16. Mason
16
MASON
L ogan jerked forward, seeing where I’d driven us. “What the fuck?” He looked my way. “Why are we here?”
I brought him back to where the underground fighting ring was located.
Unlike the night before, the venue was closed, and the only vehicle out front was ours. I assumed there were some Harley motorcycles parked behind.
Nate kept quiet in the back except his eyes met mine briefly. His mouth flattened.
I cut the engine and thrust open my door, not answering him. “Let’s go.”
Logan scrambled out next to me. I could feel his excitement. He was almost skipping beside me, like a serial killer who’d been told he could have his pick of prey to hunt. I felt every day of my age, but him? He was giddy like a teenager. It’s why we were here tonight—among other things. I knew we couldn’t make someone deal with their grief. It had to be on their timeline, but I knew my brother. He needed a nudge to get some of it out. He could deal with his grief on his own schedule, but I wanted him just to start feeling something. This was also for me.
There weren’t a lot of great ways to deal with the pressure building inside of us in a legal way. So organized violence it was going to be.
Stripes met us just outside the warehouse door. He straightened, his foot falling to the ground as we approached. He scanned over us, his gaze dead. Unemotional. “Ready for this?”
I handed over the money. “Rules?”
He tucked the money away and shrugged. “Rules are what we talked about. No permanent damage. No killing, obviously. Just some good, old-fashioned violence between strangers. I ran it past the club, and we got a nice selection of guys to face you. No weapons except your fists in there.”
I grunted. “Sounds good. Give us a minute.”
He tilted his head down and slipped inside.
“What the fuck, Mason?” Nate’s nostrils flared.
I shot him a look. “You don’t have to do shit, but I am.”
Logan bounced on his heels. “I am so down for this. Fuck yeah.”
“These guys have a history with Channing,” Nate noted.
“Which is why he’s not here,” I countered.
Nate bit back his next words, his eyes flicking upward. He stepped away from us. “I’m not okay with this.”
“Then leave,” I retorted coolly.
Logan stopped bouncing, his gaze skirting between us. “What’s your issue?”
“This—Channing won’t be okay with this. It’s like you’re going behind his back.”
“Look.” I moved to face him directly. “I need this. Logan needs this. If you can’t be here, fine. Go. But they run the only underground fighting ring in the area now. There are no others.”
“You could’ve set this up with Channing’s crew. Those guys would fight us.”
“They would’ve held back.”
Nate looked away. He knew it was the truth.
I motioned with my head toward the warehouse behind us. “These guys don’t give a fuck about us. They’re from a different world. They’re also businessmen, and I paid a good amount for this to happen tonight. If you can’t see why we might need this, you can go. For real.”
“It’s not that,” Nate said, his mouth twisting. “It feels too much like back in the day. You cut out Channing. And the violence. Some of us have ended up in the hospital. I just don’t like it.”
That was valid. Nate had tended to be collateral damage for people going after Logan or myself. “I’m sorry about that, but we have a war coming our way, whether you’re here or not. And you need to trust me. I’ll talk to Channing about this later, but right now, there’s another reason we’re here. Are you in or not?”
Nate expelled some air. “I’m not agreeing with this, but I’m not leaving you guys either. I don’t have the same need to spill blood you savages do.”
Logan grinned. He puffed his chest up, cocky. “Fuck yeah we do. And I’m first.”
He turned and headed inside.
I held back, waiting for Nate to meet my gaze. He did, giving me a small nod. I nodded back, some of the pressure leaving me, but a different tension took its place.
A whole host of bikers waited inside—leaning against the walls, lounging. Some were at the ring, talking in groups of two or three, but when Nate and I joined them, their conversations quieted. I scanned the inside, wondering if their president was here. Channing hadn’t wanted to talk about the Red Demons’s Frisco charter. The other reason I was here was because they were my best link to real information about Kai Bennett. Channing was a bounty hunter, so he had some connections to that world, but it wasn’t enough. He hadn’t been able to give me enough information. I needed a more sustainable link, so I had to go around him.
My family was on the line.
My private investigator hadn’t gotten back to me, and with the funeral finished, handling my dad’s business and this mafia threat was next on the docket. I was stepping into a whole new world, and I was already in last fucking place.
Nate looked around and cursed under his breath.
