Suburban Kings

Legacy lost her mother at a young age. She is a very talented musician and singer who quickly falls into the hands of the Suburban Kings, an old gang now run by young members who stop at nothing to get what they want. Will Legacy ever find peace, or will she be torn between the life she should have had and the life she wants.







“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. Surprised to see him here at all but more surprised to see him here alone. Maverick was never on his own. He always had someone following him around and hanging on his every word or a hoard of troops to protect him.



“You don’t seem happy to see me Lacy?” he asked. The conniving smile I used to find so adoringly cute now frustratingly irritating. He was more like his brother than I cared to admit, I could see that now. Any love I had left for him quickly dissipating the more he denied what he’d done.



“Why would I be Maverick? And don’t call me that.”



“What have I done?” he asked eying me cautiously.



“You’re joking right? What haven’t you done?” I fired back, looking up at him, shielding my eyes from the sun.



He shrugged. “I haven’t seen you all week; you haven’t been answering my calls. You’re not home when I come to see you. It’s not the way a queen acts Legacy. The crew notices everything.” He sat down “You should be by my side, showing a united front. Ritchie tracked you down and said you were here and that you wouldn’t talk to him. I told him I wouldn’t give you the choice. What’s going on?” he asked angrily.



Angry!? He was angry at me!? He’s got a bloody nerve and it was wearing on MY last nerve.



“Fuck you Maverick. You’re actually going to pretend like nothing has happened?” I got up. I wasn’t going to sit next to him and pretend like everything was fine. It was far from fine. “The way a queen acts? Showing a united front? What, like you and your brother playing Freaky Friday last week and expect me to conform like we’re in some tag team competition? I’m not Gemma, Maverick. I won’t lay down and take whatever the two of you dish out. What’s going on?” I asked rhetorically. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on, cause I’d LOVE to know!” I yelled down at him.



“Is everything alright?” Sonny approached us cautiously, wet from his surf, shaking the water out of his hair and ears, propping his board up in the sand and grabbing his towel.



“Butt out!” Maverick replied, standing up now too, fronting up to Sonny like he was going to start a fight.



“Don’t speak to him like that!” I stood in between them. “He’s been more of a friend to me than ANY of you have. At least with him I know where I stand!” I yelled back at Maverick. I turned around to face Sonny. “Sorry Sonny. You go, I’ll meet you back at the house.”

“It’s alright. I can wait. I’ll head up the beach with the boys” He said nodding in their direction. They were all playing cricket. “Just let me know if you need anything ok?” he asked eyeing me protectively. I could see his face full of concern.



“Sure, thanks” I nodded and smiled at him, not so sure myself that I wanted him to go after all. He turned and left.



“He’s in love with you Legacy.” Maverick continued when Sonny was far enough away. “I don’t like it. I don’t want you to have anything more to do with him. Do you hear me?” Maverick glared angrily after him, his eyes blaring red with fury. I couldn’t help but laugh and this only infuriated Maverick more.



“DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?” He asked again.



“YELL AT ME ALL YOU WANT MAVERICK. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY ANYMORE. IT’S OVER!” I yelled back at him.



“What? What do you mean it’s over?”



“Exactly that. We’re through.”



“What’s gotten into you? Why are you being like this?”



“Why am I being like this? Why am I being like this? Gee Maverick, I wonder why. Do you think perhaps it could be because you traded a night with me to your fucked in the head brother for crew terms and terrain!?” I stated simply without any emotion.

“What do you mean, what are you talking about?”



“You know EXACTLY what I’m talking about Maverick. You successfully succeeded in letting Mitch destroy us and everything we have worked for. You gave him the key! He unlocked the door and walked right through it! I’ll let you explain that to Callie and how I don’t want anything to do with any of you. Was Ritchie in on it? You know what, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I am not going to ask why or how you could do this, because I don’t even care anymore. This is it Maverick. This is the time and place where you can blame yourself for our world that came crumbling down. And here are two more words for you, I’m done.” I said determinedly.



Knowing that those two words were the most powerful words I could have said right now. It meant I was not only leaving him, I was telling him I was done with crew life as well.



