Obligation (Underground Kings 2)

“Where do you want me?” Pika asks.

“I need you in the car,” I tell him, and he nods.

We drive the rest of the way in silence. Every scenario is playing out in my head. It’s not going to be easy to get him out alone, but I know men like him, and if I can make the offer sweet enough, he won’t be able to resist.

When we pull up outside of the hotel, Pika comes around and hops behind the wheel as Aye and I make our way inside.

“Message me when you spot him,” I tell Aye as I head in the direction of the bar.

It takes me less than ten minutes to find two women who are more than happy to take me up on my offer. I tell them that one of my frat buddies is in town and we’re going to play a little joke on him. At first, they are slightly unsure, but after I pull out a wad of cash, they’re more than willing to play along.

It takes another ten minutes to get a message from Aye about where Thad is, and just like I guessed, he’s sitting at one of the blackjack tables. I send the two girls over to him, and they do just what I asked, both of them flirting and whispering in his ear. Even from across the room, I can see that he’s eating that shit up.

Eventually, they convince him to go outside with them, and I know the exact moment it happens, ‘cause he pulls one of the girls into his lap and grabs the other by the back of her head, kissing her then forcing her mouth to her friend’s. They all stumble their way out of the casino as Aye and I follow behind them and make sure they stay on course.

Once we’re outside, the girls do just as I said and get him into the back of the SUV, closing the doors. After a few seconds, I make my way over and open the back door, getting inside.

“What the fuck?” Thad shouts as both girls scramble out the other door.

Aye climbs inside to sit on the other side of Thad, who’s in the process of pulling up his pants.

“Where to?” Pika asks as he pulls away from the curb.

“Dino’s,” I tell him, and he nods as we pull out onto the main road.

“I asked you what the fuck?” Thad shouts.

Aye puts his arm around his shoulders and pulls him back into him.

“Take off your shirt,” I tell him.

He looks at me like I’m crazy as the weight of the situation finally begins settling in.

“I said…take off your shirt!” I roar.

He holds his hands up in front of him, unbuttons his shirt, and slips it off, handing it to me. I set the shirt in my lap and begin taking my cufflinks off. Then I roll up the sleeves of my own.

“I don’t have a wire,” he tells me.

I laugh in his face. Then I pull my knife out, stabbing him in the gut twice before pressing his shirt to his stomach to staunch the blood flow.

“You just stabbed me,” he whispers.

I lift his face so that he’s looking at me and not at the blood that’s now turning his shirt red.

“I’m going to kill you tonight. I’m going to hurt you until you eventually pass out from blood loss, but then I’m going to wake you up and feed you your own fucking cock until you choke on it before taking your dead, lifeless body into the desert, where the fucking wild animals will fight over what’s left of you!” I roar as my hand on his jaw tightens to the point that both pain and understanding fill his eyes.

“She told you,” he says.

I lean forward until our noses are touching. “Yeah, she told me,” I say, and I then lean back enough to elbow him in the face.

His body slumps forward, and I wipe my hands off before turning away from him to look out the window. I was raised to do this. Every cell in my body knows exactly what needs to be done, all of them preparing for what’s to come, and when it’s over, I know I’ll go home to my wife and tell her that she never has to be afraid again because I slaughtered her demon.

I roll my window down as soon as we pull up outside Dino’s. His front door opens and he steps out onto the porch. Dino is about three hundred pounds, six seven, with a bald head. As soon as he realizes who it is, he swings his shotgun up to rest on his shoulder.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he says, looking at the occupants of the car.

“It’s been a while,” I confirm.

Dino has a house in the desert on two hundred acres. About fifteen years ago, he had bomb shelters built into the ground around his property. These shelters are soundproof and safely enclosed, the perfect place to kill someone and take your time doing it.

“I need a room tonight,” I say, getting out of the SUV and walking over to the porch.

