by Monroe, Evie
I tensed up and my scowl deepened.
“She’s Fury!” he shouted. “I saw her. She’s fake as a three-fucking-dollar bill. She’s playing you so she can get us to feel sorry for her and then she’s going to bring their whole club down on us. Mark my words.”
I glared at him.
Nix growled at him. “Shut up, Jet. You and your hunches. You fucking don’t know shit.”
Jet slumped in his seat, a sour look on his face. His big brother always knew how to knock him down.
“Thanks, man,” I said to Nix. Not too long ago, Jet had been pretty damn sure Nix’s girl was bad news. Turned out to be a crock of shit; his girl Olivia was as sweet as candy and pregnant with his kid. Jet might’ve known how to charm a woman, but that was where his knowledge of women ended.
“Look,” I said. “It doesn’t matter whose daughter she is. She and her mother are in trouble and I know not one of you sons of bitches would just sit there and let a woman get fucked with. Especially by someone like Slade. We’ve been meaning to end it with him. Let’s end it.”
Jet, looking beaten, said, “Yeah. We’ve been meaning to. But we still haven’t gotten any intel on how to do that. Have we?”
The men had to give Jet that. We were still fucking in the dark, without a plan.
“It’s like I said. We just go down to his house and take Cait’s mom out of there while he’s at the clubhouse,” I said.
Cullen shook his head. “We have to do that. But not before putting someone on Slade. Because the second he finds her missing, he and his boys will figure it’s us and be on the offensive. We can’t risk that.”
“Yeah, but we can’t do that. They move their clubhouse all the fucking time. We have no idea where the hell they are,” Zain put in.
We all looked at Hart, our resident tech guy. He’d been good at scouting out their last clubhouse location a month ago based on some burner phone hacking skills, but the problem was, they never stayed in one place for more than a few weeks. They had about six locations that we knew of, and who knew how many more we didn’t know of, so following them around was like holding on to a slippery fish. Hart shrugged. “Haven’t seen anything. Sorry.”
“Why don’t you just ask your booty call?” Jet asked me, his voice biting with sarcasm. “Let her give up the location to you, if she’s on our side. She’s got to know, right?”
I frowned. “I don’t think she knows.”
Cullen looked at me and said, “If she knows, and we can get that information from her, our problems are over.”
“Our problems aren’t this girl and her mother,” Jet countered. “They’re the Fury. That’s what we need to be concentrating on. Wiping them off the map. Forget about Slade’s family. That’s a waste of time. I say we get the girl here and make her tell us where the clubhouse is.”
Zain and Hart nodded in agreement and looked at me.
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t fucking think she knows. And I’m not going to make her do anything.”
Jet laughed sourly and shook his head. “Then I will.”
I jumped to my feet so fast that my chair skidded backwards, tipping over and crashing to the ground. “You touch her and you’ll get a face full of my fist.”
He gave me that dimpled, cocky grin. “I’m scared. Really.”
“Cut it out, what the fuck? Are you five?” Cullen asked, looking over at Jet. “Stop being an asshole and let’s try to figure this out.”
“Asshole? I’m trying to protect this club. Which is more than I see Drake doing, sleeping with the fucking enemy.”
“For the last time, Jet, she’s not the enemy!” I growled. “She’s the victim. Slade’s been lording over her the way he’s been lording over the rest of the club. He’s a fucking dictator and I’ve seen the bruises on her to prove it. And I don’t fucking care if none of you assholes are with me on this. She needs help, and I’m going to give it to her.”
“We’re with you,” Cullen said. “Cait and her mother are innocent. We’re going to take care of them.”
Nix nodded in agreement. Jets face hardened into a rigid scowl. “Mistake,” he muttered under his breath.
Cullen gave him a hard look. “And while we are at it, we’ll deliver a blow to the Fury that Slade can’t ignore. Once he finds out we have his wife and kid, that might unravel him. He might do something stupid, which will only help us by making him an easier target.”
