by Leah Wilde
“You know, I would feel sorry for you, but when I tried to warn you about Rogue, you didn’t listen. You got what you asked for, sis,” Titus said. “And he’s going to get what he’s been asking for when he gets here to rescue you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, though I already knew what he meant. I just wanted to hear him say it. I didn’t know what hearing it would prove to me, but I needed to hear it.
“It means that I’m going to kill him, Violet. When Rogue shows up, he will be met by my men, who will kill anyone with him, disarm him, and bring him to me so I can finally put an end to his nonsense once and for all. He is going to die, so I hope the sex was worth it, because it won’t be happening again.” He got up with a thin smile across his face.
“What is wrong with you?” I asked him. “What the hell do you mean you’re going to kill him? I thought you were a legitimate businessman, Titus, not just some common street thug like Rogue and his men. I thought you were better than that.”
“Oh, I am better than they are, Violet. That’s why I’m going to walk away today while they drown in a pool of their own blood.” His tone told me he took a sadistic pleasure in what he was telling me.
I was beginning to piece together what the conflict between my brother and Rogue must have been. They must have been fighting over what they considered business interests. It was pretty obvious now that my brother ran a criminal organization similar to Rogue’s, except that Titus dressed his business up in suits and ties. He made it look more prestigious, while Rogue was satisfied with the shocking imagery of street urchins. While Titus looked like he and his men walked out of offices, The Hellions all looked like they had stumbled off the sets of rock music videos.
“You’re sick,” I hissed.
“No, Violet. I prefer twisted. Sick implies there’s a cure, and I assure you, little sister, there’s no cure for what I do.” He smiled and walked out of the room. He closed the door and spoke to the two men standing on either side of it before walking off and leaving me in there alone.
That was fine, I figured. I was better off alone than sitting there listening to him ramble on in twisted delight about how he looked forward to killing Rogue and his men. I had never seen that look in my brother’s eyes before. He was a monster.
That was when I realized I hadn’t actually spent a lot of time around him since he left me at home for the city. I wondered what all he had lied to me about over the years. I wondered if he had even lied to me about what happened to our parents.
I shook my head. I couldn’t even think it. It had to have been the other way around. Our parents’ deaths had to have been what got him started and not the other way around.
“Oh god,” I said, leaning my head over again. I couldn’t shake the question from my head. What if it had been the other way all along? What if his criminal lifestyle was what cause our parents’ deaths?
I wished I could have reached my phone. I needed to call Rogue and warn him. I needed to call just make sure he was alright! The last time I saw him, he was clinging to consciousness on the ground in front of the old firehouse. I needed to make sure he made it out of there alive.
More of my memory started to come back to me. I remembered what happened just before the explosion. Rogue was walking me out of the MC headquarters. He was being nice and almost flirtatious again, despite how mean he had been in the boardroom just a few minutes before that.
I wondered if he was even going to come for me now. He probably thought I had set him up for the attack. He had told me when I showed up that he thought I was there because my brother had sent me.
“What have I done?” I groaned.
All hope wasn’t lost yet. If he didn’t show up, I figured all would be fine and Titus would just let me go after making me promise not to say anything. Still, I hoped he showed up. I wanted to see those two finally square off and end whatever ridiculous feud they had going on, regardless of who came out on top. I wanted it to be over so I could get the hell away from them and return to my quiet, normal life.
Sitting in the office in the old warehouse, tied to a chair, I realized that Rogue hadn’t been lying when he told me he really did seek me out so he could use me to get to my brother. Titus had been right about him all along. He had just used me, and he had been trying to toss me away, but my insistence on trying to get answers was the only thing keeping him from being able to do that.
If they were both right about each other, though, and they were both as horrible as the other said they were, who was the good guy here? Who was supposed to come in at the last minute and save the day? Was it me? Was I supposed to save myself here? Was I supposed to stop relying on people like Rogue and my brother for my well-being? Was that what this was about?
My head started spinning with questions as I realized that Rogue was using me to get to my brother, but Titus was using me to draw Rogue out. In the end, that would just leave me to my own devices. I didn’t know what the hell to think anymore. I didn’t know which one to trust. I didn’t know which one I wanted to win once things actually went down.
I just wanted out. I was done with both of them. I wanted out of the life they had pulled me into.
I watched as my brother walked back over to the door with his phone up to his ear. I tried to hear what he was saying, but sound travelled strangely in the warehouse. It was like it quickly dispersed, leaving silence where I should have heard someone talking.
He opened the door as he put his phone in his pocket.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said.
My stomach sank.
