Chapter 2
Alexander
Her bright blue eyes are as wide as saucers as she slowly swings her gaze back to me, her full pouty lips pinched as she eyes me warily. She’s trying to put on a brave face but I see through it. The way her breaths are coming in short rapid pants gives her away, so does the way she keeps clenching and unclenching her fists in her lap. She knows she’s trapped. When she tries to stand, Vatican places a hand on her shoulder keeping her seated. A soft whimper escapes her but she bites down on her plump lip to keep quiet.
“I warned you,” I growl. Her brows raise a fraction. I watch as her chest rises and falls, drawing my attention to her tits that are practically begging to be set free from that tight, black, cotton shirt she wears. I drag my gaze back to hers to find she is still staring at me with a mixture of fear and something else. I cock my head to the side and study her for a second, and that’s when I see her mask slowly fall. The fear in her eyes vanishes as the hostesses begin to run through their safety procedures before takeoff.
“Normal people give you three chances before the final strike,” she bites out, then smacks Vatican’s hand off her shoulder and scowls at him. “You ever touch me again and I’ll snap your fucking wrist.” Her tone is firm and low, she knows she doesn’t need to raise her voice to capture our attention, she has it without any effort. Vat raises his hands as if surrendering but I don’t miss the hint of a smirk on his face. When she faces me again her blue eyes resemble a storm. “I’ll stop looking into you and your little freakshow when you stop hunting my brother and stalking me.”
I raise a brow in surprise, it's been a long time since anyone has spoken to me this way and it's oddly… refreshing. Even when I was in prison, my name alone had men turning and running in the opposite direction.
“Give me the rapist and all this will end.”
She grinds her teeth, not liking my insult but I don’t care about her or her pathetic feelings. She shares blood with the motherfucker who took the only person I have ever loved from me. If she had a cock I would have ripped her apart months ago and forced her to talk.
“No.” Her answer still comes as a surprise, even though I expected it. I thought the show of force and the fact she is trapped on this flight with the five of us would have scared her into changing her mind.
“Put your seatbelt on,” I grit out and sit back in my chair to do the same. I feel her gaze boring into the side of my head. I can feel her temper rising the longer I ignore her. When the plane finally takes off she lets out a soft mewl. I suppose she thought it was a growl but she’s too soft and the sound has no effect on me. When the plane finally evens out, she unclasps her seat belt and stands but I don’t move.
“Let me pass,” she grits out through clenched teeth.
I lull my head to the side and slowly let my gaze travel up her body until I meet her eyes. I can tell my perusal of her makes her uncomfortable. Good. “Sit down, Miss Lawson. We aren’t finished here.” She huffs and stomps her foot causing my brows to raise to my hairline. “Did you just stomp your foot like a spoiled brat?” My tone holds no amusement.
“I was picturing your balls on the floor,” she snaps back. I can see Vatican behind her hiding his smile, he clearly likes her spitfire attitude.
“Sit down,” I snap. The little shit just stands there glaring down at me, so I meet her anger with my own. I stand and have to hunch so I don’t smack my head on the overhead lockers. I didn’t realize how tiny she was until now. She stands as tall as my chest, my body covering hers with ease. When I lean in, brushing my chest against her, she starts to tremble, she has nowhere to run and is forced to endure whatever I do. “I’m not like your little masked friends. I don’t play with my… toys, I break them.” A soft gasp escapes her. “Don’t play games with me, Miss Lawson, because you won’t like what happens when you lose,” I say low enough for only her to hear. Her eyes swim with a range of emotions but I don’t try to decipher them.
“What if you lose?” Her retort has me jerking back and staring down at her skeptically.
“I never lose,” I snap back.
Her features harden as she tilts her head back to meet my hardened glare. “Everyone loses, maybe this will be a first for you.” Before I can say anything she continues on, “Now are you going to let me pass so I can use the bathroom or are you going to make me cock my leg and mark my territory?”
“Only males mark their territory,” I bite out, not liking her vulgar mouth.
To my surprise she presses in closer until she is flush against me, cranes her neck back and smiles sweetly. “Out of the five of us here, Alex , I’m the one with the biggest set of balls.” My guys can’t contain their laughter. I glare at the little shit and remain where I am. She huffs out her annoyance and climbs onto the seats, then jumps into the aisle, heading to the back of the plane toward the bathrooms while I stare after her wondering what the fuck just happened?
“I don’t think I have ever seen you so rattled.” I shoot Pope a dark look. He raises his hands and smiles, then moves to join Omen in the middle row. Halo is next to follow him and claims the vacant row in front of them.
When Vatican stands, I glower at him but he just smirks and shoves me back so he can get past. “The girl does have a set on her and I don’t want to be in the firing range when she snaps.” I shove Vatican in answer, which just makes him laugh. I remain standing, ignoring the idiots behind me as I wait for the blonde blow up doll. When five minutes pass and she still hasn’t returned, I growl and storm down the aisle ignoring my guys telling me to just leave her. When I reach the bathrooms, I find all four lavatories unlocked. I shove all the doors open and growl out my anger.
The little bitch is trying to run away but she won’t get far on a plane. I cross through to the next aisle and stalk toward the very back. I shove the curtain open that blocks off the hostess area from the rest of the plane. The sight before me has me wanting to murder a woman for the first time in my life. The area is empty except for the blonde, sitting on the small counter with a hot cup of coffee in one hand and a fucking cookie in the other. She meets my furious gaze and smiles sweetly while batting those long fucking lashes.