Jet crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. It was almost like he wanted the rest of us to kick his ass. “Whatever you say, boss.”
I scowled at him. What the fuck had gotten into him? He was usually contrary about everything. One of the men would say blue, and he’d say red, just out of spite. But eventually, he’d fall in line. What was the deal, here? Was it because Cait was Slade’s daughter? Or was his ego still suffering because Cait had done the one thing no woman had ever done to him, and turned him down?
Chapter Twenty
Caitlyn
There was only so much reality television that a human could endure in one afternoon, and I easily reached that mark after the third hour, cocooned in a blanket on Drake’s comfy sofa. Flipping off the television, I took another shower, then got my clothes out of the dryer. I slipped into the warm jean skirt and camisole, wondering if I’d be in trouble with Drake if I went down the street to the Target and got some panties.
Then I thought of my father. I’d been missing from the house for two days. No doubt, he probably had every one of his men on the lookout for me. I bet they’d already found my beat-up car at The Wall. If they had, they’d probably be scouring all over South Aveline Bay for me.
I couldn’t chance it.
I went over to his bookshelf and pulled down a few of his more interesting titles. They were books I’d been forced to read in school—Lord of the Flies, Ulysses, The Jungle. Not exactly my thing.
After that, I walked through his apartment and looked around. He was beyond neat; he kept things with almost a surgical precision. His medicine cabinet was organized by the size of the pill bottles, mostly with Excedrin, aspirin, Tums, nothing very exciting.
I found one personal thing in his house, a photograph of a young man in a cap and gown, flanked by a very striking older couple, formally dressed, both blonde and tan. I couldn’t see his hair color because of the cap, and he was a lot thinner, but I recognized the jaw. It was Drake. He was holding a diploma for Stanford. I traced his face in the photograph with my finger, smiling.
I looked at his parents. He’d said they lived in L.A., and his father was a plastic surgeon. In the picture, his parents were both frowning, severe, not a single trace of pride on their faces. He’d fucking graduated from Stanford, and they looked like they could care less. Hell, I was prouder of him than they were, and I’d only known him a few days.
Parents. Sometimes they really did suck.
I thought about when I’d graduated from high school. I’d been thinking about college, but my father told me I didn’t need that. When I’d said to him I wanted to go into something like accounting, since I was good at math, he’d said, “The last thing this world needs is another whore, thinking she can use her brain.”
It was hilarious, really, when I thought about it. He didn’t want me to get an education, or further my career, or succeed in life. But he didn’t want me going off with another man and being barefoot and pregnant, either.
He basically just wanted me home, in his prison, forever. I was his property, his to do with, as he pleased.
How could he possibly think I wouldn’t want to escape from that?
After I put the photograph back, I checked the clock at his bedside and realized it was way after dinner. I went to his fridge and opened it, feeling a familiar prick of nervousness. Living with my father, there was a whole list of rules we had to follow to keep him happy. One of them was being careful not to eat his things. His list of foods always changed, so you never knew what would set him off. I’d once gotten smacked across the face for eating h
is Doritos. It was the greatest diet ever, because it kept me from going into the kitchen looking for things to eat.
But as I stared into Drake’s stocked fridge, I realized that I could eat any and all of it and it would be okay. In fact, he’d probably go out of his way to buy me something to eat, if I told him I wanted it.
I smiled at the thought.
And my heart started to ache for him. Other parts of me, too. My thighs clenched, and I realized I was unable to think of anything but having his dick inside of me.
I looked at the clock on the microwave. He hadn’t said when he’d return, but it’d been nearly five hours. It was getting dark, now, too. What if he and Cullen had run into trouble, convincing the other guys to act? What if they were still debating it and thinking of changing their minds?
Maybe I should’ve gone with them. I would have been able to convince them. It was my life they were talking about, after all. I could easily turn the tables with them, just as easily I had with Drake.
Or, maybe I could still go. I knew the general location of their clubhouse. It wasn’t very far from his apartment.
