Chapter Four
Dragon
T he seedy bar just outside of Oklahoma City reeks of desperation. Women with dark makeup and trashy clothes cling to whichever man will offer their arm. A few have glanced my way with interest, but quickly looked the other way when they saw my expression.
I’m not here to fuck around.
I’m here to wrangle a Corsetti for Loki. Koyn says it’s our problem, so it’s our fucking problem. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. If it were my choice, we’d be dealing with Night Giant. He’s too quiet for my liking. Too still. Though we have eyes on him, watching his every move, it’s unnerving not knowing what’s going on inside his head.
Soon.
Right now, we have a job.
Grab this Max Corsetti fucker for Loki and extract information through whatever means necessary. I’ve been dying to get my hands dirty. To slice through the flesh of an enemy, bathing in their howls of pain. I’d be looking forward to this whole damn trip if Prez didn’t send him along for the ride.
Baby Prospect.
He sticks out like a sore thumb wherever we go. Where everyone here is rough and their demons are written in faded ink on their arms or the darkness in their eyes, Cove Gale is like a goddamn angel. Glowing. Innocent. Vulnerable. He makes it hard as fuck to keep my promise to Stormy while also obeying Koyn’s orders. If he were like Filter or even Nees, for fuck’s sake, I wouldn’t feel so torn.
But he’s not.
He’s broken and fragile and unpredictable.
Soft.
So fucking soft.
It makes it insanely difficult to keep my focus on the job when I have to make sure his ass isn’t getting hurt or into trouble.
“He’s not here,” Nees says, sidling up beside me. “Just made the rounds. No one’s talking.”
Because these people are smart. You don’t blab your secrets when some newcomer starts asking around. Not to mention, even though Nees is a criminal like the rest of us, he interrogates like his father. It screams Fed or cop. I probably should be doing the questioning myself, but Koyn wanted us to slide in and out. Not bring attention to ourselves. If I’m the one questioning, I’ll get answers one way or another and that shit isn’t always quiet or clean.
“Who’s that guy?” I ask, tipping my head toward Baby Prospect, who’s sitting awfully close to a big, bearded guy, talking lowly between the two of them.
“Not sure. BP’s been talking to him this whole time.” Nees shrugs and sips his beer. “Might be a hookup.”
Anger churns in my gut. This is why Koyn should have made Cove stay home. He’s more interested in getting laid than doing his damn job.
Sure enough, Cove grins at the guy, a smile I’ve certainly never seen before, and gestures for the bathroom. Is he fucking kidding me right now? The larger guy stands up, slings a possessive arm over Cove’s shoulders, and guides him to the bathroom.
I slam my beer down with a hard clank that earns me several stares. Katana grips my elbow, leaning in, and hisses, “Don’t.”
Ignoring my best friend, I slide off the stool, storming into the bathroom after them. I find Cove sitting on the counter with the bearded fuckface standing between his parted thighs. Their mouths are all over each other—demanding and hungry.
I see fucking red.
Pouncing on the bearded guy, I grab him in a headlock, snarling at him. Cove bellows at me, his voice echoing off the cinderblock walls, but I ignore him. I tighten my grip around this guy’s fat neck, clinging on as he struggles to fight me off and gasp for air. The moment he loses consciousness, we hit the floor hard. I shove the big fucker off me and rise to my feet. I’m just unsheathing my knife when Cove gets in my face, grabbing me by the cut.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he demands, his spittle hitting my face.
“It’s not playtime, Baby Prospect.” I bring the blade of my knife to his neck, pressing in just hard enough for him to feel how sharp it is but not break the skin. “Get the fuck off me.”
Cove smacks my hand back, sending my knife clattering to the tile floor. “You started this, Dragon. I was getting information and you interrupted—”
“He was going to fuck you for it!” The rage inside of me doesn’t seem to simmer but instead boils over. “The guy is twice your size!”
Cove’s blue eyes are icy and cold as he glowers at me. I know he hates me, but I don’t give a fuck. He can get over it. His method of obtaining information was reckless and stupid.
“I can handle myself,” he spits out, sounding so much like Stormy I nearly laugh.
I grab his throat, spinning us so his back is against the cinderblock wall, my hips pinning him in place. “No. You can’t.”
