by Helen Scott
“Come on, sweet butt,” I say. “Let’s get back on my bike.”
To my surprise, Dani crosses her arms in front of her chest and glares at me. “Don’t call me sweet butt. That’s not what I am. And I’m perfectly fine where I am.”
I smirk and look toward the cashier. The fella is smarter than this guy. He looks nervous as hell, and when our eyes meet, he says, “I don’t want any trouble.”
Yeah, everyone in this town and all the towns around us know not to mess with the Immortal Hunters. This guy might just need a lesson.
“She and I are just having some fun,” the guy says, and he slurs his words a little.
“Well, the fun’s over.”
“Is there a problem?” one of his buddies says.
My gaze skirts to him and the other three. They have arms loaded with snacks and drinks, and even though I’m pretty sure they’ve been enjoying some liquor or some drugs, they look a hell of a lot more nervous than their drunk-ass friend.
“No,” I say. “My old lady and I are just heading out.”
I grab Dani’s arm. Fuck. Why did I call her my old lady? She isn’t that, but she isn’t a sweet butt either. She is better than one of those. In fact, she’s more like one of us.
She jerks out of my grip and takes a step back. “Actually, these guys are heading for a lake trip, and they invited me along.”
“Fuck that.” If they thought she was going anywhere with them, they’re about to be in for a lesson. “Come on. We both know you’re just trying to get under my skin.”
She reaches out a hand and puts it on the pretty boy’s arm. “I don’t have a bathing suit.”
I swear he looks like he’s going to come in his goddamn pants. “Not a problem. Not at all.”
Grabbing him by the throat, I slam him back into the glass. Not hard enough to break it, just hard enough to scare him. “Time for you to go, pretty boy, unless you want me to break that face of yours.”
Dani yanks on my arm. “Stop it right now! You don’t own me! You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
I look back at her. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
“The lady wants to spend her weekend fucking me,” the idiot says.
Usually I’m more in control, but I don’t even know what I’m doing when I punch him in the face. His head snaps back, and then I let go of him. He slides to the floor, and I turn around. Dani’s mouth is hanging open in surprise, and I toss her over my shoulder and carry her toward the door.
The cashier has a shotgun lying on the counter. I nod at him and walk past. He’s almost green, and his hand keeps reaching toward, then drawing back from, the shotgun.
Dani slams her hands against my back. “Put me down right this minute.”
When I step out the door, Striker is there in an instant, frowning. “What’s the problem?”
“The guys in there thought she was going to leave with them.”
To my surprise, anger flashes over Stiker’s face. “I’ll take care of it.”
I’m not sure how exactly he feels about Dani, other than that he wouldn’t mind fucking her, but I do know how he feels about anyone disrespecting our club. There is a reason we are so feared, and the guys inside are about to find out why.
As is Dani.
Climbing onto my bike, I pull her off my shoulder and into my lap. Her mouth opens in protest, and I lean down and capture her lips in a crushing kiss. I don’t hold back. I channel my anger and frustration into our touch, and dig one of my hands into the back of her hair. She whimpers, and I grab her breasts and start to pluck her hard nipples through her shirt while she wiggles in front of me.
This was supposed to be a lesson to her. I was supposed to be showing her that the Immortal Hunters own her, but my cock aches for her. Any other woman I’d push to her knees and fuck her mouth right in front of the assholes in the shop, watching them to make sure they know that our sweet butts are ours alone, but somehow I can’t bring myself to do that to Dani.
Even if I thought she’d obey me.
I hear a commotion in the gas station. My lips pull from Dani’s, and I slide both my hands under her shirt and cup those perfect breasts of hers. She’s panting, her eyes closed, as I use my thumbs to rub the peaks of her nipples. Inside, Striker is beating the shit out of the little punks. The cashier has his shotgun pointed at Striker, but I know Striker’s not going to get himself hurt.
Leaning down, I suck on Dani’s neck, hard enough to leave marks down her pale throat. She moans my name, and it’s strangely hot to watch my friend at work, while touching this sexy little woman.
The shot gun goes off. Dani jumps in my lap, and my erection is so painful that I actually start to think I could fuck this woman over my bike and still be done before Striker comes out. Instead, my buddy goes to the counter, having avoided the bullet, grabs the gun, and bends it, rendering it useless, before throwing it at the cashier.
He throws open the door as he leaves, and the glass shatters. He walks right over to us.
“Were you encouraging those assholes?”
Her eyes flash open, and she looks torn between being aroused and angry. “Dragon was acting like he owned me.”
Striker leans down. “We do own you.”
She glares, even while I’m working her nipples.
“Say it,” he says, his gaze narrowing.
I stiffen. When Striker gets like this, he means business. There’s nothing he hates more than people questioning the authority of the Immortal Hunters, especially as the VP. If people thought we were weak, then enemies surfaced. More of us died. And life became even more dangerous. The fact that our name is so feared helps us avoid a lot of dangerous things. Dani refusing us like this won’t be tolerated.
“No one owns me,” she says, and I feel a shudder roll through her body.
