Chapter Twenty-NineRoman
As an enforcer, there were times when I couldn’t just shoot, stab, strangle, or kick a motherfucker to death. Hits were always so easy, especially when Boom Boom ordered me to make the problem go away without bringing heat to us. If we were trying to make a point—mainly with the Royal Bastards—I had to get creative and invent ways to kill fuckheads.
In the case of those motherfuckers who’d fucked with Ainsley—also known as my brothers—it helped that I’d known most of them for years. For instance, every weekend, Vector went to his ex’s farm and helped her with the chores. According to him, she was a nut job with good pussy. He kept her at arm’s length and fucked her in exchange for his ‘help’. On Saturdays, Vector rode the entire property, searching for issues, and then he’d spend Sundays correcting whatever problem he found. More than once, I’d helped him.
How’d he repay my generosity? Leaving me with a psycho in Salt Lake City and targeting my little sister by helping Kite and Wizard with their plans, which was proven to me when Bash brought messages he’d gotten after Easton DeLuca hacked their phones.
I rode solo when I killed Nova, but this time, DeLuca helped me. We camped out on the far edge of the property. Around noon, Vector rode into view on an ornery horse not too fond of people. He always swore he had an understanding with the beast.
I waited until Vector guided the horse to a patch of uneven ground, dotted with old concrete that should’ve been removed years ago. It remained. Grass grew around it, creating an even more perilous situation.
At my nod, DeLuca fired the shotgun we’d brought just for this purpose. The horse reared, but Vector surprised me by not falling off. Just when I thought we’d have to fucking shoot him and possibly blow my cover, the horse bucked, and Vector tipped over. His boot caught in the stirrup.
“Now,” I whispered to Easton, pointing my chin at the flailing fucker.
DeLuca fired again, sending the horse into a frenzy that Vector had no hope of surviving. When his shouts abruptly stopped, we walked to where the pickup was parked underneath a tree, half a mile away.
Bones was next on my list. The lazy fuck liked stinging insects, despite being allergic. Stupid fucking move that I teased him about when we were cool. Now, it provided me with an opportunity to snuff out his life.
Tio and Easton didn’t like my idea of leaving a big jar of yellow jackets on Bones’s doorstep, then shooting it to release them once he came outside. I didn’t want Boom Boom to know I was back. Once Nova turned up dead from stab wounds, if I killed Vector and Bones the same way, he’d know they were taken out. He might not suspect me but a rival club, one in particular. Since Ainsley was connected with those fucking Royal Bastards, I didn’t want to endanger her any more than she already was.
“And who the fuck will be collecting the damn bugs?” Tio hissed, in a shitty mood from whatever Bash had told him.
He took daily calls from his father. Not only to give his old man updates, but to hear about London. She’d been left behind at the American Scorpions’ clubhouse, since bringing her on our killing spree would’ve been a hindrance.
DeLuca snickered. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of bugs?”
“You must be too, asshole, because you’re sure as hell against it,” Tio rebutted.
DeLuca shrugged. “Because it’s a stupid ass Looney Tunes’ death.”
I glared at both brothers. They shat on my plan, without presenting a discreet, alternative method.
“It’s a creative way to take out a damn target, you scary little bitches,” I growled, more than willing to go solo. “If you two are too pussy to help me, I’ll do it on my own.”
Tio scowled. “Is that supposed to be a threat? Because I don’t give a fuck what you do. Go ahead, get yourself killed because you’re too fucking hardheaded.”
Unsurprisingly, Easton spoke up for me. Of the two, he was far more agreeable and locked in an endless rivalry with his younger brother.
“Bash told us to give you whatever help you fucking need, Roman, so we’ll do it your way,” DeLuca said before I could reply to Tio. “You just better know what you’re doing.”
His wary look made me snicker. “You underestimate me, motherfucker.”
With Easton finally on my side, the plan went off perfectly. As far as anyone would know, Bones had brought a jar of yellow jackets home and then dropped it, causing it to break and the notoriously aggressive insects to attack. Once the wasps fucked off, we retrieved the bullets used to shatter the jar and went on our merry way.
Next on my list was motherfucking fuckhead Kite . Then, before I moved onto the clubhouse and Boom Boom, I’d get Wizard. They would have personal treatment.
Five days after Nova’s death and two days after Vector’s, I tossed aside the newspaper with the article about her and went after Kite bright and early. His house was laughably easy to break into. The lock on his front door was fucked up, his windows weren’t secured, and he had no security system. Motherfucker must’ve thought living in the middle of nowhere made him safe. If he wanted seclusion to be enough, then he shouldn’t have crossed me.
I slipped in through the backdoor—which also had a fucked up lock—and crept to the hallway leading to his bedroom. His ol’ lady left him a decade ago, taking their brood of children with her. Kite bounced between his aging two-story home and his room at the clubhouse. Luckily, tonight, he was in his room, letting a slut that looked eerily like Ainsley ride his cock.
