“Then I guess that solves our…rift with the Knights, once you give me my man back,” he declares.
“Not so fast. You drew blood from three of our men. One is permanently maimed with a missing ear, one took a shot to the shoulder, and the other got shot twice and still isn’t on his feet yet. We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t die from infection!”
Lowering his eyes to the paperwork on his desk, he nods and says, “So you want blood for blood?”
“That’s the only thing that will calm down the former Knights and the rest of the Aces.”
“And that blood is going to cost Rian his life?”
“Not necessarily,” I tell him, hoping that Rian is still alive and none of the guys have put a bullet through his head yet. If so, this is all for nothing. There will probably still be a war with the Irish. And Maeve, well, I don’t think she would ever recover from losing her brother. “How about we let you decide?”
“I get to decide who you get to kill?” he grits out.
“I didn’t say anyone had to die. I said blood is owed for blood. That’s the only way to even the score. It’s not like I’m asking for three of your men to make up for the three of ours you shot.”
“Just one?”
“If you’ll agree to one man taking a bullet from the president of the original Dirty Aces, then I think I could convince them to back off and let Rian go alive.”
“You think? Do they even know you’re here? Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m Wirth Wright, one of the original Aces. If you agree, I’ll try like hell to convince them to honor the truce. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here alone risking my own life.”
He pulls his chair up to the desk and takes a seat in it. “Then I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“Nope.”
With a heavy sigh, he sticks out his arm for me to shake his hand. When I walk over to take it, he says, “I give you my word. We’ll leave the Knights alone if they do the same and return our man in exchange for me taking one bullet.”
“You’re gonna take it?” I say in surprise as I drop his hand. “What if you die?”
“The truth is, I’m just filling in for Rian,” he admits. “His family has led our people in the states for decades. After his father died, I took over until Rian was old enough to learn the ropes.”
“You think he’s old enough now?”
“Guess he’ll have to be, won’t he?” Cormac asks.
I’m not sure how Maeve will feel about that. Is that the reason she was trying to convince her brother to leave, not just to avoid getting caught in the crossfire but so that he wouldn’t have to be in charge? At least if he’s leading, he’ll have men protecting him rather than be a grunt.
“If the pub’s number is listed, I’ll call your bartender out front when I know more,” I tell him, and he nods his head in agreement.
“Hurry up!” he shouts when I start to leave. And I don’t think he said it to be a dick but because he’s honestly worried they could kill Rian.
I am too, which is why I hop on my bike and ride to Malcolm’s old house as fast as I can possibly go while making sure the Irish aren’t following me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maeve
After trying to find a way out of the bedroom and realizing the windows weren’t going to open and that there’s nothing in the room to break them with, I give up and lay down on the bed.
I’m trying my best to not think about what the men are doing to Rian, what Wirth could be doing to Rian, even though I can hear the occasional thump and strangled curse.
A few stray tears drip down over my nose and hit the bedding when I think about how stupid I was to trust him. He told me to call Rian to come over before he touched me. He had a plan that whole time he was kissing me and inside of me. I don’t think anyone has ever hurt me so badly. Well, at least not anyone that wasn’t a relative. My father and Rian damaged me enough. That’s why I’ve never been in a serious relationship with a man, because I know it would end with having my heart broken. And while Wirth and I weren’t even close to being together as a couple, I thought he cared about me enough to not manipulate me or go after my brother.
When the bedroom door handle jiggles like someone’s on the other side unlocking it, I pop right up into a sitting position, waiting to see who it is.
I wasn’t expecting Hunt, although I guess I should have.
It’s only the second time I’ve seen him since the night the bar was attacked. The side of his face is still red and raw with a bandage over his ear. That’s all the time I have to assess him before he shuts the door behind him and then he’s on me. His fingers wrap around my throat and squeeze, pulling me off the bed. I struggle to get my feet on the floor before I pass out from a lack of oxygen.
His eyes are dark and empty when he says, “If it were up to me, you and your brother would both be dead already. Nothing is worse than being betrayed by a goddamn whore!”
Even though his hand is hurting my throat, making me gasp, I’m relieved to know Rian is still alive after all.
The edges of my vision are starting to go black when Hunt finally releases me. I fall to my knees, thankful he let me go and didn’t kill me yet. My fingers try and smooth the ache on the outside of my neck, and I have to clear my throat a few
