Hitting him with a filthy scowl, I said, “I can assure you, Ryland, you’re the last person I need to take a walk with.”
His eyebrow arched. “You want your men to hear what I have to say to you?”
Could the motherfucker be any more of a prick? “I don’t keep fucking secrets from my club. Spit out whatever the fuck you came here for and then leave.”
“Righto then. As you’re aware, I’m talking with Marx about the activities of your club. On top of that, I have other sources I’ve been having conversations with, and I’m piecing together the crimes you and your club have committed over the last decade and a half.”
The headache that hit during church intensified, and the violent impulses I constantly battled consumed me. It took every ounce of restraint not to flatten him. Pulling out a smoke, I lit it and inhaled deeply while counting to ten. When I knew I’d pulled myself together enough not to tell him to go fuck himself, I said, “You’re telling me this because?”
That smug look returned to his face, pissing me the fuck off. “Because I want you to know it’s only a matter of time before I have everything I need to lock you up for the rest of your life. And after I do that, I’m taking your club down with you. Be ready.”
With that, he left through the front door of the clubhouse while I watched him go, mentally filing through every option I had to sort him out.
As he exited, Tatum entered, shooting him a look that expressed her hatred of him. She and I had come a long way since the day I’d told Nitro to deal with her. His hesitation in doing what I’d asked had coloured my view of her, as had her tendency to express her thoughts of me, but I’d slowly come around to appreciating what she offered the club.
“What did he want?” she demanded. Good. She’d need that fight to help us get Nitro out.
“To tell me he’s gunning for me and the club.”
Her lips flattened. “Like you didn’t already know that.”
“Yes.” As much as he angered me, though, his actions today provided me with information that would help us figure out how best to work against him. “It seems he’s a little too invested in this, which will work well for us.”
She nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “True. At some point he’ll cross a line.”
I smiled for the first time today. “And you and I will be ready for him when he does that.”
“You and I?”
“I want you to liaise with Bronze and keep on top of everything we know about Ryland. Do some digging yourself. Find out his weaknesses, his strengths, all about his family, everything you can. Figure out a way we can use the law against him, especially when he crosses that line.”
“I’m surprised, King. I assumed you’d just remove him from the equation.”
“I plan to. But not before I figure out what he knows, who told him, and who else knows. I’ll need an in for all that, and he’s going to provide it himself. Your brain is going to work out the how. But first, I take it you’re up to speed on Nitro and Marx?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got some recommendations for you as to who to hire now that this has escalated. We need to get them in to see Nitro as soon as possible.” The expression on her face turned more determined than I’d ever seen it as she added, “And I hope you’ve got some ideas as to how to stop Marx from talking again, because this is some shit you guys are in. I’ll be fucked if my man is going down, so if you don’t have a plan, I’m calling Billy in to help me with it.”
Nitro had done well with her. She had exactly the right amount of grit needed to survive club life. Jerking my chin towards my office, I said, “Join me and Hyde. We’re going over all this now.” Involving an old lady in club business wasn’t something I’d ever done, but this situation wasn’t like any we’d ever been in, so I was running on my gut and right now it was telling me to use Tatum for all she was fucking worth.
17
Lily
* * *
“I’m just saying that maybe you want to consider a one-night stand or something. You’re not getting any younger, and at the rate you’re going, I’m concerned your vagina will forget what to do when you finally decide to let a man in again.”
I ignored my mother while continuing to lay the dining table. Acknowledging her, and continuing the conversation, would only encourage her to give me more unwanted advice.
“Lily, did you hear what I said?”
Placing the last set of cutlery down on the table, I looked up at her. “Yes, I heard you, but my vagina has special memory powers so you can take it off your long list of things to worry about.” Honestly, the list she had was longer than my list of shit I’d like to do to my ex-husband before he died. And that was saying something, because that list was long and I was adding to it daily.
She twirled out of the dining room into my kitchen, her long floral, boho skirt flaring. “Darling, I’m trying to be serious here. I’ve watched you navigate this single world for three years, which was fine because you were actually dating, but this celibate thing you’re experimenting with is disconcerting.”
My mother trying to have a serious conversation while twirling around the place was a daily occurrence in my life. I loved her dearly, but man, she was hard work sometimes. A patchwork of mixed and often conflicting traits, thoughts, feelings
, likes and dislikes, Hannah Bennett was anything but dull. She often said the same about me, though, so I took great comfort in the knowledge I was just as much hard work for her.