Page 49 of Knockout Queen

The elevator doors part in front of us, and the guards in front of K’s suite open the door so we walk right in. Oddly, the way we trek into the room reminds me of a united front. An us versus them, though they have no idea there’s even an us. We’re all supposed to be a part of them, but I haven’t been with them from the beginning.

“Excellent,” K says, standing from the table that’s now moved back into a conference room position rather than a dining room table. I guess it doesn’t matter what he dresses it up as, the results are usually the same. This room—this suite—should never be mistaken as a home. Nothing but business takes place here.

Johnny and his father shake hands. Johnny takes the seat next to him, while I take the seat right next to Johnny. The others disperse around the room in available seats while Magnum stands behind Johnny and me. I recognize the faces around the room from previous meetings. Jiko and his father are even here. They’re the only other party who has security behind them. I guess even though K trusts these other business professionals with the logistics of his business, that doesn’t mean they deserve security like he does. They’re dispensable in his mind. People he can use and discard at his leisure.

“As you are all well aware, we had a breach in the Crew,” K starts out as soon as he sits. He eyes the people around the room like any of them could be another Gregory. “Someone we thought was our ally turned out to be the opposite. He’s turned other members against us. You may think it was just my son who was held hostage, and that it won’t affect you, but I’d like to remind you that what affects the Crew, affects you. This isn’t an attack against me, it’s an attack against the whole Crew. Against you. Against your livelihoods. Against the system we’ve set up.”

If this wasn’t all about him, I might even feel a little inspired. The guy can talk. That’s for sure. That’s how you get to be who he is. No one would follow someone who wasn’t worth following. If Hitler couldn’t get people to listen to him, no one would have followed him into the terrible shit he did. Eloquent speakers rule the world.

“I’m disgusted that someone we called a friend and business partner has retaliated against you,” Cardinale says. Jiko nods right along next to him. “How are you doing, Johnny?”

“Better, thank you,” Johnny answers beside me. “I wish I had more information on what Gregory wants, but it seems that their intent was just to get my father to make a mistake. They seemed to be unorganized in a way, so whatever we do in retaliation should be swift and devastating.”

I swallow. I get wanting revenge on that fucker. He shouldn’t have taken Johnny like that, but to listen to him say those things reminds me of his father, and that churns up the bile in my stomach. I have to wonder if he’s playing the part, or if that’s just who he is.

K nods. He steeples his hands in front of himself. “The first thing I want done is to burn the racetrack to the ground after scouring it for clues. Magnum got rid of any evidence that we were there. The police haven’t finished their investigation yet, but I want the place gone as a message to that fucking prick who thinks he can mess with me.”

I can’t help but drift my gaze to Oscar. We once thought his mother was in that place. She could still end up there with other helpless drug addict women who have turned themselves into prostitutes just to support themselves. We can’t let them suffer because K wants to punish Gregory. In response to his words, Oscar shifts on his seat. K knows nothing about Oscar’s mom and telling him would be a terrible idea. The less K knows about the rest of our lives, the better.

“I also want everyone looking out for where Gregory is hiding. He has to be somewhere. The sooner we find him, the better. We’ll make quick work of getting rid of him and then we can all return to normal.”

Except, the problem isn’t Gregory, is it? It’s K. I glance around the room and realize I’m at the wrong meeting. I should be at the meeting where Gregory is talking about how to get rid of K. As soon as that’s done, then “we can all return to normal” just like he said, except I don’t want his normal. Neither does Magnum, Oscar, or Brawler.

“We’ll do whatever you want us to do,” a guy in a sharp, gray suit says. “As you said, an attack against you is an attack against the Crew, and we’re a part of that Crew.”

K nods, a sinister smile crossing his face. He has all these guys by the balls, and he knows it. I bet he was shocked when he found out Gregory got others to rally against him. I wish I’d been there to witness it. That moment of realization that not everyone is kissing his fucking ass.

“I want Johnny and his guys to focus on finding Gregory. As for the rest of you, I want all your guys with their noses to the ground, asking all the right questions. Someone out there has to know something. They’re hiding in plain sight. As soon as you find out anything, report to Johnny who will report to me.” He glances around the room until he stops on Brawler. A smile flickers over his face, kind of like old movies where the picture is lost for a few brief seconds. In between those moments, you see exactly the cold ugliness underneath. “Brawler, our initiate.” He beams. “I want you to torch the track, and I don’t want you to stop until it’s charred remains on the ground.”

My stomach sinks. I find Brawler across the room. He moves his gaze to K, and in the fashion of someone who wants to impress him, says, “Consider it done.”

The knife sticks into my gut even further.

21

Johnny and I rise to leave the meeting after K dismisses everyone. Just like that, we have a plan in place. It’s not a direct plan, but I have a feeling that’s not what Big Daddy K wanted to convey with this meeting anyway. He wanted to let everyone know he wasn’t going to tolerate people leaving him. If any of the other guys sitting in that room are also in discussions with Gregory, it’s pretty clear they can be sure to worry about breathing if they decide to cross him.

“Johnny, Kyla, will you hold back please?”

I stiffen at his words. Sometimes, I’m able to be in his presence and not feel the overwhelming urge to knife his ass, but other times, I don’t think I can stand to be so close to him anymore. I want him gone. I want him dead without the ability to hurt people. Us included.

Johnny holds back on my hand, and we wait for everyone else to leave the room. When they do, K moves over to the couches. We follow, sans Magnum. The hairs almost rise on my arms because it’s very rare that I’m without Magnum. He’s like a sentry always there to watch over me, and I happen to like it that way.

“How are you feeling?” K asks as Johnny and I take a seat opposite him.

Johnny shrugs. “Healing. No real damage. I can still get around. You don’t have to worry about me not finding Gregory. I’ll find the fucker.”

K smirks. It sends a wave of uneasiness through me. “I know that, son. That’s not why I wanted to hold you back here. I wanted to actually say something to Kyla.”

I swallow, and Johnny moves imperceptibly closer to me.

“I owe you an apology,” K clarifies.

My eyes widen. I can’t help the shocked look that passes over my face. Though, he hasn’t apologized yet, so... “Why’s that?”

He leans further into the black leather cushions at his back. “When Johnny was missing, I said some rather unkind things to you. I’m not saying I disagree with everything I said, but I apologize considering you were one of the ones who went after him that night. I wanted to let you know that I appreciate the work you did.”

I gaze into his soulless eyes. They’re actually not that soulless. I just imagine them that way because I know the sneaky, dirty things he’s hidden inside himself. On the outside, he looks like any other businessman. Well groomed. Slick. Smart. All the classy attributes, he’s got. He’s just a master of disguise. “I would do anything for Johnny.”

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