Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
After I left our apartment, I went back to the main clubhouse in the compound. I pushed open the heavy door to Knuckles’ office.
The room smelled faintly of motor oil and sweat, a mix that helped settle me by surrounding me with all the familiar things I’d left behind. Knuckles was already there, leaning back in his chair with a half-empty bottle of Jack on the desk. His thick arms were crossed over his chest, and that permanent scowl carved into his face like someone chiseled it out of stone was firmly in place.
“Pain,” he grunted as I stepped in, shutting the door behind me. “Took your sweet fuckin’ time.”
“Had shit to do,” I said, dropping into the chair across from him with a grin. We both knew I wasn’t coming to see him before I got Nadine settled.
Knuckles grinned back, warm and inviting. It wasn’t a look I’d have associated with Knuckles before, but things were different now. “Good to have you back, Pain.”
“Good to be back.”
“I still think your brother could have gotten you off.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t deserve it. I did the crime; I did the time. Besides, if you’ve talked to Wyatt about this, he’d agree with me. Otherwise, he would have gotten me off. I’d still be working at the hospital, and I’d never have met Nadine.” I took a breath before meeting Knuckles’ gaze. “She’s mine, Knuckles. I’m sure I can convince her to stay with me. She wants to, though she’s being cautious.”
“Given she worked in a prison, that’s not unexpected. She’s just been thrust into what could be her worst nightmare if we were like some clubs.” Knuckles picked up a pen and twirled it absently between his fingers. “How’s she holdin’ up?”
I shrugged. “Not bad. She had a rough time processing everything that happened at her home, but she’s trying. I think with some time, and getting to know the other old ladies, she’ll fit in here perfectly.”
There was silence and I knew there was another reason Knuckles wanted to meet with me. “We might have a situation. We’re trying to take care of it, but this was something that hit us out of the blue. I’m telling you privately because this literally just happened. While you were on your way here from Iron Tzars last night.”
OK, that didn’t sound good. “What’s going on?”
“The city just hired a new police chief. He’s coming in from Memphis. Bringin’ his core officers in the department, who also happen to be his muscle on the inside.”
“I don’t understand.”
“His name’s Benjamin Roscoe. He’s as corrupt as they come and hell-bent on cleanin’ us out of the area.”
That surprised me. “Seems pretty sudden.”
“Yeah. Even your brother got taken by surprise on this one.” Knuckles scrubbed a hand over his face before slamming the pen back on the table in frustration. My brother, Wyatt Raven, was my lawyer. He was affiliated with Iron Tzars, but he was my older brother. Which meant anything and everything going on around me, Raven -- his road name in the Tzars -- knew about and had at least a modicum of control over. Why? Because he was a bastard control freak who constantly had to have his nose in other people’s business… because he had a fear of losing more people close to him. Like he had our parents, our younger sister, and then me. “Not to mention, Tonio is furious.” He was talking about Antonio Miles, a major player in the family who controlled the Nashville underground. Nashville was his city. Kiss of Death was the muscle. I didn’t think Antonio was the head of the family dynasty, but he was definitely in the upper echelon.
I sat up straighter. “He didn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It could be. Roscoe has his men watching our every move. His excuse is that we’re a bunch of ex-cons gathered in one place. He has no evidence to back up claims we demand protection money from the dock workers, or that we basically have our pick of shit we want coming into Nashville, but that’s not stopping him.”
“So he’s just throwing shit out there?”
“Yep. The media picked it up because why not, and ran with it.”
“And given the city’s current political environment, it was easy to get everyone to believe we’re causing a problem.”
“Yep. Which means this Roscoe is making a concerted effort to take out the Miles family’s muscle.”
“The fact is, he’s not wrong about us being a menace. We’re just not a menace in the way he’s painting.”
Knuckles sat back in his chair and shrugged. “True. But I’m pretty sure he’s making this move on someone else’s payroll. Little cunt’s not smart enough to do it on his own, though it’s obvious he thinks he is.”
“Which means there’s someone new making a move.” I crossed one ankle over the opposite knee. “Great. This isn’t the calm, carefree environment I’d hoped to show Nadine.”