It pissed me off.
I moved quickly, yanking the girl off Kite and tossing her aside. I tried to avoid handling women so roughly, but the bitch was in my way. She screamed, and Kite’s eyes flew open.
“What the fuck?” he screeched, scrambling to pull up the covers to conceal his wrinkled cock, as if I hadn’t seen his balls a dozen times before. His eyes went wide as he realized my identity. “R-Roman. You’re alive—”
“Yep,” I replied simply, then used my hook to slit his throat.
His hands flew to his neck, trying in vain to staunch the blood flow. He gurgled as blood overflowed from his mouth. A minute later, he was slumped over and dead.
With that taken care of, I turned my attention to the girl. She was curled up in a ball and crying, shaking like a fucking leaf. Sighing, I wiped my bloody hook on Kite’s sheets, then used my prosthetic hand to beckon her to her feet. She stood in an instant, covering her chest with her arms. The longer I studied at her, the younger she looked, and the more her resemblance to Ainsley became clear.
It made me regret killing the perverted asswipe so quickly.
“What’s your name?” I asked her, retrieving the dress on the edge of the bed and holding it out to her.
She took it immediately, wiggling into the garment. “Cyndie,” she whispered, looking at me as if I’d attack her at any moment.
Which, was a reasonable fear, considering I just killed a motherfucker in front of her.
“That Volkswagen Beetle parked out front, is it yours?”
A single nod was my reply.
“Well, Cyndie, I’m feeling nice tonight. Hop in your car, get the fuck away from here, and don’t tell anyone what you saw.”
Niceness wasn’t the only reason I was letting her go, but also just how much she reminded me of my little sister.
“Oh, and look in the bottom left drawer of his dresser, sweetheart,” I instructed, recalling that Kite kept cold hard cash in his sock drawer.
He always relied on the club girls to clean his house, and more than once, I’d heard them gossip about the amount of money he kept in that particular drawer. He wouldn’t have use for it anymore, and Cyndie needed an incentive to be quiet.
I cocked a brow when she didn’t immediately comply. “Go on, open it.”
Her bottom lip wobbled, and I’m sure she thought someway, somehow, I was setting her up. Still, she complied, gasping when she stumbled across the money. She looked back at me, completely bewildered.
“D-do you want me to hand it to you?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Nope. It’s yours.”
Some of her fear faded. After a moment of hesitation, she took as many bands as she could.
“What’s the catch?”
“Your silence, because taking that money means you’re now an accomplice. Now run along, sweetheart, before I change my mind.”
She didn’t have to be told twice, taking the rest of her belongings, the money, and hurrying the fuck out of there.
A minute after she left, I exited the same way I entered. DeLuca was waiting with the getaway ride, while Tio had stayed behind at the motel. He’d been arguing on the phone, screaming at London, after Bash informed him of another escape attempt. Mentally, I applauded her guts but also worried about the consequences. Tio cared enough about her to not want her dead, but he wasn’t above laying hands on her. Nor was Bash. His violence towards women was my biggest gripe with him.
Perhaps when I blew up the Bloody Scorpions, I’d add their names to my list. Immediately, I dashed the idea, knowing that it’d be a suicide mission. I might’ve had a few screws loose, but Bash and Tio were on another level.
“Took you long enough,” Easton mumbled as I slid into the passenger seat.
I rolled my eyes as I buckled up. “I was gone less than ten minutes.”
“Who was the girl?” he asked, changing topics.
“Some chick Kite was fucking. Paid her to keep her mouth shut.”
He glanced at me, something like respect brewing in his gaze. “You don’t kill women.”
“Don’t like harming those weaker than me,” I replied, fishing my phone out of the cupholder.
There were some exceptions to that rule, almost always because of Ainsley. No one fucked with her without consequences.
DeLuca fell silent and turned up the music’s volume, allowing Michael Jackson’s vocals to echo through the vehicle. Surprisingly, Easton was a huge fan of the King of Pop. I didn’t mind one bit, as his choice of music reminded me of my mother. She, too, was a Moonwalker.
Bobbing my head to the beat, I opened up the app that allowed me to peer into my home’s camera. Ainsley hadn’t returned since those fuckers had broken in. No one else had infringed on my space, but I was still glad that she was gone. It burned me up knowing she was under the protection of a Royal Bastard, the hatred of their organization ingrained in me, even as I worked on destroying the Bloody Scorpions.
And yet, I felt gratitude for Reese Sinclair, thankful that someone was looking out for Ainsley. As long as he kept her safe and provided for her, I’d accept him into our family once I made up with my little sister. I wanted what was best for her, and if that was Sinclair, I’d give my blessing.