37. Torin
THIRTY-SEVEN
torin
You could cut the tension in the air with a knife, and I expected so much more from Hot Rod and Juice after my brother fucked off with his group of hood rats.
More yelling.
More glaring.
More chaos because I heard what she said. Even with my bad ear and the distance I stood away from her, I heard what my woman did.
She claimed me as the King of South Shore.
A position that she holds near and dear. A place she clutches to her even closer. The seat Wallace sat in and reigned.
It’s not lost on me that it was a trust move. As much shit as Bay and I have been through, this was it. This was the move that showed me everything.
The problem now is The Nameless. Half of these men—maybe more or less—I have no fucking idea, have tried to kill me. I’ve fought with them. I’ve stolen from them. The only thing I can say is I haven’t fucked their women because the only woman in South Shore I’ve ever been with is Bay Astor.
And this…I don’t know if I should be relieved or terrified.
I’m leaning more toward the latter because I’m only taking this role as a proxy. I’ll take The Landings and give Bay back her hometown, but I must kill Ramsey first.
And that’s the issue.
Ramsey might be a crazy fuck, but he’s never done anything really bad to me. He’s the only blood I have left. In reality, I should’ve shot him too after I murdered Emilio, but the idea of dying and dragging Ozzy along wasn’t something I could live with in the afterlife.
Deep down, I knew Ramsey would never step down from anything. I just hoped he would. With Emilio out of the way, it meant he was free, too. I just didn’t want him to use that freedom against me or Bay.
But he did.
And he is.
And while that might be the way of shit, that Titan fight isn’t going down.
“Step over the line, Wildes,” Hot Rod calls out, removing my focus from Bay and bringing it to him. “We have a few things to hash out.”
Of course, we do.
I wouldn’t consider this man my right hand if he paid me. If I can tell you how hard Hot Rod hits and we don’t spend any time together, that means he and I aren’t homies, nor are we ever on the same damn page.
I’m not entirely sure we’re going to get there.
Stepping closer, Ozzy falls in line with me, a silent shred of support against a group I’ve never been on good terms with.
“When Bay takes The Landings,” Juice claims, sliding a comforting arm around said female, “you’ll switch seats.”
I bow my head in acknowledgment, waiting for the other ball to drop.
Maybe this is how they kill you. It’d be clever as fuck.
“This is temporary,” Hot Rod tacks on. “But you know that already, don’t you?”
No shit.
“I got it,” I deadpan. “However?—”
“There are no howevers, ands, or buts, Wildes. We’ll protect you but only when you’re the so-called King of South Shore. Bay will get most of it.”
“Chill out, Hot Shit,” I emit back evenly. “I know what this is. I understand it’s bullshit and if you’d shut the fuck up for a second, you’d know what I wanted to say.”
Hot Rod stares at me, waiting for me to speak, and I know I don’t have long to keep going back and forth with him.
“The Titan fight isn’t going to happen.”
“It is,” Juice confirms. “Unless you have plans for that.”
“I do. He dies.”
“Then why didn’t he die while you were off on your killing spree, Baby Wildes?” Hot Rod shoots back. “To say we don’t have a lot of faith in you is an understatement.”
“Does this role come with an ounce of respect?” I grind out. “Because I didn’t ask for it.”
“Not really,” Juice replies. “You’re not one of us.”
“No shit.” I point at Bay. “So, why didn’t you call out one of these two dickheads?”
No one speaks, letting me know there’s something I’m not privy to.
Cool.
More secrets.
“You’ll need to stay in South Shore,” Bay replies, still looking down at the cracked concrete of the street. She hasn’t looked at me once since Ramsey left. “If the boys need you?—”
“I’ll stay with you, then.”
Her blue eyes slice up to me. “You won’t. No man, besides my father, lived with me and my sisters.”
“So Wallace didn’t—” Her eyes clench hard, and I shut the hell up about the subject matter. “Alright, Wildfire. I’m under your command. I’m just the lap boy.”
Bay averts her gaze from me and back to the concrete. “You won’t see these men unmasked. You won’t ask for their names. If they give you one, fine. But you’re not sitting down to have brunch with them. They will protect you, but that’s it.”
“So no boys’ night?”
“If you wanna have a beer,” Juice says, “and shoot the shit about how many times we’ve almost killed you, then sure.”
Ha, ha.
“Do you have a place for him to stay?” Bay asks either one of the boys, ignoring our testosterone-filled back and forth. “I want him deep in South Shore.”
“We’ll find a spot,” Juice says. “I’ll?—”
“I’m staying with Ozzy,” I cut in. “That’ll be fine.”
The boys look over at me, each with their own brand of stare. Juice is curious, and Hot Rod is annoyed.
“He lives with you ,” Hot Rod drones. “That’s not South Shore.”
“I have a place,” Ozzy deadpans, and that has the boys shifting their weight uncomfortably.
“ Where ?”
I can’t tell who’s worse, Wallace or Hot Rod. They’re like twin flames or some shit. They both act like assholes and get a stick up their ass when they don’t know something.
It’s clear they didn’t know Ozzy was roaming around in South Shore. The shit is actually hilarious.
