14. Dante #2
As I look around, I finally spot the bastard who decided to ruin my day.
Standing in the middle of my home is the mayor of this town. Fucking Edward Ashford in his suit and tie. Blond hair smoothed back with traces of gray slipping through, I can easily see the way he's taking in our clubhouse. The judgemental asshole has his nose scrunched, a grimace on his face.
Don't hit him.
"Edward." I bear my own teeth in a forced smile, unable to hold back the disgust in my voice as I reach him.
He looks me up and down, not even trying to curl his lip in that famous smile. "Arthur."
My fingers curl tight, and I know he's just baiting me, as he always is. Lately, the need to punch this man is stronger than ever. And right now? Most of the officers flooding the building are too busy with my men to even notice my arrival.
Just thinking about Margot makes me want to get my hands around his neck so I can watch the life fade from his eyes. An opportunity so beautiful has never appeared with such ease.
"Find what you're looking for?" As I force my shoulders to relax, my smile disappears. "I heard about Madalyn. Such a shame the cops can't find her. What has it been now, four days? Five? About that time you stop wasting the club's time and start checking the woods, hm?"
Edward doesn't even flinch. Instead, his tight, media-trained smile returns, fake and condescending. He steps in closer, lowering his voice so the surrounding officers can't catch the venom in his tone.
"Oh, we're broadening the search, Arthur," Edward murmurs, his eyes scanning the grit and grease of the clubhouse with pure disgust. "Because a beautiful, priceless jewel doesn't just vanish in thin air. She certainly doesn't belong in a dumpster like this, but I'm certain you're keeping her."
My knuckles turn white at my sides. While I don’t quite care about Madalyn, I can’t help but wonder what he’d say about Margot.
Would he try to defend her, or would he say she belongs? To me, Margot is more than a jewel. She’s… everything. Someone I’d put on a pedestal and bow the knee to.
"A man like you... you're just street trash in a leather vest," Edward continues, a mocking laugh cutting through his words.
"You look at something pure, something exquisite, and your first instinct is to touch it with your filthy hands.
But you're too stupid to keep her hidden forever.
I'm going to find her, and I'm going to make sure a subhuman piece of garbage like you never lays a finger on her again. "
The way he talks about her, it's less like he's talking about his very own blood, and more like a physical object. An actual jewel he finds valuable.
“I don’t have her,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “Even if I did, she’d be better off far away from you.”
He rolls his eyes at my denial like he's already heard the words a thousand times over. He then leans toward me, lowering his voice soft enough for my ears.
"My daughter wasn't alone when she was taken. The other woman, you'll insist you don't have her either, won't you?"
It takes strength to keep a straight face, but I do so with a gritted jaw. I didn't actually expect him to bring Margot up, but I'm writing it off as his way of seeking out a certain reaction. For any ounce of proof that I have them under my care.
While I can keep my face in check, my tongue doesn't get with the program.
"Who?"
I just want him to say her name, to acknowledge her very existence. This desperation that had formed from the moment Margot didn't appear on the news is picking the worst time to appear.
"My greatest regret," he answers as if it's that simple, instantly making my boiling blood spill over. "But I'm sure you could already see that. Give me my daughter back, and you can keep—"
I'm swinging before I can stop myself. I don't even feel myself moving until my fist is already flying. Best part, my fist makes contact against that pearly white smile. Worst part? It takes no time before a few assholes rush over and attempt to tackle me.
Fighting back isn't the best idea, but my anger is keeping me upright until a fourth cop joins in an attempt to take me down.
Despite my previous order of not picking a fight with these guys, my brothers throw that demand right out the window.
Especially when I hear Casper approaching fast. He's smart enough not to use his blades, but he doesn't stop himself from pulling one of the officers off of me to throw him to the ground to throw the second punch.
It all snowballs from there. Fights break out left and right, the tension finally snapping. The sound of our home breaking makes me lose my composure.
Two cops try to weigh me down, but I thrash upward, throwing one off my shoulders as Casper intercepts the other with a brutal shoulder tackle. I scramble through the sea of boots, dragging myself right back toward Ashford.
He’s flat on his back, staring up at me with wide, unblinking eyes, bleeding from a split lip. It's probably the first time he's ever tasted his own blood.
"Edward." Snarling his name, I reach out and watch this man flinch.
Wrapping my hand around his silk tie, twisting it into my knuckles, and yanking him up until his face is inches from mine, the noise that leaves me is near animalistic.
"I will make you wish you'd never fucked with us.
Once you have nothing left, I'm going to make you wish I would've killed you. "
I raise my fist to split his face open again, but I never deliver the blow.
Two prongs bite into my neck, and a blinding, agonizing current rips through my spine. My muscles lock instantly. I didn't even hear the taser pop over the roaring blood in my ears.
Gritting my teeth as I'm shoved to the ground, I glare at him.
Edward forces a smile, but he can't hide the fear. "Where you're going, you won't be able to do anything."
Getting hit with another shock, I'm finally handcuffed and torn away. I don't know how many of my brothers are getting arrested, but by the time I'm dragged out, I notice Cash is gone.
Hoping he'd slipped off when shit hit the fan, I realize all too late what Edward's plan was.
Can't do anything if we're confined? What a stupid bastard.
If he thinks it's that easy to stop Steelwood, then his biggest mistake will be underestimating us. He won't know what hell he is about to face.