Chapter 5
FIVE
JINX
The engine cuts off, and I roll my shoulders to stretch my back, attention on the scene before me.
The last time Matthias came face-to-face with the Kings, we left him with his life on the condition that he repay the eighty thousand we lost in revenue.
Which means, whatever he deems necessary to bring to our door today has the guy brave enough to share the air with the people who spared him his life and dignity mere months ago.
Crow leans casually against the doorframe, blocking the entrance into the old farmhouse that’s our new headquarters, Matthias face-to-face with Chaos, arms folded high over his chest. And who should be seated behind him, re-enacting our previous encounter, but the shit-stirrer from the barber shop.
The blonde lounges in one of the wicker porch chairs, foot bopping before her—entirely unfazed by Circus, who leans against the balustrade opposite, his inky, black glare fixed on the unwanted guest.
Well, I suppose it’s no mystery who her brother is, then.
I draw a deep breath and acknowledge Chaos as he crosses the yard toward me. He glares at our youngest officer—Darko—who follows his sister into the barn like a lost puppy.
“How do you want to play this?”
Our president lets the teenagers slip away with a disgruntled sigh, then turns to address me.
“Good cop, bad cop? Hard and fast? Or fuck with them slow?” I prod.
“Hard and fast. Let me find out exactly what they’re here for first, and then you’re welcome to shut their shit down. If he sells it, I don’t want it.”
“Even if what they have is beneficial to us?” We still claw our way out of the shit and could use any cash Matthias can front up with. But even so, I’m pretty damn sure Chaos isn’t at the stage of beggars not being choosers.
“Don’t care. I’d rather attend mass every Sunday than get into bed with Matthias again.”
I snort a laugh as I get off my bike and shake out the legs of my jeans, one at a time. “Best we go get this squared away then, huh?” Because I’ve got other mysteries I’d rather attend to.
Ones that involve thick, wavy hair and warm caramel eyes.
Matthias spins as we approach the porch; his sister feigns ignorance as she continues to thumb her phone. “Since when am I kept on the doorstep like a dog, Chaos?”
“Since you fucked us over and left a gaping hole in our bank balance,” our president calls back. He sets a boot on the first step with a thud.
The harlot looks up from her screen.
“We’re all here now, so let’s skip the previous pleasantries and cut to the chase. What brings you by today, Matty?” Chaos climbs up to the troublemaker’s level and stares him down from his five-inch advantage.
Matthias’s sister slips her phone back in her purse, fluffing her hair over one shoulder in the process.
“I’ve got a proposition for you on how I can repay the debt.
” He shoves the tips of his fingers into his jean pockets, and rocks on the soles of his feet.
Circus positively salivates at Matty’s shaky words that drip with false bravado.
“But I think it’s only respectful for us to have the conversation in private, don’t you think? ”
Chaos bites the edge of his bottom lip, transforming his mouth into a cruel smirk. “I don’t have any respect left for you, so talk.”
Matty glances back at his sister, which I find curious, and then shakes out a frustrated, yet apprehensive, laugh.
“Look, fucker. I’m here, willing to overlook how you fuckin’ treated me last time we talked.
For my sister’s sake, how about we take this inside.
If not me, have some respect for the lady. ”
“Is the lady in the room with us?” Crow quips.
Matthias snaps his neck around to glare at our Treasurer, jaw set firm. Asshole knows better than to poke the bear.
“Does she have a name?” Chaos asks.
The honey-trap launches from her chair to her brother’s side, grabbing Matthias’s arm in a coy, look-after-me-I’m-delicate show of bullshit while she eye-fucks Chaos. “Danica. Pleasure to meet you.” She extends coffin-tipped nails toward him.
Which he promptly ignores.
I roll my eyes and catch Crow’s amused look. They fall hard and fast every time. Fucking Chaos has been breaking hearts since the day he was born.
To my amusement, he goes right back to addressing Matthias.
“You’ve got five minutes to tell me why the fuck I can’t miss this golden opportunity you’ve brought to my door.
And I’m warning you, I haven’t had breakfast, and I’m hungry.
So the longer this drags on, the less amenable I’m likely to be. ”
I slip behind Chaos and jump up to settle myself on the rail for the show.
Matthias shakes his sister off and draws a deep breath before he spits out the biggest goddamn joke I’ve heard in a fucking while. “A brothel.”
Chaos blinks slowly and then repeats, “A brothel.”
Matthias nods.
Circus takes a seat on the porch floor, enormous grin splitting his mouth wide as he settles his back against the railing. He watches the interaction with the fascination of a toddler who waits for ice cream.
“You realize brothels are illegal now, right?” Crow asks.
“You realize everything you assholes do has always been illegal?” The fuckweed counters.
“But it’s not our brothel,” Chaos points out, tilting his head. “It’s yours.”
“That’s the thing,” Matty says. “I’d like to propose equal shares in the place until the debt is repaid.”
“Equal liability, you mean?”
Matthias glares at my intrusion into the conversation and then clears his throat. “Danica has run a massage parlor for the past six years. She knows everything you’d need to know about how to make it profitable and take down the opposition.”
“There’s fuck all opposition around here these days,” Crow muses.
“Why ain’t she running it now?” Chaos asks.
“I felt like a change,” she coos.
