“Yes.”

Letting his arms drop, Hector ran a hand through his hair and let out a sharp breath. “Man, I got a lot of people to look after as it is, Borden. A whole club worth of people, to be more precise. And I get you’re protective of the girl because she’s pretty fucking hot and all, and shit, I’d be just as angry if I had a piece of ass like that and someone was threatening to kill it, but I really don’t think I should be wasting resources finding some shit who might be a fucked up teenager looking for his next thrill.”

Threatening to kill it? Was I just an object to this dude? Wow, this guy really was the most sexist piece of shit I had ever met. I looked at Borden, part of me wanting to scoot over and plead for him to find somebody else to help with our situation, but I could see the determination on his face. He’d most likely just ignore me.

He clenched his jaw at Hector’s words and replied, “It’s not a fucked up teenager looking for his next thrill.”

“But how do you know this?” Hector asked.

Borden paused. There was something he wasn’t telling me. I fidgeted in my chair, waiting for him to continue while he debated internally about something. The longer he waited, the more unsettled I became. Then he finally responded, “I know this because I received a similar text hours after Kate was murdered.”

I froze, gaping at him. He wasn’t returning the look. He was all business, his eyes firmly planted on Hector. Meanwhile, Hawke was casual as can be, like this wasn’t news to him in the slightest. I was sure it wasn’t. He’d been in the loop while the I – the woman Borden had been screwing and sharing a bed with for the last two weeks – hadn’t.

I didn’t know how to feel about that.

“I thought you…took care of that,” Hector responded quietly, narrowing his eyes at him.

My heart was now thudding in my chest, and I could hardly breathe. This had gotten a lot darker than I’d ever anticipated. Even my body was shaking as reality began to dawn on me. The same people that had actually murdered someone close to him were now threatening to kill me. I wasn’t prepared for this. Not at all.

“I thought I did,” Borden murmured, his face darkening. “They were brothers. Middle-level gangbangers around the parts I’d just started buying into. They sent their muscle to me at first and wanted me to front them half the percentage of my earnings per month. I refused, like any sane fucking human being would. They kidnapped Kate as a result. It was their fucked up way of punishing me for supposedly ripping them off. I tracked them shortly after the murder, and I made them sing about it. I destroyed every part of that gang, until nobody was left standing in the end. But that text was sent by someone in the loop, someone I didn’t even know existed. I never told a single soul about that message, not until this one came through. Now does that sound like something a teenage little shit on a thrill would do?”

Hector frowned. “No.”

“Right. So, you want that port? This is what it’s going to take.”

The biker slowly nodded in return, reflecting on his words. “Alright, Borden. This is something we can negotiate.”

“No negotiating,” he retorted firmly. “You do this, and that fucking port is there for you to use whenever your savage little heart desires.”

Silence.

Hector took a moment to reflect. His eyes were on me throughout the long minute he was silently debating Borden’s conditions. There was a reluctance in him, like looking after me if shit went south was a bad thing. I couldn’t see why it would be. The sudden resentment in his eyes had me looking away. Appearing at ease, he’d seemed friendly. Looking resentful, he was pretty fucking scary.

“Fine,” I heard him say, his voice tight. “But we’re going to talk this through, and I don’t want her in the room while we do it. Women don’t belong in here, Borden. I wasn’t raised by a pop who condoned club bitches into our meetings, and regardless of what she means to you, I’m not willing to bend the rules about this.”

Club bitch? What dumbass female would want to call herself a club bitch with this fucking jerk around?

This time I didn’t glare at him, though. I actually agreed! I would have done anything to get out of there and rid my mind of the words that had just been exchanged. Of Borden pretty much admitting to killing the men that murdered Kate.

I made them sing. He’d said.

God, the chills that shot through me were unending. Every bone in my body stiffened. I was sitting in a room filled with murderers, and the man I was sharing a bed with was probably the worst of them all.

Breathe, breathe.

“I’m going to fucking let that ‘club bitch’ reference slide just this once. I’m not letting her out there with all your guys,” Borden said gravely. “She stays.”

“I can take care of myself,” I whispered to him, my eagerness bleeding out of me. “Graeme will be with me. I’ll be fine.”

Borden didn’t look at me – didn’t even acknowledge what I said – as he repeated, “She stays.”

Hector exhaled, shaking his head in defeat. “I’m only letting this slide because of what I get at the end of this, Borden. But if she stays, she’s on the list of people that knows what the rest of the world only speculates about the Warlords. You really wanna have her name there on that list?”

Borden suddenly leaned over the table, his face filled with that familiar rage I’d seen in him before.

Shit. Shit.

“Go on and threaten her life again, Hector,” he growled heatedly. “You’re in my house now, motherfucker. Open that mouth and tell me about the list you’re putting her on so I can jump over this desk and stick my knife in your throat and watch you bleed out like a fucking animal. Do it. I fucking dare you.”

My heart climbed up my throat and my stomach dropped. Shaking, I stared at Hawke and Graeme, but they were standing steady behind Hector. Graeme was gripping the gun tighter, watching the biker’s moves carefully. Hawke remained indecipherable, the only part of him moving were his eyes; back and forth from Borden to Hector and back again. I wondered if it came down to the wire where his loyalty truly rested. Would he back Borden, or his brother?

I desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Hector leaned over, matching Borden’s stance. His face changed. Turned darker, harder. They both looked lethal.