“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 destroyed. But all that went down the same night my brother beat his ass for what he did to Hannah.”
“You mean having her kidnapped?”
“No, something else. Something much worse. And no, I can’t give you that. But Conrad only did what any of us would’ve done to protect the woman he loved.”
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t.
“Well, this has been very informative. Thank you,” I tell him, genuinely pleased with the intel he’s given me. It makes me wish I had been a little nicer to him yesterday and earlier this morning.
“Least we can do,” Cannon replies. “Guess our next topic should be the fundraiser event.”
“Okay,” I agree.
“But first, and I mean no disrespect, but we’ve got to do something about your…image, Madison.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, sounding defensive again as if a switch has been flipped.
“You’re too formal, too uppity like this,” he says, waving his hand in my general direction. “Women won’t like you. And while men will definitely find you attractive, it’ll take more than a pretty face to convince them to vote for you.”
“I’m not changing who I am. They can either vote for me or vote for him.”
“That’s not exactly the attitude needed to win an election,” he says with a chuckle. “And I’m not saying you need to change your ideals or whatever, just how you choose to present them.”
“And what do you propose I do differently?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“First, you have to stop acting like you think you’re better than everyone else. Maybe you are, but that doesn’t get you any votes from the middle class.”
“I don’t think I’m better than anyone!” I exclaim.
“Sure, you do,” Cannon says when he leans forward in his chair and rests his forearms on my desk. “You barely looked at me yesterday before you decided I wasn’t worth your time. And now, you’re singing a different tune.”
“I’m not…what are you talking about?”
“You’re a whole lot friendlier when I’m helping you. But isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I thought the first rule for all politicians was to say how much you want to be elected so that you can help others.”
“I guess that’s true…”
“But you have other motivations for wanting to be mayor.”
“I guess I do. Is that so wrong?” I ask in a huff.
“I don’t know. I guess it depends on what they are.” Cannon leans back in his chair again and then motions with his hand. “Come on, let me hear them.”
“Well, first and foremost, unlike Bailey, I’ve actually studied politics and have a law degree.”
Cannon makes a sound like a buzzer. “There you go again, thinking you’re better than him because you’ve got a degree and he doesn’t.”
“I have two degrees,” I correct him.
“And he has, what, ten years or more of experience running a police department. I’m guessing you haven’t ever been in charge of anything…”
“I was the campaign manager for a state senator who just won reelection.”
“Not bad,” Cannon says, not exactly sounding impressed. “But what else have you got?”
“I’ve got ideas on how to grow the city’s tourism and bring more arts to the area.”
“Let me guess, you’ll pay for all that by raising taxes?”