Distraction: An underground kings novel (25 page)

“Yeah,” she agrees. “You can say it was my idea.”

“It was your idea.” I laugh, and she chuckles, too, and then I press my lips together as we watch Justin walk out of the store with three hot pink boxes in his hand. Pointing at me, he comes around to the driver’s side.

“I’ll drive,” he tells me, opening my door.

“I can drive.” I glare at him.

“No offense, Buns, but get your ass in the back.”

“Buns?” I whisper irately as he leans over me, unhooking my belt.

“Backseat,” he repeats, and I glare at him, but then give up my death-look when I see I’m not going to win and climb over the middle console into the backseat.

“Just so you know, I’m an excellent driver,” I inform him when I catch his eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Sure you are, Buns.” He laughs.

“I am,” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him again.

“I should have had you get me some water,” Autumn says, and I pull my eyes from the rearview mirror and watch her scan a piece of paper with directions on it.

“We’re not stopping again, Sweetcheeks. Kenton and Sven are both pissed. I should have had you both back to the house ten minutes ago.”

“That’s why I need the water. I could drink it, pee on this stick, and then hopefully show him it’s positive and soften him up a bit,” she says, and I laugh.

“It will be okay. I mean, we’re safe, right? They should be okay.”

I hear Justin snort, but I ignore that and hold Autumn’s eyes as she mouths,

Thank you.

Anytime,
I mouth back then turn my head and look out the window, hoping we are not in too much trouble.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Sven roars, opening the back of the car as soon as the car comes to a stop.

“I don’t believe so,” I grumble, surprised that even though his eyes are not angry but
pissed
, he still gently takes my hand and helps me out of the car.

“Now is not a time to be cute, Maggie,” he says, dipping his face close to mine.

“I’m not being cute, honey,” I reply then look over at Autumn to make sure she’s okay. I notice that at some point, she must’ve taken the pregnancy tests out of the boxes and shoved them in her back pocket, since I can see the white ends sticking out.

“This isn’t a joke,” he whispers harshly, and I place my hand against his chest, feeling his heart pounding hard before I get up on my tiptoes.

“I’m sorry,” I say calmly. “Swear it won’t happen again.”

His hands hold mine to his chest and he shakes his head. “I know it won’t happen again, because I’m handcuffing you to the bed.”

“You’re not.”

“Yeah, I am,” he rumbles, dipping his head and kissing me hard.

“We had something important to do,” I say breathlessly when he pulls his mouth from mine.

“The only important thing you need to do right now is to listen and stay put.”

“When do we get to go home?” I ask quietly after a moment, and his face softens.

“I don’t know, baby. Hopefully soon, but until then, I need you to be here.”

“I know, and I won’t leave again.”

“I know you won’t.”

“You’re not handcuffing me to the bed.”

“We’ll see,” he mutters, looking over my head.

“You good?” he asks, and I turn to look at Autumn and Kenton, who are standing much the same way as Sven and me.

“Yeah, man,” Kenton mutters then looks over the hood of the car at Justin. “Thanks for getting them back here.”

“No problemo, Boss.” Justin grins then looks at Sven. “You need to teach Buns how to drive. Chick cannot drive, man.” He shakes his head and I narrow my eyes on him.

“Do not call me Buns, and I’m a great driver. I passed the test in one shot,” I inform him haughtily.

“Instructor was probably more interested in you than keeping the population of Vegas safe,” he grumbles, still grinning.

“Whatever,” I mutter back, because the instructor did ask me for my number after he passed me, but I wasn’t going to share that with Justin.

“Thought so.”

“You’re very annoying.”

“He is,” Autumn agrees, walking over to punch him in the arm, and then she wraps her arms around his waist, giving him a squeeze before going back to Kenton and kissing his chin as his arms wrap around her.

“You guys ready to get back to Kai?” Justin asks, and I want to pout that Sven’s leaving again, but I hold it in since I know he doesn’t need that right now.

“Yeah, man,” Kenton agrees, and I look up at Sven when his arms give me a squeeze.

“Do not leave the house for any reason.”

“What if there’s a fire?”

“Stay inside.”

