Page 29 of Ruthless Son

This was the second person to be taken out because of this, and I knew that unless we stopped these fucking bastards, Margot wouldn’t be the last.

“Why did you bring us here?” Mia fumed beside her crying sister, rubbing her arm in comfort as she sat in Kannon’s arms.

Kannon glared up at me, in agreement with the princess. She had barely glanced at the body, indifferent to the pool of blood beneath the old woman—as I’d expected. But her sister covered her face, refusing to look at the old woman whose life had been cut short.

“Look at her, Millie,” I demanded, stepping closer. She cried harder, the noise beginning to grate on my nerves. “Look. At. Her,” I shouted, my patience all but gone with the soft woman. I had no time for crybabies, I had a club to protect, and she was in the way of that.

Mia stood to her full height, which was barely to my chin and glared at me, our eyes met in a blaze of sparks, my frustration with her anger. “You don’t get to order my sister around,” she shouted back. “She’s just lost her friend and you’re making her look at her dead body. How fucking dare you.” She slapped at my chest, trying to push me backward, but her attempt at violence did nothing but irritate me.

“This is what they do.” As her hand rose to slap at me again, I grabbed her wrist, tugging her forward. “And if your sister doesn’t grow some fucking balls right now, she might be in Margot’s place next. Do you hear me?”

“They won’t get the chance.” She tugged at my grip, and I squeezed a bit harder, not enough to hurt her, but enough for her to know that she wasn’t getting away from me. “We’ll be on the first plane back to the UK in the morning.”

I scoffed at her optimism. She had no clue. “You’re not leaving until this mess is fixed. Your sister knows who did this, and she’ll be stuck here until I have what I need.”

Mia sputtered at my command, her face bright red with a mix of shock and anger. “You can’t… you?—”

“I can, it’s already done.” I stormed out of the shop, the fresh air wiping away the metallic scent of blood that had saturated my senses.

Gauge emerged from the shadows, his silent sentry a balm to my frustration. “Was there anything on the security cameras?”

He shook his head, a grim look on his face. “The miserable old bat refused to pay for the alarm, the camera was just for show. We have nothing.”

“Fuck.” I swiped my hand through my hair, releasing the top knot that kept it at bay and tugged at the thick mass before tying it back up, keeping it out of my way. I needed to do something, I needed to find these fuckers that were murdering people in my town—my fucking town. “Did you get the stuff?”

“Link and Wheeler packed up the sister’s shit from the motel and took it back to the clubhouse.” He watched me with curiosity, narrowed eyes searching for something. “You know she won’t accept this, right?”

I laughed at his conclusion, fuck, of course she wouldn’t accept it. But she didn’t have a choice in the matter anymore. I’d been soft, I’d had as much patience as I could with this situation, and now I had to take matters into my own hands. “It won’t be forever.”

“Have you called prez?” Gauge asked, his voice low in the dark night. There was no-one around, but still, we had enemies and it was always best to be cautious, walls had ears.

“I’ll tell him soon.” Gauge's eyes widened, and I clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?”

“Yea brother, you keep telling yourself that,” he drawled, before sliding back into the shadows, to keep watch from the darkness.

Link pulled up in the company van, the name of the funeral home written on the side in neat silver swirls. As the only funeral home for miles around, we were often the first ones to arrive on scene. The Sheriff should have been called to the scene of the crime, and an investigation into Margot’s murder. But this was our town and I would be damned if I let some fucking coroner spoil the body and crime scene with their tarnished touch. This would be in-house. Her death certificate would have ‘heart attack’ written on it, and no one would be any the wiser—I would see to it.

As Link pulled out the gurney, the wheels rattling on the sidewalk, curtains twitched above us. By morning, everyone would know that Margot was wheeled out in a body bag, but they’d never find out why.

Mia

My vision remained red as the truck pulled into the funeral home. My fists clenched into tight balls around my sister’s shoulders as she tucked her head against me, her tears burning a hole in my skin. “Where are we going?” The vehicle pulled down the side of the building, slowly moving away from what I thought was a place that Margot would be taken to rest and Millie could say goodbye to her friend in peace—a woman who had made her feel welcome here. “I said, where the fuck are we going?”

Sly sat in the passenger seat, his grim face missing the normal jovial look. “We’re going to keep you and your sister safe. It’s for the best, just remember that.” He watched us over his shoulder, his mouth opened and closed like he was going to add more, but instead he twisted to face the front, his decision made. I didn’t need him to fill me with comforting words or niceties, I needed him to get our stuff so we could leave, but I knew where his loyalties lay. Rex had made it clear back at the shop that we were ‘under his protection’ for the foreseeable future and we should suck it up. I thought that meant taking us back to my motel and having someone sit outside like a creeper, following us around. I didn’t anticipate it meaning that we were being taken to their place.

As the truck drove along a dirt road, lights in the distance appeared, highlighting another building behind the funeral home. Bikes lined up outside, with Rex just climbing off his. He’d left after us, but he must have overtaken us at some point, because now he waited at the door, a somber air around him and the bald man beside him. I’d seen him before, at the diner, Jenna’s husband. He had looked scary then… now, he was intimidating as hell. His frame was bigger than Rex’s, which was ridiculous. I didn’t know what they put in the food out here, but they made them bloody huge.

The other man glared at Rex, his lips moving to an unknown conversation as I sat in the back of the truck, watching the comings and goings.

“Are you coming?” Sly questioned, jumping out and opening the door for us. “It’ll go easier on you if you just… listen.”

I snorted in derision. “Fignya yakas,” I muttered under my breath. The harsh words made me feel better despite the fact that they didn’t have a clue what I was saying. My mother’s language rolled off my tongue in perfect waves, still perfect though. I hadn’t spoken it very much since my grandfather had died.

Hugging Millie tightly to me, I whispered words of encouragement. My goosebumps had nothing to do with my uncertainty at practically being held prisoner. The cool night air swept in through the open door, brushing against my bare arms—it was just the weather. Sure, Mia. You keep telling yourself that.

Deep voices muttered outside the confined vehicle, one I recognized as Sly, the other was unknown. Peeking over Millie’s head, I watched through the windshield as the big man issued orders to the surrounding men, pointing at them harshly, his narrowed eyes swiveling from man to man before pinning me with his glare through the glass. Oh shit.

He walked toward us, moving Sly out of the way, and ducking to look inside. Two women huddled together didn’t make us look very alarming. In fact, his dark pools seemed almost sympathetic when he cast his eyes over my sister, her slight frame practically on my lap and trembling at the events of the past hour. I glared at him, but he must have seen through my bravado, because he merely nodded at me, and heaved a great sigh, before signaling to someone behind him.

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