Chapter 5
WAR
I shoved open my door and found a Norse Lord MC member standing nearby, close enough that I instinctively clocked the distance between us. Asian, nearly my height, with the kind of smirk that told me he’d already decided how this conversation was going to go. I filed that away.
The patch on the right side of his black jacket, beneath the Lords’ insignia, read “SGT at Arms.” This had to be Modi.
Gritting my teeth, I assessed the damage to the rental car. It was beyond repair, with large dents in the silver doors and every single side and back window smashed to pieces.
“Feel better?” I snapped. “Touch him and you’re dead.
” I held Modi’s gaze for a beat, letting the promise sink in before I turned my attention to the man in charge.
I stalked toward Odin, president of the Lords.
Unannounced visits weren’t his favorite thing, but I’d hoped to get in and out clean.
Finding people was my specialty, and Kit’s trail had been easy to follow if you knew what you were looking for. I did.
“Odin. Nice to see you.”
Odin wasn’t particularly tall, especially compared to me, but power rolled off him in waves.
I knew the stories—the influential friends, the endless cash—and the five bikers standing behind him were a testament to the resources he commanded.
Derek’s warning to stay clean echoed in my head, which was fine because I wasn’t in the mood to provoke him.
“Is it?” Odin kept his arms crossed, cocking his head. “Because, kid, if it was good to see me, you’d have let me know you were coming through Pleasant Beach.”
“Did you have to ruin the car?” My mouth twitched as I suppressed the urge to punch him, despite every instinct telling me to hit him for his dramatics. Fucking asshole. “It’s a rental.”
“You didn’t come to say hi.” He grinned. “So, I wanted to make sure you remembered who I was.”
“How could I forget?” My sneer slipped out before I could stop it.
One of his brothers dismounted his bike and removed his helmet. Thor, Odin’s vice president, emerged from beneath the heavy black headgear, his short sandy blond hair appearing brighter than usual in the morning sun. He walked toward us with a confident stride.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Listen, I’m not here to cause trouble. Derek’s son went on a bit of an unplanned vacation.” I gestured roughly over my shoulder with my thumb. “And Derek wanted me to bring him home. That’s all.”
“Then you had nothing to do with the two dead bodies reported to the local cops?” Thor raised his eyebrows.
“Damn it.” How did they know so fast? A muscle in my neck seized. The Society. Odin’s connections ran deep, and he enforced the rules of this safe zone without mercy. Lying wasn’t an option, but admitting to an unsanctioned kill in Pleasant Beach was a death sentence. I was trapped.
“Well?” Odin dropped his arms to his sides, close to the gun on his hip holster. “Derek knows the laws here, and so do you, War. Did you kill those guys?”
I gritted my teeth and breathed through my nose. There were five of them, and Kit couldn’t help, not that I would want that for him. I also wasn’t going to start a war with the Lords. They’d been good allies on more than one occasion. “Yes, I killed them.”
Odin studied me carefully. “Want to tell me why?”
“Yeah, I can, but it’s a long story.” My fingers twitched, but I didn’t move my hand closer to my Glock.
“Make it short,” he smirked.
“Someone told Derek’s son the truth about the family business and lured him here. Put him up in a motel. Two men came to grab him. I got there first. I shot them to save his life, and I’d do it again.” I met Odin’s gaze. “There was no time to ask for permission. His life was on the line.”
“Why would they bring him here?” Thor asked. “Out of all places, they rent a motel in this city where we are?”
I frowned. “You think they know about the Lords and the protection on Pleasant Beach?”
He shrugged. “That’s one big coincidence.”
“Do you know who the men were?” Odin grunted.
I shook my head. “No. They were strangers, and we haven’t had time to figure out who texted Kit the messages ratting out Derek, either. I only managed to get him out of the motel and into the car.”
“And you were escaping the city before I realized you were in it, am I right?” Odin’s eyes glinted.
I needed to tread carefully, while also telling the truth. “Yes. I thought it would be easier. I didn’t expect to kill someone.”
He stared at me, long and hard, and I held his gaze without flinching. Odin was trying to get a read on me, but my face was a mask I’d perfected overseas. I’d seen true horror, but this was just business. I kept my breathing even and my hands loose, waiting for his next move.
Odin might be a terrifying man, connected to every elite murderer in the country, but he was still just a man.
I’d already counted the bikers, noted their positions, clocked the one near the door who kept shifting his weight to his left.
