Page 47 of Property of Stone (Kings of Anarchy MC: Pennsylvania #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Of fucking course the motherfucker had to be housed at SCI Dallas, an hour and a half northeast from The Castle.

And of fucking course the morning of his release, it had to be pouring rain.

While the first was a pain in his ass, the second might work in Stone’s favor.

If it was up to him, he would’ve taken the easy route, snagged the fucker right off the street, and taken care of business. Then Vic the Dick would no longer be a threat to Taryn.

But, fuck him , that wasn’t what she wanted. She simply wanted her ex to leave her and Baby Bird alone.

Stone didn’t think that was going to work. Shit was never that easy. He knew plenty of assholes like Gentry and prison didn’t help them turn over a new leaf.

When he really thought about it, letting Gentry continue to breathe could actually work in his favor by keeping Taryn under his roof longer. He’d admit it was a selfish take on his part, but he was liking their arrangement more than he ever thought he would.

If Stone took Gentry out—his initial plan—against Taryn’s wishes, she might never forgive him and could potentially leave since she’d no longer have a threat hanging over her head.

And the fuck if he was ready for that.

He needed her to stay for Sunny’s sake.

For fuck’s sake .

The reality was, he needed her to stay for him, too.

Unfortunately, he assured her he’d handle it the way she wanted it handled. For Baby Bird. While he agreed not to take the fucker out, he never agreed not to have a face-to-face with him.

So, here the fuck he was, willingly sitting out in front of a place he hated the most.

A goddamn prison.

Stupid fuck. Lettin’ a woman convince you to go against your goddamn instincts.

He hoped to hell her decision didn’t turn around and bite him in the damn ass.

Stone glanced at the time on the vehicle’s dashboard. Gentry should be walking free any moment now.

The cage Stone was currently driving was a nondescript, four-door Chevy sedan that one of his brothers pinched a few months ago.

The parts weren’t worth shit, so instead of stripping the vehicle down, they had swapped out the vehicle identification numbers with fake ones they made in-house, for both their own use and to sell for profit.

They had also slapped on a coat of cheap paint and now kept it as a spare vehicle behind the garage to use for just this kind of shit.

Anonymity.

With a quick glance in the rearview mirror, he made sure all of his long, black hair was still hidden under the baseball cap he’d pulled on as part of his disguise.

Despite it being ball-sweating weather, he also wore a long-sleeved T-shirt to hide as much of his ink as possible. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes and fingerless driving gloves covered his tattooed hands. The only thing he couldn’t hide was his facial hair.

And his murderous scowl.

He really hated the idea of letting this abusive motherfucker live.

Really fucking hated it.

Because if it backfired…

Stone pushed out an irritated breath. His gut was screaming that he shouldn’t follow Taryn’s wishes.

She was aware of the risk.

Only, so was Stone.

His eyes narrowed on the gate as it opened and a man walked free. Stone had made that walk too many times.

Some prisons let you walk out. Others bussed you out and dropped you off in town.

Thank fuck Gentry wasn’t being bussed. The screws didn’t like when you tailed their transport vehicle. It made the assholes with guns twitchy for some fucking reason.

When Gentry reached the section of the parking lot where family members parked and waited, he glanced around, looking for the ride that would never show up.

Luckily, Stone would help him out.

He pulled in a breath through his nostrils in an attempt to cool his rage at seeing this fucker again. Then pulled out of the parking spot and stopped in front of Gentry, resisting the urge to plow him the fuck over.

Stone had to remind himself that running Taryn’s ex down in front of a prison wouldn’t go over too fucking well. If he did it in front of the guards and cameras, it would be him sitting inside that concrete box instead of outside, where he preferred.

He tipped the bill of his cap lower and powered down the Chevy’s passenger window. “You Victor Gentry?”

Gentry’s brow furrowed. “Yes?”

Stone jerked his head toward the rear passenger door. “Get in. I’m your ride. Sit on the passenger side. It’ll balance out the vehicle’s weight and help it ride better.”

He wouldn’t want any enemy sitting directly behind him. Since Gentry was fresh out of the joint from catching assault charges, the motherfucker most likely didn’t have any weapons on him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do damage.

If Stone needed to take someone out and didn’t have a gun or knife on him, he still had other tools. Like his hands or belt. He didn’t need much to hurt or kill someone. A useful skill he’d picked up in one of his early prison bids.

“My brother’s picking me up.”

“He had an emergency. Booked my car instead.”

