Addictive (The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 2)

by K E Osborn

  I’d prospected in officially as part of the club a couple of months ago. The brothers all thought I was a loose cannon, but Zero and Frenzy saw something in me. It seems the Walker’s liked taking in stray mutts. I was trying to find my feet, but my addiction kept rearing its ugly head.

  The club girls were off-limits to me. The guys knew I could go too far, and the women were more than just whores to them and were treated with respect.

  So, I found my fix in other ways, but it was starting to get out of hand, and Zero knew it. It was, after all, the reason he took me in. His project, even though he kept saying I wasn’t, I knew I was. He kept telling me once I’d shown restraint, he’d take me to the Chamber.

  I had no fucking clue what that even meant.

  All I knew is that it was some kind of reward.

  And my brothers, though wary, treated me with respect, which was more than I had ever gotten in my life before. Even though I was a prospect and was made to do all the shitty crap around the club, they still treated me with respect above all else. That’s what let me know I was meant to be here.

  So, after four months of being on my best behavior around my brothers, Zero told me it was time. “I have something for you. Remember I told you about the Chamber?”

  I nodded. “Yeah?”

  “Come with me.” Zero reached out, grabbing my cut, and yanking me along with him. All the brothers grinned as we walked. I had no idea what was in store for me.

  As we passed Frenzy, he dipped his head. “Welcome to the club, officially, Talon,” Frenzy grunted out as we walked into the Chapel, a place I was yet to enter. I was nervous because only patched members were allowed to enter this inner sanctum of the club—church is revered by the brothers. So, I had no idea what any of this meant.

  “You’re tense as nun’s cunt. Loosen up, Talon,” Zero chuckled. He slapped my back, pulling on the club logo on the wall, which was made of steel. He rotated it to the right, then left, then right again, and the floor slid open, revealing a hidden staircase. My eyes widened, feeling like this was some fucking doorway to ‘Hogwarts’ or some other shit.

  “If you start chanting, or put on a fucking cloak, I’m outta here,” I mocked, with a slight edge of seriousness in my undertone.

  Zero chuckled. “Why does everyone think this looks fucking mystical. Nah, brother, it’s so the cops don’t find it.”

  I raised my brow.

  Now I was intrigued.

  We traipsed down the stairs, the smell hit me like a damn brick wall, each step I took the smell became stronger and stronger.

  “This is the Chamber, Talon. Down here…” he waved his hand around, “… this is where we’re going to let YOU be in charge. Let YOU get your frustrations out on the men that WE need to be taken care of. We’ve never had someone in charge down here before, and especially not a prospect, so we are putting a lot of trust in you, but we think this will be a good outlet for you.”

  I halt halfway down the stairs. “This is a room where I can let my frustrations out. Deal with my addiction?”

  Zero nods. “Yes, and I will be here, helping you to control your urge. To manage it, so you finish them in here only. Out there in the real world, you will control yourself. But down here… down here, you can unleash.” He takes another couple of steps further down into this pit that could very well be my salvation. “A wraith is a man who comes in, kills, then leaves without a trace. So, that’s what we will provide for you here. You come in, you do what you need to do, and then… you leave. We’ll clean the mess… you don’t have any more to do with it.”

  Stopping our descent again, I look Zero in the eyes. “You would really do this… for me?”

  He nods. “We’re brothers. You need an outlet. We have assholes who fuck with the club that need to be dealt with. You can do whatever you want to them, so we get answers or whatever we need, then we clean the mess. Win-fucking-win.”

  “What do you get out of this?”

  He grips my shoulder. “I get to help a friend.”

  Friend? That word sounds weird, I don’t think I’ve ever had a friend before.

  “Deal.”

  Zero smiled. “All right, let’s take you to your first victim, then shall we… Wraith?”

  Yeah, Zero saved me that day, and now I’m the asshole who can’t save him when the time comes down to it. Regret swarms my body as I lay in my bed, but honestly, I can’t stay here all day. I really wish I could, but I am the president—or interim president—so I need to get my ass out of this bed and act the fuck like it for my brothers, for our family.

