Chapter 5 #2
“Come inside, Kit. We’ll get you something to drink while War and I have a little talk.
” Odin wrapped an arm around Kit’s shoulders.
Something locked up in my jaw, and I stood there grinding my teeth as he walked past, leading Kit up the few stairs into the mansion, as if he knew exactly what he was doing.
Loki flashed white teeth at me, giving me a once-over. “I remember you. You’re tall. Have we fucked?”
I frowned but didn’t have time to answer before Thor grasped Loki’s arm, hauling him against his body and forcing him toward the mansion. They whispered to each other, and Loki chuckled when Thor shot a glare over his shoulder at me.
I shrugged and followed them. Inside was as nice as I remembered. We went through to the barroom, a common area for the bikers to drink, catch up, and fuck. Odin had seated Kit at the bar on one of the stools.
“Do you drink?” he asked him.
“No,” I snapped, while Kit said, “I haven’t tried beer yet.”
“He’s twenty-two.” I stalked over to them, ignoring the silence in the room as everyone focused on us. “Barely legal, especially for your type of alcohol.”
The Norse Lords MC didn’t hold back when it came to beer. They lived off the stronger drinks.
Kit raised his thick eyebrows at me. “Twenty-two is more than barely legal, and since when have you cared what’s legal and what isn’t? You’re a criminal.”
Loud laughter filled the barroom. I scanned the faces of the Norse Lords, a mix of men and women, all watching the show. It was a detail I’d always noted about Odin’s chapter—he was inclusive in a way most clubs weren’t.
“He’s got you there.” Odin raised his glass of amber alcohol at me. “What do you say, War? Want a drink?”
“No.” I gripped Kit’s shoulder, a light but firm hold. “I want to do business so we can leave. Derek needs his son at home.”
“Right.” Odin leaned forward and waved a finger at me, a gesture that made me want to break it. “Why didn’t I know Derek had a son?”
“Sons,” Kit piped up. “I have a brother, too.”
“Kit,” I snapped. “Stop sharing information.”
“Why?” He huffed, gesturing to Odin. “You seem to know him.”
I leaned in, my mouth brushing his ear. “These aren’t good people, Kit. They’re not our friends,” I whispered.
He shivered, a small, shaky breath escaping his lips.
As much as I wanted to pretend I didn’t notice his reaction, I had.
My mind latched on to the fantasy of stepping in front of him, drawing my gun, and giving the Lords a reason to remember why they feared me—something bloody enough that no one in this room would ever look at him again.
But I didn’t. I forced myself to straighten.
“Odin, shall we talk in your office?” I didn’t smile. No one but those closest to me ever earned the right to see me smile.
Odin, taking a drink of his alcohol, merely shrugged. He answered when he’d swallowed. “Now?”
“You brought us here because you wanted answers. So, we’re here when we should be on our way back to New Gothenburg. So, yes, now.”
Odin sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He crooked his pointer finger at me to follow him.
I gave Kit a sharp look. “Don’t take one sip,” I warned, but his gaze flashed with a defiance I both liked and hated. As much as I wanted to stay behind and watch out for him, I had no choice but to walk with Odin. We left the barroom and turned left, heading toward his office.
Odin slumped into his leather office chair, his tumbler of alcohol still clutched in his hand.
He toasted me as I stepped inside and closed the door.
“To good health and a great sex life.” He drained the tumbler in one big swallow before slamming it on his desk and waving his hand at the seat opposite him.
I had a job to do, and Odin and his Norse Lords were putting me behind schedule. Sooner or later, Derek would call, demanding to know where we were. This meeting needed to be swift.
I strode across the fancy office and dropped into the chair. “Like I said, I don’t know who those guys were.”
“Right.” Odin leaned back in his seat, unfazed. “Yet you came into my city without so much as a phone call. I’m disappointed. I thought we’d become good friends after that incident a few years back.”
The incident had involved a thief, a manhunt, and a tense negotiation right here in this office.
Odin had never liked Derek’s methods, but he liked Derek’s money.
We’d left with our target and a fragile you scratch my back, I won’t shoot you in yours alliance.
I didn’t trust him, but Derek never turned down a chance to have more assets at his disposal.
“Like I said, it wasn’t supposed to get messy. I was only here to retrieve Derek’s son.” My fingers twitched, but I resisted curling them into fists on my thighs. I kept my back straight in the chair, a soldier always at attention, just as I’d been taught.