Striker undoes the button on his jeans and pulls down his zipper.
I feel Dani’s heartbeat pick up pace.
He pulls down his boxers, and his hard dick is just inches from her mouth.
I lay her down over my lap, and as much as Dani glares, she also licks her lips.
“You’re going to suck me off,” Striker says, and there’s an edge to his command.
“But the pain…”
“My power is locked down as tight as can be right now, baby girl. Now just wrap those perfect lips of yours around my cock.”
He moves closer but doesn’t force his dick between her lips. Some of the Immortal Hunters might not mind pushing the lines, but our little group doesn’t cross certain things. I know I can just use my powers on her. I know I can make her want to suck his dick. But I don’t. We both just watch her.
Slowly, she opens her lips and draws her tongue along his tip. Striker’s eyes widen, and then she moves around and sucks on his balls, first one, and then the other. My cock aches at the sight of it, and Striker seems to be holding his breath as she licks and sucks, teasing his balls, before coming back to his cock. Then, she takes his tip into her mouth and slowly slides him in and out.
Striker grabs the back of her head to hold her in place and then begins to fuck the hell out of her mouth. She wiggles in my lap, and one of her hands works to undo her pants. This time, I push her hand away and slide my own hand into her pants. There, I find her wet and ready. I watch her suck Striker off as I work her pussy, and when she begins to thrust against me in my lap, I curse, trying to keep control.
I pinch her clit, and she cries out around Striker.
He looks at me and shakes his head, and I almost disobey him, but don’t.
He fucks her mouth harder until he finally comes, filling her mouth as she sucks him clean. I can feel her. I know she’s ready. If I just pick up the pace she’ll be there.
Instead, I pull my hand out of her pants and stare down at her, trying not to look disappointed. She arches on top of me and pulls her mouth off of Striker.
“Wh-what are you doing?” she asks, sounding confused.
I keep m
y expression blank. “You belong to the Immortal Hunters now. It’s time you learned as much.”
It finally dawns on her that I took her to the edge, then refused to get her off as punishment, and her shock is replaced by anger. “You asshole!” She springs off of my lap while Striker tucks his spent cock away and draws up his pants. Her angry gaze swings between both of us. “You tricked me!”
I smirk. “Sorry, sweet tits, but that was all you. Apparently, you have needs of your own. And one of those needs is for a thick cock in your mouth.”
“Bastard!”
She turns and starts to stomp off down the street. Striker doesn’t hesitate; he grabs her and throws her over his shoulder. She shouts and curses him, and he gives that sweet ass of hers a couple of smacks before telling her to be a good girl and throwing her back on his bike.
I’m kind of relieved she doesn’t have control of her powers just yet. Because when she does, keeping her in line is going to be harder than we ever imagined.
For now, I look back at the gas station and see some of the men watching us in shock. Good. The next time they see any of our crew, our old ladies, or our sweet butts, I bet they’ll run the fuck away. We’d taught them a lesson, and we’d taught Dani a lesson. She might be different from our women, but she is still ours in a strange way. It’s better for everyone that she knows it now.
21
Phoenix
I hear my cell phone ringing just as I’m stepping out of my shower. I wrap a towel around my waist and race for it, then click the answer button on the unfamiliar number and say, “Hello?”
The line is silent for a moment before a deep voice comes over the line. “Do you want to be a rich man, Mr. Ben Hale?”
Every muscle in my body stiffens. Something about this voice sends every instinct in my body screaming to life. “I’m sorry?”
“You heard me.”
I glare out my window. “What I don’t want is to answer crazy questions from strangers.”
“I know a lot about you, Mr. Hale. I know your mom was a drug addict and the town whore. Basically sold herself to anyone who would pay for her addiction. I know she brought men in and out of your house and that you and your brother were abused and neglected. I also know a certain neighbor is the only reason both of you are—”
“Who is this and what the fuck do you want?”
“It’s not what I want,” he answers smoothly, a smile in his voice. “I know you joined those…Immortal Hunters as a way to escape your life. But you and your brother are big boys now, and maybe you want something more. Like a nice house. As many women as you can buy. And the kind of lifestyle few men can afford.”
“What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Want?”
He sighs. “I want to give you an opportunity. There was a certain blonde female recently acquired by your club. A woman with some value to me. If you and your brother bring her to me, out off Highway 10, the 250 mile marker, we’ll exchange her for a giant suitcase of money.”
“Like hell!”
He laughs. “A very smart man in your club made a similar deal with us and hasn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain yet. I thought I’d give a more capable person the chance. Don’t turn me down, Mr. Hale.”
“I’m not giving you Dani, and I don’t want any of your blood money.”
“Dani? Interesting. I’m not the kind of man to learn the names of my prisoners, but apparently you are. Don’t let that pretty face of hers trick you. Beneath her innocence is so much danger that it’ll end the lives of anyone who gets mixed up with her.”
“You mean you plan to kill anyone who gets in the way of you getting her back, right? No doubt you’re a member of the The Necron Order.”
