Chapter 20
Riordan
Negotiating a meeting between the bratva and Los Cuervos was fast-tracked after the most recent kidnapping attempt.
My father and I, along with a contingent of our guards, entered Savage Delights to find the Crows waiting.
The repurposed warehouse felt oddly hollow in the light of day, the animalistic energy of bloodsport and seething crowds having faded away under the harsh rays of the sun.
Our scouts had eyes on the building within minutes of the warehouse being designated our meeting place, ensuring that the MC didn’t try anything underhanded.
Not that I thought they would. I trusted them…
up to a point. An alliance with our bratva would benefit them far more than it helped us.
However, the attendance of the pakhan at this meeting ensured the strictest security measures were in place.
My father was one of the most powerful men in the country, so he never went into a situation blind.
Three of our soldiers peeled off as we entered Savage Delights, keeping an eye on the building perimeter and the gravel lot.
Ivan, who stayed behind at The Goldfinch, had a drone making passes over the area to keep an eye on any potential approaching threats, and had already verified the Crows numbers with thermal imaging.
Nothing would be left to chance. Inside, the Crows were fanned out on the side of the raised amphitheater farthest from the doors.
Duke and Priest were waiting on the ground floor, and my cousin was currently doing cartwheels in the fighting ring.
When Indigo noticed we’d arrived, she lost her balance and flopped down onto the mat in a heap.
She popped back up with an, “I’m okay!” and moved to sit in front of the ropes with her legs dangling off the ring.
Considering her most recent brush with death, she looked good.
Happy. She’d gained some weight and muscle mass since the first time I’d seen her in Allure, and it was reassuring to know the Crows were taking care of her.
My father acknowledged Indigo with a respectful nod before he greeted the bikers, a subtle reminder to Los Cuervos that she was his main priority in the room, and everything else an alliance with the MC entailed was gravy.
If this offended the biker president, he didn’t show it.
Indi waved at me with a grin, and I dipped my head slightly in response, working harder than I should have had to work to suppress an answering grin.
Something in her called to the fun, troublemaking part of myself I thought I’d lost in childhood.
I couldn’t help but think that if we’d been allowed to grow up together, we would have been a pair of hellions getting into all kinds of trouble.
It was just another thing Roark Callahan robbed our family of.
My father stopped a few feet past Indigo’s seat, again subtly indicating that Indigo was considered one of us.
She was under the protection of the pakhan, and he valued her enough to put himself between her and the bikers.
Sure, all our guards and I were also there to protect his six, but the gesture was not lost on Duke.
Priest took the measure of my father as the two leaders greeted one another, his calculating gaze only flicking over to me momentarily before they lingered on my cousin for longer than I liked.
Priest’s Care Bear stare was more heated than usual.
Something seemed to have changed in the past few weeks because the VP wasn’t even attempting to hide the glint of possession in his eyes whenever they were cast in Indigo’s direction.
If Indi wasn’t practically glowing from her perch on the ring, I’d be pissed at the way he looked at my little cousin, but any fool could see she was just as drawn to the Crow as he was to her.
Duke stepped forward and offered my father his hand.
“Welcome to Savage Delights, pakhan. We appreciate you takin’ the time to meet with us.
Your son suggested that our two organizations might benefit from an alliance, and after the eventful few weeks we’ve all had and what we’ve learned, I gotta admit that he might be right.
” My father eyed the bikers shrewdly, weighing the prez’s words before he spoke.
“Duke,” Mikhail said with a nod, shaking the silver-haired biker’s hand.
“I’m more than willing to discuss a partnership, but before we begin, I’d like a private word with you and your son.
” My father and I walked a few paces away from our contingent, closer to the ring and Indigo.
“Sdelayte dva shaga nazad,” he said to our men, who obediently took two large steps back toward the exit.
Duke and Priest shared a look before they strode over to us and away from their men.
“Thank you, Duke. I wanted to clear the air and clarify our expectations for future behavior. You have given my niece a home and her first modicum of peace. For that, I thank you. My family owes yours a debt, and I will not forget it.” Duke nodded in acknowledgment.
