Chapter 8 #3
Hadrian stops him. “She took six minutes. You know what to do.” He smiles evilly and tucks himself back in his pants.
Fury burns in my throat, wanting to help her, but I know I’ll make it worse if I interfere.
I can only hope she gets to safety before he finds her.
I can’t imagine what Hadrian does for his sick amusement.
“Where’s Riggs?” I ask, already bored with him.
“How would I know? He’s more loyal to you than to me, and we share blood.”
The dig doesn’t go unnoticed. Suspicion clouds Hadrian’s eyes. I would love to tell him the truth. That we know what he’s doing, and the last thing he should expect is loyalty from Riggs, who hates him with a passion, but I hold it in.
“Loyalty is unilateral, Hadrian. It requires reciprocity,” I reach behind my back for my cigarettes and watch as he tenses.
He braces, probably expecting me to pull out my gun.
Little does he know, shooting him would be a merciful act.
I smile, pulling out my pack. Hadrian relaxes, easing back into the leather chair.
I take out a cigar and light the tip, dragging in the fragrant smoke.
When Hadrian stands and walks toward me, I brace, waiting for him to touch me so I can pummel him.
He’s shorter by at least 6 inches. It’s one of the reasons he hates Riggs.
Riggs is the spitting image of his father, while Hadrian looks like his mother, including her short stature.
Staring down at him, I wait patiently, not wanting to be the one to strike first. I respect what Riggs is trying to do.
His eventual betrayal of his brother and the possible destruction of the Legion Lords has been a precarious and four-year process in the making, since his father’s death.
“Stone.”
I turn and see Riggs walking toward me. Members move out of his way, much like they do with me.
They know he’s unpredictable, and as much as Hadrian hates his flesh and blood, he knows he needs Riggs.
Needs his intelligence, his ability to hack into complex systems. Riggs’s knowledge is the bread and butter of the club.
It’s what keeps them flush in cash. The selling and buying of legal pharmaceuticals, the firearm sales, illicit drug sales, and the most lucrative of all, the acquisition of data from billionaire companies.
It’s what keeps the Legion Lords swimming in money.
Money that Riggs manages. It’s that access, that precise, detailed knowledge that keeps Hadrian from outright having his brother killed.
Riggs is valuable to him as much as he is a vulnerability.
I walk away from Hadrian, knowing that he hates the brotherhood I have with his half-brother.
We meet halfway, and Riggs nods at me before I follow him back the way he came. We walk through the back door, past a few members too busy snorting cocaine and fucking to pay us any attention.
He opens the door and I exit behind him, heading for his truck. He punches in a code on his phone, and the doors unlock. We slip inside, and he turns on the engine, initiating the GPS jammers and signal blockers that prevent any devices from tracking him or recording his conversations.
Not wasting a second, he gets to the point.
“One of our informants told me that Hadrian was seen talking to the second in command.”
“Fuck.” I bite out harshly. “They sure?”
“She’s fucking the second in command and confirmed she’s seen Hadrian there multiple times. She planted a device in the room they use.”
“What the fuck is he thinking?”
Riggs shakes his head and leans back against the headrest. “He’s planning something and I don’t know what. He also has two men watching me. And that means he’s watching you as well. Even Onyx.”
“Does he know?”
“That we are stopping 90 percent of Los Mestizo’s trade? Maybe. Not sure. No doubt he’s been told that the shipments are being rerouted and hidden. But he’s suspicious of me.”
“What are you doing about it?”
“Nothing. He’s being goddamn messy dealing with them. They will betray him, and that makes everything dicey. I’ve got eyes on him and a tracker set up. He’s not smart enough to realize it and that’s the way I like it.”
“When’s the next shipment?”
“Soon. They’re pissed they lost the last one. Millions gone.”
“Good.”
“She could be a target.”
I freeze at his words and blow out the heavy inhale of smoke. I know what he’s referring to, and it makes my skin crawl thinking that the Mestizos could get near her. “She won’t.”
“You don’t know that. Jace wouldn’t want his sister involved in our shit, Stone. This isn’t a game.”
I know that more than anyone, but the need for her is too strong. Even if I only indulge in it from afar. “Nothing’s going to happen to her.”
He doesn’t respond to my statement, and I look at him, one of the three men I count as friends. Hesitation is written all over his face. Some anger, too, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t give her up yet. I won’t. I need more time with Camryn Park.
? “Stupid bitch. I don’t want to feel your teeth! Can’t suck my cock to save your life. Maybe you need to die.”