Page 6 of Conquering Oz

Predictable.Oz cocked his brow and folded his arms, waiting. He didn’t make deals with turncoats. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t hear the man out.Knowledge is power.And power was something Oz had tenfold.

Sweat beaded across his forehead, blending with the bloody gash above his eyebrow. Oz’s men had worked him over good. Torture was their specialty, and Oz was always impressed with their expertise. Killing someone was easy. A gunshot to the temple, and death was imminent. Torture until the last breath was a talent.And my men are highly skilled.

The man’s throat bobbed. “Karl said we had permission.”

Oz straightened, sharing a look with Nash.

“From who?” Oz growled.

The man cleared his throat, stalling. It seemed there was another source he feared besides the Underground.

“I’ll only ask once,” Oz said.

The man gulped, choking on his own blood and trying desperately to clear his throat. “Killcreek.”

Motherfuckers.

Oz simply stared, and his stone-cold expression didn’t change, not even a muscle. It was a gift, and one he’d perfected over the years. Showing no emotion left the enemy blind and without an upper hand or any leverage to work the situation.Can’t anticipate the next move without some type of reaction to consider.

Oz turned to Nash, lowering his voice. “Find out how much the original haul was. Then track the GPS. I want to know if they stopped in Killcreek.”

Nash gave a sharp nod.

Oz straightened his back and rolled his neck. He circled back around the man, eyeing him in silence. Oz could read anyone through emotions and physical ticks. This man was easier than most. Oz saw it in his eyes. A sliver of hope that this information would work in his favor.Again, fool.

Oz turned to Caine. His gun was drawn, resting at his side. Oz lowered his chin and walked toward the door. He barely heard the whimpering plea, “No, please” before the gun went off, and the room was reduced to silence.

Oz didn’t look back, exiting the building and down the broken concrete stairs. His men would handle it, and he had total confidence. After all, he’d trained them. Nash came up beside him, matching his pace.

“I want Garner’s nephew.” Oz narrowed his gaze. “If he orchestrated this, he’s going to take responsibility. And you make sure it gets back to Garner that I know his haul went throughmystate without my knowledge.”

Everyone would be held accountable.

“Yes, sir,” Nash replied. “And I received a call from Trey earlier. He said he couldn’t get ahold of you. He’s asking for your availability.”

Oz had always made himself accessible to his brothers, Rogue and Trey. However, he’d been sidetracked during the last twelve hours.

“In regards to?”

“The poker house. They’re getting pushback from Killcreek. Ace doesn’t like the close proximity.”

For fucks sake, not this again.

Oz had bartered a deal between the Killcreek Drifters and the Underground for his brother Rogue’s poker house venture. But Oz was not surprised it wasn’t a smooth transition. There had been bad blood and tension for years between the two with no signs of a truce. Oz had found common ground with the MC, seeing their value. Rogue had not.

“I’ll talk to Trey. You call in Killcreek.” Oz stopped next to the open door of the SUV. “Not a word to Ace about tonight.”

Nash gave a curt nod.

The element of surprise was key to any meeting in the Underground.

Chapter Two

“Isn’t this the best?”

What the hell did she just say?It was nearly impossible to hear anything over the techno music blasting in her ears. Elodie was pretty sure permanent hearing loss was inevitable, and that was on top of a heart murmur surely instigated by the ridiculous bass pounding through the nightclub.

This is my nightmare come to life.

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