24. Riley
On the drive over,when Maddoc had referred to this group as Halston’s underground “royalty,” I figured he was just using the word for effect. Now I’m not so sure. There’s definitely something regal and commanding about the four men and two women arrayed behind the deep mahogany table, and while they aren’t actively doing anything threatening, the potential for danger is unmistakable. The air practically crackles with it.
It’s all the more reason to keep my mouth closed and my eyes open until I can get a read on the situation.
“I’m Marcus Constantine,” says the man who’s done all the talking so far, his uniquely colored eyes resting heavily on first Maddoc, then on Austin McKenna, as he introduces himself. “And I’m sure you each know why you’re here.”
It’s not a question, but Maddoc gives a single nod anyway.
Austin juts his chin out imperiously. “Yeah, we do. Your man said it was about the way the Reapers attacked us yesterday.”
The asshole crosses his arms over his chest, his goons all smirking around him like they’re actually stupid enough to think it’s smart to bring that kind of attitude in front of people like this.
Maddoc doesn’t react to Austin’s attempt to shift the blame, but one of the women at the table—the one with dark hair and a prosthetic arm—sits up a little straighter, her blue eyes boring into the West Point leader.
“It sounds like you misheard,” she tells him with a cold smile.
Austin makes a rude sound under his breath, and the body language of the men at the table is subtle but telling. They’re protective of her, and three of the four react in a way that makes me wonder if she’s playing them off each other.
“What Ayla means,” Marcus says icily before Austin can get a word out, “is that we don’t care which one of you attacked the other, or what it is you were fighting over. What we do care about is the attention you attracted.”
“And your carelessness,” one of the other men, the heavily inked one, adds. “You took your shit public and put the issue on the cops’ radar.”
“That’s their fault,” Austin snaps, flinging a hand and a death-like glare at us.
Maddoc keeps his cool and doesn’t try to defend his actions, and I know instinctively that it’s the right move. The other woman at the table, the stunning-looking one whose expression could have been carved from ice, confirms that instinct when she leans forward, staring at Austin McKenna like he’s something she accidentally stepped in and needs to scrape off her shoe.
Austin’s face turns red, but this time, he holds his tongue.
I don’t care how intimidating the woman looks, I decide I like her.
“Did we ask whose fault it was?” she finally asks Austin.
No one waits for him to answer.
“Just because we don’t usually get involved in street gang level shit,” Marcus says, “it doesn’t mean we’re not keeping tabs on what happens. If you both want to keep operating your organizations here in our city, you’ll need to start settling your disagreements more quietly.”
“Understood,” Maddoc says.
Austin scoffs, and six pairs of eyes zero in on him.
“I’m sure we can all agree that it would be bad for everyone if we have to get more involved than we have been, can’t we?” Marcus asks with a smile that’s a clear threat.
“You both need to keep better fucking control of your people,” adds another of The Six.
Austin glares. “That Reaper bitch we took out came to Cliffton. To our territory. We had every right to go after her.”
I didn’t even like Payton, but I see red, my hands balling into fists so fast and hard that my nails carve bloody crescents into my palms. Before I can do something stupid, the first woman—Ayla—cuts Austin down with a single look. “We didn’t bring you here to listen to your whining, and we don’t care how you solve your differences.”
She doesn’t lean forward or raise her voice, but she utterly commands the room. She truly does look like a queen, and I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to have your shit together the way she so obviously does.
“What we do care about is that you’ve now got Halston’s finest crawling all over parts of the city that they don’t need to be looking so closely at,” she goes on, calmly eviscerating Austin’s excuses and actually managing to shut the man up while I watch and learn. Or at least, I try to.
I’m no more inclined to take anyone’s shit than Ayla is, but in contrast to her strong, regal bearing, my version of strength has always been more of the whatever-it-takes-to-get-by variety. I’ve always done what I had to do, but that generally means I’m operating minute by minute, always scrambling to carve out a place in the world for me and Chloe and constantly doing whatever I have to do to stay one step ahead of all the things that threaten to tear it down. Things like Austin McKenna.
I can’t afford to let my rage at everything he’s so intent on taking from me get the best of me—not right now, and not here on this neutral ground—so I block those thoughts out and focus on The Six, trying to get more of a feel for this group that the Reapers are being so carefully respectful of.
As soon as we find my sister, I’ll find a way to get us both out of Halston and away from this fucked-up world The Six seem to rule, so it’s not like figuring them out should matter to me… but I can’t squash my curiosity. Especially when I realize that the vibe between Ayla and the three men I’d initially thought she might be playing off each other isn’t that at all.
If I’m reading their body language right, it’s more like she’s actually with them. With all three of them.
I’ve never seen a relationship like that.
A heated frisson of excitement goes through me, and I try to tell myself it’s because the men at that table are all hot as fuck in different ways so it’s easy to see why Ayla would want to scratch an itch with any one of them. It’s not really that, though. Reading body language is something I had to get good at when I was stripping, and what I see between the four of them makes it seem like there’s more than just scratching an itch going on. A lot more.
I swallow hard, suddenly far too aware of the three Reapers and the protective stances they’ve all taken around me. The three men that there’s no point denying I’m attracted to. That I have… feelings for.
