by LeAnn Asher
“They are dead,” he states simply and jumps off the couch. “I got the Devils Soul enforcer to thank also. I just wish the fucker had killed them, though.” My dad stops and looks at me. “Nobody dares to hurt my baby girl.”
He comes back over and sits down beside me. “I will call Lane tomorrow and get this shit sorted. Mary has always been a bitch to you, sweetheart. She never accepted the MC part of you. You deserve better.” Dad pulls me over to him, and I lay my head on his chest. He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “Sleep, Smiles.”
I shake with laughter at the name he gave me when I was young. Let’s just say it’s like father like daughter.
* * *
Butcher
* * *
My phone rings, and I reach over to my nightstand to pick it up. Tonight is the first time I have been home since I met Shaylin. She went to her father’s house, and I know she is safe there. I know something went down with her friend. I could see the hurt on her face as she drove past me.
“Yeah,” I say into the phone.
“It’s Smiley.” It’s Shaylin’s dad. I sit up in bed. My first thought is something happened to Shaylin.
“Meet me. We got some fuckers’ asses to beat.”
A slow smile comes over my face. Now we are talking. “Where?”
The west side of town on Thirty-Eight. Smiley has found the fuckers who went after Shaylin. If we hadn’t been in a bar, I would have ended them, but I was too busy watching Shaylin beating the chick’s ass.
I climb out of bed and go to my closet, and I slip on some clothes in a hurry. I was going to find the fuckers today, but her father is already on it. They sure as fuck didn’t know whose kid they were messing with, and if they only knew she was mine, they wouldn’t have dared.
I walk out of my house and lock the door behind me. I hop on my bike and roar out of the driveway. Time for payback.
* * *
Smiley
* * *
I watch as Butcher parks beside me—this is the first time I have ever met this fucker. I have heard the rumors. This man is massive and fucking scarred up, and he looks mean as fuck. I already like him.
“They are at the house down the road. These fuckers do not deserve to be breathing easy,” I tell him and he nods. Any man who thinks about laying a hand on a woman deserves the same kind of treatment, but tenfold.
A slow smile comes over his face. “I would have made them pay last night, but I was busy watching Shaylin beating Lexi’s ass.”
That’s my kid. “Did she do it smiling?”
He nods and I throw my head back laughing. I watch him and I realize something. Butcher was menacing and looked evil as shit until he mentioned my baby girl’s name.
Fuck me. He wants her.
“Let’s roll.” I start my bike and drive off in the direction of the house. He pulls up beside me. I point at the house, and we pull up in the driveway. No hiding and sneaking around. I want them to know I am coming. I want them to feel the fear.
We park and turn off the bikes. We walk side by side. Butcher steps in front of me and kicks the door off the hinges. It lands on the living room floor.
“Them.” He points at two men, who scramble up off the couch when they see us.
“Well, well, well. This shit was too fucking easy.” I stroll into the house and take my gun out of the holster at my back. “I’ve been told that you guys wanted to fuck up my daughter last night.” I point my gun at them. “You messed with the wrong fucking kid.”
“Do whatever the fuck you want to do with us, but keep him away.” One of the men—who is the shortest and frailest—points behind me, his whole body shaking. I turn around and see Butcher running his hand up and down the side of a big-ass knife. He is staring at them with pure rage.
Hmm.
“Butcher, I think this one doesn’t like you.”
The pitiful fucker starts shaking so hard he falls onto the couch.
“Why did you come after my daughter?” I ask the man who is still standing.
Butcher walks behind the couch behind the man who is scared of him. He runs his knife up and down the man’s cheek. The man flinches every moment.
“I was out of dope money, and the dealer said he would give me a month’s supply if I roughed this chick up for him.”
“Thank you.” I grin and throw my fist out, nailing him on the face. He falls to the floor and I grab his shirt, lifting him off the ground. “I want you to repeat after me.”
He nods frantically.
“I will never touch another female or think about it. If I do, the Grim Sinners will chop off my dick and make me eat it.” I smack his mouth for good measure.
“I promise.”
“Good boy, but this doesn’t get you out of an ass beating. You fucked with my kid, that shit doesn’t fly with me. If you touched her? You would have died a long...” I stop and bend down closer to him. “Slow, painful death.”
“I am sorry!” he cries out, and I punch him in the mouth to shut him the fuck up.
“Crying and begging isn’t going to do shit! You were going to hurt my kid. My...” I point to my chest. “Baby girl! The princess of the Grim Sinners. You fuckers are lucky I didn’t tell her uncles and cousins. Enough chitchat. Let’s get this shit started.”
I grin at them before I get to work at kicking their asses. Butcher is so busy traumatizing the other guy, he won’t need to have the shit kicked out of him.
I watch Butcher climb on his bike after we are done. “Treat Shay like a fucking queen or die a slow, painful death.”
I leave that shit at that and climb on my bike. I drive off, leaving him there. No man is going to be good enough for my baby girl, but this one is fucking crazy enough to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
Five
Shaylin
A Week Later
* * *
Butcher has continued to stick around. He is outside of my house at night. I have been very tempted, many times, to just invite him in. I am a woman who lets a man make the first move. The only move Butcher has made so far is following me everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Outside of my house, work, the hair salon—hell, even when I am at my dad’s house, he is outside the gate, and what shocked me more than anything was my dad waving to him.
