Theo stiffens and Caz snarls as they hear him shouting his threats through the phone even before I’ve put it on speaker.
I wait for Darrow to exhaust himself, and when he’s finally stopped spewing venom, I clear my throat. “Are you done?”
“I’m fucking done, all right!” he yells. “You fucking screwed me over big time.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m confused because Sinner just hightailed it out of here in a murderous rage. What happened? Where is the shipment?”
“Spilling out of the back of the semi as we speak,” Dar says. “Fucking hell!” he shouts. “Archer will cut my fucking balls off for this!”
“Calm your shit, and tell me what went down.” I am quickly losing patience with the dick.
“The truck was exactly where you said it would be, and it took little effort to ambush it because they were not expecting us, but they weren’t the only ones surprised. Are you saying you didn’t know?”
“Know what, Dar?” I bark. “You’re not making sense.” I exchange a concerned look with Theo and Caz.
“The shipment wasn’t drugs, Lo. It was fucking girls. What the fuck are we supposed to do with that?”
CHAPTER 33
Harlow
“THIS MEANS ALL-out war,” Sinner seethes the following morning at breakfast, pacing the kitchen like the batshit crazy psycho he is.
We stayed up half the night waiting for the guys to return, and then, we had a hushed, shocked conversation at four a.m. before crawling into bed for a few hours’ sleep.
Judging from Sinner’s whiskey breath and bloodshot eyes, I’d say he didn’t get to bed at all. “I’m putting a man on you,” he tells Mom the second she steps into the kitchen in a fitted skirt suit. “Things are going to get ugly now.”
I’ll say. After they failed to retrieve the “shipment,” they attacked three of The Arrows’ warehouses, burning them to the ground. War has most definitely arrived in Lowell now.
“Is it really necessary?” Mom asks, pouring a cup of coffee.
Sinner flies across the kitchen, grabbing her by the throat.
I move to stand, but Saint yanks me back down, warning me with his eyes. I dig my nails into my thighs as Saint wraps his arm around my waist, keeping me in place. I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this house and not do something. Mom yelps as hot coffee spills down the front of her blouse, and a sickening feeling swirls in my gut. “It’s necessary if I say it’s necessary,” Sinner hisses, his spittle landing on her face.
“Okay.” She gulps. “Fine.”
He pins manic eyes on her, and I seriously consider embedding my knife in his back. I’m a good shot. I could easily do it from here.
As if he’s heard my thoughts, Galen shakes his head at me from across the table. I’m reminded of our conversation when we were in his house, and I know this is as hard for him as it is for me, yet he’s keeping it together.
I nod, forcing myself to think about the endgame.
“I need to get changed,” Mom says when Sinner eventually backs away. She leans in, kissing his cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, darling.” If she’s acting, she deserves a fucking Oscar for her stellar performance.
“Chapter meeting tonight at HQ. Everyone is to be there,” Sinner barks, his lips pulling into a sly sneer when he looks at me. “You too, princess. We might find some of those tasks for you after everyone has gone.”
Blood turns to ice in my veins, but I school my features into a neutral mask.
“When were you going to tell us?” Saint clips out, removing his arm from my waist and glaring at his father.
“When we’d successfully trafficked our first shipment.” Sinner dumps a load of whiskey in his cup.
“Now that the authorities have the girls, what will you do?” Saint inquires, and I can tell how hard it is for him to keep his voice calm. Every muscle and sinew in his body is locked tight, and I’m guessing he’s having similar murderous thoughts about his father.
After I ended my call with Dar, I contacted Saint, and he agreed to organize an anonymous tip to be sent to the cops. They showed up minutes before Sinner and his crew, and, according to the guys, Sinner went apeshit that they missed out on reclaiming the girls he’s already paid for.
The Arrows had fled the scene by then, narrowly avoiding arrest. From what Darrow said, Archer Quinn, The Arrows president, wants nothing to do with sex trafficking and he’s out for my blood, because he thinks I set them up.
Nice of Dar to throw me to the wolves, and isn’t it just my luck to take care of one enemy and gain a new one at the same time.
“Wait until the heat cools down, and then, try again,” Sinner says.
“We don’t traffic women,” Galen supplies, his voice strained. “You honestly think members will vote this in?”
Sinner snorts. “They’ll fucking do what I say, and the profits speak for themselves. With Luke McKenzie out of the way, that business is wide-open for the taking. It’s worth millions, billions.” His eyes glint greedily, and my stomach churns.
“What’s McKenzie got to do with it?” Theo asks.
“He was The Bulls liaison with the supplier in Mexico. Dude doesn’t trust Ruben, thanks to some past history and bad blood. He didn’t realize he was supplying The Bulls until I informed him. We have a way in now, provided I can spin last night and not fucking ruin everything before it’s begun.” His nostrils flare as he slams his hands on the table.
“This should help,” Caz says, turning on the TV and tilting his head to the side.
Sinner’s eyes pop wide, and his fury turns to quick delight as we watch the news report confirming a large shipment of drugs and weapons were seized in an early morning raid on the docks in Fenton. Pictures show Ruben and a line of guys in cuts being frog-marched into police vans.
Saint has already sent spies out onto the streets to start taking control of the Fenton supply, because we don’t know if the cops will arrest everyone. In the event they don’t, the remaining members should be too busy trying to hold on to their turf to bother about me.
Sinner grins, rubbing his hands together. “At least, something good has come from this shitshow.” He jabs his finger at Saint. “Get guys on the street. I want that supply locked up tight before other greedy assholes try to take the territory.”
“I’m on it,” Saint says, his fingers flying over his phone.
Sinner slaps him on the back. “That’s my boy.” He leers at me, peering down the front of my shirt, and nausea swims up my throat. “I just might be in the mood for celebrating tonight after all.”
“Knock it off, Dad.” Saint slings his arm around my shoulders, glaring at his dad. “Lo is ours.”
“Sharing is caring, son.” Sinner smirks, slapping him extra hard on the back. “And I don’t take orders from you.” He swats the back of his head, and the urge to stab him is riding me hard again. “Have a good day at school.” He laughs, walking off with a half-empty whiskey bottle clutched in one hand.
“I say we implement a new plan,” Galen growls. Our gazes swing to his. “Let’s kill the asshole. I don’t know how much more of his shit I can stomach.”