“Draco, go to the hospital and keep me updated on Snake’s condition,” Zeus orders, then singles out Tank and Smokey. “You two go with him and watch his back.”
All three make a swift exit while the rest of us gather and plan our next move.
“I never should’ve been dragged into this,” Loretta gripes from the passenger seat. “It’s not my fault Zilphia got mixed up with a criminal. Men like you are for fun, not for building a life with.Frankly, I knew you were trouble the day you nearly burned my house down.”
I’m already on edge and this bitch won’t shut the fuck up. “I happen to enjoy trouble.” I brandish my weapon, lying it across my thigh, making sure the barrel is pointed directly at her. Loretta shifts in her seat, my actions having the desired effect. “Especially killing. I use my Glock most times, but for a more personal touch, my Bowie knife is my go-to choice. Wanna see it?”
“No,” she responds, a slight tremor in her voice.
“Sure you do.” I pull the Bowie from the sheath at my hip and hold it out to her. “Take it.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to.”
“I said fucking take it,” I demand, the threat underlying my words unmistakable. With an unsteady hand, she takes the twelve-inch blade from my grasp. “Feel how heavy that is?”
“Y-yes.”
“I remember gutting some poor bastard for saying some disrespectful shit to me.” I chuckle, but no one would call the sound humorous. “My knife slid into his belly like a perfectly cooked steak. Guess what happened next.”
She lets out a soft whimper before answering. “I-I don’t know.”
“The fucker shit and pissed himself,” I continue, flashing a smile at her. “Guess what happened after that? What the hell, I’ll just tell you. I disemboweled him and stuffed his intestines down his throat. The interesting part is he was still alive while I did it.” I bore into her eyes. “I don’t think you should talk anymore. What do you think?”
“I-I’ll be quiet.”
“Good.”
The rumble of engines echoes through the night, and every muscle in my body tightens. If the plan goes south, I could lose them.
Butch up andget your shit together.Now is not the time to second-guess myself.
I’m a God. I will not falter. I will bring my family home.
“How certain are you that Spider’s her father?”
“One hundred percent certain.”
“You better be,” I warn, stashing my weapons. “Stay here.”
I exit the vehicle, leaving the money on the backseat for now. We’re deep in the desert, away from prying eyes, with only the moonlight keeping the darkness from swallowing us whole.
In the distance, riders emerge from the pitch black and slow to a stop about six feet from where we stand. Their arrival kicks up a thick cloud of dust, obscuring visibility and making a dangerous situation even more dangerous.
I lock my gaze on Spider and the woman sitting behind him. It takes every ounce of my self-control not to shoot her dead as she climbs down from the bike.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Katherine?”
“Is that any way to speak to your mother?” she mocks, striding forward until we’re barely a breath apart. “Oh, that’s right. You told me you didn’t have a mother and never to show my face again.”
“Where is she?” I growl, fighting to keep my cool.
“We buried her alive,” she taunts, fluttering her eyes up at me. “She begged for her life and the lives of your bastards.”
I close my hands around her throat and squeeze as hard as I can. Abject terror replaces the triumphant glint in her eyes as she struggles to pull oxygen into her lungs.
Spider comes to her rescue, leveling his gun between my eyes. “I can’t let you manhandle my bitch. That’s my job. Be a good stepson and let her go.”
I shove her away from me, though I would like nothing more than to break her fucking neck. “You’re pathetic.”
