King’s jaw clenched. “How about you waste your breath and tell me again.”
Ryland stepped closer to King in what appeared to be an effort to intimidate him. He shouldn’t have bothered; nothing intimidated King. It would only piss him off more than he already was. “You’re playing with fire here, King. You remove the men you’ve got watching Gambarro, otherwise I’ll be stepping up my investigation of your club. And I think we both know how that will end up. I’ll also find a way to take over the investigation of Jacko’s murder, which will only increase my surveillance of your members.”
King’s nostrils flared as he looked at Ryland with every ounce of contempt he felt towards the man. I didn’t know what had happened to King when he was younger, but I would have put money on him having an altercation with the cops, because I didn’t know anyone to hate them as much as he did. “You do whatever the fuck you have to, Ryland, and leave me to do whatever the fuck I need to. Investigate the shit out of Storm. You won’t find anything that others haven’t been able to find over the years. But let me be crystal fucking clear—you’re the one playing with fire here, not me. And when that fire gets hotter than you ever realised it could, you’ll be wishing you never knew me or threatened me.”
Neither moved for a good few moments, each staring the other one down. Ryland was the first to move, taking a step back. “I’ve warned you. Let the chips fall where they may.” He stalked out of the clubhouse after that, leaving King to track his movements with disgust as he left.
“You think he’s got much on us?” I asked.
“He’s got something. But whether or not he can back it with evidence is another story. I’m not fucking removing our eyes off Gambarro, though, so Bronze better come through with something soon.”
We were dangerously close to the kind of shit we’d managed to avoid for a long time. Bronze had kept us off the cop radar most of the time, and whenever we’d hit it, he’d dragged us off it fast. But this time felt different; this time I was actually concerned about where it would all end up. Where we’d end up.
Chapter 10
Monroe
“So, do we think this is going to become a thing?” Tatum asked as she stirred our Milos and passed me mine.
“God, I hope not. Milo Fridays suck. But I can’t handle another night of too much alcohol this week. I’m barely recovering from Wednesday night.”
“How sick were you yesterday?”
I groaned as I sat on the stool at her kitchen counter. I loved being in her house. Since she’d moved in with Nitro, Tatum had decorated and made it a beautiful home for them. One of the things she’d scattered throughout was plants. The kitchen alone had three in it. Every time I visited, I thought about how much I would love some plants in my home, but I was certain they wouldn’t survive. I had a tendency to kill them.
“I felt ill all day and most of the night. I’m beginning to think I’m getting too old for hangovers.”
“Jesus, Roe, you’re only thirty-one. That’s not old.”
My phone rang, drawing my attention away from how old I really did feel. “Hey, Robyn, what’s up, girl?” It was one of my oldest friends.
“I’m calling to beg you for a favour next week, but I totally understand if you can’t do it, okay?”
I’d do pretty much anything for Robyn if I could swing it. She was the kind of friend every girl should have—loyal, kind and giving—and she’d never once let me down when I needed her. “Sure, what is it?”
“Bree has ice skating on Tuesday night, but I also have to go to John’s parent-teacher interview. And Matty isn’t home until Wednesday. Are you able to take Bree to ice skating?”
Her hubby worked away from home, and she often struggled with being able to do it all on her own. But she wasn’t the kind of woman to ask for help very often, so when she did, I knew she was desperate. And I loved Bree, her fifteen-year-old, so of course I would do this for her. “Just let me know the time, and I’m there.”
The relief was clear in her voice. “Thank you so much, Roe. I owe you huge.”
“You don’t owe me a thing, girlfriend.”
After I ended the call, Tatum asked, “Is she okay?”
I drank some of my Milo and nodded. “Yeah. Matty’s away, so she needs some help juggling the kids. I’m taking Bree ice-skating on Tuesday night. You wanna come?”
“I can’t. Nitro and I are going to check out cakes for the wedding.”
I almost spat out the Milo I’d just drunk. “Nitro’s checking out cakes? How the hell did you convince him to do that?”
She shrugged. “Sex. And well, the man loves cake, and I told him he’d get to sample lots of it.”
“That man loves you. I’d say that has a lot more to do with it than cake.”
She smiled. “And sex. Let’s not forget that.”
She was right. Nitro couldn’t keep his hands off Tatum. “Yeah, but he can get that from you whenever he wants.”
Her smile dimmed. “We’ve been a bit hit and miss lately. He’s been so busy with club stuff, and on edge, too. He comes home tense as hell and exhausted after the long days he’s putting in, and pretty much just falls into bed. I told him enough was enough and that he had to finish work early on Tuesday night to come to this with me.”
“He didn’t argue?”
“Well, that’s where the sex came in. I told him I’d make it worth his while and may have mentioned something about installing a mirror on the roof above our bed. He likes to fuck me in front of the mirror, so I figured we needed one in the bedroom. It arrives on Monday.”
I raised my mug. “Nice work, sister.”
She clinked mugs with me. “I thought so.” After she drank some Milo, she said, “How’s Bree these days?”
Bree had been a handful for the past three years, but was beginning to mature into the kind of daughter any mother would want. “Let’s just say that I think they’ve turned a corner with her. Robyn’s not reporting half as many arguments as she used to.”
“So you and Bree are still getting on okay?”
My face spread out into a smile. Bree was like the daughter I’d never had. I loved Robyn’s son, too, but I’d always wanted a little girl, so I felt a special bond with Bree. “We have our moments, but I never let her walk away angry with me. I always make sure we resolve any issues before they can become a problem.”
“You’ll make a good mum one day, Roe.” Tatum wasn’t really a kid person, but she always supported my dream of having a large family.
“That’s if I ever manage to have one before my eggs shrivel up.”
“Oh God, sometimes you are overly dramatic. You’ve still got years to go before that’s a concern.”