CHAPTER ELEVEN
CASH
Waking up to the sound of an electric guitar at high volume immediately pissed me off. Blaze was begging for an ass kicking. My head throbbed with a killer hangover. I rolled over in bed, stacking a pillow over my head. It didn’t help.
I blindly groped about my side table until I felt my phone. With one bleary eye, I read the time. Almost noon. Damn, it felt earlier.
Shoving the blankets aside, I laid there for another five minutes before rolling out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom. My head ached. My mouth felt like garbage. A shower and a good teeth brushing helped a little. I needed caffeine. Loads of it.
After shoving my legs into a pair of gray sweats and dragging a t-shirt over my head, I crossed the hall to Blaze’s door. Without knocking, I kicked it open. The annoying guitar wail stopped as he glanced up to find me looming in the threshold.
“Hey, dude. Thought you were going to sleep all day. What’s up?” A tiny smirk crinkled his lips. Motherfucker knew exactly what he was doing.
I nodded to the guitar in his grasp. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t use that thing to beat the shit out of you.”
“Settle down, bro. I waited until noon.” Blaze shrugged off my threat and went back to jamming.
I flipped him a middle finger and headed downstairs. Daire was in the living room, still sprawled on the couch where he’d passed out last night after we got home. He was awake, scrolling on his phone.
“I’m going on a coffee run,” I informed him. “Want anything?”
Daire pondered my question. “I’d kill for a quarter pounder. Extra-large fries. Need money?”
“No, I’m good. I’ll be back in twenty.” Grabbing my keys off the kitchen island, I scratched a hand through my short mohawk as I strode for the door. This felt like a good day to sit on my ass and do fuck all.
The inside of my Jaguar was hot as hell from the morning sun. I turned on the AC, breathing a sigh of relief when it began to cool down the inside of the SUV. I fucking hated summer. I’d rather be cold any day. Western Canada was known for its winters but our summers could still melt a bitch during a heat wave. I loved the snow and brisk air. It was much easier to warm up than to cool down.
Sliding on sunglasses to protect my sensitive eyes from the harsh rays of unwelcome daylight, I pulled out of the driveway and cruised down the street. My favorite coffee shop near the campus was relatively busy. The drive-thru lineup was stupidly long, so I parked and went inside instead.
The line inside was only about six people long. Right away my gaze fell upon the cute blonde near the front of the line. I sidled up to Clover, ignoring the glares and frowns from those who thought I was cutting the line. She glanced up at me in surprise.
Her hair was pulled back in a clip and she wore sunglasses. She was dressed casually in leggings and a long t-shirt with a rainbow colored cat on the front. My gaze immediately went to the cut on her swollen bottom lip.
“Hey there, Sunshine. Are you as hungover as I am?” Noticing the way she stiffened, I did my best to play it cool.
I was a big guy covered in ink. I had a tendency to intimidate without even trying. Although I liked that I scared her, I wanted her to let down her guard enough to tell me what happened to her lip.
“Uh, yeah, I guess so. I didn’t sleep well last night.” Clover fumbled with the debit card she clutched in one hand, almost dropping it.
Aware that those in the line could hear us, I said, “Pretty wild party last night. I woke up to Blaze playing his stupid fucking guitar at max volume. I swear he does that shit just to piss me off.”
Clover forced a tight smile which was followed by a wince. Someone had hurt our girl.
She stepped up to place her order with me right beside her. I gave my order too, waving her off when she tried to pay. Handing over my credit card, I studied her closely. No doubt she hid a shiner under those sunglasses.
“Thanks,” she said when we headed for the door with our coffees. “I guess I’ll see you later.”
I waited until we were in the parking lot to grab her arm and pull her to a stop. “You’re not getting away that easily. Tell me what happened. Who hurt you?”
Clover’s hand strayed to her lip. “Oh this? It’s nothing. I was drunk and slipped.”
Pulling off her sunglasses, I frowned at the purple bruise surrounding her eye. “Slipped, huh? Why are you trying to protect him?”
Lower lip quivering, Clover cast her gaze down at her feet. “I don’t want you guys to hurt him.”
“Why the fuck not?” My voice rose, making her jump. “Someone needs to hurt him. Tell me where to find him. It’s time that we have a little talk with Zane about touching what’s ours.”
Clover hesitated too long before saying, “He’s probably staying with his parents for the summer. They live on Woodward Avenue. House number 417 I think.”
I chucked her lightly under the chin. As the rage took over, my hangover became background noise. Energy rushed through me at the thought of beating Zane until he begged for death.
“Good girl. Go home. We’ll come see you later.” I watched Clover get into her little blue car and drive away. Damn, she had a nice ass. I couldn’t wait to make her sorry for hiding this from us.
I chugged my coffee on the way back to the house. I almost forgot to grab food on the way. When I entered the house with a large bag of takeout in hand, I was itching to get moving. Zane would be so fucking sorry when I got through with him.
“Pop some painkillers and get dressed,” I announced as I entered the house. “We have a problem to take care of. Now.”
Once I explained to Blaze and Daire that our new toy was bruised and swollen, they were tripping over themselves to get out the door. With his burger in one hand and a drink in the other, Daire shoved his feet into his running shoes and left the house, bitching at us to hurry up.
“I can’t believe she didn’t use the bracelet,” Daire muttered, slamming his car door.
I beat Blaze to the passenger seat, smirking at him as I slid into Daire’s black Audi. “She tried to lie about the injuries too. We’ll have to make sure she never does that again.”
Somehow, Daire managed to drive with one hand while scarfing down his burger in record time. “That little fairy is testing us already. Brave. Must be Raina’s influence rubbing off on her.”
“How bad was it?” Blaze asked from the backseat. “Her bruises. Did he beat her badly?”
