Blood and Whiskey (RBMC: Helena, MT #1)

1. Sol

CHAPTER 1

Sol

I stared at my father’s corpse and tried to will the tears to come. The toughest man I’d ever known had finally succumbed to the cancer attacking his body. His once strong and steady countenance had been eaten away until he was skin and bones, and at the end, he could barely hold his head up.

“It hardly looks like him,” my sister, Maeve, said as she grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine.

I nodded, admitting to myself that he hadn’t been himself for the last six months. I’d always thought of my father as tough and agile. I’d seen him break even the wildest stallions, the most feral mares. The majority of the Vanderbilt reputation in Helena had been because of him, because he refused to bend or break to anyone. Being a Vanderbilt meant more than a name and a fortune. It meant being the meanest, roughest cattle ranchers in Montana, and now that he was gone, I didn’t know how we’d hold on to that reputation.

“Can you believe the paparazzi came?” Avalon, Maeve’s identical twin, asked, standing on the other side of me while she peered over her shoulder. I followed her line of sight to the cameras at the back of the crowd. “Can’t even leave us to grieve in peace.”

“Has Guin seen them yet?” I asked, glancing around the rest of the cathedral, hoping to spot my eldest sister, but I only found the rest of my siblings. Of the seven of us, I was the second youngest, but I was probably the closest to my father, which was to say none of us were very close to him at all. He’d once told me I reminded him the most of our mother, who had passed away shortly after giving birth to my youngest brother. She, too, had a wild spirit. Guin had inherited the rougher side of our father’s disposition. She’d been known to cut grown men down to size and make them weep in the boardroom.

“God, I hope not,” Avalon said, rolling her eyes. “We don’t need a fight in the pews.”

“Come on,” I said, nodding to the rest of the family in the first row. “Let’s go sit down before she does anything dramatic.”

Avalon smirked and Maeve giggled, but when I found Guin’s stare, she didn’t give the media a passing glance, seemingly too focused on the casket up front.

“They’re ready to start,” Percy said. Even though Guin was the oldest child, he was the oldest son, and since Father had passed away, he stood to inherit control of the family business. Liam was after him, then Maeve, Avalon, me, and Galahad. Guin already held the CEO spot at Vanderbilt Energy and had been the primary shareholder in both the ranch and energy companies for the last five years. But no one had expected Father to die so suddenly, so no one knew quite what to do now that he was gone.

Maeve, Avalon, and I refocused our attention to the front as the priests started the ceremony.

“Dearly beloved,” said Father Derry, “we are gathered here today to honor our cherished friend, Uther.”

As he continued, I blinked back the burn in my eyes and tried not to think about what we must look like from an outsider’s perspective. My strawberry blond hair had been styled perfectly on the back of my head, and I hadn’t cried yet, so my deep emerald eyes were still crystal clear. But inside, I was falling apart. Guin, too, shared these characteristics, but her gaze had turned harsh and angry when she’d gone to work for Father and learned how to play dirty like him. My other siblings shared my mother’s characteristics—dark curly hair, penetrating bright blue eyes, deep olive skin. This did not save them from turning bloodthirsty. Save for Galahad and me, Father had put them in positions of nepotistic power at Vanderbilt Holdings as soon as they’d graduated. I didn’t know why I’d been spared, but I could guess. And now I’d never have the opportunity to know for sure.

“It wasn’t so long ago that we gathered to mourn the passing of his adoring wife, Priscilla. They are together now in their rest.” The mention of my mother brought my attention back to the present. I’d like to believe she’d loved my father before her death, but like Percy and his wife, their marriage had been arranged for financial reasons. I couldn’t imagine what that must be like. I would walk through hot coals before I’d marry a man nearly twenty years older than me, much less be made to pop out heirs like my uterus was a candy machine.

Two long hours and several eulogies later, the funeral ended. My brothers and two of my father’s closest friends stood to carry his casket out of the cathedral and into the hearse, where his body would be driven back to our mansion and buried in the family graveyard. Most of the attendees would follow in order to attend the wake.

