitch, but she’d gone out of her way to help. I had to figure that deserved something.
“You did what you could.”
“Wasn’t enough, was it?” she snapped, surprising me when her eyes flashed with anger. Which, coincidentally, made them deepen into a dark navy.
“If it’s any consolation, she’d been dead a while.”
The coffin flies had been in full force and because I watched too much TV, I knew that meant she’d been dead for a week at least.
Then there were the rats…
Fuck, that was probably what was going to mess with my mind for-goddamn-ever.
Sucking in a sharp breath as the memory swamped me, I focused on the pristine lawns to my side, looked at the orderly tennis courts that belonged at Wimbledon, and the hedges around me that had probably been cut with a pair of fucking scissors.
It was hard to think that this had been Luke Lancaster’s stomping grounds.
Harder still to correlate this with that shack in the woods.
“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Lily whispered.
Her profile was drawn, her features pale as she stared blankly ahead.
Her statement, however, drew my attention. “You wanted to kill him?” I kept my tone conversational in the vain hope that would make her talk.
“Of course. He was evil. Just like my father.”
Unable to stop myself, I reached forward and tapped her chin.
When she turned to look at me, I reached up and gently touched her beneath her cheekbone, running the tip of my finger along the sharp jut.
“He do that to you?”
“Luke? No. That was Father.” Her mouth tightened.
“You want him dead too?” I joked, then out of nowhere, my cock hardened when rage had color flushing her cheeks.
It wasn’t aimed at me, but at her father, and she silently gave me her answer.
For a second, she breathed hard like she was trying to get a handle on her emotions.
I had to admit, the sounds she made went to my cock too. She was panting like she’d run a race, and all it made me think about was how she’d look when she was coming down from an orgasm.
That thought process wasn’t helping my boner disappear, but the show she put on was better than a goddamn lap dance.
She’d gone from elegant and refined to gloriously alive and vibrant with emotion in a handful of seconds. Somehow, I knew that very few people got to see that side of her.
I wasn’t sure why I’d been given that gift, but I knew it was exactly that.
“Why did you ask me to come here?” I questioned carefully, when my dick started to pound behind the cage of my fly. I needed to get shit on track before things derailed too far.
“The sheriff is on your side, but you might need to line his pockets some more. My father’s reserves are not unlimited, but where Luke’s concerned, I wouldn’t be surprised if he put himself in fiscal peril to get justice for that bastard.”
Her hatred of both men was evident, and because I knew what Lancaster Jr. had done, and as I also knew that Lancaster Sr. was willing to cover that shit up, it made me like her even more.
Which didn’t help my boner.
Not in the least.
Nor did the words ‘fiscal peril.’
That people actually talked like her blew my fucking mind.
“The mayor’s in his pocket,” she told me coolly, her attention reverting to the hedge opposite us when I didn’t give her much of a response.
The hedge that separated two tennis courts which were empty wasn’t exactly fascinating. Not enough to be worthy of her stare.
I let my gaze drift over her cheekbones, which had a gauntness to them that had me narrowing my eyes.
“Knew that,” I admitted. “Glad to know the sheriff’s still got our backs. What I’d like to know is why you’re telling me this.”
“Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
That had me quirking a brow at her. “Expect me to believe that? You’re going against your daddy?”
“You’ve never met my father, have you?”
“Haven’t had the misfortune, no.”
“Lucky you.” Her smile was cold. “Luke isn’t the only person who’s been murdered in my family.”
My brows rose at that because, what with the enemy shit and talk of murder, this bitch was suddenly a lot more interesting than she had been.
“Who died?”
“My mom.”
“Who killed her?”
“My father.”
Tension filled me at the words she uttered, words that came with no intonation. She was talking like she was bitching about the weather or something. It kind of fucked with my head.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why he isn’t in jail?”
Now, there was a softness I understood, one I hated on her behalf.
“I don’t need to. Your daddy’s rich as fuck. That says it all. He’s managing to twist this shit around with Giulia, making your rapist fucker of a brother look like the innocent party, like maybe my MC had some kind of bone to pick with him…
“If he can do that, then I know he can do anything.”
“I want him dead.” She whispered those words, softer than even Ghost had talked last night.
“We don’t do murder for hire,” I spat, just in case that was what she was thinking.
Her nostrils flared as she turned to glower at me. “Did I make that request?”
“No. Just making sure I get that out right here, right now. Especially considering this is how you fuckers tend to entrap people like me.”
Her top lip cocked in a snarl. “Yeah, well, you’ve never met anyone like me, and I don’t appreciate you thinking that I’m the same as any other?—”
“Poor little rich girl?”
Outrage had her nostrils flaring. “You can say that when I just told you my father killed my mother?”
“Happens more often than it should. Doesn’t mean that it ain’t a fucking pity. It is. But a tragic past is something most of my brothers have in common with you.
“I ain’t about to cut you slack just because you think you deserve it.”
Her eyes were like slits as she stared at me, then, after a handful of minutes, she surprised me by smiling.
Honest to fuck smiling.
And shit, if the sun didn’t peek out from behind the clouds at the same time.
If a guy like me could be dazzled, then that was me. Right there. Right then.
“I like that. Most people let me get away with shit because I’m a Lancaster?—”
“Well, if you like that, I have more I can give you.”
“I’m sure you can.” She reached for her cell phone and stated, “I-I have access to funds.”
“Good for you,” I taunted.
