I laugh. “I don’t do anybody’s dirty work but my own.”
Nico nods and spits on the concrete floor, leaving a thick wad of blood at his feet. “Then what do you want with me?”
“Answers. You were dating Grace Davies?”
Nico’s head hangs low, but he nods. “Yeah, Grace was my girl. She was a good girl. Didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
McKenna snorts beside me, arms folded across her chest, an evil look on her face as she glares at Nico. Thankfully, she says nothing.
I take a few steps closer, forcing Nico to look up at me. “Now is when you convince me you had nothing to do with Grace’s murder.”
His dark eyes go wide, and Nico shakes his head. “I didn’t kill Grace. I wouldn’t.”
I believe him, but that’s not enough. “Okay.”
“I was supposed to, but I couldn’t.” He shakes his head and slams his eyes shut as if he sees the same image I saw at the port.
“I couldn’t. You think your boys would have found me hiding in some shitty hotel if I killed her? Get real, man.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I can put the pieces together myself, but I need to hear them straight from one of the Iron Kings.
Nico shakes his head again, his body trembling like a goddamn tweaker.
“Look, man, this isn’t the club it used to be. Not no more.” He starts to rock back and forth even while tied to the chair, clearly upset. “Grace is just the beginning,” he warns.
Coop kicks the leg of one of the chairs. “Stop talking in riddles, motherfucker. Speak, and do it clearly.”
Nico nods. “Something in Hector snapped after they fucked that girl in the warehouse, and you shot them up. Losing the men, Nogales taking a bullet, the fires at the stash houses. All of it fucked him up good. He’s not the same twisted fuck he used to be. He’s way fucking worse.”
“And what does any of that have to do with Grace?”
“There’s a new initiation ritual for all club members, all,” he emphasizes. “Kill a woman, any woman, and drop her body on Reckless Souls turf. Period.”
“And Grace was chosen, how?”
“Fuck!” He spits again and lets out a low growl. “Nogales ordered me to kill Grace once he found out that she had a connection to that bitch they fucked, but I couldn’t do it. I liked Grace. She was smoking hot and funny, and she didn’t care about the MC shit. Wasn’t fascinated by it like some bitches are, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Anyway, Nogales gave me a week to take care of her. I’d already been dating her for a few months. I thought I’d just get a beating since I’m already patched, not watch them rape and mutilate her, listening to her tortured cries until she stopped. It’s fucked up, man, totally fucked up.”
McKenna sucks in a shaky breath at his words, but I don’t dare turn to look at her.
“What do you mean, all of you?”
“That’s the fucked up part,” Nico growls. “Even patched members have to kill and dump a girl, or risk getting bumped down to prospects again or bumped off, like me.”
Shit, this is worse than I thought. “So, this was all just payback?”
“Yeah. He figures if each of us dumps a murdered bitch on your doorstep, the police will have to investigate your MC. Tie you up with legal shit while Hector moves in on your business. He’s hella focused on dismantling your shit. Recruiting prospects left and right from LA. Gangbangers, criminals, thieves. All kinds of bad guys. It’s not even a motorcycle club anymore.”
The Chamber door opens, and Shades strolls in. “You started the party without me? Pity.”
Shades smacks his lips and takes a spot behind Nico, on the other side of Jordi.
“Look, man, just keep a close eye on your women, even the club bitches. No one is safe. Not any female in Angel Harbor, and definitely not any woman close to your club.”
Shit, that’s not what I want to hear. “And you? What’s your plan?”
Nico shrugs. “I haven’t figured that out yet. I’m a dead man walking if I stay here. I need to convince my mother to pack up and move before they get to her.”
I can’t believe a word this guy says, and I can’t risk Nico deciding to reunite with the Kings and let Hector and Nogales know that we’re onto their plan. “Shades, take care of this dumb fuck.”
McKenna gasps behind me, and I stiffen. Shit.
Shades smirks. “Got it.”
“Come on,” I tell McKenna. Let’s get out of here.”
With fear shining in her big blue eyes, she nods and takes my hand, following me silently out of The Chamber.
We walk side-by-side back to my bike in complete silence. I can’t even begin to think what’s swirling in her rich girl, over-privileged head because my mind is too full of all the shit Nico just revealed.