by Addison Jane
Then, I moved on.
Jester, he was on another level.
I reached out and pinched the corner of the cloth, holding my breath as I tugged it to the side.
“Fucking hell,” Shotgun cursed, dropping his head for a second before it shot back up his eyes wide. “Tyler!”
I stared at it for a few seconds before my eyes shifted to the newspaper photograph and then back again. “This son of a bitch!” I sighed, looking down at the long hunk of flesh that was forced into the box—a fucking King Cobra tattoo, intricately sliced perfectly around the edges with parts of tissue and muscle still attached underneath. And if that wasn’t enough, someone had taken a marker to the tattoo and drawn a jester’s hat over the top.
I wonder fucking who.
You could see it soaking through the bottom of the box, the blood still so fresh.
Oh, and don’t forget the fucking nipple that was joined to one side.
I couldn’t stop shaking my head.
It was all I could do to stop the vomit from creeping up my throat.
Tyler came running down the staircase, skidding to a sudden halt at the bottom.
“Go and see if you can find the kid who delivered this fucking box. You saw him, he was on a pushbike, couldn’t have gotten far,” Shotgun ordered. “There’s no way in hell this went through the post, so I want to know where the fuck it came from.”
Tyler was already out the door before Shotgun could finish. The kid was good, he was quick, and he was onto it. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he got his patch.
“I’m just going to say it again for the people in the back row,” Repo seethed as he took a step back. “You ain’t getting in the ring with this bastard.”
My shoulders shook as I began to laugh. “Yeah, okay, ‘cause I’m just gonna sit around and wait for him to start doing this shit to people I actually give a damn about next? Because that’s what’s gonna happen. These are just fucking warm-up fights.”
The roar of motorcycles cut the conversation short.
“Goddammit,” Shotgun snapped. “That’s Huntsman and the boys. Auron, put this shit somewhere. We need to focus on Dynasty tonight. I’ll let Huntsman know what’s going on, and we’ll do church tomorrow.”
Auron was quick to wrap everything back up and whisk it away, but I kept staring at the space where it was, shaking my head.
“You ain’t doing it,” Repo repeated his words under his breath as we walked out to meet The Exiled Eight MC.
He was trying to protect me, and I knew every single brother here would be happy to stand up and do the same. But at this stage, there wasn’t going to be a choice. These things, they began far before an actual fight in a ring or an octagon. There are weeks, months, sometimes years of back and forth, pushing the other person’s boundaries, trying to psych them out. It was a back and forth I hated because that wasn’t why I fought, it wasn’t the reason I felt the passion for what I did.
But it was a part of it.
And this package was a part of it.
So Repo could protest all he fucking liked, it didn’t matter anymore because we were already too late.
The fight had already begun.
LAKEN
I held Kennedy tight, not caring that the two of us were lying on a dirty concrete floor as we squeezed the life out of each other.
Most people stepped around us, going about their business like this was so fucking normal.
“I’m sorry,” Kennedy finally murmured in my ear, and I tugged her a little closer, shaking my head back and forth as I attempted to try and breathe through the tears. “I’m so sorry I just disappeared. I should have sent someone for you earlier.”
Kennedy was just a girl I met walking along the street. A girl who was so fucking close to rock bottom, I was surprised she was able to breathe above the bullshit people kept piling on top of her.
And yet, our relationship was the most genuine I’d ever had.
Together we survived life in that proverbial shit box for fucking years.
I pushed the hair back from her face, shaking my head with a smile. “Kenz, I got out.”
I watched the wave of confusion mixed with relief as it washed over her, stealing her breath. She leaped up, holding her hand out to me and pulling me from the floor. “When?”
I gave her the short version of the story as we made our way through the crowded clubhouse and stepped outside. When Rylan came to rescue Brook, it was lucky I was watching out for her. He gave me the heads up I needed to know that Crow’s guys would be coming looking for us, and they were not fucking happy.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her brow knotted and confused. “Where did you go?”
I knew Kennedy was safe, and now Brook was too, it was just me.
I was on my own.
I had nowhere to go, no one to ask for help, no place to hide.
It was amazing how strong you could be when you had someone else to fight for. It was when she left, and I knew she was okay that I finally let everything cave in on me. The memories, the haunting dreams, the guilt I’d spent fucking years smothering with self-abuse.
I no longer had something else to focus on.
And it wasn’t long before I found myself drowning
But I couldn’t tell her that.
I couldn’t explain to my best friend where I’d been for the past few months or how it was only due to luck I was still here.
Kennedy reached out, tugging my hand softly. “I’m here if you need me,” she whispered, letting me know she wouldn’t push the matter, reminding me why we worked so well. I had secrets to hide, and she never asked too many questions.
“One d-day.” My voice cracked, I couldn’t stop it as my heart was in my throat, choking me.
