‘I don’t know. But I’ve got his photo being run through every database we have access to, and maybe a few we don’t.’ Alan’s eyes glowed with menace. ‘Whoever he is, you can bet your ass I’ll find out.’

Chapter Ten

After Jonathan Cooper left the bar, Wyatt shot a glance towards Sykes, who was almost shaking with fury. With a stern shake of the head, Wyatt made it clear that there was no need for more action. Sykes, in his usual petulant way, grunted and stormed back to the bar, demanding another drink.

Wyatt sat back in his booth calmly, controlling the rage that was seething beneath. He was well aware of Sykes’s ambition and that the idea of leading the Riders was one that he held dearly.

Unfortunately for Sykes, so did Wyatt.

He’d built the Riders into a criminal empire, untouched by the authorities and unrivalled by other operations. Their grasp on the state of South Carolina was unbreakable, and Wyatt knew his patience would outlast Sykes’s desire for the throne.

What didn’t sit well with him was the impending collision with Jose Vasquez.

It was part of the game to know who your competition was. Wyatt, while not as volatile as Sykes, was just as ruthless, and he kept tabs on several drug barons who skirted dangerously close to his turf. It was one of the benefits of building the Riders into what they were. Their loyalty to him and to the gang was undoubted, and whenever he needed someone to either investigate or shut down the competition, it was done without hesitation.

Vasquez had been on the radar for a long time.

From the first time his name was mentioned as a new, dangerous player in Mexico, to his brand of meth washing through Texas like a tidal wave, Wyatt knew the road they were on. It would only end one way.

Lighting another cigarette, Wyatt glanced back towards the bar, smirking as a young woman tried to speak to a clearly irate Sykes.

Beyond them both, he caught Alex Stone looking sheepishly in his direction. Wyatt liked Alex. She was a tough woman, who had clearly had a life as hard as his own, although hers hadn’t included a long stretch in the pen. While he’d forged his way to power by fighting back against the system that worked against them, Alex had tried to balance on the edge of it.

It had landed her in trouble, of which he didn’t know as much as he liked. Sykes had adamantly vouched for her and had practically begged Wyatt to bring her across from the High Five. It seemed strange to Wyatt at the time.

Why would a girl from the Bronx want to leave her hometown to live in fucking Dillon?