by C. Lymari
Nate ran a hand through his face. “Was there anyone that bitch wasn’t fucking?”
“Me,” my father mocked.
Gunner looked stunned about this and dare I say ashamed.
“How long have you known?” he asked, not denying it.
My father didn’t answer, just shook his head in disgust.
“Does it matter?”
Gunner didn’t say anything for a second, but then in a grave voice, replied. “No, brother, it doesn’t. I fucked up. You don’t understand—”
“What I don’t understand is the fact that you betrayed us.”
My father grabbed Gunner by the collar of his vest and pushed him against the wall.
Nate and I spurred into action, pulling them apart.
“You don’t think he’s the rat?” Nate asked, enraged.
My father’s face said it all. Chaos had broken loose, and if Finley and Duncan lost their lives for this, I was going to murder my father myself.
“For fuck’s sake, Axton, I would never betray the club!” Gunner yelled at him. “You don’t understand, that bitch was a fucking snake that got in your head. It didn’t go on for long, and I came clean to Micah.”
We all stood in shock at what he said. None of us had expected that.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” my father asked.
“Because I wasn’t the only brother she had fucked. I didn’t want that shit to get out. I didn’t want Finley to know her mother as a whore. And if there was one thing Micah cared about more than anything, it was his little girl. He even put up with that bitch to not fuck things up for Finley.”
That made sense. Having a girl had changed Micah’s views on the club.
Before we could discuss more, my brother came barging in.
“They found Duncan,” he said with relief.
“Where?” my father and I asked at the same time.
“One of the new houses on the edge of town. Someone said they saw a van pull up and found it suspicious. A few cops on our payroll got the call, and they let us know. Andre and Ace have him now. They said he looked in bad shape, but he was alive. They are bringing him here now.”
“Someone call the doctor to get here ASAP,” Gunner yelled.
“And Finley?” I asked.
My brother’s face fell. “We don’t know anything. She wasn’t there anymore.”
“What do you mean anymore?” My anger was starting to rise.
“Andre went inside the house, and from what he gathered, she put up a fight,” Huxley replied.
Of course she did. That was my girl—a fucking fighter.
“They took her,” Huxley said grimly.
“Any clues?”
“A Spanish soccer match was on, so cartel is involved,” Hux said. “They’re going to find her, right?” he asked me, sounding scared out of his mind.
I hated that he looked at me for reassurance because if she was—no, when she was—found, I would tear this world apart to get revenge.
Finley was my world, and she was just part of his world—not the same thing. Now it was just a waiting game to see what would happen. I sure as hell hoped that they called for ransom or a negotiation. Finley was too valuable for them not to try and cut a deal.
I paced the clubhouse until Andre and Ace rolled in with my brother. Between both of them, they helped him inside. They laid his ass on top of one of the tables in the common room.
My brother was half in and half out of it. The crazy little fucker gave me a grin when he saw me.
Despite everything, I smiled back because I was glad he was alive.
“Can you talk?” My father came to us. He patted Duncan’s cheek affectionately. I knew he loved us, but it was rare when he showed it. I think he did it so people wouldn’t know, and we wouldn’t be too much of a target. That came enough with carrying our last names.
He nodded and asked for some water. Huxley ran to get it for him, then fed it to him.
It took effort for him to tell us what had happened, from the car ride to the basement, and it took energy on my part to keep it together. And I was so proud but enraged at the fact that Finley had to take care of not only herself but my little brother. I should have been there for her. If I had stopped being a fucking pussy, I could have prevented this. Fuck I was only mad because Huxley wasn’t why I stayed away in the end.
I’d pushed her away because I knew her life was in danger.
I didn’t believe the man she killed was Micah’s killer, but what he said about killing her, I took that as a threat. I didn’t believe in coincidences. And I was pretty sure who was the fucking rat, and Gunner wasn’t it. My head snapped up, and I looked around the room, and my heart sped up when I didn’t see Leon amongst us.
He was the fucking rat; I just knew it.
Just as I was about to go look for him, my father’s cell phone rang. By the look on his face, I knew whoever was calling was not someone he was expecting.
“Humberto,” he said, and there was all the evidence I needed to prove who the rat was. My father and Gunner looked equally surprised.
The only way Humberto could have known about my father’s involvement was if Leon told him.
My father looked around, and he came to the same conclusion as I did.
“Everyone, out back,” my father screamed.
Huxley and I grabbed Duncan and dragged him with us. We were barely out the door when explosions started.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“The hit was made, mi amigo.”
I didn’t recognize the voice of the man.
“As I told you, when all of them are dead, there will be no restrictions on our deals.”
I whimpered when I recognized Leon’s voice.
I couldn’t speak, but I managed to open my eyes enough to confirm what my ears had already picked up on, but I needed the visual.
When I left Crull Manor a few weeks after, I received a journal that had belonged to my father. To this day, I didn’t know who sent it. Just that it contained numbers of accounts. Names of people who worked for us or could potentially be allies or enemies. And one of those accounts looked shady, but there was no name or anything on it. It was left nameless on purpose. Only once I found the files in my father’s desk did the information on it make sense.
