Page 249 of Sweet Temptation

After I left the motel last night, Piper could’ve done whatever he wanted with Sanchuk. Dead, in prison, or driven out of the province, what did it matter to Piper? No matter where Sanchuk ended up, we’d all be rid of him. He didn’t have to turn him over to the police, let the authorities deal with the problem. That was hardly the Kings’ MO.

The Kings were outlaws, plain and simple. They didn’t do things by the rules.

Which meant there was a reason they did last night. A deeply calculated reason.

“We found somethin’ else in Sanchuk’s place,” he told me. “A bunch of women’s clothing. Dresses and lingerie and shit, really nice, stuffed in some plastic bags. Had ‘stolen goods’ written all over it, so to speak. My boys seized it along with everything else. Had no idea who it might belong to, and once they went through it, they dumped it. But they found this, too.” He dug in the pocket of the leather Kings cut he was wearing under his dark hoodie. He held something out to me, and I took it.

It was a woman’s delicate gold ring. It had three small diamonds in it, and when I turned it over, it was engraved inside.

Summer.

I’d never seen the ring before, but I knew what it was.

It was the ring Summer’s dad had given her.

Sanchuk. He fucking stole that wardrobe case outside her show.

For no other reason, maybe, than he was a fucking creep, and he had the opportunity.

I looked at Piper. He said nothing, but he was waiting. Gauging my reaction.

He had to know that handling things this way—turning Sanchuk over to the police, and turning Summer’s ring over to me—would go a long way to winning my favor. Sanchuk would be put away behind bars, so I wouldn’t have to worry about him creeping on Summer, and at the same time, Piper earned himself some respect with the Players’ new head of security.

He probably knew about the position Jude had offered me this morning. And he was probably counting on the fact that I’d take the offer, because of my attachment to Summer.

I could practically hear them talking about me, planning it all out.

In my new position—if I accepted it—I’d be working closely with Jude and his crew, forevermore. And Piper would rather earn my trust and respect than be at odds with me.

More than that, he probably figured I’d hire his guys onto my crew, same way Jude did for Dirty—and the Kings needed that legit work outside their organization.

For him, winning favor with me was win-win.

If I were anyone else, he might’ve just taken that favor by force and expected me to fall in line. But because of my relationship with Jude, he’d chosen to work me as a willing ally.

Or at least try to, before he got forceful about it.

“Well… it sounds like Sanchuk is going away,” I said carefully. “So I thank you for that. And for this.” I tucked the ring in my pocket.

“I don’t want your thanks, Sterling,” Piper said.

“What do you want?” I asked him. Because I knew he’d want something for this.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll let you know.”

He turned to walk away. His gaze swept over the city below and he paused. “Nice view,” he said.

Then he looked up at Summer’s house. He looked at me again, and headed over to his bike.

Blazer smiled at me. He extended his hand, and I shook it.

“Be seeing you around, Ronan,” he said. Then he gave me that stone-cold serial killer look of his, while he smiled.

I watched as they got on their bikes, turned around, and ripped back down the road.

And as I stood there, listening to the roar of Harleys fading into the distance, I considered Jude’s offer. And his recommendation about Maddox or another club brother taking the role as Summer’s bodyguard.

I was pretty floored that Maddox had called Jude last night, looking out for me. He could’ve called Piper, and probably should’ve, from his club’s perspective. But he didn’t.

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