“However, it has also been brought to my attention that my niece has experienced bodily harm at the hands of more than one of your men.” Mikhail’s voice hardened in an instant, the atmosphere taking on a menacing chill as my father’s expression darkened.
Indigo stopped swinging her legs where she sat on the ring and straightened her spine.
I was torn between wanting to watch my father rip Priest a new asshole and studying the reaction of my cousin to what Mikhail was about to say.
“The traitor will be dead soon enough if his new friends haven’t tired of him yet and done the job for you.
I am content with his fate, as long as he dies.
Your son, however,” he said, eyeing Priest with contempt, “may not be as lucky.” Duke didn’t flinch in the face of my father’s scorn, his face an inscrutable mask.
I expected Priest to bristle at my father’s threat, to puff up and become indignant at having his mistake thrown in his face.
He had a reputation as being intelligent but hot-tempered, making him a loose cannon.
To my irritation, the asshole didn’t even blink.
Of course he chose today to act uncharacteristically stoic.
Indigo, however, chose this moment to hop down from the ring and come to stand between us and them.
“Hey, I couldn’t help but overhear you because I was eavesdropping.
So yeah, Priest was already punished by Duke for what happened in the confessional.
We’re even-steven. Tit-for-tat wise, that is.
” Her eyes flicked between my father and Duke.
“In fact,” she added in an upbeat tone, “considering the recent development of our relationship in the orgasm department, I’d say we’re better than even because so far I’m up by four.
So really, he’s more than made it up to me.
” She smiled and looked from Duke, who’d made an odd choking sound at my cousin’s words, to Mikhail and gave them both a thumbs-up.
My eyes narrowed on Priest, who was trying, and failing, to smother a self-satisfied smirk. “I’d never keep score with you, angel,” he said.
“Aw, Growly,” she said with a grin and a wink, placing a hand over her heart. “Such a gentleman.” She looked at Mikhail and the smile left her eyes, if not her lips. “We’re all gonna be real good friends, and let this go, right dyadya?” she asked my father, using the Russian word for uncle.
My father chuckled. “Umnaya devochka.” Smart girl, indeed.
“Of course, dorogoya. If you wish, I won’t reprimand your Crow for his…
lapse in judgment.” The amusement in Mikhail’s eyes, so like mine and my cousin’s, faded just as quickly as it came, and the shift made them stormy.
“Understand me now when I say to you, Axel Abbott,” my father stated calmly but firmly to Duke, “if my niece comes to harm at the hand of another Crow, I will annihilate your entire organization. It wouldn’t even register as a blip on my radar to eradicate every single chapter of your club.
I will never hesitate to protect my family, and I will always do so with extreme prejudice.
As long as my niece remains safe and happy in your home, I won’t make an example of you.
” He turned, addressing Priest. “As for you, my niece seems to care for you, so for her sake, I will spare your life today. Prove to me you’re worthy of her, and maybe I’ll spare it tomorrow. ”
My father offered Duke his hand, which Duke accepted with a nod.
They shook hands briefly before my father offered the same gesture to Priest. Priest didn’t hesitate, again surprising me with his sudden willingness to deal with our bratva.
They shook hands, and my father pulled Priest into him, clasping his left shoulder firmly.
My father squeezed Priest’s hand and smiled as he said, “If you ever hurt my niece again, I will crucify you. Your corpse will be my lawn ornament, mal’chik, I swear by all the saints. ”
“I believe you,” Priest said, returning my dad’s intense expression.
“It will never happen again,” he said with such conviction that my father reluctantly released his hand, and Indigo sighed in relief.
“Now that we have that out of the way,” Mikhail said, “let’s discuss the annihilation of our enemies. ”
“Yes,” Indigo agreed in a perky tone, looping one of her arms with my father’s and threading the other with Duke’s. “Let’s!”
My cousin started talking animatedly about creating a softball league so the Crows and the Bratva Bros (her words) could have something to do on the weekends.
Priest and I followed a few paces behind to the section of seating where the Crows gathered, our men following at a respectful but watchful distance.
“Nothing to add?” Priest asked as he fished a lollipop out of his cut pocket.