Prologue

PROLOGUE

KING

“ Y ou ask Wizard if he finished those background checks?” I asked as I picked up a contract my VP had dropped on my desk.

Blaze put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair in front of my desk. “He sent two over the secure server an hour ago, but he’s still working on the third.”

I looked up, my brow furrowing. “Why?”

Blaze shrugged. “He said something about the kid having interesting ties.”

“Then toss the fucker out on his ass,” I growled. Three months ago, I’d had to dig into the prospects for my MC, the Hounds of Hellfire, because we found out there was a rat in our ranks. Since I wouldn’t let someone patch who I didn’t trust with my life, it had to be a prospect who had informed on an MC with whom we had an alliance and nearly gotten one of the old ladies killed. We’d been damn lucky the Iron Rogues hadn’t gone to war with us over that shit.

We’d found the motherfucking mole. After questioning Tom, it turned out that he’d been seduced into leaking information. Intentional or not, he’d earned a lesson about what happened when someone fucked with the Hounds. Then we turned him over to Stone, the Iron Rogue whose woman was put in the crossfire because of the asshole.

Spies, especially ones who revealed the location of a hidden person, were a hot button for me. It stemmed from my time in the CIA. Luckily, when I left The Company after eight years, I’d retained a lot of my contacts. And they had introduced me to people I couldn’t have worked with while under the CIA’s thumb. Now, I was able to get shit done because I had the freedom to burn the rulebook.

I’d always required background checks on anyone looking to prospect. It would be stupid as fuck not to. Especially considering the nature of our most lucrative business. But after Tom fucked us over, I started having Wizard—a tech genius who’d been a patch almost as long as I had—do an even deeper dive on all of them.

As president of the Hounds of Hellfire, I had the last word on everything, including who we accepted into our ranks as prospects. My judgment of a person’s character was usually pretty accurate, but there were times when I just didn’t have time to interview every request. Tom’s ability to be easily manipulated had slipped through the cracks, and I wasn’t gonna let it happen again.

“If this was just about rejecting a possible prospect, Wizard wouldn’t be digging deeper than is normally necessary. Either he found something really bad and we need to take care of the bastard, or Wizard thinks the guy has something better to offer us and wants to confirm.”

“He’s got until the end of the day,” I muttered, turning my attention back to the contract. “What is this bullshit about fee negotiation?”

Blaze lifted his chin toward the door to my office, and I glanced over to see Ace, our treasurer—who was a fucking brilliant when it came to money—strolling in. Quickly followed by our secretary and club lawyer, Ash.

I asked the question again, and Ace strode over to the couch on the left side of my office and flopped down onto it. “My doing.” He grinned. “They didn’t even notice the addendum Ash added.”

My dog, Cerberus, ambled over from where he’d been lying next to me on the floor. He jumped up next to Ace and growled menacingly…until Ace scratched behind his ear.

I rolled my eyes when the cane corso flopped down in his lap, rolling over to show Ace his belly.

Cerberus was a sturdy, muscular giant who looked like the intimidating guard dog that he was. He was trained to protect and put the fear of hell—making Cerberus a fitting name—into strangers but would ignore outsiders that he deemed not to be a threat. Most people shied away from him, put off by his fearsome presence and cold attitude.

However, like most of his breed, he was extremely affectionate with me and anyone he grew attached to, cuddling to express his approval and love. I’d been surprised but pleased at how quickly he recognized the loyalty he shared with most of my brothers. Although he only truly let his guard down with me. That didn’t stop him from demanding attention from the ones he’d recognized as suckers.

He’d pretty much become the Hounds mascot.

Turning my eyes back to the contract, I flipped to the last page and read the clause, then smirked. “Well done.” Ace grinned.

Looking at Ashe, I asked, “The exclusivity requirement?”

“Took a little convincing, but they agreed,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his back against a wall.

I nodded and signed where indicated. Yeah, my guys were fucking brilliant. That single line could make us a lot of money, which made up for the fact that I wasn’t happy doing business with this group in the first place. But I’d been convinced that it was better for us to contract with them so we could make sure they didn’t do shit we’d have to clean up. Particularly if it included their dead bodies.

We had our hands in a lot of different businesses and activities, some of them legal, some in a dark gray area. But we had a code that we lived by, our own brand of justice. While it was honorable, it often meant working outside the laws of the land.

Besides our legitimate businesses and Ace’s mad skills in the stock market and investments, the MC’s main source of income revolved around making people disappear. We weren’t killers for hire, though we did “kill” a person’s identity. We helped people establish a new life, which was one reason we needed to truly trust our members and patches.

