Temperance arson fire Kings of Anarchy
I need to convince my heart that he isn’t a good man so that this ache will go away. So I can fill the space he occupies with something that will actually fill my cup, not make me drink from it in large gulps.
The top response is from the local paper. I tap it instantly and then wait impatiently while my low service loads the main picture at the top of the article. It’s a shot of a burned-out truck in front of a gutted building. At first, it sure sets the mood for the story, but the longer I look at the image, the more I realize the photographer has strategically positioned themselves to frame the worst of the damage within the photo’s boundaries. The less-affected parts of the building eke into the edges of the shot, with the fire seemingly contained to the front half and the truck.
I skim read the article, hunting for clues on what, where, and why. Mainly looking for an indication of why my father would drop charges on such a serious incident. The reporter lays out the bare details, half their word count stating the obvious, like major repairs required to the building, and that the blaze started at the truck. But two-thirds of the way down, I find what I wanted. The paragraph explains that the site was once owned by a grain farmer, who later split it among multiple buyers for commercial use. But the history became foggy, and so, when they uncovered chil?—
I drop my phone against my legs and stare across the room.The fuck?
—children’s bodies beneath the timber foundations, an investigation was launched. Sheriff Green states that there is no definitive timestamp on how long the bodies have been there yet, and so he doesn’t have anything outside of a few initial suspects, which he doesn’t wish to share at this time. Blah, blah, blah, more sentences stating the obvious. Updates will be provided as they become available.
And then there’s nothing… No update. No further stories. No closing notes.
Just—poof—the story is gone like the initial article was an April Fool’s joke.
I draw my legs in and fold them before me, hands resting in my lap with the phone loosely held between.Well, I guess I got the proof I wanted.There were freakingkidsburied on their land.
And my father has done nothing.
None of this lines up. The man I grew up with would have made it his personal mission to find the people or person responsible and ensure justice was swift and loud, assuring Temperance that their loved ones are safe once again. The only way I could imagine him staying silent and complicit is if the Kings of Anarchy either paid him off—which is also gravely against my father’s ethos—or if they have something over him.
Holy shit.Did the Kings of Anarchy blackmail him to drop the case? Is that why he’s so damn angry at them all the time? Because they forced him to compromise his tightly conservative morals.
How long has this shit been going on?
The initial shock draws tight in my gut, balling and crystallizing into a budding rage.How fucking dare they?It’s bad enough they believe themselves to be above the law, but above God? Above the moral code, far enough that they think it’s not only okay to commit such heinous crimes, but even better to get away with it?
A shiver rattles down my body.And I believed Jinx was good at heart.How goddamn foolish am I? How easily charmed?
Fuck that club.
And fuck Jinx for making me believe he was worth hurting for.
THIRTY-FIVE
JINX
“Why don’tyou want to do it?”
Chaos leans back on his seat, one arm draped on the table as he fidgets with the warm pastry Vanessa brought him. “I didn’t say I don’t want to?—”
“But you clammed up pretty fast when Circus brought their name up in Church.”
The Fallen Aces are our best bet at getting ahead of this conflict with the Devil’s Breed. The decades-old history the Aces have with the club means they understand the assholes best when it comes to knowing how they operate in a war. Not that I want to admit that’s where we head, but from the whispers that circulate past Circus and Loki’s ears this last week, all indicators point toward the rival club gearing up to move in uninvited.
With no intention of leaving.
“Look,” Chaos says. “I was damn impressed by what King built with his club when we visited the other month, but they’re huge compared to us. Their roots go back twice as far as ours do. They’ve been at this game a lot longer.”
“And you’re worried you’ll get egg on your face by asking them to help?” I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Fuck, man. You can’t put pride into this decision.”
“Can’t I?” His piercing gaze finds mine.
I stare him down. “No. You can’t.”
He glances away, studying the plants behind me.
“What has Loki come back with?”
