“You almost died, so excuse me if it’s not all puppies and fucking rainbows for me right now.”
“It’s not my fault I got attacked,” I growled.
“Jesus, you two,” Dad breathed out. “You’re worse than sisters.”
“How would you know, old man?” Bellamy challenged. “You don’t have any siblings.”
He chuckled, waving his hand between me and Bellamy. “Because of this.”
“I’m not really sure you had a choice in the matter,” I grumbled.
Dad smiled gently. “Bell, you’re freaking out because you almost lost Indigo. You lash out when you’re scared, and you lash out at the person who scared you instead of putting your energy into doing something productive.”
“Don’t talk to me like you know me,” she grumbled.
“And Indy, honey, you take on way too much and then yell at Bell because she’s trying to get you to delegate. At some point, you have to trust that your family has your back.”
“Whatever, Dad.” I hated it when he was right.
“Whatever, indeed,” he retorted.
I sighed. “I’m infirm. It’s rude to make sense when someone is infirm.”
“Brianna’s sleeping,” Dad reminded us. “Let’s try to keep it down, hm?”
“Once she’s asleep, she sleeps like the dead,” I countered, stroking her hair.
“Seriously,” Bellamy agreed. “You could shoot a gun off and she’d sleep through it.”
“Did Jekyll give you any indication of where he thinks Leo might be?” I asked Bellamy.
“He didn’t say anything to me. Just ordered some of his biker friends to clean up. Bri was really upset so Jessa suggested she come see you and confirm you’re getting better.”
I smiled gently. “I like that.”
“We haven’t eaten anything for a while, so how about your dad and I go grab food and let you two rest.”
I nodded, and Bellamy helped pull the covers over both of us. I held Brianna as close as I could and quickly fell asleep.
* * *
Jekyll
Iraised my fist, silentlyordering my brothers behind me to stop. We were currently in an older residential development on the outskirts of Monument, in an area even we didn’t frequent. This was Kings’ territory, and we’d have eyes on us soon enough.
If we didn’t already.
Although, they were far from being the largest gang in Colorado, their brutality and creativity made up for their lack of numbers. Like many gangs across the country, the 719 Kings were born and bred inside the Colorado state prison system. New inmates without prior gang affiliation who found themselves in need of protection could turn to the Kings who were more than happy to offer their services. For a price.
The Kings had a simple but effective “two-fer” system for protection payment. For every favor they did for you on the inside, you owed them two once you were back on the street. Many inmates would rack up quite a bill while locked up and you can bet the Kings were ready to cash in the first favor the second their asses hit the jailhouse steps. If anyone got busted doing the Kings’ dirty laundry, they’d go right back to jail, and the game would start all over again. The system provided a sustainable, street-level workforce without need for constantly recruiting new full-fledged members. This meant the Kings could use non-members who were “on the hook” to do their dirty work, while taking their time to recruit and groom future members.
When I fucked up Chucky, I’d fucked with one of their investments. Chucky was a prospect, and by tapdancing on his face, I’d potentially taken him out of the game. I was prepared for blowback to come my way but didn’t see the Kings coming for Leo. I figured since he wasn’t jumped in, they wouldn’t give a shit about Leo.
I was wrong.
I had Scrappy following in one of the club’s delivery vans since I had no idea what kind of condition Leo would be in once I found him, or if he’d be able to ride. Right now, the van was parked around the block, out of sight, as were our bikes.
“Sounds like a party,” Rocky whispered, motioning to the battered 1960’s ranch style home. The muffled sounds of music and voices poured out of the well-worn structure.
