Lethal Temptations (Tempted #5)(38)

I remember him pleading with me after Christine died to get myself clean. He promised me we’d change the direction of the club, kick the drugs to the curb and make her death count. And mostly he lived up to his promise but Jack never banked on this shit with Jimmy surfacing. Yet, here we are and now I’m hooked on methadone, compliments of the hospital. The last few years, staying clean, trying to honor my wife the only way I knew how… all went to shit.

“Ay!” Pipe agreed.

I went against my word the first time I sat in front of Jimmy, chose revenge over my vow to Christine when I stuck that needle in my arm but I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it was a step I had to take to make my way to the G-Man. But Jimmy, that motherf*cker, took two weeks of my f*cking life and made me break another vow to my wife. Two f*cking weeks meant two Saturday’s I didn’t bring flowers to Christine’s grave.

“Did we get him? Gold is he…” My sentence trailed off as my jaw clenched with anger.

Two f*cking weeks.

He better be dead.

“Oh, we f*cking got him,” Jack assured. “Lit that motherf*cker up,” he added.

“How?” I demanded.

I wanted to know everything, from the shock and horror in his eyes to the way his flesh smelled when the flames ate away at him. But before he divulged the sweetness of Jimmy’s demise, Jack needed to explain how he pulled this shit off without me and the deal we made with the Corrupt Bastards.

Jack turned around and pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward Riggs.

“This son of a bitch right here, saved the day, your life and my sanity,” he declared.

“And still no f*cking pie,” Riggs replied, shaking his head in disgust.

Riggs? He got the drugs for the deal? I know for a fact he didn’t get that shit from the Corrupt Bastards because they wouldn’t deal with a new face. I was the one that shook on our agreement. They were funny like that, or maybe smart, depending on how you look at it.

“What about the deal?” I questioned.

“We made a new deal,” Jack answered.

I stared at him for a minute before narrowing my eyes in confusion.

“You got the drugs?” I asked, trying to sit up. It was a yes or no question so, I’m not sure why they’re all tiptoeing around like a bunch of *’s.

“C’mon man, don’t worry ‘bout that shit. You need to concentrate on getting off this shit and getting yourself good,” Jack said, reaching over to help me sit up.

“I want to know,” I insisted, glancing around the room before bringing my eyes back to Jack. I watched as he raked his hands through his hair, cupping the back of his neck as he bit the inside of his cheek and debated on what bullshit lie he would spew at me.

“We took the drugs from The Red Dragons,” Riggs offered.

The room fell silent as I watched Bone’s elbow Riggs in the gut.

They got the drugs from Sun Wu, the leader of the Red Dragons, the same club we went to war with when Cain controlled us. The Red Dragons were big time dealers back in the day but the G-Man shut their business down and used the Satan’s Knights and Cain’s addiction to aid in his cause. We shut down the Dragons, stole their business and left them high and dry. They were vulnerable at the time, their trade business wasn’t off the ground yet and taking away the drugs was like cutting them off at the knees. Sun Wu supplied the cops with the location of the two bodies of those kids that overdosed and died. He was trailing me, I knew it then, but I ignored it because I was a greedy, cocky motherf*cker who thought I was invincible. After the cops found the bodies, they built a case against me. Greg Brantley was new to the force and trying to make a name for himself, and the Red Dragons led his ass straight to me.

I proved to be invincible.

Christine not so much.

Brantley got his hooks in her.

“You got the drugs from Wu? Are you out of your f*cking minds?” I barked, pulling the wires off my arm as I sat up.

“Blackie, it’s good. We’re good. Jones arrested Jimmy at Temptations with the drugs,” Jack explained calmly. “Everything went like we planned.”

Famous last words.

Nothing ever goes as planned.

Lesson f*cking learned.

“We didn’t plan to f*ck the Chinese,” I shouted furiously in between coughing.

“It’s fine, brother. Wu and the Dragons have no idea it was us. We have a meet with them tomorrow for another shipment of guns. We’re good man,” Pipe offered. “We’re f*cking good man, relax!”

I was useless lying here in this bed, I needed to be out on the streets smoothing shit over with the Corrupt Bastards and keeping my eyes and ears open for when Wu discovered the truth.

“Tell him your news,” Pipe ordered Riggs.

“What news?” I asked bewildered.

“Yeah, give it to him. He’s going to love this shit,” Wolf agreed.

I turned my attention to Riggs, watching as he snarled.

“Fine! I gave you mouth to mouth,” he exasperated.

“Not that!” Jack said, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes, looking back at Riggs expectantly.

“Shit,” he sighed. “I’m having a kid,” he continued.

“Give him the good stuff, tell him who’s the baby mama,” Pipe said, wiggling his eyebrows as he glanced at me. “Wait for it…”