Heart of the Kingpin (14 Days of Love and Lust Bikers & Mobsters)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Orpheus

Death, fear, and the constant indulgence of my carnal desires.

That is what I represent as king here.

It’s who I was always made to be. The gods made sure of that.

As the son of Hades, what could the people do but fear me.

I’m created, born of death and life together.

Born of God and demon. I’m human, but I’m more than that.

I’m immortal and can not be killed. My father made sure of that.

I would never die, just as he won’t. He lives and breathes for carnage and chaos, though he balances it out as it should be, considering who he is.

Every life balances out the death that comes.

With each breath taken, one is ended. That is what he’s told me all my life.

I’ve heard the spell so many times I find myself repeating the same thing to others.

I’m sure he’d like for me to join in handling his business, but that’s not my thing.

I much prefer to be out here enjoying more than being surrounded by the dead.

I still have to go to the Underworld every so often as required by dear old Dad.

He demands it. As does his wife. She didn’t care that I wasn’t hers by blood.

To her, I was. She was definitely a better mother than my own, but I dare not say that to anyone.

Let alone the woman who birthed me, thankfully, she’s no longer a part of the living.

Doesn’t mean she’s not still around. Father Dearest keeps her in a special cell deep in Tartarus.

Mostly because the woman was a trickster of a half-demon, she’d done the unthinkable when she was able to trick my father into her bed.

It’s not that it’s been all bad being who I am. Having this level of power has made things much easier for me. I live for the power and the responsibility. The way a monster will divert their eyes from me to make sure they don’t disrespect me.

Yes, there’s nothing that would make me give up this kind of power. No one would ever be able to strip away what is and always has been my right as my father’s son.

Still, even with all the power and respect in the world, living like this can get a bit . . . boring. In truth, I get bored way too quickly. It takes a lot for someone to amuse me. Then again, considering how old I am, it’s bound to happen more often than not.

Not even the regulars at Dyrk are enough to pull me out of my indifference lately. Usually I can find some type of amusement here, except it seems to be losing its allure to me.

With a sigh, I readjust my position in my seat.

The plush leather and wide back of my makeshift throne is supposed to strike fear and respect from anyone who comes to stand before me, but I feel like I’m glued to the fabric.

My men know where to find me at all times when I’m here.

It’s either here in this spot or the booth that is reserved only to me, Aziz, and Sibley.

When one or both of them join me, that’s where we sit.

No one else is allowed to sit there, and it’s a known rule.

Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees. The small movement is enough to jerk all of my staff and security forward, as if they are waiting on me to give them an order.

If only I could come up with a reason to send them all away. It’s not normal protocol, but I could really use some time on my own. I don’t need them in my space right now.

The constant readiness of everyone around me should put me at ease, but instead, it only makes me more aggravated.

A deep growl rumbles in my chest, but I don’t have anywhere to put this frustration.

I could always call up one of the workers or maybe find a new sweet little morsel to spend some of my nightly hours with.

That would definitely take my mind off the monotony.

I scan the crowd below. Dyrk is a haven for the rough and dark.

Those of the supernatural – demons, demi-gods, vampires, shifters, even humans with gifts – that seem to have no place in the world.

It’s almost as if they are drawn here to this place.

Same with this town. Redwich is known among the supernatural world as a haven. Not that it is.

Two MCs and I run this town. It’s good that those MCs and I are allies and not on bad terms. It would not be in anyone’s favor for me to go against them.

Not when the Presidents of both are brothers and both grandsons of Artemis.

They don’t know I know this, but you don’t hide life lines from the bloodline of Hades. I can see the connections.

Those who come here come to me for favors and help. They come here to let loose and feel free. All the while, I feel like I’m shackled to this throne.

How I wish I could be as free as they are, but heavy is the head that wears the crown. To be free, I’d have to give up all that I’ve worked for—something I’d never do.

As my eyes continue to scan the crowd below, something deep and unfamiliar pulls at my gut. My intuition screams at me to take notice of a threat that my old eyes haven’t located yet.

“Orpheus, did you hear me?”

My eyes snap to the side only to see Priam, one of my new security details, standing at the door, looking at me with expectation. He must have spoken while I was looking for whatever has me on edge, not listening to anything he has to say.

“If I were paying attention to you, don’t you think I’d have given a response?

What do you want?” Clenching my jaw, my gut screams at me to keep searching the crowd.

Instead, I stare daggers at Priam. The man is smart enough not to keep holding my gaze and drops his to the floor while folding his arms behind his back in reverence.

Everyone in here knows not to get on my bad side. It’s probably more intimidating for him since he’s new here. The only ones I’ve ever shown a hint of emotion toward are Aziz and Sibley.

