Chapter Fifteen
Dominic (Mace)
“I’m glad you could make it,” Megyn says when I enter her office.
It’s been years since I set foot in here and now I’ve been here twice in as many weeks. It can’t be put off any longer. Zelda needs to know what happened to her family. Fucking insane to think this is a reprieve from the shit going on in my life right now.
“Her therapists believe it will help,” Megyn says as we take our seats facing one another again. “It will be difficult for her to hear but she needs to know why her brothers haven’t been in touch.”
I could say a lot of things about those assholes, but they gave a shit about her.
Not enough to get her help when she really needed it, in fact they added to her problems when she still lived with the MC.
In the end, she was spared the kind of life that would have eventually got her killed because I intervened.
“Things have been better since my last visit?”
“Her medication was changed, and she has more one-on-one sessions. They have helped her. I appreciate you have come here to be the one to do it. Seeing a familiar face might make breaking the news easier.”
Doubt that but I’ll take on the responsibility. I always had to do the hard stuff during my years as VP for the Kingsmen.
As we walk through the main corridor to the common room, I avoid eye contact with anyone.
It would be best to do this in private, but Megyn thinks Zelda is more comfortable in this setting, and she explains as we walk that orderlies are on hand if there are any issues. That doesn’t fill me with confidence.
This is the last place I want to be right now, Talon is meeting with Singer.
As far as he is concerned, the movement of the cargo from his previous client went smoothly.
He doesn’t know the shit I had to deal with while making the run.
He’s getting paid a lot of money and if all goes well, he’s set to make even more from us.
We enter the common area which is a mixture of a welcoming sitting room style and medical facility, a fact it can’t get away from. There are bars on the windows, reminding me there are people with some serious issues, dangerous ones.
Zelda is sitting on a couch by herself, her hands clutched in her lap. She’s wearing the pale blue scrub style top all the patients wear but has jeans and sneakers on, instead of pajamas, like some of the other patients.
Her head lifts when I walk into the room behind Megyn, her eyes widening in surprise, then a smile grows. As I get nearer, her gaze drops to my cut and her smile freezes in place. I probably shouldn’t have worn this, but I’ve never been one to hide away.
Megyn leaves us alone and I take a seat opposite Zelda. There are a few patients, reading, or playing board games. The only people watching us are Megyn, who is pretending to be busy with one of the nurses, and an orderly in a white uniform. His expression is hard as he watches me, then Zelda.
Can’t say I blame the fucker, Zelda is beautiful, she always has been. There is a sickness inside her that she will never be free off. I didn’t see it when we were younger. Even when she started getting with the club members, partly to make me jealous but mostly because she could get drugs.
Which was when the dark side of her took root, came out more often and more violent.
We never went beyond friendship, even though Zelda wanted more. Something always stopped me. I wanted to help her when I saw how bad it was getting, when she started breaking the law, petty stuff at the start, then me getting the cops to back off and let her go if she got picked up.
“There must be something wrong for you to have come here. And I don’t think it’s because Miss Strait-laced over there called to tell you there was an incident.”
“Good to see you too, Zel.”
Her eyes blink rapidly, her throat working as she swallows.
“Starting a riot is an incident now?”
“It got me what I wanted didn’t it.”
With some effort I hold in the heavy sigh. “I should have come sooner, that’s on me.”
“They’re dead, aren’t they,” she says it like its fact, which it is. “They didn’t visit a lot, but I saw them at least once a month. So yeah, Dominic, you should have come sooner.”
God, it’s been a long time since I heard my real name spoken aloud. It’s jarring. No one at Devil’s Chaos even knows it. It’s a chapter in my life I’ve tried to close. I’m Mace, the President of the Stroudsburg chapter of the Devil’s Chaos, I don’t want to be anything else.
Zelda sits quietly and listens as I give her a limited run down of what happened. The only time I see any kind of reaction is when I confirm the Kingsmen are gone and where I am now. Her head tilts to the windows, and she closes her eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye I note the orderly moving closer. I haven’t moved an inch from my seat, I’m no threat to her, but he is watching her every move. I’m certain there shouldn’t be any kind of relationship between an orderly and patient. This guy is fucking her, that much is clear.
