Chapter 15
Alexander
I’m vibrating with anger as I stare at Desire. I had just gotten back to the house when Omen told me we were rolling out because Desire was making moves on Tate. I didn’t ask questions. I have no idea how he knew what was going on and I didn’t ask, I just knew I had to get to her before Desire could do any real damage.
“You go near her again or you try and fuck with her, I’ll come at you with everything I have and this time, I won’t stop. I’ll take your family from you and smile over your grave,” I spit out.
“You can try, Butcher.” Wrath sneers as he pulls a blade from his side. Pope draws his gun and aims it at the little shit but he doesn’t bat an eye. The crazy cunt wouldn’t care if we all had our guns aimed at him, he thrives on chaos.
“I’m going to enjoy breaking that little bitch,” Desire announces. I nod my head and shoot Carnage a glance before turning back to the bitch before me.
“Then this is war,” I say.
“You kill again, the deal is off. We’ll take you down,” Carnage barks. I can see the torment in his eyes.
“You can try,” I say to him, then focus back on the vapid bitch. “No holds barred this time. I’m going to destroy you and your family.”
“The four fools you have at your side are my family,” she fires back.
“No!” I roar, then slam my fist down on the table. “They aren’t anything to you. They are my brothers and I will fucking die before I ever allow you to get your claws into them again.”
“You’ll die at my hands, Butcher,” she vows.
I smirk. “And you’ll die on my table as I tear you apart piece by wretched fucking piece, you heartless cunt.” I turn my back to her and stalk out of there without a backward glance. The time for fun is over and now it's time to stop playing in the shadows. She thinks she’s won already but she has no idea what we have built. I'll dismantle their empire and have her running scared before I finally strike and take her down.
The second I step outside and inhale, I feel freedom. I no longer have to hide or work in the darkness. My whole operation will be out in the open, which means more doors will be opened for us. I know without a doubt our business will take off, we’ll be able to reach out to other connections without having to worry about Desire finding out. The amount of guns and ammo we’ll be moving now means we’ll need more men to help with the workload.
“Where to now?” Halo asks from beside me.
“Home, we need to start preparing the men and get ready to make our first move,” I answer as I open the car door.
“What about the girl?” Omen hedges.
My shoulders bunch. I debate his question, now that Desire knows she means something to me, she will hunt Tatum. The safest place for her is with me. “We’ll grab her on the way to the airport.” Their answering laughter grates on my nerves but I don’t comment. My mind is too occupied with the knowledge that I’ll finally get the war I have longed for. I am now more certain than ever that Desire and Nexus are linked. She targeted Tatum, there is only one person who would have put her on that path. “We need to destroy them. We do that and then that little rat they are hiding will come out.”
“You really think she is working with him?” Vat asks as he puts the cars in gear.
“Without a doubt. She went after Tate and there was no reason for that. I have a feeling Desire was meant to take Tatum today and return her to Nexus,” I answer.
“Why didn’t she?” Pope pushes from beside me in the back.
I sigh and scrub a hand down my face. “Because I showed her that Tatum Lawson means something to me,” I answer bitterly.
“You still owe us an explanation about what the fuck happened with you and our dad,” Omen clips out.
I nod. “I know. I’ll explain everything when we get home, I swear.” I just fucking hope they understand my reasoning for doing what I did. It's no secret that all the De Santis hated their father Pope, Omen, Vatican and Halo changed their last name to Toscano when we left, they wanted nothing tying them to their former life. Me getting framed for those murders and sent to prison wasn’t part of our plan, but now more than ever, I feel like that is somehow connected.
The drive back to the house is tense to say the least, we always knew it would come to this but I didn’t expect it so soon after being released from prison. I know we have the manpower and the guns as well as the skill to go against the De Santis family, but I also know how cunning they are. Desire may be a rotten cunt but she’s smart. She’s the type of person who would rather chew off her own fucking arm than admit she was ever wrong. The fact she was called out today by Tate doesn’t bode well for her, Desire doesn’t like being made a fool of and Tate did just that by throwing me in her face.
I don’t particularly like the idea of being used, especially since Tatum has made clear that she’s not a fan of whatever is happening between us.
