Always Mine (Next Generation: The Skulls #2)

Chapter One

T he world was spinning .

“Hold on, Daisy. Hold on.”

She felt so sick, but they had made it to the hospital, if the glaring white lights were any indication. That sick feeling wouldn’t go away.

“What have we got?”

That wasn’t Anthony’s voice. Where was Anthony?

They had done what he wanted, what needed to be done, but there had been consequences. There were always consequences for their actions. She wasn’t going to tell him about her bad feeling. There were many times she had a bad feeling, and this was just one of those times.

Usually, Anthony was there to pick up the pieces, not to cause the breaks. Well, sometimes he was the cause, like today. Anthony, Miles, and Simon had plotted. Their friends, Blaise, Constance, Damien, and John had helped. Then there had been Rachel and Markus. And she helped as well.

It should have been easy. They had been training over a year for this, ever since Christmas, and they all played their parts. Each time there was a meeting, they filmed the location of the Monster Dogs MC. Each one had a role. They did it all in secret, including the prep work. They were trained with guns, to fight. Blaise, Constance, Damien, and John, although they had been outsiders, had taken on the patch and were currently prospects for The Skulls.

They had been earning their patches, even Constance, although she didn’t think she was going to become a full-fledged member, more like an honorary one, or something like that. She often joked about it, but the club had taken her in.

They were friends through high school. Constance had dropped out of art college. She had an experience with a teacher over a grade, and since then, she never wanted to return. It was sad to see, because Constance tried to hide the truth about why she was back in town.

Daisy never told anyone what happened, especially not Miles. That guy had been dancing around Constance for years but never asked her out. There was a lot going on that they didn’t know about. But that was all in the past. All that mattered now was they were here.

Daisy started to feel dizzy. She coughed and knew something had come out of her mouth. This wasn’t good.

Everything had gone to plan, but someone must have known what their plans were, because all hell had broken loose. They had been so clear, so careful.

“Damn it, Daisy, do not leave me. Do you understand? Do not fucking leave me.”

She turned to look at Anthony. “I told you,” she said, finding it hard to breathe, “there were going to be consequences.”

“Not this.”

So much had happened and it had all gone wrong when Ryan from the Monster Dogs had raped her best friend, Tabitha. That was when everything changed. Simon killed Ryan and had to go into hiding. Deals had to be made. Everything had suddenly sucked and since then, it hadn’t gotten better, although the Skulls had found peace. Something had gotten lost along the way, for the club. Tabitha had been the victim, and yet in some sorry state of affairs, it had gotten warped.

Monster Dogs MC had somehow come out of it as the victims, although Ryan deserved to die. Simon, Devil’s son, had shot Ryan in the face over five years ago. To Daisy, Ryan’s death had been too easy. That piece of shit should have been forced to live while he was tortured for months, if not years. That was what she would have done.

He attacked Tabitha when there was no one around—not her, not Anthony, not Devil’s Simon or their own Simon, or Miles. Everything had gotten fucked up.

At least Tabitha had finally found peace. She was in Piston County with Chaos Bleeds MC. Daisy and the Skulls MC were here, next door to the Monster Dogs MC. Day in, day out, they watched, listened, and made deals that shouldn’t have happened. When did the Monster Dogs MC get the moral high ground?

Little by little, it had started to grate on her nerves. Deep down, she knew it also irritated Anthony. The Monster Dogs MC deserved to suffer for what they did.

Each day that passed was like a reminder of that tiny part of her she tried to keep hidden. The tiny part of her soul that knew and understood Anthony. He accepted her, but she knew he would be the only one.

No one, including Tabitha, knew that Daisy liked to hurt those who threatened her family. Anthony was her family. Lacey and Whizz were her parents, although not by blood. They had taken her in by choice. She owed everything to the Skulls. They were her family. And she would do whatever necessary to protect them—even die.

It was the last thought she had before everything went black.

****

M iles was not telling jokes.

Constance hadn’t stopped crying.

Rachel kept looking toward the door, scared to death of who might enter. They were all afraid, and Daisy was fighting for her life.

Anthony stared down at the ground, feeling his anger mutate. His only reason for breathing was fighting for her life, because ... why? He needed to get even. He planned so meticulously. It had taken at least the last five years to get this right. He gathered the weapons he was going to need. No one knew he had also been working with Ned Walker to do what needed to be done. His father didn’t even deal in guns or drugs, or any of that shit anymore. Anthony had found a way to do business.

