Chapter Five.
Phoe
“The Royal harlots wanted to see Merritt; they’re curious what Inglorious is doing with it,” Drake replied.
“Are they riding with us?” I craned my neck.
“No, they’re taking your truck if that’s okay?”
“Yeah, no skin off my nose. They know there’s a potluck tonight, don’t they, at the clubhouse?”
“Yup. Stitch asked if they should bring anything,” Drake said.
“Drake, did you tell them no?” I exclaimed, and he nodded.
“Phoe, I ain’t forgotten hospitality rules for a visiting club. If it were Chance or one of the allies, I’d be telling them to bring a keg,” Drake retorted.
“Did you warn Inglorious?”
Drake offered a sideways glance, and I took that as a no. I shook my head and pulled out my phone. Honest to God, Drake made me wonder sometimes. I hit Nanci’s number and settled into the passenger seat.
“What’s up?” Nanci answered.
“Hey, girl, just to let you know. Drake and I are headed your way with guests,” I said.
There was a pregnant pause. “Hellions?”
“No,” I laughed, amused. “We have four sisters from the Royal Harlots MC visiting. It’s a long story; I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“Drake’s coming?” Nanci asked, and I knew why. No doubt the rumours about Drake had reached Inglorious.
“Yeah. As I said, long story.”
“See you soon,” Nanci replied and cut the call. A smile crossed my lips. Nanci was probably already calling Inglorious. Would we have a welcoming committee when we arrived?
Drake pulled out and headed down the drive, and I saw Belladonna driving my truck. She was chatting and appeared easy, but why did I have a feeling of impending doom?
“That’s quite a tale,” Nanci said as we sat at a saloon table in the Unwanted Bastards clubhouse. The Harlots were on a tour with Inglorious and Drake, and Nanci and I were cosied up, gabbing. Amy and Daisy-Duke were also with us.
“How do you discover this fucker?” Amy asked. She wore a Property of Vortex cut and looked good in it. Really well, considering everything she’d been through.
“Good question. If Belladonna’s abilities kill him, we might never know,” I replied.
“But you need to,” Daisy-Duke pointed out shrewdly.
“Yes, I do. What if Judas has siblings? Do they have powers too? I’m no killer, shit, I save lives, but if it meant my family could live in peace…” I broke off.
Nanci said nothing, but Daisy-Duke was never one to keep her mouth shut.
“And that makes you wrong for being willing to do what’s needed to protect your children?
You don’t enjoy being the bad person, Phoe.
You’re too accustomed to being everyone’s darling.
” I bristled, but Daisy-Duke ploughed on.
“Don’t deny it. Phoe, no offence, but you’ve become used to the accolades. ”
“Wow, don’t hold your punches, lady!” I gasped, and Daisy-Duke grinned.
“No. Someone needs to keep you humble; that’s me. I do the same for this one. But honestly, you’ve this idea that you’re perfect. Newsflash, girl, you ain’t. Nobody is. Wanting the man who is harming your family dead is a natural feeling.”
“Some people rise above that,” I argued, and Daisy-Duke shook her head.
“Yeah, they do, and they ain’t biker bitches.
If they’re able to forgive the person who hurt them, good for them.
I can respect that. But those like us want blood and guts and for somebody to pay.
Nothing wrong with that, Phoenix Michaelson.
Go out and save your clients; that’s your penance if you wish for wanting Judas dead.
” Daisy-Duke picked up her coffee cup and sipped.
“I should question longing for someone’s death,” I defended myself.
“And if you didn’t, I’d be calling men in white coats and locking you up. If you didn’t have a moment’s hesitation, Phoe, you’d be a psycho. But think about your ex-husband, do you regret killing him?” Daisy-Duke asked.
“Hell no!” I declared emphatically. Nanci grinned while Amy looked puzzled.
“Phoe’s ex kidnapped her and beat her nearly to death. She broke the chair she was tied to, and when he straddled her to strangle her, she staked him between the shoulder blades,” Nanci explained.
“Yeah, fucker deserved that,” Amy said blithely. I laughed with the others.
“Weren’t nobody who missed him. What are the Royal Harlots like? We’ve heard things about them, especially with how they’re expanding across the country. Chapters are springing up everywhere, and they’re linked to the Royal Bastards MC as well.”
“They seem cool. Intense, but okay. I don’t doubt they’ve got their fingers in a number of pies, and not all of them legal. They’re pretty similar to our clubs,” I replied.
