Page 58 of Hell Bent

“And you, Joker?”

Joker, who normally let Player call the shots, stepped up to the table and took a seat. “I’m here to do whatever you need me to do, Vicious. Whatever you need me to do.” He left the statement open-ended and to be interpreted however Vicious wanted.

Whatever he wanted, Vicious thought. What he wanted was Sway to be back in his arms. Safe. “I want to find Sway, so if I left a path of bloody destruction, I’ll deal with Teller later. What you two can do for me is help me find my woman.”

Had he beat the hell out of a few of Dawson’s fighters? Yes. Had he destroyed a few local hangouts in the search for Sway? Hell yes. And he would keep applying heat to anyone he thought had something to do with her kidnapping until he got the answers he wanted.

“I suggest we hold tight and wait for Teller or Sherlock to call us. Once they’ve checked out those locations Sherlock found, we’ll know where to go from there.”

Vicious wanted to be out there checking locations, not sitting on his hands like a mama’s boy. But Player was right. If they held tight, they’d have better directions once the call came in. Dropping down on the sofa, he leaned his head back and thought about Sway. His mind was a jumbled mess of horrible thoughts.

The sound of his phone ringing had Vicious fumbling for it. “Hello.”

“It’s Teller. Are Player and Joker with you?”

“Yeah, they’re here.”

“I need you to meet me in the old warehouse district.Come in quiet. We’re locating a place called The Funhouse. See ya soon.”

Vicious hung up as he shoved off the sofa. “Let’s go. We’re meeting Teller and the boys down in the lower end of the warehouse district.”

After hanging up with Vicious, there was one other phone call Teller had been putting off. Time was up, and he knew he needed to pull the trigger. Hitting the one on his speed dial, Teller listened to the phone ring.

“Yeah?”

“Jameson.”

“Teller. How’s it going, brother?"

“There’s a situation up here I feel you should be aware of.”

“Ahhh, shit. I swear, when it rains, it pours. Go on."

“It’s Vicious.”

“Is he dead?"

“No. His ol’ lady was kidnapped.”

“Well, hell, you could’ve started with that. Who in their right fucking mind is kidnapping RBMC property?"

“It’s a wannabe badass named Dawson Franks. We’re about to rain hell down on him. Vicious won’t go in quietly. He’s going for the kill, and I’m backing him one hundred percent.”

“The two of you finally stopped bickering like two old bitches?”

“We found common ground.”

Jameson smirked. “Thought it would never happen. Glad it did, though. Maybe some peace can come out of all this.”

“What doesn’t break us . . .”

“Makes us stronger.”

“I felt you should hear about the situation unfolding from me and not through the grapevine.”

“Thank you, brother. If you need any backup, you know where to call.”

“I’ll call you after it’s over and let you know the deal, brother.”

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