Chaos pins her with a don’t-give-a-fuck stare. “Nobody seeks change unless what they’re doing doesn’t work anymore.”
My thoughts wander to Kyra. Is that why she came home? Did something happen to kill the dream?
“You even have a business plan for this thing?” Chaos asks. “Or did you come up with the idea while stoned out of your head last night, half a bottle of bourbon deep?”
Matthias takes a step forward. Crow straightens up.
“I’ve got the plan,” the asshole states, counting off on his fingers, “the girls, the equipment, the connections. I even have the ideal place for it.”
“Out of state?” Chaos taunts.
“In your fucking woods there.” Matty gestures behind the barn to where the trees run deep, all the way to the boundary. “You know, this place wasn’t some huge secret before you guys bought it. A lot of us know what you got back there.”
“Such as?” I ask, hitching one eyebrow.
“Such as a two-bedroom cabin that’s seen better days, but it’s more than fit for purpose with a little TLC and some new furniture.”
“Because the random cars that come and go down a dead-end road wouldn’t be a complete giveaway,” I muse.
“You’re a fucking bike club,” Matty spits. “You have people coming and going all the time.”
“Who stay longer than the fifteen minutes it takes your Johns to spend what’s left of their paycheck for the week,” Chaos snarls.
The porch falls quiet for a moment, nobody moving save for Circus, who reaches out to run his finger up the back of Danica’s leg, under the hem of her shorts. She startles, jumping as though a spider were on her, and moves to Matthias’s other side.
“If this is such a great idea, then why haven’t you already launched it somewhere else?
” Chaos folds his arms across his chest, leaning back to study the visitors.
“You’ve got everything you need by the sounds of it.
You don’t need us. Run it out of your basement, or your garage, if you believe in it so much. ”
“Sure. Amy would love that.”
“She already doesn’t like me staying at the house,” Danica grumbles, displaying apparent dislike for Matthias’s wife.
“Can’t imagine why,” Crow quips.
“I need protection in case the cops come sniffing,” Matthias admits. “Putting it in the middle of your viper’s nest seems about as safe as it can get.”
“You mean, it makes any raids our problem, not yours.” Chaos snorts, shaking his head. “Get me my fucking money, Matthias, and leave me the fuck outta your hare-brain schemes. Got it?”
“You’re making a huge mistake,” Danica exclaims, latching onto Chaos’s arm as he moves away. “This could be a real money spinner for you now that services are at a premium around here.”
His mismatched eyes cut to where she touches him. “Remove it.”
“Pardon?”
“Get your fucking hand off me.”
She jerks back with a pout. “Matty ain’t lying. He has everything you need ready to go. They just need somewhere to set up.”
“Well, that place ain’t going to be anywhere on our land.” Chaos slips past Crow to disappear indoors—presumably in search of food.
My sign to wrap it up. “Great seeing you again, Matthias. Be sure to stop by again when you’ve got a suitcase of cash for us, yeah?”
“Get fucked.” Our former mule turns to make his way down the steps.
I shove my boot against his chest, one arm wrapped around the pillar to steady myself.
He looks down at where my dusty sole leaves an imprint on his shirt, and then back up at me, head tilting and eyes narrowing. “Do we have a problem here?”
“Entirely up to you.”
Circus rises to his feet behind Danica, shadowing the woman. She stares at her brother before her, ignorant of the looming problem behind.
“I don’t think you told Chaos the whole truth just now.” I keep my foot on his chest and give it a little shove. “Where are the girls coming from?”
“What does that matter?”
“Oh, it means everything to me.” I give another, more brutal shove to send the guy staggering back into Crow, and then hop down from the rail. “Where are they coming from, Matthias?”
Danica jerks, a choked squeal caught in her throat as she darts sideways to get away from Circus’s touch. The silent freak lets the end of her hair sift through his fingers as she moves somewhere safer.
Matty side-eyes the situation and draws a deep breath, expelling it through his nose. “Tell your man to keep his hands to himself.”
“Got a moral conscience for women, have you?” I fold my arms, stance wide as I sandwich him between myself and Crow. “Where. Do. You get. The girls. Matthias?”
His dark gaze searches mine. “I think you know.”
“This is the deal you cut with Manic to clear your debt with him, huh?”
Jaw tense, he snarls at the mention of his wife’s brother—a member of the Devil’s Breed who he owes a large gambling debt to. Hence, our burnt property.
“You fuckin’ must think us fools, huh? You think we couldn’t put that connection together quicker than it would take us to shit on your front lawn?
We’re not interested,” I growl, leaning in to his weathered face.
“We never will be. And if you so much as buy a single fucking woman, man, or child from that goddamn cesspool they call an MC, you’ll have your debt wiped.
” I lean a little closer. “Because you’ll be dead. ”
“Tough words from a soft man.”
Yeah, everyone knows I’m not usually the first brother to step up when the dirty work needs doing, but more fool Matthias if he thinks that it means I can’t.
I simply choose not to.
“Ask the buried secrets of my past how ‘soft’ I am.”
Danica inches away from Circus’s continued fascination. “Can we go now, Matty? Please.”
“Take your sister home,” Crow grumbles. “Spend some time with your kids and your wife. Be grateful for what you have while you still have it.”
“Is that a threat?”
I step aside to let the man leave. “You tell us. You’re the one who chose to get into bed with the Devil’s Breed.”