“Get it together,” Guin said, nodding toward the door as she faced us. “Don’t let them see you sweat.”

Sniffling and holding my head high, I held hands with Maeve and Avalon as we walked down the aisle behind the procession, Guin and Galahad trailing us. We ignored the flashing camera lights and sudden inhales from the gawking paparazzi. They’d never left our family alone, not once in my entire life.

What a screwed-up life we lived. Sure, we were the richest family in Montana, perhaps the country. My Vanderbilt ancestors had lived on our land for over a hundred and fifty years, and in that time, they’d built the biggest ranch this side of the Missouri. What we didn’t make in cattle and horses, we earned from the turbine farm and the natural gas company that Guin ran.

Sometimes, my father used to joke that we had more money than he knew what to do with. I’d like to think he wasn’t as wicked as my brother and sister, but they must have learned it from somewhere. I remembered him as the man who taught me how to ride my first horse, who brought me on camping trips with the ranch hands, who ensured I went to the best boarding schools in the world. My father was a hard man, no denying that. For every good memory I had of him, there were at least four more that probably required therapy. But I loved him, and watching him rot away to skin and bones had devastated me. At least his pain was over now. He could rest in peace.

I blinked into the sunshine when I stepped outside, the bright blinding light searing my retinas after so long under the soft glow of the cathedral. I’d made it two steps before faltering as the sound of thunder echoed up the street, a herd of motorcycles heading in our direction.

“Oh great, what’s this now?” Maeve whispered, tightening her fingers around mine.

Everyone stopped, anticipation buzzing in the tension between us as we waited to see if it was the Bloody Scorpions or the Royal Bastards. Neither would be welcomed at my father’s funeral, but at least we didn’t have any bad blood with the Scorpions.

They weren’t good people, not by any stretch of the imagination, but their property didn’t border ours. We’d never had any reason to fight with them. The Royal Bastards, on the other hand, owned the land to the north, and as much as my father had tried to buy it out from under them, they wouldn’t budge. Lord only knew what they did with it. They certainly didn’t raise enough cattle or horses to make a profit. There was something off about them. Rumors had spread through Helena that they were monsters possessed by demons, that they changed into massive flesh-eating beasts on the full moon.

I scoffed thinking about it. I’d never believed in any of that, even if my father had always said they were responsible for my mother’s death. The way he’d told the tale, she had gotten lost on their territory one night. They’d found her and tore her to pieces like animals, leaving nothing behind but a bloody patch in the snow. We didn’t even get to bury a body. Father had taken his revenge, he’d said. I shivered to think of what that had entailed. I was too young to remember much about my mother, and I blamed the Bastards for that every day.

The sounds of rumbling engines grew closer, and the leader turned the corner at the end of the street, his pack of bikers behind him nearly fifty strong.

“It’s the Bastards,” Avalon murmured, her voice dripping with either curiosity or fear. For her, those might have been the same.

“Shit,” Guin hissed. “What are they doing here?”

The swarm drew closer, slowing down as they crossed in front of the cathedral. All heads turned to face us and my knees locked into place. The ruthless outlaw motorcycle club had been known to shoot people on sight, and I held my breath, waiting to see if they’d rain bullets down on us. Instead, they glared as they passed, the silence in their stares seemingly enough of a threat.

It said they knew Uther Vanderbilt had been the only thing standing in their way. None of his children would be capable of holding them off from taking what they considered theirs. The war between our families may have been in a stalemate, but it wouldn’t be for much longer.

I wasn’t the only one that recognized this for what it was. Guin pushed past me and the twins, staring down these imbeciles that had the audacity to crash my father’s funeral. The world slowed as I made eye contact with the second one in line, his dark gaze peering directly at me, as if he had pointed me out specifically.

Chills raced down my spine, my fingers curling into a fist seemingly on their own, the air turning to ice in my lungs despite the deceptively warm winter day.