What is up with that?
I am getting used to him following me around, and my everyday people who come in for their sweet fixes now wave at him.
I think, at this point, he just likes my cupcakes. The entire time he is in the bakery, he is stuffing his face with everything. He sits in front of the glass showcase, which can be opened from the front, so he just opens it, reaches in, and grabs whatever he wants.
Like I could tell him no.
Mary left. She left the very next day, and I can say I don’t miss her. I didn’t realize how negatively she affected my life. She was always a downer about the MC, who is my family. I don’t think she was a bad person at all—we were friends—but she never liked a huge part of me. Snobby is the word for her, now that I have sat down and thought back. All I know is she moved to California. I got Lane’s tech guy to track her down.
My phone starts ringing, and I look at the screen before answering. It’s Chrystal, the wife of the president of the Devil Souls MC.
“Hello?” I busy myself wiping down the counter.
“Hey girl! Us and the ole ladies in the club are going to one of the club-owned male strip clubs. You in?” Chrystal sounds excited.
I look over at Butcher, who is still stuffing his face, and the moment I look at him, his head shoots around to meet my gaze. A smile comes over my face. “I am down.” Butcher’s eyes narrow on me.
It’s time for this man to make a move and if this doesn’t do it, then nothing will.
“Awesome! I will be by to pick you up at eight. Bye!” She hangs up and I set my phone down. I still feel Butcher staring at me, and I just keep on smiling.
This will be epic.
/> At eight o’clock on the dot, a big-ass Hummer pulls up outside my house. Butcher climbs off his bike and walks over to the Hummer. He says something and looks at the house, where I am staring out the window.
It’s time for me to reveal myself. I spent two hours on this look. I open my front door and step out. I smirk and look Butcher up and down. His mouth pops open. I flip my hair over my shoulder, and I strut across my porch and down the steps, making my ass sway with every step. Butcher is standing completely still, his mouth hanging open, his fists clenched, and his body stiff. I close his mouth and drag my hand down his neck, before letting my hand fall.
The back door of the Hummer opens, and stairs pop out. I climb the stairs and plop down into the seat. I shut the door, and I am met with silence in the vehicle. I look around the Hummer, and I see everyone staring at me in awe.
“What the fuck was that?” Jean says from the back loudly.
“That, ladies, is how to hook a man.” I wink at her and reach behind me to grab my seatbelt and snap it into place.
“I am in awe.” I turn around and see it’s Myra. When you’re an MC brat, you learn who’s who.
“That was pretty epic.” Chrystal is still beside me.
I shrug. I am ready to end the game and see what the fuck is going on. I know one thing, and that is I am extremely attracted to him. We’ve been playing this game for what? Two weeks? Yeah, it’s time to get where this is all leading to or to see what he wants. Him stalking me isn’t the most conventional way to go about all of this but, like I said, MC men aren’t normal, and Butcher is something different altogether.
“I have been dying to know what happened after he followed you out of the steak house two weeks ago,” Chrystal says, and from the corner of my eye I notice all of the girls scooting closer. Hell, I even see the driver turning down the already soft radio.
“He has been stalking me,” I say bluntly, and I watch a million different emotions cross their faces.
“Stalking you?” Jean says, dubious, her eyebrows furrowed.
I nod and turn in my seat slightly. A bike loudly comes up behind us, and I look out the window—it’s Butcher catching up to the Hummer. “Since the moment I left the steak house, he has just been around—everywhere I go—watching me.” I smile at the last part.
“Why am I not surprised? I knew the moment he followed you out, he wasn’t going to leave you again.” Chrystal smooths her hair over her shoulder, a bright and happy smile on her face.
“I really don’t mind.” I grin at all of them, and they all look at each other and smile.
“Where are we?” I ask Chrystal as we drive down a long driveway.
She looks at me as she answers. “We are here to pick up Alisha, who is an ole lady.”
“Ahh,” I drawl and unbuckle my seatbelt as the Hummer parks. The doors are opened and we all step out. The Hummer is more like a limo, but it is not as long. I can see that it’s built for protection—I can tell the glass is bulletproof.
We all climb up the steps and onto the porch. The front of the house is literally just glass, and I’ve got to admit it’s breathtaking. The inside is just as breathtaking.
Jean steps ahead of all of us and opens the door, and it slams against the wall. I cringe, expecting the glass door to just burst into a million pieces. We all step inside the house, and I see a small woman and a tall, muscular, tattooed man kissing.
She lets go of him and steps away, smiling at all of us. She is beautiful, and I can tell she is a couple of years younger than all of us, but not by much.
Chrystal takes her hand and then looks over at me. “This is Shaylin.”
“I’m Alisha. Nice to meet you.” She smiles widely at me, and she is even more breathtaking.
I smile back at her, step forward, and pull her into a hug. “Nice to meet you!” I tell her and squeeze her tighter before letting her go.
She looks at me with a sly smile on her face. “I’m guessing you’re with Butcher?”.
