Page 113 of Vandal Unbound

I don’t move at first. Snake guy makes a wet sound, a gurgle. And Knox tightens his fist in the leather of my cut, as if he knows how badly I want to stamp this motherfucker’s lights out permanently.

“Easy now, Van,” Knox says.

And I turn to see that Sunny has his gun pressed to Alvarez’s skull.

The lot falls silent.

“Tell all your men to leave,” Knox says as Ridge and North move around to flank Sunny. “I don’t care how many people need to cram into two of those SUVs.”

“You heard the man,” Alvarez says.

I flex my bloodstained fingers, stretching out the ache, while we watch as they obey. It’s almost comical, watching them contort and basically sit on each other’s knees.

I look down at snake guy as he tries to use the SUV to stand. I kick him in the back of the knee, so he drops to the ground again. His face is a mess. “You’re gonna crawl, motherfucker.”

He looks up at me as if he’s going to fight. But then he thinks better of it and crawls to the passenger seat.

I guess his seniority means he gets to sit by himself. Cristian isn’t like his father in that he didn’t hurt me directly like his father did. I actually have flashes of regret at breaking his fingers. But I have no such feelings about breaking his father’s face and ribs.

“Just get it over with,” Alvarez says, dropping to his knees.

But Knox makes him wait a few minutes, stretching out the agony and humiliation until finally crouching in front of him. “I’m not gonna kill you. Not today. I’ll tell you where Cristian is, and you can go get him in that SUV. But remember our deal. You come anywhere near me, any of my club, or their families, and two things will happen: First, we will ruin your organization. And two, we will kill whoever comes. This is my last act of generosity. So, say, ‘Thank you, Knox’.”

Alvarez looks up. For a long second, I think he’s going to refuse, that he’d rather die than say those words out loud. But then his shoulders sag a fraction. “Thank you, Knox.”

The words don’t come easy. In fact, his teeth were so clenched as he spoke, I thought he might break his own jaw.

“I got one last ask,” I say.

Alvarez looks my way. “Let me guess. Retaliation.”

I shake my head. “Daisy and Elsie are mine now. Cristian will tell you he saw them. They’re included in the deal and are protected. You take a step near them, and I’ll kill you.”

Alvarez looks to Knox. “Why don’t you just kill me now?”

Knox rubs a hand over his chin. “Considered it. But there’s a lot of you. That’s a lot of bodies to hide. And where does it stop? You hurt one of my men, so I hurt one of yours. I steal one of your shipments, so you steal one of mine. You launch a missile into my clubhouse; the national chapter of my club will come down here and kill every single person you love. Someone has got to stop the violence, and you don’t have the maturity or leadership to know when you’re beat.”

Alvarez offers Knox his hand. “I agree to all of it.”

33

DAISY

By the time I leave Maren outside the bait shop, I have a paint-by-numbers kit on the passenger seat, beside two tubs of pink frosting. I went over there after my shift to snatch a quick coffee with Maren before I needed to pick Elsie up. She insisted Elsie would need the icing for reasons she wouldn’t explain, and as I drive, I have Vandal in my ear telling me he’s found me a truck.

“No,” I say again, which seems clear enough to me.

“Well, lucky for you, I wasn’t asking for approval.” His voice is low through the speakers of the car, and I admit it makes me rub my thighs together.

“Then why are you telling me?” I glance in the rearview mirror, and I see a car I could have sworn I saw earlier today, but then it turns left at the next light, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Because I’m guessing it’s polite to keep my woman informed when I’m about to solve a problem for her.”

I roll my eyes at that, even as I grin. “I have a car.”

“What you have is a death trap with cupholders.”

“She has been with me a long time,” I argue.