Page 251 of Pretty Ruthless Monsters: Complete Series

Back in the day, we’d have rolled into this meeting with two dozen bikes, engines roaring, making sure everyone knew the Princes of Carnage had arrived.

Now we’re down to a borrowed SUV with some reinforced plating and blacked-out windows.

Kendrick and a few other loyal Princes follow on their bikes, but it’s a far cry from what we used to be.

Broken brick factories stretch out on all sides, with their windows busted and metal rusted to shit. I check every corner and every shadow until we finally make it to the outskirts of the industrial park.

The buildings here have long since been knocked down and mostly cleared away. There’s still some rubble here and there, but it’s mostly flat, broken concrete for at least a mile in every direction.

If they called us out here to ambush us, they’ll have to put in some work to make that possible.

Zoey stands in the middle of the cracked lot with Stefan and four Twisted Tyrants spread out behind them.

Six people total. I fight back a smirk—is that really all they could scrape together?

The Tyrants should have twenty, thirty members easy.

Either Zoey doesn’t trust most of her own people, or they don’t trust her.

I guess her leadership isn’t working out as well as she’d hoped.

I keep scanning the horizon through my window, watching for any movement or flash of metal, any hint of a headlight that might give away their backup.

Nothing.

Nico stops the SUV thirty feet from Zoey. Close enough to hear whatever bullshit she’s got to say, but far enough to react if shit hits the fan. We might technically outnumber them, but only by a couple of men, so it’s better to keep things from turning bloody if we can.

No point in doing Malcolm any favors by getting ourselves fucked up.

Even from here, I can see that Zoey looks different now. Colder and harder, with an ugly sneer as she watches us pull up. Whatever I used to see in her is long gone, eaten up by what she did to us.

And that’s fucking fine, as far as I’m concerned. Hating her makes my job easier.

“Are we ready?” Nico’s hand is already on the door.

Killian snorts. “I can’t wait to hear whatever lies she’s got lined up this time.”

I check my gun one last time and grab the door handle. Whatever game Zoey is playing here, we can handle it. We’ve been through worse.

We step out of the SUV with Nico in the lead while Killian and I flank him. Kendrick and the others line up behind us. There might be fewer of us than back in the day, but I’d still rather be on our side than theirs.

Zoey steps forward with Stefan hovering at her side like a fucking lap dog. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she snaps before we’ve even stopped walking. “Poaching my members? Turning my people against me?”

Nico actually laughs, and I can see by the way she flinches that it stings Zoey’s pride to stand there and take it.

Good.

“Is that what you think is happening?” He shakes his head. “You’re gonna ask us to come all the way out here just so you can accuse us of stealing your people? This is fucking ridiculous.”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Zoey hisses. “Kendrick, Hudson, the others—they were loyal to me until you got in their heads.”

I catch Kendrick’s eye and see him bristle at the mention of his name. I can tell from her quick glance in his direction that Zoey doesn’t miss it either.

“We’re not poaching shit,” Nico says. “We’re accepting members who realized what a big fucking mistake they made by following you. People who are smart enough to know a shitty leader when they see one.”

The words land like an actual slap in the face. Zoey’s jaw tightens, and I can see her hands clench into fists at her sides. Stefan shifts his weight like he’s going to step forward, but she holds up a hand to stop him.

“You want to talk about shitty leadership? You’re the one who fucked everything up for all of us.” Her voice trembles slightly with pent-up rage. “You’re the reason we had to split in the first place.”

It’s a fucking lie and we all know it. Disagreements happen, but there are ways to settle that shit. Starting a fucking coup isn’t one of the ways.

But Nico doesn’t take the bait. He just stares at her with a blank—almost bored—expression. “If that’s all you wanted to say, we’re done here.”

Zoey takes a deep breath, visibly reining in her anger. When she opens her mouth to talk again, her tone has shifted completely. “No, that’s not why I called this meeting.” She glances at Stefan, then back to us. “I want to propose something. Something that could benefit all of us.”

I exchange a quick look with Killian. I don’t know what she’s about to say, but there’s zero chance it’ll benefit us. I’ve heard that tone from her plenty of times over the years. She’s desperate for something.

“I think we should join forces again,” Zoey continues. “We could bring the Twisted Tyrants and what’s left of Carnage back together. One banner, one club.”

The silence that follows is deafening, and I can’t stop myself from taking a quick glance around, wondering who is going to break it first.

“You’re joking,” Killian finally says.

“I’m dead serious.” Zoey steps closer. “Look around if you don’t believe me.

Detroit is changing. The balance of power is shifting.

We’re all vulnerable on our own, but together?

We could take back what is rightfully ours.

” Her tone is almost pleading now, and my jaw clenches when I think of all the times I fell for her shit in the past.

I can feel my brothers thinking it over—not because we’d ever consider it, but because we’re trying to figure out her angle. What has changed over the past few weeks to make her come crawling back like this?