I turned in my seat to face him, shaking my head. “Definitely could have been worse. He roughed her up though.”
“All that matters is that he put his hands on her. Again.” Daire grabbed his drink from the cupholder, gripping the wheel tight with both hands. “Nobody touches Clover but us. It’s time for Zane to understand that. Clover is next.”
We wouldn’t beat on Clover like Zane. However, we had to show her that she’d made a choice to be ours. That choice came with obligations. There had to be consequences for lying and refusing to obey. Daire tended to get a little crazy when wound up. Blaze and I kept him sane. Until we didn’t.
We’d been friends since the eighth grade. Daire and I had come to Blaze’s aid when a group of bullies jumped him after school. Together the three of us had beat the hell out of those kids. Nobody had gone as crazy on them as Daire had though. He’d curb stomped one kid, knocking out all of his front teeth. We’d all been tight ever since.
We pulled up to the address Clover had given me. I cracked my knuckles and got out of the car. Daire led the way up the front walk, punching the button to ring the doorbell.
“Keep an eye out in case he tries to run out the back,” Daire said.
The door swung open to reveal Zane rubbing his eyes as if we’d roused him from sleep. Shirtless in only sweatpants, he blinked at us in confusion. Then realization settled in.
“Oh shit,” he blurted. His attempt to slam the door in our faces was thwarted by Daire who shoved it open.
Daire looped an arm around Zane’s neck in a tight headlock. I grabbed Zane by the arm, helping Daire drag him from the house. Blaze closed the door behind us, watching our backs as we forced Zane into the backseat of the car.
Both Blaze and I got into the back with Zane, trapping him between us. He made a pitiful effort to escape. He took a swing at me, surprised when I caught his fist and twisted until his wrist popped. His pained shout was only the beginning.
“There’s no point fighting,” I said, using his shoulder to slam him back against the seat. “You fucked up, man. We can’t let that slide.”
“I barely touched her. Seriously. She’s fine. It was nothing.” Panic filled Zane’s voice. He knew that he was fucked now.
“Barely touched her?” I repeated. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I jerked him forward and slammed his face into the back of the passenger seat. “She has a black eye and a cut lip that’s swollen twice its size. Clover is ours, asshole. You fucked up.”
“I’m sorry. I swear I won’t touch her again.” Zane held his nose, wincing in pain.
“You’ve got that right,” Daire chuckled, eyeing Zane in the rearview mirror.
Zane noticed then that we were heading out of the city. His panic grew as his gaze darted about. “What’s going on? Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere that nobody will hear you scream,” Blaze said. A slow, evil smile crossed his face. “Because you will definitely scream.”
While Zane begged and pleaded for mercy, Daire took us further out of the city. He drove until we reached a thick thatch of trees on the other side of a farmer’s field. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it was a great place to punish Zane. There wasn’t a soul in sight other than us.
Daire parked the car just inside the tree line. Then he got out and fetched a few things from the trunk. Opening the back door, he handed me a black hood and a chunk of rope.
While Zane struggled, Blaze and I wrestled him into the hood and tied his hands behind his back. Using the rope to steer him, I dragged him from the car and got him marching ahead of me.
“Please, guys. Don’t do this. I’ll never touch Clover again. I won’t even look at her. I swear.” Zane rambled several attempts to get us to let him go. None of them worked. We weren’t the merciful types.
We pushed him along through the trees until we came to a small clearing. I released my hold on the ropes binding his hands, giving him a shove that sent him falling to his knees with a grunt. Bringing my foot up, I booted him hard in the back of the head.
Daire stepped in to grab Zane by the hair, jerking his head back. Ripping the hood off, he slammed a fist into Zane’s face over and over. Blood erupted from his nose. He blubbered and begged. It was useless.
“You’re a vile piece of shit that loves to abuse women,” Blaze hissed, moving in to take his turn. “Do you think anyone will miss you if we kill you and leave your body to the coyotes?”
Zane spat blood, sucking in sharp, painful breaths. “My parents will know something is wrong. They’ll see that my shoes are still at the house along with my phone and wallet.”
Tapping a thoughtful finger on my chin, I said, “What I’m hearing is that we’ll have to kill your parents too.”
“Oh my god, no, please don’t hurt them. They aren’t part of—”
Zane’s pleas were cut off by my foot connecting with his ribs. We weren’t going to kill him today or his parents. By the time we were done with him, he’d wish that we’d ended him.
Grabbing a handful of Zane’s hair, Daire hauled him to his feet. Holding tight to him, Daire smashed his face into a nearby tree. Bloody gashes marked Zane’s face. Pressing him against the tree, Daire wrapped both hands around his throat.
“Do you know how easily I could kill you?” Daire snarled. “Can you feel it, motherfucker?”
Daire squeezed until Zane’s face turned purple and his eyes rolled back in his head. I stepped forward to grab Daire’s shoulder, jerking him away.
“Settle down, dude. We’re not killing him today.” My reminder was met with a scowl.
Zane gasped for air, his eyes wide and red streaked with burst blood vessels. I slammed my elbow into his abdomen before shoving him toward Blaze. By the time we were done with him, the damage was severe. We left him unconscious on the ground covered in blood and bruises.
“Leave him,” I said. “Let the bastard find his own way back to the city.”
I studied my cut knuckles once we were back in the car. My hands would ache later, but it would be worth it.
“God, that was exhilarating.” Daire opened the sunroof as he pulled back onto the road. “Almost better than sex. I’d still rather fuck someone senseless than beat them senseless, but both feel pretty fucking great.”
I settled back into my seat, watching the countryside fly by as we made our way back to Wolfwood. The rush of the beatdown rode me hard. When we reached the city limits, a new sense of excitement gripped me.
It was time to pay Clover a visit.