Chapter 14
Fourteen
Light
He put his fucking hands on her.
The anger that is pulsing through my body right now is more intense than anything I've ever felt in my life.
Not even when I figured out that Alisha had played me was I this angry.
When I cornered that bastard and told him to deliver a message to Deke I never thought that it would blow back on Melissa. Not physical.
This bastard must really have a death wish. He put his fucking hands on her.
If he wants to die, I'm going to speed up the process.
I race back to the clubhouse. I'd only just left so I know that Semi is still there.
He's the only one that I know has any information on Deke.
So far I haven't really pressed him because I know he was still on the look out for his ex-wife, but now I don't have the patience to sit on my hands and wait for him to sift through the mess to find what he needs.
I want all the information he has on Deke and his people, now.
The second I shove open the clubhouse doors, all heads snap my way. The laughter cuts like a blade. Someone at the bar mutters something, but I don’t hear it.
I don’t see anything except him.
Semi.
He's at the far end of the room, sitting on one of the cracked leather couches, sipping from a bottle like he hasn’t got a care in the world.
“SEMI!” My voice booms through the space, sharp and cutting.
He looks up, eyebrows raising slowly. “You lose your damn mind out there or just forget how to say hello?”
I’m already across the room before anyone can react, boots stomping hard against the floor. The rage in me is too thick to hold back. I grab the front of his cut and haul him halfway to his feet.
“You wanna tell me what the fuck you know about Deke?”
The room goes still. Every patch in the place stops mid-movement.
Semi blinks once. Calm. Cold. Not intimidated in the slightest.
“You better unhand me, brother,” he says, low and controlled. “Before you make a mistake neither of us can walk back from.”
I don’t let go.
“He put his damn hands on her, Semi.”
Something flickers behind his eyes.
“I’m not asking anymore. I want names. I want connections. I want to know where this piece of shit sleeps, breathes, pisses. Everything.”
Semi’s nostrils flare as he shrugs out of my grip, his jaw hardening.
“You don’t bark orders at me,” he snaps. “I’ve been working this lead for weeks. You want the full picture? Then shut the fuck up long enough to hear it.”
I step forward again, fists clenched, but before I can swing or yell or do something I’ll regret?—
“Enough!” Brick’s voice cuts through like a whip.
He steps into the middle of the standoff, eyes narrowed and face grim.
“Church. Now,” he barks. “Everyone.”
Grumbles and murmurs fill the room as the brothers shuffle toward the back. Semi and I lock eyes for one more tense second before Brick jerks his chin, and we both move.
The table room is dark and cold and heavy with the weight of what’s coming. Brick takes his seat at the head of the long wood table, arms folded.
Hook, Pipe, and Torch all settle in. Semi to one side. I sit opposite him, still breathing like a bull in a ring.
Brick’s gaze sweeps the room.
“Tension in here could choke a fuckin’ ox,” he says. “Somebody start talking.”
I lean forward, bracing my forearms on the table.
“Deke,” I say through my teeth. “That son of a bitch has been threatening Melissa. Sending goons. Pushing her for some paperwork she doesn’t even know about. And tonight…”
My voice catches. Just for a second.
“Tonight, he broke into her house and hit her.”
A heavy silence falls. Only the sound of someone cracking their knuckles echoes through the room.
“She’s got a sick kid in the hospital,” I continue, looking around the table. “She’s already drowning. And now she’s got this piece of shit crawling through her life like she owes him something.”
Hook mutters a curse. Pipe shifts in his seat.
Brick leans back, eyes narrowed at Semi.
“Well?”
Semi lets out a long breath, then leans forward.
“Deke runs dirty loans through his underground gambling racket. Got ties to some small-time cartel out of New Mexico. He used to be lower-level muscle, but when his boss died, he took over the operation. Unofficial, unregulated, and bloody.”
He meets my eyes now. No heat, just gravity.
“I’ve been tracking him because of my ex. But if he’s going hands-on with civilians, especially ones close to us…” He glances to Brick. “We’ve got a bigger problem.”
“Why the hell are you dragging your feet on this? I growl.
“Dragging my feet? Are you crazy? You're too busy chasing tail and pretending this club doesn’t run on strategy,” Semi fires back.
Brick slams his hand on the table.
“Enough. Both of you.”
He lets the silence settle again before speaking, calm but firm.
“We don’t let people touch our own. Light’s made Melissa his business, so now she’s ours too. You all feel that?”
Every man around the table nods.
“We handle this. Smart. Surgical. But final. Semi, work with Light. Get every bit of intel on Deke’s operation. If he’s laying hands on women and kids, he’s already dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
I feel the fire inside me finally get some shape. Some purpose.
Deke crossed a line.
And we’re coming for him.