It was like fate was trying to tell me something in that one moment of vulnerability, like everything that had ever happened to me had been leading up to this moment, and only now would the rest of my life truly begin.

* * *

I turned off the television, wincing at the forecast for a blizzard starting early tomorrow morning. I didn’t mind the snow, but six feet seemed excessive, especially for this side of Montana. In the sudden silence, voices echoed from the hallway outside of my room.

“You saw the way they looked at us,” said Percy.

“It was a threat, no doubt about it,” Liam said. “But this is drastic, even for you.”

“It’s time she was married,” Percy cut in. “It’s time you all were.”

“Have you learned nothing from your own arrangement?” Liam hissed.

“It’s the way Vanderbilts have always done it,” Percy replied. “And now that I’m in charge of the mess Father left behind?—”

Liam’s cold snicker stopped my eldest brother’s rant, sending an equally chilly frost through my blood. “You’re so self-righteous, I bet you suck your own dick every morning.”

“Fuck off, Liam.” Percy tsked.

“You’re only in charge because the shareholders wouldn’t accept Guin as Father’s replacement.”

“And you think the ranch hands would?” Percy said, stabbing the proverbial knife deeper into Liam’s heart. “Any idea how to run an eighteen-million-dollar ranch with no day workers?”

“They’ll come back,” Liam said. “They always do.”

“No, they won’t,” Percy whined. “They saw that demonstration the Bastards put on a week ago. They don’t want any part of it, and none of them will take orders from me.”

“I wonder why,” Liam said with a sardonic snort. “You never once worked the ranch with them.”

“Why would I?” Percy said. “That’s what we pay them for.”

“Mother would be rolling over in her grave if she knew she raised a son so greedy that he would do this to one of his sisters.”

I straightened, smoothing my hands down the dress I’d purchased from Prada’s spring line. If nothing else, I’d look flawless for whatever awaited me in the hallway. I opened my bedroom door and raised my eyebrows at my brothers.

“What are you two scheming about?”

Liam shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, but Percy flashed his innocent smile, the one that said he’d done something terrible but was hoping he’d get away with it.

“Dear sister,” he said, straightening the sleeves of his suit jacket. “It’s good to see you.”

I narrowed my eyes, sensing a trap. I’d known him my entire life and not once had he ever come to fetch me from my bedroom with such feigned propriety. “You, too. What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a surprise,” Percy said. “We have visitors, and I require your assistance.”

Liam snorted and rolled his eyes. “You might as well be honest with the girl.”

“Honest?” I cleared my throat to hide my nervousness.

Percy inhaled deeply and took a step inside my room, Liam following closely behind him. “Our family has been at odds with the Royal Bastards Motorcycle Club for as long as any of us can remember,” Percy said. “The feud goes back decades. They killed our mother.”

Okay, I still didn’t see what this had to do with me.

“You may have noticed the ranch has been quiet since Father passed away. Most of the workers have abandoned us,” Percy continued, straightening and lacing his fingers behind his back, the very essence of upper class training. “This has forced me to take… drastic measures to keep our family safe.”

Liam sipped at his tumbler of whiskey, and that was my first clue that whatever Percy was about to say would anger me. Liam didn’t drink this early, and he certainly didn’t have the same dependency that Father or Guin did. Whatever this was wouldn’t be good.

“The only group the Bastards hate more than the Vanderbilts are the Bloody Scorpions,” Percy continued. “Those two have a national rivalry and a long history of tearing each other apart.”

I gulped as alarm skidded over my skin, prickling my hair, revolting in my gut.

“The Scorpions have agreed to lend us some men to help us with the rest of the harvest and provide protection from whatever the Bastards are up to. In fact, they’ve laid out reasonable terms.” Percy tilted his chin higher, staring down his nose while he rubbed at his mouth with a finger, apparently considering his next words carefully.

