by Jessica Ames
Which is what Levi told me when we talked. The Tennessee chapter is our main weapons supplier and Omen can get hold of anything we need, including military-grade weaponry.
“Can Omen get enough stock?” Whizz asks, brushing his dark blond hair out of his face. He’s growing a beard, which makes him look like Grizzly fucking Adams, but who the fuck am I to judge?
“Says so,” Rav replies.
As well as being President of the Tennessee chapter, Omen is also the National Chapter president in the US. He keeps shit running like clockwork, leaving us to worry about the UK.
Hatchet, his sergeant-at-arms is as unhinged as Fury. He hacked six men to death when he was a prospect using just a hatchet. I don’t know the full story, but I know every time I hear it, the details get more embellished. He’s become a living fucking legend.
Flash, their road captain, is a flashy fucker. He doesn’t look like a biker. He’s all about well-tailored clothes, expensive jewellery and Italian made shoes. The few times I’ve met him, I liked him. He’s a brother, so it doesn’t matter what weird shit he’s into. What matters is his willingness to bleed for his club, which he’s proven time and time again.
Chains and Crank are the secretary and treasurer. Crank is good with numbers. He was some big shot accountant before he joined the club and like me, he can make money disappear that shouldn’t be able to disappear. He and I talk a lot, exchanging notes on how to launder the dirty money that comes through the club’s coffers. I don’t know how Chains got his name, but the guy is quiet. He barely spoke the last time I met him.
“Anything else we can do to help?” Titch questions.
“Howler says not at this point, but we’ll be ready in case he does. Fucker rode his club south when we needed help with Blackwood. Ain’t about to leave him pissing in the wind.”
I agree. All our UK chapters went over and above to protect us when Blackwood took Lucy from Nox. We were only able to wipe that smug cunt off the map because of the help of our brothers.
The meeting winds down and I head out of the room, snagging my phone from the box on the table outside the door. I check there’s no calls or messages on the screen before sliding it back into my jeans pocket.
As I step into the common room, my eyes move around the room and my stomach clenches as my eyes lock on her.
Briella is sitting at one of the tables with Sasha and Lucy. Nox’s sister, Bailey, is also there, her two girls running around the room, playing with Lily-May. I can’t drag my eyes from Briella as I stalk towards the bar my hands suddenly clammy, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth. She looks fucking good, her dark hair piled on top of her head, loose tendrils falling around her face. Her eyes shift and come to me and for a moment, I’m mesmerised by her, unable to look away. I wonder what she would look like around my cock…
I shake myself.
Fuck me, I can’t be thinking shit like that. Guilt tears through me, not just because she’s young, but also because she’s Levi’s sister. It’s a betrayal to think this shit.
As I approach the bar, Kyle moves over to me, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Briella is also moving. I turn slightly, watching as she strides towards me, her head held high, an air of defiance about her that makes my cock take notice.
She’s wearing a black vest top that has a red skull on it and a pair of black jeans that are so tight I can see every contour of her shapely thighs. Around her waist is a metallic studded belt and a pair of Doc Martens on her feet. She has bangles around her wrists and a necklace with a dagger pendant around her neck. She looks fucking stunning and my body itches with need to have her.
I watch as she sidles up to the side of me, trying to project confidence, but I can see the uncertainty in her eyes.
“Hey,” she says and I beckon Kyle over.
“Whiskey. Neat,” I tell him and he moves away to get my drink.
“I’ll have the same,” she says.
I give her my attention. “You think that’s a good idea, considering the other night?”
Her kohl-rimmed eyes narrow on me at my words.
“Did I ask for your opinion?”
“No, but you’re getting it anyway, since it was me who had to drag your arse out of that fucking club.”
She flinches slightly at my words and I feel triumph that I managed to get a reaction.
“You don’t get to tell me how to live my life,” she hisses. Her tits strain against her top as her chest heaves. She’s like a raging bull to a red flag.
