Vicious Heart (Desert Kings MC #2)

21. Riley

twenty-one

Riley

“First round, I’d bet high on the younger Vaughn,” a familiar, accented voice said from behind me as a warm hand clasped my shoulder.

Cam cast a casual glance before cracking a grin, so I relaxed and went with it. I turned to Val Soletsky and smiled; it was hard not to. His eyes sparkled and his wolfish grin was bright, easy, almost boyish. The only thing about him that screamed monster was the designer sport coat and the large man beside him with more muscles than a Greek god.

“This is Bodhan. He and my nephew are my entries tonight. Bodhan will face young Bennett first.”

The big man took Cam’s hand in his beefy one and shook it, then nodded to me. But didn’t seem to understand much outside of the introduction. He just looked around, unamused. The effect was eerie from such a spectacle of a man.

“He’s huge.” With tons of hulking muscle. “Bennett is…” I looked to where he stood on the outside of the ring, half hanging from the cage, joking with Ky. He was wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves and sides cut out of it, two sizes too big. He was muscular, sure, but lean like a teenager just after a growth spurt.

“Bodhan isn’t as experienced a fighter, believe it or not. He didn’t train until he came here, already grown. The Vaughns have done this their entire lives.” He checked his phone and then grinned. “They’ll be the first fight. Put your biggest bet on Vaughn.” Val then motioned one of the bookies to us.

Cam put his arm over my shoulder. “I wouldn’t argue with a Soletsky about a wager.”

“Then I won’t either.” I put all the cash in my pocket on Bennett to win.

As I did, Val tapped two fingers on Cam’s middle, drawing his gaze down, then pointed across the room. The motion was so quick that had I not been standing so close, even I wouldn’t have seen it.

Cam’s face changed, his jaw tensed, and the corner of his lip curled in a half snarl, half grin. It was so sexy I turned to follow his glare to a washed up, weathered looking woman with bleach blond hair and too much makeup. The only thing missing was the skinny cigarette dangling from her lips.

He dropped his arm from my shoulder and nudged me in the small of my back toward Val. “Stay with Val. I have to handle something.”

The tone of his voice, barely audible over the crowd, made my stomach twist with anxiety. When I made to protest, he shook his head. “You’ll have the best view in the house. This was the plan anyway, darlin’. I won’t worry about you if I can see you up there.”

“Please, Riley, be my guest.” Val took me by the elbow and led me through the crowd, into that hallway, and up some stairs. With each step, people parted for us so that once he started moving, he didn’t stop until we were seated in chairs overlooking the entire building.

Ky, the attractive younger Soletsky, gestured at the booth, then smacked a fist to his chest. Val mimicked the motion before sitting beside me.

“Do you fight as well?” Beneath the elder Soletsky’s smooth exterior was something scrappy, like a fighter.

“He worries it’ll mess up his pretty face.” A man as big as Bodhan, with a baby face, sat on my other side. I’d seen him before, at the club.

“Yuri, meet Riley.” Val gestured from me to the man. “He’s my sparring partner. He tells himself that so that he doesn’t feel so bad when I beat him.”

But this big guy was more than that. When he shifted in his seat, I could make out the guns beneath his suit jacket. His gaze continuously flicked around the warehouse, no doubt focusing on the more dangerous players in attendance. Considering this was a den of vipers, he was a busy guy.

I shook the warm hand he offered. “Bodyguard.”

“Smart girl,” he said, his accent evident, and winked.

“Just how smart, I wonder?” Val questioned, nodding toward the crowd. “Tell me, what do you see?”

I searched the crowd, looking for Cam in part, wondering what Val wanted me to see. Jester leaned over the ropes, shouting into Bennett’s ears. His brother, looking bored, shoved in his mouth guard and rolled his shoulders. Across the ring, the Ukrainians made a big deal of Bodhan in his corner. But beneath him, peckerwoods milled about. Two of them had been at the bar with Cam and I not long ago, he’d nearly shot one.

But there was something about the way they hovered that reminded me of vultures circling their next meal.

“They’re hoping Bodhan destroys Bennett.”

Val nodded, pleased. “But he won’t. What I wonder is why .”

Jester had walked in here, king of the castle. This was his domain, where he shined. Bennett was an extension of that. “To weaken Jester?”

This time, Val beamed at me. “Good. Smart. What else?”

I blinked at him, as if I didn’t quite understand. But maybe I did. Cam was easy to see, directly across from me, arms folded across his chest, and gaze hard. He watched the vultures. So did Merc beside him. Even Jester cast glances in their direction. In truth, all the Desert Kings were tense around the peckerwoods.

All but one. Preacher stood not far from one of their fighters, talking with a group of people I’d never seen before. He didn’t stay long, peeling away and off to someone else. Almost as if he didn’t want to be seen talking to anyone.

I didn’t like it. But I wasn’t about to say something like that to Val. I’d learned that lesson.

“What makes Jester so special?” I asked instead, keeping my thoughts to myself as both fighters in the ring stood up and readied themselves.

“He’s that good.” Val leaned forward in his seat, eagerly anticipating Bennett and Bodhan’s fight.

Nervous for the kid, not the loss of money, I hugged my middle.

I shouldn’t have worried at all. Bennett moved fast, throwing punches to Bodhan’s middle quicker than the other man could take a step. Then to his face, his head, until Bodhan swayed around confused and dizzy.

