Chapter 38
Bane
There’s a tumultuous mix of emotions raging through me. Lust. Rage. Fear.
She still wants to leave. Leave her brothers. Leave me.
She still doesn’t put herself first because of the guilt and pain of what Antwane forced upon her.
I won’t ignore her warnings about the Vanderalls or who her friends’ fathers are. Obviously, we don’t want any of those government agencies looking our way, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting Slade leave here unprotected.
I exit Slade’s bedroom, then go still as violence ripples under my skin.
Jez stands there, looking alert and awake, so it’s not like he’s just pulled his ass out of bed and arrived. But it’s not Jez’s shift to guard Slade, it’s Liam’s. And I texted Liam last night, telling him to stand down since I was with Slade, and Sten is on his way up to stay with her right now.
Slade’s bedroom is not soundproof. It’s possible Jez overheard us talking, just like it’s possible he heard my girl’s screams of pleasure that I had muffled.
Both possibilities push me into unhinged, psychopath territory, and I rush him.
Like a charging bull, I slam him into the wall.
He’s shocked and doesn’t fight back at first, but then he tries to get me off him, which he won’t.
I’m bigger, stronger, and have more years of experience.
And this is my woman we’re dealing with.
He squirms, trying to break my hold on his throat that’s cutting off his air, and I hardly feel his right hook to my ribs. I release my hand over his throat, and he drags in a deep breath, sputtering and coughing, but his eyes go wide with shock when I replace my hand with a blade.
He stops fighting and stares at me. “B-b-bane… Wh-what the fuck, man?”
“What are you doing here?” I force the words through clenched teeth.
“P-protecting…Slade.”
“It’s not your shift,” I snarl.
There’s the thud of boots coming down the hallway, but I don’t turn or ease back from Jez, and Sten asks, “Bane… Everything okay here?”
“I know it’s not my shift,” Jez says quickly, not taking his eyes off me. “Liam was puking last night, so I volunteered.”
“I told Liam he wasn’t needed.”
He pales a bit more. “I…I didn’t know that.”
“When you heard me in Slade’s room—”
“Wait, you were in Slade’s room?” Sten demands. “All night?”
I ignore him and focus on Jez. “Why didn’t you leave?”
“I didn’t hear you in there,” he insists. “I didn’t know anyone was in there with Slade.”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he adds in a rush, “If I had heard a voice in there, especially a male voice, I would’ve called you just in case, because maybe it was Cutt and she was in trouble, but I wouldn’t just barge into her room.”
Sten steps to my side and says cautiously, “That makes sense, Bane.”
I remove my knife from Jez’s neck, and little dots of blood bubble on his skin. He sags in relief when I step away.
“Leave,” I order him, feeling irrational that I need him away from Slade. He scurries away, heeding my order, and I turn to Sten as I re-sheath my knife inside my cut. “When Slade is ready, take her to the Council’s kitchen; don’t let her out of your sight until I get there.”
Concern covers his face. “Is there more of a threat against her?”
Having a bodyguard on her constantly is overkill, I know that, but my protectiveness of her demands it. Plus, at first, the guard had been to stop her from trying to escape, and I now know Slade is still most definitely a flight risk.
“Just do it, Sten.”
He nods with a frown. “Of course, but I’m going to need some sort of detail; this is my sister, Bane. If not now, then soon.”
I give him a curt nod, then turn on my heel and stalk to my room. I call Liam, and he answers on the second ring, sounding like shit.
“Sorry, Bane, I didn’t want to get Slade sick with this stomach flu, and I missed your messages about not needing me.”
His answer makes sense and puts Jez in the clear—at least for his reason for being there. I’m still undecided if I believe him about not hearing even muffled voices in Slade’s room.
I disconnect the call with Liam and enter my bedroom, my eyes immediately tracking to my bed. That’s where Slade needs to be—sleeping in here, with me.