Chapter 23
Rogue
We lost the firehouse, our headquarters. A piece of history, gone up in flames at the hands of Titus Darren. The explosion and fire that had destroyed the building had his name all over them.
I woke up in the street. Two paramedics knelt over me. I looked around the scene to see what else was going on. There were firefighters still working on the blaze, trying to keep it contained. Most of the building was already gone.
“Hey, take it easy,” one of the medics said as I tried to get up. “You need to sit back for a moment longer. You’re not missing anything. Let the fire crew do their job. We’ve got your guys out here. It looks like everyone made it out just fine.”
Brodie walked over and grabbed my hand to give it a good shake.
“Good to see you, brother,” I croaked, realizing they also had me hooked up to oxygen to help me breathe. I wasn’t mad at it. It felt good to have some fresh, breathable air.
“You, too. I got Mason and a few guys on the way to my place across from the warehouse,” he told me.
“Good. We’ll meet up there when we’re done here, I guess. Everyone make it out alright?” I asked.
“Looks like it. I’m sure they’ll dig through the rubble to see if there’s anyone trapped, but one of the benefits of downsizing is not having as many people to worry about when shit like this happens, huh?” he joked.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I coughed as I tried to laugh.
“Take it easy,” the paramedics reminded me.
The scene was surreal. The road was blocked off with emergency vehicles. There were two fire trucks parked in front of the smoldering building. The lights of the ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks lit up the night all around. Rough and tough bikers were laid out behind the ambulances while people tended to them.
“You know who started this, don’t you?” Brodie asked quietly, looking around the scene with me.
“Yeah, I know, but where are Vance and Drake?” I tried to sit up on my elbows. “Seriously, I don’t see them anywhere.”
“Neither do I,” Brodie said.
“Do we need to let the fire crews know that people are missing?” one of the medics asked.
“Yeah, two guys so far. It looks like everyone else is out here,” I told them.
“Don’t even think it, brother,” Brodie said as one of the medics got up to l
et the firefighters know someone was missing. He knew what was already on my mind.
Drake and Vance were, at best, missing under my watch. That was at best. In reality, we were more likely to find them underneath the rubble in what was left of the firehouse.
“It’s not your fault,” Brodie said, as if he could read my mind.
“You don’t understand leadership,” I said, perhaps a little rougher than I intended, but I didn’t need anyone trying to tell me what to think or not think at the moment. Regardless of how spineless they had become, we were talking about my men, members of my MC, my Hellion brothers. No, I didn’t think Brodie did understand leadership.
Once it was all said and done, I was seriously going to consider moving Mason into the VP spot of The Hellions. He at least had the balls to call me out on my bullshit. Brodie just wanted everything to be easy. Nothing about this was ever going to be easy. He needed to get used to that idea. Hell, we all did.
“Where’s Violet?” I asked him. I vaguely remembered seeing her face before I blacked out, but I couldn’t remember the details.
“The guys Vance and Drake brought in took her away in a black SUV,” he said flatly.
I groaned. I knew where they were taking her.
“Hey, do you mind if we talk in private?” I asked the medic who was left with me.
“Sure, just don’t go anywhere,” he said, getting up and walking off to leave me with Brodie.
“Get me the fuck out of here,” I told him as soon as the medic was out of earshot. “We need to get to that warehouse and take Titus out.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea, Rogue? I mean, right now, is that a good idea? Have you looked at yourself? You look like hell,” he chickened out.
“I feel like hell, but I’ll feel a lot worse if Titus hurts his sister and I could have been there to prevent it. I’m already looking at the possibility of losing two of my guys in the rubble over there. We aren’t even a hundred percent sure if everyone else is accounted for, Brodie. What the fuck is happening to my MC?” I snapped.
“Your MC?” he asked.
“Yeah, my MC. I’m the president, and you’re skating on thin ice as VP right now. This is a crisis. My prison sentence was a crisis. And what are you doing? You’re over here talking about easier, safer ways to do shit. Safe gets us attacked, Brodie. Safe loses our men.”
“So does reckless, Rogue,” he argued.
“Not if you know what you’re doing, kid.” I pulled the oxygen out of my nose and got up. I took a couple of good, deep breaths to make sure I could breathe fine without any assistance. It was good.
“Rogue, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Brodie protested.
“You know what, Brodie?” I threw my arm across his shoulders. “Stop thinking. It’s time to do.”
“Hey, hey! Hey!” a paramedic called as he ran over and grabbed my arm. “You need to sit down.”
“Am I under arrest?” I asked.
“You can be if I need to go that far with it,” he said back.
