Vicious Heart (Desert Kings MC #2)

31. Riley

thirty-one

Riley

I pulled into Dylan’s driveway still reeling from the conversation with Sasha. Angry, too, that I couldn’t get in touch with Val. I realized it was entitled to think he had the time to talk to me. But this right now consumed every part of my life.

Cam hadn’t answered my phone call either.

I’d been so lost in my thoughts I didn’t notice Dylan in the driveway, tears rolling down her face, and shouting. I hopped out of the car to see her shaking a bag in Merc’s face, while he sat astride his bike.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Fear arced through me, making me walk faster. Had something happened to Cam?

She spun on me, her pretty blue eyes caught somewhere between disbelief and accusation. “He’s out. That selfish little fuck would rather send my brother back to hell than grow some god-damned balls.”

“ Dylan .” Merc’s face was hard, his eyes sad, but the warning in his voice was crystal clear. “Stop.”

Relief flooded through me. I’d been envisioning Cam killing Preacher, blowing the whole club up, or worse. I approached them on unsteady feet. “But that’s good, right? It’s over now. He’s Nomad, we can go. This can—”

She looked at me as if she might actually hit me, then shook her head. “You honestly think he could just leave? Nomad isn’t a real option for Cam. He’s—there are things he’s done, things he knows, that can never leave Dry Valley. If he goes, he’s out. And if he’s out…” Her voice was shrill, and she glared at her brother.

Judging by her panic, there were things he hadn’t told me. “Explain.”

“Yeah, Merc. Tell her why you were about to shoot up. How you just chased me all the way back to the house to get your smack back.” She shook the baggy at him again.

He closed his eyes, leaned against her Jeep, and sighed heavily. “You know why I wanted to do it, Dyl. I can’t.” Angst stole his words.

She rounded on me, not crying now, her eyes wide and angry. “There are only two ways out, Riley. Skin or ass. He’s not going to let Preacher fuck you, which means they are going to hurt him, hurt him bad. He won’t ride again, won’t be whole. He’ll be lucky if he survives. It’s a bunch of barbaric bullshit for no god-damned reason.”

My whole world spun, and I wobbled unsteadily on my feet. Merc moved, taking me by the elbows and lowering me to the concrete. Vomit rushed up the back of my throat, I choked on it, and swallowed. I was hot, so very hot, it .

My vision wavered, focusing in and out as blood seemed to rush out of my body.

Then Dylan was there, on her knees in front of me, pulling my hands in front of her and looked to be speaking in soft, gentle tones that I couldn’t hear, but her lips seemed to move softer than they had before.

Sound rushed in and I knew what I had to do. I knew a way I could get to Val. I was smart. I listened when nobody knew I was there.

“Merc, I need a favor.” I inhaled a deep breath, drinking air in like I’d been starved of it.

“What’s that?” He knelt.

“I need to talk to Val Soletsky.”

When Merc made a face, I jumped forward and grabbed the front of his vest. “I’m serious. One of his girls was there the night Archer died. I know she was. I just need him to tell her she can talk to me.”

He thought about it for a while. “Fuck, I don’t have shit else to go on. I hope you’ve got a fucking Ace of Spades up your ass.”

I tried Cam again and prepared myself for the argument coming. I was oddly relieved when he didn’t answer.

“Can you buy me some time?” I asked Dylan as Merc climbed on his bike and fired it up.

Her jaw was set in a defiant, determined tilt. “You’re damn right I can.”

“He’s going to beat my ass for this, but climb on.” He jerked his chin toward the back of his bike.

“If it helps, he told me if anything happens…to stick close to you.”

“It does.”

***

Riding behind Merc was very different than riding with Cam. It wasn’t just the rider, either. I sat lower on the back of his bike, forced to look around him to see anything. Anxious, I alternated between checking my phone for Cam and craning my neck around Merc’s shoulder.

To his credit, he drove fast. We made it to The Black Cat by midafternoon.