Fear briefly ripples over his features before it’s once again chased away by anger. Since the fucker has been working out, he’s not quite the boy I once overpowered in a cage. No, there’s a little power thrumming through him.
“Let go of me, Dragon, or so help me…” He trails off, his words clipped and sharp.
“Or you’ll what?” When he doesn’t respond, I bring my mouth to his ear. “That’s right. You’ll do nothing because you can’t. You’re just a fucking kid.”
He tries to take a swing at me, but I’m quicker, grabbing both wrists and slamming them to the wall. His yelp—cowed and resigned—makes my dick twitch.
“Know what I think?” I chuckle as I drop my gaze to his parted lips. “I think you like being at my mercy.”
“Fuck. You.”
“You’d like that too.” I run my nose along his, reveling in the sharp hiss of air he sucks in. “Right?”
“Touch one hair on my head and I will murder you in your sleep.”
The disgust seeping into his words has me recoiling. It reminds me of the day I was introduced to Night Giant after I was taken. Back then, I’d been a sixteen-year-old kid filled with false bravado. I thought my strength from playing basketball and my big mouth would be enough to keep the monsters at bay.
Boy, was I wrong.
Night Giant only saw it as incentive to want to break me.
“I’m not like him,” I mutter to myself. “I’m not.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Our conversation is interrupted when someone bursts into the bathroom. I release Cove to pick my knife back up, swiveling to face the newest threat.
Nees.
“Katana is beating the shit out of some dude in the parking lot. Time to roll,” he barks out before rushing out of the bathroom.
I race after him, ready to give Katana backup, though I know he can handle his own shit. Sure enough, once outside, he’s kicking some guy in his ribs.
“Need help?” I ask, squatting down beside the groaning dude.
The guy whimpers and then pukes near my boots. I rise to my feet, planting my foot on his cheek to keep him from standing up.
Katana’s nearly black eyes flash with anger. “He was hitting on his girl.”
I follow Katana’s stare to a redhead with freckles and a black eye. She can’t be a day over eighteen.
“Go home to your mommy,” I tell the girl.
She doesn’t have to be told twice and scurries away. Katana cracks his neck, but his anger has faded. Usually it’s the other way around. He has to keep me in check. But there isn’t a hot button quicker on Katana than a man putting his hands on a woman.
“Anything on the guy inside?” Katana asks.
“Didn’t give him a chance to talk.”
The guy under my boot whines. I grind my foot into his cheek, causing him to howl.
Nees chuckles as he approaches. “Smells like piss. I think you made him piss his pants, Dragon.”
“What the fuck did I do?” I groan, sneering down at the man who indeed smells like piss. “I didn’t even have a chance to use my knife.”
“What now?” Cove demands, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling my way. “No one knows anything around here.”
Despite all his bitchiness and always mouthing, he still looks too pretty to be a part of this MC.
Like you once were?
I ignore that thought. Cove is nothing like me. Even before…everything…I was made of tough shit. Cove is just a weak kid.
“We go back inside, have another drink, and keep our dicks in our fucking pants, Baby Prospect.” I smirk at him. “You think you can do that?”
His response is a middle finger in my face.
Why are we still here?
The fuck if I know.
That’s right, idiot, it was your idea.
I scowl as I down the rest of my Jack. The bar has gotten busier as the night wears on, reminding me of why I wanted to stay. Bermuda had good intel about this place being on Max Corsetti’s path. I have a hunch that if we wait it out, we might come across something useful.
Against my own will, my eyes seek out Cove. His cheeks are pink from drinking too much and his blond hair is messy. Whenever Nees talks to him, he flashes him a bright smile before trying to hide it by biting on his lip. As much as I’ve been watching the people in this bar, I’ve equally had my eyes on Cove.
How can I not notice him?
Everyone notices him.
Because he’s fucking pretty. Or good-looking. Sexy. Whatever. He’s got Stormy’s sex appeal, but he doesn’t even realize it.
Not that I’m looking or remotely interested.
Night Giant made sure I’d never be into sex ever again. Not normally anyway. Yes, I have urges, but they’re all too fucked up. The only time I can get off is by my own hand after one of my nightmares where I can still feel that fucker’s hands on me.
It’s disgusting.
