Chapter 7
WAR
Loki spent dinner draped over the back of Kit’s chair, his smirk a constant challenge.
He knew what he was doing by getting that close, and if I had the chance, I’d put a bullet right between his eyes.
To make matters worse, Kit was a novelty to them.
A few of the other Lords were completely enraptured, asking him questions about his degree and his life outside their cage.
“So, what do you plan on doing with your criminal justice degree?” Bragi asked from the other side of the table.
He’d finally been allowed to sit down after serving everyone dinner.
He was a cute kid, with a prettiness unlike any man I’d seen.
Kit was beautiful, but Bragi had a femininity about him, with plump lips and smooth skin I never expect from a man.
Kit flushed at all the attention and laughed, his face lighting up.
“I’m not sure yet. I don’t want to be a cop, but I’ve always been interested in organized crime.
I thought about being a lawyer, but I’m not sure if law’s the kind of thing I’d enjoy.
I did some business classes in my junior year. Hated that shit.”
Odin snorted as he took a sip of rum from a crystal tumbler. “You need to be a shark with a nose for blood in the water to be a lawyer.”
Loki frowned at him, but I had a feeling it wasn’t about his words.
Instead, his gaze narrowed on the drink in Odin’s hand.
At some point during dinner, Odin’s biological son, Hoor, had arrived and sat at the other end of the table, closer to Loki.
Dark glasses rested on his nose, and he used a cane to get around because he was blind.
I’d heard stories about Hoor, though I’d never met him until now.
What was interesting was the lack of interaction between Odin and his son.
They never even said hello to each other.
“He can be a DA,” I argued, disgruntled at everything Odin had to say. I hated being here, and picking fights was my way of showing my irritation. The bastard knew it, too, because he snickered every time I sent him a glare.
“No one wants to be one of those,” Loki snarked. “If you’re going to be a lawyer, at least make money.”
Kit shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.”
A cruel idea came to me, and I sent Odin a smirk before looking at Hoor. “What about you, Hoor? Do you have plans for the future?”
I took great delight in the way Odin stiffened, his jaw tightening until the muscle in his cheek jumped.
Hoor startled, straightening from where he’d been slumped in front of his food.
He looked about Kit’s age and was adorable, but I didn’t see Odin in him.
His dark blond hair verged on light brown, and he had a small amount of scruff on his upper lip and jaw.
His dark glasses were Ray-Bans, and his leather jacket looked new.
“Me?” The smallness of his voice chipped away at my satisfaction. Guilt twisted in my gut. He cleared his throat. “I’m a Lord. I do whatever the Pres wants.”
“Even bikers need a career,” I pointed out, the words softer than I’d intended. There was a fragility in him, an echo of the same innocence that pulled my gaze involuntarily back to Kit.
Kit was staring at Hoor, his eyes reflecting genuine interest.
Hoor chuckled softly, and his demeanor shifted. “That’s what my Uncle Zeke says, but I don’t know, man, not many people want a blind guy working for them.” It was an act, clearly well-practiced. Even his tone changed, sounding more like a biker than before.
“That’s not true.” Kit’s fierce determination made me smile as his eyebrows furrowed. “There are plenty of people who’d hire you.”
Hoor snorted. “I don’t need a seeing man to tell me what I do and don’t experience.”
Kit blanched. “Oh shit, I am so sorry. That was so ableist of me.” He sighed. “I’m an asshole.”
Loki’s jaw hardened. “Damian went to college and studied physical therapy, and he’s good at it, too.”
Hoor pursed his lips. “Yeah, well, I’m not doing that anymore. I’m a biker.”
“You can be both,” Loki snapped, clearly a familiar argument. “You just choose not to because you think he’ll be proud of you if you’re only a Lord.”
“Hey now,” Odin snapped, capturing everyone’s attention. His expression turned stormy. “We aren’t having this conversation in front of guests.” His gaze slid to me. “Are you done, War?”
The smugness had left me. In trying to hurt Odin, I had inadvertently hurt Hoor, a seemingly nice kid. Hoor had nothing to do with any of it.
I stood and smoothed my hand over my shirt. “Kit and I are going for a walk on the beach.”
Odin crossed his arms. “Are ya?”
“We can’t go anywhere, Odin. If we leave, you’ll have reason to start a war with Derek, and my employer doesn’t want that.
We just want to walk along the beach, that’s it.
