him a wide grin. “For our insurance.” He got up from the table. “Sure your constituents would love to know you don’t go to sleep at night without wanking off to German porn and screaming Heil Hitler when you come.”
“You piece of shit—”
“Think you’ll find that’s you,” Tank snapped, and he moved beside me. I saw his eyes darken when they landed on Beau. I stood in front of my brother. Not one of these men—including Tank—was touching him.
Styx whistled, and signed for Vike to open the door. “Go,” he signed to my father. Ky gave the order. Styx smirked. My old man edged to the door. Styx stood in his way the minute he was almost free.
“Valdez has the cartel.” My father’s face fell when Ky spoke Styx’s words aloud. Styx stepped closer and closer still. “And you have no men left.” My eyes widened when he said that. My fucking pulse kicked into a fast sprint. “We killed them all . . . every last one.” Styx just glared at my father, silently. Then, “You’re on your own.” Styx glanced down to my uncle and the other three dead men. “You have no one left . . . Governor.”
Styx moved aside, and my father glared at me and Beau. “You’re gonna regret this. One day you’ll fucking regret this.” Then he was gone. I didn’t know how he would get back to Texas without any men. But I didn’t fucking care. He was gone.
Ky faced me and Beau and pointed his gun at my brother. “Now, time for this fucker to go to the boatman.”
I shoved Beau behind me. “No,” I hissed. “It was Beau all along,” I said, and saw Tank watching me. “The contact . . . it was Beau. He was taking the Klan down from the inside . . .” I told them what Beau had told me. All of it. Every fucking thing.
“That true, Beau?” Tank asked.
Beau pushed me to the side so he could be seen. “I’m good, Tann.” Facing my brothers, he said, “It’s true. All of it. They were coming for y’all. Wasn’t gonna let that happen. They weren’t getting to Tanner.”
“No one’s fucking touching him,” I said, and meant every damn word. “Believe him or not. It’s true. But no fucker here is gonna lay a damn finger on him or we’ll have trouble.”
Ky and Styx looked to each other. Ky shrugged. “Then it looks like we owe mini Ayers a motherfucking drink.” I exhaled a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Tank came over and slapped Beau on the back. As always, my brother didn’t react. Forever in his own head. Silent and giving nothing away. But I could tell by his eyes he was relieved.
“You really took out the Klan?” I asked Styx. He nodded. “And Valdez really took the Quintana cartel?” He nodded again . . . “Adelita?” I held my breath.
“Wasn’t there when they raided. She got out somehow,” Ky said. He looked to Styx, a strange expression on his face.
“What?” Tension filled the room. “What?”
Ky came toward me. “Turns out your bitch was always Hangmen property.” I frowned, confused, when he added, “Quintana wasn’t her old man. Not by blood. His wife wasn’t her mother.”
I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. “Then who was?”
Ky pointed at Styx. “Styx’s mama.” Ky slammed his hand down on my shoulder. “Styx here just learned he’s got a sister . . .” Ky let the sentence go. “Adelita.”
My fucking head pounded. But when I met Styx’s eyes, I knew it was true. “Where is she?”
“We’ll find her,” Styx signed.
“We’ve taken the Klan’s camp. We’re using it as our base.”
Vike and Rudge led the way out of the safe house, when one face suddenly entered my head and I asked, “Diego? Valdez get him too?”
“He fled,” Tank answered. “Valdez is on it. He won’t be alive for long. Valdez has all his men out looking for him. He won’t make it to dawn. Fucking dead man walking.” I wanted to kill him. I wanted to be the one who watched that fucker die. “We’ll get her back, Tann. I fucking promise.” My mind immediately went back to Adelita.
I was gonna find her.
She was out there, somewhere.
And we were alive . . . everything we ever fucking wanted.
*****
“You good?” I asked Beau. Beau lay back on the bed.
Beau nodded, closed his eyes, and I knew that was him closing himself off. I waited until he was