“What do you mean I traded a night with you?” he asked again guiltily. So this is how he was going to play it. Lying through his teeth right up to the end, I might have known. I just thought he might have wanted to tell the truth for once and set me free. It just goes to show I was always giving him the benefit of the doubt. Always believing and seeing the best in him. How did he manage to twist me around his fingers so tight that I didn’t see anything but him?



“I’m done Maverick! There is nothing more you can say that will make me want to stay in a world where I am constantly being hurt or betrayed. After everything I’ve done for you, every chance I gave you, you still broke my heart. It’s over. I’ve finally realised that I don’t deserve this and that you don’t deserve me.”



“You don’t mean that.”



“Oh? Don’t I? I tried so hard to be exactly what you wanted me to be, what you needed, and forgot what it was like to be what I wanted to be and what I needed. Perhaps that was your goal, for me to become a mindless drone like the rest of them.  You guys were there when I needed you. But somewhere along the way I lost myself and my whole sense of purpose suddenly became about the Kings and their crew. You talk about how a queen should be, but what about how a King should be? How a boyfriend should be!? You have no idea! I can’t even begin to explain how angry, confused, betrayed and worthless I am feeling right now.” My liquid steel cooled for a minute at the sound of the word “worthless” and my reserve weakened. We had so much history, I always felt like I belonged with them, even belonged to them, Mav and I fought all the time and said things we didn’t mean, but he’d never before made me feel worthless. I’d unlocked the door to pain and sorrow and poured my heart and soul out to Sonny a few years ago about my Mother. It was hard, but it felt good to get it all out. This was different. This was a pain I hadn’t experienced yet. Pain from the decisions that I had made, it was all me. I had let them in so deep, almost like the blood that ran through my veins was the blood that ran through theirs. I know it sounded silly but the betrayal and hurt seemed to multiply rapidly as the words were leaving my mouth. I hadn’t given myself a chance to digest any of it this past week and kept pushing it aside which was a big mistake. I started to crumble. I felt faint.



“Legacy?” Maverick ran to catch me, I don’t know if he did or not, I blacked out.



When I woke up I was on a bench in a park I didn’t recognise. I sat up, my head still a little dizzy. It must have been sunstroke, a morning of being in the sun and not eating or drinking anything. That will teach me. This park had more trees, so the overgrown canopy shaded the grass more. It wasn’t as soft or green as the park near the Callaghan’s. In fact, it wasn’t much of a park at all with the lack of play equipment, BBQ’s and toilets that was found in most parks around this neighbourhood. It was also hidden more from the road and passing cars. There weren’t any houses on either side of it. Just some grass, lots of trees and the dunes. I didn’t recognise it.



“Where am I?” I asked Maverick, who was leaning up against the dune fencing with his arms crossed across his chest looking annoyed. Like I’d put him out by making him carry me here. 



“A park, further up the beach” he replied shortly.



“Why did you bring me here? You didn’t have to do that.” I asked confused.



“Yes I did.  I didn’t want your white knight interrupting us. We need to sort this shit out Legacy one way or the other.” He said callously. Something in him had shifted. He no longer cared what he said to me or how he said it. The love we had well and truly gone between us. We were just bitter exes now. An ex I’d rather not deal with right now either. On my own in a park I didn’t know? There was a time where I would swear on my own life that Maverick would never hurt me or see me hurt. But I was starting to see that I had for some reason, fallen out of favour with him. He could do anything to me here and no one would see or hear my screams until it was too late.



“You can sort your own shit out Maverick. My shit is sorted. It’s simple. I’m done. I know what I want and it’s not a boyfriend who barters his girlfriend for a night with his brother just so he can score in a turf war.” I snapped coldly. I stood to get up and walk away when Maverick stood in front of me.



“Sit down Legacy.” He said forcefully. “You’re not going anywhere.”



“Oh no? Watch me!” I yelled as I shoved past him. He grabbed hold of my arm and spun me back around to face him.



