Page 17 of Chasing Kit

As if he read my mind, he chuckled. “We’ll protect you until we get what we want.”

I thrust myself forward, leaning over the desk. “We don’t need your protection, Odin, but if something happens to Kit, Derek will come for your head.”

“After he’s done cutting yours off?” The bastard was too relaxed after such a threat, and I hated my lack of control over him. Odin was one of the few people who wielded as much power, or perhaps even more, than Derek. I didn’t know who Odin was friends with, but he clearly had someone backing him.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I sat back, pulled out my phone, and found Derek’s name. I slammed my thumb against the screen, the impact jarring my whole hand. A low tremor of violence started deep in my gut.

Derek answered almost immediately. “Did you get him?”

“Yes, sir, but we’ve run into a little trouble. Odin.” The name came out as more of a curse. “He wishes to speak to you.” I passed the phone across the desk to him with a glare.

Odin smirked and took it from me. “Derek, long time no talk. It’s disappointing that your man came into Pleasant Beach without even saying hello.”

I sat back, still glaring, imagining all the ways I could break his skull on his desk. It wouldn’t take much, and if I wanted it over quickly, all I’d need to do was snap his neck. Odin wasn’t a huge man compared to me, and the energy I’d put into it would be worth all the trouble that followed.

Odin laughed at whatever Derek said, then hummed. “We’ll be keeping your son and soldier here until we get compensated for your lack of respect for my rules. Seeing as we’re friends, I’ll give you a discount. Five hundred.” He waited a second before another laugh erupted from him. “Yes, thousand. You’re lucky I didn’t make it a million. Send another man with the money. You have a week. After that, I’ll find uses for them both—and I think you’re smart enough to know what that means for a boy as pretty as yours. Let me pass you back to your man.” He held up the phone and I snatched it from him with a glare.

“Sir?” I asked.

Derek’s anger was palpable, even across the country and through a phone call. “I’m sending Horace for backup. I’ll transfer the money now through our usual accounts.” I understood what that meant perfectly. Sometimes physical cash wasn’t possible and Derek preferred to exchange money through other means. I didn’t understand the logistics, but it was set up in a way to avoid the feds’ attention. “Once Horace gets there, leave. Immediately. Bring Kit home.”

“Yes, sir.”

The call ended and I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

Odin chuckled. “Your boss doesn’t have the manners that I remember.”

I screwed my hands into fists on my thighs. I’d kill a hundred Lords before I let Odin do anything to Kit. “Imagine that,” I drawled. “I wonder if it has something to do with you threatening to sell his son as a whore.”

Odin raised his eyebrows, but I ignored him as I stood.

“If we’re done.” I didn’t wait for an answer. I left his office, slamming the door behind me and reveling in the delightful rattle of the hinges. If I could damage anything in this opulent mansion, I would. Odin deserved it for threatening Kit. Derek never forgot such transgressions, and while Odin might believe he was winning this battle, he was sorely mistaken. When the time came, Derek would have his revenge. He was no coward.

Returning to the barroom, I found Kit gone from his seat. My jaw tightened, and whatever patience I had left walked out with him. My gaze swept through the crowd of Lords until it landed on the object of my concern—Kit, standing amidst a group of men, chugging what looked like a growler of beer. The Lords cheered him on, chanting “go, go, go.”

Fuck that. Kit wasn’t a drinker. I stormed across the short distance from the door to Kit, shoving a few bikers out of my way before snatching the growler from his hands and flinging it across the room. The brown glass shattered, sending a couple of women near the wall ducking for cover.

Kit blinked at me, his eyes already hazy with inebriation. “Hey, War! War, War, War. That’s you.”

From the other side of the crowd, Loki clapped and laughed. “I like this kid.”

My vision narrowed to a tunnel with Loki at the end of it. I took a step toward him, but Thor intercepted, arms crossed, shaking his head. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, War.”

“Who says I can’t finish it?” I growled. “I’ll take on every one of you motherfuckers.”

Kit groaned and sagged against me, his cheek pressed to my shoulder as he gazed up at me with those wide eyes. “I don’t feel well.”

I exhaled, glaring at Thor. “He’s twenty-two. A soft twenty-two.”

Loki shoved Thor aside, brushing some blond curls off his shoulders. As innocent as he looked, he was the craziest of the pack. I’d seen him ride his bike with a lit stick of dynamite in his mouth before throwing it at someone.

“He wanted a drink. We didn’t pressure him into anything. Tyr over there—” Loki gestured at another Lord “—started chugging beer for a bet, and Kitty Kat wanted in on it. He’s an adult. If he wants to make a bet⁠—”

“Fuck off, you crazy little fuck.” I pointed my finger at him.

“Me?” Loki touched a hand to his chest, his expression one of pure innocence. He glanced at Thor, his voice pitching high with mockery. “Am I the drama?”

Thor grunted out a laugh, and I realized I’d missed the joke—probably some viral trend. Kids these days did all kinds of things I didn’t understand. The internet was a cesspit.