” If I had my way, we’d escape into the water and disappear, but Kit wasn’t a SEAL like me, and I’d been telling the truth.
Knowing Derek, he’d want to stay on good terms with Odin.
Odin waved his hand in disinterest. I jerked my head at Kit, silently instructing him to rise.
We left the dining room together, and he followed me through the barroom and out a familiar sliding door.
The last time we were here, I’d escaped through it countless times.
It led to the backyard and then the path to the beach.
The weather was warm and clear. While the night had cooled the temp down a little, it was nothing like New Gothenburg’s summer.
Kit inhaled deeply as we reached the soft sand. “I used to love the smell of the ocean.” He paused, gaze fixed on the dark horizon. “Funny how it’s more relaxing when you aren’t trapped.”
I grunted in agreement. As a SEAL, we lived for the water. It was where everything made sense, where the training clicked into something real. Our assignments often involved navigating the ocean, though the land-based missions were always the shitty ones.
The air was fresh and pleasant against my face. By 19:00, the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving streaks of orange in the sky. It was too dark to see Kit properly, so I gripped his elbow to keep him close.
We walked toward the ocean. I kicked off my shoes and socks, and he did the same before we stepped into the water. The waves kissed our ankles, and Kit chuckled, leaning against me. His shoulder knocked mine, and I tensed when his cheek rested on me.
I swallowed, teeth grinding, as I stared at the visible stretch of ocean, glinting from the half-moon hanging high in the cloudless sky.
The stars glittered. I was glad we were in the dark while we were alone.
The bruises forming on his neck were a horrible reminder of what I’d done.
I shouldn’t have slept, but I had, once again falling into the pit of nightmares that plagued me every night.
The memory hit like a physical blow—the desert heat, the sting of sweat, the gleam of a dirty blade.
My body had healed into a map of scars, but my mind was still a ruin.
They’d discharged me, a shattered man. Yet, I never broke.
But when Kit had touched me, instinct took over.
I was back in that house with my SEAL brothers and the man whose psychotic smile still haunted my sleep.
I’d almost killed Kit, my hands closing around his throat as if he were the enemy. My breath hitched.
“War?”
My nickname, War, was a constant reminder of who I was and what I’d done. Not a title I’d earned so much as a warning I’d become. Kit was too good for me.
“We can’t do this.” I put distance between us, turning my back on him.
“Do what?” He exhaled softly. “We’re just hanging out.”
I tensed. “You can’t tell the Lords we’re together.”
“They wanted to know about the bruises,” he argued, voice strained. “I wasn’t going to tell them the truth. That’s between us.”
I cursed myself. Derek trusted me to protect Kit, and I’d failed.
Kit had nearly been shot in the motel room, and then the Lords had caught us.
I should’ve planned better. But whenever he was near, he clouded my mind, driving me crazy in all the wrong and right ways.
He was a contradiction who simultaneously plagued and teased my thoughts.
“If you’re going to wallow in self-pity, I’m going back inside.”
He started to move, but I grabbed his wrist and held on tight.
“These men are dangerous, Kit. They’re murderers, and they will kill us if your dad doesn’t give them what they want.
Don’t pretend they’re your friends because they aren’t.
” I shifted closer. “You need eyes in the back of your head in this place, especially around Loki and Odin.”
“What does this have to do with us?” The anger in his voice grew thicker. “Because let’s be honest, War, we’re attracted to each other. You know I’ve been eyeing you up from the moment I saw you, and I didn’t think you were interested, but now I’m starting to realize I was wrong.”
I could end this by telling him he was wrong. It would be easy. Except, it wasn’t. I’d always hated liars who intentionally hurt people, and I refused to be one. It was simpler to remain silent than fib.
So, I kept quiet. Not that it helped.
“You like me,” he said, the words a low, happy rumble. “I knew it. I actually fucking knew it.”
I rolled my eyes, my mouth curving to one side. “You’re asking for trouble.”
“From you or Dad?” he teased.
“Both. Your dad’s not going to like any of this. I’m thirty-five years old. I work for him.”
“Yeah, but after that whole not telling me what he really does for a living thing, I think he can damned well get over it.” He let out a loud breath. “I’m still mad at him about that.”
“Mm-hmm.” I pulled him closer, walking him back toward the water until the waves danced around our feet. I wasn’t making this happen, but I wasn’t saying no, either.