I waited. Perhaps my quietness told Odin something because, finally, he smiled.
“Come back to the clubhouse with us.”
“Derek is waiting,” I countered.
Odin’s face hardened. “That wasn’t a request, Warrick. It’s an order.” He pointed at the rented Lexus. “Get in that car and follow us to the clubhouse. You are not leaving until we figure out who brought Derek Uhlig’s son into my city.”
“There’s glass in the rental now.”
He stared at me. “I don’t give a fuck. Sit your ass on the glass for all I care.”
I cursed Odin inwardly but maintained my composure. There was no choice. I had to obey. He might not be my boss, but I knew what Derek would’ve said. Do it.
I walked back to the Lexus and slid into the driver’s seat. Glass shards shifted under my ass and feet and crunched beneath my boots. I ignored them and started the engine.
“What’s going on?” Kit worried his bottom lip between his teeth, sucking. “Who are they? Are they the ones who brought me here?”
“No.” I slammed the heel of my palm against the steering wheel. “Fuck. We need to go with them.”
“They’re bikers,” Kit stated. It wasn’t hard to surmise, given the patches on their leather jackets, especially as Odin and Thor walked to their bikes.
The back of their jackets featured a huge skull with a Viking helmet and braided beard.
Their insignia also displayed a pair of axes crossed behind the skull.
“Yes, they’re the Norse Lords.”
“What do they want?” Each of Kit’s questions scraped a rut in my control. My training screamed at me to lock it down, but his presence was a fault line through all my discipline. He was a beacon in this dark world and it would try to snuff him out.
“It doesn’t matter,” I grunted, glaring. “Just do what I tell you. Keep your mouth shut.”
Kit’s whole posture shifted. The fear in his eyes hardened into something sharp and unfamiliar. “No,” he said, his voice level. “I’m done shutting up. You saved me, I get it. That doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a package you have to deliver.”
My mouth twitched involuntarily, amusement spreading through me and making my chest feel light. I’d never seen this side of Kit, and it was nice to witness some fight in him. He would need it. Now that he knew the truth, his entire world was about to change.
I started the car and spun the wheel, executing a large U-turn as Odin and Thor led me toward the clubhouse.
The other three Lords followed, ensuring we wouldn’t attempt an escape.
It would’ve been pointless to try. We might’ve been able to get out of Pleasant Beach, but now that Odin knew we were here, he could easily come to New Gothenburg and demand reparations.
Derek wouldn’t want to start anything with the Norse Lords.
Odin’s clubhouse was more of a mansion, a sprawling estate that screamed fuck you to the rich, entitled bastards in the surrounding properties.
I remembered Derek mentioning an inheritance.
Clearly, Odin had put it to good use, inheriting not just the house, but buying the cops and the city itself. Cash always spoke loudest.
We drove into the driveway that curled into a large circular pattern. Odin stopped his bike near the front doors. He dismounted his Harley as Kit and I opened our doors and stepped out of the Lexus. Strolling toward us like a laid-back man, Odin grinned at Kit.
“You must be Derek’s son. I’m Odin.” He held out his hand when he reached Kit.
My body went rigid as Odin approached him.
An instinct I refused to name coiled in my gut, urging me forward.
I planted my feet, fighting against the reflex.
Odin had no plans for Kit, not yet. Still, the irrational part of me saw only a threat.
I forced the thought down. Kit wasn’t mine.
He deserved better than a man with my scars.
Kit shook his hand. “I might be Derek’s son, but I have a name. It’s Kit.”
“Short for something?” A familiar voice made me groan.
Loki, Odin’s adopted son, dismounted his Ducati, pulled off his helmet, and flashed a wide, mischievous grin.
His shoulder-length blond curls were a mess.
Most of the time, I didn’t mind Loki, but I didn’t want him giving Kit any bad ideas.
Loki wasn’t always sane, but he was good-looking, which caught him all kinds of attention.
He was also closer to Kit’s age, and the thought made my stomach twist uncomfortably.
“Christopher,” Kit replied with a short laugh. “But Dad didn’t want my nickname to be something as boring as Chris.”
“I like it,” Loki said, bouncing over to Kit. “At least he didn’t name you Richard and make you a Dick.”
“That’s a thing?” Kit made a face.
“Oh, fuck yeah. Can you imagine calling out that name? Dick! Where are you? I’ve lost my Dick!” Loki erupted into laughter, and Odin rolled his eyes.