“And what is it they want in return?” My voice had turned husky with trepidation, the words coming out in more of a growl than an innocent question.

“A big pile of cash, of course,” Percy said.

“Of course,” I agreed. Typical.

“And certain…assurances that our alliance will continue after the winter thaws.” Percy cleared his throat as Liam shifted uncomfortably next to me.

“What assurances?” I asked, tightening my fingers into fists to keep my hands from shaking.

Percy paused, pursing his lips while his penetrating blue gaze drifted between me and our brother.

“They require a marriage to their president,” Liam said, taking another long sip.

Silence fell between us as tension built, my fury reaching a new tipping point. It had been a week since we’d buried Father, nearly two since he passed, and I missed him more in that moment than I had in the days since. He’d been a force to be reckoned with, a Goliath among a whole town of little Davids, Percy being the smallest. He’d yearned for our father’s approval, ached to be like the great man himself. But no matter what he did, he never would, and it wasn’t because he was greedy like Liam said. No, it was because he was a coward.

“This must be a joke,” I said, crossing my arms. “You can’t possibly think to marry one of our siblings off to the president of an outlaw gang.”

“They’re not outlaws.” Percy balked and let out an exhausted laugh, as if my suggestion was ludicrous. “There are no pending charges against Marx O’Kelley. I had my man check.”

“Why can’t we get the local police to protect us?” I said. “Or the wildlife commission? There must be a better?—”

“This is the way Vanderbilts handle business,” Percy snapped. “I was married when Lillian was three years younger than you.”

It hit me then, and I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. None of my other siblings had been ambushed by these two this early. None of them had been sequestered alone with the two eldest men in our family. No, it was me. The useless one. The one that was easier to sell off because I didn’t have a position with the company and I’d spent my time after college riding my horse and trying to please my father.

I’d never been good enough to work at Vanderbilt Holdings. I’d never been good enough to earn Father’s approval. Now, my only use was being traded in some antiquated business deal. And these morons had waited until Guin left for Utah before confronting me about it. My eldest sister wouldn’t have stood for this. She’d always done whatever she could to protect the younger ones, the proverbial mother bear after our own had died. Now, I yearned for that defense, knowing I had to do it myself.

“You want me to marry this man?” I asked, my fury escalating into full-blown panic. My pulse sped up, my muscles trembling as I told myself this was just a dream.

I’ll wake up any second. I will.

“Sol,” Percy said. “This alliance with the Scorpions will assuage the forces seeking to bring us down. Do you think I like selling my siblings out? Do you think I enjoy making deals with the lowest form of human this world has to offer?”

“I think you would kiss their shit-covered boots if it meant you didn’t have to do any dirty work on your own.” My entire body quaked, but I tensed my muscles to hide it from him. I couldn’t show any sign of weakness or he’d tear out my throat.

Liam snickered while Percy gasped and raised his eyebrows.

“Marrying Lillian was not something I wished, either,” he said, taking a step closer so he towered over me. “When Father bought her for me, she was penniless and living on scraps.”

“Do you listen to yourself when you talk?” I raised my chin to stare him in the eyes, nearly six foot in my stilettos. He might still have had two inches on me, but I was the one who had inherited our mother’s senses. Despite being eight years younger than Percy, I could knock him down to size with a few choice words and a sneer. “You had to marry Lillian because you were caught going to that perverted island owned by that disgusting friend of yours. Statutory rape is still a felony, especially if the victim has been bribed into it.”

“Isolde,” Percy tried to cut in.

“If you didn’t marry Lillian, Father would have had to disown you.” I was on a roll now, dragging out the dustiest of Percy’s skeletons just so he’d feel some sense of shame. “And that’s not to mention the man you nearly killed in high school.”

“That’s enough,” Percy barked, clapping in front of my face, startling me into silence. “You will do this, or I will cut off your trust.”

“You can’t,” I said, confidence starting to waver.