I found my dad had been tracking Leon’s movements. And he believed Leon was stealing from the club. Not only that, but he wanted it all. He was no longer interested in shares but wanted to own all of it.
“You traitor,” I growled.
I was not going to die a coward.
Both men looked at me.
The other one was a handsome Mexican man who didn’t look as young as he had in the pictures I had received.
Studying my father’s journal had done me good.
The fucker had one daughter, who he kept away from this life. He did not want anything close to this life to touch her, so he sent her off to college.
The same college I had picked.
The only reason why I had gone there.
I, like my father, didn’t believe in destiny. I believed in a calculated risk. That you had to see the outcomes and take the best one. I took the information I’d learned about Humberto and played it to my advantage.
I smiled at him. I didn’t have enough energy, but somehow I managed.
“You’re not surprised to see me here,” Leon said.
“You know what your problem is, Leon?” I spat.
He raised a brow, and I could tell he was angry by the way his hands fisted and his jaw went hard all by my act of defiance.
“You underestimated me because I had a pussy, you fucking traitor.”
“Yeah? I told you, you weren’t wanted, and like a pathetic little bitch, you stayed away.”
I nodded and gave him that one. He seemed eager to have me far away. Guess it made sense. Without me here, it was easier to break us.
United, we stood strong; apart, we were vulnerable.
“Wha
t’s your plan, Leon? What do you want that you couldn’t have achieved with the club?”
“You don’t understand a thing.”
“And what is that?” I asked. “Are you bitter because you didn’t have enough to buy in as a founding member, and therefore you make slightly fewer millions than Gunner and Axton?”
I took a deep breath, and it felt like my lungs were on fire. If I was going to die, then this was going to be my damn swan song.
His lips curled in disgust. The man next to him laughed.
“She has spunk. Doesn’t know her place, but it’s admirable.”
I spat at their feet, trying not to flinch when I saw the blood.
I was sure that my ribs were bruised.
The way my lungs burned every time I took a breath, and it felt like I was being stabbed a thousand times over. My father said we would practice survival wounds when I got older. Sadly, we never made it that far.
I just hoped I was making him proud.
“Are you going to kill her?” Humberto asked. “I don’t understand why you let the other one go?”
“Because the other one will die with the rest of them. And then, the only beneficiary for DD Enterprises will be Finley Primrose. After she gives me what I want, then we can kill her.”
Shock must’ve been all over my face. Leon leered triumphantly at me.
“Did I forget to mention that I sent the clubhouse to get bombed?”
“No,” I breathed.
Nash.
“Oh, look, she cares,” Humberto laughed.
Leon’s plan made sense now that I saw the whole picture. He was too bitter and angry to be let in. He wanted it all, but killing Axton or Gunner would accomplish nothing because Nash, Nate, Huxley, Duncan, and I were their fail-safe. Everything would transfer to our names, and that would leave Leon below a bunch of spoiled brats.
“Did you kill Eleanor?” I managed to ask.
Leon smiled. “She discovered my little secret.” He got close to me, putting his hands on either side of my head. “You see, little princess,” he mocked with disgust, “I was fucking your mom.”
I sucked in a breath, letting the pain fuel me and give me strength.
“You…you paid that guy. You..you—”
“He had nothing to lose, and I promised to take care of his poor little family. All he had to do was say he was in love with your whore of a mother.”
The way he said it, I knew he was the one who had been in love with her.
“You loved her…”
“I did everything for that bitch, and she was fucking everyone because your fucking father didn’t love her. She deserved the death she got.”
He’d lost control. Leon wasn’t just angry; he was crazy and heartbroken. It was why they didn’t want love involved.
“Fuck you!” I spat blood all over his face.
Humberto laughed. “I would have slapped her already.”
This was where the ace up my sleeve would work, and if they killed me, having the satisfaction of seeing the shock on their faces would be more than enough.
“If I die, sweet little innocent Sofia is going to die too.”
His smile fell.
“She goes to Trinity U, right? My father always taught me to have the upper hand, and there’s one person who knows where she is, and if I’m not found nor returned, they will kill your daughter.”
He pulled out his phone to verify where his daughter was, and then I let my head hang and gave in to the darkness.
Nash
The clubhouse was in complete and utter chaos. I heard my brothers yelling, my father and Gunner giving the men commands, and all I could do was stare at the fire that had spread.
I could feel the blood flowing through my veins, coming down rapidly. My breathing was coming in pants, and I looked around from where I was still on the ground holding on to Duncan’s limp body.
“Son,” my father yelled at him. I held him closer to me, trying to keep him warm because he kept getting colder.
When the grenades started going off, one of them must have hit a gas line because that shit blew up part of the clubhouse and sent my brothers and me flying.
My dad kneeled to where I was, and he pulled Duncan out of my arms.
“He’s alive,” I croaked out. “Barely.”
