11. Killian
11
KILLIAN
In silence, we drove back to a small, abandoned factory we’d found on the outskirts of town.
I would have really preferred us to do this on one of our secured properties, but we didn’t have territory in New Orleans. Though that could change in the future, it wasn’t the case now, so an abandoned factory would have to do.
That was where Maverick and Silas had brought the two former members of the Heartless Saints MC. A small interrogation told us what we already knew. They had been there for Mila, under orders. Only, they didn’t know whose orders they were working with, so that had led us to a fucking dead end.
Was there another member of the MC we didn’t know about—one who had the influence to command the men as much as Hayes did?
That was a possibility, and that could mean there was another problem we would have to handle some time in the future.
This entire thing turned out to be nothing but a fucking headache, and the biggest headache happened to be Daniel Hayes’ spawn.
Fucking perfect.
I parked a distance away from the factory, right next to the unregistered truck Maverick was driving. I grabbed Silas’ shoulder before he could get out of the car. He turned to me.
“Are you really serious about the girl?”
“Yes,” he answered with no hesitation.
“You barely know her.”
We both knew it was true. How much could he possibly learn about the girl since meeting her just shy of three days before?
He shrugged like that shit didn’t matter to him, and I clenched my fist by my side, resisting the urge to punch him in the face.
“It doesn’t matter. What I saw was enough to keep me interested. And what I know so far tells me I was right. I want to keep learning about her.”
“And what if she’s not who you think she is? Who you’re hoping she will be?”
“Don’t worry. I have your cynical ass to look out for me, don’t I?” he asked.
I was taken aback by the bitterness in his voice. “You’re my brother. Of course I’m looking out for you.”
“Will you ever see me as anything besides that little boy forced to run from his home in the middle of the night? A home that was a shitty one to begin with.”
“I know you’re not that,” I said. It didn’t mean I would stop protecting him just because his ass was fully grown.
“Then act like it. I know what I’m doing. And don’t you think you’re overestimating Mila Hayes?”
“She’s Daniel Hayes’ fucking daughter.”
“And we know better than anyone that we are not our parents. Otherwise, you, me, and Maverick would have been doomed from the fucking start.”
“Who’s to say we’re not?” I asked.
He shook his head. “We’re not. And Mila isn’t Lilliana.”
It took every fucking molecule in my being to not jump over the seat and attack him. “Don’t mention that bitch’s name.”
He shook his head. “Then stop letting that bitch affect every single one of your decisions.”
With that, he climbed out of the car and closed the door, the slam of it ringing in my ears, even after he had disappeared inside the factory.
I stayed where I was and took a moment to myself before getting out of the car and following Silas inside.
I could already hear the cry of the man before I saw him.
He was currently chained to the ceiling, his feet hanging about a foot from the ground. He was shirtless, and judging from the wounds, Maverick had had his fun without us.
My older brother was known for his iron-willed control, something Silas and I had depended on all our lives, but tonight, there was something unhinged about him.
I stayed in my spot in the corner, observing. This wasn’t my torture session. It was mostly Silas’, though I was curious. What was so special about Mila Hayes that men were looking for her even after the news of her father’s death?
Or perhaps it was because of it?
But as far as I could tell, Mila didn’t have anything to do with the club. In fact, she seemed like she wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.
“Why don’t we try this again?” Silas commented calmly, though I could tell from the way his shoulders moved up and down that he was anything but. I shook my head. She already had too much influence over him.
Lenny shook, the chain rattling from his wrist. One of his eyes was already swollen shut.
“Fuck, just kill me already,” Lenny cried out.
My lips pulled back in disgust. This was the supposed sergeant-at-arms for one of the most notorious MCs in the world?
I was fucking surprised the club had lasted as long as it did.
Daniel had ruled his club with an iron fist, for the first decade or so.
But the fucker got cocky and sloppy. And his men followed suit.
This was a lesson for his men. Too bad it was a lesson learned with a bloody end.
Silas shook his head. “Now, why would I do that? Maverick already had his fun. I should get a turn too.”
He cried loudly. “I already told you! Our president wants the girl.”
Silas shook his head. “Your president is dead.”
“Not Daniel Hayes. Our n-new president.”
Silas laughed. “After we slaughtered the club, you still didn’t think disbanding permanently would be a good idea?”
“Cline would be a different leader than Hayes. He wouldn’t let the club get to how it was under Hayes’ rule.”
“So you’re telling me the club is starting again? Where?”
Lenny cried harder. “I don’t know. I was high in rank with Hayes, but with this one, I had to prove my worth.”
“And you were going to do that by getting the girl?” Silas asked quietly. I knew the fucking look on his face. He was on the verge of losing control. And over the girl.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lenny looked at Silas. “W-why what?”
“Why is she worth so much to this new president?”
“She was supposed to be his betrothed.”
“And the fucker went through all this trouble for some pussy?” This came from me. Lenny looked up, but he wouldn’t be able to see me where I was standing.
“Who said that?”
I shook my head and stepped out of the shadow. Lenny tried to move back when he got a good look at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, don’t get too excited, princess. I won’t be dealing with you. My brothers are the ones you’ll have to contend with. Now, answer my question. Is Mila’s pussy made of gold?”
Silas shot me a look of warning. I ignored him. He was already getting too protective of the girl.
“No. As far as I know, he hadn’t fucked her yet.”
“No? So Sebastian Cline hasn’t even fucked the girl, but he would go through all this trouble for her?”
The moment Lenny mentioned Cline, I fucking knew who was trying to get the Heartless Saints going again. Sebastian Cline was Hayes’ VP. And also his stepbrother.
“I don’t know, okay? I was just going to get the girl. I didn’t question him. I just did what I was told.”
I couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or not. It didn’t matter. Once Silas got to work, Lenny here would be singing like a fucking canary. I signaled to Silas and walked out of there. Lenny’s cries were like a symphony to my ears as I stood guard by the front door.
Maverick came out after me, standing by my side.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“That this is a fucking mistake.” I sighed.
“Not entirely. Without Lenny, we wouldn’t have known Sebastian Cline is still alive.”
“We got sloppy,” I grumbled. “We should have kept track of who was slaughtered at the club. The VP and the sergeant-at-arms escaped. Who knows how many more men are left?”
“Not much. And what’s left of these men isn’t enough to take us on. They’re scrambling.”
I looked into the distance. “We should go home. Back to Chicago. And work to secure the city as ours.”
“There’s time. Chicago is ours, and soon, the entire Midwest. But you know Silas won’t leave now. Not without the girl.”
“And you? What do you think?”
Maverick was a little harder for me to read than Silas, but I didn’t miss the look in his eyes back at the restaurant. Fucking hell, what was with the girl?
“I think it doesn’t hurt to spend a few days in New Orleans.”
I shook my head. “She’s not the girl for us.”
It wasn’t uncommon for us to share a woman. In fact, I thought it had become the norm these last few years. I always assumed that would be the case when we finally settled, but with Hayes’ daughter?
That shouldn’t even be a question.
He didn’t answer me. I took a deep breath. There was no fucking point. “I’m going to do some surveillance.”
I walked off before he could say anything, feeling like there was a hand wrapped around my throat, getting tighter and tighter with each day that passed.
And I didn’t fucking know what to do about it.