Midas
We drove Serena’s car home after letting her leave with Dante. None of us wanted her to go with him, but when she whispered in my ear that she was going and there was nothing I could do about it, I knew she was right.
We haven’t yet told her that we think it was Dante behind the attack, and with him there, we couldn’t voice that to her. He would have been able to easily sway her opinion, and I can’t have that. She can never know that I was the one behind her getting hurt. I am not her stalker, but I took advantage of the situation, hoping it would work out in my favor.
It’s still hard to think that the four of us used to be inseparable, and then one day he vowed he would get his vengeance against us. I still don’t know what he thinks we did, but that doesn’t matter anymore. All the years of friendship between us didn’t matter to him, so it didn’t to us either.
I never meant for it to get as far as it did. I wanted her to be scared, not shot. I still am debating if I should kill that fucking prospect or not. He knew what he was supposed to do, and he fucked up.
I fucked up worse.
There is so much truth in those words. I messed up more than I ever could have imagined. I should never have acted on that plan, or come up with it in the first place. But now that I have, I have to hide it any way that I can.
After watching her get shot, I knew at that moment that I would do anything to keep her safe and happy. I would try to be a better man for her. Pops’ words were ringing loud in my head. We protect the ones we love, because harming them will do nothing but harm you more.
I always took the words to heart. I have spent my life protecting my brothers. Making sure that in any situation we got into, I was the one who would be harmed instead of them.
A couple of years back, our dads sent us on a stupid drug run for them. We shouldn’t have been there that day. We were only sixteen and had just gotten our licenses. To reward us, our fathers sent us out to help with a drug shipment. Making sure it got to the warehouse on time, and no one was attacked.
Halfway to the warehouse, we were ambushed. Some small-time gang, that I can’t even remember the name of, wanted to make a name for themselves. Thinking they could take on the Kings and win.
They blocked off the road, forcing us to stop, and shot at the truck. The driver lost his life that day. We were lucky enough to get out of the way in time and started returning fire. Someone got behind us, aimed his gun at Zeus, and shot. I managed to push him out of the way at the last second, which resulted in me being shot in the stomach.
We were only supposed to be backup. Making sure the shipment got there in time. Instead, we could have lost our lives that day.
Someone was near the deserted road we were using, heard the shots, and called the cops. The second you could hear the sirens, the other gang took off, leaving us alone with a truck filled with cocaine.
Panicked, Odin and Zeus loaded me up in the truck, pushing the driver out onto the road, and sped off. To keep the cops off our backs, Zeus drove us to a town far away. What should have been a forty-five-minute drive to the hospital took almost three hours. I was convinced I was going to die that day.
We made it to a small hospital in a town so small that if you blinked, you would miss it. Giving them a bullshit story of a random shooting. Saying we were out for a drive when a blackout car pulled up next to us and shot me while I was driving. There is no way I would have been shot in the gut while driving, but they didn’t question it.
We each gave false names. Filled a bogus police report. I got patched up, had some blood given to me, and we bolted out there.
We still managed to take the shipment to the warehouse, but our fathers were pissed we were over a day late. I took the blame; it was my fault. I was the one who got hurt.
My dad beat me black and blue that night. I ripped my incisions, and had to get Doc to patch me up again.
That was normal for me. My father beat me when I messed up. He always told me that same thing each time. ‘ You are the leader. It’s your job that everything gets done properly. You failed. You are weak and worthless. You don’t deserve my last name or the title of President one day.’
Each time I heard that, it drove me to be better. To make that man proud, even if I hated him. He is the only family I have. The only blood relation to me in this world.
When I was a kid, I would wish my mother would come back every day. I just want to know her. To have her love me the way I loved her. I may not have known her, but I felt love for the woman who gave birth to me.
As I got older, I still wanted her to come back, but not for the same reasons. At first, I wanted to know why she would leave me. Why wasn’t I good enough for her. But when the beatings started, I wanted her to come back and take me with her. Now, though, I never want to see her.
I learnt a long time ago that blood may be thicker than water, but your true family is the one you make. I made my family with my best friends. They were the only ones that mattered.
Until Serena.
She quickly dug her way under my skin without even trying. I never believed in love, but I am starting to fall in love with her. It’s like a cancer that is slowly spreading through my body, infecting every cell. A cancer that I never want to cut out. I want it to consume everything until it kills me.
That may not be a healthy way to look at love, but that is how I feel. Love is messy and dangerous. It can hurt you, kill you. Take over everything until there is nothing left.
