Page 21 of Kade

Dark hair. He had a younger looking face, but it was a face that would always look young. His eyes told a different story. They were dark and hardened. Smart. There was an extra sense around him. It made me give him a second look. All the bikers were dangerous and deadly, but this one had more to him. I wasn’t sure what I was picking up, but a sixth sense told me to be cautious with him. His eyes lit up when they found Channing, then shifted to share a look with Boise.

I couldn’t read whatever they were expressing to each other.

Without saying a word to each other, Boise moved off into the warehouse again.

Stripes faced Channing, a smug smirk on his face, but it was a mask. Saw through it. I just couldn’t see what it was covering. He said, “I thought we had an agreement. I stay out of Fallen Crest, and you don’t come to our territories. Prez hasn’t reached out. There’s no warrants for our guys. You got no reason to be here.”

Channing growled. “I’ve adhered to that protocol. We’re not here for that.”

Stripes’s chin rose and his shoulders squared back. “This is my fighting ring. I run it. If you were anyone else, I’d say you’d have to put up or shut up. You hand over your phone and you either fight or put money down. Those are the rules for stepping inside.”

My blood boiled. “What are the rules for the ring?”

Logan’s gaze swung my way.

I ignored him, focusing on this punk.

He focused on me, and recognition flared. His smirk transformed to a genuine grin. “Well, fuck. The Hall of Famer himself.” His voice cooled. “It’s been a long time since you ran this area, Kade. You and your brother aren’t welcome here either.”

Logan sidled up next to me. “He asked about the rules for fighting.”

Stripes studied Logan, his face locking down again. “No weapons except your fists. No killing. Winner is declared by knock out or if your opponent can’t get up. That’s it.”

“Done.” I was fine with that. In fact, I needed it.

Stripes frowned at me, still assessing. A small bit of surprise was on him.

“What?” Channing held out his hand. “No. We’re not here to fight.”

I looked over at the ring again. The two current fighters were young. I didn’t want to worry about hurting someone my daughter’s age. That didn’t feel right, but there were others waiting on the sideline. They were closer to my age. I wouldn’t feel any sort of guilt about laying into them.

“I don’t think they discriminate by age,” I noted.

He rolled his eyes, stepping up in front of me to block me. “Our kids are here,” he told Stripes. “They’re underage. Unless you’re cool with having underage teenagers around these parts, just let us in to get them. We’ll leave right after. No blood needs to be spilled.”

The last statement was for me. I could feel Logan, restless next to me. He wanted to open his mouth and let loose, but Fallen Crest had changed. We had changed. If we were younger, we’d already be throwing fists, but Channing was keeping his head, and he was right. We were here for Maddy and Max. And Jesus, if Maddy saw me take to the ring? That wouldn’t be good.

What was I doing? I was losing my head.

“You have a kid here?” Stripes’s voice went sharp. His eyes darkened. “Who?”

Channing’s eyes narrowed, and the roles reversed. Something shifted between them. Suddenly he was the one being smug and smirking. I didn’t know what brought it on.

“My son.”

Stripes lifted his chin. The mask fell away, revealing he was all business. He stepped back and motioned for his bikers. Two dispersed immediately.

My gut churned.

Maddy was here. If we’d stayed in Boston or San Diego, this wouldn’t have happened. She’d had a more normal life there—the occasional party, movies, a trip to the mall, beach bonfires. It was different here. The shadows around Fallen Crest, where all the wealthy millionaires lived, had grown more dangerous. Maybe as one rose, the other declined? They balanced each other, I supposed. The more wealth, the higher the hoity society in Fallen Crest, the more dangerous the territories around it became. Which meant living here was possibly the worst decision we’d made for the kids.

Channing was a bounty hunter. We all had other businesses, some of them together, so I knew he didn’t need to be a bounty hunter for money. It’s just what he did, but even he looked surprised at everything happening here. That made me wonder if there were elements around here even he wasn’t aware about. Maybe he kept his head down, focusing on what stood in front of him and no longer searched the shadows anymore?

One of the bikers rejoined us. He spoke to Stripes before the latter shifted, looking somewhere further inside. After a moment, he ran a hand over his jaw before giving a small nod. “They’re in the back. You and Kade can collect your kids.”

We moved forward as a group, but the bikers quickly formed a wall.

“Only the two fathers can go in,” Stripes clarified.

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