“Despite the disturbing allegations against me , the shareholders have voted me in charge of our holdings, including the ranch, the energy company, and Vanderbilt investments.” Percy squared his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “You may have what pittance Father put in his will for you once it’s divided between us, but how long do you suppose that will last?” He scoffed and gestured to my Louboutin shoes, my Prada dress, and the thousands of dollars of jewelry I’d purchased in the matter of months. “Look at you.”

“Percy,” Liam cut in, giving our brother a stare that asked him to be more gentle.

“You’re ungrateful for everything I’ve done for you, everything he’s done for you.” Percy rolled his eyes, and my resolve only grew more infuriated.

“Don’t you dare bring our father into this,” I snarled. I had to restrain myself from stomping my foot like a toddler. “If he were still alive, he would have found a way to keep the ranchers. He wouldn’t have sold me off to a motorcycle club like a prized sow.”

Percy let out a pitying sigh. “You barely knew him, Sol. He thought of us no better than his horses. For some of us, he had more of an investment in the filthy beasts.”

I supposed he meant that as a slight to me because he believed Galahad and I had the most distant relationship with our father. He had been fifty when I was born, fifty-five when Galahad came along, and most of my older siblings were off at boarding school or college for the better part of my childhood. My father loved me. He was hard on me, hard on all of us, but I felt his love and protection every day.

Perhaps Percy envied that about me. Perhaps he was resentful that I’d been given the time and luxury of an older father with more patience. But that wasn’t my fault, and I didn’t deserve for him to take it out on me.

I blinked back tears as my reality closed in around me, trying to remember what Guin had always said.

“Look out for yourself first. No one in this world can take anything from you unless you let them.”

I wouldn’t let this happen. I would find some way out of this, some way to fight him. I’d call Guin. We could fight this together. I just needed to buy myself some time to get in touch with her.

I canted my head up and matched my brother’s stern glare with one of my own. “And what’s in it for me?”

He straightened and furrowed his brows. “What?”

“If I go along with this, if I agree to this ridiculous match and protect the family, and that is a big if…what will you do for me?”

Clearly, he hadn’t seen this coming. He pursed his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets. “What do you want?”

I knew right where to hit him, how to make it hurt. “You will take your controlling share of Vanderbilt Holdings, and you will transfer it to someone else. Guin or Liam or both for all I care. Just as long as it’s not you.”

Both brothers froze at that, and I could almost hear Percy’s heart pounding. If I’d been older, if I’d had more experience with the company, if I’d been smart enough, I could have asked for control myself. As it was, I thought of the next best thing.

“No,” Percy said. “I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to. The shareholders?—”

“I don’t care about the shareholders. You’re a smart man; you’ll figure it out. Or you can marry the Scorpion yourself.” When he didn’t immediately agree, just rolled the idea around in his privileged brain, I decided to press my luck. “I could make this easy for you, Percy, or I could make it really difficult. What do you suppose the Helena Gazette would make of this, or the New York Sun ?”

“You’d blow up more than me if you did that,” Percy said. “I sense an empty threat.”

“You’ll have to drag me down the aisle kicking and screaming,” I said. “The press chewed us up at Father’s funeral. What would they make of a spineless Vanderbilt that sells off his sister at the first hint of trouble?”

The roar of motorcycles echoed down the driveway, vibrating deep in my chest as my anger and resentment grew into a scalding, raging fire.

“They’re here,” Percy said, turning to Liam.

“Who?” I balked and raised my eyebrows, belatedly realizing the answer to my own question. It wouldn’t have been the Bastards, and other than that pack of mangy beasts, there was only one other motorcycle group in Helena.

The Bloody Scorpions.

“You expect me to just go along with this?” I said. “You’re delusional.”

“If you come willingly,” Percy said, “I’ll consider your terms. I’ll take it to the board as soon as you’re married. Don’t make a fuss and don’t embarrass yourself in front of them. This is our only shot at protecting the Vanderbilt name.”

As soon as you’re married.