I want to infect her the way she is infecting me. I want to consume every inch of her until the only thing her heart beats for is me. And my brothers, I guess.
The three of us have never really discussed what is happening between us and her. I have wanted to talk to them about it for a while, but there has never been a good enough time for that conversation. I guess we just let things happen organically, and in the end accept her decision on everything.
Unless that decision leads to Dante. That is never going to happen. Over my dead body. I will chain her in my basement before that shit could happen.
I have seen how my brothers look at her. How they care for her. How much they have changed since she came into the picture.
Odin smiles more. He has always been the one to wear a smile, but it was a mask. Covering the dirty truths of his past. Serena makes him genuinely smile.
Zeus has been a shell of a person since his accident. He lost himself, retreating into a dark place. He gave up feeling… anything. Serena slowly brings him out of that place, making him smile and feel again.
I think I am the biggest change. I hated the world. Always angry. Only had one goal in mind, and I didn’t care if I hurt anyone to get it. People were expendable to me. They meant nothing. Tools to use to get me what I wanted. But then a pretty, blonde girl came to town and showed me there is more to the world than the MC. That love is possible for someone like me. To open my world and heart to more.
She is a miracle worker without even trying.
The three of us are sitting in my room, playing video games and drinking beer. Zeus and Odin yell at each other as they play some shooting game. I never understood why they like this game. We have enough of that in the real world, so why play a game where the whole point is to kill? Whatever makes them happy, I guess.
Checking my phone for the dozenth time since we got home, hoping to see a text from her. I hate knowing she is out with our enemy. He may not be the one who shot her that night, but without knowing who the real stalker is, I don’t trust him. Dante Lupo is the definition of a demon. He is heartless, cruel, and bloodthirsty.
People could say the same of me.
“Dude. She is fine.” Odin says. His eyes never leave the screen as he aims the gun and fires.
“Odin is right. If there was a problem, she would call or text us. We may not trust Dante, but we can trust her.” Zeus pipes up.
They are right. I trust Serena to reach out if anything is wrong. And as much as I hate to admit it, if he really does care about her, Dante wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
That doesn’t stop the worry I feel. My grip tightens around my phone. I can practically hear the screen cracking. Tossing it on the bed, I get to my feet and start pacing. Forward fifteen steps, turn around, and another fifteen steps. Back and forth while I contemplate my next move.
Odin and Zeus give each other a knowing look, worry lining their faces. I let out a sigh. Never have I been a man who worries or feels out of control. This is new. I don’t like it. I took it upon myself to be responsible for Serena’s safety, and I can’t guarantee it right now. If something else happened to her, I don’t know how I would react.
“Just send her a text.” Odin sighs.
I don’t need to be told twice. I picked my phone back up and sent her a quick text.
Me: Just checking in, angel.
Please text me back.
That was probably the most desperate I have ever been in my life, but I feel a little better. I stare at the phone for a while, watching the minutes tick by with no answer.
I groan as my phone starts to ring. Of course, the last person I want to speak to is calling me. Dad. I let it ring a few times, hoping he would just hang up. After the fifth ring, I answer.
“Come to the clubhouse.” My dad says and then hangs up.
We pull our bikes in front of the clubhouse. The music is loud and can be heard even outside. Must be a party going on tonight.
I look at Odin and Zeus, all of us wearing the same look. None of us wants to go in and deal with our fathers. Being summoned is never a good thing.
There is no point in delaying the inevitable. We all stiffen our shoulders and put on the masks we need to survive in here before walking in. Just like I expected, a raging party is happening. Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard is playing loudly through the sound system. As I look around, all I see are drunk members stumbling over their own feet. Girls wearing barely any clothing, or none at all, looking so out of it. Blitzed off something.
I notice a few members who have wives kissing and groping some girls. It’s not uncommon for the men to cheat. It never used to make me feel uneasy, but now that I have Serena in my life, I could never imagine cheating.
What was once so common and usual to me now seems so foreign and vile. I can’t understand how these men have perfect wives at home and still want some barely legal pussy on the side.
Odin, Zeus, and I walk through the crowd. The more I look around, the more I notice how unusual it is here. Parties are always loud and raucous, but tonight it seems to be a whole new level. Everyone’s inhibitions seem to be gone.
We find our dads at the back of the main room, sitting on a couch with three very drugged-out girls dancing naked in front of them. I have never seen them around here before. The three girls all have long blonde hair. Their eyes are glazed over and look completely checked out.