I burst out laughing because it seems like we are the talk of the town. I hold my stomach as it is already aching from laughing so much on the way over here. The other girls laugh along with me.
I wipe under my eyes. “Lane is my brother. I would have approached all of you at the restaurant, but I had to get back to work.” I smile wickedly. “As for Butcher, he’s been stalking my ass since then. He sleeps on my porch, he sits in my bakery all day long. He rarely talks.” To confirm everything I said, I turn around and look out the window. “Like now, I bet he is at the gate waiting on me.”
Everyone walks over to the window to take a look, and I join them. Butcher is sitting at the gate. Everyone bursts out laughing.
“Girl, you’re in so much trouble!” Jean taunts me and cracks up.
“Come on, girls, let’s go!” Myra yells, and we all file out of the house and head to the Hummer. I climb in and sit down while the others file into the other seats. It’s like a bus, but it’s majorly kick ass. In the main backseat are two MC prospects who weren’t there before.
The Hummer starts up and we are off. We pass Butcher, who is still waiting at the gate. His eyes immediately go to me as we pass, and I smile back.
Once he is out of my line of sight, the bike starts up. My stomach flips and flutters with butterflies. A few seconds later he drives up right beside my window, and the other MC guys pull up on the other side. I look at the girls. “Told you.” They all laugh, and I turn back to the window to stare at him.
“I give it two weeks before the patch is on her back!” Jean yells through the Hummer.
Alisha immediately shakes her head and holds up four fingers. “I give it four days!”
They all explode with laughter again, and I join them. Once I get myself under control, I look back out the window and wave at him. He jerks his chin in my direction and I swoon on the inside, but I totally hear the other women sigh.
A few minutes later we pull up outside the strip club, and I look out the window one last time at Butcher.
Time to get the show on the road. I grew up around badass alphas, and I know how they work.
Six
Shaylin
One by one, we step out of the Hummer outside the strip club. I hear his bike turn off, and I grin.
“All of our men are going to die—they’re going to throw a fit—but that’s the fun part. It just means we get fucked into next week,” Jean shrills and I shake with laughter. This girl is nuts.
All together, we walk toward the club, but I feel him coming closer and closer. I hear heavy footsteps and we all stop. Butcher thunders up to us and stands directly in front of me. He looks at the strip club sign and back at me.
“Fuck no. Mine.” I am thrown over his shoulder.
Finally! This is the first time I have ever touched him, and I have wanted to so many times. Just touching him has the butterflies going crazy in my stomach. I press my hands to his back and lift myself up. I look at the girls, wink, and wave bye. My plan worked like a charm.
We move farther and farther away from the girls and into the darkness of the parking lot. Holy shit, he called me his! HOLY SHIT! He literally just claimed me.
Oh. My. God.
He bends down and I am set on my feet. I fix my hair and look up at him. I suck my bottom lip into my mouth. Now I am nervous. He bends close to me, and I suck in a deep breath. I feel something touch my back and I look around. He is holding a leather jacket.
Or maybe he was just grabbing the jacket.
Butcher is still staring at me intently when I look back at him. He lifts the jacket and opens it with both hands. I turn around and put my arms in the arm holes, and he slides the jacket on. His fingers touch the nape of my neck as he gently pulls my hair out of the jacket, and I shiver.
“Let’s go,” he says and I jolt at the sound of his voice again. It’s so deep and manly, I want to hear it again and again. His hands touch my waist, and my hands go on top of his. He is so warm. My feet leave the ground, an
d he sets me on top of the motorcycle.
I lick my lips and watch as he climbs on in front of me. My heart starts pounding because I am going to be touching him and holding onto him. I shift in my seat as I scoot down toward him, but I don’t put my hands around his waist.
I stare at his muscular arms as they flex with his every movement. The bike starts up, and I run my hands up and down my legs nervously.
I am so nervous because I find this man very attractive and I am a virgin. That combo is dangerous. I have dated and that’s it. It never makes it past a couple of dates, and this has been going on for years. I have very high standards because, well, look at the father and uncles I have.
I know what I want in a man, and if I see this person doesn’t have it, I don’t continue dating him for the heck of it. If there isn’t any spark, then that’s it—plus I can’t date a pussy. I just can’t deal with a man who won’t stand up for his woman or protect her.
I was on a date a year or so ago, and I was standing at the bar with him. He was ordering us a drink. Some guy came up to me and started hitting on me right in front of him.
What did my date do? He looked at the guy and turned around to get his drink. Then the guy who was hitting on me wouldn’t take his eyes off of my tits, and my date noticed.
I told the guy hitting on me to hit the road, and I told my date that I was going to the bathroom when, in reality, I just left and had my brother pick me up.
Butcher reaches back and grabs my hand, and he pulls me forward so my front is pressed against his back. I lift my other hand and wrap my arms around him.
“Hold on.”
You can guarantee that I will do that. I don’t voice that to him though. Butcher looks from left to right and backs up with his feet. I look around the dark parking lot, and there are no people around, just a bunch of vehicles. It’s a strip club with male strippers, so you can’t expect a lot of men—or even women, for that matter—to be hanging around outside.