Chapter Eight
AXEL
Ican’t stop thinking about her, and I don’t know what to fucking do about it.
I haven’t heard from her in days, and I’m two seconds from getting in the car and driving back up to Autumn Bay.
I said I’d stay away if she texted. I’ve given her days to check in since the last text, and I don’t know how much longer I can wait.
It’s the middle of the night, and I’m sitting restless with a joint in my hand, my eyes tracking the last remaining flames in the fire pit as they dance above the wood, when my burner phone goes off.
The notification chime is almost as refreshing as her voice.
There are only two other people who have this line, and that’s our road sergeant, Rogue, and Wes Draven.
Both of whom are in Aspen Ridge right now and shouldn’t need us.
I pull it out of my pocket, seeing a number I don’t recognize.
It’s not the same one Sienna texted me from.
Unknown: Heard our interests may be aligned
Me: You heard correctly. This Saint?
Unknown: Yeah. I’ll call in 2. Only want to speak to your president.
Me: Done.
I gently tap out my joint, putting the rest of it in the pocket of my cut before jogging inside the clubhouse. Most of my brothers are already there, wide awake, just like I am. I spot Chaos quickly, tying his long hair back in a bun at the top of his head, Saige sitting next to him.
“Just heard from her brother. He’s calling in a minute, only wants to talk to you.”
Chaos nods, the burner phone ringing seconds later.
He accepts it and walks away, out of earshot.
I’m uneasy, waiting, wanting the details in the moment but forced to sit here and wait.
I want vengeance for my brother’s murder just as much as the next person here, but I also want to keep Sienna far the fuck away from it all.
I will take out Cain at some point, I just need to figure out how.
I don’t know what changed for her, what made her tell Saint about us and what we needed, but I’m grateful. I just want it to end there. She made the introduction, and there’s no need for her to be involved any further.
“Where the fuck is Mal?” Chaos barks as he walks back into the room.
Malice is falling deep into whatever obsessive claim he’s making on this poor, unsuspecting woman.
Chaos, Sin, and I all reach for our phones at the same time, no doubt pulling up the location app I put in all of our phones.
Sure as shit, Malice’s dot doesn’t appear.
Chaos: Tracker is off again. Mal really?
Malice: You’re a needy fucker
Malice: You really do like this group chat, huh? I knew you would! You just wanted to play hard to get
Chaos: You had better not be stalking her
Malice: I don’t stalk people
Me: Are you watching her and following her?
Malice: Yes
Sin: Does she know about it?
Malice: She does now
Sin: What?
Malice: She woke up while I was watching her sleep
Chaos: Are you shitting me right now?
Malice: Sir! We don’t talk about bathroom habits in the group chat!
Sin: That’s not what that means buddy
Me: Tell us you didn’t break into her house
Malice: I didn’t break into her house
Chaos: Turn your fucking tracker on and get back to the clubhouse. I can’t lose any more brothers
Me: We heard from Sienna’s brother. There’s info and movement.
Malice: Who’s Sienna?
Me: The fucking waitress in Autumn Bay
Malice: Fuck I knew that. Post nut clarity isn’t coming
Chaos: Jesus Christ what did you do?
Malice: Not her if that’s what you’re worried about
Sin: Get your ass back here
Malice: On my way
We wait for Malice to return from wherever the hell he is, and every minute it takes him to get here, I get more and more heated.
Chaos won’t relay the information until we’re all together, so I’m forced to sit here and wait.
I understood why Saint only wanted to talk to Chaos, the whole hierarchy of the club, but I’m angsty, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
Saint has access that we don’t, and this could be the way to Garrett for the club, and for me to get my hands on Cain.
After the things he did to Sienna, I won’t be able to rest easy until I’ve ripped him limb from fucking limb.
I don’t care what it takes, Cain will repent for what he did to her.
Malice finally pushes open the double bay doors like he doesn’t have a care in the world, based on the condition of his clothes.
I roll my eyes, slightly frustrated with the fucker, but glad he looks .
. . happy? It beats him sauntering into the clubhouse with blood on his hands . . . or all over his body.
“Put yourself together, fucker. At least button and zip up the damn pants after you’ve fucked,” I snap at him.