Our dads don’t notice us at first, too enraptured by the girls dancing. I look at my dad, wanting to know what is going through his head as he stares at the one in the middle. I quickly glance at her, wondering what has him so captivating.
Sure, she is hot. She has nice enough tits and a round ass. Slim waist and long legs. I can see a few track marks on her arms. Her face is blank, like she isn’t connected with her body. But what about her makes him look like all his dreams have come true?
Getting bored of waiting for anyone to notice us, I loudly clear my throat. My dad turns his head around and smiles when he sees us standing there. He doesn’t say anything, none of them do. They just get up from the couch and start walking, expecting us to follow.
The massive wooden door with the skull wearing a crown greets us. Church. The place where all crew business takes place. Sure, we have been in here before, but never for official business. Not being a part of it, we don’t get all the privileges. The door slams shut behind us, slightly silencing the music. My dad takes his seat at the head of the table, the President’s chair. Ryker and Axel stand behind him on either side. Zeus, Odin, and I stay rooted to our spots near the door, not trusting what this is about.
“How is Serena?” My dad asks. His eyes light up as he says her name. I briefly glance at Ryker and Axel, noticing their eyes shine at her name too. “Is she recovering well?”
“She is fine.” I clipped out, irritated that they called us here for this.
“Wonderful,” Ryker says.
“Do you have any leads on who attacked her?” Axel demands.
We look at each other, wondering if we should tell them about Dante. I hate giving out information to my father, but I know he would easily believe the lie. He has had a hard-on for killing Dante for so many years. When the truce between the Kings and the Brotherhood went to shit five years ago, all three of our fathers vowed to be the one to kill Dante.
I sigh before making my decision on what to tell them. They don’t need to know anything until it is the right time. The last thing we need is them sticking their noses in our business.
“None yet, but she is under our protection now. No one would dare fuck with her again.” I reply, not liking this conversation more and more.
My father looks at his two best friends, silently communicating with them. They all seem to agree with whatever they are thinking. More warning bells ring in my head. They are up to something, and I don’t like it.
“You must be wondering why we called you here.” My dad says, placing both his hands on the table, clasped together. “We officially want to initiate you three into the MC. You boys are over eighteen or close enough to it now, it’s time you became full members.”
My jaw drops. Confused where this is coming from. Being the oldest of our trio, I tried to join when we first turned eighteen, but was told we weren’t allowed to until we graduated from high school. It was a huge argument between my father and me that led to me having a black eye and a fractured arm. Odin and Zeus are close enough to their eighteenth birthdays, but never bothered to try to join after I was rejected.
I look at Odin and Zeus. Odin’s jaw is thrumming, anger radiating off him in waves. Zeus was harder to decipher how he felt. I knew he was feeling the same way that Odin and I were, but he didn’t show it.
None of us said anything, not sure what to say. On the one hand, this is what we have always wanted, to become members of the MC. It has been the only thing any of us have wanted since we were little kids. Our dream was to join, and when we took over to fix the problems our fathers had created. That’s still the goal. Fix this place, change it back to what Pops originally wanted.
But, on the other hand, the timing is too convenient. They have never been known to change their minds about anything once they decide something. So why now?
The only thing that has changed since our birthdays is Serena and Emma moving to town.
Our fathers don’t give us a chance to speak before walking over to us and clapping us on our backs. They open the doors and usher us back to the party. Ryker whistles loudly, getting everyone’s attention to focus on the six of us. Someone behind the bar turns the music down.
“I would like to introduce everyone to our newest members.” My father announces with a conniving look on his face.
The crowd erupts into a loud roar, cheering us on. We are suddenly crowded with members, congratulating us on finally becoming members.
The music is turned back on, the party is back in full swing. Drinks are passed around. Girls crowd us, pawing at us. Trying to seduce us. One girl grips my junk through my jeans. Odin has a girl kissing his neck as he tries to push her away. Zeus has a girl on her knees in front of him.
I hear my dad chuckle behind me. I look back at him, noticing him putting his phone into his back pocket. “Time to celebrate, boys.”
I pushed the girl off me and walked to the bar. Odin and Zeus are following my lead. The prospect that shot Serena places three shots in front of us, not meeting my eyes. I sling it back, enjoying the burn of the liquor.
I should be celebrating. Happy that I finally got what I always wanted. Instead, all I feel is dread.
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.