Chapter 21Cain
Chapter Twenty-One
CAIN
“I f you know what’s good for you bitch, you will stop associating with the Dirty Devils. This is your only warning before you get what’s coming to you.” I read aloud the words spray-painted on Evan’s living room wall. “What the fuck?” I turn towards a still-shaking Evan, who is standing back and off to the side.
“Start talking now,” Scotch and I growl at the same time.
She starts to open her mouth, but I cut her off, “And you better not leave anything out. I’m getting the vibe you’ve been keeping some things from me, little hellcat. And I’m not fucking happy,” I say through clenched teeth, trying my best to keep my anger in check but failing miserably. It doesn’t help that I’m still pissed as hell that she left me at DD’s, knowing damn well all the brothers rode in.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I just didn’t think you needed to know every little detail of my life,” Evan snaps, her hands going to her hips.
My lip twitches at seeing my little hellcat come back to life. Seeing her all shaking and scared makes me want to kill someone, but a second of that lip? Yeah, that makes my dick hard. Nothing seems to keep her down for long. That’s a quality I admire.
God, it’s fucking hot, but now’s not the time to be turned on.
“How bout we decide what is and isn’t important regarding what the fuck is going on?” I say, getting enjoyment out of watching her irritation grow.
“I’m going to tell you only because of the recent events that have taken place. Not because your bossy ass just busted in here making demands.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you.”
Evan shoots me a glare that if looks could kill, I’d be dead. Or have no balls. She’d probably do it in some fucked up way too. She doesn’t know how much that turns me on. It makes me want to fuck the glare right off of her face.
“I decided I didn’t want to stay at DD’s anymore.” I don’t miss the look that crosses her face, letting me know it was clearly my fault she didn’t want to stay. And damn if that doesn’t sting. “And Hash and Zeke wouldn’t let me leave because apparently you went all caveman and decided I couldn’t leave on my own even though you left me.” She pauses as she raises one eyebrow in emphasis at me. “I may have lied to them about going to the bathroom and slipped out the back,” she finishes all innocently. As if she didn’t just take ten years off of my life when I heard she was missing.
“Making me ride bitch on the back of Scotch’s bike, and let’s not even mention the fact that you completely disobeyed me,” I growl. I don’t think I’ve ever met a female that can make me want to fuck her and kill her at the same goddamn time.
“I’m sorry, disobeyed you? I know you’re older, but I didn’t realize that made you my dad.”
“If you want to call me Daddy, little hellcat, all you have to do is scream it when you come on my cock.” Her glare deepens, but the effect of it means nothing when I can see the heat flaring in her eyes.
Does my little hellcat have a Daddy kink?
“God, will you two fucking stop? You’re going to make me throw the fuck up before I even find out what’s happening,” Scotch says, looking like he’s about to be sick. I’m not gonna lie; I forgot he was here.
That’s how intoxicating she is. And as much as I hate it, there seems to be jack shit I can do about it. “My bad, brother.”
“We’re having that conversation later.” I nod, knowing it was coming eventually. I decided in my office tonight that I need to sit him down and let him know I plan to see where things go and let them play out.
“Are you two done seeing whose dick is bigger?” Evan cocks an eyebrow at us. “I’d like to continue.”
I motion with my hands like she needs some grand fucking gesture to get to the goddamn point.
“As I was saying, I slipped out the back to leave so no one would see me. When I got home, I noticed that my front door was slightly open, and I know we didn’t leave it like that when we left. I barely use the front door. So, I grabbed the switchblade from my glove box and went to check it out.”
I hold up my hand, stopping her from continuing. “So you see that someone obviously broke into your fucking house, and your first thought is, ‘Hey, let me go investigate by myself’ and not call someone for help? Jesus fucking christ. What if the fucker was still in here?!”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a fucking idiot, Cain! I was worried about Hades! Zeke knows I can —”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Scotch interrupts. “Don’t fucking bring me into this. Sorry, Ev, but I’m on Cain’s side. You should have called me as soon as you saw the door was open. A 250-pound man isn’t going to be taken down by a little switchblade. You, of all people, should know that. You could have been seriously fucking hurt,” Scotch says, sounding almost as pissed off as I am.
I’m not going to lie. It makes me feel fucking jealous about how close these two are. I hate feeling jealous. Something serious has gone down with them. I’m not stupid. I’m very aware that all of my brothers have a past. I’m just wondering how much Evan’s and Scotch’s intertwine.
“I know. And I’m sorry, okay?” She sounds so defeated. “My only thought was making sure Hades was okay.”
