Zero Regret (Lost Kings MC 13)

“I’m sure he knew where I was all along. I never understood…how obsessed he was until it was too late.”

Oh yeah, this fucker definitely needs to die.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Not that time. Thankfully, he was arrested when he went back to New York. He’s been free on bail since then, so he didn’t bother me again.”

“Is that when you did this?” I ask, tracing the line on her left arm.

She nods. “Shortly after.”

He needs to die painfully.

Chapter Twelve

Z

Alex offered to load up his truck and follow Lilly down to the new house. I plan to meet them there later. First, I need to talk to Rock.

I shouldn’t be surprised, but church is letting out when I step into the clubhouse. Makes me feel like shit for missing it.

Rock seems to sense my grim attitude and motions me into the war room. Wrath’s less sensitive to my mood and picks me up in a rib-crushing bear hug. “Missed you, fucker. Your whole side of the table is empty. Fucking sucks.”

“Christ, without the three of us, what the fuck’d you even talk about?” I ask.

Rock motions for Wrath to shut the door. After we take our seats, Rock sits forward, resting his clasped hands on the table in front of him. “Honestly, we discussed what we’re going to do if this situation goes on much longer.”

“Jesus, Rock. I’m—”

He holds up his hand, cutting me off. “Not your fault. Teller’s stayed on top of his stuff. Sent me his numbers this morning.” He snorts and tosses a few pages my way. “Although his cryptic code is a bit hard to crack, I think it’s all good news.”

I glance at the papers and give up trying to decipher Teller’s scribbles and symbols almost immediately. “I think he watched too much Inspector Gadget as a kid.”

Rock snorts. “Maybe.” The laughter fades from his expression. “Murphy’s going to come up Wednesday and Thursday to work on a few things if you can spare him.”

Makes sense. Not as if Murphy can cover all his Road Captain responsibilities over email. “Yeah, whatever you need.” I glance at Wrath. “You doing okay at Furious without him?”

Wrath lifts his massive shoulders, as if he doesn’t want to admit not having Murphy around is a hardship. “Jake’s covering for him right now.”

“You ever consider Jake for a prospect rocker?”

Wrath’s shaking his head before I finish the question. “He rides maybe three months out of the year. Besides, his brother will kill him if he gets any more involved with us criminals.”

This is news to me. Sully’s always been friendly and respectful when I’ve met him. “Why? Sully’s a good guy. He—”

“Exactly,” Wrath says, ending the conversation.

“Bronze is still in the area.” Our favorite tattoo artist has been a friend of the club for years.

“I think if he had any genuine interest, he would’ve said so years ago,” Rock says.

“True.” You either have outlaw blood in your veins or not.

“If you can, I’d like you to take Dex to your next meet with the Demons,” Rock says.

“All right,” I answer slowly. “Chaser knows him pretty well though.”

“He does,” Rock agrees. “I want them to get used to seeing his face, though.”

“Shit, Rock, you trying to replace me already?” I say it with a smile, like I’m joking, but the mere idea has my stomach clenching. Not that I don’t trust Dex. He’s vice president material, no doubt. Doesn’t mean I’m ready to hand him my VP patch.

“You know that’s not what this is about,” Rock says.

“Dex isn’t as much fun to fuck with as you are,” Wrath adds.

I roll my eyes. “Lucky me.”

Wrath’s phone buzzes and he pulls it out, frowning at the text. “Speaking of Jake.”

“You need to go?” Rock asks.

“If you don’t need me, yeah.”

Three of us stand, but I stay on my side of the table. One grizzly bear hug is enough for today.

“You moving Lilly down this week?” Wrath asks.

“Her brother’s helping, but yeah.”

“You need anything?”

“No, brother. I got it.”

After Wrath’s gone, Rock lifts an eyebrow. “Getting along with her brother better now?”

I shrug. “We seem to have called a truce. I still think he’s a dick.”

“Naturally.” Rock tips his head and studies me closer. “You look like you got a lot on your mind.”

