I pointed my finger at the bruises on my face and body. “Jesus Christ, King, you’ve seen what he’s capable of. I’d rather get in bed with Billy if our only other option is Joseph.”
He ran his hand over his face as he shook his head. “With the amount of guns and ammo we need, that option is off the table. Billy would bleed us dry with what he charges.” He didn’t acknowledge the beating I’d taken, but then our world was full of violence, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, it cut that he didn’t care.
“Fuck!” I spun around and punched the wall, letting my anger flow out of me.
Hyde spoke up. “I’m on board with using Joseph.”
Of course he fucking was. And so, it turned out, was everyone else. The mighty dollar guaranteed that. With the tens of thousands of dollars we’d save buying from Joseph, they all jumped in quickly with their support for the decision.
Then King twisted the knife in further. “The deal is going down today. And Nitro?”
I stared at him. “What?”
“Joseph had one stipulation for this deal to go ahead.”
“What?” Tension punched through every part of my body in anticipation of what his requirement could be. Joseph would surely use this as some way to drag me back to him.
King held my gaze in the way he did when he wanted no argument. “He wants you there.”
My mind raced with what his reasoning for this was. There had to be a trap. There always was with Joseph.
“Nitro?”
My head snapped up. There were so many questions that King was asking me. Was I on board? Would I do what he asked? Were my loyalties with the club? I nodded. “Yes.”
He returned my nod. “We leave in an hour.”
* * *
Joseph’s car pulled into the warehouse and parked next to the truck that had already arrived. He exited the black SUV and walked our way, his gaze not leaving mine.
King stepped forward, meeting him. They exchanged words, but I couldn’t hear what was said. My ears roared as my demons circled so even if I’d been closer, I probably wouldn’t have made out what they were saying. I’d spent the last hour going over and over what Joseph’s goal could be with having me there. I’d come up fucking short, and that only meant my vigilance was extreme.
King raised his arm and motioned for me to join them. I closed the distance without hesitation. If Joseph wanted me there, he wouldn’t see any of my uneasiness. However, just as I almost reached them, William circled around from the back of the truck and came my way.
Fuck.
Sweat broke out on my forehead and my throat turned dry. The nightmares of my childhood screamed to life when I realised he wore the exact outfit he’d worn years ago while drilling obedience into me. Black cargo pants, black tee and black combat boots. The fucking bastard knew it would be a trigger for me, but I was getting better at fighting those goddam triggers. My physical reactions weren’t so controlled, but I worked overtime trying to shut them down.
“William,” I greeted him, holding my body up straight.
Disappointment flashed across his face for a second before he scrubbed it away and gave me a tight smile. “Rhys, we meet again.”
“We do.” Our faces were a mess of violent bruising and swelling, and if his body felt anything like mine, it was in some pain. But there we were, years after I thought I’d never see him again.
“Can we get this done?” King asked with a scowl. He’d pulled me aside after Church and told me he’d do his best to push the delivery through fast so I didn’t have to be around Joseph for long.
I’d seen King’s reluctance to take this deal and in between the words of what he said to me, I’d understood his reasons. I didn’t like them, or necessarily agree with them, but I got why he took this path.
Joseph motioned for William to take care of business with King while he walked my way. Eyeing my bruises, he said, “Your father would be proud of you, Rhys. He never did see eye-to-eye with me about your potential.”
He made no sense to me. “What the fuck does that mean?”
His lips curled into an evil smile. “My brother had such noble dreams for your future. He wanted you to have what he never did. Told me once that you were smart enough to be a doctor or a lawyer or even a scientist. You did love science after all. I was the one who saw you for who you really were. Smart as a whip and able to make decisions on your feet. I knew that with the right training you could lead an army. The fact you’re still fighting me on your destiny, he’d be proud of that.” He paused for a moment and his evil fucking smile grew. “It’s a good thing I didn’t allow him to be around to help you fight me.”
My breathing slowed. “You what?”
He watched me closely with a look of triumph. “Did you think that car crash was an accident all those years ago, son?”
The car crash when I was twelve.
The one that killed both my parents.
The deaths that forced us to live with Joseph.
Motherfucker.
Every emotion I’d ever buried roared in my head. In my body. Through every fucking part of me. He’d taken my parents from me and he’d taken my life, too. Every good thing I ever had died that day. Joseph had extinguished all the light in my life and filled it with darkness instead.
I will kill him.
My loyalty to King and the club shattered. Once we left this warehouse, I would make a fucking plan and I would rip the life from Joseph’s body.
King blurred into focus as Joseph shifted away. Coming to me, he said, “We’re done, Nitro. Time to go.”
I blinked.
Forcing out a harsh breath, I snapped back to attention. Turning, I stalked to the van we’d come in. I didn’t give Joseph another glance, didn’t want to look at him more than I had to. The next time I saw him would be the last.
* * *
I glanced at my phone, looking for a text from Tatum. I’d sent her one twenty minutes earlier and hadn’t heard back. Unusual for her. She never took more than ten minutes to reply.
“You gonna finish that beer or just stare at your phone all afternoon?” Devil asked.
My hand squeezed around the phone and I looked up at him. After I drank what was left in my bottle, I said, “Just waiting on a message.”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s fucking obvious. You whipped bastard.”