“Don’t touch me!” I screamed. I slapped him across the face hard and made a run for it. I hadn’t gotten very far when he grabbed me from behind in a bear hug, lifting me up so my legs and arms were useless. “Let me go!” I screamed again, thrashing around trying desperately to make contact to something of his and hopefully stimulate a knee jerk reaction to release me.



“I said, you’re.not.going.anywhere!” he replied through gritted teeth. He’d just gotten me back to the park bench and was leaning over to sit me back down when I lifted my foot backwards enough to kick him hard in the balls. He let me go and I quickly made another run for it. I’d almost gotten through the trees to the road when half a dozen guys appeared at the edge of the tree line. Maverick wasn’t alone after all. I faltered for a second trying to think ahead. They were laughing and mucking around but as soon as they saw me they started moving towards me. Spanning out, anticipating what I had planned to do next, which was just to make a run for it. They must have been new recruits; I didn’t recognise any of them. But then again that didn’t mean much considering I had stopped going to the club house months ago. I scanned the small group looking for Ritchie, thinking I could do something to get past him but he wasn’t here. Still in the trees, I was running out of ground to cover and decided to veer off to my right hoping I could gain some ground before they’d had a chance to cover my exit and run out onto the road.



“Run Paul, don’t let her get away” I heard behind me. I could hear and almost feel Paul’s breath on my back and neck. I wasn’t going down without a fight but with him hot on my heels I was going to go down pretty quickly if I didn’t lose him. He was coming up on the outside of me on my left, which was where I wanted to go. I had to think fast. I remembered the day on the beach all those years ago when I was chasing Callie and how she kept swerving and it gave me an idea. I veered right and started heading back into the trees towards Maverick and the sand dunes darting around them quickly. It threw Paul off for a split second but it was all I needed to get a few more paces ahead of him. I veered right again and doubled back, heading in the direction of where the rest of Mavericks boys were. If they were still heading my way I was a goner for sure, I would have run right into them. I kept going for another second, still swerving in amongst the trees trying to throw Paul off the direction I was going to go until I veered right again and headed toward the street and out of the cover of the trees. Paul was still a few seconds behind me so I took one of those seconds to make sure a car wasn’t going to crush me as I ran out onto the road. I looked up and could have keeled over then and there with shock, across the street hanging around a line of cars was another dozen or so of Mavericks crew.



The boys waiting in the trees were the backup runners – there to help him catch me. These guys were the heavy artillery, his security, they all looked like bouncers. Bit of an overkill just to come after me.  I sprinted across the road towards them while there were no cars coming and ran straight for them hoping just to run straight past them. It wasn’t until I heard someone behind me yell out to them “Stop her!” that I veered right and started running in the middle of the road. I saw someone else from this second crew peel off and started chasing me. I still felt weak and since I still hadn’t eaten or drank anything, I didn’t have much fuel left in the tank. I’d pulled all the moves I could think of. There was just too many of them. And now there was a fresh runner after me and they had the advantage of following me in a car. I heard some car doors slam and the engines start up. “Give it up Legacy, you know he’ll come after you no matter where you run” the guy behind me panted. He was right. Even if I managed to get away, where would I go that Maverick wouldn’t follow? I needed to finish this with him once and for all. I ran back up onto the footpath and slowly came to a halt.

I was bending over, still trying to get my breath back when a car came strolling up beside us. Maverick was in the front passenger seat. I should have known better than to underestimate him. He never goes into an operation without completely thinking it through but seriously! To bring this many guys with him just to talk to me immediately raised my suspicions and heightened my nerves. Maverick wasn’t here to talk. Here was here to take me. These boys were to take on anyone who put up a resistance, including me.  His words reverberated in my ears “Ritchie tracked you down and said you were here and that you wouldn’t talk to him. I told him I wouldn’t give you a choice”. The fact that Ritchie wasn’t here meant he either didn’t know what Maverick was up to or he was in a butt load of trouble for not bringing me in. My guess was the latter. 



“Get in” he said without even looking at me. Was he serious? I wasn’t going anywhere with him while he was like this.



“No way! What for? Where are you taking me? Just talk here” I said defiantly.



“Legacy, I won’t tell you again. Get. In!”



“No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” I stated and started walking back toward the park.