A few decades ago, the lines the Hounds would cross were a fuck of a lot further in the gray zone. I hadn’t been around back then, but I’d heard a hell of a lot of stories. But by the time I prospected, Pierce had already cleaned shit up. Our former prez hadn’t had much choice, not after his daughter was dragged into some club bullshit that got her kidnapped. Luckily, that mess had turned out for the best since she fell for the president of the Silver Saints MC, who’d been a rival of the Hounds way back when.

When I was with the CIA, most of my operations involved protecting and placing assets. It was my specialty, particularly my talent for forging documents—although we didn’t reveal to our clients which Hound possessed that skill.

Several of the patches had abilities that were perfect for operations like this, and after helping a few people out as a favor, we realized making people disappear into a new life could be a very lucrative income stream. Although we didn’t always require a fee…depending on the circumstances. But those situations were a well-guarded secret so we didn’t get a fuck ton of sob stories trying to screw us over.

Blaze put his hands on the armrests of his chair and pushed to his feet. “Gotta get shit sorted for the run tomorrow,” he said gruffly. “The job requires a lot of burn equipment.”

My vice president had been given his road name because he was a fire expert. During his time in the military, he’d earned a PhD in Combustion Science and had become a pyrologist. He’d worked as an arson investigator but was also a demolitions expert. Occasionally, the government still called him for help with a controlled burn. His talents came in very handy when someone needed to “die,” or evidence needed to be conspicuously destroyed.

“Taking Echo and Kevlar?” I confirmed.

“Yeah. And a couple of enforcers.”

“Paperwork for that job is in the skiff room.”

We’d built a SCIF—a secure room or data center that protects sensitive security information from surveillance and leaks—when I took over as president and we started hiring out our unique skills. It also doubled as a safe for other things that we needed to protect.

Blaze lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “Let you know when it’s done.”

He turned and stalked from the room while Ash moved over to take his seat. “Wizard call you yet?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Something he told you that should have come to me first?” One of the pluses of being prez, my authority was absolute and I kept a tight fist on the reins. Some would have called it micromanaging, but that was how I guaranteed things were done in a way that I controlled. Everything was to be run by me. Then our failures fell on my shoulders…and our successes were shared by the club as a whole.

My men were completely loyal, which was why I gave them autonomy in the right circumstances. I knew exactly when someone needed freedom to complete a task. It let them know they had my trust and often boosted their creativity.

“Nah. Saw him gloating when I walked by his office earlier. Knew he was doing background checks, so I was curious.”

I shook my head, and one corner of my mouth lifted. “Gossiping like a little girl.”

Ash rolled his eyes and propped one ankle over his opposite knee. “Bullshit. Curiosity is what usually gets me the win on a case.”

“Can’t argue with you there,” I admitted. Ash seemed to know exactly where to dig for the right information to crush his opponents. Even if he didn’t know what he was looking for at first.

Before any of us could speak again, Wizard ambled into the office with some papers and his trusty laptop. With a self-satisfied grin, he plopped down into the chair next to Ash, flipped his reading glasses up onto his head and set his feet on my desktop, crossing them at the ankles.

I scowled and shoved them to the floor. “Feet off my desk or my boot in your balls.”

Noticing my agitation, Cerberus bolted off the couch to stand beside me, watching the hacker through suspicious eyes.

Wizard sat up a little straighter and glanced between Cerberus and me, muttering, “Noted.”

“What’s going on with the potential prospect?” I asked, my tone gruff. “Why are you wasting time if his background isn’t straightforward?”

“Caught the scent of something and had a feeling it could be good for us. Turns out, I was right.” He leaned forward and set the computer on the desk in front of me. “It’s fucking amazing for us.” He slipped his glasses back onto his face, then typed a few keys before spinning the computer around to show me the screen.

I read through the information and quickly understood Wizard’s attitude.

Matt Donovan’s full, legal name was Matteo Donovan DeLuca.

“You were confirming the relation to the family?”

Wizard nodded, grabbing his laptop and sitting back down. “Even talked to Fox,” he informed me, referring to the president of the Iron Rogues. Fox had gone to college with the Mafia boss, Nic DeLuca, and they’d worked together on some shared interests of the questionably legal variety. “And Fox put me in touch with Nic.”

“The kid is looking to prospect with us and not the Iron Rogues?” I was skeptical of his motivation.

“From what Nic told me, Matteo—his cousin and the younger brother of his enforcer, Enzo—didn’t want his ties to the family to be the reason he was able to join an MC. Apparently, he’s been riding since he was a teenager and felt more at home with clubs than the family business. He knew Fox would recognize him. Nic wouldn’t let him join an MC without approving of it. Fox vouched for us.”