The bulky man threw a few punches, clocking the kid in the face once. Bennett’s gleeful laugh echoed over the crowd. He fought with more than his fists then, kicking the big man until he dropped to his knees and fell over.

Bennet pounced then, flipping the guy to his side and wrapping him up with his legs, pulling his opponent’s arm to an impossible angle. Bodhan’s face turned red, screwed up with pain, as Bennett shouted wordlessly and pulled more.

When Bodhan patted Bennett’s arm with a quick smack, the ref separated them, and lifted Bennett’s arm as the Ukrainians collected Bodhan from the ring.

Less than three rounds and the kid won.

“Wow.”

Val gestured to a man who appeared behind us. “Collect for Riley as well.”

“You voted against yourself?” I was surprised.

“Of course. I like money.” Val laughed happily.

Cash found its way to my hands, more than I’d started out with, more than I’d held in my entire life. For that, I listened to Val for the next few fights. I bet on Jester, on Ky, and on a smarmy looking peckerwood even though it made me vomit in my mouth a little.

Bennett and Ky fought in the next round. Val hadn’t been much help there, and I’d lost money betting on Jester’s baby brother. He was good, but Soletsky was bigger and better. Val had swelled with pride then, even standing and leaning over the railing to shout and cheer in his native tongue. The burst of emotion was a pleasant surprise and fun to watch.

When Jester eviscerated Wanda’s fighter, leaving the peckerwood in a puddle of blood in the middle of the mat, there was chaos. A bottle flew by Jester’s head, crashing into the crowd. Leather vests clashed with sleeveless t-shirts as Wanda’s boys went after the Desert Kings.

It happened so fast, but I’d been watching closely. The peckerwoods hadn’t made the first move—Merc had thrown the first punch. A haymaker, to the face of a guy on the corner of the ring, seconds before the bottle had flown.

Beside me, Yuri barked orders in his native language. Val kept his intense gaze on the fighting beneath us. Seemingly unconcerned, but he’d stopped talking.

I lost Cam in the ebb and flow of the fight.

But found Preacher, easily, he and his flunky stood on the fringe, not far from Wanda. Ghost pushed people away, but didn’t fight like the rest of the guys. I didn’t like it. Val followed my gaze, and as if he could feel us watching him, Preacher shouldered into the crowd.

“I liked your father. This one,” Val cast a glare toward Preacher, pulling Puck off a peckerwood beneath us, then across the room. “Not so much.”

The brawl continued, the ref standing in the middle of the ring, watching wide-eyed. The Ukrainians did little to stop it.

A familiar figure with black hair entered through the main door and surveyed the havoc unbothered. He was surrounded by a crew of unassuming men in non-descript but expensive clothes. I’d met him before.

Santos Garza.

Frantically, I stood and searched for Cam. I didn’t know this man, but I got the distinct feeling he shouldn’t be here. Or that him being here was some sort of bad omen. One of Val’s men leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear, drawing his attention to Garza.

Beneath us, Garza tossed a toothy smile to Val, who barely grinned. As if he didn’t want me to know he was pleased.

Finally, Val gave a curt nod, and men in dark suits moved through the fighting. Some escorting bystanders out, others seeming to cull small sections of men throwing punches. Because it was exactly that. Thirty or more guys, over half wearing dark vests like Cam, fighting. Nothing like those in the ring.

Except for Jester, shirtless atop a guy in red flannel with no sleeves, beating him bloody. The blood splattering brought back a memory that left me cold. I leaned against the railing and squeezed my eyes shut, my heart beating in a panicked rhythm in my chest.

When I opened then I saw Cam, stalking toward me through the fighting. He dodged punches, threw some, and when the crowd surged against him, he battled through it like some sort of dark knight.

Mine .

Knowing he’d be with me in only a short jog up the steps, I glanced for the others in time to see Preacher slip out the side doors with a goon or two, and Wanda herself.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled.

Cam reached the steps beneath me about the same time as Garza. They spoke briefly before Cam charged up to me. He was breathing heavy, his hair messy, and there was blood on his bottom lip and a little on his knuckles.

He looked every bit the wild boy I was madly in love with.

“Thanks, Soletsky.” He nodded toward me.

“I appreciate the heads up,” Val leaned back, smug.

I glanced between them as understanding dawned. Cam had known this would happen, and so had Val. But why?

“Think you kicked up enough ants?” Val asked as he stood. Behind Cam, Yuri gave Garza and the two men with him a quick pat down.

Cam’s reaction was to grin wide and take my hand.

As we passed Garza, he gestured for Cam to wait.

“I’m wondering, Savage, if you know where your president ran off to? I was hoping for a word with him.”

Cam shrugged a shoulder. “Not a clue, haven’t seen him in a while.”

It was obvious by the narrow gaze and frown, Garza wasn’t happy with that response.

I waited until we were outside to jerk Cam to a stop. “Preacher left with that Wanda lady and a few other MC guys before the fight was over.” I spit it all out on a fast exhale as people spilled out behind us. One of which was Merc, who heard every word I said.

Realizing my mistake, I flinched. But this time Cam didn’t mind. He looked past me to Merc. “You think anyone else saw that?”

“Doubt it.” The roar of Harleys echoed in the distance. “But he sure made a quick getaway when the Cartel showed.” Cam climbed on his bike and pulled me on the back. “Let’s see if he beats us back to the clubhouse.”