I drop back into my seat and Rock does likewise. “I finally got some answers from Lilly.”

“And?”

After the rage cleared, I considered my options. One of my best opportunities to get at this guy if he’s convicted is immediately after the trial. I’ll have a narrow window where he’ll be at the local Federal facility while he’s being processed into the system. After that, it will be tough to track him down.

“I might need help getting access to someone in federal custody in the near future. Stump has a connection—”

“No.”

“Rock, I don’t need your permission.”

He grits his teeth. “Well, I’m sure as fuck not giving you my blessing. That’s a big, complicated favor to call in. Risky too, if you get caught.”

He’s not just talking about my risk. I also run the risk of ruining a long-standing relationship with the Demons if I use Stump’s connection and fuck it up. “I don’t care.”

He sits forward and lowers his voice. “And that right there is why I’m telling you no. You stop caring, that’s when shit goes wrong.”

“I’ll never snitch. Demons will stay clear of any trouble.”

Realizing I won’t let this drop, Rock blows out a breath. “You’re going to have to share more details.”

My hands ball into fists. “Senator Kelly —”

“The one who’s about to go on trial?”

Great, the publicity surrounding the case isn’t exactly going to encourage Rock to help me.

“Lilly worked for him,” I continue.

“Jesus Christ.” As usual, Rock doesn’t need me to paint a full picture.

“He hurt her, Rock. Bad. Feds wouldn’t let her do anything that might ruin their case.”

“That’s why she ran?”

“Short version, yeah.”

“Shit,” he mutters, shaking his head. He’s silent for a few minutes, but I sense his mind flipping through possibilities. Finally, he says, “Let me see what Tony can find out for me.”

That’s a big favor for Rock to call in. “This needs to be done, Rock. You know that. No matter how hard he might be to get at. I won’t let this one go.”

“I understand. You need to understand that it needs to be done the right way. The way that doesn’t end up with you in prison, missing out on the next twenty-five years of your son’s life.”

Okay, when he puts it that way, it gives me pause.

“Remember the guard at Slater Correctional?”

“Fuck yeah. I remember the pig.” When Rock had been inside a couple years ago, one particular guard had made Rock’s life hell by doling out daily beatings, trying to provoke Rock into a fight. The guard was in bed with the Vipers MC and the cowards wanted to take out our president without getting their hands dirty.

Rock wouldn’t be tricked into lashing out at a guard while in custody. Then the CO made the fatal mistake of touching Hope on one of her visits to see Rock. That invasive pat-down sealed the guy’s fate. As soon as Rock was out of jail, we started planning to end that motherfucker.

“You think I didn’t want to take him out right away?” Rock asks.

“This is different. This fuck has gone unpunished for years. He’s responsible for…a lot of things.”

Rock sits back but never takes his eyes off me. “I think I understand what you’re saying, Angus. Doesn’t mean I’m going to let you risk your freedom for som

e lowlife. We do this smart.”

We.

An injury to one member hurts us all. And we all retaliate.

I’m not in this alone.

“Give me whatever information you have and I’ll see what Tony can find out.”

“Rock, I can track down plenty on my own without involving him.”

“I realize that, but he might be able to tell me something the computer can’t. In no way do we want this traced back to you.”

“Thank you, brother.”

“You don’t have to thank me. You know where I’ll always land in this situation.”

Yes, yes, I do. Senator Kelly won’t be the first rapist to die at the hands of the Lost Kings MC. Brutal? Maybe. Necessary though, as far as I’m concerned. Haven’t lost any sleep over it yet.

“Are you comfortable bringing in the others if we need to?” He motions to the rest of the table. Retaliation at this level really needs to go through a club vote. Since my status is hovering between VP of upstate and prez of downstate, I guess I can choose which charter I want to involve. “There’s no one I trust more.”

He nods. “You might want to keep your relationship to Lilly a secret for now.”

“I’m the only one on the lease for the house downstate.”

“Good.” He gives me a thoughtful look. “You know if she put your name on Chance’s birth certificate?”