Page 33 of Royal's Reign
I give him a quick but sure nod before I take my place beside my sister, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.
With Royal stepping back on dry land, Hammer steers the boat away from the dock and then bucks it out of there. As we get further away and down theshoreline, past all the other rich assholes houses with their private docks, expensive motors and more dollar than they know what to do with, I tighten my hold on Gio, bringing her in closer to my side, and rest my head against hers. She’s trembling. The shock having a hold over her, controlling her body’s reactions. No surprise really, what with this, the second time she’s witnessed a killing; both a bullet to the head. This time, the bullet had been mere inches from her face, so close that blood splatter had contaminated her skin.
“It’s okay, sis, you’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” Yet despite my words of reassurance, I can’t quite ignore the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that are running rampant within my head. For now, I need to rein those in, my priority in this moment is that my sister is safe, and away from the drama and chaos that’s just gone down.
Royal
Clean-up? More like a cover-up. With the help of Boulder and Banshee, we got creative, moving around bodies, replacing weapons and setting a scene that will hopefully remove any trace of the Saint’s Outlaws ever being there. A disagreement between themselves that got way out of hand.
Our regular cleanup team wasn’t really needed on this occasion, but I still got them to go in, give it the once-over for fingerprints, fibers and any othertrace evidence, including anything that Giorgia might have left too.
Chasm had quickly scoped out any possible witnesses from the street, but luck had been on our side and most of the surrounding properties had been vacant. I’m guessing the majority of them are weekend retreats, holiday or second homes for the super-rich, business moguls from the city.
Forger, our tech king, with his dexterous fingers and computer savvy brain, had at the outset managed to hack into each and every camera both in and outside the premises, knocking them out, giving us time to get in and out without leaving video evidence.
Now, back at the clubhouse, after a message was received to confirm the clean-up was complete, I left my motorcycle in its usual place and made my way inside.
“Is she safe?” I shout over to Grinder as he steps through the door that leads from my apartment. His eyes narrow. He serves me with a quick nod. “Ria with her?” I check, not wanting her to be on her own while no doubt she’s trying to process the horror that she’s just gone through. Again, no words, just a swift nod of his head, a slight curl to his lip.
He knows, and he’s fucking furious.
“Church,” I bark. “Forger too.” I straighten my back, chin raised as I turn on my heels and march towards the door leading into our chapel. Sure, it’s clear with the death stare Grinder is throwing my way that he wants to beat the shit out of me, but that willhave to wait, because as the president of this club, there’s a debriefing that needs to be done.
Once inside, with the door firmly closed behind me, I take a few moments before my brothers start filtering in, to regain my composure.
Fuck, the last few hours could have played out so differently. Bloodshed had been inevitable. Loss of brother’s lives a possibility, but if one of the casualties had been Giorgia, it would have ripped out my heart and left me catatonic. At this moment all I want to do is go to her, embrace her, love on her until the horrors are forgotten, no longer in her head, and the only thing that’s left is a sense of peace, security and love. But I also need to put a line under today’s events, then come clean with Grinder, before I can take the next step with his sister, Gio, my Gio.
When I hear voices outside the door, I draw in a deep breath and take my place at the head of the table.
With everything that has just gone down, most would expect my brothers to be somewhat subdued, but on the contrary. Elbows dig sides, hands slap backs as they jostle their way into the room, cackling like a bunch of old women discussing the latest medical soap opera. Each of them tried to one-up the other with the part they played in the event. I let it go on for a while, but eventually I put a stop to it.
“Shut the fuck up and sit down,” I roar over the noise, slamming down the gavel for added effect. The room goes quiet. The only sound is of creaking leatherand heavy boots hitting the stone floor as they move to their place around the table.
“Now everyone has put their dicks away, we can start.” I tap my fingers on the edge of the Saint’s Outlaws emblem that is scorched into the wood surface in front of me. “Today could have gone down very differently, but as usual, every single one of you stepped up to your role, worked seamlessly as a team and covered your brothers’ backs. You were impressive and a credit to the club. The mission was to extract Grinder’s sister, and every one of you stepped up to the plate.” With every word, I let my eyes skim over the faces in front of me. Yet I avoid Grinder’s. I fix them firmly on Hammer.
“Did you dispose of the boat?”
“Yeah, when we got to the meetup point with Scotty, Diesel — the guy you called in — was waiting, and he took care of it. Give it an hour, and it will be gone.”
Diesel was our guy who took care of the disposal of any vehicles that we might need to disappear. Bodies were easy. You didn’t need to go far to find an alligator-infested swamp or a stretch of unused land that could accommodate an unmarked grave or two. But with machinery, that’s when Diesel came into his own, and his inventive way of dismantling, upcycling the parts, making them unrecognizable and a far cry from their original status.
“Good.” I turn my attention to Forger, who’s standing at the back of the room. Prospects don’t getto sit at the table when they do get called in to join us. Hell, he’s only here because his input is crucial on this. “No chance of any digital footage out there?”
“Clean as a whistle, Prez,” he assured me.
“Good, good,” I tilt my head, acknowledging his work. “I'm pretty sure we covered everything. When the cops do go in, all they’ll see is the aftermath of a drug dealer’s disgruntled crew going all psycho and ending up taking each other out. Just in case, Forger, get Ink to help you monitor the police scanners, local news and radio, to make sure that when it does come out, it’s not going to give us any blowback.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
“Does anyone else have anything to report or any questions?”
The majority responds with a clear no. All but one.
“So, do you think that’s the end of it?” Creep’s monotone voice rises above the rest. “We can get back to normal.”
“If you’re asking if we can relax back on the security around Grinder’s sister, the extra eyes that we had on her, then yes, but it doesn’t mean we should be complacent. One thing this has brought to light, is that we need to step up our game when it comes to what is going on within the city. If Giorgia hadn’t come to us for help, how long would it have been before we had noticed Caal and his crew? They were already encroaching on our turf without our knowledge. They were pissing on our feet and we didn’t even smell it. No doubt they were trying to worm their wayinto the city like a virus. One that could have got out of control and put this city back years. Don’t get me wrong, Grinder’s sister should never have had her life turned upside down, feel threatened like she did, but if it hadn’t been for her, the impact of that bastard Caal on the Saint’s Outlaws could have been devastating. Instead, we live to rule another day.
The room fills with mumbled chatter, nods of agreement and a few sighs of relief at the realization of what shitstorm we could have been facing.