I felt that. These guys were the real deal. Big. Muscular. Tattooed. Real criminals and real killers. Logan was already warming up in the corner. A biker was taping Logan’s hands and talking to him. My brother nodded, listening to him. He was getting himself focused for the match.
Stripes headed my way, stopping a few feet away to look at Nate. “This one all uppity?”
Nate stiffened. He turned cold eyes on the biker. “Mason doesn’t know who you are. I do.”
Stripes paused, his head cocking. His eyes narrowed.
“Cross Shaw’s brother is my brother-in-law.”
Stripes cursed, and his eyes turned mean. “That was a long time ago. I went to prison, and I’ve been a Red Demon ever since. You got issues with me, you can take a hike.” He motioned beyond the warehouse.
There was no other option with him. His tone said to shut up or leave.
Nate was still glaring, but he gestured to me. “I’m with them. If I leave, I’ll be calling Monroe for backup.”
The biker’s gaze shifted to a whole new level of chilliness. “We have a fucking tentative peace with the New Kings crew. That’s your buddy’s crew, by the way. They may be all legit with their bounty-hunting business, but they’re still a crew—just like Shaw, just like Bren. If you want to blow that up, make it so we’re not friendly anymore, you do that. Let me remind you of where you are. This is our warehouse. Our territory. And the reason your friend here reached out to us is because we don’t give two fucks who you are, what family you come from, or if you’re famous or not. We eat, breathe, fuck, and live the biker world. Shove your attitude somewhere else, because I’ll let you know right now, my guys won’t stand for it. One of them will step up and shove it down your throat for you.” He paused a moment. “We good?”
Nate seethed beside me, a rattlesnake coiling up, ready to strike, but I knew he wouldn’t. “We’re here for some good old-fashioned fighting,” I assured Stripes. “That’s it.”
He was still eyeing Nate, but he spoke to me. “We’re a betting bunch. You want to throw in on that too?”
I took out some more money and handed it over. “On my brother and myself.” I gestured to Nate. “He won’t be fighting.”
The biker took the money. “Shocker.” He looked over and got a nod from the guy in my brother’s ear. “Looks like we’re ready to go.”
As soon as he was gone, Nate hissed, “Mason.”
I moved away. “I don’t want to hear it. You’re not seeing the big picture. Until you do, keep your mouth shut.”
Logan climbed into the ring, and I went to talk to him. They’d gotten him ready. His hands and feet were taped. He’d lost his shirt and now wore only a snug pair of shorts. He bounced up and down, swinging his arms to warm up. He gave me a crooked grin, a slightly maniacal look in his eyes. “Nate’s still having a hissy fit?”
I declined to answer. I rested a hand on one of the ropes and leaned in. “You ready for this? You’re okay with this?”
His eyes flared, his arms moved back and forth in front of him. “You kidding? This is my kind of candy store.” He winced a little. “I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this to Taylor, but…”
“Sam’s going to handle the girls.”
Logan stopped bouncing, stopped swinging his arms. “What do you mean?” He was suddenly all serious.
“I told her enough about tonight, asked if she’d run interference with Taylor and Quincey, if we need it.”
Logan’s eyes flicked to Nate before the corner of his mouth tugged up. “Don’t think she’ll need to worry about Quincey, but she’ll have to debrief Taylor before we get back because I don’t want my face to give her a heart attack.”
He turned toward the middle of the ring as two guys climbed inside.
“Hey.”
He looked back down to me, an eyebrow raised.
“This is for us tonight. You hear me?” I said gruffly. “When you’ve had your fill, you can tap out. You don’t have to win if—”
He snorted. “Get the fuck out of here. I’ve not had a decent fight in decades. I’m fucking salivating for this.”
“Yeah, but…” Nate was right. The rules said no permanent damage and no death, but these weren’t sanctioned fights. Shit could go sideways.
“Mase.” Logan stopped everything—the attitude, the unhinged look in his eyes. His voice and face were all Logan again, the brother who had been at my side when we walked into our dad’s office a week ago. “I know .”
Jesus Christ, I’d missed my brother. I hadn’t fully had him with me this last week, but he was here now. He was thinking clearly. I drew in some of the comfort I always felt when he was at my side and nodded to him before stepping back. “Got it.”
He held my eyes another moment before he blinked and the maniacal Logan was back. Maybe he needed to slip into his old role in order to deal with everything. I understood that.
Fuck. Maybe I should start doing the same.
The bell rang, and the fight was on.