“Ouch. And?” King snorted and flashed him that smile of his that had been dropping underwear for decades.
“And they were onbikes,” Uhlig growled.
“They do sell motorcycles to anyone with cash.” I spit a few more drops of blood onto the floor for good measure. “Dumbass.”
“Can you please keep your dogs on a fucking leash?” Uhlig barked at King.
King rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who let him off it. You could’ve picked up the fucking phone. I know you have my number. You’re the one who wanted to make some sort of fucking point, as if we haven’t been pissing on each other’s boots for years.”
Uhlig actually growled, and the guy at his back chuckled as if he didn’t care about his life.
Will shocked the shit out of me by lunging toward the desk. Guns were drawn and aimed in his direction, and my heart nearly popped like confetti. I dove for him and wrapped my arms around him, dug in my heels, and threw my weight back.
King stood up with a hand out in our direction, but he was still staring at Uhlig. He crossed his arms and cocked his hip, leaning it against the gleaming wooden desk. “Sounds like you need our help. You know, there’s a significant finder’s fee on jobs like this?”
Uhlig took off his sunglasses and jabbed them in King’s direction. “If it wasn’t you, then you should be worried. We aren’t the only organization that moves money in this city.”
For a few seconds, King stared him down, then let his shoulders relax. He tugged out a pack of cigarettes and went through the whole rigamarole of tapping the box, unwrapping plastic, which he threw on Uhlig’s desk while the man’s left eyetwitched. Took one out. Grinned while he lit up. I’d never really noticed how good King was at winding someone up without doing much of anything. When he had his cigarette lit, he blew smoke at Uhlig, who only blinked and scowled.
“You didn’t actually think it was the Kings. If it had been us, none of our boys would’ve been within a damned mile of the hit. You thought you would make some accusations, throw around your weight, and try to get me to lick your boots. The Kings don’t bow to anyone, fuck you very much.” He took another drag from his cigarette.
Uhlig continued to give King the stink eye.
“Twenty percent finder’s fee. Whoever locates your stash gets themselves a fat reward.”
“That’s a rip-off.” Uhlig’s lip curled.
King wagged his cigarette up and down with his teeth. “Would’ve been fifteen if you hadn’t roughed up PD. You need to learn to play nicer with your friends.” King wandered over and planted a kiss on my temple.
Will huffed and poked at his chest with two fingers. His irritated little scowl sent a zing of pleasure through me. We both knew King was hamming it up for Uhlig, but was Will still jealous? I squeezed him close.
Uhlig turned around and glared at the big guy in a suit who worked for him.
He shrugged. “They do have the manpower. Better than a whole shipment being lost.”
About a minute ticked by as Uhlig twirled his glasses while he pursed his lips. On anyone else, I would call that expression a pout, but he was too bloodthirsty. “Fine.”
King turned toward the door, and I was surprised when Jester came up on my other side and helped Will walk me out. The longer I was on my feet, though, the easier it was to move. They’d had my ankles tied too fucking tight to the chair, so myfeet still had some pins and needles in them that were working themselves out. I’d been able to ignore it while I was worried one of us would get shot, but now that the tension was cranking down, the aches and pains were singing loud and clear. My jaw ached like a bitch. Maybe one of my molars had gotten cracked, but I wouldn’t be able to tell for a couple of days.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” King called over his shoulder. He turned and flicked his cigarette butt into Uhlig’s office, and I got the joy of watching pure rage wash across the gremlin’s face. What an asshole.
Uhlig stormed toward him but stopped short of ordering his men to end us. “If I find out you had anything to do with this?—”
“If I wanted you out of New Gothenburg, you’d already be dead.” King blew him a kiss, and that was our cue to get the fuck out of Dodge. No good would come from lingering.
Once we were outside, I was stunned to see all the bikes gleaming in the afternoon sunshine. “Jesus, you brought an army.”
“Well, yeah. We weren’t going to let Uhlig take you apart and sell you off for pieces. He’s a serious risk,” King said quietly, shaking his head. He scratched his nose and got a faraway expression, clearly deep in thought. The sunlight glinted in his hair and highlighted the bits of silver that were starting to creep upward. King walked over to his bike and slapped the seat, getting the attention of everyone around him.
“Spread the word, boys! There’s a pot of gold sitting out there somewhere. The casino lost an entire fucking truckload of cash.”
Catcalls went up.
“Talk about a white whale.” Charley Hughes laughed.
King grinned. “Anyone who finds it gets ten percent. Club dues are ten percent. The rest goes back to Uhlig. Call it in, and we’ll come help you sort it out. Uhlig’s going to want the boys who did it, too. We’ll toss them in for free.”
Will frowned. “But King, you told Uhlig?—”