This time when the man speaks, the calmness in his voice is replaced with an edge. “Believe me, that experiment is far more dangerous than anything we could do to you. Don’t ignore my offer. Tonight at midnight.”
I want to ask more, but the call ends. Sitting down slowly on the edge of my bed, I stare at the phone. My pulse races in my ears, and I contemplate everything the man said. No, I’m not going to consider his offer. If he’d known anything about the Immortal Hunters, he’d know we can’t be bought, which is why I wanted to doubt his talk about working with someone else in our club. And yet, I can’t ignore the fact that someone had slipped Dani demon blood.
Setting my phone down, I dress in a shirt and jeans, pulling on my cut last, fully intending to do a little investigating before Striker and Dragon return. I go to the restricted cell down in the basement where the Prez had put the computers and info from our last mission. When I swipe my card, and the door opens, I’m surprised to find a younger member in the room. Did he have permission?
He looks up at me and pales. He has shoulder-length blond hair, pale brown eyes, and a nervous energy. I’d seen him around, but never quite caught his name. Guys at his level often ended up dead, so it got tiresome to learn all their names.
“Phoenix, uh, sir.” He struggles for the words, rising from the computer chair. “Uh, what are you doing here?”
“A better question is what are you doing here?” I say.
He fidgets. “Prez knows I’m good with computers. I went to MIT before I got thrown out for fighting. He asked me to check out the computers.”
I’m not sure I trust him, so I make a mental note to ask the Prez about it later. “Did you find out anything good?”
He seems to relax when he realizes I’m not about to put a bullet in his chest. “Yeah, actually. Most of it is bits and pieces. Someone erased most of the hard drives, so I was only able to recover some of it. The files were corrupted, so there are a few pictures, half pictures, experiment logs with sentences and paragraphs missing, etc. I’m trying to put it all in a document to get a complete picture.”
I enter the room and circle behind the desk. “Show me what you’ve found out so far.”
He sits down and eagerly begins to pull up a file. There are normal pictures, ones that remind me somewhat of prison pictures. People lined up in front of a screen, a front image, side images, and back image of each person. But then images pop up of people who look mutated. Who look wrong. Most are dead on the floor of cells. Some look like their insides have been pulled out. Others have bubbled skin like liquid had been trying to escape from beneath their flesh. And then there’s a corrupted image. One of a person with…wings? But the person is ash, and the wings are black and sickly.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah,” he says. “They were doing some twisted stuff with a substance called SeraphX26. There were earlier substances called SeraphX…25 to 1, so I’m guessing they had twenty-five studies before this one.”
My stomach turns. How could anyone be fucked up enough to turn a person into something like that and keep trying?
“Anything else?”
“There’s notes on some of the patients.”
I hesitate. “Is there any mention of a Dani?”
His brows draw together, but then he nods. “I think so.” And his fingers fly over the keys, until he says, “Just this.”
I read it out loud, “Dani is unlikely to pass the tests, given her lack of size and strength. But X has insisted that something from her past makes her a good candidate. I mostly assume the patient will die, but I’ll begin the tests as requested.”
“That’s all?”
He seems disappointed. “Yeah, but I’m not done recovering files. I might find more later.”
I nod and head for the door, but then pause. “Let me know if you find out anything else.”
“Uh, Phoenix, sir?”
“Yes?”
“There was a mention of a liaison within the Immortal Hunters.”
I try to keep my face carefully blank. “What did you say your name was, son?”
He draws himself up taller. “Whiz, sir?”
“Whiz?”
He blushes. “On account of me being smart.”
Hell, I wouldn’t want that nickname. “Very good.�
�
I turn and head out the door, but I make a note to find out everything I can about this Whiz. He doesn’t really fit the profile for someone who might be selling our information to the enemy, but one thing I’d learned in life is that looks could be deceiving. Like with Dani. She made every protective instinct inside of me roar to life, but the caller had warned me about her. Was she really dangerous?
Up ahead, I see Dragon heading down the hall, I stop and wait for my twin to join me.
“How did it go?” I ask, because his expression is unreadable.
His gaze darts around the hall, and he leans in closer. “Dani was given demon blood, just as we thought, and she has powers. The power to mimic the ability of others…only hers seem stronger than ours.”
I frown. The guys in our group have some of the strongest powers in the club. “How’s that possible?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know, but I’m on my way to talk to Prez. Think you can go relieve Striker, so he can turn in his report too?”
“Yeah, he at Dani’s room?”
He nods.
I’m about to go when I remember the call. “Just a sec.”
His eyes narrow.
I move even closer to him. “Just got a weird call offering money to turn over Dani tonight. The caller suggested he was already working with someone within our organization.”
Dragon’s face goes blank.
“Do you know something?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I need to think.”
“Should we tell Prez about the phone call?”
I expect him to say yes, so I’m surprised when he shakes his head. “No, let’s just keep this between the four of us. For now.”
“Okay.” I want to tell Prez, but Dragon always has good reasons for his decisions. And as the third in command, or Sergeant-at-Arms, he has the seniority to tell me what to do too.
“Watch your back,” he tells me.
“You too,” I say.