“I didn’t fuck. At least, I didn’t fuck her. Like I said. I fucked my hand. Have you ever come on flowers? I wonder if it’ll help them grow or if it’ll kill them.” What the fuck did he just ask me? “What?” He shrugs, his eyebrows pinching together, head cocking off to the side in genuine confusion.
“Do I even want to ask?”
“Ask what?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I drop my head backward to look up at the ceiling while I take a deep breath, so I don’t start a fight with him. Better to indulge him sometimes than to judge. “I know I’m gonna regret this. Why are you blowing your load on flowers, Mal?”
“Where else was I going to let it go? I was jerking off on the side of her house.” Holy shit, not the answer I was expecting.
“Mal, what the fuck, dude? Did she know?”
“I’m not going to kiss and tell, good sir. I am a gentleman!”
“For fuck’s sake. You’re a twisted fuck.”
“That’s rich coming from you. Everyone here has seen that beast you’re packing. Have you thought about decorating it?” Malice says as he tries to palm my junk. I bat his hand away, taking a few steps back.
“What?”
“Piercings,” he says bluntly as he starts to unbutton his jeans. “Like these.”
“Put your cock away, Malice!” Chaos yells as he storms into the room, saving me from seeing Malice’s flaccid dick. “Church!”
I slap Malice hard in the stomach. “For someone who seems to be looking at my cock anytime I have it out, you sure as shit haven’t noticed the fucking ladder going up the length of it. You aren’t the only one with dick piercings, Mal. And quit talkin’ about my dick size.”
Chaos, Sin, Malice, Noose, and I all walk into church, the heavy double doors swinging shut behind us. We take our seats, but I can’t stop the feeling coursing through me, the anxious energy and anticipation. I bounce my knee, wanting Chaos to get straight to the point.
“The waitress got the burner phone number to her brother. He contacted us tonight. So, she turned out to be trustworthy, at least so far. He’s willing to meet halfway tonight.
He doesn’t want to do phones.” I don’t miss the way Chaos calls her the waitress instead of her name.
Like she’s meaningless. Like she isn’t the sole fucking reason we have any information to go off of at all.
Malice speaks up before I have the chance. I know he’s eager to get vengeance for Rolo, so it makes sense that he’d jump at this opportunity. “I’ll go. Wrath, you up for a ride?”
Like I would pass this up. “Yeah. When is he free?”
“Right fucking now, so get on the road. Trackers on, Malice. I don’t want to tell you again.
Bring your guns and be ready for anything.
I don’t like this. But if we want to get our hands on Garrett, this is the way in.
See what he wants, stay on guard, and don’t make any decisions without talking to me first.”
Tension thrums through the vehicle as we drive an hour to meet Saint.
While I’m confident that Sienna doesn’t have us walking into a trap, I compulsively check my gun on my hip like it could suddenly disappear.
At the mile marker Saint told us to meet him at, I pull over to the side, a car flashing its lights at us.
“You ready for this?”
“We’re not dying today,” Malice responds.
We step out of the truck, walking to the front to find a man about the size of Sin standing in front of the lights, his arms stretched out wide, showing us he’s unarmed.
Malice gives me a nod, and we walk toward him, stopping a few feet shy of getting too close.
It looks like he came alone, but I can’t see anyone in the car behind him with the headlights on.
He’s wearing street clothes, which surprises me.
Dark denim jeans and a T-shirt, Converse sneakers, bracelets around his wrist.
He’s the first to speak, his voice deep but not threatening.
“Saint.”
“Malice. This is Wrath,” Malice says to introduce us.
“I come with a gift, but first, I want to plead my case.” This is what I suspected was going to happen, exactly what I was hoping for. If Sienna was right, Saint needs our help. This is how we get Cain. This is how I get Cain.
“We didn’t drive an hour to negotiate. We need the information. Garrett or whatever fucking name he’s currently going by killed one of our own. Infiltrated our clubhouse with two other men. We’re lucky he didn’t do more damage. They could have slaughtered us all.”
My head shoots to Malice, willing him to shut the fuck up.
“Yeah, I got that from what my sister told me. Figure it’s safe to assume the other two men were dealt with, so in a show of good faith, I brought him to you.