“Someone get her in this goddamn car NOW!” I heard Maverick yell. It made me shiver.



Three of them immediately appeared in front of me, blocking my retreat yet again. All of them capable of picking me up and shoving me in the boot of that car. “Legacy please? Get in the car? We don’t want to hurt you but he wants you in the car so either you get in, or we’ll force you in.” His rough exterior and the way he had just asked me nicely surprised me. I scowled at all of them but turned around and got into the back seat behind Maverick and slammed the door so hard I was hoping it would pull it off its hinges, but no such luck. The driver pulled away from the curb.



“Happy?” I asked sarcastically.



There was a guy sitting next to me built like a brick shit house. He could easily snap me in half in a second. Maverick turned around and looked at him. It was a signal for the guy to do something. He pulled out black cloth bag and some rope. Holy shit. Was he for real!?



“Maverick, you don’t need to do this. I’m in the car aren’t I?” I pleaded. Maverick ignored me, nodded to the guy beside me and turned back around to face the front. The guy leaned over to put the bag on my head and I leaned away. “If you think you are putting that thing on my head you got another thing coming”. I threatened.



The guy just snickered. “If you think I’m not going to put it on your head you got another thing coming”. He retorted.



He put his arms around me to try and hold me still long enough to either tie me up or put the bag on my head. I didn’t see what he reached for but thought I’d show him I wasn’t scared of him. The Kings crew was like a savage pit-bull. The minute you show your fear they would rip you apart. A tough exterior on the outside even though you were shitting yourself on the inside could have meant the difference between a minute and a day. I learned that pretty quickly. That’s just how it was. So, I moved my arm up so put his arm closer to my mouth. With that savage Pit-bull in mind, I opened up and bit down on his forearm hard enough until he released me.

“OW! Bitch!” He was in too much of an awkward position to do much of anything to me but he managed to give me half a backhand with the same arm I had bitten. As we were coming up to go round a corner I had a thought. Why would they want to tie me up? I was already in the car. Was Maverick anticipating me running from him even at this late stage? I asked myself. The thought was a bad idea. I didn’t know when I got in that I was going to be held captive like a prisoner. I just thought he’d take us somewhere to talk.



Thinking I was Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie I stupidly decided to  carry out the idea. God knows where he was taking me and what he was planning on doing to me once we got there. The fact that Ritchie wasn’t here spoke volumes. Even if he was in trouble, he would have still been here if what Maverick was going to do was necessary. Something wasn’t right. Perhaps this was Mitch and not Maverick after all. If I couldn’t tell the difference half the time, everyone else wouldn’t have been able to either. When the car slowed up to turn the corner I opened the door with a shove of my shoulder and flung myself out the door. I heard Maverick yell at them and hit something, perhaps the side of the car?



“Fuck! Can’t any of you do anything right! Pull the fuck over and get her in the fucking boot!” Their car quickly screeched to a halt which caused another car to swerve away from them and toward me. I had done a swift commando roll and was about to get up and start running again when the second car had cut me off from the footpath. I had barely gotten up and started to run off when someone picked me up from behind, and once again, surrendered my arms and legs useless.



“LET.ME.GO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as he spun me around and swung me over his shoulder as he started walking back toward the car. Other people had pulled over and were getting out of their cars looking at us.



“I have no idea what he fucking see’s in you” his voice was deep and gruff. “He could have buried you in those sand dunes back there and I would have helped him dig the grave for all the trouble you’ve caused. So god help me if you pull anymore stunts like that cause I won’t hesitate to slit your throat where you stand. You hear me” he whispered aggressively.



“Someone call the cops and give them this number plate!” I yelled again to the small audience that was gathering behind us, not taking any notice of his threats. I knew he needed the go ahead from Maverick to do any real damage to me. “My name is Legacy Cooper” I started to say “and I live at…” but before I could finish he abruptly put me down, lifted the same hand that I had bitten and swung it down on me for a second time, this time it was much harder and with much more force. I fell to the ground and everything went black.



