“No one is gonna mess with your girl, Dirk.” I remain silent, knowing that my ten minutes have already dwindled to eight. “I know that wasn’t your call. I know Tick, the SA your man Shady shot, initiated the fight. You say he made it personal. I don’t care. You know as well as any man that wears a patch that right and wrong goes out the window when it comes to your brothers. I didn’t know the club had taken it upon themselves to seek out Saylor.”
The mention of her name from his mouth makes me want to pull my gun out and end this all now. And I don’t try to hide how I feel. He already knows Saylor is my weakness. And I know he is lying. He was fully aware of what they did.
“The twelve men I buried, their blood is on your hands. And their deaths will be avenged.” He pauses, and I see his eyes flick to the pocket of my jeans. “I’m gonna ask you for a cigarette, Dirk. I don’t want the men whose guns are trained on my head to fire when I reach for my own.” He knew Shady was here. It doesn’t make him good, it just makes him experienced. He would be stupid to think I would walk out here all alone.
I hand him a smoke and even light it for him, then offer one to his men, who refuse. I don’t want a gunfight any more than they do. “But avenging my brothers’ death is only worth it if I get something out of it. When Sinner’s Creed offered your life in return for peace, they had one exception. They wanted me to give them six months. I refused, so they sweetened the deal. Not only are they giving me you, they’re giving me five mil on top of it. So, if you think about it, your club is actually paying me to take you out. I never thought Sinner’s Creed was the type to turn on their own. I guess I was wrong. But killing you won’t bring back my brothers. So I have a new demand. Your club has something I want. Something that can make this all go away.”
I watch his eyes as they dance with pure fucking elation at the question that he thinks is running through my head. What the fuck could he possibly want? But I already know what they want. If he’s waiting for me to ask, he’ll be waiting all night. Or at least he would any other time. But I don’t have all night. I have four minutes.
“What?” I ask, feigning boredom.
“I want Texas.”
“Why?”
“Why is not important. All that you need to know is Texas belongs to Death Mob. If a Sinner’s patch rolls through, he better have permission from me before he does.”
“You already know that’s not going to happen.”
“I was asked to spare your life for six months. That was two months ago. Now I’m rethinking the negotiation. So it would be in your best interest to make this happen.” Cyrus’s suggestion sounds so simple coming from his mouth. And just like Jimbo predicted, he is going back on his word. But what he doesn’t know is that I have something he wants too.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to negotiate,” I say, unable to hold back my smirk as I watch the fear spread across his face.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means that you made a deal. You gave your word. But, because we’re aware of what a lying piece of shit you are, we collected something of yours.” The monster inside me becomes ecstatic at the thought of his reaction when he finds out what it is I have.
But he surprises me when he laughs. “What the hell do you have that can be more important to me than Texas?”
I give him my best smile. One that wipes that shit-eating smirk right off of his face. Shady really was the best at what he did. And he found out a secret Cyrus never thought would ever surface.
“I have your daughter.”
23
“I PRAYED TODAY,” I tell Saylor when we are back in bed. Her back is to my front and I feel her tense in my arms.
“What did you say?”
“I prayed today.” She turns to face me, the light from the scent warmer on the dresser just enough for me to make out the unbelieving smile on her face. It makes her so happy that I elaborate. “I prayed for both of us,” I tell her, and I see a glint of sadness in her eyes before she smiles wider.
“That’s great, Dirk.” She kisses me before snuggling in closer. But I want to tell her more.
“It worked,” I say, still not believing that it did. I’m sure God did it for her, but the fact that I asked and he actually listened was enough. She pulls her head back, and this time confusion floods her face.
“I don’t understand.” Then I realize why she doesn’t. She thinks I prayed she would get better. Maybe I should have. Maybe I will.
“I don’t want to go into detail about it. I just needed something to go away for a while so I could concentrate on you. I know that no one will take care of you like I will, and I think God knows that too. So I asked on your behalf if he would give me a little more time before I had to deal with it. Tonight, I got confirmation that he did.” Maybe that was a little too much information. Now Saylor is propped on her elbow, and I have her full, inquiring attention.
“Deal with what? Are you in trouble?” I laugh at her concern, even though it really isn’t funny. She smiles, and I watch her eyes as they fall to my mouth. She likes when I laugh.