Page 22 of Pearl
The screaming thunder of more bikes coming up behind them causes their tail gunner to turn, and he fires the first shot in that direction, but the Phoenix Crew doesn’t back down, blowing the Desert Riders off their bikes, one by one. Every single one of the Riders drop to the road in a bloody spray of gaping wounds and blood.
“Fucking Hawg,” Carver yells as the Phoenix Crew weave in and around the blood-soaked bodies strewn all over the highway and the Rivals begin arriving in the distance.
Hawg and Lucky are the first to get to us. “Sorry we were a little late. Some of us went to the Harlots to make sure they were safe, and the Riders had a whole ‘nother crew waiting for them. We had to take them out, then we went to where we sent you, only to find one dead motherfucker with a knife sticking out of his heart, heard shooting so circled back to come in from behind.” He nods toward the distance. “Got a message. The Rivals were busy taking out some Riders from the north who would have closed in on us.”
Carver extends his hand over the bars of his bike. “We can’t thank you enough, man.”
I nod in agreement, as does every Harlot here. We’re known for taking care of ourselves, but these fuckers want the women’s location in the worst of ways. “They sure were determined to get the women back. I wonder who they worked for? Who was bankrolling them to take them?”
Ryker and Capone exchange a glance before saying a word. Capone breaks the silence. “The DeSantis family in Vegas. They were warned against continuing their pursuit of moving women, in or out of Vegas by the Larussios. They were using the Riders to do their dirty work and thought they wouldn’t get caught. The Rivalry will deal with the others,” Capone says.
I exhale a deep breath. It’s been one hell of a week. “On behalf of all Harlots we really appreciate everything all of you did.”
Capone’s eyes meet mine. “You’re welcome. We appreciate what you did for the women we were trying to safeguard.” He pulls my knife, the one that my daddy gave me years ago, and hands it to me. The intensity of his eyes tells me everything. He knows my secret now. I would have pulled the fucking knife out of the chest of the man I killed if I was thinking straight. But I fucking wasn’t.
His almost black eyes don’t waver. “Hawg found a knife. I assume this is yours? And there’s a reason you still have it after all these years?”
I nod, my heart starting to beat just a little bit faster.
“That knife was used on one of the Larussios quite some time ago. There’s a sketched image of it in Salvatore’s office, a reminder of the attack on his cousin. You’re going to need to explain that to Renzo and Matteo, Pearl.”
I always knew the skeletons from the past would raise from the dead, come back to haunt me sometime in the future, but it’s a sick and cruel deal of the hand when the very weapon that just saved my life again is the very one that will end up putting me in the ground when the Larussio cousins come to call.
Chapter 20
Carver
Pearl looks visibly shaken and if I were her, I would too. There is no vendetta like that of a mafia man, and even worse, a Larussio. Whatever happened though, she’s not shying away. My fearless beauty will own up to anything, and won’t succumb to fear or cowardice for anyone, not even them. Of that, I’m fucking sure, and she proves me right with just a few words. “You can take me to them. I’m not going to run.”
Capone and Ryker both look as impressed as me and every fucking man standing around her, but yet the Harlots, they don’t look surprised at all. They would expect nothing less from their leader. Capone looks at Pearl. “They’re coming to you. They were already on a plane and will be here shortly. I think they were hoping to confirm for certain that the DeSantis family was behind the trafficking, but it appears there are none left to tell that story.”
Pearl raises her eyebrows in challenge. I put my arm around her, hugging her to me as the two bike presidents walk a short distance to talk. I lift her eyes to meet mine with the tip of a finger to her chin. “They’re reasonable men, baby, tell them thetruth. You couldn’t have killed him unprovoked. I know that about you.”
Pearl tries to look tough, but her voice betrays her. When she speaks, it comes out more like a harsh whisper. “I didn’t but it’s not going to matter, Carver. You and I both know that. An eye for an eye, it’s how the families live. He was a cousin, pure blood, and that trumps everything.”
I pull her to me, whispering in her ear as I slip a Beretta into the back of her waistband. “Whatever happens, do not go anywhere with them willingly. We fight, you do not let them take you. Otherwise, you won’t come out alive.”
She looks up at me with those deep blue eyes, and finally I see what I never thought I’d see. Trust. I draw her to me and kiss her lips lightly, gently running my finger over her already bruising face. If I get out of this alive, any of those fuckers we didn’t already kill will pay dearly for what they’ve done to Pearl. They won’t know what fucking hit them when I come for my revenge.
Ryker and Capone’s faces are grim as they talk, glancing over our way every once in a while. Getting on the wrong side of them and the Larussios was not what I intended to happen today, that’s for damn sure.
This fucking day keeps going from bad to worse, but no matter what, I’m going down fighting if Pearl is in any danger at all. Because the hour it took to fly across that fucking desert while those bastards had her was the longest of my life. No one is going to take her away from me, not without a shit ton of fury raining down on them first, and I don’t give two fucks who they are. Mafia, the Rival presidents, or any other fucker in the world. I protect what’s mine and Pearl is mine.
But I did promise them complete loyalty if they got her back. “There’s one thing you should know before they get here, baby.”
She looks at me with those deep blue eyes open and filled with trust that I hope I’m not about to fucking shatter. “I workfor the Larussios. It’s something that just happened. A promise I made them to get you back.”
Pearl swallows, looking over at the two bikers still talking by some of the dead guys, and over to Hawg and Lucky who’s talking with his crew, and then to the Harlots, meeting the eyes of Onyx. Onyx gives her a solemn nod, one that I’m not sure gives me any assurance. Instead makes me question what the hell I’ve gotten myself into the middle of. Because I’ve come clean, but she still hasn’t said a fucking word. “Did you kill their cousin?”
Her eyes flash. “Yes.”
“Is that all you’re going to tell me?”
She shrugs. “If they’re as ruthless as rumored, my guess is you’ll be the one killing me.”
My eyes open wide. “Come again?”
“In the movies. To prove your loyalty. The new guy is always asked to kill the person that he knows, as a sign of loyalty and commitment to the family. If they want me dead, they’ll make you do it or kill you too. I want you to do it.”