Stalking into my ensuite, I shed my clothes and quickly shower. Once I’m dressed in fresh clothes, I head down to Ash’s office for our Council meeting.
When I arrive, Digits, Pix, Army, and Ash are all there. I immediately go for Digits.
“Did you turn off the bugs in Slade’s room after you got my text last night?” I ask quietly.
He flashes me a smirk and pushes his glasses up on his nose. “Of course. But you know I’m not monitoring those, right? Because you are when you’re not with her.”
“I just wanted to be sure.”
“Something happen that you don’t want anyone to know?” he taunts like the little shit he is. His eyes slide to Ash sitting behind his desk with his boots propped on it.
Ash hikes his brow. “Something you want to share with the class, boys?”
Hell no.
I step away from Digits and walk further into the office. I can’t sit, though, so I pace.
Pix abandons sharpening one of her many knives, looking at me with concern. “What did Slade tell you?” she asks, guessing that’s what has me riled up.
We need to discuss the break-ins I was pulled away from investigating yesterday morning, which we suspect were committed by Cutt. However, this matter currently takes priority.
Army stops me from pacing with a hand to my chest. “Tell us whatever you can.”
He, of all people, would understand the trust it took for Slade to tell me anything, and how violating that trust would blow up all the progress I’ve made with her. Slade did say that the Council needed to know all this, though.
With a deep breath, I tell them who her friends are.
Pix’s eyebrows lift high in impressed shock. “Well, I’ll be fucking damned.”
Ash steeples his fingers under his chin, contemplating this turn of events. His eyes find mine.
“She stays,” I confirm that I’m still all-in.
“This could blow up,” he warns. “If anyone pieces the puzzle together that it was Slade who survived Antwane’s cabin. Too many people know she’s here.”
Only those in the MC know since Slade hasn’t set foot outside the compound after she arrived. And while we trust our brothers-in-arms, there’s the problem and concern of those less trustworthy. Plus Cutt, the piece of shit, who would sell his soul for coke, as well as undermining Ash’s rule.
“This would be a good time to bring up that Len got back to me right before the meeting,” Army says, and we all turn to him. “She and her team agreed to dig into the Vanderalls to see if there’s an actual threat against Slade.”
“We already know there is,” I argue, suddenly feeling hesitant to have anyone else, even if it’s Len, know more details about Slade.
“We can’t go on the word of some little hacker and amateur spies,” Digits counters. “And having Len and her team help dig into this is an asset because I’m spread damn thin.”
I look at Digits—really look at him. His eyes are bloodshot, his curly hair is more of a mess than usual, and I’m pretty sure those are the same clothes he wore yesterday, if not the day before.
Pix goes to him and thwacks his forehead. “I said I’d help you, Digs.”
He rubs the spot where she hit. “I love you, Pixer, but you are not touching my equipment. Last time you did, you accidentally sent my refined malware program to the Triads and crashed their security systems.”
She shrugs. “Well, it proved that your updated program worked, didn’t it?”
Ash gives her a pointed look. “But it also caused me to do a fuck-ton of explaining with one of our closest allies, convincing them that we weren’t trying to start a war.”
Digits wraps his arm around Pix’s shoulders and plays with her hair, knowing that will placate her. “Point is, I’m the only in-house expert on this, and I could use the help in trying to figure out what we’re up against. Both the MC and Slade’s protection rely on it.”
“Give Len the green light, Army.” Then I add for Army’s instructions to Len, “Find out the names of Antwane’s victims if you can. I think it will help Slade. She’s only able to refer to them as Numbers, and she couldn’t bring herself to investigate their names.”
I’m working purely on gut instinct and a prayer that this will help Slade. “Right now, they’re the ghosts that haunt her.”
Army nods. “Having names, and knowing their families got some closure about what happened to them, might help those ghosts rest. I’ll give instruction to Len.”
“I’ll dig into that, too, Bane,” Digits adds gravely.
I’m grateful they’re behind me in this and shift my focus to the next item of concern about last night's break-ins. “Cutt.”
