Cross (Dark Kingdom, #4) — Chapter no 1

CHAPTER ONE

CROSS

Thirteen years later . . .

CLICK.

The sound of my Zippo in my right hand, flipping open and closed, fills the meat locker—a room at Kingdom where the Dark Kings and I handle our business. The kind that others can’t know about. An underground concrete room where no one can hear the screams of whatever unlucky bastard we drag down here. It’s nothing more than one chair and table in the middle of the room—screwed down, of course, so neither one can be used as a weapon against us. Four concrete walls and floor. One light in the center of the ceiling.

It’s our hell. We drag the sinners down here to make them pay for their sins.

My three best friends and I grew up being exactly what the Three Wisemen—our fathers—hoped we would be. And I’m thankful that none of them are alive today to witness that. I’d hate for my father to feel any satisfaction in regard to what kind of man I’ve become. I know the other Dark Kings feel the same way.

Our fathers knew us as weak little boys. Now at twenty-six, the world knows us as Titan, Bones, Cross, and Grave. Each one of us earned our nickname at different times in our life for various reasons. None of them good. People bow to us because we fucking earned it, not because our fathers gave it to us. We’re nothing like them. We’re worse. We just choose not to hide who we are. No, we parade it around Las Vegas in broad daylight.

Our newest victim sitting in the chair glares up at me as I lean casually against the concrete wall across from him. His brown eyes fall to my Zippo.

Click.

I flip it open and closed again. I do it all the time. Doesn’t matter if I’m stressed or relaxed. It’s a reminder that I was born to burn in hell. And if I wanted to, I could take everyone with me. My mother didn’t realize just how right she was when she gave me this on my birthday.

“I’m not telling you shit!” he snarls, slapping his hands on the table. His once white T-shirt is ripped and hanging off one shoulder. He’s got a bruise under his left eye from where Titan knocked him out before we dragged his ass down here.

We’ve been waiting for thirty minutes for him to regain consciousness and join the party.

“That’s what they all say,” Bones states from my right.

Titan leans against the back wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Grave stands to my left, texting away on his cell. I’m guessing to his pregnant girlfriend. He must have a lot to say because he’s been typing for a good minute.

“We’ll give you a second to think it over,” Bones tells him, being nicer than normal.

The guy throws his head back laughing, spit flying from his mouth at the action. “I don’t need a goddamn second. My lips are sealed.”

“Well …” Bones looks over at me, arching a dark brow. “Then he’s no use to us.”

“I agree,” I say, flipping the Zippo shut and pocketing it. “Titan?” I look over at him and nod, giving the signal. The guy had his chance, which is more than what we usually offer. We’re all in a pretty good mood today, so it’s his choice to die.

Titan steps up behind him and yanks him from the chair, shoving him facedown onto the table. The man tries to fight him, but he yanks his arms behind his back, keeping him pinned down. Bones steps forward toward them.

“They will kill you!” the man shouts. “All of you and everyone you love!”

That gets Grave’s attention. He looks up at the man from his phone, his fingers pausing over it, but says nothing.

“Where are they?” Bones directs his question to Titan.

“Back pocket,” Titan clips.

Making his way around the table, Bones yanks a bag of zip ties from Titan’s pocket and removes two from the plastic before dropping the rest to the floor. “Ya know, Kenneth,” he starts as he slides the end of one through the other, pulling on it to make sure it’s secure at the length he wants. “I’m not in the mood to get bloody today.”

“Fuck you, Kings!” The guy thrashes on the table under Titan’s weight.

“You can’t touch me …”

Titan yanks him from the table and spins around so Kenneth now faces Bones.

“No one is untouchable,” Bones states, then quickly wraps the zip tie around the man’s neck. Kenneth tries to fight, but Titan has a good hold on him, giving Bones easy access to thread the zip tie before yanking it tightly against his skin. The sound of the zipper seals Kenneth’s fate.

