Romeo (Dark Knights MC/Blood Fury MC: Crossover)

Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

“See who it was?” Romeo asked Wick not even two hours later and after a short, much-needed nap.

Wick leaned back in the chair and propped his boots on the hospital bed. “Kinda.”

Romeo narrowed his eyes at those dirty boots until Wick dropped them back to the floor. “Was it the Fury?”

Wick’s forehead creased the same way Bishop’s had. “The Fury? Why would they wanna kick your fuckin’ ass?… Oh… fuck… ‘Cause you banged their property without permission? That hot thing belongin’ to that scary fucker Shade? What’s her name?”

“Wick,” Romeo growled, then quickly regretted it. Coughing was not good for broken ribs. Not one, not two, but a whole rack of them. “You recognize any of ‘em?”

“No and didn’t see a fuckin’ cut in sight. If it was the Fury, they’d be representin’ to let you know it was them and make sure you know why they’re visitin’.”

The man was right. If it was that MC, they’d make sure Romeo knew they were delivering that message. “Wanna hear the details.”

“Not much to tell. Stepped outside to throw shit in the dumpster and have a fuckin’ smoke. Saw you on the ground rollin’ around. One fucker was beatin’ you with some metal thing, the other two were kickin’ the shit outta you.”

How could there only be three of them? At the time, it felt like a dozen. “They stopped when they saw you?”

“Fuck no. They didn’t fuckin’ scatter ’til I took a coupla shots at ‘em.”

Romeo must’ve been knocked out by then to miss that. “You hit any of ‘em?”

“Not sure since it was fuckin’ too dark to see. Don’t think this was random, right?”

“Could be.” But Romeo doubted it.

“If it ain’t, they know where you live.”

No shit. “Or they think I was hangin’ at Dick’s.” That was a long shot.

“Either way, Magnum’s on it.”

Just fuckin’ great.

If the attack had anything to do with Maddie, he’d never hear the end of it from his sergeant at arms. The man told him to leave Maddie alone. Romeo ignored that warning and now look where he landed.

In a fucking hospital bed.

Along with Maddie being unemployed. As well as pissed at him.

He closed his eyes and breathed. Carefully.

He needed to make shit right with her.

While he hated to admit that Magnum had been right, Romeo should’ve told her no like he said. He also should’ve told himself no, instead of being so goddamn selfish.

But he didn’t and here he was .

Bottom line… he fucked up.

“Just so you know, Sully was on stand-by.”

Wick’s words had his eyes flashing open. “For what?”

“Last rites, I guess.”

“Fuckin’ Sully. Don’t he know I’m too fuckin’ stubborn to die?”

Wick snorted. “Pretty sure I heard one of the nurses sayin’ it was touch and go for a while, too.”

“Well, everyone was wrong, weren’t they?”

“It was close, Rome. Good thing I stepped out back when I did. If I hadn’t…”

True, but it would’ve been even better if he’d went out back sooner. “Yeah.”

“You’re fuckin’ welcome.”

It also would’ve been better if Wick had better aim. Romeo kept that opinion to himself. “Thanks, brother.”

“You would’ve done the same.”

“I hope to fuck any of our brothers would’ve stepped in. None of us are pussies.”

“Truth.” Wick stared at him for far too long. “Who d’you think’s got it out for you?”

“No fuckin’ clue.”

“Magnum’s on it.”

Jesus Christ. “Already told me that.”

“He’ll find out who those fuckers are and why they ambushed you like that.” Wick tipped his head. “Might not be the Blood Fury but do you still think it got to do with that Fury chick?”

“No fuckin’ clue,” he repeated, but he was starting to think it was related. The only person he had a run-in with lately was…

Roger fucking Smith.

Did the fucker put out a hit on him? Maddie’s former boss probably had enough scratch to hire some crackheads to fuck him up. Since he survived, hiring some scumbags off the street would make more sense. If it had been a professional hit, Romeo doubted he’d still be breathing.

“Well,” Wick started with an amused grin, “the doctor said you’ll need physical therapy to help with healin’. Guess it’s good you got her in your pocket.”

Romeo frowned. How did Wick know Maddie was a physical therapist? “She ain’t in my pocket.”

Wick chuckled. “Just in your bed, then? Never knew you to chase a chick. She’s gotta be somethin’ special.” He wiggled his fingers and his eyebrows. “She good with her hands, brother?”

Romeo wasn’t liking this turn of conversation. “She ain’t nothin’. She’s property of an ally. That’s it. Was only lookin’ out for her, the same as they’d do for us if one of ours moved north.”

“For fuck’s sake, Rome. You really think we don’t got eyes and fuckin’ ears? Or brains to figure shit out?”

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

“Seen her comin’ in and outta your place for the last few weeks. How she looked arrivin’ ain’t the same as how she looked leavin’. You also disappeared a few nights. Since when are you crashin’ at some woman’s house?” He lifted a finger. “Never. You dip the second you pull out.” Before Romeo could deny it, he continued. “And the most obvious evidence? The sweet butts complainin’ that you’ve been ignorin’ them. When the fuck ain’t you gettin’ head from at least one of ‘em at the drop of a fuckin’ hat? Or zipper, more like it.”