My aching head, throbbing cheek and sore jaw were the first thing I noticed before I opened my eyes and then the stinking smells started wafting up my nose. I could feel one of my eyes had puffed up like a balloon and was hard to open completely. It was a cross between smelly shoes, wet clothes and manure with a faint smell of pot. I looked around. I appeared to be in an old barn type shed. The floor was covered in day old hay and was barely enough to keep the more potent smells at bay. I was lying in a bed with a pillow and blanket that also smelt old and dusty. I cringed at the thought of bedbugs, mites and lice. The whole place made me feel dirty. There was a toilet bowl in the corner with a small sink and the only other furniture in the room was two chairs facing each other. Where the hell had he brought me!? My aching head allowed me to get up and try the door but when I saw that it was of course locked, I had to sit back down. I heard muffled voices outside and decided to yell, with aching head and all. “SOMEBODY HAD BETTER HAVE A BLOODY GOOD EXPLANATION FOR ALL THIS!” I gripped my head wishing the pounding would stop. A few minutes later I heard keys going into the lock and the door swung open. Maverick appeared in the doorway.



“Are you going to speak rationally to me now?” he asked mockingly.



“Go to hell!”



“I guess that’s a no then.” He stated dryly, shrugged and went to close the door.



“Wait! Can I at least have some panadol and a glass of water? My head is killing me.”



He nodded to someone next to the door who I assumed went to fetch what I had asked for.



“Will that be all your majesty?”



“What the hell is this about Maverick?” I asked, ignoring his sarcasm. This place wasn’t fit for rats let alone humans, let alone his supposed loveable queen. He had many hideouts all over the coast. He brought me here for only one reason, its seclusion. So no one could hear me if I screamed and the idea of that scared me half to death but I wasn’t about to show him that. I placed my hands on my knees to stop them from trembling “Why did you come after me like that and why are you keeping me here like a prisoner? How long do you intend on keeping me here?”



“Oh, so you do want to talk?” he stepped in the room, closed the door and sat in the chair sideways facing me. There was a creepy unnerving manner about him but I could see I wasn’t getting out of this anytime soon if I didn’t hear him out. “You said the magic words Legacy. You said you were done. A queen doesn’t leave her King so easily, much less a member leaving their crew. There is a process that we must follow. It’s a process that you invented. Did you think it didn’t apply to you? You can’t just leave of your own accord.”



I sighed. Trying to change the subject and get a glimpse of the old Maverick. The one I could handle. This new Maverick was terrifying me. “Really Maverick, aren’t you sick of repeating yourself? Because I know I am sick of hearing the same old shit. I can leave. I am leaving.”



“No, you can’t. You have got to be demoted and then discharged if you want to leave, but only after a trial. Crew rules Legacy. You know them. You made them up. They decide.”



“You have got to be kidding me! You’re going to put me on trial?”  I retorted. “I was never initiated Maverick! The rules don’t apply! And even if they did, the conversation I had with Mitch all those years ago, he said I could leave whenever I wanted. He wants me gone, and I want to go. Do you honestly think he’ll put up a resistance?”



“What conversation Legacy? Where is the proof? There is nothing in writing there were no minutes taken. You have been living a gang affiliated life for as long as we can all remember. You’re in this just as much as we are. To them, YOU are their queen” he said cooly pointing outside to the crew who was here to do his bidding.



“Initiated or not. They took you in and like it or not you are their queen! Do you honestly think I wouldn’t put up a resistance? It’s me you make look like a fool. It’s me you’re leaving. The crew will decide. You know the rules Legacy. We’re here to form the panel.” He said it so calmly it chilled me and I shivered. “You will not be allowed to leave until after the trial and they decide if you will be demoted, discharged or both.



So this is what it all came down to. Me leaving him, and it was hurting his pride. I was done being controlled and manipulated. I needed to know if this was Maverick or Mitch I was dealing with so I pushed him further.



“Screw your rules and your panel.” I spat back, my head still pounding.



Sure I knew the rules. I also knew that most of the time they were used to make people look guilty when they weren’t. They were a form of convenience and we created them to initially weed out any of Mitch’s men. They had been used and abused ever since to serve a purpose, our purpose. But since I was no longer a part of that purpose or willing to go along with them like the happy little vegemite I had once been, they were now going to be used against me.