Once I got the idea in my head, the pieces began to take form. Drake hadn’t asked me for help, but I had plenty of information about my daddy and the Fury that could possibly be of use to them. I knew so much about them, their strengths, their weaknesses. Some of that had to be worthwhile to them. Drake was trying to keep me protected. The least I could do was help them. The more information they had, the easier this would be for them.
I searched in my purse for my phone and arranged for an Uber. I couldn’t remember the address of the Cobras clubhouse, but I knew the location on the map, so I figured it out. This would be safe. I’d just jump into the Uber, then jump out at the clubhouse. No one would be the wiser.
Five minutes later, the Uber showed up in front of the apartment. Squaring my shoulders, I grabbed my purse, smoothed my hair in the mirror, and walked out the door. I jumped into the Uber and the lady driving said, “What do you want to go to those old warehouses for, on a night like this?”
I looked out the window. I hadn’t realized it, but the wind was whipping something fierce, nearly rocking the car back and forth. The moon was full and it reminded me of a spooky Halloween night. “I’m meeting someone.”
“All right,” she said, taking off out of the parking lot.
I rubbed my hands together as we drew closer to the wharf. I pretty much hated going in front of the Cobras that last time. My father was wrong when he called them monsters. Maybe it would’ve been less intimidating if they had been. No, each guy was hotter and better built than the next. It would’ve been tough even if I weren’t the daughter of their hated enemy. The way they’d all stared me down . . . I didn’t think anything could’ve been more frightening. Or exciting.
But I managed to hold my own, that time.
And I’d do it again.
Plus, I was dying to see Drake. I missed him, as ridiculous as it was to admit. We’d known each other just a few days, and I was already feeling a flutter of butterflies in my stomach over seeing him again. Men didn’t usually do that to me. I never gave them the chance.
I crossed and uncrossed my legs, feeling sexy without underwear, and thought of the way his hands felt on my body. Thought of the way he looked at me with his intense eyes. My father did everything he could to possess me with his anger and fear, but all Drake had to do was gaze at me with those incredible amber eyes.
We pulled up at the warehouse. All of their bikes were lined up outside, and there was a light shining from the one window at the door.
This is why I was here. For the Cobras. For me. For my mom.
But mostly, for Drake.
Chapter Twenty-One
Drake
“All right,” Cullen said as he lit a cigarette and straddled the chair at the head of the table. We all leaned forward, listening for the plan. “Since we don’t know where their clubhouse is, our best bet is to lure them out, somehow.”
Nix nodded. “Makes sense. But how?”
Jet laughed at him. “You’re serious? You really have to ask? We have the perfect bait at our disposal. Drake’s new old lady.”
I saw red. I glared at him, wanting to punch my fist through his face. “Fuck that. I told you already, Jet! Not going to happen. She stays out of this!”
“Are you kidding me?” Jet said, standing up and starting to pace. “This is actually something this girl is good for, she’s perfect for it, and we ain’t gonna use her? Are we the stupidest bunch of assholes who ever lived or what? The Fury deserves to take us down if we sit here with our thumbs up our asses and don’t take advantage of the tools we have at our disposal. You know they’d do it to us if the tables were turned.”
I pushed away from the table and stood up, raising myself to my full height, which had me an inch over my former best friend. “Look, Jet. I’ve had about enough of this shit from you. I’m not going to subject Cait to anything like that. She’s scared, and she’s fucking had it. She shouldn’t have to be held out there like some goddamn bait where she could get hurt . . . or worse. There’s got to be some other way.”
The room dissolved into silence. As I scanned their faces, I realized that they thought Jet had a point. That we should be pressing Cait for information.
Fuck me.
“I’ve got an idea,” I ventured. “She left her car at The Wall. I’m not sure if it’s there anymore. But if it is, we might be able to lure Fury to us with the car. You know they’re gonna come looking for it eventually. We’ll put it where they can find it and take them in that way.”
