Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Maddox (Shade)
Someday I will take my cousin down and show him what it's like to be slapped around and demeaned. He's a slimy, small dicked, fucking abuser, and I can't stand to witness it.
I should be grateful he brings his own club girls when he visits, but I don't like seeing any woman hurt. They aren't under my protection, yet I want to get them as far away from Victor and his disgusting club as possible.
"Come on, Shade, live a little," Victor mocks, nudging my shoulder with his like we're best buds. "I brought one of the thicker ones I know you guys prefer."
Fighting the urge to pull my gun out and shoot him right in the fucking neck, I take a sip of my beer. Glancing at the club girl he's pointing at, my stomach roils. She has a similar hourglass shape as Cassie.
"How do you know what body type I prefer, cousin?"
If he hears the warning in my tone, he ignores it and smirks. "One of my men saw Ripper in the back with a curvy whore."
"When?" I snap, blood boiling. What the fuck is Ripper up to? He hasn't touched a woman in years, and the only one he's into is—
"Shade, can I speak to you for a moment?" Parker grits out, appearing in front of us with a look that sends dread through my bones.
"Excuse me," I mutter to Victor and follow Parker to our office. Wound tighter than a fucking bull ready to charge, I barely wait a moment before I demand he speak.
"Cassidy's here," he states as if my worst fucking fear hasn't come true. "She was at the gate, demanding a meeting with you when Ripley shut her up and brought her in. He locked her in our guest room."
I have to close my eyes for a moment. Having Victor here at the same time as Cassie is literally the worst fucking thing that could happen. "Why? Why would he bring her inside? Why not bring her to our fucking house?"
Parker shrugs and leans against my desk. Fucker looks nonchalant, but I know on the inside he's losing his shit just like I am.
Our weakness is in the same building as our enemy.
"Rip's obsessed with her. He's her fucking stalker. She ends up on his doorstep. What did you think he would do? Send her away?"
Fuck, she's literally a few doors away.
"Shaaaade," Victor singsongs, and knocks on the door. "I have a request. Well, a few of us do."
Sharing a dark look with Parker, I shutter my feelings and wrench the door open. Parker follows me as I brush past my cousin, only to come to a slow stop when I find a group of his fuckwits harassing Ripley.
"We want to know why he's hiding a whore," Victor says, clapping me on the shoulder. "Is she an old lady? Never knew one of the presidents of the Shadows would grow soft and become possessive."
"You know the rules. Your men don't touch our women," I say, voice devoid of emotion.
Most of our women are huddled in a locked and bolted room, waiting for them to leave. Only a select few who know how to handle these pieces of shit stayed. Thankfully, Victor is usually too distracted by his own club girls and goading me into an argument to ever notice we don't have many around.
"Women? You mean cock sluts," he corrects. "Are you growing soft too, cuz? You protecting Ripper's whore?"
He needs to stop calling my woman names before I lose my shit.
I can't tell if he's intentionally goading me, or if he's just being his usual asshole self.
One thing is for certain: I can't let him think Cassie means anything to us.
Letting Ripley keep her hidden away right now is a bad fucking idea.
"Rip!" I holler and lean against the bar. When he's close, I can see the tension nobody else would notice. He's acting like a possessive wolf ready to protect his mate at any cost. "Who's the girl in your room?"
Refusing to allow any ounce of familiarity out, I keep my tone cold, and he picks up on it. "A hangaround. Found her outside and couldn't pass up the chance to come on her tits. You should see them."
"I'd like to," Victor interjects. Don't clench your jaw.
Ripley turns his soulless eyes on my sorry excuse for a cousin. "She's tied to my bed, waiting for me."
"Trouble in paradise then?" Victor chuckles and elbows me in the ribs. "Always knew you guys liked pussy too. Come on, man, why would you keep a slut to yourself?"
Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Parker can go get her. She bothered me, and I just didn't want to hear her whining anymore." With that, Ripley glides across the room and settles onto the couch with Koa.
"Why do I have to get her?" Parker even tacks on a groan, making Victor chuckle. "If she's annoying, maybe we just keep her tied up or kick her to the curb."
Victor hums a nasty fucking sound and adjusts his cock when he says, "You could gag her. Her mouth isn't necessary unless you really want to fuck it, am I right? I once choked a whore hard enough she wasn't able to talk for a week."
"Where is she now?" I drawl, trying not to sound all that interested. Though I can't help but trail my gaze over the poor women he brought to my place to torture. Was it one of them he hurt so viciously?
I had to break a fucking chair and shout to get them to stop shoving the women around in my clubhouse.
Sure, I excused it by being annoyed they were breaking expensive glassware, but I just needed to give the girls some kind of protection.
I hate that I can't do more than keep them from being shoved to the ground.
We're almost there. Sometimes the only way I can stay calm is by talking to myself in my head. The number of times I've thought about how I need to keep Cassie safe is aberrant.