Titan then shoves Kenneth to the right. The four of us watch him as he falls to his knees, panic on his face while his hands try to pry it off. As if he has a chance. Not going to happen. Death doesn’t leave any room for dignity. Not when you know it’s coming. Your fight or flight kicks in no matter how little of a chance you know you have.

He’ll die of strangulation, and afterward, we’ll bury his ass in the desert.

It’s what we’ve been doing for years now. What we were taught. What we know. And thankfully, Las Vegas has plenty of space for us to hide our secrets.

To anyone that is visiting out of town, they come to Kingdom—our hotel and casino—to try their luck. The lights and glamor catch their attention, and they think they can come in and hit the jackpot on one of our machines or win big at the tables. But for those people who know the Kings, they know what we’re about and what we’re willing to do to keep things in order.

Nothing and no one will stop us! We own this town. We dominate the Strip. Bones, Titan, and I are only twenty-six, Grave twenty-five, and no one can compete with us. Even though our dads were the Three Wiseman, we still had to prove ourselves. Had to show Las Vegas we deserved what we were given. No matter the price.

The guy falls face-first on the floor, no longer struggling.

Titan bends down and checks for a pulse. “He’s gone.”

“Take care of him,” Bones orders and storms out, pissed we didn’t get the information we were looking for.

People pay us a lot of money to take care of their problems. Usually, the motherfuckers sing, telling us everything we need to know in hopes we’ll let them go. That’s never the case. You can’t afford to look weak.

“I’ll take him,” Titan offers, pulling out his cell from his back pocket.

“Nigel is going to help me.”

“You sure?” I ask.

He nods, and I turn to Grave. He’s no longer texting on his cell. “I have to be at the Airport in twenty. I’ve got a fight tonight.”

Ah, now I understand why he was on his phone for so long. “I’ll drive you,” I offer.

“You guys stay out of trouble,” Titan warns. “I don’t want to spend my entire night digging.”

Titan tries to keep us all in line. It’s worse now that he’s married to Emilee. Bones lives and breathes Kingdom. I’m not sure when he last got drunk or even took a vacation, for that matter. He’s all business, all the time. Grave is a recovering addict with a pregnant girlfriend. And me?

Well, I’m still trying to figure out who I am. Grave was my go-to party buddy. I could work all day here at Kingdom, then party all night—alcohol or drugs—and show up to work the following day just fine. Now that Grave is in a serious relationship, I have no one to go out with. It sucks, but I understand why he’s changing his life for the better.

“Let’s go, man. I can’t be late,” Grave says before exiting the room as well.

I go to leave but look at Titan. He’s now leaning back against the wall again, waiting on Nigel. “You sure you’re okay?” I double-check.

He nods. “Yeah.” His eyes go to the door and then back to me. “Keep an eye on him, will ya?”

“Of course.” Then I, too, turn and leave the room, knowing I may not be able to keep that promise, and the sad part is that Titan thinks I can.

ALEXA

“DO YOU COME here often?” I call out to my friend Jasmine as she drags me through a crowd of people.

“All the time!” She throws over her shoulder at me, her red hair slapping her face.

I look around nervously at the Airport. It’s not like any airport I’ve ever been to. No airplanes, no people traveling with luggage. Instead, it looks like a breeding ground for STDs and those gruesome murder scenes that you see on an unsolved murder mystery documentary.

You can tell that an airport once occupied this large facility, but it’s long been deserted and turned into what I can only assume is a playground for the scum of Las Vegas.

The Airport sits out in the middle of the desert, twenty miles from the Strip, but I’ve stayed away. Somehow, I let her drag me out here tonight. I needed new scenery, but I’m probably going to need a penicillin shot once we leave here.

From what little I know, Trey, Turner, and Tanner Mason own it. The three brothers obviously don’t give a shit about what goes on here. I’ve never met them, and I’m beginning to understand why. This just isn’t my thing.

A man bumps into me so hard it rips my hand from Jasmine’s. She spins around. “Hey, say excuse me, motherfucker!” she throws at the guy’s back.

