Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
I’ve never enjoyed watching people suffer. Until now.
Admittedly seeing my older pale, trembling, and looking like one or both of his eyeballs might pop out is very satisfying.
It almost makes up for what he did.
Okay, not everything he did. Not the years of being a mean, manipulative sibling. But those days are over.
That fact is loud and clear with Skull, Slider, Ace, the armed guards, and the Prez forming a protective half-circle around me.
“Callum,” I snap with the pulse in my veins pounding in places I’ve never felt it before.
“Katie, oh god. Please talk some sense into these maniacs. That fucker cut my ear off.”
“Can it,” I bark, lifting my chin. “You’re lucky that’s all he did. I hadn’t known Skull ten minutes and he’d already offered to bring a shovel to the party.”
My brother isn’t paper white, he’s the color of chalk dust after it’s fallen on a dirty floor.
He stares at me appalled as I tap the toe of my boot. “How long have you known about this stupid deed?”
After gulping down a rough swallow, Callum says, “A while. Mom told me about it, but she didn’t say where it was.”
“And how long have you been looking for it?”
He glances at Skull who is playing with his knife.
“Years,” my brother says weakly.
“Years?” I echo in disbelief. Then I smack my forehead. “You mean all those times I thought something was moved, or things seemed weird in my apartment, that was you?”
He nods jerkily and I think about getting Skull’s knife for myself.
“You bastard.” It’s all I can manage for a second because there’s fire in my chest.
“And what were you going to do with the money?”
He looks incredibly uncomfortable. “Leave,” he admits, a full sweat rolling down the sides of his face now.
Jesus above. I never would have thought my brother, my own flesh and blood would be so greedy. I look at Skull, and Prez. “This deed has already cost someone their life. Not to mention it’s made mine hell. I don’t want anything else bad to happen.”
Skull nods, holding my gaze.
“We’re here for whatever decision you make.”
The way he emphasizes the word whatever is both reassuring and terrifying.
“Can the club use it?” I ask, ignoring the gasping sounds coming from Callum.
Prez steps forward. “You give me the green light, I’ll make sure no one else is hurt over that deed and the money is used for the right things.”
“Take it. Make it go away.” I pass him the document.
The Prez tips his chin toward Skull. “She’s a fucking keeper. But you might want to give her the key so she can take that cuff off before she figures out how to kill you with it.”
He has a point. I’m still a little mad over that, but I’m so grateful that Skull showed up in my life and saved me from a fate I can’t even imagine.
I turn to Callum, shaking my head. “I hope you’re happy.
Now you got nothing. Don’t let the gate hit you in the ass on the way out.
And don’t ever, ever come within a hundred miles of me again or these men will do what they’ve been wanting to do all along.
This is my family now and they’ll never screw me over. ”
Slider and Skull close in around me as Ace jerks Callum to his feet, dragging my crying brother off in the other direction.
I reach for my man. “We need to talk about some things,” I say as I lead him toward the clubhouse, but I don’t make it far before he scoops me up in his arms.
“Are we talking about you becoming my wife?”
I blink at him. Wife.
I like the way that sounds far better than old lady.
“No. About these cuffs. What do you use them for?” I ask, scowling up at him. “Becuase if you locked me up with handcuffs that you use on those other women, buddy you’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
“No,” he says, laughing. “I use them for dealing with people I collect money from when I have to scare the piss out of them.”
“Oh, that’s much better.” I sigh. “But maybe we should get another pair, because…”
“Don’t even say it, I’ll have you chained to that bed so fast your head will spin.”
It’s already spinning. So I whisper, “Maybe you should get another pair because this time when you lock me to the bed, I want to be celebrating being engaged to a tatted up, hell raiser who calls me sunshine and makes me scream his name.”