The man’s wet hair was now plastered to his head. Rain dripped down his face and his shirt was becoming soaked. “What emergency?”

“Didn’t ask because it’s not my business.

My business is to transport you from point A to point B safely.

” He had to speak slowly so he had time to carefully choose his words.

If he started talking in his normal sloppy, don’t-give-a-fuck English, he was afraid Vic the Dick might realize it was a trap.

Because bottom line, it was a fucking trap. And that trap was about to snap shut.

“C’mon, man. If you don’t get in now, when you do, you’re gonna soak my back seat. ”

Gentry’s head swiveled around one more time as if making sure his brother wasn’t waiting for him.

Stone had made sure he wasn’t.

Torch and Bolt carjacked him, threw Gentry’s brother right out on the street, and took off in his fancy Audi. The bonus was, those parts would bring in a sweet amount of scratch.

“You wanna stand in the rain or you wanna go home? The ride’s already paid for and isn’t refundable. So, no skin off my back either way.”

After grumbling something Stone couldn’t make out, Gentry finally opened the door and slid inside, looking like a wet fucking dog.

Stone kept his eyes on him using the rearview mirror. “Buckle up.”

Chopper had rigged the seat belt so it would lock and not release. The fucker would need to be cut free. They also had set the child-safety locks.

“Aren’t you supposed to have some sort of ride share license posted or something?”

Or something. “Got it in the glovebox. Had a problem with people trying to steal it. So, where you headed, friend?”

Gentry glanced over at the prison and sighed as he buckled up. “Anywhere has to be better than here.”

“I hear that.” Stone glanced once again in the rearview. “But still need an address. Can’t start drivin’ ’til I know where I’m goin’.”

Gentry rattled off an address and Stone plugged it into the car’s GPS. Now he had the man’s address in case the fucker tried any shit.

With one side of his mouth hiked up, he pulled out of the lot and headed south. But about a half hour into the long-ass trip, he altered the route .

Of course, Gentry noticed. “Hey, you’re headed the wrong way.”

No shit. “Know a shortcut.”

“So do I and this isn’t it.”

“Gotta detour around some road construction. You know how those fu—those state workers love to inconvenience us taxpayers. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your newfound freedom. I’ll get you home safely,” Stone lied.

Sitting back, Gentry murmured, “I miss driving.”

“Sure you missed a lot of stuff. What did you do to get locked up?”

There was a long hesitation before he answered, “My ex-wife was trying to use my son as an excuse to drain me dry financially.”

Bullshit. “Bitches, am I right? And using your kid against you like that? That’s pretty low.” Stone shook his head.

Gentry’s eyes met his for a split second in the rearview. His reaction reminded Stone to keep his English as squeaky clean as possible. But, damn , was it work.

“So, how’d that land you inside if she was the one stealing from you?”

“I tried to convince her to change her mind.”

Stone gripped the steering wheel hard so he wouldn’t reach back and throat punch the fucker. “And that landed you at Dallas?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, some jackass intervened and the police showed up.”

The “jackass” turned his head enough so Gentry could see his smile. “Think you convinced her?”

“I guess I’ll see.”

“And if she wasn’t?”

Gentry stared out of the rain-streaked window.

Stone didn’t like the fact he didn’t answer .

Of course, if Stone had been asked that same sort of question, he wouldn’t incriminate himself either. Especially to some stranger in a supposed ride share.

“Are you sure you know where we’re going? This isn’t the way to my condo. I think you’re lost.”

“Got it covered. Don’t worry. It’s either drive out of the way a little bit or sit in stopped construction traffic for an hour.”

Five minutes later, Gentry was starting to get antsy. “Can you drop me off at the nearest gas station? I’ll get someone to pick me up from there. You don’t need to take me all the way home.”

Stone’s eyes flicked back up to the mirror. “The ride’s paid for.”

“I don’t care.”

“Sure. Let me find a safe place to drop you.” Only, it wouldn’t be a gas station or any public area. And it definitely wouldn’t be safe. At least for Vic the Dick.

Stone continued heading farther away from civilization.

Gentry slammed the front passenger seat with this palm. “I want out of this vehicle!”

It was a damn shame that Taryn’s ex was getting pissed.

Not that Stone gave a fuck. “Gonna give you what you want. Gotta find somewhere to drop you.”

“But there’s nothing around here. We’re out in the boonies!”

No shit.

He turned onto a dirt service lane that led up to high-voltage power lines. Despite it being rough as fuck, he went far enough off the road that they wouldn’t be spotted on the off-chance someone drove by.