Not that this is the time and place to dwell on that shit, obviously. Hell, there may never be a time or place. Admitting that my feelings are real—complicated and messy, but definitely real—doesn’t change the fact that the three of them betrayed me. Or that they still want Chloe. Or that one of them plans on marrying her.
A sound escapes me, just a puff of pained breath since the thought hurts on a level I’m not at all prepared to deal with right now, but it really isn’t the time or place, so when Dante flicks his gaze at me, a faint frown on his face, and Logan sways a little closer, I flinch away from the both of them and refocus on the reason we actually came.
“If you’re not gonna interfere with how we carry out our business,” Austin is saying to The Six in a belligerent tone, his goons bristling all around him like they really are more muscle than brain, “then why the fuck did you even want us to come here?”
“They already told us,” Maddoc says without bothering to look over at him. “We attracted attention.”
Ayla nods. “And if it happens again, we won’t interfere.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “If your shit gets too out of control, we’ll shut it down.”
I can tell Austin wants to say something else stupid, but Maddoc speaks before he gets the chance. “Thank you for the warning.”
Marcus gives him a hard look, like he’s trying to figure out if Maddoc’s being sarcastic or not, but whatever he sees on Maddoc’s face must satisfy him, because after a moment he relaxes back in his seat.
“Take it to heart,” he says in a clear dismissal.
The same elegantly clad hostess who escorted us through the club when we arrived shows up to lead us back out. Except this time, it’s not just us. Austin, with Maddoc’s ex hanging off his arm and all his goons trailing after him, leaves the building at the same time as we do, and if I thought the air back in that room with The Six felt dangerous, it’s nothing compared to the tension and anger seething between our group and his. Everyone’s blood is running high after all the violence that’s burst out between the two gangs lately.
“Neutral ground,” Logan murmurs almost inaudibly.
“It ain’t neutral once we pass through the doors,” Dante says just as we do that, pushing me behind him with a hard look on his normally easy-going face.
The three Reapers turn to face off with West Point on the sidewalk in front of Saraven and Austin McKenna signals to his men to spread out, blocking the way to our Escalade. Then he spits on the ground in front of Maddoc.
“You heard them,” Maddoc says, his voice like sharpened steel. “We’ve got freedom to handle our shit however we need to. But not where it’s gonna get attention.”
Austin smiles like he mistakenly thinks bringing twice as many men as the Reapers gives him an edge. “Scared?”
“Biding my time,” Maddoc corrects him with a dangerous smile of his own. Then the smile drops. “Now get the fuck out of our way.”
Rage sweeps across Austin’s face, and I’m sure the only reason they haven’t already come to blows with the Reapers or started shooting at each other yet is that both gangs respect The Six’s authority here. Even if we’re not technically on neutral ground anymore, if they get in a fight right here on the sidewalk everyone will be in trouble… and from the sound of things back inside, it will be the kind of trouble that could seriously change the layout of that map on Maddoc’s wall.
Austin’s hand twitches toward the ill-concealed weapon under his jacket, his face darkening. “You don’t fucking come into my territory and expect to walk back out, Gray. Oh, but you didn’t, did you? You sent that girl in to try to handle shit for you.”
He spits again.
It’s disgusting.
Then he looks up with a sly smile. “You got a thing for relying on girls to handle your business? Isn’t that why you’re after this Chloe bitch?”
I stiffen at the mention of my sister’s name, terror icing my veins.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maddoc growls. “But if you want to find out how I handle my business, I’ll be happy to take this conversation away from Saraven.”
Austin glares. “I’m not fucking stupid. You’ve been on the hunt. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the one you were hunting for was actually mine?”
“Chloe’s not yours,” I snap, all that ice inside me transforming into a burning rage.
Austin’s gaze drills into me. “I remember you. The sister. You were there when your old man paid off his debts, so you know she is mine.”
“Fuck you,” I shout, lunging forward.
Logan stops me, pulling me against him as Maddoc and Dante shift in front of me, blocking my view.
Austin cackles. “Imagine how happy I was to find out I hadn’t lost out on my investment after that Capside deal I sent her to handle went south. Thought the chick died with the rest of them, but I get it now. I found out what she’s really worth.” He sneers at Maddoc. “Too bad you let her slip out of your fingers after going to all that trouble to get her, but that’s kind of a thing with you, isn’t it? Not being able to hold on to a woman?”
He yanks Sienna against his side, and the bitch gives Maddoc a cold smile.
Maddoc doesn’t smile back. After a moment, his eyes flick away from her dismissively. “I hold on to what matters.”
Sienna’s eyes narrow. “You fucking wish.”
“Shut up, Sienna,” Austin snaps without looking at her. “But this other girl you want, Gray? Get used to wanting, because we’ll get to her first. As far as I’m concerned, that inheritance of hers already belongs to West Point since her dad sold the little bitch to me in the first place, so if you think you’re gonna get your hands on the money before I do—”
“We don’t want her money,” Maddoc cuts in with a snarl, slashing his hand through the air. “We’re not going after that, and we’ll sure as shit make sure you don’t get your hands on it either. Or on Chloe. Not fucking ever.”
My eyes go wide, my heart suddenly trying to pound its way out of my chest in a way that has nothing to do with fear or rage this time. I can’t think of a single reason Maddoc would say something like that.
Not unless he actually means it.