I knew what that meant. I’d get no such considerations from him. He viewed me as a possession, something he could trade or barter for services rendered. But I saw right through him, and he might think he bit harder but he hadn’t seen me bare my teeth yet.

“Come along, little sister,” Percy said, nodding toward the hallway. “Time to meet the in-laws.” I glared at him, switching my ire to Liam as he gave me a sympathetic stare.

Deciding I would play along for now, I smoothed my hands down the front of my dress, pulled my best Guin attitude up around me, and followed them out.

My heels clacked on the marble stairs as I descended the staircase, and I nearly stumbled when I saw the group of outlaws standing in the foyer of my father’s house. The one closest to me had a scar that went over his eye and down the side of his cheek. Another wore big rings on his fingers and had tattoos that said, “Fuck or Fite.” I grimaced at the misspelled word, wondering if there was a hidden meaning or if he’d just been a victim of a bad artist.

All of them wore leather vests with patches proclaiming them as members of the Bloody Scorpions, the enormous sigil stitched onto the back almost as intimidating as it was comical. Most importantly, they looked at least ten years older than me. They radiated danger and violence, the stench of it hanging in the air as powerfully as any perfume or deodorizing spray. It made me gag, and every instinct I had told me to run or attack.

Just get through today. I’ll figure it out after this.

I took a deep breath, ignoring the way they stared as I walked past them into the same parlor where I’d once run into my father’s lap and gleefully told him about my day.

“Ahh,” Percy said, waltzing into the room with his arms out wide. “Marx, thank you for meeting us on such short notice.”

“Well, when the Vanderbilts say they have the deal of the century, I’m willing to hear them out,” said the man seated on the couch opposite the fireplace, currently propping his filthy boots on a coffee table that had once belonged to my sixth great-grandmother.

“Would you care for a drink?” Percy turned to the bar cart in the opposite corner, but Marx raised a tumbler.

“Already indulged myself.” He took a sip and smacked his lips together with an obnoxious pop. “This is some high-quality shit. But I expected as much from the looks of things.”

Making himself quite at home. I almost sneered.

Liam pat me on the shoulder before walking to the fireplace and leaning a hand on the mantel, turning to face me.

“I trust you remember Liam.” Percy gestured to our brother before nodding in my direction. “And Isolde.”

Marx stood and looked at me. At six feet tall with a pale complexion and dark, sinister eyes, his slimy grin stretched ear to ear, showcasing a front tooth that had been encased in gold. His salt-and-pepper hair suggested he was closer to my father’s age than my own, and I wondered again what twisted nightmare had brought me here. Like the others, he stank of pure demonic chaos; I could almost see the evil pouring out of him. Percy lifted his whiskey tumbler to me and bit on the end of a cigar.

“Well, well, well,” Marx said, stalking closer. Covered in grime and tattoos, he didn’t bother trying to hide his perusal of my body, raking his penetrating gaze down to my heels and back up again. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

I gulped, swallowing against a dry throat, holding my head higher.

“Isolde, I’d like you to meet Marx.” Percy glared at me, as if telepathically reminding me to be on my best behavior. “Marx, my youngest sister. Per your request.”

His request? This vile, stinking cockroach.

“Boy, you sure do know how to breed ’em, huh?” Marx clapped and glanced at Percy, his grin widening.

“In the terms of our arrangement, you’ll marry Isolde and receive a sizable dowry. After that?—”

“Yes, yes,” Marx cut in, tilting his head back while he stared down at me. “You need ranchers to get you through the winter.”

“And protection from the Bastards,” Percy added. “With no ranchers and my father gone, we’re out in the open.”

“You know, my sire used to say that a man who can’t protect his family himself ain’t no real man at all.” Marx raised his eyebrows and turned back to Percy with a smirk, perhaps hoping my brother would respond. He didn’t. He only tensed and took another drink of whiskey. I winced at his use of the word “sire” but didn’t think more of it.