I’m interested, however, in the way my body burns whenever I look at Cove. The fire shoots its way straight down my spine and through the length of my cock, filling it with blood and making my black jeans tighten.
Back in high school, I called myself bisexual. Mostly, I just liked to fuck around about as much as I liked basketball. It didn’t matter about the sex of the person so long as they were hot or had a nice mouth. All that changed when I ended up with Night Giant. I no longer craved being with someone intimately and began to hate it. Not that I had a choice. When it came to him, he took what he wanted or forced me to obey his every command. He knew my body better than I did.
My dick softens at the thought of being back there. With him. Alone. Naked. Fucking terrified. In pain. I curl my hand into a fist, desperate to end that psychopath once and for all. Flipping my phone over on the bar top, I swipe it open and check my texts. Nothing new from Bermuda. He’s been keeping tabs on Night Giant, who’s been hiding out in a run-down trailer in Arkansas. It’s been fucking forever since we escaped that abandoned hotel. As much as I want to swoop in and slit that asshole’s throat, Koyn won’t let me.
I understand his reasoning—to see if we can’t draw out more of his pervert snakes—but I don’t have to like the fact we sit around and do nothing. It’s like Night Giant knows we can’t find shit on him and is biding his time. We keep waiting for him to slip up, giving us more information about him, but he never does. He won’t. I’d rather just cut his heart out and be done with it.
When Cove stumbles and Nees makes a grab to keep him from falling, I decide we’ve had enough. I slide off the stool and make my way over to them.
“I’m Batman,” Cove mocks, making his voice sound deeper before laughing. His blue eyes are cruel and filled with hate.
Fucker.
“Yeah, show’s over, Robin. Let’s go.” I grab his bicep, jerking him toward me. His drunk ass falls against my chest, barely grabbing onto my cut before he falls to the ground. The heat from his body burns into my front, stoking the fire that was in my dick only moments ago. As soon as he realizes what his proximity has done to me, he stiffens, his plump lips parting in shock.
“I’m tired,” Cove blurts out, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “So fucking tired.”
Of being here tonight?
Of life?
Of this war between us?
“Me too,” I mutter. “Let’s get back to the motel.”
For once, the little shit doesn’t fight me. Instead, he nods before resting his forehead against my sternum, his hot breath tickling me through my T-shirt.
“You smell good, Chase.” His murmured words are like ice water dousing the flames of desire that were licking at me.
“Don’t call me that.” I grip his shoulders and push him away from me. “Let’s go.”
Katana nods at me. Most days we don’t need the words. He knows what I want. He and Nees will stay here to try and get info while I get the drunk kid into bed. Luckily, the motel isn’t far. I’m not sure I’d be able to keep Cove upright on my bike with me for more than a couple of miles. His drunk ass would probably pass out. The last thing I need is road rash from the brat.
“Don’t touch me,” Cove complains, once again back to his bitching as he jerks away from me. “Leave me alone.”
I grit my teeth, holding back from knocking his ass out just to keep him from acting like an asshole. He stomps out of the bar like a child, earning several amused stares. When they meet my pissed off glare, the smiles are wiped right off their faces. As soon as I step outside, Cove stands in the middle of the parking lot, staring straight up.
“What are you doing?” I demand as I make my way over to him. “Counting stars?”
He snorts. “No.” A small sigh escapes him. “Just admiring the view.”
I follow his gaze to the brilliantly starlit sky. “I knew you were a nerd.” Grabbing hold of his elbow, I drag him over to my bike. “Get on.”
“No, man,” Cove growls. “Go get the keys from Nees. We’ll take Copper’s truck.”
I straddle my bike and scowl at him. “Don’t make me force you.”
Rage burns in his blue eyes that seem to glow in the moonlight. Rather than attempting to punch me like I can tell he’s itching to do, he clumsily climbs onto the back. I turn the engine over, getting a thrill at the power that rumbles beneath me. The smirk on my face fades when Cove wraps his arms around me.
“Don’t wreck,” he bites out over the sound of the engine.
I gun it out of the parking lot, spraying gravel behind us. His arms tighten around me and his thighs squeeze me. And damn if my dick doesn’t perk up again.
After years of being broken, I try not to let hope trickle in and make me feel human again. I won’t feel human until Night Giant’s blood is all over my hands as I steal his last breath.