Page 49 of Princes of Carnage

“Jesus. First Atlas, and now you?” I snap. “I can drive myself.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that. She drives like a bat out of hell,” Atlas says, his arms folded.

I shoot him a glare and then turn it on Nico as well.

“You’ll ride with me,” Nico declares.

“The hell I will.”

“We’re supposed to be presenting a united front,” he insists. “How do you think it’ll look if we show up separately? I don’t know about Enigma, but my crew will take it as a sign that this alliance is all for show.”

I grind my teeth, hating this more and more by the second. Every time he has a good point, I want to hit him.

Because he’s right. I’ve been dragging my feet on this whole thing, but if we’re going to expect our gangs to get along and honor this alliance, then we have to do the same thing. I have to act like I trust these assholes, for the good of the people who trust me.

“Alright,” I say, letting out a breath. “We ride together.”

Nico nods, his expression serious and completely devoid of any taunting smirk at the moment. “Good.”

He hands me his helmet, and I get on the bike behind him, pulling it on over my head.

As much as I want to keep distance between us, to not touch him more than I have to, it’s hard on the back of a motorcycle.

Nico looks over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “You know better than that, mia cara. You’re gonna have to hold on.”

He revs the bike, and when he peels out of the driveway, I have to wrap my arms tight around him or risk falling off the back. I scowl behind the borrowed helmet, too irritated with him to care about the fact that he gave it to me rather than wearing it himself.

I can feel his muscled frame, the front of my body molded tightly against the broad planes of his back, and it brings back unwelcome memories of last night.

Nico wasn’t wrong. I can still feel him when I move. The ache of how he fucked into me so hard, the lingering soreness of being stretched almost to the breaking point by his massive cock. The only other person who’s left me feeling like that was Phantom.

Thinking about him now makes me wonder… will I not see Phantom anymore now that I’m married? Even if the marriage is just a technicality?

But I shake that thought off. This thing between us is in name only, and there’s nothing my new ‘husband’ can do to stop me from doing whatever the hell I want.

Luckily, the ride goes by quickly, and before long we arrive at the spot we’ve chosen for this meeting—an area just between our two territories. It’s in one of the old factory complexes that have shut down, with lots of space, away from prying eyes.

As soon as Nico stops the bike, I slide off it, taking the helmet off so I can put more distance between us. I’m careful not to step too far away from him though, mindful of the fact that we’ll both be under scrutiny soon.

Gradually, members from both of our gangs show up in small groups, gathering together. I catch sight of Emmett, and he lifts his chin in greeting. He looks like he wants to come over and talk to me, but before he can, Nico jerks his head toward the front of the gathered groups, and I move to follow him.

It feels strange, walking between two different gangs with Nico, standing in front of them. I made a small speech when I took over Enigma, right after my dad died, but it didn’t feel anything like this.

There’s a noticeable tension in the air between the two sides, and they seem to be trying to keep their distance as much as possible. It’s understandable, considering we’ve been rivals for so long. Telling them to get along now is going to be a pretty big ask.

Nico clears his throat, and then slips his hand into mine.

I have to fight against every instinct I have not to snatch my hand away. Instead, I take a deep breath and link my fingers with his, binding our hands tighter together.

“Thank you all for being here,” Nico says, bringing the meeting to order. “Most of you have probably heard already, and some of you might be wondering why the hell we called you all here today. Especially together.” There are some rumbles of assent in the crowd, and he nods, then continues. “As of today, Enigma and Carnage are working together. We’re putting old grudges to rest and joining forces. That goes from the top all the way down.”

He pauses, and when I don’t say anything, he squeezes my hand discreetly. I swallow, trying to focus on the reason we’re here and not the feeling of his palm against mine.

“That’s right,” I say, raising my voice. “Nico and I have worked out an arrangement, and we’re putting the past aside. What came before doesn’t matter now, and we all have to move forward. We expect that all of you will follow our lead, no matter what bad blood used to exist.”

“Bad blood? That’s putting it fucking lightly,” someone mutters from the crowd.

Someone else snorts at that, and there are some general grumbles of agreement.

---