He keeps on, not even bothering to look back. Thank God.

“Jasmine,” I hiss. I’m not one to back down, but I don’t know these people here. I’m kinda out of my element. I’ve lived in Sin City all my life, and I’ve never stepped foot in the Airport. I own a bar, and you hear chatter all the time, but I just thought the customers were exaggerating.

I was wrong.

“You gotta stick up for yourself here, Lex,” Jasmine goes on.

“Okay—” She turns and jerks me forward once again by my hand, cutting me off.

We make our way down a flight of escalators that don’t work and to an open area. It looks like it was once the food court, maybe. But now, a large bar runs along the right wall. A makeshift ring is to the right of it. People crowd around it like they’re waiting for something to happen.

“Legends Are Made,” by Sam Tinnesz blares from speakers that hang from the ceiling, and with further observation, I see black domes—security cameras. Well, that makes me feel a little better, but for all I know, they

could be fake. Jasmine pulls us over to the bar, shoving others out of our way like she owns the place.

“Two shots of Patrón and two Long Islands,” she yells at one of the bartenders.

The guy with a ring in his nose nods at her and turns to start making our drinks.

“Why did you bring me here tonight?” I ask, placing my elbow on the bar top.

“Because you needed a night out,” she says simply with a big smile on her porcelain face. “You deserve it for as much as you work.”

I nod, unable to disagree with her. I’ve been trying to get a night off for weeks now. But when you own a business, you never stop. Not unless you want to lose money. And that is unacceptable if you ask me. If you want it, you have to fight for it. I’ve never had a problem with going after what I want. How will you ever know if you don’t try?

“Plus, when was the last time you got laid?” she asks.

I mumble, “Too long.” But I don’t want to make that mistake again.

“Exactly.” Bumping her hip into mine, she laughs. “Gotta get some D.”

I’m not here to hook up with anyone. Pretty sure no one here is my type anyway.

The bartender comes back over to us. “Here you go, Jasmine.” He calls her by name, and it just confirms that she comes here too often. He places our shot glasses in front of us.

She hands him her card. “Start a tab for me, please?”

“Got it, babe.” And he’s off again.

“I have cash …”

“Nonsense.” She waves me off before I can even finish what I was saying.

I sigh but don’t argue with her. Jasmine is the type of woman who gets whatever she wants. And going to war with her over a few drinks just isn’t worth it. I’ve known her for about a year now, and she’s one of my closest friends other than April. I’ve been friends with April since we were kids, but ever since she got pregnant, she no longer goes out. Her baby daddy is Grave—a Dark King. And he takes up all of her time. As it should be. She’s really happy, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her.

Jasmine has introduced me to a couple of other girls, one who happens to be married to another King. But again, I don’t get to hang out with them much. I like to keep my circle small. Plus, when you’re always working, it doesn’t leave much time for a social life.

“Cheer up.” Jasmine turns to face me with a smile on her face. She’s gorgeous in that “I don’t have to try hard” way. She dyes her short hair red, and it really complements her bright blue eyes. “I promise nothing will happen to you here. I know the Mason brothers.”

“How well?” I challenge.

The Mason brothers’ reputation is about the same as the Dark Kings— you fuck with them, you’re dead.

Her red-painted lips pull back, showing off her white pearly teeth. “One of them I know extremely well.”

I laugh and clarify, “So, you slept with him?”

“Of course, I did. And if you saw him, you’d spread your legs too.” She winks at me.

“What are you girls doing here?” a man demands from behind us, cutting off my laughter.

We spin around to see two faces I recognize. They stand out in any crowd they walk through. Grave and Cross, two of the Dark Kings. You can’t miss them. All four Kings are over six feet tall and covered in ink. Not to mention their presence just screams get the fuck out of my way. If you caught yourself alone with them in a dark alley, you’d clutch your purse tighter while your pussy would do the same for its own reason. They’re dark, deadly, and extremely fucking attractive in a way that begs drag me to hell and show me what it’s like to burn.