The club was already in full swing. When I’d first seen Merc at Dylan’s, he’d looked angry and defeated. Now, hope lit his handsome features as he swung his leg off the bike.

I spilled out my plan quickly as we walked to the back entrance. The more I talked, the bigger Merc smiled. “You are definitely Archer’s daughter.”

“I’m figuring that out.” I shifted my bag nervously as he talked to the guy at the door. The tiny leather backpack was heavier than ever before. If this worked, I’d be signing Preacher’s death warrant. If it didn’t, I’d still kill him.

Would I pull the trigger for Cam? Hell yes .

The Black Cat wasn’t as busy as it had been the last time I was here. Of that, I was thankful. Only a few patrons were scattered about the club. Most were at tables with a dancer perched on their lap, but a few were at the main stage as a girl with long red hair spun lazily on a pole.

Val stood at the end of a hallway, watching the dance. His brow was furrowed, like he was annoyed. He turned to us, saw me, and smiled. “Riley.” He walked to me, kissed both of my cheeks, then shook Merc’s hand. “What can I do for you?” He asked him more than me.

Merc cocked his chin in my direction. “She’s the one that wanted to see you.”

The Ukrainian contemplated me for a long time.

Nervous under his inspection, I shifted from foot to foot. “I left a message before I had Merc bring me.”

He snorted a laugh. “I’ll probably never see it.” He nodded me into his office. Judging by the way his employees watched me, this was an unusual move.

This wasn’t the sort of place you just showed up out of nowhere. There had to be a reason. I was hoping mine was good enough.

I perched on the edge of the leather chair in front of Val’s desk as he shut the door behind Merc and then sat across from me, waiting for me to say something. I’d never imagined a mobster would put me at ease, but the gentle way he watched me did.

“Cam doesn’t know I’m here.”

“I assumed as much when you showed up here with Merc.”

“Listen, I don’t know how much I’m supposed to know, and I’m sure I shouldn’t be telling you any of it…” I glanced back to Merc, who just shrugged like none of it would matter, anyway.

I clasped my hands in my lap and sighed big. “There’s a snake in the Kings. And if I don’t flush it out for Cam, I’m afraid my father won’t be the only dead biker in Hayes County.” The words came out in a rush.

“And what does that have to do with me and my business?”

“My father was close to one of your ladies.” I didn’t say which, not yet, no reason to get her in trouble. “And I need her to tell me what she saw the night he died.”

I caught Val’s gaze and didn’t back down. This was important.

He steepled his fingers under his chin. “Your father was a very good customer, Riley. I won’t lie to you about that. But my job is to protect the women who work for me. I hope you understand. I would never advise one of mine to speak to you.”

A lead weight sank in my gut. But I had expected this. I thought about the forlorn look in her eyes. “You’re afraid of what the club might do.”

“I fear nothing. But angering the Desert Kings is bad for business. I’m sure Cam would say the same about me.”

“The only thing that would piss Cam off,” I stopped and grinned. “Is me being here without telling him.”

“You’ve got nothing to fear from the Kings.” This came from Merc, who lounged against the wall in the corner. “To be honest, you’d be doing us a favor.”

“That official?” He raised one elegant eyebrow.

“It is.”

“What would Preacher think about that?”

“Dead men don’t have opinions.” Merc shrugged lazily.

I took a breath, deciding to risk it on Val. I didn’t want to lose Cam, but the closer we got to the truth, the scarier Preacher became. “We know Preacher shot Archer. I just need proof.”

“Are you sure? Is Savage worth it?”

“Absolutely.” I shoved the card I had with Ro’s address across the table.

He looked at Merc again. “This have anything to do with the cartel?”

“Probably.”

“Being on Garza’s good side is good for business.”

“Will you be there with Sasha?” I asked him.

He barked something short, quick, and Ukrainian. A door at the back of the room opened and Sasha, in a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt, stepped out.

“I told him you were tenacious.”

I stood and hugged her before I could stop myself. “Thank you.”

“He was a good man.”