I frowned. “Why us?”

Wizard chuckled and took off his glasses, stowing them in the inside pocket of his cut. “Couldn’t make this convoluted shit up if I wanted to. Pierce’s late wife was a DeLuca.”

“Get the fuck out,” Ash blurted.

“Family disowned her for something or other before she married Pierce, but she stayed in touch with Matteo’s mother.”

“Pretty weak association to join an MC,” Ace commented. “Laina’s been dead for how many years? It’s an entirely different club now.”

I stayed silent, waiting for Wizard’s response.

“He’s tight with Onyx.”

Onyx, who managed our tattoo shop, Hellbound Studio, was Pierce’s nephew—the son of his much younger brother, which meant he and Matteo were probably close in age. “Bridget,” I guessed, referring to Pierce’s daughter. It would explain why Onyx never mentioned his friendship with the kid. Why would he? Before now, it meant nothing to the rest of us.

“Yup. When Matteo’s dad was murdered, his mom decided she’d had enough of the New York life. They moved to Georgia when Matteo was ten. He’s still close to the family and visits Enzo regularly, but Bridget is like a second mother to him. He’s been around clubs his entire life. It was Mac who taught him to ride. Met Onyx when he worked at Silver Ink, before he took over managing Hellbound.”

I understood the connection now, and even why he didn’t want to be an Iron Rogue, or a Silver Saint, and why he was interested in patching with the Hounds of Hellfire. But Wizard’s earlier comment still hadn’t been explained. “You said this was good for us?”

Wizard smirked and lifted his feet, then his eyes went from the desk to my face and he put them back on the ground. “Well, first, Nic DeLuca now sees our relationship as an alliance and made it clear that he’d have our backs if needed.”

Relaxing back in my chair, I shook my head. “Sounds like that’s exactly what this kid didn’t want. Patching into a club because of his family’s connection or influence. And I’m not gonna hide it. Would be unfair to him if we did.”

“My thought, too,” Wizard agreed. “But I figured I’d point it out because the connection is still a perk. That isn’t what I meant when I said having him prospect and patch with us will be good for us. Remember I said he’s tight with Onyx?”

“So?” Ash broke in, sounding impatient.

I didn’t blame him. My years in intelligence and being the VP, then prez of the club had given me incredible patience, but even I was getting irritated with Wizard’s long-winded explanation…even if everything he’d said so far had been necessary information.

“Matteo was an apprentice at a tattoo shop in Atlanta. Want to guess what his waiting list is like?”

I had a feeling I knew where this was going and agreed with Wizard, Matteo could be a great addition to the Hounds of Hellfire.

“How long?” Ace piped up.

“Six months.”

“Holy shit,” Ash muttered.

“Is he interested in working at Hellbound?” I wasn’t about to make it a condition for him to prospect. That would be like buying his loyalty. However, our best two artists after Onyx had both left recently, and we hadn’t found anyone who could even come close to replacing them.

“Onyx told me he’d already talked Matteo into considering switching to our studio. After Matteo agreed to apply, knowing that he wanted to join an MC, Onyx suggested he consider becoming a prospect for us.”

I scratched the back of my head and exhaled slowly, contemplating all the information I’d just absorbed. Eventually, I made order of the chaos in my mind. “Bring him in to meet me. We’ll hash it all out, then I’ll make a decision.”

Wizard pushed to his feet. “Will do,” he agreed before strolling out of my office.

“If he’s as good as Wizard is making him out to be, gonna have to hire even more staff,” Ash mused. He handled the legal shit for everyone we employed, so I wasn’t surprised that’s where his mind had gone.

“Might even need to expand,” Ace said thoughtfully.

Then he and Ash stood and walked out of my office, deep in discussion.

Nothing was gonna happen until I met the kid, but that wasn’t stopping them from making all kinds of plans.

Putting it all out of my mind, I focused on more important club business until after midnight. Calling Cerberus, I waited until he was at my side before we walked out of my office and down the hall to the back of the clubhouse. I didn’t live in the dorm-like rooms in the clubhouse, but I didn’t have far to go to get home. Pierce had built a house as an extension on the back of the club. I’d taken it over when he retired and moved out. It was the best of both worlds—close to the club but I had plenty of privacy.

Not that I had any reason for it. I’d never had a woman in my house. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d even felt the least bit of interest in one. Which didn’t really matter. I was too fucking busy to deal with the bullshit that came with a relationship.