  Groaning, I slide out of bed, rubbing my face. I’m fucking wrecked. I need coffee and some grease. That’ll help. Standing, I quickly dress, then make my way downstairs where the clubhouse is alive and buzzing.

  “Morning, pres,” Frost calls out as I march past him.

  I dip my chin continuing to walk toward the kitchen. Some of my brothers are already eating their breakfast as I make my way past. Chains and Chills are sitting together with baby Kobe in his highchair making a mess every-fucking-where. I reach down to Chains’ plate and pick up a strand of crispy bacon and begin chewing. It cracks in my mouth, and, honestly, I could moan.

  “Get your own goddamned food. Bacon is not for sharing,” Chains blurts out.

  “Now, is that a way to talk to your president, Chains?” Chills berates, her demeanor especially cheeky.

  I ingest my mouthful, turning back to Chills. “Thanks, Chills, at least someone respects me.”

  “I’m a growing boy, I need my protein.” Chains scoffs.

  I burst out laughing, throwing the half-eaten piece of almost burnt pork rind back on his plate. “Fine, I’ll get my own.”

  Chains shrugs, picks it up, then chomps down on it.

  Chills groan. “Do you know how many germs are in a person’s saliva?”

  “I kiss you all the time. How many germs are in your saliva?” Chains counters as I turn to walk off.

  “That’s not the same, and you know it,” Chills retorts in the distance as I enter the kitchen.

  “Nessie… I hope you’re cooking more bacon. I need a truckload.”

  She spins around to face me from the stove where she’s cooking, wearing a black apron with the words ‘I’ll feed all you fuckers’ written on it. “Of course. What’s a morning at Houston Defiance if it doesn’t involve bacon and grits?”

  True.

  “No grits for me this morning. Just a fuck-ton of bacon. Oh, and a breakfast taco.”

  She flashes me her gorgeous, pageant-worthy smile. “Please?”

  “Please, Nessie,” I drone.

  She turns back to the stove. “Coming right up. Go take a seat, I’ll have Lexi bring you a cup of joe.”

  “So much fucking yes.”

  “You in a mood this morning, pres?”

  “What mood is that?”

  “I don’t know, you seem… drained.”

  “And you’re perceptive this morning.”

  “Want me to add a side order of Tylenol to your breakfast?”

  “Yeah, that’ll be great.”

  I turn, heading back out into the main room. I don’t see Prinie anywhere—it’s my natural instinct to search and find her in the room. I’m drawn to her, I can’t help myself, but she must be in bed. That’s not a bad thing. She needs to rest. I head over to a table, taking a seat with Kevlar and Neon.

  Their eyes follow me as I sit. A strange unease is on their faces.

  “You okay?” Kevlar asks.

  “Yeah? Why?”

  Kevlar side-eyes Neon, then turns back to me. “I dunno, you look—”

  “Fucking wrecked, man. Did you sleep at all last night?” Neon never holds back.

  I exhale, rubbing my face. “No.”

  I don’t elaborate.

  They don’t push.

  Lexi approaches with a giant mug of coffee. “Here you go. Hopefully, this helps.” She places the mug down in front of me, plus a blister pack
containing white oval pills. My eyes shift to her, and I relax my muscles a little not realizing how tight I am holding myself.

  “Thanks, Lexi, appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Food’s on its way.” She spins on her heels, practically skipping back to the kitchen.

  How she can have so much energy this time of morning I’ll never know.

  I pop open the blister pack, letting the little white ovals of pure medical gold slip into my palm. I grab my coffee to wash them down when my cell rings. It startles me. My hand jerks, and the pills fall to the floor. “For fuck’s sake.”

  Mack waddles over to investigate as I bend over. “No, buddy, not for you,” I tell him, picking up the tablets before my dog needs an urgent trip to the vet. He plonks down at my feet as I drop the pills on the table and yank out my cell to answer it.

  When I see the number on the screen, the pounding in my head intensifies tenfold. My skin prickles as I sit staring, not wanting to answer the damn thing.

  “You gonna stare at that all day?” Kevlar asks, snapping me out of it.