“Leave him alone,” Bay orders softly. “We work together on this. Both of them are protected at all times.”
Juice gives her a tiny shake. “Whatever you want, Bay. We’ll take care of it.”
She pulls out of his hold and rounds his body, appearing as though she’s about to take off when I cut into her departure with, “A word, Wildfire.”
Bay freezes on a dime but doesn’t continue walking like I would expect.
Instead, I see a heavy exhale leave her shoulders before she pivots back around to look at me.
“Give us a minute,” she conveys to the guys, blue eyes locked on me.
They appear exhausted and a bit wary. I bet the pregnancy is taking a toll on her, and I want with everything in me to be there for her at all hours of the day.
But I know when to push Bay and when to stand down.
This isn’t one of them.
Not yet, anyway.
Hot Rod and Juice saunter a bit away, permitting Bay to come closer. Ozzy steps off as well, giving us some privacy, which also surprises me.
I thought he’d be on top of her like white on rice, but here we are.
She and I again.
Except different.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asks quietly, folding her hands together patiently.
I can’t seem to fully gather up the words. All I want to do is hold her and tell her again that I’m sorry. That I’ll forever protect her like I said before, but those words are dead and gone.
I betrayed her.
There’s no other way to put it.
“I need an open line of communication with you,” I manage to get out. “I have a feeling Rod and Juice are going to ignore me.”
“What could you possibly need that would involve me in it?”
“I don’t know how to run this?—”
“You just need to stand here and look pretty,” she cuts in flatly. “You can do that, right?”
“Wildfire,” I grind out. “I don’t know what your play is, but if this was your way of getting me killed, it worked.”
She looks heavenward, then back at me. “You’re still upright, aren’t you?”
“For now.”
“No one here is going to off you, Pretty Boy. You have my word.”
And that should be it.
But it still doesn’t make sense.
“Why did you put me here? Why didn’t you pick Oz?”
She lifts her shoulders. “I dunno. You seem to have the prick thing going on. It seemed fitting.”
“He’s your husband.”
“And I didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.” She bows her head to me. “You, on the other hand, I don’t mind.”
I can’t help the lift of my lips because it’s well-played. I’m surrounded by a town that doesn’t like me and it’s going to keep my fucking ass in line at all times. Always on the lookout for someone to take their shot at my head.
“Well played,” I emit. “So, I’m your prisoner.”
Bay pushes out her lips and then bobs her head. “I didn’t think of it that way, but I like it. You shouldn’t have killed Emilio.”
“I did it for you. I’d do it again.”
“And look where that landed you.”
My feet shift closer, but I keep a mindful distance between us. I know what this woman is capable of when pushed and prodded. “If you thought not being in your clutches was where I didn’t want to be, you fucked up.”
“I didn’t fuck up anything. You being my bitch was what I always wanted you to be.”
I hum my indifference. Her bitch, her man, her whatever, I’d serve her with any title she gave me.
“What’s your play, Wildfire? Why am I your beloved King of South Shore?”
“I needed the ass to sit in it.”
“Then you should’ve picked Hot Rod or Juice.”
“I picked you because I like you on edge. I picked you because Ramsey would never kill you. But he would my boys.”
I lift my head. “Makes sense.”
“You good now?”
“Not entirely,” I admit. “However, you have me exactly where you want me. In a town that hates me. But I’ll handle my loose ends.”
“Let the boys handle it.”
“You see, they’re not my boys. I’m not blinded by my new title.”
“Leave it alone, Pretty Boy. You get yourself killed?—”
“Don’t underestimate your masked men, Wildfire. I’m sure they can keep up.”
She glowers at me. “That’s another thing. You don’t take them around to do stupid shit. If you want to do that, take your Forsaken fucks.”
I bow my head. “Will do.”
“The point is that you stay alive ,” she clips out. “I need someone on the South Shore seat.”
“I’ve escaped death before.”
“Not on my watch.”
“Careful, Wildfire,” I tsk lightly. “You sound like you almost care about me.”
She bristles. “I don’t. I just need your body and nothing more.”
“Can we do this naked, then?”
“We’re going to do it with you tied up and gagged if you don’t shut the fuck up.”
I smile because she never misses a beat.
Bay Astor is back.
With her mouth. Her sass. And my baby in her stomach.
“Whatever you want, Wildfire. Just take care of our baby.”
Her nostrils flare as she looms closer, the smell of fresh air and something salty looming off her skin. “Don’t mention that shit again. It has nothing to do with you.”
“So you’re saying it’s Reeve’s child?”
“It’s no one’s child,” she rebuffs harshly. “So, shut up before I go ahead and have them bound and gag you.”
I bow carefully, not to go too low because I already strained my body with the blows I delivered to Ramsey’s head.
I wasn’t ready to move around that much, and I’m going to regret the shit later.
“Are we done here?”
My eyes shoot up to hers, and I can’t help but blurt out, “I love you, Wildfire. And I’m always going to fucking love you.”
She rolls her eyes at me before turning on her heels and walking away.
My focus falls on her ass, and fuck me.
She still gets me rock hard and turned on when she denies me.