Cross (Dark Kingdom, #4) — Chapter no 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

CROSS

THE THING YOU need to know about the Kings is that we are brothers— some by blood, others by choice—so when one of us is hurting, we are all hurting. And right now, we’re all in hell—burning alive.

I sit at the conference table on the thirteenth floor of tower one at Kingdom. Titan sits across from me, silently staring at the skull carved out of the table that easily seats twenty people. Bones takes his seat at the head of the table. Silence fills the room. No one really knows what to say. We’re not men who make small talk. And nothing any of us say could change what happened last night.

“Okay …” Bones starts but is interrupted.

The door opens, and Grave enters. He looks like shit. His hair is standing straight up, going every direction. Eyes red and face splotchy. He holds a bottle of water in his hand, looking hungover. But I know that’s not the case. Grave has come a long way in the past few months from who he once was before April entered his life.

“Kyle.” Bones jumps to his feet, calling his brother by his real name with concern. “What are you doing here?”

Grave makes his way over to the table and falls down beside Titan.

“Where else would I be?” he asks, unable to meet his brother’s eyes. His voice sounds as tired as he looks.

Bones runs a hand through his hair and lets out a long breath, softening his voice. “You should be at home. With April.”

He doesn’t say anything to that. Just sits there staring off into nothing.

After he won his fight last night, we went back to the room to celebrate.

Jasmine and Emilee had come running in to tell us that they didn’t know what was going on, just that Haven and Alexa had taken April to the hospital.

Grave ran out of there so fast we couldn’t keep up. Once we arrived at the hospital, we found out April had lost the baby. As much as my heart

breaks for Grave and April, I’m also terrified that this will throw him over the edge. Grave is a recovering addict, and he’s been doing so well. I couldn’t be prouder of him, but this? How do you get through such a loss?

Grave has always felt things more than anyone I’ve ever known. He would drown those feelings with booze, sex, drugs. Whatever he could get his hands on.

Bones walks around the table to stand behind his brother and places his hand on his shoulder. Grave jumps at the contact and pulls away. “Go home, Grave,” Bones tells him with sad eyes. “Go home and be with April.”

Grave’s eyes drop to his hands resting on the table. “She doesn’t want me there,” he whispers. “She got up this morning and went to work.”

I look at Titan, and he’s frowning. I mean, I know everyone handles loss differently, but this? They lost their child. Why aren’t they at home grieving together? How are they up and functioning? I’ve never wanted children, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with what they’re going through.

Titan licks his lips. “Grave, it’s okay to feel—”

“Don’t tell me how to feel!” Grave explodes, knocking his fists on the table. “I’m here to fucking work. Let’s work,” he snarls.

Silence follows his outburst, and I sigh, fidgeting with my Zippo. Bones walks back over to his chair and nods once. “Okay. Let’s start the meeting.

Have we heard anything about the shipments?”

“No,” I answer.

Bones growls. Everyone is getting extremely irritated about these damn shipments. Someone somewhere has to know what’s going on.

“Maybe we should just order a shipment of our own,” Titan suggests.

“That’d be too suspicious.” I shake my head.

“How so?” he asks.

“Because we don’t buy diamonds,” I answer with a growl. “I think it would look obvious that we killed one of Kale’s men when we walk in and start purchasing shipments worth millions in diamonds from him.”

Bones rubs his chin, thinking it over. Grave stays silent, staring off into nothing. Physically, he came into work today, but mentally he’s in another universe.

“What if we partnered with the Masons?” Titan offers, sitting up straighter looking over at Bones. “They make the order, but Cross and I go

with him to pick it up. They can say they’ve hired us for protection.”

I give a rough laugh. “Everyone knows the Mason brothers are like us.

They are their own protection.”

“What do you suggest?” Titan snaps at me. “That we do nothing?”

“You know how I feel about the Masons,” Bones adds, ignoring Titan’s outburst.

“I’m not a fan of them either, but we need to get to the bottom of this before our client comes after us for not getting the information that we promised,” Titan adds.

Bones lets out a frustrated sigh, and I know Titan has won. “Fine. But take Nite with you. Three is better than two.” With that, he gets up leaving the room.

