by J Bree
Fucking Diamond.
I’ve always known she was a scheming bitch but this? She fucking knows Angel is mine, I’ve made it fucking clear.
We get Angel back to her new place. She fumbles around with her words and shakes the whole damn time but we get everything unloaded into her house and where she wants it before I stalk back out to my hog.
Rue stays behind to watch over my girl which is good because she still looks like she’s gonna have a fucking heart attack and that only riles me up more.
I get to The Boulevard ready to commit murder. Cold-blooded murder because I’m not coming down here in a rage. Nope, I feel fucking nothing right now except the need to bleed out every jealous fucking slut in this building.
Axe and Cole are both already here for the night and at the sight of my face Cole starts cursing up a storm. Axe doesn’t utter a word, just rolls his shoulders back like he’s about to jump into a fight which is good.
I’m going to fucking gut someone.
“Asses in the locker room right the fuck now!” I roar and every single body in the room freezes.
I never raise my voice like that.
Before Angel, I was the easygoing one. I was the party lover, the one who’s always having a good time, the one who ruled fair and loose.
I’m not that man anymore.
“Holy shit, is everything okay? Tomi, what’s happened?” Mel says, already fucking naked even though the place doesn’t open for another hour.
“Put a fucking shirt on and get your ass moving, I’m not a man to mess with tonight. Where the fuck is Diamond?”
“I’m here!” she calls out with a smile, all sorts of syrupy sweetness but the shit leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Fake fucking slut.
The bouncers both walk in as well, good, and Axe gets the door shut behind them, leaning back on it and crossing his arms.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Diamond? Something you’ve done?”
She pouts at me, all fake and fucking manipulative. We’ve let her take care of shit down here too much, she’s gotten too fucking comfortable.
“You know I tell you everything, Tomi! We’ve got this place running like a well-oiled machine, even after the Demons were here. Oh, is this a debrief? I’ve already told Rue everything that happened but I’d be happy to go over it again.”
I stalk forward and Diamond is the only fucking one who doesn’t see the danger she’s in. Nah, all she sees is a patch she so desperately wants.
Everyone else is hugging the walls, trying to get the fuck away from my rage.
“How about we start with who called you and told you Angel was underage, hm? Which brother stepped the fuck outta line and told you?”
Her lips press together but I expected as much.
“How about you tell me who the fuck gave you permission to speak on the club’s behalf? Rumor has it you told Angel I wanted her dead. Now, I’d think really fucking carefully about how you answer this one because I’m here for blood.”
Her jaw drops and she dares to look fucking shocked. “For blood? Tomi, she lied to the club! She could’ve had all our asses thrown into fucking prison!”
I take the last step towards her until I’m standing over her, the need to kill her thrumming through my blood. “She risked her life for you, you miserable cunt. She stood up and stopped the Demons from hurting you.”
She blinks back tears but I’ve got no fucking time for that shit. “She practically put herself on a platter! She’s a biker slut. She saw a patch she liked the look of and threw herself at them—”
Her words are cut off by my hand around her throat. I’ve never laid hands on a woman before but fuck if I’m going to get the job done right. She didn’t just fuck with my girl, she stepped out on the club.
“She stood in for her friend to save you all and your jealous fucking self didn’t even stop to say thank you. Now that’s enough to get your ass kicked out but to lie to her about me? To tell her I want her dead? Bitch, you fucked with the wrong man.”
Her eyes start bugging out before I drop her back down to the ground and she collapses to her knees.
“Listen carefully. Angel is mine and if I find out one of you cunts so much as side-eye her you’ll get the same as Diamond. You hear me?”
I ride out to the lake to clear my head.
Axe must have called Rue because I find him tailing me before I even hit the highway, riding like a reckless fucking idiot because clearly he’s in one of those moods where he wants to flirt with death. He’s spent his whole damn life trying to decide if he wants to live or die and something is going on in that grumpy fucking head of his that has him questioning if he needs to go out in a blaze of glory.
