King's Wrath (Sydney Storm MC 5)

None of this made sense. Why the hell had Brant fed us that bullshit? “Anything else?”

“Yeah,” he said forcefully. “Why the fuck have you got the blonde grilling me on Ryland? I’ve got enough shit going on, King. I don’t need her all over me too.”

Tatum.

“I told her to investigate Ryland. He’s too invested in this case, and at some point, he’ll cross a line to get the result he wants. Tatum’s gonna figure him out and she’ll work with you on that.”

“Fuck.” He paused for a moment. “Fine, but just get her to back off a bit. She’s a little too fucking enthusiastic.”

“She’s not gonna back off, Bronze. She’ll do whatever it takes to get Nitro out and to get Ryland off our back. You’ll just have to deal with her.”

“Some days I regret agreeing to work with you,” he muttered.

“Yeah well, we both know you’d make the same choice over if you had to.” I eyed the toast Annika held out for me. “I’ve gotta go. Call me if you find anything else.”

I ended the call and took the plate of toast off Annika, already going over in my mind what I’d just learnt. Axe’s and Annika’s conversation blurred into the background as I tried to figure out Brant’s angle. He’d seemed attached to Ivy. More than fucking attached if I really thought about it.

I pulled out my phone again and called Hyde.

“I was in the middle of something,” he grumbled, and I heard Monroe complaining too.

“Fuck, brother, you need to get Monroe out of town. I thought you’d moved her already.”

“You ever tried to convince an argumentative woman to do something, King? I’m fucking working on it.”

I could imagine the shit she’d given him. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

“I was just about to get my dick sucked, so maybe you could move this along.”

“Bronze has new information that contradicts what Brant told us. Romano wasn’t raided by the cops. We need to talk to Brant again.”

“Yeah. And I’ll talk to Ivy again.”

Hyde had interrogated her yesterday w

hile I buried Jen. He’d let me know she hadn’t come through with any further information, but I was yet to discuss it with him. I’d avoided it. Hadn’t wanted to know how far he’d had to go with her.

“No, I’ll have this chat with her.” I’d allowed him one shot at her; I wouldn’t give him another. Fuck knew I was wound tight because of it. Because of my inability to wrap my mind around my feelings about Ivy showing back up in my life. And that I just let Hyde at her like that? Fuck, that fucked my head up even more. Had I really become a man so hardened by the shit I’d lived through that I was willing to abandon someone I’d once loved?

“I figured you’d say that. I don’t think she knows much more than what she’s already given us. It makes sense, especially with what Ghost told you yesterday. I reckon Romano’s fucking with us, brother.”

“You think he sent Brant to feed us that bullshit?”

“Yeah. Brant played the Ivy card well, and I bet that was because Romano told him to. To get to you. Romano wanted to know if you had Ivy.”

“I’ll talk to Ivy. And for fuck’s sake, lay the fucking law down with Monroe. I don’t want her caught in this shit we’ve got going on.”

Ending the call, I looked at Axe. “I’ve gotta take care of something, and after that, you and me are gonna talk to Brant again. And this time, we’re not going easy on him.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

I left the kitchen and made my way to Ivy.

Winter sat outside her room, looking exhausted. He stood and met me. “She still isn’t eating much, and I think she may be feeling sick.”

I nodded. “Take a walk while I talk to her. You look like you could do with some sleep too, so I’ll organise for one of the guys to give you a break today.”

“Thanks, brother.”