Page 2 of Declan

“Can we focus?” Hux growls, but there’s humor in his eyes. “Or do you wanna drop your pants and compare?”

We all laugh again. It’s chaos, but it’s ours.

Then Hux’s face shifts, and the room tightens.

“Jason Woods owes us. A lot. Bet on fights and thinks he doesn’t have to pay. Daddy’s a cop, but that doesn’t buy him immunity here.”

“His father, Derek Woods, he’s dirty too, right?” I ask, my hangover forgotten.

Kadon nods. “That’s how Jason got in. Through his old man.”

“Declan, Wesley, go pay him a visit. Make it clear. Either he pays or we collect in blood,” Hux says.

Wesley stretches. “Love when you get poetic, Prez.”

I stand, cracking my neck. “Let’s go remind Derek Woods how the world really works.”

Hux stands with us, his voice final. “Handle it clean. No loose ends.”

We leave the war room and step into the hum of Twisted Souls, the pulsing base of a soundcheck hitting my chest like a second heartbeat. Kadon locks the steel door behind us. The fight club tucked away in the shadows, where it belongs.

As Wesley and I head for the bikes, he glances at me. “Still feeling that hangover?”

“Nah,” I say, my voice dropping into something darker. “Now I’m just in the mood to break something.”

And with that, we ride.

Chapter 2

Declan

We pull up to Derek Woods’ house and hop off our bikes. We hear noise in the backyard, and I lift my chin for Wesley to go one way while I go the other. As we enter the backyard, Derek is closing the door on his run-down shed.

“Derek,” I say, smiling.

He turns quickly, and when he sees both me and Wesley, he hangs his head in shame. “Fuck.”

“Fuck, is right.” I grab his shoulder and squeeze. “Seems your son has gotten himself in a little too deep, Derek.”

He glances between Wesley and me. “And?”

I chuckle watching him try to act like he isn’t scared shitless. He’s a cop, but apparently as dirty as the next one. We have most on our payroll, and it seems Derek is not all that different.

Yet, he’s trying to act like just our presence isn’t terrifying to him.

“And? Well, you have two choices here. Pay your kid's debt or tell us where we can find him,” Wesley says, crossing his arms as he stares at Derek.

“I’m a cop for fuck sake. You can’t come here threatening me,” he yells, looking between us.

“Derek, stop. You can’t be the good cop while you’re doing all the illegal shit of a bad cop. You know how it works. Pay up or fight,” I say, squeezing his shoulder a bit harder.

He lets out a sigh, hanging his head. “How much?”

I glance at Wesley, and he pulls out his cell phone, making a quick call to Hux. We probably should’ve gotten that information before coming, but I didn’t think he’d ask.

Wesley hangs up and chuckles. “200K,” he says, shoving his phone back into the pocket of his jeans.

“200 thousand dollars?” Derek shouts in disbelief.

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