“They’ll only find what you want them to find Maverick, and give the outcome that you want. Why not just stop wasting everyone’s time and just deal it out now?”



“The crew decides and that’s final. But don’t worry. You’ll have someone on the panel to vouch for you. I am sure you noticed Ritchie’s absence today. I sent him to bring you in two days ago and he wouldn’t do it. He argued well for you then. I am sure he will argue well for you in a day or so.” He finished, again just as coldly as before, but he was now gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as her spoke. I was getting to him. He was a split second away from losing it and showing me exactly which twin this was.



“A day or so!? You’re going to keep me here for another day or so!? You can’t do that!? People will come looking for me. Especially after the scene you made this afternoon!”



“The scene I made? You’re the one who wouldn’t come in willingly. I had to do it this way to enforce the rules. I can’t be seen to be lenient toward you Legacy just because you’re my girlfriend. You told Ritchie you were done and there were people around when he relayed that to me. Imagine the stir it would cause in our ranks if I just let that go? Perhaps next time you will do as I ask the first time and we wouldn’t have to do things the hard way.” His callous demeanour made me think he was behaving more and more like Mitch instead of Maverick



“Where is Ritchie? Can I see him?” The door opened and Ritchie walked in with my glass of water and a box of panadol.



“Hey Lace” he said with a half-smile as he gave me the water and panadol. His eye was swollen and he had a fat lip. He’d been beaten too. Badly.



“Jesus Christ! Are you alright?” I put the panadol on the bed and went to reach for his face. He flinched and shy’d away from me.



“It’s nothing. How are you? Some of those cuts and scratches look deep. Your shiner stands out more than mine.” He tried to kid.



“Courteous of Maverick’s hired goons. Those guys are more like Mitch’s men than yours Maverick.” I stated firmly.



“They serve a purpose. You have many followers here Legacy. You would be surprised how many of them bowed out when I asked for numbers to bring you in.” I didn’t realise the rallied support you have with some of my most loyal members until just a few days ago” he stated matter-of-factly glaring at Ritchie. “It’s as if you were running things around here and not me. If I didn’t know you any better I would have thought you tried to infiltrate my crew from the inside.”



“Me? Infiltrate your crew? Please. You WANTED me to get in their face and get their respect! You WANTED me to be someone they could look up to and take orders from. And now I want nothing to do with any of you after what you have done to me. You started all this Maverick. All those years ago you started it all. Letting Mitch come to me like that, letting me believe he was you was the last straw. I just finished it.” I shrugged, still nervous as hell.



His face went bright red. I could see his anger rising quickly again. His fuse was getting shorter and shorter. I needed him to blow if I was going to tell him from his twin. They played each other so well these days I couldn’t tell them apart, but Mitch’s faults always shone through at some point since he always needed to brag about his conquests. He wouldn’t let Maverick take the glory for something he had done.



“That was necessary.” Maverick declared.



“Oh really? To who? To you or to Mitch? I always thought that if nothing else, you would treat me with respect Maverick. If you had of come to me with this we could have worked something else out! I know what you got out of it, but I don’t understand what he gets out of it. What could Mitch possibly get out of sleeping with his brothers girlfriend? You must have known I would never have gone along with it.”



“What?” Ritchie asked dumbfounded. He looked like he’d been hit with a sledge hammer. His face contorted into a look of absolute shock and horror. This confirmed his involvement and proved to me that he knew nothing. Ritchie really was on my side. 



Maverick avoided Ritchie’s gaze and continued. “That’s beside the point. I did what I had to do to…”



Ritchie cut him off. “You let him fuck her? Maverick, what have you done? You pimped out your queen like she was a whore!?” He stood and looked down on Maverick who wouldn’t look him in the eye. “You dare talk of loyalty TO ME! He bellowed. When you have done far worse! What of your loyalty to her!!?”



“I AM A KING! I AM YOUR LEADER! You WILL listen to me and do as I say!! Not what she says! You betrayed me Ritchie. You promised to be there as my second when I needed you and you weren’t.” he crossed his arms as if to say that was that. He wasn’t going to explain his actions any further.



