Chapter One Hundred and Forty
Kelley stood there and pushed his hands into his pockets as he regarded Marcus for a long couple of minutes. His expression remained stoic. He wanted this truce as well but he wasn't about to let Marcus think he had the upper hand here. Kelley hadn't been lying, he always had a plan.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Marcus. Charles left everything to Marley. My IT guy has already dismantled your entire mainframe. Every single playhouse was bought by shelf companies owned by Charles and therefor now belongs to Marley. You don’t have the funds to fight me, so I’ll ask you again, what’s in it for me?”
Marcus shook his head, clearly not happy with how the meeting was going. Kelley wasn't sure what it was that Marcus had expected but Kelley wouldn't give him an inch, not if he could help it.
“You won okay, there, are you happy?” Lewis said angrily.
Kelley glanced over at Lewis and almost smirked at him. “Let the grownups talk,” Kelley said and Lewis bristled.
“What are your demands, Kelley?” Marcus's voice sounded resigned and now Kelley did smirk. Marcus wasn't an idiot, deranged, yes, but not an idiot. He had to have known that he had nothing to offer Kelley, except one thing.
“We’re all off limits, our families included,” Kelley said.
“That’s a given, as are ours,” Marcus said.
“The Club doesn’t exist anymore,” Kelley said.
Marcus nodded his head. “You’ve already made sure of that.”
“Kirk’s off limits too. Destroy any and all footage you have of him. Forget you know him. He works for me now.”
“Keep him,” Lewis said. Kelley didn't even bother to acknowledge Lewis or the rise he was trying to get out of him.
“If anyone in my family is touched, I’ll make sure that Lewis goes to jail. We have camera footage of him in Lee’s house, pulling the trigger. That goes for any club business as well. I’ll end both of you and your families.”
“You’re lying,” Lewis said.
Kelley regarded Lewis coolly and with a stoic expression began to talk. “I shot Charles, point blank. The man raised me and I still shot him. I don’t like either of you so pulling the trigger again won’t even be a blip on my radar. I cut Petey’s brake lines too and I waited six years to do it, I'm a patient man, don't cross me."
Marcus and Lewis exchanged a look and Kelley could see the uneasiness in their eyes. Marcus cleared his throat and looked at Kelley. “You’ve got yourself a deal."
“And one last thing, I want Grace,” Kelley said.
“Grace?”
“Yes.”
Lewis turned to look at Marcus with a frown but Marcus didn't even hesitate. “Fine.”
Kelley opened his briefcase and pulled the folder out. “Sign it.”
“What is it?”
“This is a document relinquishing your parental rights to Mason and the next few pages are the adoption papers,” Kelley said.
“That can only be done in court,” Lewis said with half a smirk.
“You’ve got a judge, I’ve got a judge. Sign the papers or we have no deal.”
Marcus took the folder from Kelley and then the pen and read through the documents. He signed each page and Kelley looked it over, making sure everything was in order. “Make the call and have her things packed. You can drive with me because I’m picking her up right now.”
Marcus made the call and Kelley placed the folder back in his briefcase. Marcus and Lewis stood up as well and Kirk watched them warily.
“So we have a truce? We leave you alone and you’ll leave us alone?” Marcus asked him.
“Yes.”
“Who would’ve thought that you would end up as the badass,” Marcus said with a grin.
“We’re not friends, Marcus. I still think you’re a sick fuck. Let’s go,” Kelley said.
They filed out of the room and Kelley engaged the locks. Marcus slid into the passenger seat and Kirk into the back. Marcus seemed content with the deal they made and he absent mindedly patted his phone in his jacket pocket.
“It didn’t record,” Kirk said from the backseat.
“I didn’t …”
Kelley chuckled as he drove out of the warehouse and closed the doors. “The room scrambles all electronics. I chose it for a reason.”
Marcus didn’t reply and they drove in silence to Marcus’s house. It was past noon now and he knew that the family would’ve returned to the house by now. David and Cecile had opted to have Blain cremated so there was no grave to go to.
He parked his SUV in the driveway and climbed out. Marcus opened the front door and Kelley watched Lewis walk inside. Kirk moved to the driver’s side at Kelley’s instruction and waited with bated breath.
“She’ll be down in a second.”
“This shows there might still be some goodness left in you, Marcus,” Kelley said.
“Grace is a fireball, she takes nobody’s shit,” Marcus said with a smile. “That’s Mason’s influence. She loves him and he loves her. He’s a good dad and if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it forever. She’s better off with him. I’ve never wanted children, probably shouldn’t have any more either.”
Kelley nodded his head and he regarded Marcus. “Mason’s a really good dad and he loves her with everything in him.”
Marcus only nodded his head as footsteps sounded on the stairs. Grace came into view and Kelley smiled as she froze on the steps. “Uncle Kelley?”
Kelley went down on one knee with a smile. “Come here, Princess.”
Grace ran toward him without hesitating and he picked her up in his arms and hugged her to his chest tightly. Her arms were tight around his neck and her cheek was pressed against his. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m taking you home, Gracie,” Kelley said.
Tears spilled form Grace's eyes and Kelley tightened his arms around her. "I missed you, Uncle Kelley but I missed my daddy more."
"We all missed you too, Gracie." Kelley's eyes were wet and for the first time he didn't care who saw the emotional moment between the two of them.
"Will you take me home to Daddy?"
Kelley pulled his head back and looked at Grace with a smile. "I've got you, Grace. Let's get you home."