Jet gave me a look that the other guys shared. It was a shit-stupid idea and reeked of desperation. He said, “You know the owners of The Wall tow cars that are left there for more than a couple days. It probably ain’t even there anymore.”
Shit.
“Look,” Jet said, standing up and going to the door. “While Drake sits here trying to get you guys to sing Kumbaya with the rest of Slade’s family, I’m going to do what needs to be done. Which is, get over to Drake’s apartment and squeeze his little girlfriend to give us the information we need.”
That was it. I stormed after him, bridging the distance in a few steps. I grabbed the collar of his kutte with both hands and shoved him up against the wall. “Why, you fucking—”
“Hey! Stop it!” Nix grabbed the back of my jacket, yanking me back, but not before I delivered a quick jab, which Jet blocked easily.
“I saw the way you squeezed Cait the first time!” I shouted at him, my face twisted and hot with anger. “You’re lucky she didn’t kick your ass!”
He shook my curled fists off of him and shoved me away. “You’re a real fucking loser, you know that, Drake?” he spat out, adjusting his kutte and strutting to the door. “She’s the best pussy that a prick like you could get, is that it? You’re afraid if you lose her, you’ll have to go slumming with the whores at The Wall, is that it? Because you can’t get anything better?”
“If this is because she turned you down, Jet, get over it.” My voice was hard.
He laughed like I was crazy. “Yeah. Has nothing to do with her being Fury at all.”
I tried to shake Nix off me, but he didn’t budge. “We don’t fucking threaten women. Any women. That’s what makes us better than the Fury. You sure as hell sound like one of them. Willing to fucking do anything to get your way. Well, I’m fucking not, you got that, asshole?”
Jet let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. You’re a regular knight in shining armor, aren’t you motherfucker? I hope you still feel like that when she fucks you in the ass.”
Nix had loosened his grip on my arms, and I took advantage of that moment to storm him. By then, Jet had turned, expecting Nix had me under control. The second he turned back, I hit him in the nose with such force that he went flying back, against the wall. Blood spurted from his nose and he came after me, his face twisted in rage. He raised a fist to punch me and I threw up my arm t
o block it.
But his blow never came.
He froze, something in the corner of his eye stopping him cold. I pushed his fist back and turned, catching all the guys looking through the open door.
Cait stood there, hugging herself and rubbing her bare arms. “Hey,” she said softly.
What the fuck? I stood there, wrapped in disbelief. Cait? In the clubhouse? I dropped my fist, paralyzed for a second. Then, when it sank into my brain that she was staring at me, waiting for me to make a move, I came alive and half ran past the guys. Still stunned, I took her hand. “What are you doing here? How did you . . .?”
“I’ve been here before,” she said. “Remember? And you were gone so long.”
“Yeah. Right. Okay,” I mumbled, not knowing what else to say. “But you shouldn’t be here.”
Fuck, she’d come here because she missed me. As good as that was to hear, that was the last thing I wanted the guys to hear. I pushed my hair from my face and stared at her, trying to decide what to do. Behind me, all the guys watched her, silent.
Shit. This was not good. She shouldn’t have come here. Jet was on a tear, and based on his ranting, half of the guys probably didn’t believe that she was a victim in this. I scanned their faces. They all looked wary, and a little pissed that she’d infiltrated our sacred meeting. That was all I needed, for them to decide that they wanted to use her for bait.
I’d fucking rip their heads off, one by one, before I’d let them near her to do that.
“Is it okay that I’m here?” she asked, sounding worried as she looked around at their faces.
“Yeah, uhm, but let me . . .”
“I also thought I could give you some information that might help you bring down Hell’s Fury,” she said quietly. “If you’re interested.”
I glanced at Jet, whose nose was turning purple, and still squirting blood. He raised his eyebrow, as did the other men around the table. They all started to murmur a little.
I nodded, and Cullen said, “Cait, give us a minute. There’s a chair over there by that table. Some water bottles in that fridge.” He gestured toward the main room. “You’ll be more comfortable.”