When Marx returned his attention to me, he raised a hand to brush hair back behind my ear. “How about you, sweet thing? How do you feel about this arrangement?”

I gulped and straightened to keep from visibly revolting at the touch. His hands smelled like excrement and he probably hadn’t brushed his teeth in twenty years, the sharp points of his canine teeth looking longer now that I was close to him. He had a certain evilness to his aura, something pale and soulless. It made me sick. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to be intimate with him, much less pretend this was anything more than a business arrangement.

“I’ll do anything to protect my family.” I squared my jaw and held his gaze, unable to smother the burning inferno in my blood.

He met my stare with an intense one of his own, his aging brown eyes telling the tale of how he’d lived up until now.

“See, now this one”—Marx waved his finger at me and turned to my brothers—“you shoulda put her in charge. There’s fire in her soul. She woulda made a hell of a biker.”

“Well, there’s still time yet,” I said. “We’ve got a while until our marriage.”

“You think so?” Marx balked and shook his head. “No, my sweet little piece of ass. We’re gonna be married as soon as the snow melts.”

No. NO.

My heart hammered and dropped to the ground as I focused on Percy and Liam, begging for them to deny him.

“I won’t do the deal until I’ve got my end of the bargain.” Marx tsked and took a step around me, circling me like he would a farm animal. He slid his gaze over my body, as disgusting as raw garbage, like the worst kind of assault despite the fact he’d barely touched me. “You’ve got a few more days to say your goodbyes before I come to collect my… delectable reward.”

I hated my brother. I held his stare with a wrath in my own, hoping to insinuate how much I despised him with that one expression. I’d never considered myself a violent person, but the blackest parts of my soul reared up as Marx stepped behind me. I would find a way to bring my brother to ruin. He was a terrible person who had been given the lap of luxury for far too long. He’d done despicable things and gotten away with them, only to continue to wreak havoc on the people closest to him.

My father should have shipped him off to military school as soon as he could instead of coddling him.

Well, no longer. Even if this arrangement with the Scorpions didn’t fall through, I’d use whatever influence I had to stab my brother between the ribs and pierce his heart. Perhaps I could even swipe his legs out from under him.

“God, you have a tight little ass, huh?” He spanked me hard on the right butt cheek, and I gasped, clenching my eyes shut at the objectification. No one in my entire life had ever touched me so harshly, much less in front of my family. Sure, I’d had lovers who liked it rougher than that, but this was the Vanderbilt parlor. My siblings were five feet away. Members of his MC had witnessed the whole thing, and snickers echoed from the foyer. I did my best not to sob.

Marx leaned in to my ear, pressing his lips against my hair so he could whisper, “I bet you fuck like a mare in heat, don’t you? You want to be ridden hard and put away wet? Hmm?”

“Bite your tongue, Scorpion.” I sneered, snapping my head to face him. “Or I’ll have it removed.”

“Ohh, I like that fight in you,” he said. “Keep that up after we’re married and we’ll be happy, indeed.”

That, I found even more revolting. If I were going to destroy this, destroy them , I’d have to be more discreet. I couldn’t upset the heavily armed bikers when they were here in full force. In no universe would that end well.

Marx chuckled and finished his circle around me, turning to my brothers and holding his arms out. “Gentlemen, you have my most hearty approval. I’ll marry the little bitch and you’ll have your deal.”

My stomach soured, churning my breakfast back up my esophagus, and my knees threatened to give out on me.

“Fantastic,” Percy said, nodding to the paperwork on the table in front of him. “Isolde, that’s all.” He waved me away like I was a fly that had annoyed him for too long, like I had no say in my own future.

I glanced at Liam, who grimaced before looking away. Despite how much he might have stood up for me once upon a time, I now hated him as much as I hated Percy.

Silently promising both of them my vengeance, I turned on my heels and headed out of the parlor, straight for the liquor cabinet.

This was quite possibly the worst day of my life, including the death of my beloved father, and I couldn’t face another moment of it sober.