“What if there’s a fire?” I repeat, and his eyes close then his forehead drops to mine.

“Please stay inside, baby.”

“Fine.” I close my eyes, holding him a little tighter, and then I lift up, placing my mouth against his, whispering there, “Be safe and come back soon.”

“Soon as I can.” He kisses me softly once more then lets me go to get into the Suburban, with Kenton behind the wheel and Justin getting into the back.

“I can’t wait until this is done,” Autumn says, taking my hand as we watch the guys pull away.

“Me neither,” I agree, smiling as Sven points at the house in a silent demand. “Let’s go in before he comes back and cuffs me to the bed,” I say, smiling when she laughs.

“Not sure what you were thinking, but next time you two do some shit like that, I’m locking you in the closet,” Zack says as soon as we enter the house.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, and his nostrils flare.

“You’re not, but do something like that again and you will be.”

“Zack,” I whisper, taking a step toward him.

Holding up his hands, his eyes hold mine. “I adore you Maggie, but I’m pissed at you right now.”

“I know, and I promise I will be on my best behavior from now on.”

“I know you will be, because—no joke—I will lock your ass in a closet if I have to.”

“I believe you.”

“You should.”

“I do,” I agree, trying to fight a smile, but he catches it anyway.

“My man is so fucked,” he mutters, and I run to him and wrap my arms around his back, giving him a squeeze.

“Don’t lock me in the closet. I’m afraid of the dark.”

“Liar,” he grumbles, squeezing me back, letting me know we’re okay. Taking a step back, I look over his shoulder at Pika, who is standing with his arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the wall.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re safe. It’s all good, but like Zack said, we’ve got no problem locking you two away.”

“You won’t have to do that,” I assure him, and he nods then pulls himself off the wall and leaves the room.

“I’m going to my room for a bit,” Autumn says, and I turn to look at her.

“Sure, I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” I smile, and she nods before heading up the stairs.

Looking back at Zack, I ask, “Wanna watch
Born in the Wild
?”

“Fuck no.” He shakes his head as his face loses some of its color.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be in the living room.” I grin then head in there, make myself comfortable on the couch, and eventually fall asleep watching a woman give birth to a baby in the woods.

Sven

Truth

“T
his isn’t exactly
a job you can put an ad out for,” Kai rumbles, and my eyes move through my office and over to him. Since my club is closed down for the time being, we have been meeting up here, leaving the girls at the house with Zack, Pika, and Teo.

“Yeah, but you know as well as I do that someone else is going to step in the second Paulie is no longer a part of the equation,” I reply, sitting back in my chair. “I don’t know shit about the business you’re in, but I do know business, and anytime someone steps out of a possession, there’s always someone there to take over, and I can’t imagine this will be any different.”

“You’re right. Someone else will step in, but I’m not sure our move should be leading someone else into the seat,” Kai says, placing his drink on my desk.

“I didn’t say I agreed with Justin’s idea. I do think we need a way to guarantee we won’t be collateral damage. If that comes in the form of making an alliance with someone else, then I’m all for it.”

“Aedan,” Justin puts in, and I turn to look at him. “Guy is fucked, but he is also not fucking crazy,” he says, referring to the Irish high-ranking drug dealer he’s been working with.

“He’s killed a lot of fucking people.” Kenton frowns.

“He has,” Justin agrees. “Aedan made a name for himself at twenty-three when he took out his boss, that boss being Armando Levy, the biggest drug lord Vegas had ever seen. A man no one—not even the FBI—had the balls to stand up to,” Justin says then looks at Kai. “You know his story. You know he took out Armando because he was kidnapping women, getting them addicted to blow, and then putting them on the tracks.”

“You’re making him sound like a fucking choirboy,” Kenton chides, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m not saying he’s a fucking angel of mercy. I’m saying he has a moral compass, which is more than what Paulie has,” Justin replies, sweeping the room, looking at each of us. “Regardless of what we do, what steps we take, there will be someone who takes over. There is no way to prevent that. The only thing we can do is put someone in that seat who isn’t going to come back for us.”

“You can’t guarantee he won’t, Justin,” Kai mutters, standing from his chair to pace the room.