Shit. Was it that obvious? Did he have a routine?

Of fucking course he did.

“Need some shuteye. More pain killers, too.” He was starting to hurt like a motherfucker. Whatever they had him on was wearing off. Fast.

Wick burst out laughing. “Truth can be fuckin’ painful, can’t it?”

A noise made them both look toward the door.

Could this fucking day get any better?

Apparently not.

“Get gone,” Magnum ordered Wick as he lumbered into the room.

With a grin, Wick unfolded his ass from the chair, gave Romeo a sloppy salute, a “Prez,” and wandered out.

Now it was just Romeo and the big man. He braced for what was to come next.

Standing at the end of the hospital bed, Magnum jerked his chin at it. “What’d you do to cause this shit, asshole?”

“Why do you always assume that I’m the asshole and it wasn’t some random attack?”

“Ain’t an assumption. Facts are fuckin’ facts.”

“Have you figured out who ambushed me, yet?”

“Not yet but bettin’ this has somethin’ to do with the woman I told you to stay the fuck away from.”

“Pretty fuckin’ bold assumption,” Romeo countered.

Magnum shook his head. “Know it ain’t Shade. He don’t get other fuckers to do his dirty work. He would’ve come silently in the middle of the night and left just as quietly after jammin’ his hand into your chest and yankin’ out your heart. Could still happen if you continue to diddle with Maddie.”

“About her…”

Magnum groaned and brushed an agitated hand back and forth over his bald head. “I gotta fuckin’ sit down for whatever the fuck’s gonna come outta your mouth next?”

If he did, Romeo figured the big man wouldn’t be sitting long. “So…”

“Christ,” Magnum muttered.

Maybe if Romeo gave his enforcer some background, he’d be able to find the assholes who put him in the hospital a lot faster.

“She has… had a dick boss that was constantly abusin’ her.” Magnum’s chest seemed to expand at that, so he quickly added, “Verbally. The fucker treats all his employees like shit. He seems to get a hard-on over making their work lives miserable. He made her work late for free, kept dockin’ her pay for made-up shit…”

“Quittin’ would easily solve that problem.”

“For most people, yeah.” He explained to Magnum about Maddie’s dream of working for the Steelers, or at least one of the Pittsburgh sports teams.

When he was done, Magnum said, “Mighta been told that was why she moved down here. Didn’t give much thought at the time ‘cause I really didn’t give a shit about the why, only the fact that she was in our area.”

“Yeah, so… Maybe you should know. Just in case…”

“In case of what?”

“Any further attacks,” Romeo finished reluctantly.

“Fuckin’ fuck. Knew you did somethin’ stupid. You make fuckin’ enemies with him?”

“Was only tryin’ to help the property of an ally.” Would Magnum buy it? The man wasn’t stupid.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ. By doin’ what?”

“To help her out, had a word with her boss,” he answered.

“About?”

“Don’t matter what it was about.”

Magnum asked, “He do that to you?”

“Not him, but… Thinkin’ maybe he hired someone to fuck me up.” It was the only thing that sort of made sense. If th is didn’t have to do with Roger Smith, then it had to be random.

Especially since he never fucked with married women or ones in relationships. It wasn’t worth it. Plenty of single women out there who wouldn’t turn him down when he turned up his charm.

“What gave you that clue?”

“Can’t think of anyone else who’d have it out for me.”

“So, what’d you do to him?”

“Like I said, had a word.”

Magnum cocked an eyebrow. “Did that ‘word’ also include hands?”

“For a second.” Or two.

Magnum dropped his head to stare at his boots for a moment while grinding his palm back and forth along the back of his neck. “So, you threatened her boss,” he concluded once he looked at Romeo again.

Was his jaw popping? Because it sure as fuck looked like his jaw was popping.

That usually wasn’t a good sign.

“Not quite. Just gave him a coupla suggestions.”

“Wanna tell me what those suggestions were?”

“One was stop bein’ a dick to his employees…”

“And?”

“And to put in a good word for Maddie with one of the teams so she could get her dream job.”

“Why the fuck would he do that?”

“‘Cause he got connections with the teams in the area. That’s the only fuckin’ reason she continued to put up with his bullshit and wouldn’t quit.”

“You fucked that up for her.”

Since that wasn’t formed as a question, Romeo should be offended. But, unfortunately, it was true. “Could say that since he fired her.”

“Then sent some goons to visit you.”

“Think so.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Magnum barked. “Shoulda left her alone. Shoulda stayed outta it. Shoulda listened to someone older and wiser than you.”

“Your opinion.”

“A damn good one. One fuckin’ day you’re gonna realize that you should take my opinions seriously.”

One day soon the big man would no longer be the club’s sergeant at arms and his opinion wouldn’t mean dick.

“So, what did chasin’ that pussy get you?” Magnum raised a finger as he counted off. “Risked our alliance.” He lifted a second finger. “Got the woman fired.” A third one rose. “Mighta fucked up her dream.” He dropped two of them but left his middle finger up. “Got your ass beat to fuck.”