If you knew my track record with men, you’d know that I can pick them.

And a King would be at the top of the list.

My best friend April’s baby daddy is Grave. I know him pretty well since he and April got together. Cross, not so much. I met him at Emilee and Titan’s wedding but didn’t really get the chance to speak with him. But they’re all the same—men fear them, and women worship them. And that makes them even more interesting to me. I think every woman wants a bad boy in their life at least once. Some of us crave that toxicity. Without it, life would be boring.

“I could ask you that same question,” Jasmine speaks before throwing back her shot.

“I’m fighting tonight,” Grave answers, crossing his inked arms over his bare chest and looking down his nose at us. Like he’s angry he caught us here. My eyes run over the picture of my best friend tattooed on his arm.

It’s insane how much detail was put into it. It literally looks like she’s right in front of me staring at me. It’s kinda creepy. From her dark purple hair to her ice-blue eyes and her diamond septum piercing—she looks absolutely gorgeous. She drew it, and Cross tattooed it onto Grave’s arm. April has always been an amazing artist.

“Where’s April?” I ask, looking around. I hadn’t told her I was coming out tonight. The last time I spoke to her, she was closing up her flower shop and heading home to shower and go to bed. Being pregnant is really taking it out of her.

Cross snorts at my question. “The Airport is the last place for a pregnant woman.”

I look at him, and he’s also glaring down at me. His pretty green eyes narrowed, dark brows creased, and his lips thin. It’s like these men were born pissed off at the world. Hating everyone. I wonder if he’s always been this way? And if so, why?

“You ladies shouldn’t be here either,” he states.

Ladies? I almost laugh at that. “You’re going to make us leave?” I ask, arching a dark brow. These Kings are used to getting their way, or so I’ve heard. I’m sure they do whatever is necessary to achieve that. And that thought just made this night so much more interesting.

He steps toward me, and I tilt my head back to look at his glare. “If I say yes?”

Grave reaches out, slapping his hand on Cross’s chest, and pulls him back a step. “We don’t have time to drag them out right now kicking and screaming.”

I smirk as Jasmine hands me my shot. Throwing it back, I turn to the bar, signaling to the guy with the nose piercing that we want another round. I’m not leaving now. My earlier reservations about the Airport are long gone, so I might as well make it worth it. My cell vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s a text.

CUNT: Why haven’t you been answering my calls?

I ignore it just like the rest. You would think he’d get the hint eventually.

“Who did you guys come with?” I hear Grave ask Jasmine over “Crazy,”

by LOWBORN.

“Just us,” she tells him.

“Well, you need someone to stay with you. I’m fighting soon,” he states with a huff.

“I’ll stay with them,” Cross offers, sounding less than thrilled to babysit two grown women.

I turn back to face them and let out a chuckle as Jasmine asks, “We need a babysitter?”

“Here you do,” Grave snaps at her. “I’ve told you this before.”

She shrugs carelessly, rolling her eyes. Obviously, she’s not as concerned about our life as he is. I think they just want to control everything they see.

“You guys want a drink?” I ask.

“No,” Grave growls.

Jasmine elbows me, and I flinch, forgetting that he’s a recovering addict.

I’ve only known the sober Grave, so I have to remind myself that there’s things we do that he doesn’t. Doesn’t matter if it’s alcohol or drugs, he no longer does any of that stuff. That I know of anyway. He got clean for April, and I’m proud of him for that. I know it wasn’t easy for either of

them.

“Sorry,” I mutter.

“No thanks.” Cross shakes his head but doesn’t bother looking at me. His green eyes scan the crowd as if he’s hired security at a boy-band concert, and a bunch of screaming teenagers and their mothers are about to tackle us to the ground.

“Looks like it’s just you and me.” I smile at Jasmine.

She throws an arm over my shoulders. “Well, now that we have a babysitter, let’s get fucked.”