It didn’t matter anyway. I was fully aware I was on my third strike, and after talking with Shotgun, I was determined to make this one work because I was never going to get this opportunity again. And neither were the people who had already lost their lives because of me. I owed it to them, at least.
This time I didn’t need to fight for Kennedy, so seeing her this happy made me think that maybe this time I could spend a little time fighting for me.
“Whenever you’re ready, so am I.” She forced a smile and grabbed my hands, her eyes lit up as if some brilliant idea had finally formed. “Are you going to stay at the clubhouse?”
I coughed out a laugh, the air around us quickly lifting. “I talked to Shotgun this afternoon, and he agreed to let me join as a club girl.”
You couldn’t miss the way my best friend’s face sunk, her eyes growing wide in horror.
“Lake, you don’t have t—”
I held up my hand, and Kennedy paused with a frown. I knew she would hate the idea of me being a club girl here when she no longer had to be. She always saw us as equals, friends who got through the shit times together, but it wasn’t like that anymore.
She had Repo, this amazing man who was determined to protect her, no matter the cost. Yet, she thought she was letting me down because she was moving on, and I still seemed to be in the same place we’d been a few months ago.
She was wrong.
This place was all new.
“Kenz, these guys, if you haven’t noticed, are different.” She let out a loud snort, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the handful of club members who turned around with a confused frown.
Neither of us were the biggest fans of having to be touched by the men at Red Riot. Most of them were disgusting pigs whose priorities were always drugs over personal hygiene. But after meeting Shotgun and Repo, I instantly knew this wouldn’t be like that.
These men were different.
The club was different.
Which was both good and bad.
Good because they made me think that maybe I could have a part of my life back. If I had people behind me like Kennedy had, who were willing to fight for me and protect me even from myself, then maybe I could make it through. One day at
a time.
Bad because I wasn’t sure at this stage if it would be enough.
I could already feel that dark shadow tapping me on the shoulder, tugging at my hand, pulling me back in and fighting for my attention. I’d already spent a few months locked up with nothing to distract me from my own thoughts and honestly, there wasn’t much more I could take of them. If I were going to keep on the right side of breathing, I was going to need something to focus on.
Something to fight for.
Fucking anything.
“I’m gonna go to school, Kennedy.” I grinned. “I’m gonna make something of myself, and Shotgun said they would help me here.” I knew she couldn’t argue with that.
We’d talked about it so many times before, and she knew how disappointed I was when I didn’t make the most of the chance I had the first time I went. If I did, things could have been different.
Last time, my entitled ass fucked it up.
Just like almost everything else.
This was finally a real chance at taking my life back, one I’d already almost lost twice, and the club was offering me a chance to do that. Not just that, but it was another way—a healthier way—I could keep my mind occupied, ease it even for a little, maybe even try to understand my own issues a little better.
The busier I stayed, the better I knew I would be.
Gravel crunching in the darkness had Kennedy reaching for my hand and tugging my body close to hers as someone walked across the lot toward us. She was like a fierce mama bear, and I had to wonder how those roles between us had changed so dramatically in just a few months.
A figure stepped out of the shadows, just close enough so the light from the bursting party behind us illuminated bits of his chiseled body, while keeping his face mostly shadowed with his baseball cap pulled down low across his brow. Kennedy’s tight grip on my hand quickly loosened, and she started to laugh.
My shoulders slumped. “I’m gonna assume you know the half-naked, sweaty hottie,” I joked, admiring the way his body glistened in the light and the sweat trailing slowly down his skin as he heaved in deep breaths. Everything about him screamed strong and powerful the way his veins protruded slightly from his arms to the way the muscles in his stomach shuddered as he fought to catch that deep breath in the cool air he needed to fill his lungs.
I couldn’t even see his face, but there was an energy which swirled around him, a strong and intense energy that sparked the air almost like some kind of electrical storm.
And I wanted to play in it.
I held back, watching with intrigue as he reached up, taking his hat and flipping it back so the lights now lit up across his features, and his face was no longer hidden. My brow pulled in, knotting between my eyes as I stared at him in wonder.
“Myth, you scared the crap outta me. Dammit!” Kennedy cursed with an airy laugh.
Myth?
I knew a Myth.
I couldn’t pull away, studying his face, his body, his tattoos, the sound of him and Kennedy speaking drifted off into the background.
“This is my friend, Laken.”
I froze.
Fuck no! It can’t be.
“Nice to meet you,” he murmured, turning his attention toward me with a curious frown.
How the hell…
“Have we already met?”
No, we hadn’t officially ever met, which maybe was my only saving grace at that moment. We did, though, run in the same circles for a short time when he was at a high in his career, a time when I was still playing the part of the perfect princess.
The intensity of his narrowed gaze swept over me like a heatwave, instantly making me sweat and my cheeks burn as if I’d already spent too many hours in the Phoenix sun. Maybe he’d seen me before at events, perhaps that’s why he was looking at me like I was a puzzle with missing pieces.
Pieces I would burn before I let him connect them.
