Incandescent

Chapter Sixteen

Nix

Back when my dad and the Knights Rebels Originals ran the drug trade of Rushford, Nevada, they would never even think about doing what we are about to do. Things were a lot different, and riding freely onto Mayhem territory is something that just did not happen. Even with the truce¸ I don’t like what we’re about to do.

Pulling into the parking lot fifteen minutes outside of town, I prepare myself for the shit storm that I can feel brewing. Today is a friendly gathering: three boys each. I brought Sy, Brooks and Jesse with me, leaving Beau back at the compound.

T and his boys sit in the back corner and I make my way to their table. The boys hang back, keeping our meeting relaxed.

“Nix,” T says, nodding his head. I can see he’s pissed that we called this meeting but fuck if I give a shit.

T is a large bastard. His shaved head shows off his tattooed skull giving him a menacing look. A scar that runs from his temple to his jaw takes me back to the night that my pops gave it to him. The Knights Rebels had intercepted some of their men on our territory and took them to the warehouse. My father had a huge barn set up out the back of a brother’s farm where they held most of their illegal dealings. That was the first mistake that changed the course of our lives. Being so close to town, so close to civilians, he didn’t realize how open it left our loved ones.

Mayhems were on our territory and that’s all that mattered in the war between the two clubs. My pops was still pissed at me, still unsure what I wanted to do with my life, and this one particular night, he took me out to the barn to show me how they ran the guns. I wasn’t prepared for what unfolded. I witnessed them torture two men for walking over some imaginary line they had made up.

Watching my father slice open the side of T’s face sealed the fate of my mother; only at the time, no one was to know that. T was a runt, a prospect for the Mayhems, and only a year older than me.

My father let the men go that night, a warning for all not to fuck with Red Knight and the Knights Rebels; that was his second mistake. I learnt not long after that an outlaw MC doesn't take too kindly to a threat, and the retaliation that followed cost my sweet mom her life.

Shaking away thoughts that won’t help me now, I take a seat opposite T. The scowl on his face leaves no question that he’s just as excited about our meet as I am.

“Wa

“Wa

“What the fuck you talkin’ bout, T?”

“Our weapons shipment, word out is some of your men were in on it. Now, I know our club has the truce, but you double cross me, Nix, we got fuckin’ problems. I had a big marker on this one, and I’m not taking it lightly that you got your fuckin’ hands in on this. You want in, then this makes it fair game, guns and drugs,” he declares, and I feel my temper slowly rising. T and his boys don’t like the truce for the simple fact that they run a different way than us. Where we keep it clean, they are prepared to get as dirty as possible. But now that we’re out of the game, T and his boys benefit more than we do.

“The fuck, T? You know our hands are clean. Our history speaks for itself. If I wanted back in, you sure as hell would know it.”

“Don’t give a shit about history or respect. I’ve got a fuckin’ truck load riding on this,” he responds.

“You should care about respect, brother. You've got a lot more ridin’ on this. Don’t know what the fuckin’ deal is, but your info is wrong. We got nothin’ to do with it. You’re dealin’ with Gu

He holds my gaze searching for some tell that I’m bullshitting him. I’m not. We both know drugs in my territory are not taken lightly.

“I’ll sort out Gu

“Well fuckin’ sort it quick. We’ve got break ins and fires happenin’ on our side of town. As far as we are concerned, this is your mess you need to clean up. The last thing we need is Jamieson stickin’ his nose in our business. This shit lies on you. If you can’t deal with him, we’re go

“I told ya, we fuckin’ got it,” T barks, and I don’t miss the warning in his tone. Nodding my head, I let it go. Last thing we need right now is pissing each other off, especially with Gu

After talking for another ten minutes about the issues they’ve been having with Jamieson, we agree to keep the lines open. I’m not sure if T and his crew are going to be able to handle the asshole by themselves. Impatient to head back and see Kadence, we leave T and his boys in the diner and make our way back out to our bikes.

“Boss man,” Jesse calls out as I mount my ride. I can feel a headache coming on after dealing with T and all the shit that comes with it. I hope there is no more shit to deal with.

“Kadence left.”

Fuck me, I spoke too soon.

“What the fuck do you mean she left?” I ask, my headache now throbbing. “Where the fuck did she go?”

“Her friend picked her up outside the club twenty minutes ago.”

Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I see a text.

Kadence: Sorry I had to go, explain later.

I dial her number. She ignores the call, letting it go to voicemail.

“Kadence, call me back,” I demand. Hanging up, I send her a text.

Nix: Jesus, you’re a pain in my ass. Call me.

“Did Beau get eyes on her?” I ask Jesse, hoping he did as I asked when I left. I didn’t think she would run, but fuck, I must have known she would.

“Yeah, Hunter’s on her. Says she stopped off at her house, but left in her own car five minutes ago.”

Pocketing my phone, I look to the sky asking the big guy why he thinks it’s fu

“What way did she go?” I yell over the roar of the pipes, wanting to know what direction to start heading.

“South,” he tells me. My mind is already trying to figure out where she could be going. We pull out of the diner’s parking lot and head back south in search of my woman. The same woman who needs to learn that no matter how many times she runs, I’m go

Chapter Seventeen

Kadence

Pulling into the old street that I use to live on, I start to second-guess my choice of meeting Zane. My exit of the clubhouse didn’t go to plan. To say Beau wasn’t too keen with me just leaving would be an understatement. After pleading that I had an emergency, he gave me the choice of waiting for Nix, or letting him take me. None of those ideas worked for me, so I conceded and went back to Nix’s room to come up with another idea.