I don’t, but I’m going to because Levi is right. Something is going on with her and I can’t sit by and watch while she continues on this journey of self-destruction. Although why I give a fuck, I don’t know.
“I do when your shit starts affecting others,” I find myself saying. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it’s the words I speak.
Kyle slides our drinks on the bar top and she grabs her glass, snapping out a, “Fuck you, Daimon.”
She turns to move away and I snag her wrist, stopping her. My grip isn’t hard, but it isn’t entirely gentle either. My eyes scan the room, making sure we’re not being watched before I release her.
“You need to calm your shit down, Brie. This partying and whatever the fuck you’re doing has to stop.”
“Let go of me,” she snarls like a wild cat.
The pout of her mouth catches my attention, drawing my eyes, and fuck me, if I don’t want to kiss her. That perfect Cupid’s bow and the fullness of her lips is every man’s wet dream.
I push that thought right out of my head. She’s not mine to have, and even if she was, I wouldn’t go there. She’s too young and she’s a brother’s sister.
I release her, and she pulls her arm against her chest, as if my touch burnt her skin, glaring at me. I know how she feels because my skin feels like it’s prickling.
“I can take care of myself,” she tells me, and as if to prove that point she throws her head back and drains her glass in a couple of gulps.
Motherfucker.
My anger flares at how flippant she’s being. This is her life she’s putting on the line. I don’t care that she risked me and Kyle, but I do care that this destructive behaviour could lead to her ending up face down in a fucking ditch.
Leaning into her, I growl, “If I hadn’t been there the other night, fuck knows what could have happened.”
Her face pales as the severity of my words sinks in, but she holds her chin high and I see the steel in her spine as she straightens. The fire in her eyes both enthrals me and pisses me off. She isn’t someone who will back down easily, but neither am I.
“Since when do you give a crap what I do with my life?”
“Since you nearly got yourself raped in the middle of some dive club.”
Briella jolts, her throat working as she stares at me. “That wasn’t—”
“He had his hand inside your underwear while you were practically unconscious, and no fucker in that building was moving to stop it.”
Her eyes dart around the common room, as if she’s scared of being overheard, but no one is paying us any attention. To anyone watching, we look like we’re talking at the bar, but I doubt the conversation looks friendly. She’s spitting at me like a feral animal. Kyle, I notice, has moved to the other end of the bar and is busying himself with drying glasses.
“I was in complete control.”
“Really?” I arch a brow, “because it sure as fuck did not look that way from where I was standing, sweetheart.”
“Stay out of my business.”
Her hand comes up and she jabs it in my chest. It doesn’t hurt, but I grab her wrist anyway, stopping her from doing it again.
“I’ll stay out of your business when you stop making it mine.”
Her glare is glacial. “You’re not my father, or my brother.”
The feelings I have for her are absolutely not familial, so that we both agree on. My dick stirs behind my zip, reminding me of this fact.
“Ain’t looking to be either, Brie, but I am looking to keep you safe.”
“Too late,” she whispers low, but I hear her. She quickly shakes herself and once again straightens her spine. “If I needed a protector, I’d ask for one. Leave me the hell alone.”
She turns on a heel and stalks back to the table, leaving me standing there, my dick trying to escape from my jeans.
Fuck.
6
Briella
As I move back to the table to sit down, Sasha’s eyes go to Daimon before coming back to me. I can see the question in her gaze, feel the weight of the stare she’s directing at me and I hate it. I’ve never enjoyed being the centre of attention, although somehow, I always manage to draw attention to myself.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Perfect.” I force a smile I do not feel.
I’m shaky after talking to Daimon. I let my guard down, let my walls tumble down for a moment and I shouldn’t have. I can feel his eyes boring into my back as I sit at the table, trying to ignore his presence. Why in the hell did I say those words in his hearing range? Icy fingers claw up my spine as my anxiety grows. The last thing I need is him or Levi poking around in my business.