ALEXA

I’M BEHIND THE bar at Lucky’s when my cell vibrates in my back pocket. I pull it out to see Cross is calling me. Although it’s after closing hours, I make my way to the back office to take the call because I don’t want my brother to hear my conversation. He hasn’t said one word to me since he found out I was sleeping with Cross. Just shows up to work his shifts and

then goes home. “Hello?”

“Hey,” he says softly.

I drop my head and look down at my black boots. I haven’t spoken to him since last night. Haven and I were with April when they informed her complications were causing her to miscarry the baby. Grave arrived shortly after. I wanted to stay for her, but I left with Jasmine, knowing that she and Grave wanted to be left alone.

“I would ask how your day went, but I bet it was about as good as mine was.” He sighs.

“Grave ignoring you like April is ignoring me?” I ask. I’ve tried reaching out to her a hundred times today, and my calls have gone unanswered, my text unread.

“I wish that were the case. All of a sudden, the guy has fallen headfirst into Kingdom. He’s been practically MIA for years, and now Bones can’t get him to leave. You said April is ignoring you?”

I fall into the chair at the desk, making it squeak with my weight. “Yeah, I’ve been calling her, but it goes straight to voicemail. This afternoon, I found myself taking the long way to work and drove by Roses and saw her car. I went in, and she totally blew me off.” She pretended to be busier than I know she was. I took the hint and left, not wanting to add more stress.

“I just hate it for them,” he says softly.

“Me too,” I say, placing my right elbow on the old wooden desk and my face in my hand. I’ve been friends with April since we were kids. We’ve been through a lot together, but she’s never shut me out like this.

“Alexa.” He sighs my name, and I close my eyes, expecting him to end this. Too much is going on. Grave needs him now more than ever. We can’t continue sneaking around like this. He was going to come clean with Grave last night after his fight. He can’t do that now. “About yesterday.”

I open my eyes and frown as I stare at my messy desk. “What about it?”

“Before Grave went to fight. Him bringing up Rachel—”

“It’s fine,” I interrupt him. Another thing that seems small compared to

everything else.

“No. It’s not.”

I sit back and run a hand down my face. I’m too exhausted to go into his line of women right now. “It is, Cross. We’re not together. You can fuck whoever you want.”

There’s a long pause on his end. I pull it away from my ear to make sure he hasn’t hung up on me. Instead, he changes the subject. “What are you doing once you’re done at the bar?”

I look up at the clock on the wall. It’s almost three a.m. We’ve been closed for half an hour. “Going home,” I answer. It’s been a long twenty- four hours, and I’m exhausted. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I doubt I will tonight either. April is heavy on my mind, and I feel like my hands are tied. I can’t do anything to help her.

“Why don’t you come up to Kingdom?” he offers.

I bite my lower lip. “For what exactly?”

“Stay the night with me,” he answers as if I should have known that’s what he meant.

I stand, needing the space. “Are you sure that’s a good thing? I mean, although everyone suspects what we’re doing, we haven’t actually told them. And what if someone sees us? It’s not the time—”

“No one is here tonight,” he interrupts me. “Titan hasn’t stayed here since he married Emilee. Bones is still working and will be doing it all night because that’s just what he does. And Grave left hours ago to go home. I’m guessing to be with April. It’ll just be you and me.”

“Yeah,” I say. Maybe a good night fuck is what I need to help me sleep.

“I’ll text you when I’m on my way.” I hang up before he can say anything else.

I pocket my cell and exit the office just in time to see my brother grab his jacket. He doesn’t even acknowledge me with a head nod. Just walks toward the exit. I hear the back door open and close, and I start to wipe down the bar. It’s the last thing I have to do before I can get out of here. But the front door opens, getting my attention, and I frown when I realize that he didn’t lock it before he left. We always exit out the back since that’s where we park. The alley isn’t the safest place this late at night. Hell, nowhere in this town is safe this time of night. Why chance it?

I’m thinking of ways I can beat his ass for his lack of responsibility when I look up to see a redhead enter the bar with a smile on her face and an oversized Louis Vuitton on her shoulder. She’s harmless. “Hey, girl,”

Jasmine greets me.

“Hey.” I smile at her, but it drops the second I catch sight of Bones entering behind her.

