by K E Osborn
The roar of the oil pit ignites the heat of the flames sweltering against my skin from here. I turn as the chair is plunged back, and Bradford’s body falls into the oil pit.
Good-fucking-riddance.
“Good work, boys,” I call out as Wraith walks off to his shower alcove to get changed.
I head for the stairs to make my way back to the main room of the clubhouse. I need to find out more about this guy’s brother. See if that shit is true or if he was just stirring the pot. Either way, I have to get eyes on him.
Making my way to Anna, who’s in the boudoir, I find her getting ready for bed when I enter.
“You know, they could have at least gotten me a soft mattress.”
Typical Anna thing to say.
But knowing that asshole laid his hands on her, and she hid it from me, means it was bad. Because she knew I would do exactly what I just did to him.
“I found Bradford.”
“Oh?” She turns, sitting on the bed. “How’d that go?”
“You didn’t tell me he hit you.”
Anna’s eyes drop to the floor, her thumbs nervously twiddling against each other. “He told you that?”
I move to the edge of the bed, sitting beside her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I feel stupid…” her glistening eyes meet mine, “… and I should’ve known better. The first time it happened, I should have hightailed it out of there, but he was so nice and good-looking. He would change for a second, then bam, he was back to being a douche.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“He went to the Chamber, didn’t he?”
I subtly nod.
“Was it painful?”
“Anna, I’m not giving you the details.”
“No, you’re right. Better if I don’t know.”
I pull back facing her, grabbing her hand in mine. “He did say something though that… alarmed me.”
“What?”
“His brother. I saw he had one in the search, but I didn’t think it was of any consequence. Bradford said if he dies, his brother will come after you.”
“So, I’m still not safe?”
“I can’t be sure.”
She exhales, looking a little shaken. “Well, this is shit.”
“You were supposed to choose good men, Anna. What happened?”
“The bad-boy curse.”
“You did always like them damaged.”
She fixates on Zero through the door. “Yeah, and the unattainable it seems.”
I groan. “You gotta let him go, Anna.”
“I know. I’m just having a real hard time doing that.”
“Maybe it’s time you saw someone about—”
“We’re not having that shrink talk again, are we?”
“They’re overrated.” The two words come from behind the closet door.
I curl up my lip. “Shut up, Damir. I don’t need you talking or interacting with Anna in any way. You hear me in there?” I yell back to him.
He chuckles through the door. “I hear you loud and clear, Neon.”
“Damir? That’s the name of the man I’m bunking with?” Anna scoffs.
“We’re holding him until we figure out what to do with him.”
“Who the fuck is he?”
“Wraith’s brother, and also a member of the Triglav Clan. Don’t talk to him, Anna. You come in here purely to sleep. Any other time, you’re out in the club. Got it?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“I’m serious, Anna. He’s bad news. He tried to kill Zero.”
Anna’s eyes widen. “What?” Her head snaps to the door locking Damir inside.
“Almost did, too, sweetheart,” Damir boasts.
“Maybe he should have. Would’ve saved me a hell of a lot of heartache.” Her shoulders slump.
I narrow my eyes on her. “Anna, don’t say shit like that around here, especially with Damir listening. I didn’t want you in here, but with your history, it was thought best for you not to be near the sleeping quarters.”
She glowers at me. “Zero didn’t want me near his precious Cherry Bomb. So, he banished me to the whore’s quarters with a prisoner of the club. Wow. He really thinks that little of me?”
I’m not sure what to say, so I say nothing. The way her eyes glisten shows me just how hurt she is. Maybe this will be enough for her to finally let go of Zero.
“Doesn’t matter. Hopefully, I won’t be here long enough to care. I’ll just go back home when you find Bradford’s brother.”
“I’m so sorry, Anna. You know I love you, and would do anything for you, right?”
“Just not stand up to Zero for my right to a real bedroom.”
It stings, but her words are true.
“Burn,” Damir mocks.
“Shut up, fuckface. Don’t talk, or I will come in there and make sure you don’t. Ignore him, Anna.” She nods as I lean in kissing her on the cheek. “Sleep well. See you in the morning.”
“Go to bed alone, Neon,” Anna warns.
“Good night, Anna.”
“Bad girls are just as terrible for you as bad boys are for me, Asher.”
That hits me like a sucker punch straight to my stomach.
I stall in the doorway for a moment, then walk out closing the door behind me.
Fuck!
NEON
Friday Night
The club is celebrating tonight. Koda’s finally off to college, so we’re having a farewell party for him before he leaves for the other side of the country for God only knows how long. It’s not typical for the next in line to leave for college or to go elsewhere, but he’s been through too much and hasn’t had a chance to grow. To know what he wants out of life. The kid’s been through a whole lot of shit. He’s in line for the presidency—that’s a heavy burden to carry. A boy like Koda has some growing up to do before he can even think about patching in—if he even wants to at all. So, I think that’s what this phase of his life is all about. Finding himself. He watched his parents die, he’s been beaten by our enemies, and shot in the line of fire protecting his sister. You can’t say he hasn’t tried to be Defiance material.