I let my gaze slide towards the bar, where he’s still standing, gripping the edge of the counter with whitened knuckles. He looks like he’s about two heartbeats from losing his fucking mind. I swallow hard, my heart rate starting to gallop. Why did I open up to him? More importantly, why does he care? He seems to have appointed himself my guardian angel, but I don’t need saving from the darkness suffocating me. It’s too late anyway.
“Something going on with you and Daimon?” Bailey asks, suspicion in her voice as her eyes slide towards him.
My heart twitches. I don’t need everyone thinking me and Daimon are having some kind of clandestine affair. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I know he sees me as a stupid kid, and I don’t do much to change that view, but he, like everyone else around me, doesn’t see I’m drowning here.
“Not a thing,” I mutter, wishing I’d ordered a second drink.
Nox’s sister, Bailey, is in her mid-thirties with red hair she gave to both her daughters. I don’t know a lot about her past, but I do know her husband passed away not long after her second child, Mollie, was born.
Bailey has been on her own since, doing the best she can. Nox helps out where he can, but I get the impression his sister isn’t someone who can take help easily. Like me, though, she understands the overbearing sibling. I know Nox is just as protective of her as Levi is of me.
“Daimon is hot,” Lucy says, peering over her shoulder to look at the man. “If I wasn’t madly besotted with Nox…” She makes a noise of appreciation in the back of her throat.
Jealousy claws at my throat at her words. I don’t want to think about Daimon with someone else, even hypothetically. I don’t have any claim to him, but my brain doesn’t care about that. I push down the red that is clouding my vision and clasp my hands together on my lap, trying desperately to keep hold of my sanity. Not an easy task.
I’m not interested in him.
I repeat this over and over.
Bikers are not to be trusted. I knew that first hand, and I knew how bad things could get when one had you in their sights. I was never going there again. I would die before I let myself get entwined with another, but I know Daimon likes me. I can see it in the heated look in his eyes, the fire of desire that burns brightly when he looks at me. I’m not immune to him either, but I have to be. I can’t go there again. I can’t allow my walls to come down. I can’t let someone else slither into my life that might hurt me again.
“Daimon is a controlling jerk,” I spit, not even sure I mean the venom spewing from my mouth.
“I’m sensing there’s a story here,” Sasha presses. “Start talking.”
“There’s no story.” I push to my feet, snagging my bag and jacket off the chair. “I’ve got to head out.”
Sasha grabs my arm, pulling me up short. Her forehead wrinkles as she takes me in. Gone is the playful tone, and in its place is something serious. “You need to talk, sweetheart, you know we’re here for you.”
I shrug into my jacket as tears sting the back of my nose. I push them ruthlessly down. I won’t show weakness in front of these women—especially not Sasha. Dealing with their kindness when I don’t deserve it shreds what’s left of my control. I quickly turn and rush out of the common room. I probably look like I’ve lost my motherfucking mind, but I don’t care. I need to put some space between me and my nightmares, and as much as I love Sasha, she’s a reminder of what happened to me.
When I close the doors behind me and I get into the sanctuary of the corridor, I sag against the wall, letting all my emotions go for a brief moment. My stomach hurts and my head is whizzing. I spilt too much in there, I let too much out and that can’t happen again.
“Briella.”
Daimon’s voice has me straightening from the wall with a squeak. My heart hammers beneath my ribs and my mouth feels suddenly dry. I try to swallow, but there’s no moisture there. He looks furious, like an avenging angel. I wonder if he would want to avenge me if he knew the truth.
“What the hell was that about in there?”
“What?” I breathe, my brain short-circuiting at having him in my space again. I seem to lose all rationality any time he’s close.
Fire flares in his eyes.
“You know fucking what.”
He moves towards me and I try to disappear into the wall as his hands cage me in either side of my head. My breath rips out of me in heavy pants as my fear mounts. It’s Daimon. He won’t hurt me, but I thought that about his club brother.
I lick my lips, trying to get moisture into my mouth, and press my palms against the plaster as I meet his gaze. I should look away, but I can’t. My chest heaves as I draw oxygen into my suddenly starved lungs. The air feels heavy, thick, and too hard to breathe through.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, tipping my head back, so I can peer into his furious eyes.