My father’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“Where’s Huxley?” I asked, a scream tearing through me as I realized he was no longer next to me.
“Here,” Andre shouted.
I sprang up and ran to where he was. He had Huxley on his side, and I could not only see a piece of metal lodged in his skin, but also that he was burned.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I saw all the blood that had coated the grass. Chops was running toward us, his curly hair blowing with the wind. He had some bandages and alcohol. He had served in the war as a paramedic, so he was all we had until the doc got here.
I stood up, taking in my surroundings.
Duncan was teetering between life and death, Huxley was now bleeding the fuck out, and Finley was nowhere to be found.
“Leon is fucking dead,” I hissed.
I walked up to my father in a rage.
“Tell me how the fuck you knew this was going to happen.” I pointed a hand to the now destroyed clubhouse.
My father had told us to get out just seconds before the bombings had started.
“Not now, Nash. First, we have to get everyone out of here and make sure your brothers are okay.”
As much as I wanted answers, I stood down because he was right. I nodded and did as he asked of me.
We were all going back to the manor. We had room and space, and it was secluded enough.
My father, Duncan, and Huxley all left when Dion showed up in a black van. We couldn’t be seen here with all the chaos going on. It would only lead to more questions. We didn’t need any of that heat, especially right now when Finley was still fucking missing. The only hope I had to hold on to was that they needed her, or else she would have been sent back in pieces.
Bile rose up my throat when the other alternative popped into my head.
“You need to stop bringing Finley to the meetings; she’s just a girl,” my father shouted at Micah. They were in his office, and the door was ajar. I was on the way to my room up in the tower but stopped when I heard them arguing. It was something they did more and more lately.
“Do you know what’s going to happen if I treat Finley like she’s just a girl?” Micah spat. “She’s not just a girl. She can’t afford to be weak. Not when we have a line of enemies waiting to take our throne. I treat her like a girl, and she ends up raped, tortured, and dead.”
My heart stopped as I tried not to picture it but failed as the horrid images floated in my head. I don’t think I could recover if that happened.
“She’s going to be fine, right, Dad?” I suddenly felt like a child again, asking my father if it was all going to be okay. He looked at me, his eyes soft, something he rarely did anymore, and then reached out to pat my cheek.
“She’s not a normal girl. Micah made sure of that. I never understood it but maybe because I never had any daughters. But he took her fragility and turned it into a ticking time bomb.”
It wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but it gave me comfort.
Once at the manor, the staff was waiting for us, all of them ready to bring in Huxley and Duncan. None of them questioned why we couldn’t go to a hospital. We took care of them, and in return, they took care of us.
The Disciples showed up later, not all together so the roar of motors wouldn’t alert people where they had come to hide.
My brothers were in rooms being attended to by our private medic. Duncan was critical, but the doctor said he would be fine. That his body was just too weak, and the impact of the hits took a toll on him.
Huxley had lost a lot of blood and had a second-degree burn on his side; the stab of the metal hadn’t pierced his kidney, so thank fuck for that. I would
never forget how he screamed in pain as they took off the shirt that was burned into his skin.
My perfect brother wasn’t so perfect anymore, and I was about to take the one thing that he was going to want to hold on to in these chaotic times.
My dad, Gunner, Nate, Ace, Andre, and I were locked in his office, finally having enough time to talk over all the shit that just went down.
“Are we going to pretend like Leon isn’t behind this?” I gritted out.
My dad and Gunner looked at each other. Then they looked at all of us, and my father spoke.
“At the clubhouse, I got a call from Humberto, telling me that it was okay, he didn’t need me anymore for guns.” He stopped and took a breath. “At that moment, I knew that the rat was Leon. Because he wasn’t in the room with us anymore. And the only reason Humberto would know about my involvement is that the person behind all of this would have told him. And the fact that he said he wouldn’t need me anymore, plus revealing his card, it would mean that they weren’t planning on any of us being alive.”
“I want to kill him,” I said through gritted teeth.
My father’s jaw got hard. “He’s not your kill to make. He’s club business now, and we will deal with it according to plan.”
I stood up and roared. “He took my girl!”
If anyone was surprised, none of them showed it. Andre pretended to look at his shoes. Gunner looked at my dad.
“Fuck what Micah said. Fuck all of that bullshit. He gave power to Leon, and the way I see it, his word means shit since the moment he betrayed us. You want to disown me, go right ahead. I don’t fucking care…”
My chest was heaving by this point. “If she doesn’t…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence anymore. I couldn’t even fathom living in a world where Finley didn’t exist. “I’ll die if something happens to her.” I fucking croaked in front of them, and I didn’t care if they all thought I was weak.
That didn’t happen.
Nate walked up to me, putting his hand on my back and patting me. “We’ll get your girl back, brother.”
Then Andre and Ace followed.
My dad and Gunner were quiet.
They didn’t get a chance to answer when the door opened, and Riley was there. She was wearing her riding leathers. I sometimes forgot she was also a badass. Her hair was in a braid, and she strolled into my father’s office like she owned the damn house.