Do I enjoy losing myself inside her?
Fuck yes.
Am I happy she is related to the cunt who killed my sister?
Hell the fuck no.
Do I like her?
That is a question I can’t answer because half the time I envision strangling her because her vulgar mouth irritates me. Then on the other hand, I enjoy her mind and how she thinks and views the world. I know she didn’t have an easy childhood and fought her way out of the system for a better life, but she doesn’t hate the world for the injustice she suffered like I do. I hate everything because some cunt stole the light of my life from me. Ellie was my everything, she is the reason I stopped being The Butcher. She hated what I did. She knew I killed for a living and still… she loved me regardless.
Pain shoots through me as the memory of holding my sister’s body in my arms as I screamed for her to come back. I’ve never shed a tear since that night. I don’t believe in God, if he was real why the fuck would he allow my angel on earth to be taken? Ellie was good. She had a heart of gold and loved everyone. She would have given you the shirt off her back.
“Head in the game, no mistakes or we won’t make it out alive,” Halo says, pulling me from my thoughts. I climb out of the car and stand there just staring at the four of them.
They are all I have.
My parents disowned me after Ellie died, they said it was my fault and deep down I don’t blame them or hate them for their decision because I blame myself.
“You all have a choice. I’m not asking you to fight alongside me?—”
Vatican cuts me off before I can finish. “Shut up, Alex. We made our choice when we left our siblings to follow you. They may share our blood but this right here,” he says as he waves his arm around the five of us, “this right here is our family and we will always have your back.” Unable to put into words the gratitude I feel for these fuckers, I just nod.
“Let’s go to war,” Omen grits out.
* * *
I’m going to put a fucking microchip in that little fucking minx!
At least then if she gets fucking lost they scan her and return to sender— me !
“I thought she was at Hell Bent ?” I snap at Halo, who is sitting in the back of the car with his laptop. The fucker snaps his head up and glares at me.
“She was! The drive from the house to here takes twenty fucking minutes. I’m tracking her now,” he bites back.
“Alex, he’s trying,” Pope says in his brother’s defense.
I cut a glance to him and growl. “We need to find her before your fucking sister does.” All four of them turn their heads to me. “What?”
Omen rolls his eyes. “She wouldn’t be on Desire’s radar if you had kept your dick in your pants.” I clench my fists and fight the urge not to punch him.
“You know she has a crazy streak,” Pope adds, like that small detail had slipped my mind.
“How the fuck was I supposed to know your crazy bitch of a sister knew about her?” I fire back.
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Vatican snaps. “You know Desire has been keeping tabs on you since we left. That jealous cunt will kill anyone who bats their lashes at you. You were just stupid enough to go ahead and fuck this one. Now, she is definitely going to do everything she can to rip Tate apart.” Before I can tear this smart mouth motherfucker a new asshole Halo speaks.
“Found her, she’s at Mint Kitty a block away.” I turn in my chair and glare out the windshield.
“They’re all under age and out clubbing, what does that say about us?” Pope mutters. I ignore him, too focused on getting to Tate. I had some of my guys swing past her hotel and grab her shit. I know that little spitfire is going to fight and try and throw her weight around, but I’m not budging. She’ll be getting her ass on that plane even if I have to drug her again. I warned her to stop looking into us, I almost pleaded with her to stop but she ignored me.
I’ve spent six months watching her, getting to know her from afar. She became an obsession for me, something to fixate on aside from the need to destroy her brother. At the start, the sight of her made me sick just from knowing who she shared blood with. But as time drew on and I realized she was nothing like her father or brother, something shifted. I don’t know when or how but it did. Seeing her again on the plane and the fact she didn’t cower and cry like most would was intriguing.
She didn’t have to flaunt herself or offer her body to hold my attention, she already had it. Tatum Lawson is an addiction for me. I loved stalking her and breaking into her hotel rooms just to watch her sleep. I even resorted to stealing panties just to see if she would notice that they were missing, but she was too focused on work to take stock of her own belongings. She isn’t shallow and wants nothing from anyone. She wants to earn everything she has and won’t accept handouts.