I wait until we park up by the lake before I take a deep breath and try to calm the fuck down.
Rue glances at the blood on my hands and says, “Diamond?”
“Dealt with. We’re gonna need to spend more time at The Boulevard.”
He shrugs. “Worth it. Angel is fucking worth it.”
Damn fucking right she is. I glance around but the place is empty like it always is. There’s a reason I headed up this way once I knew Rue was riding along.
“Look. We need to talk about your little flower.”
It’s like a thunderstorm rolling in, I see the darkness shutter across his face. “No we fucking don’t. Have I said a single fucking thing about your woman? Nope, I kept my mouth shut.”
Fuck, maybe I should have brought Speck out here just so we’d have a referee but he’s still hobbling around like he’s on the brink of death. “Shut up, asshole, I’m trying to tell you we have a whole new fucking problem to deal with. I’ve risked my ass for her on the run so cut the shit.”
He doesn’t say a word not even when I pull the silencer out of my pocket, like I need to prove to him and myself that I’m not fucking losing it or something.
“I got separated from the others at the drop off. I ended up with a gun to the back of my head from the Demon Enforcer.”
Rue frowns. “I thought you got him with a fucking headshot.”
I shake my head slowly. “Rue, I didn’t kill him. I was about to be taken the fuck out except then another Demon shows up, talks him outta killing me.”
I hand him the silencer and he frowns down at it. “What the fuck is this?”
“That would be the silencer Colt Graves used to kill Cliff without being heard. He let me go, doesn’t say a fucking word to me, just lets me leave with my skull still intact.”
Rue scowls down at the silencer in his hand like it's some impossible thing. I know exactly how he feels, I’ve been staring at the fucking thing for days… trying to make sense of what the fuck it all means.
“Why didn’t you tell King or Hawk?”
I blow out a breath. This is the hard bit. “I live and bleed Unseen… but I also know Posey like I know Trink. I’ve watched that kid grow up, I know exactly who she is, no matter how much shit I give you about her. If I tell King he’s going to think she’s in on this somehow… that she’s some sort of sleeper cell in our club.”
Rue curses under his breath, swipes a hand over his face. “She’s not. She’s really fucking not.”
I nod. “Exactly but she’s also full of fucking secrets. You need to get them outta her, give her your patch, get her safe in our club and away from that other family of hers. Pure and simple, she’s yours and no one else’s.”
Rue scratches at the shadow on his cheek. “Did Angel tell you anything about them?”
“No. But I’ll be asking her about them the second I’m sure she believes we don’t want her dead.”
Chapter Thirty One
Angel
I wake up on the couch after my first night in my own house and two things filter into my head as I lie there looking at the morning sun filtering through the cracked and broken blinds on the living room window.
I love my house more than any woman really should love such a thing, and
I’m fairly certain my ribs were bruised and not broken because I can breathe with only discomfort and not agonizing pain.
I’m sure after the day I’m planning that shit will change but I’m glad to take a minute and just lie around, looking at all of the cracks I’ll need to fill and the mud that’s still on the floor.
Eventually, I get up and eat a candy bar for breakfast.
It’s not a great choice but I chase it with an energy drink and suddenly I’m ready to get to work on… fuck, something. Anything. Any part of this house that I can get to without needing an extra set of hands.
I start caulking up all of the cracks in the walls and ceiling.
Raising my arms above my head does start to feel like I’m going to fucking die but it doesn’t take too long to get every room done. One of the many advantages of such a tiny house.
While I wait for that to set I run to the store and grab paint. This place needs some fucking love. I’m living here, on my own, until I die. There’s nowhere else I ever want to be now that I’ve found friends and a little house of my own, so I need it to look exactly how I want it to. Even if that means painting everything myself.
I want it all white.
