Page 13 of In the Midst of Chaos

When I left Crull Manor, I kind of avoided her calls because if anyone could get the truth out of me, it was Riley.

“What are you so happy about?” I raised a brow while I stared down at Duncan.

He smirked. “Come on, Finnegan, your aunt is a smokeshow, and I’m a big boy now.”

I gagged.

“Riley is off-limits.” Axton pointed at his youngest and gave him a death glare.

When our eyes met, I mouthed, “Thank you.”

It’s not that I didn’t trust my aunt. I mean, Duncan was right. She was a smokeshow, and these bastards had a way to get you to drop your panties and your self-respect, and jump in their beds.

“Why do you want us all at the meeting?” Nash asked the question before I could.

“The other board members want to change the shipping company. Since they found another one in Malaysia, it would be a bit more profitable in the long run.”

We all looked at each other once more. This was not good because, unbeknownst to the other board members, we used our current shipping company to not only get the material to the factories we had, but also as a front to ship the firearms on the same boat.

“Well, that is a problem,” I said lamely. “You need all of us there to vote and to lobby, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said. “The contract is set to expire in two months. If we don’t get everyone to agree to extend it, then our next shipment is not happening. If we get behind one shipment, that brings consequences to everyone.”

It would cause problems all around because people liked getting paid and receiving their ammunition.

Huxley perked up, and for a second, I thought he might have a solution to our problem. While Nash was the most cunning and Duncan the most charming, Huxley was the smartest of us.

“Maybe this is a sign that it’s time to start pulling back.”

Duncan put his head down and scratched his head, Nash sighed, and Axton looked at his son with pity because the life he craved, he would never be able to give him.

When he saw none of us agreed with him, his jaw tensed, and his warm eyes burned bright.

“Are we going to pretend like this life isn’t what’s taking our family from us? We can’t go anywhere without looking over our fucking shoulders. You know what I think every time I step a foot outside the door?” He took a deep breath and looked each one of us in the eye, unflinching.

Huxley could be cruel if he really wanted to, but he’d rather bring down an opponent by maneuvering them to their own demise than by force.

“Every time I step a foot outside, I know it could be my last.”

I leaned forward, staring back at him.

“Okay, let’s play pretend since you loathe where you come from. Let’s say we do it, we back out, and leave it all behind—what then, Huxley? What happens then? Because they are not going to let us run around on our Harleys like nothing ever happened. You can’t become king when the old one still lives. If you want the throne, you have to make sure everyone in the fucking court is dead.” I got up, holding on to the table for support. “Axton is king. We are his court. The world is his kingdom.”

I was breathing heavily by this point, and I didn’t dare look anywhere but him. My father taught me from a young age all I needed to know. I didn’t know if he wanted me to have the mentality of a king, or if he had a feeling he wasn’t going to live long, but my father made sure I knew there was no out to embrace the darkness and dance with the stars.

“We get out, Hux, and you’re just signing our deaths.”

I turned to Axton and said the thing I wanted to say since I walked into this house.

“I’m not marrying Huxley.”

Axton looked at his son and then at me. “We can discuss this at a later time.”

“No,” I said. “You negotiated my marriage with my parents, and I want to negotiate on my own behalf.”

“You have nothing I want.” Axton gave me a mocking smile. He then got up, closed the lapel on his suit, and walked away.

I watched him go while I smiled to myself.Not yet.

---