  I swipe the screen, bringing the cell to my ear. “This is Wraith.”

  “This is Sergeant Bennett, I’m calling on behalf of an inmate at the Harris County Jail.”

  This is it. A Sergeant doesn’t call unless it’s bad fucking news.

  I hang my head, my stomach churning so fucking much I want to be sick. I knew this was coming.

  I was prepared for it, but I’m not ready to hear the damn words.

  “Mr. Walker was attacked in his cell last night.” I clench my eyes shut fighting back the bile from rising in my throat, “He sustained a severe stab wound to the side of his abdomen.” Here it comes. “Unfortunately, the guards weren’t able to stop the fight in time…” I pinch the bridge of my nose, panting with the adrenaline coursing through me, “… but they have taken him to the medical bay to patch up his injuries.”

  My eyes shoot open as I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Wait! He’s okay?”

  The Sergeant scoffs. “That clearly depends on your definition of okay. He’s in our medical ward recovering. He’s going to be in there under guard for a while. We have the assailant in isolation. Mr. Walker won’t be harmed again.”

  I let out some kind of hysterical laugh which makes everyone turn my way. “Jesus Christ! Thanks so much, Sergeant, for protecting him. You can’t fathom how much I appreciate it.”

  He exhales. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but we had a tip from a high-profile officer, who sent in word that Mr. Walker was in danger. We had extra guards posted keeping watch just in case. We don’t always see eye to eye with your club, but I won’t stand by and watch inmates being attacked or dying in my house for the sake of it. No matter where they come from.”

  “Well, I sure as hell appreciate you looking out for one of our own, Sergeant. Can we come see him?”

  He mumbles something under his breath. “Don’t mistake my protective actions for breaking the rules. I’m aware you and your men came in here before the reception time was over for Mr. Walker. I don’t know how you got into my house without me knowing, and I assume it’s from a favor. I won’t stand for it. So, no, you can’t see him, but I will keep you updated on Mr. Walker’s condition. You can call me anytime you like, I won’t deprive you of that.”

  I guess we were lucky to see Zero when we did.

  But, because of that, he was stabbed, and I thought he was going to die.

  Luckily, someone warned the guards. I’m not sure who it was, but I sure as shit need to thank them.

  “Okay, I understand, Sergeant. Please, keep me updated. And can you tell Zero we’re cheering him on.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Done! And Wraith?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Tell your informer to choose a side. They’re either a cop or working for the criminals. He can’t be both. While his actions saved a life, it put his loyalties in question.”

  My eyes automatically shift to Kevlar. “Right,” I reply, not really knowing what else to say.

  “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Sergeant.”

  “Yeah,” he grunts, then ends the call abruptly.

  Kevlar and Neon’s eyes are transfixed on me as I place my cell on the table.

  “Well?” Neon begs.

  “He was shanked by the sounds of it, in his abdomen, but he’s in recovery in the medical ward. The Sergeant has him under guard. I’m guessing Damir is the one who shanked him. That asshole’s in isolation.”

  Neon and Kevlar both relax their posture.

  I shift my eyes to Kevlar. “The Sergeant said something fucking weird, though.” They both raise their brows. “He said they were tipped off. They knew Zero was going to be targeted, and that a high-profile cop alerted them to put extra guards on his cell.”

  Kevlar rubs the back of his neck with obvious guilt, so I focus in on him. “Know anything about that, Kevlar?”

  Confusion lines appear on his forehead like he’s trying to figure something out in his mind. “I went to see the kids after we went into the jail. I needed to be near them. After being there, it puts shit into perspective.”

  “Yeah, it does.”

  “I let slip to Ethan what happened during the visit. He could tell I had shit on my mind. We talked it out. He knew I was concerned at the thought Zero could get hurt. But I never once told him to do anything about it. I didn’t even know if he could.”

  “While he’s done the right thing for us, which is shocking as hell, I might add, he might have shoved himself in hot water.”

  Kevlar frowns. “What do you mean?”