But he’s just not there yet.
He needs to work on himself first.
On finding out who Koda is as an individual.
Because, right now, Koda doesn’t know who he is, and that’s what’s holding him back.
The drinks are flowing, Fox and Bub have cooked up a huge barbecue feast as is our go-to for parties, and everyone is having a good time.
Koda’s in his element.
Zero stands, beer in hand, sending a whistle through the main room. “Yo, listen up!” Everyone quiets down as we all turn to our president. “Koda, first of all, I want to say, I was so fucking reluctant for you to go off to college. I wanted you to stay here with your family, seeing as you’re in line for the presidency.”
Prinie glares at Zero. He waves at her as if to tell her to let him finish.
“But now, I see I was wrong. You need to be with kids your own age. Do the college thing. Go to frat parties, get fucking drunk—”
“But not too drunk!” Prinie butts in, making everyone laugh.
“You need to experience life, kid. I’m so fucking proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone and becoming a man right before our eyes. You can be away from home and fend for yourself, but even if you’re across the other side of the fucking country, we will always be here for you. No matter what.”
At this point, Prinie’s already crying as she hands Sephy off to Wraith. Wiping her eyes, she pulls out a piece of paper from her back jeans pocket. I assume it’s a pre-written speech. We all wait quietly while she unfolds the paper, gives it a once over and prepares to speak but shakes her head, folding it back up. “Koda, we’ve lived through trauma… it made us leave for a while. But I believe we needed to leave for that year because it prepared you for what’s
in store when you’re on your own out there.”
She sniffles, taking in a strained, deep breath before she continues, “I wish I could come with you. I wish I could guide you, but you’re on your own path now, you have to find your way through life without me or Zero telling you which way to go. This life is yours, Koda. So go take it! No matter what, I’m fucking proud of you.” She rushes forward hugging him tightly. Zero joins in, and everyone cheers as Fox walks over with a graduation hat placing it on Koda’s head.
“I haven’t even started yet. Plus… where the hell did you get an academic cap from?”
Fox grins. “I have my methods.”
Everyone chuckles, and the party continues.
Oakley walks over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I’m a little tense, and she narrows her eyes on me, pulling back. “You’ve been distant since Anna arrived. Have I done something wrong?”
I exhale then wrap my arm around her. “Shit, no. It’s just Anna, she’s always in my ear.”
“She doesn’t like me?”
“Anna doesn’t know you. So how can she not like you? That’s what I don’t understand.”
“Well, maybe I should try again… to talk to her?”
“I’m not sure it will do any good. Anna, she’s, well… when she sets her mind to something, she rarely changes it.”
“I’m not the type to give up.”
If Oakley is a bad girl, she’s sure doing a terrible job of showing it because all I see right now is someone so damn good.
“I see that. I’ve been a dick to you over the past few days. I don’t know why I let Anna into my head.”
“Because she’s your sister, and you respect her.”
“I love her, but respect? I don’t know about that. Some of the things she does are questionable.”
“From everything I’ve been told, she’s hurting. She made a huge mistake years ago and has been paying for it ever since. What I think Anna needs… is forgiveness.”
“From Zero?” I snort. “Yeah, she’s never getting that.”
“Then I worry she’ll always remain manipulative and broken like she is.”
“So, you think I’m manipulative and broken, do you?” Anna blurts from behind us.
We both spin. Anna has her arms folded over her chest defiantly.
Oakley stands taller, not backing down. “You are broken, Anna, because of your past. You just need some help moving forward.”
“And you’re such an expert? You’re nothing but a washed-up drag slut with a Daddy fetish because your father’s such a waste, you spend your time searching for alpha men to fill that void. Well, sorry to tell you, sweetie, Asher is no alpha male.”
I scrunch my brows ready to intervene, but before I can say a word, Oakley is already defending herself. “Wow! You’re so close to having me all worked out, aren’t you? Well, let me make a couple of adjustments to that little speech of yours. I’m a champion drag racer who loves her family. I may have chosen a dropkick in my past, but I know not to make that mistake again. So, I’ve chosen the complete opposite in a guy who is every part alpha as he is strong, caring, considerate, and sexy as hell. He’s everything that attracts me to him, and that includes his intelligence… Neon’s not filling a void for me because I am a strong, independent woman who is perfectly capable of being on my own as well as letting a guy like Neon into my life. So, yeah, you nearly had it right… good try, though,” I mock.
Anna scoffs. “Your attitude is bad for Asher.”
“And so is yours. Because here, at the club, he’s Neon. You should respect his ‘road name’ being a past Old Lady.”
My muscles clench, my eyes widening as Anna’s face turns bright red like she’s going to bust her boiler at me. She throws her hands in the air. “Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” Anna snaps.
I shrug. “She has a point, Anna. You should be calling me Neon.”
Anna’s bottom lip trembles.
Immediately, regret swarms through me as she huffs and turns, storming off. I exhale, running my hand over my buzzed scalp. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry… I wanted to make shit better between us. I didn’t mean for Anna to hear what I said, then her words just made me fire off at her,” Oakley laments.
