Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“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.