  “Sergeant said it has people questioning Ethan’s loyalties. He put in the call to protect a criminal. Cops don’t look too kindly on other cops doing that shit. With his connection to you being in the club, his loyalties might be appearing to be on the wrong side.”

  Kevlar scoffs. “Ethan’s the most straight-down the line cop I know.”

  “We’re aware of that, but maybe his pig buddies don’t. Either way, let Ethan know I appreciate what he did. The entire club does. I know he did it for you, but the club won’t forget it either.”

  Kevlar frowns. “I’m in shock, honestly. Ethan hates the club with a fiery passion, so I have no idea why he did this.”

  “Well, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Thank him. He’s saved Zero’s life.”

  Kevlar nods as he stands, then walks off.

  Neon slides over to the seat Kevlar just vacated and exhales. “You think Ethan is playing some kind of game?”

  I shrug. “Not sure. He might be angling something with Kevlar, but I guess we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I have some people I need to tell about Zero.”

  Neon’s grin widens. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to hear someone’s been stabbed before in my entire life.”

  I chuckle. “Yeah, me, too. Zero must’ve put up a fight. Because if I know Damir like I think I do, he wouldn’t have been aiming for Zero’s abdomen.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Zero’s a strong bastard. Damir probably wasn’t counting on that. Then the guards must have come in at just the right time.”

  “That was not the phone call I was expecting, but I will take the outcome.”

  “Fuckin’ yeah. You wanna call a club meeting to inform everyone?”

  “Can you tell Texas and Chains? Get them to gather the brothers together in the chapel and let them in on what’s happening. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I have to tell Prinie and Cherry. If they hear it second hand…”

  “I get it. Go. Let me handle the brothers.”

  I grab my Tylenol quickly drinking them down with my coffee that I so desperately need. A couple of sips will have to do. “Thanks, brother.”

  I stand, giving Mack a scruff on his head, then walk over to Cherry who’s sitting with Chills and baby Kobe. “Cherry, can I grab a moment?”


  She lowers her coffee cup, eyeing me suspiciously. “That phone call looked intense.”

  “Can we go find Prinie and all talk together?”

  The mug starts to tremble in her hands as she slowly lowers it to the table. She quickly stands in a rush. “Sorry, Chills, I gotta—”

  “No, go, this is important,” Chills offers.

  Cherry moves into my side, fighting like hell to keep her shit together. She smooths her hands down her jeans nervously as we head for the stairs. “Jesus, I don’t think I want to hear this,” she mumbles under her breath.

  I reach out placing my hand on her lower back. “It’s gonna be okay, Cherry. But I have to tell you and Prinie together.”

  We traipse up the stairs, heading for Prinie’s room, and Cherry’s struggling not to panic. The strong woman from yesterday is losing the fight right in front of me. We reach Prinie’s door, and I grab Cherry, spinning her to face me. “You can’t go in there like this. It will freak Prinie out. He’s alive, okay?”

  Cherry’s entire body sags in relief as she closes her eyes trying to steady herself. “Fuck! You could have led with that, Wraith.”

  “Shit! Yeah, well, I’m no good at this crap, okay? All I know is we have to go into Prinie’s room and explain it all. She needs to know everything’s okay.”

  “Is it, though? Is everything all right?”

  “Let’s just go inside, and I’ll tell you all about the call.”

  Cherry turns, knocking on Prinie’s door while I clench and unclench my fists.

  Why am I this nervous to talk to Prinie?

  “Come in,” her voice is melancholy and low as Cherry grips the door handle.

  Here goes nothing.

  PRINIE

  Sitting on my bed, I pull the AirPods from my ears where Lewis Capaldi wistfully mourns about letting his guard down. The song hits home at the moment in more ways than one as I let my air buds fall to the mattress.

  “Come in,” I somberly murmur, answering the knock.

  My door casually opens. Cherry and Wraith stand there. “Well, are you coming in, or am I going somewhere with you?”

  Wraith gestures to Cherry for her to enter. She rushes over to my bed, sliding in next to me then she reaches out gripping my hand in hers. Instantly, I know whatever’s coming is about Zero. Mentally, I brace myself for impact.