Chapter Sixty-three
Dion
The Kingsmen den smelled like smoke, blood, and mildew. Same as always, only now it was quiet. No music blasting from downstairs. No engines revving outside. No members screaming over territory lines. Just blissful yet eerie silence.
The kind that settles over a body after the heart stops beating.
I stood in Naoya’s office staring at the wall where the Kingsmen crest still hung crooked above his desk.
My father’s blood had dried beneath my fingernails days ago.
Couldn’t scrub it out completely. I stopped trying.
Behind me, footsteps creaked across the old hardwood floor.
“People are asking what happens next.” I didn’t turn around.
It was one of the OGs. Loyal to Naoya first, the Kingsmen second. Which meant he was looking at me now like he wasn’t sure whether to kneel or put a bullet in my head. Fair enough.
“What do you want me to tell them?” He asked carefully. I stared at the desk.
At the untouched glass of whiskey still sitting beside old route maps and shipment manifests connected to Olympus. The same desk where Naoya taught me how to field strip a handgun when I was ten. The same desk where he once told me,
Weak men inherit empires. Strong men build them. Bullshit. Olympus built everything. Not him, not us.
“We’re done,” I said quietly. The man frowned behind me.
“What?” I finally turned around. The room looked different now that I knew the truth. Not power, but just another cage.
“The Kingsmen are finished.”
“You can’t be serious.” He scoffed. “I am.” Anger flashed across his face immediately.
“After everything the East side’s done to us-”
“The East side wasn’t the enemy.”
That shut him up. Barely. I crossed the office slowly, grabbing one of the Olympus ledgers from the desk before tossing it toward him. He caught it automatically, face changing the second he opened it, skin becoming visibly pale.
Trafficking routes.
Tunnel maps.
Payment logs.
Children.
Women.
Innocents.
“That’s what we were protecting,” I said flatly.
“No…”
“Yes.”
The denial in his voice almost made me laugh. Because I remembered that feeling too. That horrible moment when your entire life suddenly becomes unrecognizable. He looked back up sharply.
“What happens now?”
I thought about the Styx. About Naoya choking to death beneath my hands. About the look on his face right before he died. Not fear. Disappointment. Like I failed him one last time. The realization burned me.
“Now?” I said quietly.
“Stonebridge survives without us.”
Outside, sunlight rolled across the city for the first time in a long time. Rain had been falling for almost a week straight since the mountain collapsed, like Stonebridge itself was trying to wash the blood away.
Too bad blood stains. I left the den an hour later carrying one duffel bag and absolutely nothing else.
No escort. No crew. No goodbye party. Most of the Kingsmen avoided looking at me altogether.
The others looked terrified. They should be.
I killed Ares. Olympus or not, Naoya was still their king.
The garage lights were on when I pulled up outside Spencer’s.
Of course they were. Nobody in that building slept sound anymore.
I killed the engine and sat there for a long moment staring through the rain-covered windshield.
Part of me wanted to leave without saying anything.
But another part- the stupid human part- needed closure.
Unfortunately. I climbed out. Shane spotted me first from inside the garage. His posture tightened instantly.
“Dion.”
Deck looked up from beneath the Mustang hood next. Then Abby. The tension in the room turned immediate and sharp. I didn’t blame them. I probably looked half-feral. I hadn’t shaved, I barely slept, and I was still wearing dried blood on my boots.
Nadia emerged from the office in one of Riven’s hoodies, bruises still dark against her throat.
Riven appeared behind her immediately. Protective.
Predictable. Neither spoke. Smart. Because honestly?
I didn’t even know what I came here to say.
All of us stood and stared at each other beneath the fluorescent lights, until finally, Nadia asked,
“What do you want?” Direct. Cold. Very Nadia.
“I dissolved the Kingsmen.” That got everyone’s attention. Shane straightened slightly.
“You what?”
“The crews are done.” I shrugged once
. “Or they will be soon.” Deck frowned.
“People are just gonna accept that?”
“No.” I laughed quietly.
“Some’ll try taking power.” My eyes shifted toward Nadia.
“But Olympus is exposed now. Nobody wants that heat.” Silence settled heavily again. Then Abby crossed her arms.
“So what? You came here for a gold star?” I snorted. I rubbed a hand tiredly over my face.
“I came because I’m leaving.” Nadia’s expression didn’t change.
“Okay.” That almost made me smile. God, she really hated me. It was deserved.
“Where are you going?” Deck asked.
“No idea.” And that was the terrifying part.
My whole life existed inside Stonebridge. Inside the Kingsmen. Inside Naoya. Without them? I was just a guy with blood under his fingernails and nowhere to put all the rage anymore. My gaze shifted toward Nadia again, and I ran a hand through my hair.
“You were right.” Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“About what?”
“He never loved me.”
The words tasted rotten coming out, but true.
Naoya loved legacy, power, and control. Not people.
Not sons. Not me. Something flickered briefly across Nadia’s face then.
No pity, thank God. It was understanding, which somehow hurt worse.
Nobody spoke for a moment. Then quietly, I looked toward Riven.
“Take care of her.” Riven’s jaw tightened instantly.
“Obviously.” Another beat of silence passed. Then I looked back toward Nadia.
“For what it’s worth…” I hesitated slightly.
“I’m glad you killed him.” The garage went still. Nadia stared at me for a long moment before answering quietly.
“Me too.”
And weirdly? That felt like forgiveness. Not absolution, never that, but it was enough. I nodded once before turning toward the garage door.
“Dion,” Abby called. I stopped.
“Just know that if you ever decide to come back… we still won’t be friends.” Her mouth twitched.
For the first time in days, something almost human tugged at the corner of my mouth. Then I left. And by the time Stonebridge realized Dion Hattori had disappeared? I was already gone.