Cross and I don’t typically talk or share life experiences when we’re together. We definitely don’t discuss the other Kings. My brother has said some stuff in the past regarding Bones—he runs with the Mafia or some shit like that. Honestly, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if it was true. Cross had mentioned Bones was working at Kingdom tonight, so why is he here?

“What’s up?” I ask as she plops down across from me at the bar. Bones takes the seat next to her, not saying a word. I look away from him and his blue eyes. The guy is as intimidating as he is rich.

“Remember the first time you met me?” she asks, avoiding my question.

“Yeah.” I draw out the single word.

A year ago

I’m standing behind the bar; it’s a Friday night and packed. There’s some convention in town, so the bar is busier than usual. I’m having problems

keeping up with the large crowd. A man walks up and slaps down a twenty, rambling off what he wants.

“Excuse me?” I yell over the music and turn my face to give him my ear when my eyes land on a woman sitting at the end of the bar with a man.

She’s laughing at something he said while looking down at her full drink I had just served her. Reaching out, she places her hand on his shoulder and leans in, speaking into his ear. He nods a few times, and she gets up, heading to the bathroom.

“Did you get that?” the guy yells in my ear.

I pull away, holding up a finger to him when I see the guy now sitting alone, looking around nervously.

“Miss?” the guy calls out again, trying to get my attention, but I ignore him. My eyes remain focused on the other man. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his fist. He takes another quick look around before dropping a pill into her drink. Picking up the glass, he swirls it around to dissolve the evidence and then quickly sets it back down.

I rush over to my brother, who stands a few feet from me. “Call the

police,” I say into his ear.

“What?” He turns to face me.

“Do it now. Tell them a guy just tried to drug a woman.” Before he can respond, I run out from behind the bar and rush to the bathroom, shoving customers out of my way.

I enter the women’s restroom and come to a stop when I see the woman standing at the sink fixing her lipstick. “I need to talk to you.”

“You saved my life.” Jasmine gives me a smile, interrupting the memory.

I shuffle from foot to foot uncomfortably, not wanting to rehash this conversation, especially in front of Bones. “I wouldn’t go that far …”

“I would. The cops arresting that guy led to them uncovering a sex trafficking ring. You saved me.”

My face heats up, turning red. I don’t do well with compliments.

“Anyway,” she goes on. “I tried to repay you …”

I snort at that statement. “The next day, you showed up with a two- hundred-thousand-dollar car.” A woman I had only met the night before bought me a car. I thought she was out of her mind. I still think that.

“I told you I’d pay for the tag and insurance …”

“I’m not accepting it,” I remind her. She does this often. She still has it in her garage. As though I’m just going to call her up one day and say hey, you know that Audi R8 Spyder you bought me? Yeah, I’ll take that now.

“This isn’t about the car.” She reaches into her Louis Vuitton bag and pulls out a large manila envelope. Setting it on the bar, she pushes it toward

me.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“This is me repaying you.”

I look from her to Bones, but he still hasn’t said one word. His blue eyes are on mine, and I look away. His stare is so intense it makes me nervous.

Opening up the envelope, I pull out a set of papers. KINK is written across the top of it in bold black letters. Never heard of it before. “What is this?”

“I want to go into business with you,” she states.

I begin to laugh but immediately stop when neither one of them joins me.

I clear my throat at the awkward silence that follows. “Business? What kind of business?” Is this like her Rate the Dick app idea?

“Kink is an elite BDSM club. I recently found out about it when I was in New York. It’s a gold mine, Lex. We’ve spoken to the owner of the New York location, and he wants to meet with us this weekend.”

I run a hand through my bleach-blond hair. “I … uh, you want to own a sex club?” I didn’t even know they existed. I mean, you hear about shit like this, but I’ve never been to one before.

“Yes.” She clasps her hands.

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out, so I close it. Taking in a deep breath, I try again. “You want to turn my bar into a sex club?”

“No.” She shakes her head quickly. “Just your basement. You own the bar. A hundred percent yours. I just want to go in on Kink with you. We renovate the basement that you don’t use into the club, and I’ll run it. You can be involved as much or little as you want, but we split the profit fifty- fifty.”

I look at Bones. “What do you have to do with this?” I’m curious as to why he’s here with her. What is his involvement?

