Knuckles stiffened.“Shelet this bastard in?”
“If you knew who your rat was, why is she still here and still able to attack us from the inside?”
Knuckles’ face went stone cold.“Because we didn’t know for sure it was her until right fucking now.”His voice was deadly quiet.“She’s been careful.Real careful.”
“Where is she now?”I kept my gun trained on Roscoe, but my attention was split between him and this revelation about Silk.
“Clubhouse.Last I saw her, she was with the other girls by the pool.”Knuckles pulled out his phone.“Xavier, I need you to find Silk.Now.Don’t let her know you’re looking for her, just locate her and keep eyes on her until I get back.”
Roscoe tried to push himself up on his good arm, blood still pouring from his wounds.“You can’t just execute me in broad daylight, you psycho fucks.”
“Watch me.”I aimed the gun at his head.
“Pain.”Nadine’s voice was soft but firm.“Let Knuckles handle Silk first.This piece of shit isn’t going anywhere.”
She was right.Roscoe was done, but Silk was still a threat to everyone back at the compound.Still, every instinct inside me wanted to end him.Now.I lowered the weapon slightly, my jaw clenched tightly.
“I need answers first,” Knuckles cut in, his voice deadly calm as he crouched beside Roscoe.“Why are you so interested in us?This ain’t just about busting a motorcycle club.”
Roscoe laughed, a wet, gurgling sound that ended in a cough.Blood sprayed from his lips.“You think you’re so fucking smart.You think your Miles family protection means shit.I control the police presence in this fuckin’ town!I can make your life very unpleasant.”
“What do you want?”Knuckles crossed his massive arms over his chest.I was muscular, but Knuckles was on a different level.And, as much as I hated to admit it, he was much more intimidating than me.
Roscoe’s gaze darted between us before he smirked.“Your precious president has been paying me off for months.Cutting me in on whatever you’re running through those docks.”
I glanced at Knuckles, who just looked amused.“That true?”
“Partially,” Knuckles didn’t look concerned in the least.“I followed Tonio’s instructions because we thought he was the muscle for a rival wanting to cut in on Miles’ family business.”
“OK.I’ll buy that.”I nodded.Knuckles always had shit going on I wasn’t privy to and had no desire to know about.“I assume this is all related to why you were holding off on doing anything to those assholes outside the gate?”
“Yep.”Knuckles’ grin didn’t quite reach his eyes.Except in a malevolent kind of way.
“Look.”Roscoe sat up a little more, braced on his good arm.Blood still oozed from the three times I’d shot him, but fuck the bastard anyway.“Like I said.I am the law in this town.I can guarantee one hundred percent you’ll never have to worry about police involvement in your operation at the docks.All I’m asking for is five percent of what comes through.”
Gunnar, Knuckles’ right hand and his daughter’s man, moved beside our president.“In case you missed it, buddy, you’re not in much of a position to negotiate.You’re really not in a position to demand protection money.”
“My boys’ll be here soon.Every single man I brought here to starve you guys out is loyal to me.”
“They’re loyal to the money you pay them,” Knuckles said.“Which means they’ll be loyal to the moneyIpay them.Then they’ll stay loyal to me because if they don’t, this whole incident gets out and every one of them will be on the bad end of a public relations nightmare.”
“I might have threatened to cut them into little pieces if they didn’t take the money and go.”Gunnar looked entirely too smug, but it fit the mood.
I pegged the second Roscoe realized he’d written a check his body was going to have to make good on, and that he saw his death in the immediate future.“Was all this about money?”I asked, suddenly curious.“Just… your greed?Why hurt Nadine?”
“Go fuck yourself.”Roscoe spat blood in our general direction.
Knuckles and Gunnar exchanged a look.Then Knuckles shrugged.“He targeted your woman, Pain.How long he lives is up to you.”
Yeah.I didn’t need to know the why of it as long as I knew he was working alone.Which, sounded like he was.
A harsh battle cry caught me by surprise as Roscoe managed one last Hail Mary, likely in an attempt to take at least one of us with him.Gunnar was closest, and that’s who he hit as he threw his body in our general direction.I have no idea how he moved as quickly as he did with the injuries he had, but imminent death has a way of turning people into superhumans for brief moments and I suppose this was Roscoe’s.
Gunnar hit the ground.Hard.I heard a sharppopand the younger man gave a snarling grunt of pain.Knuckles grabbed Roscoe by the scruff of the neck and hauled him off Gunnar, flinging him back to the ground where he’d previously lay bleeding.
“Fucker,” Knuckles muttered, then pulled his own suppressed pistol and shot Roscoe in the head.
“Fuck,” Gunnar gasped.“Fuckin’ hell.”
