“Well, that place ain’t going to be anywhere on our land.” Chaos slips past Crow to disappear indoors—presumably in search of food.
My sign to wrap it up. “Great seeing you again, Matthias. Be sure to stop by again when you’ve got a suitcase of cash for us, yeah?”
“Get fucked.” Our former mule turns to make his way down the steps.
I shove my boot against his chest, one arm wrapped around the pillar to steady myself.
He looks down at where my dusty sole leaves an imprint on his shirt, and then back up at me, head tilting and eyes narrowing. “Do we have a problem here?”
“Entirely up to you.”
Circus rises to his feet behind Danica, shadowing the woman. She stares at her brother before her, ignorant of the looming problem behind.
“I don’t think you told Chaos the whole truth just now.” I keep my foot on his chest and give it a little shove. “Where are the girls coming from?”
“What does that matter?”
“Oh, it means everything to me.” I give another, more brutal shove to send the guy staggering back into Crow, and then hop down from the rail. “Where are they coming from, Matthias?”
Danica jerks, a choked squeal caught in her throat as she darts sideways to get away from Circus’s touch. The silent freak lets the end of her hair sift through his fingers as she moves somewhere safer.
Matty side-eyes the situation and draws a deep breath, expelling it through his nose. “Tell your man to keep his hands to himself.”
“Got a moral conscience for women, have you?” I fold my arms, stance wide as I sandwich him between myself and Crow. “Where. Do. You get. The girls. Matthias?”
His dark gaze searches mine. “I think you know.”
“This is the deal you cut with Manic to clear your debt with him, huh?”
Jaw tense, he snarls at the mention of his wife’s brother—a member of the Devil’s Breed who he owes a large gambling debt to. Hence, our burnt property.
“You fuckin’ must think us fools, huh? You think we couldn’t put that connection together quicker than it would take us to shit on your front lawn? We’re not interested,” I growl, leaning in to his weathered face. “We never will be. And if you so much as buy a single fucking woman, man, or child from that goddamn cesspool they call an MC, you’ll have your debt wiped.” I lean a little closer. “Because you’ll be dead.”
“Tough words from a soft man.”
Yeah, everyone knows I’m not usually the first brother to step up when the dirty work needs doing, but more fool Matthias if he thinks that it means I can’t.
I simply choose not to.
“Ask the buried secrets of my past how ‘soft’ I am.”
Danica inches away from Circus’s continued fascination. “Can we go now, Matty? Please.”
“Take your sister home,” Crow grumbles. “Spend some time with your kids and your wife. Be grateful for what you have while you still have it.”
“Is that a threat?”
I step aside to let the man leave. “You tell us. You’re the one who chose to get into bed with the Devil’s Breed.”
SIX
KYRA
“How was work today?”My father cuts into his tender slice of beef with fastidious precision at the head of the table.
I glance at my mother, who gives nothing away as she gently pushes pieces of salad onto her fork.
“It was fine.”