Her eyes flashed, snapping back to anger once more. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not like my father and Luke. I don’t have access to the fortune outside of a credit card he gives me.
“But if Giulia needs financial aid for her legal team, I can figure out a way to help her.”
For a second, I wasn’t sure what to say about that, then I muttered, “She’s part of the MC. We take care of our own.”
“Well, the offer’s there.” Clearing her throat, she whispered, “I’m glad she killed Luke. He deserved to die.”
“He deserved to die after he was tortured like he tortured those women,” I said grimly, staring back at the tennis courts ahead of me so she didn’t see the torment in my eyes, a torment that was founded in what I’d seen last night.
It was like a parallel universe in this place.
So fucking pretty and clean while being the stomping grounds of sick bastards like the Lancasters.
And yeah, I included the daughter in that statement, considering she wanted to kill her daddy too.
My lips twitched at that and I rubbed my hand across my jaw. “What are you waiting for?”
She frowned. “With regard to what?”
“Your father.” I sniffed. “You waiting on him to change the will?”
“Of course. I won’t do anything until that happens, and not because I’m a greedy, grasping piece of shit either. That money…” She clenched her teeth. “My mom was the rich one.
“He took her wealth and made it his own. He was a venture capitalist back in the day, and he married her for her money. In a divorce, he’d have been entitled to half the estate, but?—”
“All is better than half.” I plucked at my chin. “What you going to do with all those billions?”
“You talk like it will be easy to kill him.” Lily narrowed her eyes at me.
“Won’t it? You hate him. You want him dead. You’re just waiting on the right moment.”
She gnawed on her plump lip. “I wish it was that simple.”
“It can be,” I responded, well aware I was talking about murdering her father as easily as I would order a coffee from a diner.
But then, in my world, death ran hand in hand with life.
Sure, it did for every miserable human on this godforsaken planet, but for brothers in an MC, it was closer than for regular folk.
“I didn’t bring you here to talk about that,” she whispered a second later, and I saw the haunted shadows in her eyes, saw them and wondered if she’d somehow seen her father kill her mother.
“No, you brought me here to tell me your father had the mayor in his pocket.”
“And that he’s trying to get the sheriff on his side.”
“Knew that already. It’s why the mayor brought in some new detectives from across the county line.” I grinned at her wide eyes. “This won’t be our first rodeo, darlin’. Ain’t the first time some rich fuck wants to pin something on us.”
She gulped. “Do you know who the Five Points are?”
I stilled at that, interested at long last. “Do you?” I countered.
“No. I just know they’re in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“Well, I can promise you that they’re not a takeout place.” I cracked my knuckles. “Why’d you bring them up anyway?”
“He’s going to target them to get to you too.”
She surged to her feet. When I realized she was going to just stalk off, I grabbed her hand and ordered, “Don’t lose my number.”
A scowl crossed her brow. “Why shouldn’t I? I went to great lengths to get this information to you and what? It bores you?”
The shit about the Five Points didn’t.
But she didn’t have to know that.
“Don’t be a stranger,” was all I said.
“Why?” Her eyes were cold, like gemstones.
“We’re friends, aren’t we? Mutual enemies stay in touch, don’t they?”
Her jaw clenched. “If you say so.”
When she wrenched her wrist from my grip, the difficult bastard in me wanted to keep a tighter hold on her.
Sure, Tink was back at the compound, her ass stuffed full of a plug that I’d put in there, but Lily Lancaster was far more interesting.
“How come you wanted to meet here?”
She frowned. “It’s my regular stomping ground and I told my father I’d be coming here in the hope of meeting the sheriff. I’m supposed to turn him to my father’s side.”
I whistled under my breath. “You fuck with the devil, baby doll, and don’t be surprised when he fucks with you.”
“He’s already fucked with me,” she said simply. “Many, many times, but enough is enough.”
“I’m sure it is,” I murmured, recognizing something in her words that made me want to kill that fucker of a father myself. “But softly catchee monkey.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that if you want the money and the man and don’t want to go to jail, then you need to watch your step.” I stared her square in the eye. “Or make sure someone has your back.”
Her mouth gaped at that, and I didn’t blame her.
I was going off script here.
Hell, the script didn’t really exist, but I knew that any extensions of help had to be offered by Rex and Rex alone.
Even Storm, our VP, couldn’t make offers like this. But I knew, just fucking knew, that this would help us.
Allied with the enemy?
United to take down someone who could champion their rapist scum and twist it around so that my brother’s woman was fearing jail?
Yeah, I’d deal with the devil too…but then, I was one of Satan’s Sinners.
We were buds, and I came from a family of other fuckers who’d sold our souls to the big guy downstairs a long while back.
“What are you saying?” she whispered.
“I’m saying that we need to talk on my stomping ground.”
“I can’t. My father watches my every move through my guards—they report to him at all times.”
“Suppose getting them blistered last night didn’t go down well.”
“Yeah, you’d be right on that score.” She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, then drawled, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Do that.”
I let her go then and watched her walk away, that fine ass of hers squirming against the tight fabric of her skirt.
Tipping my head to the side, I let my gaze drop down to her long legs and feet that were shod in expensive heels.
Everything about her screamed class, and everything about me screamed the opposite.
“Lady and the tramp,” I muttered under my breath, my lips curving into a wide grin, one that was loaded with anticipation.
There was only one issue with my plan.
I fucking hated spaghetti and meatballs.