Lash, his father, got the whole club out of that bullshit, and Anthony wasn’t going to drag them back in. His plan had been to take care of the club without involving the Skulls.

After so many attacks, so many bad guys, it had been the right decision by the club, and for the longest time it had worked. Anthony would never forget the gunshots, the attacks, the fear, or the screaming. They were distant memories, but they were still there, not that they bothered him. Nothing ever seemed to bother him.

Anthony always knew he was different. He didn’t scream like normal children did. He’d watch Miles and Tabitha and knew he wasn’t like them. He couldn’t fucking put his finger on it, but one day he came to realize it was because he was unusual. For some reason, he didn’t feel, not like others. But he was loyal. The Skulls’ blood ran through his veins, and he would do anything for the club.

He first met Daisy when they were children. He recalled seeing her with her brown hair not brushed but pulled into a ponytail, and it wasn’t even done right. She had stained clothes, because her parents hadn’t given a shit about her. From the moment he saw her, sunlight had been shining down all around her, and she looked like a beacon of hope. From that one look, Anthony knew he wanted to get to know her.

She had the sweetest smile. Even toothless, she’d been gorgeous to him. The way she would read, her voice would capture him, and in his darkness, for just a little while, it would all make sense to him and it wouldn’t matter.

He knew how to act, to play the part, and no one ever tried to call him out on his own shit. Not even Daisy. Whenever he asked her to read, she’d sit with him and just read, no questions asked. She would fight him and argue with him, but in the end she always had his back. She only questioned him one time.

“Are you in love with Tabitha?”

Even now, he heard her words ringing in his head, and it pissed him off. At the time, which was last Christmas, he’d burst out laughing. He and Tabitha had been close, kind of like he was with Miles, Rachel, and Markus. Even to a certain extent, Constance, Blaise, Damien, and John. Their friends who had no parents in the club. Tabitha was simply that—a friend. He cared about her to a certain extent. Anthony had been the one to find Tabitha after Ryan had raped her.

He had felt nothing when he saw her, although he had put his arms around her. All their lives, they had grown up together and were close, until Tabitha left. Now she was a member of Chaos Bleeds, while he, Daisy, and the rest were Skulls. He was not, nor would he ever be in love with Tabitha. She was too ... Tabitha. He’d never doubted where his feelings lay.

Anthony recalled last Christmas.

The laughter boomed out of his chest, he just couldn’t help it. The very thought of being in love with Tabitha was simply ludicrous. It wasn’t even worth thinking about. However, the moment he opened his eyes and saw how hurt Daisy was, he knew he’d fucked up big time.

She was about to storm off, and in truth, she kind of had a right to, but he wasn’t going to let her go that easily. He reached out, stopping her. “Daisy, stop.”

“I’ve got stuff to do.”

“I know what you’ve got to do, but you need to talk to me.” He somehow managed to pull her in close to him, cup her face, and then stared into her eyes. “It’s you,” Anthony said. “Since we were kids, to now, to eternity, it has and will forever be ... you.”

“It is?”

“Come on, Daisy, you know it is. You can pretend all you want, but you and I, this is a guarantee, like it was for Simon and Tabitha. We started our story when we were kids, and it’s going to end when we die.”

Anthony pulled out of his thoughts as those memories resurfaced.

It wasn’t going to end now. Daisy wasn’t going to die. She couldn’t die. He wouldn’t let her die.

The doors opened and Anthony watched as his father, mother, along with most of the Skulls’ parents stepped through the doors. Tiny and Eva were close on Lash’s heels. Nash and Sophia, Murphy and Tate, Killer and Kesley were there also. He knew there would be more to come.

Anthony knew he didn’t have to wait long before he felt his father’s wrath. He was grabbed and suddenly thrust up against the wall. There was no way he was going to fight his father.

“You little fucking shit. What did you do?” Lash asked.

He had seen his father angry many times in his lifetime, more than any kid should. He was aware he was not the first true child of his parents. He was their firstborn son, but their first child was killed in the womb after his mother was shot, which they never talked about. Not that his parents ever made him feel less. Knowing he was the second didn’t bother him.

Back home there were also Chloe and Conner, but neither of them had anything to do with this plan.

“What the fuck did you do?” Lash asked.

