Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Ink
I never thought I’d see the day that I admitted Johnny and I had become friends, but we had. He was actually a really cool guy beneath that asshole exterior he always wore. But then again, after overhearing him fight with his dad one day, everything made a lot more sense to me.
Who understood shitty family dynamics better than me?
But hell, at least his dad was working to put a roof over his kids’ heads. All my dad had done was stay drunk ninety percent of the time, treating all of us like shit. And the other ten percent was when he was sober, which was even worse. Because it normally meant we were out of money, and he couldn’t get shit-faced.
Seeing water cut off notices, eviction notices, and coming home to the electric off was a regular occurrence as a kid.
And Mom wasn’t much better. She was usually too high to care about what was going on, and when she was sober, she and Dad usually fought. And their fights were never just words thrown back and forth. Their fights were bloody and dangerous.
Three years ago, Dad got carted off to prison when he killed my mom in one of his drunken rages and put me and Jordan in comas, almost killing us. But Jordan was grown then—eighteen.
I got thrown into the system. Granted, it was better than what I’d had, but it was still pretty fucking miserable considering my foster parents weren’t much better.
All my foster parents cared about was collecting that check from the state every month for me. And they wasted it on fucking alcohol. I didn’t know how many times I’d gone to the Savage Crows for some kind of side work so we could keep a roof over our heads. Sure, I could go to my social worker about it, but I was about to age out, and honestly, going to another home didn’t mean it’d somehow magically be better.
I’d applied for emancipation numerous times, but I got denied each time. If I was already basically supporting myself, I didn’t understand why the state couldn’t just let me the fuck go.
Blink, the Savage Crows MC president, was a decent enough guy, and he let me work in the garage to get rent money up. I knew he paid me way more than what he would anyone else, considering I shouldn’t be able to make six hundred in three fucking days, but that was how Blink operated. And I didn’t question it.
That was a rule: never question the prez.
I never asked questions when he handed me the money, and he never pushed for any kind of answers from me. He asked me what amount I needed. I told him. He handed it to me. That was it. And it was the way I preferred it to be.
It was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to prospect for the SCMC. I wanted to be part of that brotherhood. I wanted that sense of family—that structure.
I needed it.
I turned the corner to go meet up with Reina at her locker like we’d done for the past couple of months and found some guy in her grade blocking her in. Tears were shimmering in her pretty eyes, and her face was pale. Too fucking pale.
Rage pulsed through me. I didn’t know who the fuck this kid thought he was, but I was about to make it known that no one fucked with Reina.
I’d do anything to protect this girl.
“Yo!” I barked, quickly striding towards them. Everyone parted for me like I was fucking Moses or some shit. The kid looked up at me, not moving away from her. “If you want to keep your fucking teeth in your mouth, I’d advise you to back the fuck up.”
His face paled when he realized who I was. I didn’t get in many fights at school, but when I did, the other guy was lucky if he didn’t get rushed to the hospital. I think I’d been in one fight where the guy didn’t, and that was only because I’d gotten dragged off of him by the cops before I could.
The kid quickly stepped back from her. For good measure—just to make sure I got my point across to him and everyone else—I swung my fist out, clocking him across the face, sending him toppling to the floor, blood spurting from his nose.
“That’s your only fucking warning, asshole,” I growled. “You fuck with her, you fuck with me, you hear?”
He quickly nodded and scrambled up from the floor, rushing off. I looked over at Reina. She was still leaning against her locker, her smaller form trembling. “You good, sweetheart?” I asked, my voice rough with anger. But I tried to control it—for her.
She swallowed thickly and nodded. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and led her back up the hall towards the front of the school so we could leave. “Johnny had some shit to take care of,” I told her when she looked around for him, not mentioning anything about me knocking that kid on his ass.
“Dad?” she guessed.
I nodded. She sighed. “They’ll butt heads for the rest of their lives,” she mumbled. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, hating it when she got upset because of the shit Johnny was going through with their dad.
I’d met the man once, and that was enough for me. He was a fucking asshole. I’d been the one to shove Johnny back from him. Johnny was ready to beat the fuck out of him, consequences be damned.
