Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Journey
Tacoma bangs the gavel on the table, and the chatter in the chapel stops immediately. “Let’s get into it.”
He nods at our tech man, hunched over his laptop at the end of the table. “Cyber, you want to bring everyone up to speed?”
I can hear the tension in Prez’s voice, which has me sitting up in my chair. Tacoma doesn’t get rattled. Ever. And yet…
My eyes move to Cyber. Fuck. Tacoma wouldn’t have sent Gator and Bash to June’s apartment armed to the teeth if Cyber hadn’t found something big.
Cyber finally looks up from his computer screen. His blue eyes find mine from beneath the bill of his hat and the hair on my neck stands on end. “You’re not gonna like this.”
I pull in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t like where this is going already.”
He squeezes the bill of his hat. “Those accounts that have been messaging your girl,” he starts, turning his laptop around so everyone at the table can see the screen, “Frankie and I traced them through several VPNs and encrypted channels. They were going through a lot of trouble trying to hide their footprint.”
“Dude,” Bane groans, scrubbing his hands over his face. “We don’t know what the fuck any of that means.”
Cyber raises his middle finger at Bane. With Bane’s ol’ lady being a computer genius and helping with the club with tech shit, it definitely shows that these two have been spending a lot more time together lately.
“It means that we followed the trail back through servers linked to the Valenciaga Cartel.”
“The cartel?” I rise from my seat. Fucking fuck fuck FUCK! I adjust my hat, feeling the tension tightening in my shoulders. How the fuck did sweet as pie June Calloway get on the cartel’s radar?
“Sit down,” Tacoma orders, his eyes hard.
Rolling my head on my shoulders, I drop back into my seat as my mind races a million miles a minute.
The Valenciaga Cartel are some really sick fuckers.
And to make matters even worse, they’re now in bed with the Sinners, trafficking women and children across state lines.
The horrors their victims suffer through… There are no goddamn words for it.
“Yeah, bro. And there’s more,” Cyber says. “Frankie and I dug deeper, and found communication on the dark web between a Valenciaga lieutenant and someone inside the Sinners. That attack on Stella at the movie theater? That shit wasn’t random.”
My blood runs cold as I process what he’s saying. “The cartel was after my fucking sister? But why?” This doesn’t make any sense.
“They’re targeting all the women,” Bash cuts in, answering the question on all of our faces. “Not just Stella.”
I shake my head, unsure how to believe what I’m hearing. “So this has nothing to do with June? She’s just—what—collateral damage? A target by association?”
“Yeah. Exactly that.” Cyber turns the laptop back around and types something on the keyboard. “Once we knew where to look, we found a whole network. They’ve been surveilling all the women connected to the club. When June got in the way of them taking Stella, she put a big red target on her back.”
“How the fuck did we not know about this sooner?” Bane asks, looking a little pale.
“Because they’re good,” Cyber sighs. “And they’ve got money to hire the best in the business to hide their tracks. If they hadn’t gotten sloppy with the DMs to June, we might still be in the dark.”
Tacoma brings his arm back and yeets his phone at the wall. It hits with a loud crack, and pieces of it go skidding across the floor.
“You okay, bro?” Bane asks.
“My woman is pregnant,” Prez growls, turning to face his brother by blood. “So, no. I ain’t fucking good.” His face is a mask of murderous fury.
“This is war.” His voice is eerily calm. “They don’t know it yet, but they’ve all signed their goddamn death warrants.”
My mind flashes to June down the hall—sweet, innocent, a beautiful woman who is now caught in the middle of a cartel war because of her association with the club.
“We’re going into lockdown,” Tacoma continues. “Every woman with ties to the club gets a shadow. Nobody moves alone.” He looks at his younger brother. “Double the guards on the gate.”
Bane nods.
“What about the women at Kitties?” Bash asks, clearly thinking about all the women who work for him at the strip club.
“I’ll keep tabs on Brooklyn,” Gator volunteers. “She’s got a kid.” Everyone gathered around the table knows he has a thing for the purple-haired dancer, he has for months.
“Fine.” Tacoma agrees.
The Kings have a code. No women. No children. Families are off limits.
“We can’t move them all here.” Tacoma turns his attention to Gator. “Put in a call to the Saints. We’re going to need some assistance.” I’m sure he’s not looking forward to explaining to Chief that his sister is now on the fucking Russian cartel’s radar.
“And June?” I find myself asking.
Tacoma’s eyes meet mine. “You claiming her?”
