Page 18 of Property of Indiana

We leave Nova above to watch for any trespassers as we come down and check on our guests. These clowns thought they could ride into our town and take over our territory. They’re no-name wannabes who came in with balls of steel, only we showed them that we weren’t willing to give them what was ours without a fight, and newsflash, we won. All five of these lowlife motherfuckers have been given what I refer to as the chain treatment. Some of our King compadres send us their dead bodies and we store them until we can burn them to ash with one of our clients. Immoral? Yes. But it’s the best way to get away with disposing of any hostiles and traitors without getting caught.

We do apologize to those we’re laying to rest as we spread ashes in with their remains. It’s blasphemous some may say, but when you’re keeping the community safe by taking out rapists, pedophiles, and sewer scum, it’s a sacrifice any of us would make—proudly. I wouldn’t mind spending eternity with one of their ghosts, I’d torture them every damn second their soul was stuck with mine.

“They’ll probably keep a man on him until he’s earned his stripes,” I warn him. “It could be weeks from now before we’ll hear from him.”

“He’s been ordered to keep his tracker turned on at all times so at least we’ll know if he’s alive,” Rip tells me.

“I still can’t believe Booker chipped him like a damn dog.” I chuckle. “Who’d have thought that shit would work on humans.”

“It’s been updated, you know how Booker likes to experiment with his toys,” Rip states, shaking his head. “You have to admit, some of the shit he comes up with should be patented.”

“He’d be a damn millionaire.” I huff. “He’s a damn genius. Some days, I find it hard to believe that he chose to join the club instead of putting his degree to use.”

“Damn nerd,” Rip teases. “He’s fucking brilliant and I personally wouldn’t go up against him. Some of the things he conjures up are downright frightening.”

As we stomp down the stairs, the sound of our footfalls echo around us. It’s eerie yet soothing at the same time. It’s hard to explain but since I’ve been in this line of business since I was nineteen, it doesn’t give me the creeps like it would a newbie.

“Honey, we’re home,” I call out, waiting for a response as my voice reverberates and bounces off the cement walls. When there is none, a maniacal smile breaches my face. “I think they’ve finally called it quits.”

“Took them long enough,” Rip groans. “They held on a lot longer than I thought they would. Gotta give them credit for that.”

“At the very least,” I agree. I have to say, we had a lot of fun tormenting those assholes.

When we make it to where we had the five pussies chained to the wall, and verify they’re no longer of this earth, Rip states, “We’ll have LoneStar and Serpent come and collect their bodies. We have a cremation set to take place in a few hours. Perfect timing.”

“I’d say,” I remark, rolling back on the balls of my feet. “You’re heading out today to go do that favor for Rio, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll be gone for however long he needs me. Slayer has everything in order. Icer has been gone more than he’s been at the clubhouse, I need you to try and rein him in some if you can. Everyone has been picking up his slack and the men are starting to complain.”

“You want me to tell him that?” I ask.

I’m already cringing at the thought because while he isn’t completely docile, hanging out with Elodie, he’s far calmer than I’ve ever known him to be. Still, I don’t expect he’d react in a positive manner if I tell him the brothers are complaining that he’s not pulling his weight. As far as he’s concerned, his princess is the priority right now.

“Hell fucking no!” Rip shouts. “He’d maim every damn one of them and dance in their blood. Be tactful, Indiana. If you have to, use the kid to lure him back. I don’t give a damn how you do it as long as I come back and he hasn’t slaughtered the damn town.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I say, saluting him which earns me a slap to the back of my head.

“I’m surrounded by teenagers. It’s like wrangling a herd of cattle without the damn rope.” When we get to the top of the steps, we climb out and move the slab back into place. We double and then triple check to make sure there are no drag marks or cracks between it and the ground that’d expose our dirty, well-guarded secret.

Rip turns and gives our brother an order, “Nova, walk the perimeter and make sure we have no grieving visitors, we need to move the bodies for disposal. If we’re in the clear, shut thegates and hang the sign that we’re closed for maintenance and will reopen in the morning.”

“I’m gonna head into the office and make sure the paperwork is in order. Speaking of—” I stall, unsure of how Rip is going to take the news that Icer offered Zoey a job without coming to him first. “Icer told Zoey the club would hire her to run the office.”

“He did what?” Rip snarls.

“Yeah. So he told her we were looking for a secretary to manage the books and keep the paperwork up to date. She had an emotional breakdown and a lot of it stemmed around money and her lack of it thanks to her folks.”

“He’s finally broke. He’s lost his ever-loving mind! How the hell are we supposed to keep things low-key if he’s going to bring in people who have no clue what it is we do here? It’s going to be fucking impossible to keep this shit from her if she’s working the damn office, Indiana! You better fix this shit while I’m gone.”

“Fuck that,” I emphatically argue. “I’m gonna tell him you said no and let you deal with it when you get back. How is it that here lately I’m finding myself responsible for his actions? Nobody controls Icer, and considering he financed this damn mausoleum and you gave him final say in the hiring and firing, I’m not stepping on those toes.”

“Fuck my life,” Rip grumbles. “Why was I excited to take over the presidency of this crew again? Because I swear to Christ I need to have stock in a painkiller company at this point with the number of migraines y’all give me.”

“As far as what Zoey will know, she’ll work regular hours and we handle club shit well after hours, Rip. Nothing changes, so there’s no way she’ll find out,” I tell him. “This will ensure wecan keep her protected while we dig further into those fucking Dragons, because there are always a few Kings around the property.”

“Fine. But if things come back to bite us in the ass and she discovers things she shouldn’t, you and Icer both will stand before the officers and face their wrath. Understood?”

Closing my eyes, I count to ten and answer, “Understood.” Fucking Icer. Of all the jobs he offered her, why did he choose one that has the most consequences? I decide to have a chat with him so we can come up with a plan that will keep Zoey ignorant of our other dealings. It shouldn’t be too difficult—we obviously add any of our enemies to the crematorium without any concern of payment, and that’s not one of the tasks she’ll handle anyhow.

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