“I can. He is not a fan of Paulie’s.”

“Why the fuck do we need to be involved in helping him into that seat?” Kenton asks, and Justin looks at him.

“There are four main families in Vegas. Those four families control what happens in this town—who pimps, who sells dope, and who sells guns. Three of those families are tied to Paulie. Only one family is not, and that’s Aedan’s.”

“Justin has a point,” I conclude, and Kai scowls at me. Sitting forward, I put my hands on my desk and lean in. “Listen, I don’t give a fuck who does what in Vegas. The only thing I want is to live a life where I don’t have to look over my shoulder. Searching for some fuckwad who thinks he’s gonna make alliances by taking me out.”

“We all can agree on that.” Kai nods then looks to Justin. “Set up a meeting. Tell him I want to speak with him about business. We won’t mention what’s going on until we get a feel for him.”

“On it,” he mutters, pulling out his phone and stepping out of the office to make the call.

“Were Maggie and Autumn okay?” Kai asks, and I look at Kenton, seeing his expression is the same as mine.

“Autumn said she needed to go to the drug store, so she and Maggie came up with a plan to do that.”

“She could have asked one of the guys to get whatever she needed,” Kai says, and I feel my lips twitch.

“Don’t know much about Myla, but Maggie’s always down for causing chaos. Pretty sure she thrives on driving me crazy.”

“Autumn’s the same. I’m surprised she didn’t hatch an escape plan sooner, actually.” Kenton chuckles.

“Thank god Maxim is teething, Myla’s been locked in our room.” Kai mutters as Justin comes back into the office.

“Meeting’s set, tomorrow at two, he’s meeting us here.”

“Good,” I nod, rubbing my jaw.

“Now we need to talk about Lane,” Justin adds, taking a seat across from me once more.

“He still downstairs?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yep, and I don’t think this will surprise you, but I ran his phone record. He’s been keeping in contact with one of Paulie’s guys.”

“Fuck,” I clip, standing from my chair and turning to the window behind me. Looking down at the club floor, I see that Lane and Aye are sitting at the bar.

“I don’t know what they are talking about when they do talk, but the calls are constant—one a night over the last two months. I also watched the tape again,” he says quietly, and I turn to face him. “In one clip, he acted like he was pushing someone off of Maggie at the bar. That’s when he slipped the substance he used in her drink.”

“It’s taking everything in me not to fucking kill him,” I whisper.

“He’s our in,” Justin says, and I let out a breath.

“He’s going to get us where we need to be with Paulie, so when we take him out, it’s not expected. We are going to use him as a pawn and play him at his own game.

“He’s sleeping down the hall from my woman,” I remind him quietly.

“He can’t make a move without one of us knowing about it.”

“I want this shit done,” I growl. I’m so fucking frustrated by this situation, and knowing my suspicions about Lane are justified, the anger and betrayal I’ve been feeling is choking me.

“I’m not happy that he knows where the women are, Justin,” Kai breaks in, and Justin pulls his eyes off me to look at Kai, who’s still standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You have Zack, Pika, and Teo at the house, a security system that rivals the Pentagon’s, and enough guns to start a small war. The girls are safe, and if I thought for one second they weren’t, I would have you move them to Dino’s,” Justin says, holding his gaze.

“How do you know Dino?” Kia asks, raising a brow.

“Been here off and on over the last few months working with Aedan. I know more than I want to,” Justin answers, making me wonder what the fuck he’s been up to and why he’s working with Aedan to begin with. Justin doesn’t do work for just anyone, and I can’t imagine him helping out a drug dealer. That isn’t his style. He wants the world to be a better place.

“How close are you with Aedan?” Kai asks, studying him.

“Wouldn’t trust him with my lift, but right now, he’s an ally,” he replies immediately, and Kai studies him for a moment more before nodding and taking a step back.

“Let’s head back to the house. Myla’s been with Maxim the last few days without a break,” Kai says, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Works for me. I need to make sure Autumn hasn’t escaped out the window, or found a way to talk Myla or Maggie into helping her dig a hole back to Tennessee,” Kenton interjects, standing from his chair as I roll my shoulder and press the palm of my hand into it as I stand.