“But it did, and now we have two dead men in a motel room. The cops will come to me for answers. They’ll ask if a friend of mine did it.
” He tapped his fingers on the desk. “Usually, I need to warn them before something happens. I pay them good money to look the other way, as long as it’s a crime they can brush under the rug. ”
“Even if I told you I was coming into Pleasant Beach, I wouldn’t have known I’d have to kill two guys.” I tongued the inside of my cheek, tasting blood. The urge to solve this with my fists hummed in my bones. Talking was Derek’s game. Breaking things was mine.
“How do we resolve this matter, hmm?” Odin smirked.
I growled in frustration. “What do you want?”
“Compensation,” he said easily. It was clear he’d been gunning for this from the start.
I laughed, unamused. “Well, that’s something you’ll need to talk to Derek about, not me. He’s the boss.”
He nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Until I get what I want, you and little Derek stay here.”
I tensed and gritted my teeth. I should’ve expected this from him. Odin wasn’t an idiot, but keeping us here only put Kit in more danger. Whoever had convinced him to come here was somewhere in this city.
As if he read my mind, he chuckled. “We’ll protect you until we get what we want.”
I thrust myself forward, leaning over the desk. “We don’t need your protection, Odin, but if something happens to Kit, Derek will come for your head.”
“After he’s done cutting yours off?” The bastard was too relaxed after such a threat, and I hated my lack of control over him. Odin was one of the few people who wielded as much power, or perhaps even more, than Derek. I didn’t know who Odin was friends with, but he clearly had someone backing him.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I sat back, pulled out my phone, and found Derek’s name. I slammed my thumb against the screen, the impact jarring my whole hand. A low tremor of violence started deep in my gut.
Derek answered almost immediately. “Did you get him?”
“Yes, sir, but we’ve run into a little trouble. Odin.” The name came out as more of a curse. “He wishes to speak to you.” I passed the phone across the desk to him with a glare.
Odin smirked and took it from me. “Derek, long time no talk. It’s disappointing that your man came into Pleasant Beach without even saying hello.”
I sat back, still glaring, imagining all the ways I could break his skull on his desk. It wouldn’t take much, and if I wanted it over quickly, all I’d need to do was snap his neck. Odin wasn’t a huge man compared to me, and the energy I’d put into it would be worth all the trouble that followed.
Odin laughed at whatever Derek said, then hummed.
“We’ll be keeping your son and soldier here until we get compensated for your lack of respect for my rules.
Seeing as we’re friends, I’ll give you a discount.
Five hundred.” He waited a second before another laugh erupted from him.
“Yes, thousand. You’re lucky I didn’t make it a million.
Send another man with the money. You have a week.
After that, I’ll find uses for them both—and I think you’re smart enough to know what that means for a boy as pretty as yours.
Let me pass you back to your man.” He held up the phone and I snatched it from him with a glare.
“Sir?” I asked.
Derek’s anger was palpable, even across the country and through a phone call.
“I’m sending Horace for backup. I’ll transfer the money now through our usual accounts.
” I understood what that meant perfectly.
Sometimes physical cash wasn’t possible and Derek preferred to exchange money through other means.
I didn’t understand the logistics, but it was set up in a way to avoid the feds’ attention.
“Once Horace gets there, leave. Immediately. Bring Kit home.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended and I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
Odin chuckled. “Your boss doesn’t have the manners that I remember.”
I screwed my hands into fists on my thighs. I’d kill a hundred Lords before I let Odin do anything to Kit. “Imagine that,” I drawled. “I wonder if it has something to do with you threatening to sell his son as a whore.”
Odin raised his eyebrows, but I ignored him as I stood.
“If we’re done.” I didn’t wait for an answer.
I left his office, slamming the door behind me and reveling in the delightful rattle of the hinges.
If I could damage anything in this opulent mansion, I would.
Odin deserved it for threatening Kit. Derek never forgot such transgressions, and while Odin might believe he was winning this battle, he was sorely mistaken.
When the time came, Derek would have his revenge. He was no coward.
Returning to the barroom, I found Kit gone from his seat.
My jaw tightened, and whatever patience I had left walked out with him.
My gaze swept through the crowd of Lords until it landed on the object of my concern—Kit, standing amidst a group of men, chugging what looked like a growler of beer.
The Lords cheered him on, chanting “go, go, go.”