“Lash, come on, this is not the time—”

Anthony loved his mother, but he also knew it was not her place to stop this. This was the consequence for his actions, and part of him wanted to feel the sting of his father’s knuckles. Not that Lash had ever hit him, not truly. Sure, he’d spanked his bottom from time to time, but nothing he didn’t deserve. Lash was a good father and an amazing leader.

“I did what you couldn’t,” Anthony said.

The anger in Lash’s face was acute. He had never seen him act like this, never seen this amount of rage.

“Oh, is that right, is it?” Lash asked. “You did what you thought I couldn’t.”

“They raped Tabitha, and it took her driving all the way over here to put them in their place. You and I both know the Monster Dogs wouldn’t stop. They needed to be taken out. They needed to be fucking annihil—”

“And you thought you were the kids to do it? You’re not long out of your diapers, and you think you could take on a whole club by yourself?”

Anthony stared at his father. The lapel of his leather cut was firmly gripped in his hands, along with his shirt. A shirt covered in Daisy’s blood.

Taking down the first wave of Monster Dogs MC outside of the compound, partying, had been easy. Like taking down a couple of beer cans. Easy targets. The true danger happened when they got inside, and that was when things went to shit. They’d been waiting and had been prepared.

That was when it had gone wrong. Anthony hadn’t stopped, but he’d known Daisy had followed him. The club members had become animals, taking them down, one by one, until Daniella.

Daniella was one of the girls who had hurt Tabitha in high school. She’d rounded up her posse of girls and attacked Tabitha when she was alone. Ryan had been there as well, when they all ganged up on Tabitha to beat the crap out of her and put her in the hospital.

Daisy had broken her vow to never fight in the quad after that. Anthony had known his woman kept herself on a tight leash. The moment she started, it was impossible for her to stop. That night, Daisy had broken Daniella’s face, and from what he heard, even plastic surgery hadn’t been able to fix the damage.

Tonight, he watched, for the first time in his life, feeling helpless, as Daniella not only shot Daisy in the fucking back, but while he was pinned down by one of the enemies, he watched that blade slide into Daisy’s stomach three times and then plunge in her chest.

Luke, their enemy, had killed Daniella. Accepting Luke’s deal had been a mistake.

Fuck.

In the back of his mind, he saw Daisy being struck with that knife, sliding into her body, and it was like it was striking himself.

As long as Anthony could remember, he had never cried, even when being attacked and holding Tabitha after she was raped. Not even when he discovered the truth about fairy tales and Santa Claus. Not once did he cry, feel sad, or feel anything.

Staring at his dad, he suddenly couldn’t handle it.

Daisy had been struck. Luke had been the one to save her, and in that moment Anthony was finally able to break free from the choke hold. He’d slammed his blade into the enemy’s neck and went straight to Daisy.

“She’s hurt,” Anthony said.

He was not playing his dad. This was real emotion, real pain. It was raw, and it fucking hurt. Everyone looked to him as the weird one, the one who didn’t fucking talk.

He didn’t care. He didn’t see the point in wasting his time with stupid words when people didn’t listen. He had come to realize that no one listened, they all assumed, and they didn’t care. Everyone was interested in their own lives, and everyone else didn’t matter. This was why he didn’t talk.

Then there was the darkness. For the longest time, he had accepted the darkness that surrounded him. Watching people laugh was foreign to him, until Daisy. Seeing her laugh filled him with a light he didn’t know could be possible.

Daisy was everything to him. The love of his life. The light of his whole freaking world.

“I told you ... there would be consequences...” Those were the words Daisy had said to him as she pressed her hand against her stomach and started the fight to survive.

Daisy couldn’t die. He wouldn’t allow it.

His father’s face started to blur, and then he felt something falling down his cheeks. He was aware of people staring at him, and he knew his father had every right to drag his ass out of the hospital, disown him, and make an example of him. Yet, he told his dad Daisy was hurt, that there was so much blood, and he felt like his whole world was breaking down.

Nothing made any sense.

Daisy’s eyes had closed, and she faded from existence, as if she wasn’t there. He saw all of it before the doctors escorted her away. Now, there was this ... hole, like a crater within his chest, and he felt like he was dying.

Lash didn’t remove him from the hospital. He let go of his jacket, and even though he didn’t deserve it, his father pulled him into his arms and held him tightly. Tighter than Anthony had ever been held in his life.