10

Leilani

I saw Mason sit down next to the old-timers and get a drink out of the corner of my eye as I knocked on my dad’s office door.

“Who is it?” he called out.

“It’s me,” I said.

“Come in.”

I pushed the door open. Dad was sitting with his legs up on the desk, smoking a cigar. It seemed like that was all he ever did, though I knew there was a lot more to it than just looking tough. He was constantly making deals, balancing books, dealing with crises. There was always work in a gang as large as the Demons.

“Sit,” he grunted.

I took a seat. “Okay,” I said. “Time to talk.”

He frowned and took a big puff. “Can’t we just make some small talk first?”

“No,” I said.

“How was Mason?”

“Dad?”

“Come on, just for a minute.”

I sighed. “Fine. Delay the inevitable.” I glanced at the wall. “Mason was good.”

“Treated you well?”

“As well as a guy like him can.”

Dad raised an eyebrow. “Any problems?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, not at all. Mason is great.”

“Good,” he said. “I wasn’t sure about putting you with a boy your age.”

“I’m not some stupid teenager, Dad. I can handle myself.”

“Maybe,” he grunted. “You’re right.”

I crossed my arms. “Enough. Talk.”

He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Listen, I wouldn’t ask something like this of you if it weren’t important. You understand that, right?”

I chewed my lip. “Now you have me nervous.”

“Just listen.” He puffed his cigar. “You know about the war, about what’s happening. The Snake Spit and the Mezcals are allying against us right now. Meanwhile, the Rebels are nipping at our heels. The Rebels and the Snakes don’t get along anymore, but that doesn’t make us friendly with the Rebels, either.”

“I know all that,” I said, impatient.

“I’ve been discussing solutions to our problem with the council, and they suggested something that I am not in favor of, but it’s something that can work.”

“And this something involves me?”

He nodded. “Exactly. We need the Rebels as allies. We need their extra strength if we’re going to take on both the Snakes and the Mezcals.”

“How can I help? You know I’d do anything for the club,” I said.

He made a pained face. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth. You’ve never asked a thing of me, but I’ve gotten so much from you all.”

“Please,” he said, holding his hands up, “stop. Listen to me.” He put his cigar out. “The leader of the Rebels, his name is Jetter. You know this story?”

“Sure. Everyone does.”

“Well, we want you to marry him.”

I sat back in my chair, shocked. “Are you serious?”

“We want to patch over the Rebels, make them a part of the Demons, but Jetter doesn’t trust us, and for good reason. He said only an important marriage could bring him back into our family.”

I gaped at him, at a total loss for words.

Jetter was notorious in the Demons. He had been one of the earliest members of the Demons, back when the club was small. Back then, the Rebels were run by a different guy. The Rebels and the Demons were rivals back then. Through some strange circumstances, Jetter ended up killing the old leader of the Rebels and taking his place as the president of the Rebels, betraying the Demons in the process.

He was a traitor and one of the most hated men in the club. And now my father, my protector, was asking me to marry him.

“Forgetting for a second that I’m not a piece of cattle,” I said, “why would you let me marry a scumbag like that?”

He sighed. “I don’t want this, Leilani, but you’re the only one he’ll consider.”

“It’s his idea,” I said softly.

“Yes, it is.”

I couldn’t believe it. My father wanted me to marry a traitor and a piece of shit, all to get that man’s power on his side. Sure, the Rebels would effectively become the Demons and get patched over, but the price was going to be my freedom.

“You don’t have to answer now,” Dad said, “but understand this: If you say yes, it won’t be forever.”

I cocked my head at that. “Marriage seems like forever,” I said.

“It doesn’t always have to be,” he said. “Widows remarry all the time.”

I sat back, completely shocked. My father was now suggesting that I marry this man and eventually get him murdered.

I would do anything for the Demons. I would make almost any sacrifice.

But this, it was just so much. It was my freedom, my future, and eventually there would be blood on my hands. I’d never killed a man or even so much as caused someone to get hurt, let alone directly led to the death of my husband.

“What if I say no?” I asked.

“Then we forget it. We’ll find another way.” He leaned forward. “Leilani, I don’t want this for you. I want you to say no. But if you say yes, I need you to know that I support you completely.”

I understood then. If I said yes, Phoenix would murder Jetter as soon as the Rebels were patched over.

I shook my head. “This is a lot,” I said.

“I know. I hate that we’re using marriage so much lately. First Caralee and now you.”

“Could this really work?”

“I hate to say it, but it would. With the Rebels patched over, we’d be strong enough to win this war once and for all.”

I chewed my lip, taking that in. If we could end this war, that would mean no more Demons members dying, no more blood.

If I said no, and the war continued, would every dead member from here on out be my fault? I could do something about this war, really make a difference.

All I had to do was marry one of the most loathsome men in the whole area.

I stood up, head reeling. “This is why you have Mason protecting me,” I said, “just in case the Snakes or the Mezcals hear about it.”

He nodded. “To be safe, yeah. I can’t see how they would, though.”

I nodded to myself. “I have to think about it.”

“Of course.” He shook his head, his face clearly pained. “I hate asking this of you.”

“I know, Dad.” I turned. “I’ll see you later.”

I left the office before he could say another word.

I could barely think straight as I left my father’s office and walked directly toward the bar. I stopped at the end and waved at TomTom. “Whisky,” I said. “Neat.”

He returned with a glass and I slammed it back.

“You on the warpath, girl?”

I looked over and Mason was standing there, a concerned frown on his face.

My father wanted to marry me off like cattle to some scumbag, all to help out his club. He wanted to give me away, force me into a marriage of convenience, just to grow his own gang.

Sure, it would save a lot of lives, but at what cost? And to top it all off, he promised to kill my husband in the future, only putting more pressure and blood on my hands.

And I was considering doing it.

“Yeah,” I said. “Damn right I am.”

He grinned, that dangerous, sexy as hell smile, and I felt myself melt.

“Okay then. Let’s fucking do it.”