Page 101 of Property of Chaos

“Rumors are you’re in town,” he taunts when he picks up.

“Was.” I draw a deep breath and exhale. “Rumors didn’t take long to get around.”

“When the good doctor is seen leaving his practice with swelling around his eye and a bruised throat not a half hour after a murderous biker exits the same place, people talk.” He sighs. “What’s going on?”

“You get anywhere with that name I gave you?”

“Prominent businessman down south. No directorial or shareholder positions that I can find, but he has his finger in a lot of pies. Runs a foundation called the Fortress of Faith.”

“What the fuck do they do?” I absently scratch at my pec, gaze drifting to her house again.

“It’s touted as a mentorship for up-and-coming people in commerce. Guidance for small business, that sort of thing.”

“But?”

“They only take on young men. Women who apply are funneled off within weeks to a sister organization called Wings of Faith.”

I slide off the hay and start walking. “She said it wasn’t a cult.”

“Who didn’t?”

I grimace at the faux pas, boots kicking up dust. “Where’s the dirt, Loki?”

“How much do you need?” He chuckles. “It’s fucking everywhere, man. Dust settles in every fucking crevice on this asshole.”

“Gimme the muddiest, man.”

“Underage prostitution. Girlsandboys.”

My fist tightens around the phone.

“Unpaid labor.”

Pace quickens.

“Blackmail. Coercion. Bribes. Everything you’d expect out of fuckers who’ve got too much money to not care about wanting more.”

“It ain’t about the money, though, is it?” The gate nears.

“Always about the power at the heart of it.” He groans as though lifting something heavy or shifting position. “Why are we interested in him, Chaos?”

I hesitate at the roadside and stare at her mirage of pretty perfection. “Because fuckers like him have a way of poisoning the water around here. You want to know why I was in town? Because one of this asshole’s lackeys was already messing with our people.” I turn right and keep walking. “I’ve got enough issues around here without adding his flavor of shit to the pile.”

He stays quiet for a moment. Only the crunch of my boots against the road filling the space.

“Mind if I speak honestly?”

He’s the brother I’d prefer it to come from. “Go ahead.”

“In all the digging I did on this fuck, one thing was obvious: he ain’t got anything to do with the mess at the loading dock. He’s a diversion. A distraction. We’ve got more pressing shit to take care of than some businessman with delusions of grandeur on our doorstep.” He hesitates. “We got to stop the bleeding we already got before we inflict more wounds, Chaos. The Kings are at a crossroads, and picking more fights ain’t the way to save us.”

“Lying down and taking it like a dog ain’t either.” I click my fingers as the fluffy feline fuck approaches, coaxing him to join me.

“We’ve got to prioritize.” Loki makes a clicking noise with his tongue. “I’ll do whatever you ask about this Abraham guy. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. All I’m asking is that we takehim off the top of the list and deal with the bones of the club first.”

He has valid concerns. I can’t deny that.

But I also can’t deny the rush I get as I use my hip to jar Vanessa’s door open again.

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