Jaws waits a few moments, then closes the door, sealing us in a cage. I want to kill him, choke him with my bare hands, but he’s packing heat. I wouldn’t get within three feet before he put a bullet in me…just as I did to his friend.
“You’ve grown, kid.”
Suddenly, death is a price I’m willing to pay. The last time he called me kid was when his hands were stained with my brother’s blood.
“Yes, I have,” I reply, barely holding on. “Your friend, Kong, saw just how much. That was the last thing he saw before I stabbed him through the heart.”
Jaws’s lips twitch before he breaks out into a husky laugh. “I should thank you for taking out my trash,” he states calmly.
I’m not surprised he doesn’t shed a tear for his once friend.
“You can thank me by telling me where your other friend is.”
Jaws coolly places his hands into his pockets. “You found me, or should I say, we found one another. You clearly don’t need my help.”
He’s right. The element of surprise is gone, thanks to the fact I’m sleeping with his sister. Of all the women, why her?
“What do you want?” I’m done with pretenses. This asshole is here for a reason. I’m of value to him. If I wasn’t, I’d already be dead.
“No foreplay?” he quips, his straight white teeth gleaming with a sarcastic smirk.
“Your sister already scratched that itch,” I counter quickly, relishing in his sudden change of demeanor.
He wanted his nephew dead because he has some sick obsession with Tiger, but why did he wait so long to come back into her life?
“Careful,” he warns, clenching his jaw. I can’t believe I didn’t see the similarities between Tiger and him. I was off my A game because I was too busy…feeling.
Goddammit. This can’t happen again.
“Regardless of the fact she can’t seem to keep her legs closed, she’s still my sister.”
“The sister you abandoned,” I spit, jumping to her defense.
“She had that coming,” he counters without feeling. “That’s her punishment for fucking my best friend.”
So it appears he knows.
Tiger thought he was oblivious to her sneaking around, but he wasn’t. He was always two steps ahead. “You knew?”
“Of course, I knew,” he mocks angrily. “I also know what happened to her Prince Charming.”
There is so much more to this complex story. And I’m about to find out just how much.
“Lillian’s problem is that she’s a hopeless romantic. She is also naïve. But it seems you’ve been doing my dirty work for quite some time now.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I should end this asshole. Now. But I can’t. What does Tiger have to do with this?
“It means,” Jaws says, tonguing his cheek. “The man you shot…that was my best friend. The best friend who was fucking my little sister and didn’t have the sense to wrap his shit up and got her pregnant with that little bastard.”
The blood drains from my body. I can’t speak.
“You didn’t put two and two together?” he mocks with a smirk. “You killed her soul mate.” A phrase has never sounded so dirty. “You did me a favor. I would have killed him myself the moment I found out she was pregnant. But you beat me to the punch.”
“He was my hero. My Prince Charming.” I now realize Tiger meant that in the literal sense because the man I shot was Hero…Jordy’s father and the love of her life.
I am the reason her life turned to shit. Oh, my fucking god. And she knows. She knows I was the one who shot and killed the man she loved. I robbed Jordy of his father. She also knows I have no remorse for my actions. Our paths crossed long ago. We just didn’t know it. Until now.
I need to explain. But what do I say? She knows the truth. Where do we go from here?
“I told her he split because that traitor didn’t deserve a hero’s farewell. I wanted her to think he was the lying, cheating scumbag that he, in fact, was.
“I knew she was fucking Hero. I just didn’t want to believe either would betray me that way. But the gig was up when she grew big with his child.” He hums, steadying himself. “How dare he put his hands, his cock in what’s mine!”
“Motherfucker, if you cared so much about her, why the fuck did you leave her?” I yell, prepared to kill him over and over again for all that he’s done.
“That’s her punishment for loving him, loving them, more than me. She wanted to be an adult, so I treated her like one. She clearly didn’t need me when she was sleeping around behind my back,” he cruelly replies, while I hold back my vomit. He is sick. “But I want her back. She’s paid her dues. I want her by my side, where she belongs.”
Over my dead fucking body…
“That comes a little too late. She’s fucking stripping to support herself and her son, your nephew, who you wanted dead,” I reveal, because he’s not the only one with an ace up his sleeve.
“Ah, it seems Kong remained a little pussy right until the very end.” Jaws isn’t bothered by what I know.
“Let’s wrap this up, shall we?” I spit, not interested in small talk. I need to find Tiger and explain. It bothers me that she is my main priority right now; however, I can question my motives later.
“We both want something,” Jaws says evenly. “We can benefit from the other.”
I highly doubt that. But I’m listening.
“Word on the street is that you’re tight with Stevie, so it’s simple. You’re going to work for me now. This is the in I’ve been waiting for.”
Scoffing, I shake my head incredulously. “I’ve heard some bullshit in my time, but this is fucking rich. Why the fuck would I work for you? I want you dead, asshole. And I plan on delivering as soon as you stop boring me with your riddles.”
Jaws has the audacity to laugh. This is just a game to him. “You can try, but I have something you want.”
“Oh, yeah, and what’s that?”
“My sister’s love.”
Clenching my fists, I inhale slowly. “I’m listening.” This is why I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. Emotional ties mean collateral, and Jaws has a shitload of it. I’ve hurt Tiger once before, how can I do it again?
“Stevie trusts you, and now that Kong is dead, he’ll need someone to fill his shoes. That someone will be you.”
It’s like my equilibrium is off balance. Every time Jaws speaks, it drifts further and further away from the natural order of the world.
“You will get close to him and learn everything there is to know about his business. This town only has room for one alpha, and that’s me. I want his drugs, his fighting ring, and the club. The Pink Oyster is competition, lousy competition, seeing as my club is a 7-Up Factory, but competition nonetheless, with my investment. Not to mention, it’s in prime real estate. I’ve been looking at that place for a while now. I think it’s time for Blue Bloods to expand.
“Drugs, strippers, it’s all easy money for me. The more I have, the more I get paid. This is smart business.”
Jaws owns Blue Bloods? This means he would have known where Tiger was the entire time. And he’s only now coming out of hiding. Carlos wasn’t behind her attack—it was fucking Jaws. He wants his sister to work here, not because he wants to rekindle their relationship, but because she’ll make him money.