“The one wearing the nun’s leather outfit? Is that a gimmick?” Nanci asked.
I chuckled. “No. Belladonna explained that Nun was actually an ordained one. I’ve got the feeling it was against Nun’s will, and this is her fuck you,” I said.
Nanci grinned with Daisy-Duke. “I like it.”
“Well, it’s good to see Drake returning to normal, or at least looking better,” Nanci stated. “He had us concerned.”
“Drake had many people worried. But we’ve gotta find Judas to end this once and for all. Judas needs to be stopped,” I muttered, frowning.
“Yeah, and don’t you forget it. It could be the Hellions next.” Daisy-Duke’s words made my blood run cold. My children would have no protection against someone like Judas, especially the younger ones.
Judas
I was seething. How dare a woman challenge me?
Was she one of those butch women who believed they were better than men?
The sheer, unmitigated gall of her. She’d soon find out who was stronger, and it wasn’t that bitch.
My head rang faintly from the mental slap she’d sent.
I’d recognised it for what it was: a rebuke, one she had no authority to dish out.
Drake Michaelson belonged to me. His present, future, torture, and punishment were all mine to issue. The whore would learn a lesson. But right now, I had a goal. I watched as everyone arrived in dribs and drabs at the clubhouse. They hadn’t noticed me; I’d masked my presence.
Men and women came, teenagers and children.
This would send a message to Drake Michaelson and that bitch.
I wasn’t to be messed with. These weak-minded fools were no match for me.
With my powers, I should be running the country – no, fuck that, I should run the world.
I’d bring peace and order quick enough. Everyone would learn I was their guiding hand. First, though, Michaelson.
From what I learned, the love for his family and club ran a close tie.
In fact, they were so close nobody knew which Michaelson loved more.
Could you imagine being Phoenix and not knowing if your husband preferred his motorbike gang over you?
What was wrong with Michaelson? That guy behaved like a typical Neanderthal.
One who’d no ability to reason or think clearly.
A gang wasn’t worth the death and grief he’d caused.
What type of asshole was he? Selfish, narcissistic, greedy, full of false bravado, and a liar.
I knew the lies he and his gang members had spun.
Michaelson might believe himself above the law, but he wasn’t.
He needed to pay. I watched as beautiful women entered the clubhouse and shook my head.
Led by cocks, all of them, a bunch of whores.
Selling out for money and cock. None of them were decent women; they hid behind facades, ones I saw through.
All of them required a wake-up call. I was just that – here to ensure they opened their eyes.
What would they do when they realised the truth?
Would they beg and cry and try to cleanse their souls?
Or would they wallow further in the filth they lived in?
Anger began building. And what of their brats?
For some, it was too late. Like those brat sons of Michaelsons.
But the babies? Those could be saved. I’d send them to a school that would teach them to shun everything their criminal parents adored.
Those children would worship at my feet.
Rightfully so. I would be their saviour.
I had every right to their love and respect.
Eyes narrowed, I watched carefully. A smile crossed my lips when I spotted Michaelson’s eldest son and his FBI wife.
Another wrongdoer. How dare she claim to uphold the law while she rolled in the dirt with filth?
But the baby in her arms. I could take him and train him.
Make him my best disciple. If I kept them locked in cages like the animals they are, how much would it harm Michaelson to watch his grandson worship and obey me?
It was tempting, but while I wanted Michaelson to suffer greatly, I also desired revenge.
His blood needed to spill. But Michaelson shared blood with others; if I spilt theirs, it would hurt him.
A cousin and sister, nieces, a son and daughter.
Destroying his entire bloodline and showing Michaelson what an infection it was would destroy him. Then I could crush his mind.
Yes. Jodie, on her knees, mewling for my cock, his younger kids in front of his cage, their throats slit.
The image made me hard, and I palmed myself roughly, not now.
Taking my pent-up lust and anger, I attacked and retreated almost instantly.
Michaelson would shit himself when he saw this mess. And it was on his head.
Belladonna
“Did you feel that?” I asked, nearly crashing. I pulled over quickly as Stitch laid a hand on me.
“No. What happened?”
“Judas struck, but not at Drake. Swap places with me; I’m not safe enough to drive.”
My hands were shaking, and I knew the blood had drained from my face. Static electricity crawled across my skin as I shifted over, and Stitch swapped seats with Nun. No sooner had they done so than Nun pulled out and floored the truck.
“Where are we going?” she demanded.