But Reina needed her brother here, not behind bars.
I never asked about their mom. I didn’t like people prying into my life, so I never pried into anyone else’s. Considering I never saw a woman around the house, I’d honestly begun to think that they were either divorced and had just been playing a married couple for the cameras, or she just didn’t give a shit about her kids.
“I need to swing by my place and drop my bag off,” I told her. “Then, we can go grab a bite to eat or something.”
She shook her head. “Can we just eat at my place?” she asked. “After that back there, I kind of don’t want to be around anyone.”
I flashed her a grin, wanting to ease her nerves. “Anyone ever told you that you’re easy as fuck to please?” I asked her as I pushed open the door, leading her outside.
She laughed. “I’m simple.”
I gently squeezed my arm around her shoulders. “That you are, sweet girl.”
Her cheeks warmed, just like they always did when I called her sweetheart or sweet girl.
But she was a sweetheart. And she would always be my sweet girl. That would never fucking change.
I didn’t even have to turn to look to know that Jordan had just pulled into Reina’s driveway. My bike wouldn’t start when I’d gotten ready to leave, and I’d had no one else to call. I knew better than to have one of the MC guys come get me. Bringing the local outlaws to the mayor’s house? Yeah—no. That was just a recipe for disaster.
Reina came out of the house. I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath, a bad feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. I should have known she wouldn’t have missed the sound of Jordan’s car. It was loud—a deep rumble you felt in your chest. Straight pipes were illegal in this state, but that didn’t stop Jordan from having them.
My older brother wasn’t much better than our dad. He was a fucking dick, and more often than not, he and I clashed heads, always swinging fists.
Guessed the apples didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to us.
“ Fuck ,” I swore under my breath when Jordan’s eyes landed on Reina. I gripped Reina’s arm when she neared me, preventing her from turning to face Jordan. Her alarmed eyes locked on mine. “Do not , under any circumstance, fucking be around him alone, you hear me?”
She frowned at me, fear lighting up her eyes for a moment. “Ink, what in the hell?—”
“Promise me, Reina,” I urged. I could not lose her to him. He would rip her apart. Shred her. Destroy her. He’d snuff out that light in her eyes and leave her a hollow shell.
He’d screw her up so badly that she would never be the same again. Sure, with time, her light might come back, but it would never burn as brightly, would never be as warm.
She would be forever tainted with the coldness he left on her soul, and I couldn’t have that.
She swallowed thickly. “Okay,” she whispered.
I drew in a deep breath and looked up. My eyes connected with Jordan’s. He was leaning against the side of his older Mustang, his lips tilted up in a smirk. “Long time, no see, brother.”
“I’m not your fucking brother,” I growled on instinct. I just wanted to get the fuck out of here, get him away from her.
His smirk widened. “By blood, I am, Drew.” My jaw tightened. “Not going to come welcome me with a hug?” he taunted. He and I both knew I wouldn’t. I liked him about as much as I liked Dad, which wasn’t much. Really didn’t like either of them at all.
He pushed off the car and moved toward me. I drew Reina a little closer against my side. Jordan turned on his charming smile—the one that made him look sweet and caring. It was all a fucking act. He was a master manipulator, and Reina was no match against him and his games.
“Well, you’re a fucking beautiful sight to behold.” Reina’s cheeks warmed, and she shyly looked away. My blood boiled in my veins. “If my brother isn’t being a good boyfriend, I’ll gladly treat you right, babe.”
I wanted to break his fucking neck, and the only thing keeping me from getting into a bloody fist fight with Jordan at that moment was the sweet, pure girl standing at my side. Sure, I’d knocked that kid on his ass earlier, bloodied his nose, but if Jordan and I got into it? She’d never be able to look at me the same.
I was a violent son of a bitch. I enjoyed fucking someone up. Even now, my fingers twitched with the urge to draw blood. To coat my hands in the crimson liquid. In Jordan’s crimson liquid.
Reina shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. “Um, we’re just friends.”
“Back the fuck off, Jordan,” I snarled at him. I wouldn’t have him fucking her up.