“Fine, then. I’ll sit.” I shot Brodie a nasty look. I knew he was pleased that I was having to chill out and take my time getting up. I was not pleased, on the other hand.
“Alright, let’s get you hooked back up to the oxygen,” the medic said as he started taking my vitals again.
“Go check on everyone else,” I told my VP, and he actually did it without whining.
“So, you guys got the shit kicked out of you today, huh?” the medic joked.
“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, the asshole who did this doesn’t realize he just kicked the shit out of himself. As soon as I’m good to go, I’m going after him,” I said.
“Shouldn’t you let the authorities handle something like this?” he asked.
“You aren’t from the streets are you?” I laughed. “We handle our own business around here, so I would greatly appreciate it if our conversation stayed between us. The authorities don’t need to know anything, and they aren’t going to learn anything when they start asking all their stupid little questions about what happened here today. Got it?”
“Yes, sir. Got it,” he answered.
“You don’t have to clam up on me completely, man,” I told him, laughing again. It felt good to laugh without coughing. It felt good to be able to breathe again.
“No, it’s cool. We should probably keep things professional and leave the small talk out. What do you say?” he asked.
“Whatever works for you, buddy.” I leaned my head back and closed my eyes again. I breathed the pure oxygen and gave my body a moment to relax.
When we were released from this mess, I was going to chase Titus down myself if I had to. He was going to pay dearly for what he had done here tonight. He had cost us our headquarters and cost the city a piece of her history. Then, to top it off, that motherfucker kidnapped his own sister.
Despite the fact that I had used her to get to him, I didn’t like the idea that he was putting her between us. Just as I had used her as a weapon, I was sure he was going to try to use her as protection. Regardless of what he thought he was doing, I was going to kill him.
I was going to murder him the way he had murdered Mike at the pawn shop. I was going to brutally kill him the way he had killed Vance and Drake. I still didn’t know if they were alive or not, but I assumed they were dead if they were underneath he rubble inside what was left of Hellions HQ.
I was going to take down his whole operation, starting with him. Anyone who didn’t abandon his operation after his death would suffer the same fate he did. I didn’t care how many people we had to kill to get the point across that we didn’t play games. And if anyone in my MC had any problems with what we were doing, I was prepared to let them go, even if that meant killing them as well.
Titus probably didn’t realize it, but he had effectively started a new chapter for The Hellions by burning down and destroying our headquarters and clubhouse. We were going to chase him down with hell at our backs. His days were numbered, and we were going to take him down. It was over for him.
I smiled up at the darkened, smoky night sky. I had a plan in place, and I had men waiting for me to show up to lead them to victory. I just had to figure out a way to get out of here before Titus figured out how to get away.
“Everyone else is accounted for, Rogue,” Brodie said, snapping me back from my little fantasy. “We’re just missing Drake and Vance.”
I opened my eyes and squinted at him as he stood above me. I was not pleased.
Then we heard a bunch of shouting coming from the building. They had found something, or someone, in the rubble.
I sat up on my elbows.
“Go see what it is,” I told Brodie.
“On it.” He ran over with everyone else who was gathering around the entrance to the building.
Both of my medics had run over there. I already knew what they were going to find. They had found one or both of my missing men, and they were probably already dead. While everyone else was distracted, I pulled the oxygen out and got off the ground. I wanted to run. I wanted to meet up with Mason and the other guys, but I couldn’t bring myself to abandon my guys, even if they were dead.
I joined Brodie and everyone else standing around the rubble. They had flood lights pulled out and shining down on the concrete, dust, and debris. I couldn’t see what they had been yelling about when they called everyone over to help, but the firefighters believed they had found something, no matter what the rest of us could see.
I put an arm on Brodie’s shoulder to support myself. I was still weaker than I felt comfortable admitting. We watched as they dug through the debris to pull out the first body. It was Vance. He wasn’t breathing. Once they pulled him free, the paramedics rushed him back to one of the ambulances to try to resuscitate him, but we all knew it wasn’t going to work.
“There’s someone else,” one of the men said. They kept digging, and soon, a second body came out—Drake.
&nbs
p; “I’m going to kill Titus myself,” I said under my breath to Brodie. “With my bare hands.”
I knew he heard me even though he didn’t say anything in response.
“Once this is over and we’re given the all-clear, we’re going after him. I want him dead,” I said, turning to walk away.
That was when my phone buzzed. It was Titus. I didn’t answer.
Chapter 24
Violet
When Titus came back into the room, he shoved his phone back in his pocket.
I didn’t want to know what he had to tell me, but he knelt down in front of me anyway.
“Which would you like first?” He placed his hands on my knees and peered into my eyes.