Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Having Kenna’s attention on me the night before—her camera lens fixed, her questions sharp—left me more rattled than I cared to admit. I’d faced down rival clubs, the barrel of more guns than I could count, and my own demons, but sitting in that ring of light exposed me in a different way.
Her skill as an interviewer caught me off guard. With her gaze pinning me in place, every question felt like a scalpel slicing through layers to expose the real me.
I was used to threats I could see. Fists, bullets, inattentive drivers.
Those I know how to handle. You braced, you fought, you counter-maneuvered.
Order, control, routine. That kept you safe.
You didn’t let anyone close enough to see the cracks in your armor, because once they did, they knew where to press.
Now, standing on Kenna’s porch, I rolled my shoulders and tried to shake off the nerves.
Part of me wondered if I should walk away now before things got too complicated.
Before being drawn into this life put her own in danger.
But as much as I knew I should walk away, I wanted whatever scrap of her I could have—even if it were just a friendship.
Loud, exuberant barking greeted me after a quick knock. The oak door swung open, and there she was—red hair wild, cheeks flushed, barely hanging on as a brindle-colored dog the size of a small bear tried to drag her through the screen.
“Come in. He’s friendly,” she said with a grin. “Brisket, sit!” The dog hovered his butt above the ground in a half sit, like it was a negotiable request.
“When the fuck did you get a dog?” I asked as I opened the screen door.
“A few days ago.”
She tossed me a treat. “I’m going to let him go. When he gets to you, make him sit. Ignore him if he jumps on you. We’re working on manners.”
Kenna released Brisket, and he skidded in front of me. As she predicted, he leaped up and planted his paws square on my chest. If I were a smaller man, he would have knocked me flat on my ass.
“Sit,” I commanded in a deep voice.
Brisket immediately plopped his butt to the ground and waited patiently for the treat. “Jesus, Kenna. This dog would be taller than you if he stood on two legs.”
She beamed. “I know! Isn’t he perfect? I don’t think anyone will break into my house at night with him on guard.”
I paused, searching her face. There were shadows under her eyes, hidden under a layer of makeup. Something in my chest tightened. “Have you been worried about that?”
She bit her lip. “Logically, I know it’s not likely to happen. But yeah. I’ve been feeling anxious, especially at night. Having Brisket in the house has helped.”
I scrubbed the five o’clock shadow on my face. “You don’t need to worry. I’ve had a prospect watch your house every night since the mugging, just in case they noted your address on your driver’s license.”
She laughed as if I were joking and then turned serious when she realized I wasn’t.
“Wait. What? You have someone watching me?”
I shrugged. “Just at night.”
“You can’t have a prospect sit outside my house just in case someone tries to break in. And you should have asked me first. I don’t like the idea of someone watching me without me knowing about it.”
“The prospect isn’t watching you. He’s watching the traffic and your house, just in case—until we get the Jackal situation resolved.”
Her cheeks flushed, and for a second, I let myself admire her. I wanted to close the space between us and lean into her heat.
She cleared her throat, breaking the spell. “Well, come in. And this time, I’ve got whiskey and beer, so you don’t have to pretend you like wine.”
I chuckled as I followed her inside. “A beer would be great.”
“You heard from Dixon?” Thane asked, a web of smoke surrounding him from his spot at the bar.
I waved to Leah and pointed at the row of whiskeys on the wall. She smiled and nodded a silent promise to bring me a drink. I’d serve myself, but I knew it pissed her off to no end when we did that.
“No, but he should be on the road already. I didn’t tell him about the rat, but I asked him to be careful because we had concerns the feds could be watching.”
Thane lit another smoke. “Fucker’s always broke. You think it could be him?”
I rubbed the stubble on my jaw. “Honestly, I hadn’t considered him as a serious suspect. He’s always been loyal. And his role with the club would implicate him for enough crimes that he’d spend more time in prison than the rest of us.”
“Unless he cut a deal,” Thane gruffed.
I shook my head. “I’ll ask Linc to check his location. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a pit stop at a casino on the way back, considering the payout from this contract.”
Thane crushed a cigarette into the ashtray before lighting another. “Serpent called. He’s pissed we’re delaying the deal.”
“Better him pissed than us in prison. If the feds get wind of that mother lode of weapons, we’re fucked.”
Thane ground his teeth. “I know. Don’t want to tell him we have a rat, but I might have to tell him something so he knows why we need to lie low for just a little bit longer.”
“What came of the reporter that Kenna spoke to?”
Thane shrugged. “No word, no story, nothing. Kenna did her job. Shut that shit down. Probably helps that when the reporter dug up Jag’s phone number, he told her he only had one thing to say on the record, and that was she could go fuck herself.”
I chuckled. As insane as Serpent and Jag were, I liked them. “Sure that went over well.”
“Sure it did. Hoity-toity reporter didn’t know how to respond. Run that quote in your goddamn newspaper. Hiring a PR consultant was a damn good move for us. Kenna and Eva have kept our shit out of the headlines—except when they’re featuring some good deed they seem to think is gold.”
I nodded. “They bringing reporters to the anniversary party?”
“Maybe. It’s a public event. Everyone has to be on their best behavior, at least until the afterparty.
Kenna mentioned offering an exclusive to one of the beat reporters who likes to write about Texas history.
Eva backed her on the idea. Thinks it’s another way to put us and the club businesses in a positive light. ”
“You going to do it?”
Thane shrugged. “Kenna told the reporter she needs to review the questions first. Apparently, that’s not something they’re fond of, so they’re at an impasse. But I’m the fucking president, and the reporter won’t want to run the story without talking to me. No questions, no interview.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, needing to move the subject away from Kenna.
Thane was too observant and would start digging into what was happening between us if given the chance.
“You see the headlines about the Jackals this morning? They pulled a woman from her car. Kid was still strapped in the back seat when they took off.”
“I heard on the radio that a girl was robbed at the grocery store last week,” Hatchet added.
“The business line’s been ringing off the hook. And not just businesses. Got a call for security at a goddamn family reunion. People are scared.”
Thane’s jaw tightened. “Fuck. I’m going to greenlight Kenna’s little self-defense class idea. You and a few other guys can teach the basics.”
I blinked, caught off guard. “You serious?”
He nodded, eyes hard. “Yeah. Shit’s getting worse out there. If the cops can’t keep up, we do what we can for our own. Kenna’s right—women need to know how to fight back, or at least buy themselves a few seconds. They should be able to go to the store in the middle of the day without worrying.”
“Fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “I’ll talk to the guys and work with Kenna and Eva to set something up. ”
Inside, my thoughts spun like tires in black clay.
The city was changing, and not for the better.
The Jackals became more bold and unpredictable by the day.
The random violence creeping into the corners of our city served as a reminder that not every outlaw revered loyalty or honor, and they certainly didn’t value women.
If this gang didn’t stop soon, I’d be taking matters into my own hands.