“Coffee’s hot, help yourself,” she says in a sickly sweet tone that has my hackles rising. I push forward and force my way between her legs, wiping that smug look right off her face. Her mouth pops open in shock, displaying her half eaten cookie.
“Close your damn mouth and swallow,” I snarl. She does as I demand and gulps down her food. Even in this position I’m still looking down at her. I reach between us and grab the cup from her hand and place it to the side. Before I can snatch the fucking cookie, she stuffs it in her mouth and chews loudly, then swallows and smiles.
“Never touch my food, Alex, you won’t like what happens when you do.” I strike out and wrap my hand around her throat, her eyes widening in surprise. My grip is firm but not restricting, never in my life have I ever wanted to strangle the life from a woman except for this infuriating one. Her chest rises and falls in quick succession as I lean in close so my lips brush the shell of her ear.
“Breaking you is going to be fun,” I whisper.
In a move so fucking bold my own eyes snap wide, she wraps her arms around my neck, her movements sluggish which just makes me smile. “Many have tried before and failed, you’ll… just be…” Her mouth clamps shut so I pull back and smile down at her, her eyes are glazed and she starts to sway. “What you do ta me?” Her words are slurred and come out sounding like a toddler.
“You haven’t been paying attention, Miss Lawson. I’ve been watching you for months. I know your weaknesses and your strengths. I knew you would flee and find comfort in coffee.” Her gaze flicks to the coffee pot before slowly coming back to me.
“Drugged me…”
I smirk. “Yes. Now let’s hope this makes you more compliant.”
“Muder… fooker,” she rasps out before she slumps forward. On instinct, I wrap my arms around her and trap her against my body. The smell of her strawberry shampoo assaults me. I don’t like fruit but the smell wafting off her is strangely… pleasant. She jolts in my embrace and I find myself pulling her closer until she is nothing but dead weight in my arms, so I switch to holding her bridal style. I peer down at her face and marvel at it for a moment.
Her black lashes are so long and her plump lips look delectable and beckon me to taste them, but I ignore that urge and make my way back to our seats. When the guys hear me approaching, they all turn to stare at me with varying expressions. I know they won’t support my choice to drug her but Tatum isn’t like most people, when she’s scared or worried she doesn’t retreat inside herself and hide away, she goes on the offensive and uses her quick wit to her advantage and fights.
I gently place her in her seat and secure the seat belt around her waist. Her hair falls onto her face and I find myself brushing the strands back and tucking them behind her ear. She looks so young and the thoughts I was just having about this eighteen-year-old child are disgusting!
“She’s gonna be pissed when she wakes up.” I pull away from her and drop into my seat beside the mouthy blonde and scowl at Halo who stares directly at me without an ounce of shame.
“That’s my concern, not yours,” I bite out.
“It seems everything is always your call these days,” Pope snarks, earning a dark look from me.
“You got a problem with how I’m running things?” My tone is cool and filled with a challenge. We aren’t like most… I don’t even know what the fuck we are now since we broke off and are doing our own thing. I guess we’re a crew? Nah, we don’t need labels we’re just a family of fucked up misfits that run things in Denver.
“I got a problem with you bringing her to our home. She is his fucking blood and I don’t want anything to do with that cunt?—”
Before Pope can finish, I’m on my feet. He matches my move with a hard look on his face. I don’t rule my guys with fear. I may be the so-called leader of the Denver Kings but these guys are my equals which is why none of them fear me. They may fear my rage when I snap but they know I would never intentionally hurt them.
“She is the key to finding that fucking worm. I want him on my table so I can saw him limb from fucking limb like the rest of you.” Pope’s eyes darken with bloodlust, I may be The Butcher, but these four are just as hungry for blood as I am. “We need to play this fucking smart. We can do whatever the fuck we want in Denver, as per our deal, but he isn’t in Denver, is he?” I clip out. Pope’s eyes flicker but he’s too proud to back down. “We need her to bring him to us or we risk being caught and this time, I won’t be able to buy our fucking way out. I would rather be the one being butchered than work for them again.”
“I’ll never go back,” Omen grits out as he stands and places a hand on Pope’s shoulder, forcing him to reclaim his seat.
“We end this fucking thing soon,” Vatican says.
I nod. “As soon as we get home, Halo will start tracking and narrowing down where the fucker could have gone.” Halo grunts his agreement.
“He’s smarter than we thought,” Omen announces as he claims his seat. I mimic his move and nod stiffly, hating to admit that the little cocksucker has eluded us for this long. We thought after Thomas was taken by the CIA and the Haven Saints were brought down by Vivian Tempest, that Nexus would be forced out of hiding thanks to all his friends getting arrested. It’s no secret that Vivian and the Filthy Few want him dead, so I know for a fact that they aren’t the ones aiding him.
Speaking of Vivian, she won’t be pleased that her general manager will be away from work for the foreseeable future, but she knows she fucking owes me and unless she wants me hunting her boyfriends, she will honor our deal and keep her fucking nose out of my business. I may have a soft spot for the girl because she reminds me of my sister, but that won’t save her from my wrath if she gets in my way.