Page 10 of Royally Lucky

“Mmm,” Kendrick growled.

“Straight to the house?” Andre lifted one brow.

Kendrick looked out the side window. He was fucking tired. Shit, his little brother married the love of his life without overthinking. Why couldn’t he do the same?

A fortune teller wearing a fake medallion would do better than him at predicting the future. The goal to succeed, where his father failed, fueled his every waking moment since he’d taken over as the Calderone Don. Many said he’d been too young, too inexperienced at twenty-five. Thirteen years later, they didn’t question whether he could handle the Family. Unlike his father, he didn’t take lives indiscriminately. He didn’t take women against their wills. He walked a fine line that kept their businesses off the radar of local police and government agencies. Control and finesse worked hand in hand. When that failed...Kendrick took matters to the next level.

“Are you going to have a mental breakdown on me?” Andre asked.

He ignored the big bastard. The house they’d rented wasn’t far from the MC compound, so he didn’t have to be in a confined space with Andre and his bullshit for long. “Did you get the information I requested?”

“Some has come through. Still waiting for one more report that I requested.” Andre let out a deep breath.

His knuckles shone white with how hard he held the steering wheel. There was no mistaking the death grip his hands had on the thing. It was as if he could imagine the leather was something or someone else.

A vehicle passed them, followed by another. Both were nondescript with tinted windows. Which shouldn’t have raised any red flags. Kendrick grew up with a huge motherfucking red flag as a father. He’d learned to listen to his inner alarm when it told him something wasn’t right. Right then, it was screaming, saying there was no reason for two dark vehicles with blacked-out windows to drive on the road leading up toward the RBMC compound.

“Did you see those two SUVs that just passed us, Andre?” he asked from the backseat, wishing he’d sat in front.

“Two Escalades. Two males in the front. I couldn’t tell if they were Caucasian or not, nor could I see if more were inside the vehicle. The second vehicle also had at least two men inside. From what I saw, they were wearing all black, which isn’t illegal or alarming. However—” he trailed off.

“Fuck. Turn around.” He pushed the lock open on the console. “Here,” he said, passing a Glock to Andre.

Shaking his head, Andre gave a grim smile. “I’ve got mine.”

Kendrick pulled another out, inspecting the clips in both. “Good thing this car isn’t a rental.” The Dragma Family were gracious enough to allow him to enter their territory for his brother’s wedding. As the LA Mafia, they controlled operations similar to what he did, but his reach was more significant. Kendrick and the Calderone Family demanded more respect. But this was a trip for personal reasons. The last thing he wanted was to start a war.

“I don’t see their taillights.” Andre’s tone bordered on anger.

Kendrick punched in the number for King. The line rang and rang. “Fuck, he’s probably balls deep in his woman.” Calling Jeter would get the same result. He remembered the big bastard T-Rex had promised to hold down the fort. With a quick scroll through his contacts, he hit call when he found the name.

“Who is this?”

“This is Jeter’s brother. I just left to head back to my rental down the road. We’d only driven about a mile when suddenly, two dark SUVs were coming toward us. Andre double-backed, but they’re nowhere to be seen. My instincts tell me something isn’t right,” Kendrick explained.

T-Rex grunted. “I’ll get back to you. Are you coming back here?”

There was a hint of suspicion in his question. Kendrick didn’t blame him. “We’re going to go a little further down the road. We turned left when we exited since the house we rented was in that direction.”

Kendrick wasn’t used to explaining himself to others. He was the one others fell over themselves to spill all their secrets. Fuck, he needed to tell Andre to return to the rental so he could get some sleep.

Whoever said silence was golden hadn’t been on the receiving end as their nerves were on edge. Of course, Kendrick used silence to his advantage during interrogation and at times when it benefited him. Yet sitting in a car waiting for T-Rex to speak stretched his control.

Chapter Five

“Keys caught sight of the vehicles on several cameras located on our perimeter. We have a problem. You said you were heading back the same way they’d gone?” T-Rex asked.

He forced himself to breathe in and out. “Yeah. We’re passing the entrance to the clubhouse now.”

“Hang on, King is here.”

Kendrick let out a frustrated breath. He hated giving control to anyone else.

“Hey, Kendrick. We got a visual of Sutton. It appears she left on foot shortly after you did. Our cameras show her walking across the road, but then we lose sight of her once she’s past our property lines. A short time later, the two vehicles you described passed by. We don’t have eyes that far down, since we had no reason to,” King muttered.

Everything inside him turned to stone. His lungs burned with the need to breathe, making him realize he held his breath. “Shit. Why was she walking?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue. I told her to get a ride if she had too much to drink. It never occurred to me she’d walk home. Of course, I should have taken that into consideration since she lives so close. Fuck.” The sound of a fist hitting something solid echoed through the connection.

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