He leans forward, placing his tatted forearms on the bar, and I find myself leaning back just a bit, hoping he doesn’t notice. “Kink is an

exclusive men’s club, per se. They have twenty-five locations around the world. Not a single one is owned or run by a woman.”

None of that sentence answered what I just asked. “Meaning?” I frown, needing further explanation. I’m fucking tired.

“Meaning that we need Bones as a partner,” Jasmine answers.

“So, you will own a percentage of it?” I clarify. How would Jasmine and I be fifty-fifty if he owns a portion as well?

“Just on paper,” he states.

“He’s not taking anything from Kink. Bones is not investing any up-front costs or involvement whatsoever. Dillan Reed is just a name on a piece of paper.”

I’m guessing Dillan Reed is his real name. Which, if you ask me, doesn’t fit him at all. Bones? That makes more sense. The guy looks like he’d beat you to death with his fists. Or a hammer. Whatever is closest to him at the time.

I drop my eyes to read over the documents some more. I see two million, and my mouth drops. “Jasmine,” My gaze shoots to hers. “I don’t have this kind of money.”

“You don’t need it. I’ve got it covered,” she rushes out.

Is she insane? Shaking my head, I shove the contract back over to them.

“No.”

“Alexa—”

“I’m not doing it.” I turn, walking into the cooler just to get away from them.

The door opens behind me, and Jasmine enters. “Just hear me out,” she says, placing her hands up defensively.

“The answer is no.” I reach down and grab a case of Bud Light even though I’m not sure what the fuck I’m going to do with it.

“Lex.” She places her hands on my shoulders and spins me around to face her. “I told you I would repay you for what you did. And this is my payment.”

“Even if I agreed, I can’t repay you.” I have some money saved up after selling the studio, but not even close enough to cover my half. And I believe in paying your way. I’m not a leech.

“Your friendship is all the payment I need.” She removes her hands from my shoulders and takes the beer from mine, setting it on the floor by my

feet. “Look, Kink will be a success. You know how I know?” She doesn’t let me answer. “Because I’m going to devote my life to it.”

That’s not what I’m concerned about. “It’s not fair,” I argue. “For you to put up all that money and me nothing.”

“You saved me,” she whispers, dropping her eyes to her red Louboutin heels. “No one has ever done that for me before.”

My chest tightens for her. She may be a friend of mine, but Jasmine keeps a lot to herself. She hides her sadness and insecurities behind jokes and sarcasm. “Jasmine, that’s what friends do. They look out for one another.”

“But you weren’t my friend at the time,” she says, her green eyes meeting mine once again. “Come to New York with Bones and me. Visit Kink with us. If you’re not one-hundred-and-fifty-percent sold after that, then we don’t do it.”

“Why my bar?” She has the money to buy any space on the Strip. I mean, sure it’s not like real estate is available everywhere here, but she’s got to find something better with all the connections she has in this city. Why mine?

She gives me a warm smile. “I already told you. This isn’t about the space or the location. It’s about you. This is about someone once helping me and me returning the favor.” She steps into me. “Let me do this for you, Lex. For us.”

With a sigh, my mind wanders to the possibility of us doing this. “I don’t know anything about a sex club.” That’s my only argument.

She laughs softly. “You think I do?” Shaking her head, she adds, “But I do know that I won’t let you down, Lex. I’ve got this. Please trust me.”

“And Bones?” I ask, trying to think of any excuse to get out of it. I hate to admit that it sounds like a great opportunity, but things are never as they seem. “What if he fucks us?” If the man is in with the Mafia, then he has some serious fucking pull in this town.

“Bones is not that type of guy. I swear on it. He will not fuck us over in any way with this deal. He’s a best friend, and he just wants to help us as much as I want to help us. I trust him.”

I’ve always wanted something more for myself. What if this is it? I’m not a religious person, but what if this is my chance? God throwing me a bone, saying let this woman help you? I never thought it’d be a sex club, but

prayers never come how you asked for them. “I’ll go to New York,” I say, letting out a breath. What could it hurt?

She squeals, jumps up and down, and then wraps her arms around me.

“But I can’t promise anything,” I add quickly.

“I understand.” She takes a step back and nods once, a huge smile on her face. And I can’t help but do the same.