I want it to look bright and clean. I want it to look as though I know what the hell I’m doing, eighteen and owning something like this. It’s only a one bedroom, one bath little place, nothing to write home about, but fuck. I’m so goddamn proud of it, so proud that I have a tiny house on a street that isn’t the worst in town, and I fucking own it.
I need a fence.
Someday, I’m going to get a dog to keep me company. I’m going to plant a vegetable garden, maybe put in some fruit trees, and I’ll plant flowers everywhere. I’m going to get a real job at an accounting firm in the next town over and I’ll live a fucking life.
I just need to paint the walls first.
I keep myself so fucking busy that I don’t think about Tomi at all. Okay, that’s a lie. I think about him a lot without actually trying. The confrontation at the grocery store was fucking weird and the fact that both him and Rue were just heading past and saw me.
I’m grateful as hell they were there though. No way was I getting the couch in by myself. It’s a big one, it takes up most of the living room and there’s a section that folds out into a bed. I knew I had to pick between a couch or a bed because I could only fit one in the Chevy and with Poe declaring she’d be here every day after school I needed somewhere for her to sit.
So I manage to get a layer of paint on the walls in the living room before she knocks on my door. I’m too busy trying to figure out how the fuck I’m going to paint the ceiling to realize she’s not alone when I open the door.
I come face to face with Trink.
Oh God.
I must look shocked and maybe a little horrified standing there in my paint splattered shirt and jean shorts older than I am, thrifted from some shitty flea market a few states over.
Poe nudges Trink and Tomi’s sister huffs just like he does. “Quit it, Graves, I’m getting there.”
She clears her throat and sort of rolls her shoulders back and I’m a little shocked at what comes out of her mouth. “Angel, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I treated you like shit without ever trying to get to know you first. I’m so used to strippers being around my family and using me to fuck my brother that I just… I made a shitty assumption. That’s on me and nothing to do with you, I should’ve listened to Poe and not been a fucking asshole to you.”
I look at Poe but her eyes are clear and open, she’s ready to accept whatever decision I come to. I guess I can give this girl a chance. I mean… I think maybe things with Tomi might sort themselves out? God, I don’t want to get my fucking hopes up again.
I step out of my doorframe and usher them in. “I don’t have much furniture yet and there’s no TV, sorry.”
Trink shrugs and stalks in without any reservation. Poe grins at me and slings an arm around my shoulders. “Like we give a shit about chairs. I brought beer and we can order pizza. Let’s talk shit about dumbass boys and cars.”
I scoff and roll my eyes at her but, damn, it feels so good to have friends and Poe is the best one a girl like me could ever ask for.
Even if her brother is the Devil himself.
Jesus.
I’ve got to stop thinking about that shit.
Poe pulls some beers out of her bag and I don’t at all wanna question her on where she got them because her sources seem endless. Trink orders a pizza and I insist on paying for it even when they both fight me.
The first slice is like heaven. Cheesy, pepperoni goodness, nothing can beat the taste. Everything is perfect until Trink ruins it.
“So tell me about Tomi, he told Mom he’s bringing you to family dinner on Sunday.”
I startle and try not to freak the hell out. “What do you mean? What about him?”
Trink laughs and Poe nudges her even though she’s grinning like a loony. “He told me he was ‘struck. I know what that shit means so how do you feel about him?”
I squint a little at her. “What the hell does ‘struck mean?”
The smiles slide off of both of their faces. Trink recovers first. “You don’t know? That asshole didn’t tell you?”
I shake my head, fiddling with the label on the beer. I’m trying not to be upset that he’s been running his mouth about me, especially with his sister. I didn’t know they were that close. Shit, I didn’t know he did Sunday dinners at his parents’ place either. They’re closer than I would have ever thought. Jesus, no wonder Trink hated me. I’m the slut stripper who sucked her brother off in The Boulevard office.
“The Callaghan men are cursed,” Trink whispers and Poe snorts at her.
