Page 50 of Property of Fang
“No reason.” I follow her from the room, heartbeat pulsating across my tight chest. “I never got a chance to ask. Did they make any progress with The Kid when you went in that room? Has she talked at all?”
Darla shakes her head when we hit the stairs, hand sliding down the banister rail. “Not yet that I’m aware of.”
I stall at the top, swallowing twice to dislodge the stones in my throat. Her easy conversation reassures me the other girls probably don’t know what I did, but they’re not the people I was most worried about.
The connection to my father was supposed to stay a secret. I was meant to be just another girl in another desperate situation, looking for help to get myself out. Nobody knew my real surname. I never spoke about my mom. I kept everything about me intentionally vague; the only piece of armor I had in a dangerous situation.
And now, not only have I killed to maintain that anonymity, but it may have all been in vain.
EIGHTEEN
FANG
Father of the year.I should get the T-shirt now. Maybe hint to Reno that I’d like the mug and keychain to finish off the collection next Father’s Day.Fuck me.I dropped Molly at the clubhouse, made sure she was settled, and then promptly asked Jezabel to keep an eye on her while I ran an errand.
All before getting sidetracked with our troublesome newcomer on my way out the door.
I couldn’t resist. Couldn’t deny the pull of temptation just totry.If Chaos thinks I’m so fucking good at charming people, then why the hell did Jenna see right through it?
And why the fuck did that make me so angry?Probably because it makes you feel like your father.
I draw a deep breath and exhale the nettled feelings out my nose. I’ve got a goddamn job to do here for the club. And as much as gleaning information from Jenna is one too, she’s a task that can wait.
Figuring out where the Devil’s Breed reside within our state lines isn’t.
“Looks like Amy was right,” I tell Circus after he sets his helmet on his bars. “Matthias has been busy.”
We needed to ride to the next town over to catch up to the grifter, which already concerns me. If he has to leave Temperance to pedal his shady business, then either the rot spreads, or he’s made more enemies than friends.
Circus wastes no time crossing the street to where Matthias’s car is parked. The giant freak circles it slowly, peering in the windows and testing the trunk. I scout the street while he does, searching for signs of where our festering pain in the ass went.
His wife, Amy, said he has his sister with him. A mouthy, little blonde by the name of Danica who brazenly tried to convince Chaos that pairing up with Matthias to run a brothel in Temperance would be a top-notch idea.
Prostitution is illegal now in the state of Minnesota. And while the Kings have never been averse to standing on the wrong side of the thin blue line, setting up shop in a trade that’s under the goddamn microscope due to recent law changes is not the smartest thing anyone could do.
Which makes me wonder, as I walk past the nearby shopfronts, peering into the windows, why Matthias hasn’t taken his shit out of state, where itislegal.As if you don’t know.I shake my head at the blatant obviousness of why—because then he’d have to work within the confines of laws and regulations.
Matty’s never been the guy to play by anyone else’s rule—even ours—when he can do it easier his own way.
“Any luck?” I ask Circus when he joins me.
A middle-aged woman slows her walk after she spots us, then quickly changes to the other side of the street. I don’t know if they get people like us here much, which makes this whole thing even more odd.
Circus shakes his head. His inked eyes shift over my shoulder—at least, I think they do. It’s always hard to tell when the only dot of color is his dark gray irises.
I twist to follow his focus and find Matthias standing outside a store, seemingly having just walked out.Bingo.The asshole lifts his head and turns for his car, then immediately spots us. The panic and frustration are clear as day when the man hesitates, takes a cautious step back, pauses, and decides to front as he walks to meet us halfway.
“What brings you to this quiet, little town?” I jest.
So fucking quiet that we hold our conversation in the middle of the road without fear of being run over.
“Can’t be more than two hundred people living here,” I continue. “And you’re going to tell me you found at least one who likes you?”
“Fuck off, Fang.” Matthias eyes Circus as he speaks to me. “Can a man not travel his state without gaining a hall-pass from the Kings first? Is that it?”
“Curious what you’re up to, is all.” The man owes the Devil’s Breed a fair packet. If anyone has reason to be caught up in their web, it’s him.
“None of your business. That’s what.” He moves to walk between us, yet Circus pins him in place with a firm arm barring Matty’s escape.
