Chapter Nine #2
“You were following orders. You hear that, brothers? He was following orders!” Malice yells, throwing his arms out to the sides.
“You killed my brother. Did he know it was coming? Did you tell him why? That his own fucking flesh and blood put out the hit?” Malice’s voice drops several octaves, his head jerking to the side twice.
Garrett’s eyes narrow in a challenge. “He knew. His last words were begging me not to kill him. He begged like the pathetic dog he is.” Then he spits, the spittle spraying across Malice’s face.
I stand with Chaos and Sin and watch the change in real time.
His shoulders roll backward, his head cocking jerkily to the side, his hands clenching and unclenching into tight fists.
I take back what I said. Malice is still with us; his woman brought his human side to the surface, and we just watched him retreat.
Malice picks up a knife and stares at his reflection in the steel, then he does what Malice does best. Drags out a painful, slow death in the most brutal way possible.
Smoke curls around my head as I exhale, sitting back in the Adirondack chair and looking up at the sky. The fucking sun is blazing again, and if summer doesn’t end soon, I may lose my shit completely.
“Hey, Wrath. Chaos said we’re working together today,” a familiar voice says from behind me, his footfalls crunching over the crushed gravel, leading him closer.
“Hey, Otto. What’s up, man?”
Otto shrugs. He’s got a head of golden-blond hair, shaggy and wild.
He’s wearing a pair of loose denim jeans and a Hell’s Asylum T-shirt.
I half expected Chaos to give him his prospect patch without a vote, so I’m only slightly surprised to see he’s not wearing one.
Glad to see I’ve dodged that rough conversation.
We’ve got bylaws for a reason, and as the club secretary, I’ve gotta make sure they’re enforced.
Even if that means going head-to-head with our president once in a while.
“Did he tell you what we’re workin’ on?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
Now that Garrett’s been taken care of, there’s one remaining thing left that Chaos needs to decide how we’re handling.
I already have a shit ton of info to give Chaos to help make the decision, but he doesn’t know that.
Having Otto work with me to dig it all up is going to be an issue, though.
I don’t want him to find out what I already know about Sienna.
“He wants everything we can find out about the Kingsnakes MC and Rolo’s brother. Is the guy who killed him dead? Some other guys said he’s dead.”
“Yeah, buddy, he’s dead. Malice skinned him alive.”
“No shit, for real?”
“Reel in your excitement, kid. It was gruesome, even for me.”
“Nah. That takes talent. Mad respect for Malice.”
“Mad respect?”
“Yeah, gotta problem with that?”
“Tone it down a notch, got it? What’s got you giving me attitude today?” Otto shifts on his feet, looking around. “There isn’t anyone out here but us. What’s the issue?”
“I heard you guys don’t want me to be in the club.”
“I don’t know who told you that, but you’re not entirely wrong. This club is for life. You want out some day, twenty years from now? You get a bullet between the eyes. You’re not leaving. Ever. There’s more to life than this club. We’re a pack of wild misfits, outcasts, degenerates.”
“And what do you think I am, huh? I’ve got no one besides my grandma. And she’s gonna die soon.”
“Don’t say that about Mrs. Odette. She’s gonna live forever.”
“Be so for real right now, Wrath. She’s not. And then what do I have? Fuckin’ no one.”
“Why do you wanna join?”
“So I don’t have to be alone. So I can still have a fuckin’ family, okay?”
“Alright then.”
“Alright? What do you mean, alright?”
“Just what I said. I can work with that. That’s a reason to join. I’ll give you my vote under one condition. And if you agree, I want your word. A man is nothing without his word, so you better make sure you can be true to it.”
“Alright. What is it?”
“You’re gonna go to college or trade school while you’re a prospect.”
“Why?”
“’Cause our old president, Queenie, made me, and it made me a better person to learn some new skills. You’re way too fuckin’ smart to not use your brain. So, it’s that or no vote.”
“I can go to school for whatever I want?”
“Yep. As long as you’re doin’ something. I don’t give a shit what it is.”
“Alright. I agree.” Otto sticks out his hand to shake mine, and I clasp it, nodding.
“Alright then, kid. Let’s get to work and get Chaos the info he needs on this bastard.”
We head inside, the majority of club members filling in the common area. Cora meets my eyes the moment I walk into the room, but I ignore her. I haven’t fucked any of them since being with Becca in the kitchen, and lucky for me, I’ve been a little busy, so I’ve had an excuse.
Otto and I spend the next several hours digging up information on the Kingsnakes MC and repulling the details on Cain.
The burner phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and anxiety fills me with instant dread.
I frantically pull it out, seeing “Unknown Caller” and answering, worried that it could be Sienna and that something’s wrong.
I step away from the bar where Otto and I are working, and onto the front deck, the double doors propped open wide.
“Yeah?”
“Wrath? It’s Saint.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Need a favor. A big one.”
“I can run it by my president. What is it?”
“I told you before that Cain has his eyes set on my sister, Sienna. That wasn’t the whole truth. There’s a history there, man, and it’s not a good one. He wants her, and he’s on a rabid hunt to find her. I need to get her completely out of Autumn Bay. I can’t keep her safe here anymore.”
Nausea hits me so fucking fast it knocks the wind out of my lungs.
“What are you asking?”
“For Hell’s Heathens to take her under their protection.”
“Done. When?”
“Don’t you need to run it by your club?”
“Not for this, I don’t. When?”
“Tonight. I’ll send you the time. Same place.”
“I’ll be ready.”
I end the phone call and stand there stunned for a moment, my hands shaking, my heart pounding out of my fucking chest. I’m gonna kill this motherfucker. I’m gonna free that sweet girl from this fucking nightmare she’s been living. And it won’t be the last thing I do. It needs to be fucking soon.
“Church!” Chaos yells, his voice echoing through the clubhouse common area.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I anticipate telling Chaos that I’m going to pick up Sienna tonight.
He’s going to lose his fucking mind, but that’s a battle I’ll fight to the death.
I’d go right fucking now if Saint had her ready.
There’s no way in hell I’d be wasting this time to get her to safety.
We all settle in our seats, Rogue taking his next to me.
I glance at Rolo’s empty chair and then quickly look away.
I thought I would feel as if justice was served after Garrett’s death, but it never came.
All I can focus on is getting Sienna to safety and getting to Cain.
I want that son of a bitch more than anything.
Men like him shouldn’t walk the earth, and I’m going to make sure I’m the one to erase him from it.
“Wrath and Otto pulled info on Rolo’s blood brother.
Cain, whose legal name is Joshua Davis, just got out of the slammer after doing time for grand theft, rape, assault with a deadly weapon, and a slew of other shit last year.
Seems he really hit the ground running when he got out, didn’t take him long to take over a club. ”
“It’s not sitting right with me that this club was respected, that they were like us, keeping the peace, living their lives, and then this piece of shit comes along and takes it, destroys it.
Garrett may have pulled that trigger, but Cain is the one who sent the order.
I want him,” Malice says with a bit of bite.
So, he must be feeling the same way I am.
Garrett’s death just took the edge off. I nod in agreement, using this time to make my announcement. Because this isn’t a fucking request.