His brows draw together. “I want answers.”
I swallow again and glance to the side. I’m not sure if I’m hoping someone will come out and save me, or if I want this moment alone with him. He makes my body writhe with need, and this close to me I can barely think straight.
“Daimon—”
“What the fuck did you mean in there?”
“W-what?” I stumble over my words as my mind empties. He makes my tongue loose, makes me want to open up to him, but I can’t. I won’t. No one will ever know the filth that covers me, the dirt that I can’t scrub clean.
His fingers trail down my cheek and I forget how to breathe for a moment. I watch his eyes as he follows the path they take before coming back to me.
“Did someone hurt you, Brie?”
Claws wrap around my heart, stopping it from beating and I have to force a breath out to restart it.
“No.” The lie falls so easily from my mouth. Too easily. I hate myself for it, but the truth can never come out. No one can ever know how weak, how pathetic I was.
“You said—”
“I was angry,” I murmur, my eyes watching his lips. I desperately want to brush mine over his, but I don’t dare move.
His brow cocks. “Why you lying to me?”
“I’m not.”
“Ain’t stupid, Brie. Wasn’t born yesterday. I know the way you’re acting ain’t you, and I know something changed to make you this way. If you won’t tell me, I’ll figure it out myself. Ain’t letting you self-destruct like this. Ain’t watching you throw your future down the toilet because you’ve got hurt so deep ain’t no one who can get it out. I’m going to find out what happened to you, and I’m going to fix it.”
His words carve a path through my heart, shredding what’s left of my tenuous hold on my emotions. One tear slides down my cheek, then another. I don’t reach up to wipe them away, but he does.
“
Why do you care so much?”
He hesitates and that hesitation makes my stomach churn. What is running through his head?
Finally, he says, “You’re family.”
Family. It’s a foreign concept to me. My father was an abusive piece of shit, my mother in the wind. The only person I’ve ever been able to rely on is Levi, so lying to him is like a sledgehammer to my heart. I never wanted to lie to my brother, but if he knew the truth, he’d look at me differently, and I can’t bear that.
Daimon’s thumb swipes gently over the apple of my cheek, capturing my tears. “What happened? Please tell me.” His voice is so soft, so soothing, it’s on the tip of my tongue to spill all my secrets, but I lock them down. I can’t do this with him. I can’t do this with anyone. I’ll take this shit to my grave.
I shake my head. “I have to go.”
I duck under his arm and he doesn’t stop me, which I’m grateful for, but I can see the frustration playing across his face.
“Brie?”
I stop, wincing before I smooth my expression out so I can face him. “What?”
“If someone hurt you, I will kill them.”
The vehemence in his voice should scare me, the demons I can see flashing in his eyes, but there’s also another side to him, one he’s starting to show me. He cares. I don’t know why, but he does.
And that scares the holy hell out of me, more so than the monsters lurking behind his gaze.
“Too late,” I whisper before I rush up the corridor and out into the fresh air.
I let the cooler wind wash over me for a moment, my eyes closing as it soothes my pain. Then I start the short walk towards the nearest bar.
7
Daimon
I watch Levi from across the common room later that night, trying to work out if he knows what the fuck his sister is hiding. Something or someone has hurt her. It’s there in her eyes, swirling around, giving her that haunted look I’d seen earlier. If he does know, he hasn’t said shit. My guess is he doesn’t have a clue about the secrets his sister is keeping. That whispered ‘too late’ has been playing on fucking repeat in my head, stopping me from thinking about anything else. The way it fell from her lips, the hitch in her voice that was so soft I had to strain to hear her words. What the hell happened to her? What did we fail to protect her from? The thought makes fire churn in my gut, because I know we’ve fucked up and failed her. She’s property of the Untamed Sons. Nothing should have touched her. The thought someone might have shreds through my stomach like a dagger wound and it fuels my rage. Whoever hurt her is dead. I’ll happily watch the life drain from their eyes.