I purse my lips. “No.” I can’t deny that the woman has gotten under my skin, but I’ve got no desire to settle down.
Tacoma gets a contemplative expression on his face, then nods. “Yeah. Fine. We’ll let her stay since we owe her for protecting Stella.”
“Great. We’ve got Journey’s woman covered, but what are we going to do about the cartel and the Sinners?” Bash asks.
“We’re going to fucking eradicate them.” Tacoma crosses his arms over his chest. “Nobody fucks with the Kings.”
“Nobody fucks with the Kings!” we all chorus.
The Valenciaga Cartel has started a war they can’t win. Our reach is too long, our numbers too big, but with every war comes casualties.
Tacoma bangs the gavel one more time. “That’s all for now. Stay vigilant, brothers. Keep your women close.”
As we file out of the chapel, the mood is grim. Every brother’s face is set in stone, the usual bullshitting completely absent.
Stepping into the common room, my eyes immediately search for June. She’s exactly where I left her, surrounded by the old ladies. All of them are laughing as she tucks her phone into her pocket. From the looks of all the makeup on the table, my girl got her content.
My girl? Get that shit out of your head, asshole. She doesn’t belong to you.
June catches my eye from across the room, and her whole face lights up, those crystal blue eyes pulling me in.
Fuck.
Something cracks open in my chest at the sight of her here with my family.
“Damn, baby.” Bane stalks past me, making a beeline for Frankie. He takes one look at her face, plucks her out of her chair, and kisses her hard. “We’re going home,” I hear him growl as I approach the table.
Frankie laughs and calls over her shoulder to June as Bane practically drags her toward the door. “I think he likes the makeup!”
“Have fun,” June laughs, giving her new friend a little finger wave.
“So.” Stella slides up next to me, her arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t break her heart,” she says firmly. “She’s been through enough.”
I glance down at my baby sister and lift a brow. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“It’s what you always do.” She glares.
I can’t even argue with that. She’s not wrong. I know I’ve left a trail of broken hearts across Odin, but she can’t put that on me. I’ve never made any promises to anyone.
Instead of responding to her threat, I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her into a side hug.
“Tacoma’s put the club on a soft lockdown.
That means we’re all gonna stay at the clubhouse for a while.
You can leave for school and work, but that’s it.
And you don’t go anywhere without Bax. Yeah? ”
She rolls her eyes dramatically. “Fine.”
Releasing her, I turn to Bax, who’s watching from the bar. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
He nods. “I won’t let you down.”
I sure as fuck hope not. Too much is riding on all of us being on our A-game.
“I’ve gotta get to work.” Stella gives me another squeeze, then heads toward her purple-haired friend who’s sliding out of the booth and pushing a pair of sunglasses up her nose.
“See ya later, Menace,” Gator calls after her as he follows them to the door.
Brooklyn flips him off without breaking stride, and I have to bite back a grin. Those two are either going to kill each other, or fuck each other senseless.
Probably both.
June looks up at me, a shy smile playing on her lips. “Hey,” she says softly.
“You good, princess?” I ask, grabbing her suitcase in one hand and reaching for her hand with the other.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
“Good. Come on.”
She lets me lead her toward the stairs without question, her fingers twining with mine. Every step we climb has my blood pumping a little hotter.
When we hit my door on the second floor, I unlock it and motion her in.
She smiles shyly as she steps inside.
Following her in, I kick the door closed, drop her prissy suitcase on the floor, then spin her around and pin her against the hard wood.
Her lips part on a gasp. “Journey,” she whispers, her eyes ping-ponging on mine as I plant a hand beside her head and grip her hip with the other.
“Right here, baby.” The tension between us is crackling. Fuck. I can’t hold back any longer. With a rumble from deep in my chest, I crash my mouth against hers.
June goes stiff for a half a second and I start to wonder if I crossed a line. But my fears are dashed away when she molds her body against mine and curls her fingers into my cut, pulling me closer.
Jesus.
The taste of her has my head spinning.
“You want this?” I growl against her mouth. “Because once we start, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop again.” I need her under me now.
She arches her body closer to mine. “Yes,” she answers softly. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”
Thank the gods.
Nothing and no one is going to stop us this time. My heart pounds like a kick drum as I slip my hand under her shirt. Her skin is soft and warm.
Holding her stare, I drag the fabric up and over her head, tossing it aside. Her bra follows, and then I’m staring at those perfect tits I’ve been thinking about since I saw them this morning.