“Yes, I denied your request then, and I deny it even more now. I am your second Maverick, it doesn’t make me your slave. I don’t always do what you want. It’s my job to question you! That’s why you put me here! I didn’t agree with what you wanted to do and you left me no choice. Legacy didn’t want to come with me to see you. I wasn’t about to drag her to you kicking and screaming. Any good the two of you have done instilling respect in the crew over the last few years has been completely smashed today from the stubbornness you both have. How do you think they see it? Their leaders fighting like this. You pimped her out Maverick! And then locked her up like a dog! How do you expect your men to treat her now? Legacy, if you had of come with me when I asked, none of this would have happened. I can understand now why you didn’t but if you just had it out with Mav behind closed doors we wouldn’t be in this mess! And seriously, Maverick, you have taken all this way too far. You need to pull it back in and fast. Before this gets anymore out of control than what it already is. Come find me if you want help fixing it. Otherwise I want nothing more to do with this ridiculous sham” Ritchie got up and left.  He slammed the door shut on his way out.



I could see Maverick seething away the whole time Ritchie spoke. All three Kings were like spoilt kids at times, they hated when things didn’t go their way and when they were told what to do. Especially if it was good sound advice coming from your second, who was supposed to be on your side no matter what. Today was taken completely out of context. I knew I probably shouldn’t have run away from him in the park or jumped out of that car but I didn’t want Maverick to think I was going to take him back so easily after what he had done, if at all. Not to mention I was genuinely scared of what he was going to do to me. It was getting harder to control my voice and hands into not betraying me.



Maverick stood and flung the chair he had been sitting on against the wall and yelled so loudly. The chair put a massive dent in the wall and it fell to the ground. The whole thing frightened the shit out of me but I had seen this performance of Maverick losing his temper several times before. I still wasn’t sure if it was really Maverick behind all this and not his twin.



“The truth hurts doesn’t it? You can go now too. Stop chucking a hissy fit and go organise your stupid panel. The sooner you play out your little hearing the sooner I can go. But Maverick, if you don’t discharge me, I’ll leave anyway.” He covered the tiny room in three big strides and reefed me from the bed, making me stand up in front of him by grabbing my arms either side so I was face to face with him shaking me uncontrollably.



“You! This all comes back to you! They love and respect YOU! They always want to check YOUR advice and hear YOUR opinions! But I tell you what, if you do that Legacy, if you leave anyway, they will kill you. There are men out there who still listen to me. Who don’t believe I should be with you. Who believe I should take another queen. This is not a game anymore. You better stop treating it like one. And you better stop treating me like I am your knight in shining armour. That’s what you have that beta cunt for. They’ll come after anyone you care about. You know how it works. You’ve seen it done.” He raised an eyebrow. “Mitch would be right on the front line making sure of it. And don’t think that family you hang out with all the time would be safe. They know you have a soft spot for them just like we had for you.” I flinched, so this was Maverick. He always called Sonny a beta white knight and Mitch wouldn’t have been able to help himself if it was him, to let me know how in control of the situation he was. Maverick was far from being in control right now.



My heart sank. My Maverick, who would never let any harm come to me, who always made sure I was treated with the utmost respect in front of his crew, had deserted me. My Maverick no longer existed. Instead in his place was this foul human being who wanted all or nothing and wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stand in his way to get it. A part of me died inside that day, I would grieve the love I lost, the friend, the lover, all gone. The look in his eyes had changed. Why did I not see before now that it had changed? I mistook it for anger and frustration. It was no longer a look of admiration and love. He was looking at me how Mitch looked at me. I gulped. I was now left in the hands of this monster who was dishing out without any mercy. My body trembled with fear now.



“Will they?” I asked. This last response rattled me the most. I had seen some god awful things in my time of running with the Kings. But never once was I in fear of my own life let alone be responsible for what happened next to my father or the Callaghan’s.

“If it came down to it.” He nodded. “If it came down, to you leaving of your own accord, without approval? If it came down to you leaving me? Yes. They would.”