“That about sums it up,” Romeo muttered. He reached for his water again but struggled to grab it. The fuck if he was asking for Magnum’s help. He’d die of thirst first.

“In case you forgot, my fuckin’ job’s to protect our club and our brothers. Make that shit difficult when you do the fuckin’ opposite of what I tell you. Told you she was a bad idea. Also told you, if you wanted a piece of her, to do it the right way. Always think you can be slick, Rome. That you can fly under the radar. This proves you ain’t good at it.”

“Gonna admit my life choices ain’t always the best?—”

A phone ringing in Magnum’s cut had the big man pulling it out and glancing at the screen. With one last pointed look at Romeo, the Knights’ enforcer stabbed at the screen and put it to his ear. “Yeah.”

The longer he listened to the caller, the more his face turned to concrete. When he turned away, Romeo began to worry.

Something was up and he was damn sure it had to do with him.

“For fuck’s sake… Ain’t that some fuckin’ shit… Not sure… Gonna have to think about it and get back to you… You’re right. Ain’t good news but gonna have to deal with it one way or another... Thanks, brother, owe you one.”

Magnum tucked his phone away, turned, set his hands on his hips, and stared at Romeo.

“That call have to do with me?”

Magnum pulled in a deep breath and shook his head. “You stirred a fuckin’ hornet’s nest, know that?”

“Would rather get stung by hornets than tenderized by a tire iron.”

“Fuckin’ hornets gonna be the least of your worries. That was Mercy. His team did a bunch of diggin’. Thing is, they didn’t have to dig too deep to find out that her boss has ties, just not only the ones she knew about.”

Romeo’s stomach dropped. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Ever think Smith might not be his real last name?”

“You sayin’ Roger Smith ain’t Roger Smith? What’s his real last name?” Did Romeo even want to know?

“Russo.”

What the fuck? “Asshole didn’t look Sicilian to me.”

“Yeah, ‘cause his mother ain’t. Some genes are stronger than others.”

“Jesus fuck. Know Maddie had no clue that fucker had ties to La Cosa Nostra. She might be shocked just findin’ out the Mafia existed in Pittsburgh. Wonder why he kept that shit secret?”

“Could be usin’ that business for money launderin’ and didn’t want eyes lookin’ extra hard into his business dealings. Who the fuck knows? Don’t give a shit about the reason why. I give a shit that he’s got them at his back.”

“If he’s in with the Russos, why ain’t I dead?”

“Good question. If you wanna be, willin’ to help with that.” Magnum glanced at the machines in the room. “Sure I could find a red button somewhere or unplug somethin’.”

“Fuckin’ funny.”

“What ain’t funny is the truth that my life would be a lot fuckin’ simpler, Rome.”

“Yeah, okay. But it’s a serious fuckin’ question. If it was the Mafia, why ain’t I dead?”

“‘Cause he wanted to keep his ties with La Cosa Nostra secret? Probably hired some idiots desperate for scratch and without any real skills. Doin’ so wouldn’t leave a path back to their organization. Also, him ambushin’ you coulda been personal and nothin’ to do with the family business.”

Damn. That actually sounded like a reasonable explanation.

“How come that federal task force Ali-Cat’s baby daddy belonged to didn’t take out all those motherfuckers? Were they pussies?”

Magnum shrugged. “Think I got inside info on a fuckin’ federal task force? Think I sit around drinkin’ a fuckin’ beer with one of the former members of that pig circle jerk?”

Romeo snorted. “He’s married to your oldest girl. And he’s pop to your grandbaby.”

“So? Don’t mean we have deep, meaningful conver-fuckin-sations. Only tolerate his ass ‘cause I want Liyah and my grandbabies to stay in my life. That’s the only fuckin’ reason. You wanna know why they didn’t take down those Mafia motherfuckers, call him.”

“He ain’t gonna talk to me.”

“Yeah, you know why? ‘Cause you were sniffin’ after Liyah when he already claimed her.”

“If that pig thinks Ali-Cat is his property, he’s wrong.”

“No shit. That’s why she didn’t want your ass. She ain’t no one’s property.”

“‘Cept yours,” Romeo murmured.

“It’s my blood’s runnin’ through her veins.”

Romeo sighed. Carefully. “So, now what? We gonna go after that motherfucker?”

“And start a war with the Sicilians, are you fuckin’ crazy?” Magnum growled.

“Then what?”

“Don’t know yet. Gonna have to think about it.”

“Can’t just let this go unanswered,” Romeo reminded him.

“Don’t need you tellin’ me how to do what I fuckin’ do.”

“Just sayin’… We could handle him separately. Some random shit could happen to him. An accident or somethin’,” Romeo suggested.

“Said I’m gonna think about it. Whatever we do, we gotta make sure it ain’t tied to us.”

“But we’re gonna do something, right?”

“They attacked our prez. Of fuckin’ course we are. Like you said, that can’t go unanswered. You attack one, you attack us all.”

“Good to see you back to bein’ loyal.”

“Never wasn’t. The Knights might not be blood but they sure as fuck are family.” The last thing Magnum said as he walked out the door was, “Even you, asshole.”