“Blessed. Keely says they’re blessed but sometimes blessings go… wrong.”
I blush. Are they talking about dick sizes right now? Because that’s just too fucking weird.
“They’re ‘struck by the hand of God, Pops says. They meet the woman of their dreams and they feel it like a bolt of lightning through their chests, and they know they belong to that woman.”
I place the bottle down slowly onto the floor before I spill that shit everywhere with the shaking of my damn hand.
Trink goes on. “Hawk was lovestruck. Met Keely, knocked her up, happily ever after and all that. King and Hell were both cuntstruck. The women they felt that bolt of lightning for were terrible, gave ‘em nothing but their boys and years of chaos to clean up.”
Poe leans forward, her eyes all dreamy looking. “Someday, I’m fucking praying Rue feels that for me. I just need to grow up enough for him to see me as a woman and not a fucking kid.”
I force a little smile on my face for her but my chest feels like it’s been carved out, my heart and everything else just fucking scooped out until I’m an empty cavern.
“Tomi told Keely the other day that you ‘struck him. He’s been trying to figure out what the fuck to do ever since.”
Christ.
That’s why he hated me so much.
I’m the fuck up, the failure, the fucking stripper he’s been cursed to want even though he’d rather anyone else but me. Oh my fucking God, this is worse than I thought.
Poe’s eyes soften. “Angel, you’re not a cunt. There’s no way this’ll be a bad thing. You’re one of the kindest, strongest, most loyal people I’ve ever met.”
I smile at her and I’m so freaking grateful for the empty feeling inside me because it means I don’t have to fight tears over knowing just how I’ve ruined Tomi’s life. Fuck.
“So. Are you guys seeing each other or what?”
I sigh and shrug. “I don’t know. I think he wanted to before—I mean, before he found out I’d lied to the club. Now I just… I don’t know.”
Trink frowns at me, downing the last of her beer before cracking open another one. Clearly they’re not going anywhere soon. “Explain it to me. Explain the whole thing, start to finish, and I’ll try to fi
gure this out for you. I mean, it’s a little gross with him being my brother but fuck it, I’d rather it be you than some other bitch.”
I open my mouth and Poe interrupts me. “She doesn’t mean the sex bits, leave those the hell out. I still can’t believe Tomi bagged someone as hot as you, he’s fucking blessed.”
Trink fake gags and I open another beer before I start the story. I need the buzz to get me through it.
Because there’s only the three of us, I feel comfortable enough to work my way through the beers, my buzz quickly turning into the room spinning and my words slurring. I’m fucking drunk, for the first time in my life I’ve pushed it past my limit.
It’s fine until there are lights in the driveway and Trink groans from where she’s dancing to some song playing on her phone. “Fuck me.”
Poe scrambles up off of the floor. “What is it? Is it Demons? I’ll call it in, fuck, where’s my gun?”
Trink scoffs. “No, dumbass, it’s our ride. I told Tomi I wouldn’t drink too much and here I am… fucking wasted.”
My heart clenches in my chest.
Lovestruck.
Oh God.
Oh fuck, I’m too far gone to deal with him like this.
Poe giggles at the look on my face. “You didn’t promise him shit, Angel! You’ll be fine. Fuck, tell him to go home! Tomi! Go home, Angel is too drunk for boy bullshit.”
I can’t move from where I’m lying on the couch so there’s no stopping her, no trying to get her to shut her freaking mouth and quit embarrassing the life out of me. At least I’m incapable of blushing in my current state.
From where I’m sprawled out I can see Rue scowling down at Poe while she dances around excitedly, yammering on about painting this place but I can’t even chime in because she’s talking a mile a minute.
Eventually, he gets over her shit and slings her over his shoulder in one swoop. He ignores her squeals of outrage and just stomps out, cussing and muttering about idiot girls.
Tomi stares down at Trink like she’s his number one problem and she glares back up at him like he’s some evil brother she can’t stand.