Page 13 of Bedlam (Kings of Chaos & Mayhem #5)

thirteen

Deals & Wishes

Spade

The drive to Daggerspoint is quiet. I think we both needed a minute to process everything, and I’m not going to question him just yet. That’s a Jameson thing. Ri’s been the only brother I’ve ever really known. We’ve been together our whole lives and I’m so fucking angry with him. I’m not sure when that anger will dissipate, but I suppose only time will tell.

My phone pings, taking me out of my thoughts. Reaching for it, I see it's a text from Ryder. Why did my heart skip a beat for a second when seeing his name cross my screen? The other night was hot as fuck, but I doubt anything like that will happen again, nor do I think it even meant anything. Whatever. I quickly glance at the text as we come to a red light.

Ryder: Yo man, I’m sorry about dipping out, but I got word that Ryker finally woke up. My father's funeral is tomorrow and I’ve called Slim for Jade’s ashes. I’d like to do a little something for her. Will you come?

Fuck, I can’t do this shit right now. I need to fucking focus on the meeting, then I’ll hit him back. Why do I feel like everything is falling on my shoulders and no one else’s? Nothing like feeling fucking alone at the worst possible time.

I nudge Ri’s elbow to get his attention and he looks over at me. I can’t tell what he is thinking, he seems so far away from the present. Like demons are haunting his reality. Taking a deep breath, I tell him what Ryder said.

“Those are not her ashes.” He deadpans, plucking a piece of lint from his long sleeve black shirt.

“Well, we have no proof otherwise. I don’t know what you want from me, Ri. I’m trying my best to keep it the fuck together.” I snap, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“You’re smarter than this. Something doesn’t add up and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. So until I see her dead fucking body, then she isn’t dead.” He states, crossing his arms over his chest as we pull into the driveway of the Cyprus mansion.

“Stay in denial as long as you need, I really don’t care, because whether or not she’s dead, you’re still marrying someone else. So it doesn’t fucking matter in the end, does it?” I spew, knowing my words will just piss him off.

“Keep it up, Reid. One of these days, brother or not, I’m going to knock you on your fucking ass over that mouth of yours.” He threatens and I laugh, putting the car in park and climbing out.

“Yeah, that’s if I don’t fucking kill you first.” I say and he rolls his eyes, getting out of the car.

“You’ve gotten even mouthier over these past few months and I’m really getting sick of it, but for now, we are going to table this bullshit and show our power in front of these guys or they will eat us alive.” Ri demands and I nod.

“We have a meeting to make sure everything is running smoothly and so I can inform Caspian about The Aces. We need to keep this partnership a secret until we take over. I’m sick of our fathers being ten steps ahead of us. It’s time we flip the script, but first we need to go see Jay and bury our girl.” I growl on that last part and he sighs.

“Again. We aren’t burying shit until I see her fucking body and that's final.” He yells and I shove him.

“Shut the fuck up Ri, and calm the fuck down. You’ve been away for far too long and you are no longer in charge. Apparently, I’m the new puppet, so stand in fucking line or call an Uber.” I warn and he huffs, kicking the rocks in the gravel as we walk around the back of the mansion.

“You’re fucking lucky we are where we are.” He spits and I laugh.

“Keep telling yourself that. Now put your fucking game face on!” I command and as we turn the corner,what I see has me wanting to pull out my piece and put a bullet in Caspian’s head. This fucking guy. Harley really needs to rein him in, or maybe I’m just a sensitive prick when it comes to animals.

There are dozens of men and women surrounding a pen with chickens in it, and a dozen cages filled with dogs and cats line the fence. A few tables of men smoking, drinking, playing spades, and dominos while women dance around half naked. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought I was at a club party.

“I didn’t know they were into this type of shit.” Ri whispers and I nod, side eyeing him.

“Neither did I, and I don’t fucking like it.” I growl.

"Don’t fucking do it, we are outnumbered and I can see it written all over your face. It’s none of our business." Ri warns, expressing concern.

“We need to get this meeting done and over with, because I will lose my shit if I have to watch another dog die.” I state, looking for the man of the hour.

“Agreed.” He responds as Axel walks over to us. I put my hand out to show him respect, and he looks at my hand, then looks up at me. I try a fist bump and he still looks at me like I’m an idiot. Alrighty then.

“Where’s Carver?” He asks quietly, hearing Jays nickname fucking shocking me. We’ve worked together for a while now, so he’s privy to who all of us are, but what I didn’t know is that Axel knows Jay as The Carver.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I say, and he rolls his eyes.

“Jameson. Where is he?” He mumbles, and I take a deep breath.

“He’s in a coma at Whitestone General. There was an accident. He lost a lot of blood and there was slight bleeding on his brain, so his body put itself into a coma. After we leave here, we will be going to go get an update.” I say, hoping that’s a sufficient answer for him. He gasps and his eyes widen at the information. He shakes his head, pacing the grass for a second and I glance at Ri who's watching Axel's movements.

“When are the visiting hours? I’d like to go see my friend,” he asks, and I smile. I did not know they had a friendship. Jay is not a people person unless he’s killing them, or they’re already dead, so this news is shocking.

“Would it be okay if I text Caspian the info?” I say, and he nods.

“Yes please. Thank you. Follow me.” He whispers under his breath. One can only assume this brother doesn’t talk much. Anytime he speaks, I swear it's just above a whisper. Almost like he’s afraid.

We follow the youngest brother around the pen and into the garage that’s set up with couches, Tv’s, a pool table, and a bar. Caspian is sitting on the couch with a beautiful, dark-haired girl in his lap. His eye catches mine and he whispers something to her. She gets up and goes over to Axel by the bar, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. Walking over to Caspian, I place my hand out and he takes it, shaking it.

