Cannon (Savage Kings MC - South Carolina Book Series 5) by Lane Hart (simple ebook reader txt) 📕

then she eyes me up and down like she’s really looking at me, seeing all of me for the first time in two days because I finally did something interesting enough to warrant her full attention. If I had to guess, I would even say that her stern, tense face softens just a little. Is dirt on the chief all it takes to put a chink in the thick, heavy armor the stubborn woman wears like a second skin? Wish I had known that yesterday. It could’ve saved us both some time.

I wait for her to say something, anything to prove I’m right. Finally, she does, and it’s everything I hoped it would be.

“Lily, Vanessa, why don’t you and the boys take this project into the front room where you’ll have more room to spread out? Cannon and I have some strategy to discuss.”

“Should I help carry those boxes?” I offer, but Jake and Lucas have already picked up two each.

“We’ve got it,” Jake says before they leave the room with Lily and Vanessa hurrying to lead the way.

“Sit down and tell me everything you know about Bailey,” Madison says as she lowers herself into the chair behind the desk like a queen taking her throne. And for the first time in my life, I don’t mind taking orders from a woman. In fact, I’m hoping her next command is for me to get on my knees and worship her with my tongue.

Chapter Nine

Madison

Yesterday, I thought Cannon was attractive in an obvious way because of his big, strong body and classically handsome face. Today, I’m finding him nearly irresistible because of the secrets coming out of his mouth.

Guess the former police chief isn’t as upstanding as he pretends. The fact that he sent a Savage King to kidnap his own daughter sounds almost too good to be true.

“Do you know where his daughter is now?” I ask Cannon.

“Ah, yeah,” he answers, dangling the information like a carrot as he slouches in the seat across from me, legs spread wide, looking utterly masculine in the very best way.

“Well? Where is she? Do you think I could talk to her to confirm what you just told me?”

“I think that could be arranged.”

“How far along is she?”

“A little over three months now,” he says, less cocky now and more thoughtful. “She moved in with me and my brother.”

“I don’t think I could see you changing any diapers,” I remark, and for some reason that makes him wince before he shrugs.

“I’ll do what I have to for my niece or nephew.”

His response is surprising.

“Why did the chief want his daughter kidnapped and brought home?”

“Because she didn’t want anything to do with him and was getting into some legal trouble.”

“What kind of legal trouble?” I asked. He’s so well-informed, I feel like I should be taking notes!

“Nothing major, just minor shit like public intoxication charges.”

“And the chief didn’t want her trouble to come back and make him look bad,” I guess.

“Exactly. As soon as my brother brought her back, she went straight to rehab.” Conrad suddenly closes his mouth and then adds, “You can’t use that, though. Hannah went through some bad shit for a while, but she’s sober now.”

“I would never drag her through the mud just to help my campaign,” I assure him.

“Good, because if you do, you’ll lose the Kings’ support,” he grits out.

I hold up my palms in front of me. “Trust me, I would never stoop that low. But I’m still not entirely convinced that having the Savage Kings’ support would help more than it would hurt. Especially if that kidnapping story comes out and the chief tries to twist it to make your brother the bad guy.”

“Did you know that a little over a year ago, the Kings helped find and save four women who had been kidnapped right off the city’s streets?”

“No,” I say with a shake of my head. “That was before I moved back…”

“They were being held in storage units and had been gang raped by four sick motherfuckers.”

“Jesus.” My mind couldn’t even comprehend that kind of violence.

“Roman, our president, went to Bailey for help when he was still the police chief. He didn’t want us to share the video of the van used in the kidnapping to try and catch the bastards. He said he thought it might be bad for tourism. So, we found them on our own with help from the original Savage Kings up in North Carolina.”

“He seriously refused to help?” I say in outrage.

“The man doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” Cannon says. “But that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to explain is that the Savage Kings may not do things by the book all the time, but we’ve got a good reputation in the city. People may fear us, but they also respect us and know that we’ll do things that most would be too squeamish to do, including the local police department.”

“Did you ever find the men responsible for the kidnappings?” I ask in concern.

“They won’t ever hurt anyone again.”

“Because they’re in prison or because they’re dead?”

Cannon doesn’t meet my eyes when he says, “I heard one of them killed himself and the other three left town.”

“Then how do you know they won’t hurt anyone again?”

“Because if I had to guess, all four of them are currently rotting in hell.”

I know better than to ask if the Savage Kings killed them because Cannon wouldn’t tell me the truth if they had, and I’m not sure I want to know. I can’t even argue that they didn’t deserve it.

“So, what else do you know about Bailey that could help me?”

“Well, he closed down all of our club’s businesses through either fire code violation or city permits being revoked. Not to mention he had someone drive a big ass vehicle through our Harley dealership that I managed.”

“Why do you think it was him?” I ask.

“We don’t have any proof. The cameras were all shot out and security equipment