He’s in the trunk of my car. However this next part goes, you can still take him with you.
He deserves whatever slow and painful death he has coming, and I won’t stand in your way.
” There’s no way he brought that piece of shit to us.
That easy? My stomach flips. I knew their situation was dire based on what I’ve put together on my own, but this just further proves it.
“He’s here?” I ask.
“Have a look for yourself if you don’t believe me.
But then we’re talking. You owe me that much,” Saint says.
It’s not so much a demand, but I can hear the desperate bite in his tone.
He nods to follow him, and I tap my gun again, not wanting to fall for a trap because I’m distracted.
I’m not picking up any threatening vibes from this guy, but like Queenie taught us and Chaos has continued to, we don’t trust a soul.
Malice is giddy next to me, practically foaming at the mouth.
Saint opens the trunk and takes a large step back, letting us have our first glimpse of the piece of shit who killed Rolo.
He’s gagged and tied up at the wrists and ankles, passed completely out.
He’s really going to hate his life when he wakes up back in Heathen territory.
We turn to face Saint, and Malice speaks up first. “Alright, we’re listening. What do you want?”
“My club back.”
That’s exactly what I suspected.
“And how are we supposed to help you with that?” I ask, wanting him to be explicit.
“Just like that. Your club helps me take it back.”
“How many do you have backing you?” Malice’s head snaps in my direction, but I ignore him.
Chaos wants information, and I’m going to bring it back from the source.
Now that Garrett has been given to us on a silver platter, my eyes are set on Cain.
Even if I never see Sienna again, there’s something inside me that won’t allow me to walk away without taking Cain with me.
She deserves to be free. I don’t know why the fuck her brother hasn’t already done it.
I’m still a stranger to her, and I’d kill that motherfucker the moment an opportunity presented itself.
And if it didn’t, I’d make it my life’s goal to create one.
“Not enough to make a difference, but enough to count. Don’t forget this affects you, too.
The new president of my club was your guy’s brother.
He put out that hit. We’ll help you get vengeance; you help me get the club back.
I brought this dipshit to you as an olive branch.
We can work together, and all get what we want. ”
“We’ll take him back with us and relay your message to our president and club. We’ll contact you through the burner.” This is happening. With or without Chaos’ help.
“His name is Cain. And he’s a ruthless sonofabitch.
He needs to be dealt with. I—look, I’ve got personal reasons I need this done, other than the obvious.
He’s got his eyes on my sister. I can’t get close enough to kill him myself, and even if I did, he’s got his dogs that are just waiting to bite.
I’m man enough to know when to be humble and ask for help.
I don’t think you fully understand the severity of the trouble we’re in here, so here I am.
Tell your president that he can have whatever he wants; we’ll owe him, and he can cash in whenever he needs.
You all can have Cain. We just need this dismantled, and we need your help to do it. ”
Well, that cleared up a few unanswered questions I was making assumptions about.
Rage simmers right below the surface at the mention of his sister.
So, Cain doesn’t view her as a one-and-done victim, then.
Fuck. She’s not just scared of running into her abuser, she’s terrified of him taking her back and keeping her as his fucking pet.
His death is going to be slow and painful, and I’m going to enjoy every moment of watching the life leave his eyes.
I don’t owe anyone anything, and I know we could take Garrett back with us and be done with the Kingsnakes MC and move on.
But he’s right, Cain is Rolo’s brother, and he wanted him dead.
He put out that hit. Which makes this our club’s problem.
But if Chaos chooses to look the other way, I’m now in too deep.
I can’t look away from this knowing what I know.
“I get it. I’ll make it a priority. Keep the phone close,” I tell him.
“My sister has it. I can’t take the chance.
But she knows how to get word to me, so relay everything through her.
She’s grown up in this life. She’ll be discreet.
” My heart stumbles over itself, and I don’t know if it’s because I get to talk to her again, or because I’m pissed she’s going to be involved in things she shouldn’t have to be. Maybe it’s both.
“Alright, then. We’ll be in touch,” Malice says, ending the conversation.
Now to get this asshole back to the compound and make a plan for how to convince Chaos that we need to team up with some rogue Kingsnake club members to take down their club.
Or I’ll be doing it myself.