“I know… I’m constantly caught between the people I care about and Anna.”
Oakley sighs. “If Anna is the common denominator, then doesn’t that say something to you?”
“It does, but I can’t stop caring about my sister. That doesn’t sit right with me, especially when it’s clear she’s not well.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of you no longer caring, you have to decide what to take on from what she tells you. Because you love her so much, she uses it to manipulate you without you even knowing she’s doing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“When she made her bottom lip tremble before she walked out, it instantly made you feel like shit, like you regretted taking a stand against her, right?”
I tilt my head in confusion. How could she possibly know that? “Exactly, how did you?”
“It was written all over your face. I’ve seen women like Anna before, only out to get what they want. What Anna wants… no, needs and wants, is attention. She craves it mainly from you because you freely give it to her… like I imagine you have all your lives. It’s not your fault. It’s just because you’re such a damn great guy.”
“Do you think me always being there for Anna made her into the person she is?”
“I believe circumstances in her life made her the way she is. Having you to lean on made her the dependent person she is.”
I scrub at my face, letting out a long breath. “Anna could ask anything of me, and she would always get her way. I’m not sure why I didn’t click sooner that she’s manipulating me, but I think Zero knew. He was always telling me to stop bowing to her every whim. I just felt bad for her.”
“Because she makes you feel that way.”
I glance over at Anna who’s talking to Ax, flipping her hair over her shoulder like she is flirting with him, and it makes my stomach churn. “You wanna get out of here?”
“Where do you have in mind?”
“Anywhere but here.”
She nods, and I take her hand leading her out to my ride.
The party is still in full swing, so they probably won’t even notice we’ve left. I grab the helmet for Oakley from the fence, handing it to her. She shakes her head, and I raise my brow. “Going full wild child tonight? I like it.”
She giggles as I slide onto my ride, and she moves in behind me. Her arms wrap around my waist. It’s the best feeling in the fucking world. All the anguish, all the uncertainty I had vanishes in an instant as I start my bike. Having the vibration of the engine and Oakley wrapped around me is all the calming influence I need.
Pulling out, I head for the gate. It opens wide with the sensor, and I pull out onto the road, hammering down like a bat out of hell. If Oakley wants to be wild tonight, then fuck if I’m not going to give it to her. I accelerate hard, the wind whipping her back as she grips hold of me tight. I smirk as her thighs clench tighter around me.
Our destination isn’t far, so I need to make the most of this ride while I can. I take a corner at high speed, the tail end of my bike sliding out slightly making Oakley laugh behind me. That would scare the pants off most women, but not her. She knows I have complete control. The thing about Oakley is she’s not scared of bikes—not even a little bit.
As I speed up to a light, it changes to yellow. I know it’s going to turn red before I get there, so I hammer down harder, and Oakley lets out a loud, “Woo hoo!” as we run through on the tail end of the yellow, changing through to red two-thirds of the way through the intersection.
I chuckle to myself as I slow my ride taking the turn I need.
Oakley’s giggling behind me as I pull into our destination coming to a stop in the lot. Turning off the engine, Oakley pulls me into a tig
ht embrace from behind. My hand leaves my handlebars, gripping her arm as she continues to laugh.
“That was exhilarating!” She lets me go, sliding off the bike with a pep in her step. I follow her. The bright smile on her face is exactly what I need to see right now. Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
“So, we’re here.”
Oakley peers up to the sign on the wall. “Smash Therapy? Are you kidding me? This is exactly what I need right now.”
“I figured you could get your frustrations out about Rage, and I can about, well… every-damn-thing.”
She reaches out threading her fingers with mine. An electric explosion of ice filters through to my core as we walk to the front door, then inside. The guy at the desk exudes his boredom as his eyes slowly shift up to notice us, then over to the clock on the wall. “You have thirty minutes before we close.”
“Plenty of time,” I reply.
“Fine! Fill out these indemnity forms, then head through that door.” His monotone drawl makes me raise a brow.
We fill out the forms, then make our way through, fitting ourselves up in white full-body suits and clear masks. We look hilarious, but this is going to be so fucking worth it. We enter the smash room, it’s only small with a long table in the middle. On the table are random objects, then on the wall is a cabinet full of more breakables with a couple of statues in here too.
Grabbing a baseball bat, I rest it on my shoulder. “Ladies first.”
She sizes up all the objects in the room, finding a giant empty bottle of tequila. “This is for being drunk all the time and taking your drunken antics out on me, you asshole!”
“Get him, girl,” I call out as she swings the bat. It connects with the glass, and it smashes apart into a hundred tiny fragments which fly across the room.
Oakley lets out a small squeal as she jumps up and down. “Hooollly shit, that was so cathartic!” She’s smiling so wide as she points her bat at me. “Your turn.”
My eyes focus straight on the old-style computer monitor, and I crack my neck to the side. “This is for all the fuckheads at school who called me a nerd and beat me up for it.” I swing the bat, hitting the computer screen, knocking the monitor off the table. It slams onto the floor breaking apart in three pieces. I let out a loud laugh. “You’re right, this does feel fucking good.”