“Demon, how are things?” I say and he laughs, shaking Ri’s hand.

“Pretty fucking good. It would be better if I could be balls deep in my girl, but here we are,” he says, flicking his lip ring.

“Well, I’ll cut to the chase. The Aces sent me here to strike a deal. You are already aware that they don’t know we are in business. So how can we solve this minor dilemma where everyone is happy?” I say with a raised brow, sitting down on the couch opposite him.

“You know we don’t want to work with them. Never have and never will. But working with you guys has been easy and lucrative. Can’t we just kill them and call it a day? Then everyone is happy.” He suggests, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees as he looks up at me, his eyes an intense white color.He’s creepy to look at most days. Probably why they call him Demon.

“If only it was that easy. They will be taken off the board soon. Just not yet. I just need to go back to them with something.” I say, handing him the contract. He takes it and laughs.

“You know Harley will never sign off on this. Between your men and ours, we have enough lieutenants and soldiers. We don’t need more product. What we do need is more territory and The Aces can’t provide that. From what it looks like to me,they need us more than we need them.” He states with a smug look on his face as he continues to toy with his lip ring.

“Oh, I agree. So, what is something we can give you, that you need, that doesn’t involve them? That way we can all win and they won’t think any the wiser.” I ask with a raised brow. He sits back and thinks for a second as a horn is blown. He stands and walks over to the front of the garage, watching the fight, but I refuse to move. If I get up from this spot and see what’s going on, I’m going to snap, and there will go all the work we’ve accomplished working with one another. Ri elbows me to get my attention and I look over at him.

“What could we offer them? Or are you winging it?” He asks.

“There’s plenty we can give them. The Aces practically own the East Coast, and we have our hands dipped into a lot of shit. I’m trying to gauge what it is they need. They are our distro that The Aces want and need. We already have that, and he’s right, we need more territory, but that will come in due time. What else could they want? That’s what I’m betting on.” I say and he nods.

“I hope for the sake of everyone, it works.” He whispers, and I nod as Caspian walks back over.

“I hate watching that shit, but it’s here for a reason. See that fat guy over there?” He says, nodding to the pool table.

“Yeah, I clocked him when we walked in. I didn’t know you did business with The Colony.” I say.

“We don’t.” He smiles, which is more fucking frightening than when Jay does it. He flicks his lip ring and I shake my head.

“Guns and protection.” He says, and I raise a brow.

“Run that back. He provides you with guns and protection?” I ask, confused as fuck, but he shakes his head.

“No, Spade. I need weapons and protection.” He states and I nod.

“What type of guns and protection? You have plenty of people around you, so forgive me for being fucking confused.” I say, running my hand over my face, thinking I need a fucking joint soon. My patience is thinning by the second.

“I need a pipeline for weapons. You know exactly who I’m talking about,” he says with a smirk. He’s right yet again. I know who he’s talking about, but fuck. How the fuck am I supposed to get that without her? Fuck.

“Let’s say I can open that pipeline up for you. These are not players you can fuck with and they won’t do small transactions. So unless you want your typical AK’s and pistols, that's not the person we can go through.” I inform and he nods.

“I want to build an arsenal. Living in this world, I need to feel secure that we can take on anything that comes our way. We may have power in this town, but it won’t stay like this for long. I’m envisioning worldwide power and partnerships with the right syndicates. You feel me?” He states and Ri clears his throat.

“So with great power comes protection. I see. If we can get both of these for you, I need you to understand it’s not an overnight thing. It’s going to take time, and you will have to build your own relationships with certain people to keep up with your end of the deal. We’ve been doing this our whole lives. As long as you trust us to get what you need, there won’t be any problems.” Ri deadpans. He nods as he reaches into his jeans, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He inhales deeply then blows out the smoke, offering it to me, which I decline. He does the same to Ri, who also declines.

“Now the bigger issue is I need that contract signed to give to The Aces. You will only have to deal with me throughout the contract, which is what we want. I, on the other hand, need to make some calls and set up a meeting with the distro for the weapons. I need a list of what you need for the first buy and I’ll give you what their price is.” I inform, and he nods while watching the dark-haired girl playing pool.

“As for protection, I can vet some of our guys and see who is available. Is this for anyone in particular? I’m going to need all the information to forward to them.” Ri says as Caspian takes another drag.

“I’ll forward everything to you both in a few days, and get Harley to sign the contract. When do you need it back?” he asks, flicking the butt out of the garage as I hear one of the dogs yelp. I close my eyes tightly, taking a few deep breaths. Ri stands up and blocks my view from outside.

“A few days, max. Oh, and I’ll forward you the visiting hours for Axel to go see Jay. Keep me updated otherwise. Time is of the essence.” I say, getting up. He stands and we all shake hands. Ri walks out of the garage first, keeping me from seeing the pen. He knows I’m seconds away from losing my shit.

“Keep moving, Reid. We are almost out of here. Just breathe.” He reassures me as we round the corner to the side of the house. Taking a deep breath, I take out a joint from my pocket and throw Ri the keys.

“You drive. I need to calm the fuck down,” I growl, lighting the joint and taking a deep pull as I swing the passenger door open and get in. I blow the smoke out only to take another pull and hold it for a second as Ri starts the car, backing out and getting on the road to Whitestone General.

“What are you thinking, Spade?” He asks, and I shake my head, taking another pull.

“That shit is about to get crazy, and I’m not sure I can do it alone anymore.” I admit. And he grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I’m here, brother, and I won’t let you go through this alone. I promise.” He says and I nod.

“Then we need to kill your soon to be wife.” I say, and he nods again.

“Agreed. Now, let's go see our brother,” he says and I sit back in the seat, watching the trees go by as I smoke my joint, wishing Jade was here.