Whatever the reason, I’m not biting. Nico isn’t either. He snorts, shaking his head. “It’ll never happen, Zoey. Not in this fucking lifetime.”

Her features harden again in an instant, and I’m amazed all over again how she can flip her emotions off and on like a goddamn switch. “You’re making a mistake. A huge one.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve thought that about me,” Nico says with a shrug.

Frustration flashes across her face and she lets out a frustrated, angry little noise that almost makes me laugh in her face. This is the leader of the Tyrants? This immature woman who is just seconds away from throwing a full-blown tantrum?

Jesus, no wonder her people are coming crawling back to us.

“What is it with you?” she asks. “Why can’t you see reason for once instead of letting your pride get in the way?”

Stefan puts a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs it off angrily. “It’s that bitch, isn’t it?” she spits out. “Quinn. She’s the reason you won’t even consider what I’m offering. She’s poisoned you against me just like she poisoned everything else.”

The mention of Quinn’s name makes my blood run cold, and it takes everything I have not to step forward and shut her mouth myself.

“You know what I don’t understand?” Zoey continues, seemingly oblivious to the hole she’s digging for herself with every word out of her mouth. “What does she have that I don’t? What makes her so special that you’d throw everything away for her? Your club, your brothers?—”

“That’s. Enough .” The words are out of my mouth before I even realize I’ve spoken. Everyone turns to look at me, but I don’t give a shit. I’m done listening to her trash Quinn.

“You want to know what Quinn has that you don’t?” I take a step forward, and Nico doesn’t stop me. “Loyalty. Honor. Fucking integrity. She stood by her people when they needed her most.”

Zoey’s eyes widen, but I’m just getting started.

“When her tattoo shop was burning to the ground, she ran back inside to save her people. While you were busy stabbing your brothers in the back, she was dodging bullets and taking literal fucking knives to the gut for hers.” I’m getting louder, but I can’t seem to pull it back in.

And I’m honestly not trying too hard to check myself.

“She sacrificed everything to protect what’s hers.

What would you sacrifice, Zoey? Besides everyone around you? ”

She flinches at that one, and angry reddish-purple splotches start creeping up her neck to her cheeks.

“Quinn Kent is twice the leader you could ever hope to be. And she’s ten times the woman.” I jab a finger in her direction. “So keep her name out of your mouth. You’re not worthy to even speak it.”

There’s another round of excruciating, deafening silence. Zoey looks truly deflated, like someone punched all the air out of her. She stares at me for a long moment, then turns to Stefan and the others.

“Let’s go,” she mutters, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Her little crew follows her back to their bikes with their tails between their legs.

Not a single one of them glances back in our direction.

Nico claps me on the shoulder as we watch them leave. “Well put, brother. Do you feel better now?”

I shrug, the anger draining out of me and leaving nothing but an aching emptiness that always comes when I think about Quinn. “Someone had to say it.”

“I think she finally got the message,” Killian says with a rare hint of approval.

We climb back into the SUV and I stare out the window as Nico drives us away from the meeting spot. The rush of putting Zoey in her place is fading fast, leaving me feeling almost empty inside.

It’s fucking pathetic how much I miss her. Like I’m missing an arm or a leg, walking around with an open wound that won’t heal. The brief update from Nico about seeing her was like a life vest when I was drowning, but now I’m starting to sink again.

“Do you think Zoey will try something after that shit show?” Killian asks from the back seat.

“I doubt it,” Nico says, checking the rearview mirror. “She barely has enough support to keep the Tyrants together, let alone come after us.”

I grunt in agreement, but my mind is still with Quinn. I wish I’d been the one to see her in that bar. I wish I could’ve been there to touch her, to fuck her and remind her who she belongs to.

We’re almost back to the safe house when Hudson, one of the newly rejoined Carnage members, pulls his bike alongside our SUV and signals for Nico to stop.

Nico pulls into the gas station on the corner, and we exchange a curious look as Hudson parks his bike and jogs up to Nico’s window.

“What’s up?” Nico asks.

Hudson glances around before leaning in closer. “I didn’t want to say anything back there with so many ears listening in, but I’ve been in touch with some of Quinn’s old crew from Enigma.”

The three of us straighten up immediately. “What?”

“Yeah. They’ve been lying low since everything went to shit, but they’re still loyal to her. They want to help.”

The news hits me like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. Quinn told Malcolm she wanted to rebuild Enigma as an excuse to get out of his house, but maybe it wasn’t just a lie. Maybe her people really are still out there waiting for her.

“That could be useful,” Killian says in the understatement of the fucking year.

Nico nods. “Tell your contact to keep his people ready, but don’t make any moves yet. We need to coordinate with Quinn before anything happens.”

“Will do,” Hudson agrees, heading back to his bike.

As we pull away, I feel something I haven’t felt in too fucking long.

Hope. Real, genuine hope.

The alliance between our gangs started out so fucking rocky that it might as well have been a joke at first. But it took hold because of Quinn.

And now we’re hopefully one step closer to bringing her home.