Reina frowned up at me. “Stop acting like my brother, Ink,” she whispered, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
I glared at Jordan. Amusement lit up his eyes, and he licked his lips as he stared at the girl at my side like a predator having caught its prey.
He would destroy her—ruin her. I already knew it.
This sweet, pure girl that I’d come to love? He would destroy every single part of her until there was nothing but a mere shell of the girl I’d come to know.
“How about a date?” Jordan asked her, ignoring me. I didn’t think Reina could get any redder. I opened my mouth to say something, but Reina surprisingly shot me a dark look, shutting me up. I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. If I butted in, I would run the chance of her shoving me away and dating Jordan anyway, except I wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her while they did date.
“You’re the mayor’s daughter, right? I can swing by and pick you up about six tonight,” Jordan continued, bulldozing his way into her innocence.
Reina was sweet. Had never had a boyfriend before.
She was the perfect target for my brother.
She nodded. “I’d like that,” she whispered.
Closing my eyes, I gritted my teeth. I should have made her promise me she wouldn’t give him the time of day. Made her fucking swear it to me. But I hadn’t. I’d thought my warning to her would be enough. That she’d listen to me.
Jordan’s phone went off in his pocket. I didn’t have to glance at his screen. I already knew he was in bad shit. It was one of the main reasons I did my damnest to keep my distance from him. “I need to go, babe, but I’ll see you this evening, yeah?” Jordan asked, flashing her a wicked grin. To her, it probably looked like something out of one of her romance novels.
To me, it just revealed the monster lurking beneath his nice-guy facade.
She shyly nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. Jordan looked at me. “I’ll be waiting, bro.”
I watched Jordan walk back to his car with narrowed eyes before I looked down at Reina. “Reina?—”
“If you’re warning me against him, save me the lecture,” she told me, abruptly cutting me off. I ground my teeth together. “I’ll already have to hear it from Johnny. You both need to learn that I’m a big girl. I can make decisions for myself. I don’t need two protectors.”
No, she wouldn’t need two. She would need a lot more because Jordan played dirty as fuck.
But I bit my tongue. If I fought her on this, I knew I could lose her friendship. One word to her dad, and she would never have to see me again. I knew that. So, I didn’t push it. Reina was sweet, but I also knew when she put her mind to something, she was determined as hell. I admired her for it.
Until now. Until Jordan.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I need to get home,” I told her, my voice sounding tired to my own ears. “Someone will come by later and grab my bike. Don’t worry about it.”
“Ink—” she started, her voice surprisingly small now. But I just… I couldn’t. I needed to get my head together.
“Not now, Reina,” I softly told her, barely holding my temper in check. “You don’t know him.”
She frowned. “He’s your brother, Ink. How bad can he be?”
Deadly , I wanted to tell her, but I didn’t. Just because Jordan and I were brothers didn’t mean we were cut from the same fold.
“You told me not to say anything, Reina, so I’m not.” Her frown deepened. “But I need a bit of time to wrap my head around this shit,” I told her. “But when Johnny does say something to you about this, maybe you should listen to him.”
She glared at me, beginning to get angry. “Why is it when the first guy ever to show interest in me comes along, you all of a sudden want to be a dick?” she seethed.
I clenched my jaw so tightly that it fucking hurt.
“I’m not being a fucking dick, Reina. I’m trying to stop you before you do something you’ll fucking regret.”
“Like what?” she snarled. She threw her arm out to the side. “I’m so sick of every man and guy in my life fucking dictating what I can and can’t do. Jordan is cute and sweet, and he has a real interest in me, Ink. I’m going to date him. You, Johnny— no one— is going to fucking stop me.”
With that, she spun around on her heel and stormed off toward her house. Snarling, I kicked my bike over and pulled out my phone, calling Johnny as I glared at the front door as she slammed it closed.
“Bad timing, bro,” he told me. I heard a girl moan in the background.
“It’s Reina,” I told him. Immediately, I had his full attention. “My brother just met her because he had to come get me, and she’s adamant about dating him.”
“ Fuck ,” Johnny swore.
Yeah… that about summed up how I was feeling, too.