“I apologize for the intrusion, but there is a situation going on outside that you need to be aware of.” Finally, his eyes jump back up to mine, but the fear is still locked behind his gaze. I could kill him in an instant, but I don’t want to waste the energy.

“What situation?” I snap at him. Growing more and more frustrated that it’s taking him this long to spit out whatever it is he came in here to say.

“Right. Um . . . well, there is a group of vamps outside. One of the workers found them luring human women to the alley behind the club. They were drinking from them. Assaulting them.”

My eyebrows raise, and I tilt my head in Priam’s direction.

This is a development Ididn’t expect today.

It’s been several months since I’ve heard of something like this.

The last time, a group of vampires was trying to find a way to kill me, not that they could, but they seemed to go into hiding after Aziz was sent after them.

I’m more than aware of vampire needs and desires when it comes to drinking blood, but no one is foolish enough to try to do their dirty work in my territory. Not here or in this town. There are rules in place.

The fact that they are newborns is of no consequence to me, they should know better. If they truly don’t, that’s their problem.

Priam opens his mouth to speak again, but before he can utter another word, I’m out of my chair and down the stairs.

As the son of a God, I have special abilities that would baffle most. Perks, one could say.

One of which is my ability to get from place to place with supernatural speed. Faster than a simple vampire. Even faster than a shifter.

The cool night air whips through my hair as I take a slow step forward out of the darkness that the walls of my club provide.

The light above the side door barely lights up the path of the alley, but it’s more than enough for me to see what’s going on.

Three of the bouncers from Dyrk are out here beating on a group of snarling, unhinged vampires. They’re unaware of my presence.

A human woman is in the corner, her back pressed against the wall, and a small drop of delicious-smelling blood is trailing from a small cut above her eyebrow. The other two women that she must have come with lay in a heap, unconscious, next to her.

She’s the first one to notice me. Her eyes widen as she watches me continue to move forward. The scent of fear explodes through the air. Her heartbeat triples in speed, and her mouth drops open slightly in a silent scream.

“Shhh.” The sound is meant to be a request, but I know her body takes it as an order. She can’t say a word now. Her eyes glaze over as she falls under my spell—another one of my perks.

My eyes instantly fall to the assholes who thought it was a good idea to have their fun outside my establishment.

“Honestly, did you think this through? I’m willing to bet you didn’t expect me to take offense to the fact that you are doing business on my doorstep.

” I sigh and walk over to one of the young vampires.

It’s clear that he doesn’t really know who I am.

Still, there is an air of fear to him, like instinctually he knows that I’m not someone he can beat, no regular vampire can.

That must be shocking for him. Vampires, especially new ones, always think of themselves as invincible until they meet someone like me.

I’m their reckoning whether they realize it or not.

Instead of staying still as his friends do, the leader of this little wannabe group lunges in my direction.

My bouncers don’t even have a chance to react.

I raise a hand and stop the vampire in his tracks.

I’d only have to snap and rip him limb from limb.

I stretch my power inside the man to give him a taste of the pain I can inflict on him, forcing him to his knees.

“You might want to rethink your decision.” Even I can hear how bored I sound.

This is almost as bad as sitting in that chair upstairs for all those hours.

“You . . .you don’t rule on the streets. They said we were in charge.”

Once again, I’m surprised. This is new.

Who the hell would think it smart to tell anyone that my rule is limited to just my business? It’s fucking laughable.

“I don’t know who told you that, but you’re going to be the one to pay for it.” Looking over to the bouncer, I nod once and turn on my heel to go back to my overstuffed leather throne. This is about as much excitement as I’m going to get for a long while. It’s sad, really.

In the back of my mind, I wonder if I’m really on the verge of an uprising on the streets, but I push the paranoia away. There’s no one who will go against me. I’m the son of Hades, vampire and demons alike know better than to test me. Doesn’t matter if they know the truth about me or not.

As I make my way back into Dyrk, I hear the sound of men screaming and groaning in pain, followed by silence. I don’t feel bad about it. There can be no doubt when it comes to my power. Maybe I should’ve left one of them alive to spread the word.

Next time.

The moment I push open the side door to Dyrk, the pulsing, tantalizing music washes over my senses. That deep pull that I felt earlier takes root in my gut once again, and I find myself looking over the crowd, trying to find the source.

It feels like I’m going out of my mind. There’s no threat. Nothing that would cause me to feel this way.

Then, as if Apollo himself parted the skies and released the full power of the sun, I see her.

A woman, blonde, devastatingly beautiful, and completely out of place.

I don’t know her, but before the night is over, I intend to.