Page 4 of Banshee
“BANSHEE!”
“I’m coming. Keep your drawers on, for fuck’s sake.”
I walked into church and froze. The officers all sat around the table, and at the other end was Kronos, the president of the Gods of Mayhem.
“What’s up?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Kronos was a son of a bitch on a good day. But given the mood Steele was in, shit might just be flinging from the ceiling fans shortly.
“Kronos has a proposition for you.”
I looked in his direction, and he sat back in his seat. That was when I saw her. Irene. Kronos’ youngest daughter.
I’d seen her a few times when we made a run to the Gods of Mayhem clubhouse. She was fucking gorgeous, and if I wasn’t careful, Kronos would notice the bulge I was now sporting, and it just might get me killed.
His oldest daughter, Diana, twin sister to his son Zeus’, had disappeared back in 2003 when she went to college in New York City. Word was, Kronos had begged her not to go, but he’d spoiled his daughter and just couldn’t tell her no.
She’d been gone for fifteen years. Irene was only eight when Diana left, and when she didn’t come home, Kronos went ballistic, tearing apart the city looking for her. He was convinced the Soulless Sinners had something to do with his daughter’s disappearance, but without any proof, starting a war would only end badly for Kronos.
Irene had gone to community college. Kronos refused to let her go further than their own backyard. Why he’d brought her here to Arkansas was anyone’s guess.
“What kind of proposition?” I asked, looking at Steele. I knew better than to let my gaze linger on Irene. But the way she sat quietly next to her father, with her hands in her lap and her head down, pissed me off.
“Banshee, the Gods of Mayhem, has built a solid reputation with the Silver Shadows. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and I think you’d be a good fit for my baby.”
My eyes snapped around the room, landing first on Steele, my president, then his brother Stone, my VP. All the way around the table to one of the enforcers, Chasm and our Road Captain, King.
King shook his head, the barest movement. Something was up. I turned to look at Kronos.
“What the fuck does a good fit mean?”
“It means I am trusting you with my youngest daughter.”
Your only fucking daughter, you mean.Fifteen years was a long time for a girl to be missing. If she wasn’t dead, she’d decided she was never coming home, and I had to wonder what would drive a daughter away from her family without a word.
“Kronos, you’re gonna have to spell this shit out to me, ’cause it sounds an awful lot like you trying to sell off your fucking daughter.”
I had to hand it to the man; he could control his temper when he wanted to. If someone spoke to me like that about my kid, I’d fucking put him in the ground.
“Banshee,” Steele warned.
“No, Prez. I wanna hear this shit from him. Am I misunderstanding you, Kronos?”
Kronos stood from his seat and loomed over me. He thought he could intimidate me, but he was fucking wrong. Kronos didn’t scare me. He might be fit for a man in his fifties, but there were fewer years between him and me than there were between me and his daughter.
“I came here to give you the chance to secure a bond between the Silver Shadows and the Gods of Mayhem.”
“By what? Fucking your daughter?”
Irene’s gasp distracted me from ducking when Kronos’ fist shot out and connected with my nose. I heard a crunch and felt the blood dripping over my lips.
Fuck me, the man had a solid right hook.
Respect for my club was the only reason I didn’t swing back. Steele could go fuck himself if he thought I would agree to Kronos pimping out his daughter.
“Banshee, Kronos has generously agreed to let you marry his daughter.”
“His daughter is barely out of high school.” I cracked my neck and finally set my eyes on Irene. “Baby girl, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three,” she whispered.
