I moved toward Twistie. She was leaning against the far wall of the room—a look of pure devastation written across her face. I took her in my arms and held her close, wishing I could give her the comfort she needed to know that everything would be okay.
“You going to sit with her for a while?” I asked.
“Yes.” I squeezed her tighter and placed a kiss on her forehead. She felt so right in my arms, and as much as I wanted to sit with her, I still had one more piece of unfinished business.
The warehouse was empty except for a few of my guys and the two men tied to metal chairs. My directions were followed to the letter. Both captives had hoods over their heads and were sedated so they couldn’t shift.
“He’s in your office.” Craig notched his chin toward the warehouse office and the man waiting inside.
I took a deep breath and moved to finish this so I could get back to the clubhouse and my girl.
“King.” I moved around the desk and took a seat. He stayed standing with his shoulder propped up against the wall.
“Why am I here, Six, and who do you have out there?”
“That, I’ll answer in a minute, but this is why you’re here—” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Demon Pride’s signet ring and tossed it on my desk. “I believe you lost this in my club.”
The look on his face showed his rage, “I didn’t lose it, Six. Are you saying one of your club members stole my ring?”
“No, none of my members took the ring from you, but I was able to recover it.” I nodded to the gaudy gold ring. “That ring was supposed to start a war between your pride and my club.”
“And those two were planning to start that war?” His voice was calm, but I know exactly who he is and how he operates. He was anything but calm. He was furious.
“I want them,” he demanded.
“You can have the coyote, but the fox is mine,” I replied.
“Coyotes and foxes?”
“Yes, but there is something else you should know before we go in there. This is what you won’t like, but you will not retaliate in any way, shape, or form, or the war they attempted to start will be brought to your front door,” I stated.
His jaw clenched, but he nodded his understanding. I explained to him what happened the night the ring was stolen. That Twistie had taken it because her mother was being held captive, and if she didn’t do what was told, they’d have taken it out on her mom.
King let out a roar of rage, his eyes glowing bright yellow. He was seconds away from changing, so I pushed back from my desk, grabbed my gun, and pointed it at his head.
“You need to calm the fuck down, or I’ll put a bullet in you before you can fully change.”
“She stole it off my fucking finger, Six. She messed with shit inside my head.”
“You will not retaliate against her, King. She is under my protection and the protection of all eight of the Dark Leopards MC charters. You make a move against her; you make a move against us all.”
“Why are you telling me this, then?”
“Because I had your ring, and I’d damn sure want revenge if someone stole my cut.”
He nodded, accepting the way things were going to be. I put my gun away and let him lead the way back into the main room of the warehouse. The office was soundproofed, even for shifter hearing, so the guys had no clue that King was in the room.
King stood out of sight while I took the hoods off their heads. Craig handed me two needles, which I plunged into each of their thighs, giving them a jolt of adrenaline to counteract the tranquilizers in their systems.
“Wakey. Wakey.” I slapped their faces lightly when they started to come around.
“Shit,” Rex said, pulling at the ropes tying him tightly to the chair. He started to struggle against the ropes, so I put my gun to his head.
“Easy Rex, no changing, huh? We need to have a little chat.”
“Fuck you, you stupid motherfucker.”
I laughed. “No, thanks. My Ol’ Lady will take care of that. Now, let’s wake your friend here.” I slapped Eduardo’s cheek again, harder this time. It would have been easier for me to just put a bullet in their heads, but I wanted King to know precisely what the hell went down and that my club had no part in it. I needed him to know that Twistie only did what she did to protect her mother.
“Welcome to the party, Eduardo.” I gave him a humorless smile. When he saw Rex sitting in the chair next to him tied up, he knew shit was about to go down. “This is how this is going to work. The first person to tell me who else was involved in trying to start a war between the Dark Leopards and the Demon Pride gets to keep breathing.”
Rex and Eduardo didn’t waste any time in turning on each other. Every word they said backed up what I told King. When they were done showing their cowardice, I put a bullet in Eduardo’s head. Then I turned my gun on Rex.
“I thought you said we’d get to keep breathing.”
“I didn’t say for how long, asshole.” I looked over his shoulder and put my gun away. “He’s all yours. I trust you’ll take care of his pack, too?”
“Hell, yes,” King spoke from right behind Rex, and the coyote jumped and turned back to find one pissed off lion stalking him like prey.
“My men will clean up when you’re done.”
Epilogue
Camilla
“It’s been three days.” I was lying next
