Page 32 of Wolf

Lamb and Ripper parked up either side of me, while Jax parkedfurthestaway.

Jax and Ripper stayed outside, as Lamb fell in behind me and we walked to the door. I could see Charon sitting in the third booth at the back through the glass door. His gaze was directed out a window as if he didn’t notice us pull in. He did, of course, but he still feigned surprise as we walked up to the booth. Connie’s was a nice place, classic taste, but a quick glance at the menu showed it had variety, not just classic foods but some other interesting things I wouldn’t mind trying if I weren’t here onbusiness.

I slid in opposite Charon, who smiled as he met my eyes. Lamb took up the closest seat at the bar instead of next to me, taking a menu out to look over the contents, his eyes flashing with the same curious interest thatminehad.

A waitress came over and filled me a cup with coffee before Charon gave quick thanks and she scuttled away toserveLamb.

“I’m glad you got my message.” Charon smiled. “I was beginning to think you stoodmeup.”

“Why am I here, Charon?” I said, knowing I wasn’t late to our meet and not in the mood for hisbullshit.

“A little birdie told me you’d gone into lockdown. Figured I’d be shot on sight if I turned up unannounced again after your old lady’s close shave with a gun.” He looked into the direction of the bikes, to where Ripper and Jax decided to glare back before turning back to me, disappointed. “I see you didn’tbringher.”

I wasn’t surprised Charon found out about the incident. Chains may be acting president of the Hell’s Runners, but he was still under Charon’s thumb, so in essence, it happened on Charon’sterritory.

“You still might,” I said, ignoring his comment about Anna. Had I brought her, she’d probably have bitten his head off. She was still pissed about the fact he put Mallory in between his clash with the Hell’s Runners’ ex-president. Then again, that overly protective side of hers was one of her goodpoints.

“I hope not.” Charon shrugged off my threat. “Anyway, I heard that our new friends are interested in one of yourpeople.”

“You’re a bit late on the news,” I scoffed, taking a mouthful of my coffee, surprisingly enjoying its taste. “That’s notlikeyou.”

Charon gave a petty laugh. “Yeah, well, your blonde must have made an impression on my contact, since he gave her all the information I wanted before he gloriously met his end.” He sighed, his face feigning tiredness. “Took me a while to set up a new contact. Lizard had so much potential. It was a shame to lose him.” His gaze flickered up to mine. “I guess it was lucky nobody elsegothurt.”

I kept his gaze, not liking the way he said that last part. But Charon just shrugged and looked away, waving the waitress over to refill his coffee cup. She moved to refill mine, too, but I stopped her. “I’ll be leaving soon,” I said, and she nodded before walking away. “Get on with it,Charon.”

Charon looked amused and finally got down to the thing we were both here for. “The offer still stands,” he said. “Not a takeover like with the Hell’s Runners. Analliance.”

“Why?” I asked. We both knew Charon was approaching us for a reason. If he wanted us, with all the influence he had, it would probably be possible to try to take us over by force. Why bother with analliance?

“I know potential when I see it, and I don’t pass it up easily,” Charon said, for once with seriousness and honesty. “Not to mention, you must be pretty important with all the attention you’re getting. Then that group has always been a scrupulous and absolutely horrible forbusiness.”

“Thatgroup?”

“Oh? Looks like I’m back on top with my info.” Charon smirked, looking pleased with himself. “I suppose you’ve heard of their Bratva relations by now? Or rather, I knowyouhave.”

It clicked. “You fed Lamb thatinformation.”

“I couldn’t have gotten you to come here if you didn’t feel threatened. Knowing your past, I suppose learning about the Bratva did the trick.” Charon took a long sip of coffee, while I immediately felt the room drop into freezing territory as Lamb became deadly still in his seat. He may have been a few meters away with his back to us, but with the intensity he was radiating, he could have been pressing a knife into Charon’s neck. One thing Lamb never took lightly was beingoutsmarted.

Charon must have sensed the beast he’d provoked, because he ignored Lamb instead of poking at him to wind him up, which I was beginning to think was his hobby, and moved on with the conversation. “Yes, anyway, the group your old lady had the pleasure of meeting are a ragtag group of ex-Bratva and ex-military mercenaries called the Blek Dzhek—I hope I pronounced thatcorrectly?”

“The Black Jacks?” I translated. He pronounced it perfectly, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of telling him that. “I’ve never heardofthem.”

“You wouldn’t have.” Charon pushed his coffee cup aside, fixing his golden eyes on mine. “They’ve been operating only in the southern parts of Russia, up until now, that is. Business seems to have brought them to our beloved United States, specifically whatever business they have with you andyourboys.”

“We don’t have anything they would want,” I argued, trying to figure out what a group like the Black Jacks could ever want withmyclub.

“You’re misunderstanding.” Charon sighed. “The Black Jacks are after money. Not yours, of course. They want the money of whomever it is that commissioned them to work here. What they’re after is what their benefactorwants.”

“Theirbenefactor?”

“Now that’s something I can’t help you with.” Charon gave a disappointed sigh, shrugging his shoulders. “As much as it pains me to stop the story at the best bit, I don’t know who the man with the big bucks is, and thus, have no idea what it is he’s looking for. And since it seems to be of a personal nature, I wouldn’t be able to even fathom a guess while he remainsanonymous.”

I looked down at my coffee, wanting so badly to throw it across the room. I felt as if I had been tossed into a well and was still falling, the light getting smaller and smaller by the second. Tearing apart a club like ours brick by brick would be nothing for a man with the money to import a Russian mercenary group to do his bidding. I had to think of the club first. I was the president. And just like Charon said, there was no way we could figure out what they were after if we didn’t know who this bastard was. I just wished I knew what they were after, though if it was a person, I knew deep down that I wouldn’t give them up, not if that person was oneofours.

“Take my offer,” Charon urged, his voice almost sympathetic. “With opponents like the Black Jacks and whoever their benefactor is, you’re going to need it, and this is the last time I’llofferit.”

I knew I had to take it. I had no other choice. To take on someone like this for the sake of my club, I had to do it. Sometimes to get out of the hands of a demon, you had to sell your soul to the devil. Or in this case, the GrimReaper.

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