Page 60 of Knocked Up By the Bikers

“What do you want?” he finally asks.

“You don’t seem at all surprised to hear about the attempts on Ariana’s life,” Raylan interjects with a slight grin. “I take it you knew. Did you order the hit?”

“What? No! I was against it from the very beginning!” Thierry lets slip.

“Ah, so you did know,” Raylan chuckles. “Did the mayor know, too?”

Kendric moves closer. The Glock’s muzzle is now pressed against Thierry’s left temple. It’s enough to cause more sweat to trickle down his face and seep into the neck of his finely tailored, pale blue shirt. “You’d better tell the truth,” Kendric says.

“He didn’t know until after we met with Masterson,” Thierry sighs. “It wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Right, because Masterson made an executive decision on behalf of the cabal once he realized I knew more about the Steel Knights and the Black Hand than he originally thought,” I mutter. “So, what is my father’s position now? Is he going to disavow the organization?”

Thierry cackles nervously. “Are you crazy? He’s in too deep. He can’t.”

“This is his daughter,” Sky reminds him.

“He knows that,” Thierry says and shakes his head slowly. “It’s an unfortunate situation. My advice, ma cherie, is to get out while you can. Take your biker gang and go live somewhere else, preferably as far away from New Hampshire as possible. I can give you some money. I’ll get your father to wire you some cash, as well. It’s the best we can do under the circumstances.”

My skin crawls. Bitterness swells in my throat, unfurling like a ball of awful-tasting twine as I try to keep my head up and my senses in check. I could vomit right here, right now.

“I can’t believe this,” I mumble, looking at Sky. “He knows they are trying to kill me, and yet he’s doing nothing to stop them.”

“We warned you, Ariana,” Sky replies. “I’m sorry you keep having to find out this way.”

“Your father loves you, ma cherie—” Thierry tries to intervene, but I cut him off.

“You need to stop calling me that, or I swear to God I’m going to kick you in the balls so hard, you’ll never recover.”

Thierry goes silent for the better part of a minute while I try to make sense of all the thoughts rapidly firing in my head.

“Ariana, he’s in too deep. You heard Thierry,” Raylan says. “Maybe it’s time you start making decisions without taking your father into account.”

“We proceed as planned,” I reply, then take another deep breath. “Thierry, you’re going to help us.”

“And you have lost your mind,” he promptly retorts. “I can’t even be seen with you right now. You are radioactive, Ariana. The cabal wants you gone, and all your father and I can do is ensure you leave on your own two feet. It’s your only option.”

Raylan scoffs. “I’m amazed by how quickly the masks come off when people know the jig is up,” he says. “Until now, merely mentioning the Black Hand would bring nothing but shame and ridicule upon the speaker. Yet now that we’ve openly declared war against them, I’m hearing this nonsense.”

“Exactly. Give up, Thierry. You can’t beat them. They own the mayor. It really is pathetic,” Sky adds. “It shows how many people in this city are spineless.”

“You have no idea whom you’re dealing with,” Thierry hisses. “Don’t think I didn’t hear about the SWAT raid on your mother’s shop.” His words are enough to render Sky speechless, his dark eyes fixed on the Frenchman’s face. “Oh, I know who you are. We all know who you are, Sky. So-called club president. Brother to Shiloh. By the way, how is she doing? I’m told it was a through-and-through and that she will make a full recovery.” He looks at Raylan next. “And you. Mr. Kentucky. Raylan Bennett. You kept playing that white knight number in a city where there is no room for such pretty, puffy dreams. It’s a shame you learned the hard way. And Mr. Kendric Jones. The tough guy. The enforcer. The executioner. Yes, I know all about you and your little club.”

“You’re about to be on the receiving end of at least one bullet,” Kendric replies. “You should really work on your people skills.”

“You can’t kill me. You need me.”

“We’re actually trying to help you,” I cut in. “Think about it, Thierry. All it took was one fake email from Rosenthal to get you out here. Don’t you think I could’ve done the same with my father?”

“He’s not in charge,” Thierry replies.

“True. But now, the Black Hand knows you’re meeting us. Or they will know soon enough. They will question your loyalty. I presume you and my father objected to Masterson’s aforementioned executive decision regarding my life, right?” I wait for him to nod once. “What will the cabal think once they get photos of you meeting with us here? I doubt they will think you are simply enjoying a cup of tea.”

I turn the kettle on for good measure while Raylan sets a camera on a tripod. “Let’s make this look as natural as possible,” he says. “I need good light. Lord, this morning glow is just something else. Smile for me, Thierry.”

“What?” the Frenchman instinctively looks at him, only to find himself briefly blinded by the camera’s flashing blitz. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Not really, no. We’re actually being smart about this for once,” Sky replies. “Here’s the deal, Thierry. You’re in deep shit, no matter how you look at it. If the cabal doesn’t get you, the Feds definitely will.”

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