7. Kai
Kai
“ W hat the hell is wrong with him tonight?”
Jenson’s mutter has my shoulder lifting. We both watch River, not bothering to hide our assessment. He wouldn’t notice anyway, not in his current mood.
He’s sitting at a corner table with two newer initiates, rumbles of amusement and barked laughter reaching us where we’re leaning against the far wall. Getting to know the few new recruits we take on, testing them, learning their limits and what makes them tick – as well as break - is part of his role. But River is curiously silent, not paying attention. He takes another swig of beer, his eyes staring out across the dancefloor.
I lift my hands. Did he say anything to you?
Jenson shakes his head. “But he’s been acting weird since he came back.”
Maybe they couldn’t fix his jacket?
It’s a stretch, but River loves that fucking suit. It’s a symbol to him. He’s still wearing the trousers, his shirt sleeves pushed up as his elbows rest on the table. He glances up, awareness returning to his gaze as he catches my eye.
My fingers move rapidly. Get over here.
For a moment, I think he’ll ignore me. His eyes slip to Jenson beside me, his expression tightening before he pushes up from the table and makes his way over to us.
“You called?” His voice is dry, but there’s something in his eyes that makes me straighten.
“What’s going on?” Jenson doesn’t change his position. His arms are crossed, his body loose against the wall and the usual smirk on his lips. Casual, for anyone watching us. But his words are a hard demand, his eyes tight as he sweeps the room. “Spit it out.”
He doesn’t pull rank on us often. Guess River has him worried.
River forces out a breath. “It’s that obvious?”
I roll my eyes. Just a little.
“Not here.” River nods to the back. “In the meeting room.”
Jenson pushes away from the wall at that, his body fluid as he heads through the crowd without looking back. He raises his hand in response to a called greeting but doesn’t stop before he pushes the door and disappears.
I wait for River to move before following him. People glance at me, taking in the wraps around my hands and the nasty cut across my bare chest that I picked up in my last fight last night. Asshole didn’t feel like playing fair. The shiv he had down his shorts nearly lost him his balls. After I yanked it out.
And I’m itching to do it all again tonight.
I get a variety of looks. Coy invites. Wariness. The gleam of interest that only appears when there’s money involved. River leans in to listen to someone who grabs his arm before he shakes them off with an easy smile.
Nobody speaks to me.
Jenson is pouring drinks when I push the door closed. “Sit.”
Only if you call me a good boy.
He doesn’t crack a smile as he hands me a water. I don’t drink before fights. Rarely drink at all, truthfully, aside from the evenings River coaxes me into bad choices.
Jenson doesn’t say anything else. We sit there, waiting for River. He glances between us before rubbing a hand over his face. “Fucking hell. You two are worse than my mother.”
We care a hell of a lot more than she ever did. Out with it.
He sighs, taking a swig of his drink before answering. “I found her.”
It takes me a moment. Her?
And then I get it. Beside me, Jenson stiffens, one hand gripping the armrest tightly. “What do you mean, you found her ? An option, you mean?”
But River shakes his head. “It has to be her.”
His voice is almost hoarse. “I met her today. And I can’t… fucking hell. I can’t get her out of my head. It has to be her, Jenson.”
His words should make my heart leap. He found someone. Someone who might agree to our pretty fucking unorthodox… arrangement. But—
Did you ask her?
River digs his hands into his hair. It looks rumpled as hell, as if he’s been doing it all day. “No – of course not. We agreed that we’d do this together. Besides, she’s…,”
I wait silently.
“What?” Jenson says finally. “She’s what?”
He spreads his hands out, almost helplessly. “Sweet. Quiet.”
I can fill in the blanks, my fingers already moving. Not part of this, you mean.
This world that we live in. With gangs, and fighting, and politics that keep Jenson up at night.
Finally, River shakes his head. “No. Not even a small connection. I doubt she’s ever even been to a nightclub.”
Jenson sits forward. “Let me get this straight. You met a random girl—,”
“Briar,” River says quietly. “Briar Rose.”
Briar Rose.
Jenson pinches the bridge of his nose, looking like he’s trying to restrain himself. “ Fine . Briar Rose. And she’s apparently sweet, and quiet, and presumably has no idea about the fucking underbelly of this city that we live our whole damn lives in. And you think she’s about to sign an agreement to fuck all three of us – under our fucking conditions?”
I press my lips together, not moving when River glances at me in a silent plea for help. I’m still turning her name over in my head, surprised at how much I like the sound of it.
Briar.
“Come and meet her,” River pushes out, his eyes on Jenson. We all know he’s the one who’ll need convincing. “We don’t have to say a damn thing. Just… meet her, alright? I have to pick up my jacket tomorrow.”
But Jenson is studying River. “You like this girl.”
River likes many girls. All sizes, all shapes. He loves women, and they love him. But there’s something new in the way that he says her name.
As if she matters.
And from the expression in Jenson’s eyes, he knows it. “This arrangement is temporary, Riv. Remember?”
“I know.” River looks resolute. “It’s going to be her. You’ll come?”
Jenson sits back in his chair, glancing at me. “Your call.”
It’s not, not really. But I nod.