“We all going in?” Omen asks when we pull up out front of the club. I manage a grunt and climb out. The bouncer takes one look at us and steps aside. Patrons who are lined up outside shout and curse but I ignore them. The bouncer may not know who the fuck I am, but even he can sense that I’m a predator and I’ll make him my fucking prey if he tries to stop me from getting to my Bambi.
The bass from the music and the sound of people shouting just to be heard over the music grates on my frail nerves. I don’t come to places like this because I hate the noise. Halo and Vat motion to me that they will search the left side while Omen and Pope take the right, leaving me the center.
Great, I get the fucking dance floor.
I push my way through the crowd. The guys take one look at me and shut their fucking mouths, the girls on the other hand, they’re thirsty fucking Twats I shudder in revulsion when one gets bold and cuts into my path. I glare down at her when she places a hand on my chest. I grind my teeth so hard they fucking ache, she has three seconds to get that fucking hand off me before I lose it.
“You look like you need some fun.” She tries to sound sexy but the smudged mascara and glassy look in her eyes has disgust rolling through me. If this is what kids these days think is hot, then I’ll fucking pass.
“Unless you want my girl to snap your arm for touching her man, I’d remove that hand if I was you.” I cut a glance to my side to see Vivian standing there with Archer and Ezekiel flanking her. I’ve never been more happy to see her in my life. The look she is giving the girl in front of me is cold enough to freeze hell over.
The girl clearly can’t take a hint. She looks at Vivian and then back to me and decides I’m not worth the trouble, but then she bats her lashes at Ezekiel, who shakes his head trying to warn the drunk idiot not to do it but she ignores him and smiles.
“I have a thing for blonds,” she says. Vivian’s eyes darken to almost pitch black as she steps forward. Ez wraps his hand around her arm to keep her from moving far.
“You try and hit on my husband again, you nasty little bitch, and I’ll break your fucking nose.” I bite my lip to keep from smiling at how territorial Vivian is being. The drunk girl pouts then looks at Archer who raises his hands and shakes his head. “You even think of trying anything with him and it will be your jaw I break, they are both mine, bitch.” Before more can be said I push the girl aside and face Vivian who is trying to peer around me to find the drunk bitch trying to climb her men.
“Where is she?”
Vivian purses her lips as she looks up at me. “Why would I tell you that after what happened with your ex today?” she says. I respect the fact that she is sticking up for her friend but now isn’t the time for her bullshit.
“Either tell me where she is or I start breaking necks in this middle of this fucking club to find her. Choose,” I growl. Ezekiel and Archer press in closer to their girl while scowling at me.
“Watch it, Butcher,” the blond punk says.
I meet his angry glare with one of my own. “Start talking or I start killing and your wife knows for a fact I don’t make idle threats.”
“Why do you want her, Alex? She was fucking certifiable today and I won’t help you hurt her,” Vivian pleads.
I sigh and scrub a hand down my face, utterly exhausted and just wanting to get the fuck out of here before I really do start killing cunts for fun if they keep bumping into me.
“Desire will hunt her just to get at me. She knows I care about Tate and because of that she has a target on her back. Help me and I swear to you I will keep her safe, but I can’t protect her here. She needs to come with me, Vivian.”
Vivian sighs and looks at each of her guys. I clench my fists at my sides trying to reign in my anger. She finally focuses back on me and I wait with a thread of patience for her answer.
“She’s near the back by the DJ, dancing with Nova and Hayze. Vox is watching over them.” I nod, then turn and start shoving cunts out of my way to get to my girl.
I spot her right where Vivian said they would be and trip over my own feet. I stand here and stare at her in a trance. She’s wearing a gold dress that hugs her curves perfectly. The top of it is bunched and hangs low enough to show the tops of her perfect tits. She spins and I get a look at the back. It’s open, the two thin straps that wrap around her neck are the only thing holding the bottom of the dress so it doesn’t expose the top of her ass. Her blonde hair is straight and loose, she looks like a fucking angel.
I see red when Hayze steps in closer to her, leaving only a couple inches of space between them. Rationally I know he is in love with Vivian and is only dancing, but he’s too fucking close to my girl for my liking and I’m about to change that shit.