Chapter Seventeen #2
“Don’t you even think about apologizing to me for what you said, City.
You had gone through something truly harrowing.
I was caught off guard by the news. It shook me, and I just wanted clarification, but I didn’t stop to think how asking for it would affect you.
I should be the one apologizing. I am so, so sorry for your loss, City,” Bea says with such sincerity that my chest squeezes all over again.
City scrubs at his face, letting out a low huff. “It still feels so fucking surreal. I can’t believe that crazy fucker is actually gone!”
“Whatever you need, brother, we’re here. You tell us when the funeral is, and we’re there. The same goes for Nickel, Six. Their deaths are on me. Because of this war with Javier, I feel responsible,” I state.
City stares at the screen, shaking his head.
“Don’t do that. Don’t make their deaths because of a vendetta.
They went out fighting. We’re bikers, Alpha.
We are Defiance. We know when we patch in that there’s only one true way out of this club, and it’s guns-a-blazing protecting our brothers, fighting for a cause bigger than us. ”
Six nods his head, a weak smile crossing his face.
“Does it hurt? Fuck yeah, it hurts. But City’s right.
Every brother wants to go out in a blaze of glory.
I don’t know about ya’ll, but I don’t know anyone who wants to be sittin’ back as an old man with Alzheimer’s who can’t remember who he is, or the people he loves.
This is who we are, Alpha. And death is part of Defiance, we all know that. ”
Gritting my teeth, I dip my chin, then raise my drink. “To Hurricane and Nickel.”
My brothers raise their drinks on screen, and we all drink as Loki points to the camera, showing our front doors, where Haven strides in, leading a procession of birds who were waiting for Haven to get back from the hospital.
Between them, they drag a figure I’ve been waiting years to see in goddamn chains.
Javier Rojas.
Even unconscious, zip-tied, and beaten, he carries himself with an arrogance that makes my trigger finger itch. His dark hair is matted with blood, and his ridiculous clothes are torn and filthy.
This is the man who took Poppy.
Who killed Livvy.
Who has spent years trying to break everything I’ve built.
Slamming my drink on the table, I glance back at the other presidents, swiping my mouth with the back of my wrist and clearing my throat. “I gotta go, brothers. My Old Lady just bought me a Cartel-sized present.”
The others chuckle as I head for the den door. “Make him suffer, Alpha!” City calls through the screen.
I glance back over my shoulder, one last time, at the other brothers who helped me make this happen. “Oh, I intend to.”
I spin with an aggressive pace, making my way out into the clubroom to see Haven, in all her glory.
Fuck, she’s stunning as she stands over Javier like a damn goddess, with him on his knees in the middle of the room.
Birds flock around him, so there’s zero chance of escape, and my brothers converge around them.
We’ve got you now, asshole.
“Found a little something for you, baby,” Haven chimes, her voice steady but her eyes burning with the same fury I feel clawing at my chest.
I drain my whiskey in one swallow, the burn focusing my thoughts. “Get him into the Chapel. Tie him to the chair at the head of the table.” My voice sounds foreign even to my own ears, too calm, too controlled for the storm raging inside me.
Rosella cackles, her laugh chimes through the air, as Magpie swoops in, hauling Javier’s almost limp body from the floor. The birds haul Javier toward the Chapel while I follow, my brothers forming a semicircle behind me.
This moment has been building for years, every sleepless night, every nightmare about Poppy, every memory of Livvy’s lifeless body.
When we reach the Chapel, they dump him into the president’s chair, my chair, like the cruel irony it is. Haven produces a vial from her pocket, snapping it under his nose. The ammonia hits him like a slap, and his eyes snap open, wild and disoriented.
For a moment, he looks genuinely confused. Then recognition dawns, and his lips curve into a smile that makes me want to put a bullet between his eyes right here, right now.
“Ahhh, Alpha,” he purrs, his accent thick with mockery despite his circumstances. “The legendary president of LA Defiance. You know, you’re smaller than I imagined.”
I don’t react to the bait.
Years of military training and leadership have taught me patience, even when every instinct screams for immediate violence.