I wouldn’t put it past the old Zelda to have started something up with him. He stops his sneaking forward when I stare at him, telling him in no uncertain terms with one glance that he needs to back the fuck off.
“You don’t get to control my life anymore, Dominic.”
Her voice draws me back. Something passes between her and the orderly and he turns and walks away, not before trying to give me another intimidating stare.
“Doesn’t that break some sort of oath?”
“He’s not a medical professional, he doesn’t have anything to do with my care. Plus, he’s hot and I get horny. You going to deny me that?”
She’s right, it’s not my business.
“I’m never getting out of here, I’ve accepted that. But I have needs, being in here is… You wouldn’t understand.” Zelda lets out a heavy sigh, as if she is over that part of the conversation. “You’ve caught me in one of my better moods today, guess it’s the extra pills.”
“What extra pills?” I ask, my voice sharp. “They’re drugging you?”
“They’ve been drugging me from the day I walked in here, Dom.
Call it what you will about it helping me, it’s still drugs, they keep me under control instead of giving me a high.
This new stuff is a little something to keep me calm, my doctor only prescribes it when they think I’m going to go wild again.
“A visit from my past life to tell me my only living relatives are dead constitutes as that, don’t you think? Besides, it doesn’t make me stupid, I only let them think it does.”
“Zelda.”
“Don’t Zelda me,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m not gonna cause any shit, not now I know what happened to my family.
It means he is the only distraction I’ll have.
My contact with the outside world got a lot smaller.
Hell, I don’t think I’ll ever see you again, Dominic. Your responsibilities are complete.”
“It’s not like that,” I tell her, knowing as I say the words it really is.
This is the last tie to my old life, and she’s right. I am here to sever it.
“If you tell on me, they won’t know what fucking hit them with the shit storm I’ll start.”
“I’m not gonna say anything,” I finally tell her.
We don’t have much more to say to one another so I stand and look down on her, nostalgia and sadness fill me as her head tilts and our eyes meet.
“If you need anything,” I say.
“Sure, Dominic. Thanks for coming.” She gets up and walks away, dismissing me and my platitudes.
The orderly watches her go down a hallway away from the exit and moves to step in front of me as I head out.
“You want to keep your dick connected to your body, don’t say a fucking word,” I say low enough that no one but him hears it.
“The only reason that isn’t happening right now is because I care about her.
Make no fucking mistake, you ever do anything to hurt her or think you’re man enough to take me on, I will snap your neck without a second though. You got me?”
He wants to be tough but nods instead and steps back to let me pass. Wise move. I don’t bother going back to check in with Megyn. She’s probably glad to see the back of me.
Back at my bike, I force my head out of this part of my life and think about what I need to do next. There is always something I’m needed for.
I pull on one glove but pause when my phone buzzes. My brows lift when I see the name. It wasn’t one I thought would ever call me.
When I answer she doesn’t give me much chance to speak.
“King has asked for my assistance in a matter than involves you. I have two hours free to meet you to discuss. Stroudsburg is too far out of the way. There is a diner off I-80, near Allamuchy.”
“I know it,” I say. The tone of her voice means there isn’t much point in arguing. King is asking her, so it really is business. I thought I’d be here longer so can spare the time.
“I’ll meet you there in half an hour.” Cassie hangs up.
It won’t take me that long to get there because I’m not in Stroudsburg. She won’t be expecting that. This bossy side of her intrigues me. I surprise myself when I realize I’m smiling.
When Cassie enters the diner more than one head turns to watch her. She is about to settle at a table near the window when she spots me in the back corner. Her eyes widen for a second then she gets a grip on her surprise and heads toward me.
I purposely parked the bike at the back of the diner to throw her off.
It’s kind of fun messing with her. Her look is all serious though as she glides into the chair opposite me.
She looks hot as fuck in her pale gray skirt suit and a thin blouse buttoned just above her cleavage line.
Small pearl buttons glint in the light as she gets comfortable.
I’ve seen her with her hair down plenty of times but something about this prim and proper look is getting my blood hot. I spread my legs wider beneath the table and will my cock to behave. It’s hard, both trying that and my cock.