“Fine.” Jenson’s jaw is tight as he drains the dregs of his bourbon. “Let’s go and meet this girl that has you wound up in fucking knots. Color me curious as to what kind of woman can bring River Huxley to his damn knees.”
“Not everyone is Katherine.” River’s words bounce around the room, the quiet tone steady even as he blows open a box that Jenson keeps locked up tight. “And you are not your father.”
“Fucking hell.” Jenson stands, but he doesn’t look at us. “She’s just a girl. Even if she agrees, it’s not forever, River.”
But it’s River’s face that I’m watching. And Jenson doesn’t see the shadow that crosses it at his words, but I do.
I think we’re in trouble.
Jenson’s mood goes from bad to worse on the way out. He’s making his way to the bar when a woman almost crashes into him, before he deftly ducks out of the way. His whole body stills. “Get away from me, Mal.”
Mallory laughs, a little too shrill. It makes me cringe. Over Jenson’s shoulder, her eyes meet mine, narrowing into beady slits before they relax, widening innocently as she backs up, her hands wiggling as if she’s taunting him. “C’mon, Jenson. Blow off some of that steam with me.”
I can see the tension in his spine a mile away. So can she, a hint of nervousness in her expression that she smooths away. It disappears beneath the heavy layers of make-up. Mal’s gone all out tonight, more skin than dress in her latest attempt to hold Jenson’s attention. The triangles holding her in place are a bright, toxic-looking green. She even glows under the club lights.
Like toxic waste.
She’s fighting a losing battle, but she doesn’t give up. I might even feel sorry for her, if she wasn’t such a raging bitch.
Beside me, River’s words are low. “We need to ban her permanently.”
We should have done it months ago, but we’ve all been distracted with the territory arrangements. Didn’t you ask R to do it?
His hands fly in response, abrupt with his irritation. He didn’t.
So she fucked her way out of it, and Rod paid the price. River doesn’t take disobeying instructions lightly.
Jenson grips her wrist when she reaches for him again, his voice like ice. “Do not touch me.”
She pouts, pulling a strand of blond hair forward and winding her finger around it with a coy look. “We can play rough. If you want to.”
“Jesus.” He shoves her away. “Have some fucking respect, Mal. The answer is no .”
When she moves for him again, River darts forward. Mal’s cry is audible as he grips her wrist in the same place as Jenson, his hold a lot tighter and his voice a hell of a lot more threatening. “He. Said. No .”
Jenson almost backs into me, his hands twisting. Setting a hand on his shoulder, I move around him and cross my arms. Mallory glares at me. “The hell is he looking at, the f—,”
“Finish that sentence,” River cuts her off coolly. “And I will break your wrist, Mallory.”
She twists in his grip, but he doesn’t let go. “You’re banned from upstairs, effective immediately. I see you up there, we have another problem. Doesn’t matter who you get to invite you.”
“Fuck you,” she snaps. He finally lets her go and she stumbles back, her eyes sliding to the man vibrating with tension behind me. “Jenson!”
I sign to River, and he nods. I feel the cool air behind me as Jenson leaves. “You don’t come near him again, Mal. Not in the club. Not on the street. You don’t speak to him. You don’t put your fucking hands on him again. Ever . He’s made his feelings clear.”
“Then he can tell me himself—,”
“He already fucking has!” River loses what patience he has left. “One more word, and you’re banned for life. One fucking word .”
Her mouth snaps shut. She spends her entire life loitering in Mystic. Fuck knows, it might be kinder to cut her off.
“There’s more to life than this place.” River’s voice is still cool, still angry, even as he faces her.
She laughs then. “You fucking love this place, River. It’s in your blood. You don’t see anything else.”
He does love this place. He built it from the ground up. But she has no idea how wrong she is. River shrugs. “Suit yourself. You’ve been told. Follow the rules, or you won’t set foot in here again.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket with a reminder, and I glance over my shoulder before ducking around them. River falls into step beside me as I make my way to the ring, stretching out my arms. “Think she’ll listen?”
For her own sake, I hope so. Should we go find him?
River hesitates, glancing over his shoulder as if Jenson will magically appear. “No. Let’s give him some space. You’re on in five minutes.”
I get my aggression out in the ring. I wonder where Jenson will get his out tonight. Not with Mal, or any of the women here.
I get my answer as I duck under the ropes. River swears under his breath, even as the crowd goes fucking nuts . I eye up my first opponent as he groans behind me. “I’m not cleaning you both up.”
Opposite me, Jenson turns. He’s peeled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, not bothering to change his trousers. He bounces on his feet, stretching out his neck before he raises an eyebrow in silent question.
This isn’t the first time we’ve done this. I let my anger out in small bursts. He lets his build up until it becomes an inferno.
My smile is a taunt, and he throws his head back with a laugh that breaks through the mask he likes to wear. “Fair warning. I’m not in the mood to fuck around.”
Meaning he wants a real fight. Good.
I curl my fingers at him. Come on, then. If you think you can.
I’m grinning as we listen out for the clock, and then he’s launching himself from the corner, his arm drawing back as the crowd around us roars their approval. I meet him in the middle, ducking his first hit before my fist slams into his ribs.
Game fucking on.