Anxiety was beginning to creep in, twisting my stomach into a knot of nerves and choking me, urging me to get the hell out of there.
I quickly shook my head, flashing a bright, fake smile and trying to play off the way I was absolutely petrified. Afraid that after everything, this would be the moment shit would fall to pieces because of a chance meeting with the wrong person.
“Laken, Myth is one of the brothers here,” Kennedy explained, looking at me like maybe I was crazy.
She wouldn’t be wrong.
I fought to find my composure.
It was a challenging endeavor when you had a man like Myth staring you down from a few feet away. Those deep amber-colored eyes lit up by the clubhouse lights. They were beautiful and addictive. They sucked me in like sticky rich honey and would not fucking let me go.
Not even if I’d wanted them to.
After a couple of seconds, I finally managed to pull myself from the honey trap, forcing a laugh and flicking my hair away, hoping to keep it from sticking to my hot, damp skin. “Of course, yeah, I guessed as much.” I started to back away, trying to make it look natural, but my nerves had the better of me, my hands shaking and my stomach swirling. “I’m gonna go give Brook another cuddle, then you need to introduce me to your new man!”
Yeah, introduce me to your boyfriend that I spent like two days with.
Stop fucking talking, you idiot.
Myth watched me as I backed away, trying to put some distance between us and escape the way those murky, golden eyes seemed to be burning layer by layer off this mask I’d spent so long concreting on.
My heart sunk as I ducked back inside, weaving my way through club members toward the staircase.
This was my fucking life.
So goddamn typical.
The moment I get to a place where I may actually be able to have something good, something nice—a home, an education, the people I love—fate is like, hell fucking no. You don’t deserve that shit, you can’t expect to be happy.
Either I walked away, leaving everything I gave a shit about here, or I gambled with my lies and risked everyone finding out the truth.
The question was, could I handle the way they would look at me if they knew?
I could feel it starting to sneak up on me. The anxiety, the way my breathing began to catch and shallow as though there wasn’t enough air as if my lungs couldn’t inhale deep enough.
That was a thing that happened when they had bullets go through them.
And in that moment, it felt like they were still right there.
When I got to my room, I grabbed the door handle and twisted it, shoving the door open so hard it slammed back against the dresser behind it.
I’d only got into Phoenix this morning, so there was almost nothing in the room. A small bag and a few pieces of clothing Shotgun had bought for me on our way here from Utah were all shoved inside and sitting at the end of the bed where I’d left it in my excitement to find Kennedy and Brook.
It was still packed.
Ready to go.
The idea of leaving them again was like someone had their claws in my chest, and they were tearing shreds at my heart. But the thought of them finding out my truth, my lies—fuck, that could be my third strike. The one I wouldn’t survive.
I gripped the wooden bed frame at the base of the bed and hung my head between my arms, feeling the tears burn in the back of my throat.
“If you’re about to up and run, you better be fucking sure.”
My body froze.
The deep growl of Myth’s voice started at the base of my spine, traveling upward, forcing a shudder to course through me. I took in a long, shaky breath, driving my body to stand straight as I turned to face him.
He was standing a few feet behind me, his arms folded across his still naked chest, propping his shoulder against the doorframe and blocking the narrow doorway to my room. I fought to find my composure, a difficult endeavor when you had a man like Myth staring you down from a few feet away.
These days, I was always so in control.
I learned
a long time ago that life was too short to shut your mouth and not have a say in the way the world moved around you. Usually, I was quick with an answer to almost everything that was thrown at me.
Practiced lies.
But with Myth, everything seemed to be spinning, and the words I needed were instantly lost on my tongue.
“If you walk away and leave Kennedy and Brook heartbroken…” he continued, the deep baritone of his voice rumbling through me, “… there’s not one fucking man in this place gonna let you back in to do it again.”
I felt the words like a blow to the stomach. I couldn’t escape his dark gaze, his eyebrow was raised, challenging me like he did so fucking well.
If you couldn’t admire him for his skills in the ring, you had to admire the fact he gave up an entire fucking career—one he could have easily been at the top of—all because he put his family first.
And now, he was testing me to see if I’d do the same. To see how deep my love for my family really ran. He wasn’t playing around. He never fucking did, but I should have known that already.
I forced my shoulders back, standing taller, trying to gain back some of the height difference between the two of us, so I didn’t feel so small and out of my depth, but honestly, I was, mostly because he was fucking right.
I tried to be selfish once.
Where did it get me?
Locked in a small, white room.
I couldn’t keep giving in to the pain. This was meant to be my chance at taking my life back.
“Why would I be leaving?” I asked, narrowing my eyes like I was confused with this whole situation, instead of absolutely fucking terrified. “I’m enrolling in college classes this week.”
“What classes?”
“None of your damn business 101.”
“Interesting class.”
“I think it’ll be my favorite,” I answered, folding my arms across my chest and flashing my sweetest smile.