“Javier Rojas,” I say. “The wannabe king. Tell me, how’s your empire looking tonight?” I mock, circling him like he’s my prey.
His smile falters for just a second before returning full force. “You think you’ve won? You’ve destroyed a few operations, disrupted some cash flow. This is merely temporary. I have resources you can’t imagine, connections that—”
“Had,” Haven interrupts, stepping forward. “You had resources. Past tense. We’ve been through this, Javier. That bump on your head give you memory loss, or are you really that stupid?”
Loki appears at my shoulder, tablet in hand, and he passes it to me.
“Every facility has been compromised. Every account frozen. Every government contact exposed.” I lean right into his face, smirking so wide that my cheeks almost hurt.
“We didn’t just hit your operations, Javier.
We burned your entire Cartel to the ground. All… over… the United States.”
The smile finally dies on his face, replaced by something uglier. “You have no idea what you’ve done. The power vacuum you’ve created will be filled by someone far worse than me.”
Shrugging, I stand up, moving away from him. “Better the devil we don’t know,” I reply, pulling up a chair to sit directly across from him. I watch as fear begins to creep into his eyes, no matter how well he’s trying to hide it.
“Besides,” I continue, leaning forward until we’re almost nose to nose. “I’m not interested in your grand schemes anymore. I want to talk about something more personal.”
He snorts, rolling his eyes. “What could we possibly have to discuss?”
Glaring at him, anger surges through me as I fight to hold back my rage. My hands are balled into fists at my sides. “Livvy!” I growl, her name hangs in the air like a blade threatening to slice his throat.
Javier’s eyes narrow, but I catch the flicker of satisfaction he can’t quite suppress. “Ah, yes. Olivia. Beautiful woman. Shame what happened to her. Nighthawk really did do her job well.”
Every muscle in my body tenses, but it’s Cassandra who surges forward, pure anger in her expression, but Haven’s hand settles on her shoulder, grounding her, reminding us all we have a plan.
That this moment is about more than just our rage.
“You ordered Livvy’s death,” I state simply. “It’s on you. No one else.” I shift my gaze to Cassandra, who looks back at me with clear regret in her eyes.
It took me a long time to get past the fact that, as Nighthawk, she took the life of Livvy. The life of Poppy’s mother. But with Haven and Poppy’s help, somehow, they showed me that it wasn’t her fault and that she was just following orders.
Orders that this asshole in front of me gave her.
This isn’t on Cassandra. It’s all on this piece of shit in front of me.
“I ordered the elimination of a critical piece of my puzzle. She was monumental in the puzzle that I was creating. You move the wrong piece, the puzzle doesn’t work. Olivia was one of those movable pieces. She had to go.” He shrugs like we’re discussing the weather. “It’s nothing personal.”
“Nothing personal?” My voice drops to barely above a whisper. “You tortured my daughter. You killed my ex-wife. You spent years trying to destroy everything I care about. And you call it nothing personal? It felt very fucking personal.”
Javier snorts out a laugh. “Well, aren’t you just a sensitive little man… not very Alpha at all, are you?”
Scowling, I reach forward, my clenched fist slamming into his nose as hard as I can. “Fuck. You!” Blood runs down his face as a slow laugh escapes his mouth, blood pooling on his lips, onto his chin, making him look like a madman.
He spits out a line of blood onto the Chapel table in disrespect. “Your ex-wife made her choice when she started digging into things that didn’t concern her. Your daughter? Well, Poppy was quite talented. We merely wanted to help her reach her full potential.”
I’m on my feet before I realize I’ve moved, my hands wrap around his throat.
My presidential chair tilts backward, but the zip ties keep the asshole secured as I squeeze.
His face turning bright red, his eyes bulging, but the bastard smiles like a fucking maniac, only making me tighten my fingers more.
My breathing comes out fast through my nostrils, my eyes staring into the depths of his, but I see nothing but a vast emptiness staring back at me.
Just a fucking psychopath who laughs while I choke him to death.
“Alpha!” Haven’s voice cuts through my red haze. “Not yet!”