Page 66 of Lore
“Blade, what do we have?” he barks.
“About twenty men at the gate, all armed. That bastard Trent is in the middle,” Blade replies.
Prez studies War, and then nods as if coming to a decision. “War, I want you upstairs. You, too, Blade. The rest of you with me.”
“You need me?—”
“You protect the women and kids if anything goes wrong,” Prez cuts him off, then turns to the rest of us.
War looks pissed, his fists clenching, but his newborn son is upstairs. Prez’s grandson. So I can see why he made the call that he did. And with War up there, I feel better about leaving Atiana, Rider, and Dove.
We all get armed with weapons and our cuts, and walk outside. Prez is in the middle, his enforcers on each side of him. I’m next to Skull, and Angel is next to Bones. Ghost stands behind us with Haze, and the other men behind them.
I shouldn’t be surprised when I see the mafia at our gates, all dressed in black. Some are in suits, and others are in fancy shirts and slacks. I can smell the money from here. When my gaze lands on Alexei Sokolov, the leader’s son, I know that we are in deep shit. He’s only young, barely nineteen from what I know, but his blue eyes are ice-cold and calculating. He looks like a man who has seen death, and it no longer fazes him.
“Do we have a problem here?” Prez asks, speaking through the gates.
“You tell me,” Alexei replies, trailing his gaze all over us. “My father has sent me here to reclaim the money of ours that you have stolen.”
Trent’s throat works as he swallows.
So that’s the lie he has concocted?
Prez laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “We have nothing of yours. We have nothing to do with this man. His wife has sought protection with us after this bastard attacked her. We sure as fuck aren’t clients of his or have any ties to him.”
“They’re lying,” Trent says, bracing his legs apart and crossing his arms. “They threatened me and then stole the money. They have their own tech man who is a hacker.”
“We do,” Prez agrees, his hand absently stroking over his gun. “But we haven’t stolen any money. We’ve had no issues with the mafia, nor do we go over into your territory. We stick to Rest Falls, this is our town, and we mind our own business.”
“You can’t trust them. I’m an accountant! I know what I’m talking about. You’re all just criminals?—”
“Bring out the wife,” Alexei demands, an impatient look flickering across his face before he masks it. “I want to speak with her.”
I step forward, my hands curling into fists. “No fucking way.”
“Lore,” Prez warns, holding his arm out so I can’t move forward.
“No harm will come to her,” Alexei throws out, appearing bored. “I want to hear what she has to say.”
Prez turns to me, silently telling me we have no choice right now. “Omen, go get Atiana.”
Omen follows orders, quickly heading back inside the clubhouse, while a thick tension builds between both sides.
If anything happens to her, I will burn this fucking town down until each of the men standing in front of me are in the ground.
Soon, Atiana walks out, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a white T-shirt. She looks unsure, stopping in her tracks when she sees Trent with the mafia men. Holding out my hand to her, she hurries until she’s next to me.
Alexei looks momentarily amused, but when he smiles, it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I can see what you’re all fighting over. She’s a beautiful woman.” He turns to me. “A married woman. Does that mean nothing in your… biker culture? For us, it is a big disrespect to touch another man’s wife.”
“I’m divorcing Trent,” Atiana speaks up, looking Alexei in the eye. “He put his hands on me, in front of my children. I’m where I want to be.”
“I see,” Alexei murmurs, turning to Trent. “Your wife has no loyalty to you. That makes me wonder what kind of man you are.”
He turns back to my woman. “What do you know about the MC stealing our money?”
She frowns, shaking her head. “They would never do that. They didn’t even know who Trent was until I called them to come and help me. They’ve just been keeping me and my kids safe, that’s it.”
Alexei checks the time on his watch and nods sharply. “Someone is dying today for both wasting my fucking time and for losing my money. How would you feel if that were your husband?”