“Sure thing.” He greets me with a handshake and waves for Pika to follow him. “I’ll lead you guy out,” he mutters, getting onto a four-wheeler while I walk back over to the SUV and climb into the front seat.

“This place is fucking creepy,” Aye mutters as we drive through the desert.

Every once in a while, we drive past a part of the sand that has a red light sticking up out of the ground, the light signifying that the room is occupied. There is only one reason to come here.

After driving for about thirty minutes, we come to a stop, and Dino gets off his four-wheeler, and I meet him at the door of the shelter.

“You know the rules. You’re locked in until you call. There are clothes and supplies inside, and make sure you leave your keys in the car so I can have someone come out and pick it up.”

“Got it,” I mutter.

He opens the door and the smell of cleaning supplies hits my nose. I inhale one last breath of clean air before walking into the room behind Pika and Aye, who are carrying Thad.

“Call when you’re done,” Dino says, shutting the door and locking it behind us.

For the next six hours, I tortured him until he couldn’t even hold his head up on his own. Then I cut off his dick and shoved it down his throat like I’d told him I would.

Call me evil, but when I walked away from his lifeless body, I felt cleaner.

There was one last piece of shit in the world preying on the innocent.

When we arrived home, I went to our room and got into the shower before getting into bed with Myla. The moment I lay down, her body curved against mine and she looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

“It’s done,” I tell her.

Her beautiful eyes close open, and she leans forward, pressing a kiss to my chest. I gather her closer to me, and with her wrapped in my arms and my hand on her belly, I feel my son move for the first time.

“He moved,” I whisper in awe, waiting to see if I can feel him again.

“He’s been doing it all night. It’s almost like he’s trying to tell me that it will all be okay,” she whispers.

I exhale a long breath. “You have nothing to fear now, makamae,” I tell her.

She nods her head against my chest, and I wait, listening as her breathing evens out before following her off to sleep.

Chapter 16

Redemption

We’ve been home from Vegas for three weeks, and I know it may make me a horrible person, but knowing that Thad is dead and can never hurt me or anyone else again makes me feel lighter. I still felt bad for my parents when they called to tell me that he had gone missing. I know they were heartbroken over the loss of their son. I wanted to tell them the kind of monster he was, to make them understand they shouldn’t morn his loss, but I know that, in the end, it didn’t matter. He had paid with his life for his crimes. I even got up enough courage to speak to my brother Royce, and even though the conversation was awkward, it felt good to talk to him.

My relationship with Kai has also changed since coming back to Hawaii. The wall that had been keeping us separated finally crumbled. He now knew everything there was to know about me, and I now know he will be there to help me battle any demons I may have.

I silently lie here, looking out at the ocean, willing myself to sleep, but I can’t get over the feeling that something is going to happen. I know that something is brewing. I don’t know what it is, but the energy ove

r the last few days has changed, and Kai is more anxious than before. But every time I bring it up, he explains that, when the time is right, he will share it with me.

“I need to go out for a couple of hours, love,” Kai says, coming into the room, where I have been lying down, trying to take a nap.

I turn my head on the pillow and take him in, noticing that he looks worried. “Do you want me to come with you?” I ask him.

He shakes his head, leans over me, and presses a kiss to my lips. When he pulls back, his fingers run down my cheek.

“I won’t be gone long,” he says, but the anxiety I see in his eyes has the worry in my chest expanding.

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. You just rest.”

I study his face and take notice of the way his jaw seems to be harder. “I love you,” I tell him as I lift my hand to run my fingers down his jaw.

His eyes go soft and his face changes slightly. “I love you too. I’ll be back,” he tells me, and this time, I hear the conviction in his voice when the words leave his mouth.

“We’ll be here waiting for you,” I tell him instead of doing what I really want to do, which is attach myself to him, making it hard for him to leave without taking me with him.

His lips press against mine as his hand moves to my belly one last time before he leaves the room. It takes all of my strength to stay on the bed and not follow him out of the house.