Page 49 of Lies Beneath Secrets

“Where’s my daughter?”

“Well now.” King pulls the pistol from his back and points it at me. “Do you think you’re in a position to be demanding things?” He walks over to Siena and grabs a fist full of her hair, dragging her to her feet. “What do you think, dear?” He shakes her a little when she doesn’t speak. “Not talking?” King looks over at me. “It seems you’ve divided the club, Con.”

“You did that when you killed Boe and tried to pin it on Gabe. What I haven’t figured out yet is why. It can’t just be about fentanyl. Or the Flatliners.” I pause and reach into my pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. “I’m guessing it has something to do with this?” I wave it in front of me. King darts his gaze from the paper then back to my face. His eyes widen slightly when realization of what is on this piece of paper hits him.

“No clue what that is.” He feigns ignorance.

“You mean to tell me you haven’t been looking for the money you stole from the club?”

“I didn’t take shit,” he spits. “Gabe stole it.”

“I call bullshit on that,” Knox comes from my side, stepping a little closer. “Gabe found out what you were doing, rerouted the money and when you realized that, you framed him for Boe’s murder. Hoping it would buy you time to get him to tell you where it went. I’m guessing that didn’t go as planned?”

“Couple of detectives here. Give yourselves a pat on the back boys, you’ve got it all figured out.” King laughs. “Give me the damn numbers, and I’ll let you walk away with your daughter.” He pushes Siena toward the bar. “Get the kid.” She stumbles a little at his force but rights herself enough to walk to the other end of the bar and into the storeroom. “You have Gabe to thank for all of this bullshit. He poked his nose into shit that wasn’t his business. Got him and your woman killed.”

“Your greed played a part in all of it,” I say, directing my attention to Siena as she carries Gabby over to King. Her face is red and splotchy with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I want her out of this room. Then I’ll give you what you want.” I look at Siena. “Siena, take her. Get in Knox’s truck and leave.” She tries to do what I say but King stops her.

“Hold up now.” King points his gun at Siena. “I said the kid could go.”

“You want your fucking money? Siena gets my daughter the fuck out of here, or you won’t get it,” I warn. King seems to think about it for a second, then tips his head to the side. “Fine.” He waves his gun. “Leave.”

“Daddy!” Gabby yells when Siena passes me to go out the door.

“Go with Siena, Gabby. I’ll be right behind you,” I tell my daughter, knowing full well King has no intention of letting me follow them. I try not to look at Gabby as Siena rushes out of the clubhouse. I listen for the closing of the truck doors and the truck driving away before tossing the paper onto the pool table. “Here.” King reaches down and grabs it, pocketing it inside his cut.

“Now that this is all settled, where do we go from here?” King asks, looking between me and Knox.

“You can let Kendra go,” Knox nearly growls from behind me. Brucie shoots him a grin and runs his hand along Kendra’s hair.

“I think I’ll keep this one,” Brucie says.

“The fuck you will.” Knox steps forward when a gunshot rings out and smashes through one of the high windows in the room. At first, it seems that the bullet has hit nothing until Wesley suddenly drops to the floor with a bullet hole in his forehead.

That’s when shit gets real.

Both Knox and I drop to the floor as well and take our own shots at the three unknown men. They go down as fast as Wesley did. King and Rage hightail it out the back of the clubhouse, along with Brucie who drags a screeching Kendra with him.

“They won’t get far!” I yell to Knox after the last bullet in the room flies. We’re up and after them in seconds, forgoing the same path they took. Instead, we go out the front door and circle around to the back where we can hear Kendra’s shouts.

“Going on a hunt?” Pace asks, running up close to us.

“King, Rage, and Brucie,” I say. “They got Kendra too.”

CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT

Knox

Fire burns up my leg as I try to run through the woods behind the clubhouse. With all the bullets whizzing around in the room I hadn’t even realized I got hit until I started running after Kendra. Her screams fill the air the closer I get. Brucie’s fat ass won’t be able to outrun me, not even with a bullet in my leg. I push through, with only the moonlight to guide my way to my sister. “Knox!” I hear her yell to my right before something close to a bulldozer crashes into me. Effectively knocking me off kilter. I roll onto the ground, getting up once I find my bearings. A boot comes for my face, but I leap to the side before it makes contact.

“Got yourself a sweet sister there,” Brucie sneers from above me. I right myself to my feet, finding him standing in front of me. “Pretty little peach.” Brucie’s smile shines in the silver of the night but is soon tampered out when something behind him makes a heavy cracking sound. Brucie’s body stumbles forward enough for him to land on his knees. That’s when I catch sight of Kendra behind him. She has a large rock clasped in her hands. Without a second thought, she brings the rock down onto him once again. This time, it gets him to fall all the way to the ground. He’s either too stunned or completely knocked out because before I know it, Kendra is over him, ramming that same rock into his face over and over, screams ripping from her throat with each sickening crunch the rock makes as it smashes in his skull.

After a moment, I take her in my arms and hold her tight. “Shh,” I try to calm her. She cries into my chest and drops the rock. “I got you. I got you,” I repeat to her until her breathing evens out.

“Fucking hell,” Con’s voice comes from the side of us. I damn near pull my gun on him. He looks both of us over. “I lost King.”

“We’ll find him. No way will that bastard be able to hide. Not now. He’s really fucked with the wrong people.”

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