Ash lowers his feet from his desk. “The little fucker is slippery and knows how to strike without getting caught. Besides undermining the Havoc Guardians, he’s going to cause war between us and our closest allies—another of Dom’s shipments was hit last night.”
“He needs to go into the ground.”
“And we need evidence in order to do that,” Ash growls. “In the meantime, he’s causing damage. So he’s yours and my priority, Bane.”
I don’t like the sound of this, but Ash is right, and I can’t abandon my duties to the MC just so I can remain pinned to Slade’s side. “Understood,” I say. “Will we follow Cutt as a unit or take shifts staying on his ass?”
“Shifts for now.”
“Anything about Slade popping up in the criminal underworld?” I ask Digits.
“Not a whisper,” he reassures. “But I’ll let you know the second there is.”
“I’m going to ask Slade to reach out to her friends again. Even if they are skilled and shifty, if they’re digging into the Vanderalls, that could put targets on their backs.”
“Targets that their daddies will cover,” Pix retorts.
“And if something happens to them, Slade will take on that guilt, too. She has enough of that in fucking spades.”
They all nod, and Army regards me. “What are we telling Breaker, Tyr, and Sten about what Slade told you?”
“I promised Slade I would only tell you guys. It’s her decision about what she’s ready to share with them.”
Ash looks around the room. “We good?” After we all nod, he orders us out, but calls to me, “Bane, you stay.”
Digits blows out a low whistle, then mutters, “Good luck.” To which Pix thwacks his forehead again. “Ouch, dammit, Pixer, that hurts.”
“At least I didn’t stab you.”
Army wraps his arm around Pix’s neck and drags her out, and Digits shuts the door behind them.
I turn my attention to Ash, who is now standing in front of his desk, his body tense.
Shit. I know what’s coming.
“You stayed all night with Slade.”
Ash has many ways that he keeps tabs on the happenings in the clubhouse and the MC as a whole. The guy is a general who gathers all sorts of intel while plotting his strategic moves.
I don’t bother denying or giving him a vague answer. “I did. And I’ll be staying with her every night.”
That parental protectiveness flares as he eyes me. “And that’s her choice?”
“Have I ever forced myself on a woman, Ash?”
He doesn’t answer because we both damn well know I’d never do that.
“The Bunnies are fucking riled up,” he warns instead.
“And what do you want me to do about that?”
He crosses his arms over his chest, widening his stance. “Just saying.”
“You know the only way to appease them is for me to fuck and let them suck my cock.” I fist my hands. “Which isn’t happening.”
“Calm your tits.” He adopts Army’s favorite saying.
I huff a laugh and shake my head, guessing at what he’s doing. “Stop testing me, Ash. I’m all-in with Slade, and that isn’t going to change.”
He relaxes and nods but still looks concerned. “If anything leaks out about Slade, the Club Pussy is the weakest link; they’d rat her out to whoever comes looking. They want her gone.”
“We can’t just kill them all, Ash.”
Or can we?
Ash glowers as if I spoke that thought out loud but looks increasingly pensive.
“There is a way to ensure that no one, including the Club Pussy, would ever act against Slade.”
My heart hammers as I say the words, even though Ash’s nostrils snap open like a bull about to charge.
“Making Slade my Old Lady. Since I’m a Council member, if anyone acted against her, even sharing intel with outsiders, it would mean instant death. No one would dare consider it.”
“You’re not forcing Slade to be your Old Lady. In the club’s eyes, there’s no divorce, no coming back from that decision. Slade would be tied to you forever.”
Sure, she could leave the Havoc Guardians, leave the city, and legally marry someone else, but in our laws, she could never be with another biker.
I shrug, nonchalant, as if this isn’t the best fucking idea I’ve ever had. “It’s an option.”
“One that will only be put into play if Slade wants it.”
“Of course.”
But I’m already plotting how to make Slade want this, and hiding what feels like a sinister grin while I do.