Arranged love

THE AIRPORT IS just that-once an airport that was abandoned years ago. That Tanner, Turner, and Trey Mason own. It’s their Kingdom. But where we cover our illegal activities with shiny and expensive things, they don’t even bother to cover how corrupt they are. It sits on the outskirts of Las Vegas on two hundred acres. It has five stories of the original airport, and the hotel next door has been transformed into apartments they rent out called the Mason Towers. Where the bomb shelter once was underneath the airport is now their own personal dungeon.

The cops don’t come here, no matter what. The Masons have them on their payroll, along with many other important Vegas names. Their father used to run it, then handed it over to them. Just like our fathers gave us Kingdom.

I never wanted this life, but I’m not the kind of guy to half-ass anything, so I devote my life to our business. It’s given us a life that most only dream of.

“Titan, Bones.” Turner Mason nods to us as we enter their office. He’s stuffing a black duffel bag full of guns that sit lined out on a table. Turner is the middle brother. He’s their muscle, hitman, and runs for the Cartel. Out of all the Mason brothers, you don’t want to piss him off. I’ve never liked him. Or any of them, for that matter. Trey and Grave got into some trouble in the past, and Tanner, the eldest brother, took the fall for them. He spent some time in prison but recently got released. Of course, I didn’t find out until it was too late. My brother chose to keep his illegal activities a secret from me. None of us actually know what went down to this day.

“Titan said you have someone for us?” I get to the point.

He nods. “Tanner has him down in the basement.”

Titan and I go to exit the office just as the door opens, and Cross enters with Grave. “You didn’t answer my call,” Titan says to my brother.

“Sorry, phone died. But I was at the club with Alexa and Cross. What do we have?”

“We were just headed to find out,” I answer, shouldering past him and out of the room.

Making our way to the bomb shelter, we stay silent. I don’t have much to say, and my mind is still going over what Titan said in the car about marrying Mia. He made it sound like marrying her was a business transaction. Write up a contract, sign it, and then throw a big party. He was right when he said I wasn’t saving myself for that special someone. I told myself that I’d never get married. A life of a King isn’t an easy one. Why bring a woman into it? She’d expect too much from me and eventually a family. I don’t want to be my father. I don’t want to see my son have to live the kind of life I have. Or a daughter? What the fuck would I do with a daughter? I’d be a horrible husband because Kingdom would come first. And the same as a father-my kids probably wouldn’t even know who I am. Doing Luca a favor and having Mia take my last name are two very different things.

And let’s not forget what my father told me-show me a man in love, and I’ll show you his greatest weakness. I can’t say he’s wrong because Titan, Grave, and Cross will do anything to make sure nothing happens to their Queens. Even if that means dying for them. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. If you love someone, you should do anything for them. I consider all the Kings my brothers, even Luca and Nite. So my father’s words make sense because I would not only kill for them, I’d die for them.

“Everything okay?” my brother asks me.

“Fine,” I growl. Fuck, why does everyone care how I feel right now? I liked it better when they were all single and too busy with their own hectic lives to pay attention to me. Now that they’ve all locked down some pussy, they’re in my business like it’s their own life.

“Where’s the girl?” Grave goes on to ask as if she’s too insignificant to remember her name.

“My place.” Where else would she be? Does he expect me to keep her by my side with a leash attached? I have to hide her, so I sure as fuck wouldn’t bring her here.

“I told him he should marry her.” Titan laughs again like it’s a joke.

“That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had.” Grave snorts.

“It’s a means to an end.” Titan shrugs. “John would come out of hiding along with his sons-”

“Speaking of sons.” Grave interrupts him. “Luca would kill Bones once he wakes up. There’s a reason they’ve been hiding her.”

“I don’t see it being a problem.” Cross finally speaks. “Bones told us that Luca sent him to help her. It’s obvious he trusts him with her.”

He shouldn’t have. I haven’t stopped thinking about fucking her since I forced her into the limo.

“Yeah, well-”

“Can you guys just shut the fuck up?” I snap, cutting off Grave.

Thankfully, they listen.

Exiting the elevator to the bomb shelter, we make our way through the old tunnels. After passing the jail cells lined up on either side, we enter the door at the end into the one cell where they keep their special guests. We’ve been here recently when Cross needed answers.

A guy sits tied to a chair. Tanner Mason has his back to us, arms crossed over his chest. As we enter, he turns to face us. “Kings.” He steps to the side. “Have a gift for you.”

Grave snorts. “It’s only a gift if he has something to tell us.”

The guy looks up at us through his busted face. I’m not sure if the Masons did that or if it was from his fight here. “Heard you were bragging about robbing a strip club,” I say.

He lifts his chin and glares up at me.

“All of a sudden, he’s got nothing to say.” Tanner smirks. “Let’s fix that.” He walks behind him and grips a handful of his hair, yanking his head back.

Grave grabs his face, squeezing hard enough to force his mouth open, and he holds his free hand out to Cross. “Give me a knife.”

The guy starts thrashing in the chair.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Cross retrieves his pocketknife and flips it open, handing it over to Grave. He holds it up to his chin.

“Okay, okay-” the man rushes out. “It wasn’t Glass.” He looks at me.

I tilt my head to the side. “Which one was it?” Being a King, we hear about everything that happens.

Grave takes a step back, letting him go. “It was Mansion. A friend of mine works there and helped me set it up.”

I rub my chin. “So you know nothing about Glass and Luca Bianchi being shot?”

His eyes widen, and they dart around the room. “Luca was shot? Fuck, man, is he okay?”

Titan gives me a “told you so” look. Everyone knows Luca, and no one would dare go after him unless it was his own family. That was why Luca didn’t draw his weapon. He never saw it coming.

Cross has already pulled out his cell and has it to his ear. I look over at him. “Thank you.” He hangs up. “It’s true. Mansion was broken into, and over a hundred grand was taken.”

Dead end. Fuck! Not sure what I was expecting to find, but a part of me already knew what the outcome would be.

“What do you want to do with him?” Tanner asks.

“Let Nicholas know where to find him.” Nick owns Mansion. He can take care of his own mess. He can pay us later for handing him over.

“Wait. No!” the guy rushes out, and we ignore him, turning to exit the cell while he tries to save his own ass.

“What do we do now?” Cross asks, pocketing his cell.

“Go to bed.” Grave yawns. “I’m not like you guys. I need sleep.”