“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Scotch gives in.
Evan nods before continuing, “So I came inside, noticed whoever broke in brought dirt inside. Like, I get it’s a construction zone, but do you have to be so rude on top of being an asshole by breaking in?”
Is she for real right now? Some fucker just vandalized her house, and she’s worried about a little bit of dirt? “Evan!” I bite out. “Can we get to the point?”
“Right. Sorry. Where was I…” She trails off, lost in thought. I get it. Shit like this is fucking overwhelming. But my control is about to snap if she doesn’t tell me what happened. ”Oh, yeah! So, I tried to be as quiet as possible because I didn’t know if they were still inside. I cleared the whole house but didn’t find Hades, and honestly, I kind of forgot about him once I got inside. I was too worried about someone popping out of the shadows, you know?”
Scotch and I both nodded because we did. If you weren’t used to the shadows, they would swallow you whole.
“So anyway, it wasn’t until I came back down from checking upstairs that I heard him whining. It was coming from the bathroom down here. So, obviously, I let him out. He was totally fine, though. It was then that I turned the kitchen light on and saw what was on the drywall in the living room. I tried checking the cameras that Brock had installed, but it said that they were offline, so I had no luck with that. Then you two showed up. That’s all I’ve got.”
“Thanks for finally spitting that out. Appreciate it,” I say, trying to lighten the mood a little because if I’m being honest, I’m fucking pissed.
Someone had the audacity to break into her house. No one fucks with us, and I’m sick of motherfuckers thinking they can.
I shoot Scotch a look, and he nods in agreement.
All of this shit, two of our prospects getting killed, a jacked shipment, someone casing Evan’s barn, and now a break-in to try to warn her off?
Yeah, it’s all fucking connected. And none of this is sitting right with me.
“Wait a minute,” Scotch breaks the silence while looking right at Evan. “Hades is trained.”
“Yeah…” Evan confirms while shooting him a look that says he’s stupid for stating the obvious.
“He’s trained, Ev. So why the fuck is there no blood or anything? You telling me a dog that’s trained to protect just let a random person break in and lock him in the bathroom?”
Holy shit. He’s right.
“Holy shit,” Evan whispered like she couldn’t believe it. “That fucking motherfucker!”
Before I can even ask what she’s thinking, she storms off, grabs her car keys off the counter, and heads toward the back door.
“Whoa, hellcat.” I grab her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I think there’s more that you aren’t telling us. Now would be a good time to go over that with us and not take off like a bat out of hell after god knows what.” Evan’s eyes lower into slits.
“I’m really trying to have patience here, Ev, but it’s wearing thin. It’s been a long fucking week, and I just need you to be honest with us so we can keep you safe. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you after I asked you to help the club.” Who knew Scotch could be such a voice of fucking reason.
I’ve watched that motherfucker cut off a dude’s hand and shove it down his throat without even blinking. It works, though. I can tell he got through to her because the arm I’m holding loses some of its tension. And damn if that doesn’t make me jealous.
I want that power over her. To make her feel safe and at ease. To make her calm down in a situation like this. But why? I’m not that fucking guy. The guy that does feelings or deep shit.
“Fine,” she sighs before turning back to face us, making me release her arm. “I may have suspicions about who was scoping out the barn. I did?—”
“What?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Scotch and I both yell at the same time.
“I didn’t have any concrete evidence! I’m not in the business of accusing innocent people! I still don’t really have any!” Evan yells back, throwing her hands up in the air.
And there goes my dick again. Damn that sass. It’s going to be the death of me.
“How bout we decide that, babe?” I fire back, battling between being horny as fuck and wanting to strangle her for withholding shit. “Now, tell us everything you know or think you may know or are suspicious of. Every little thing that made you question your gut.”
“Alright,” she sniped. “So before I came to you guys about the guy on the bike, I went to talk to Storm.”
Who the fuck is Storm?
Judging by the growl coming from Scotch, this can’t be good. “What did I tell you about meeting that piece of shit by yourself?”
“Who in the fuck is Storm?” I ask before Evan can respond.
“He’s basically her middleman. Will sell to whoever needs it or sometimes dispensaries that are running short on what they’ve got. They feature Evan’s stuff a lot, too,” Scotch answers for her, looking no less pissed.
My eyebrows shoot up because now I’m impressed. Who knew this little hellcat was balling out like that. Explains this big ass house and nice ass car. Even if the house is a construction zone that I’m pretty sure she shouldn’t be living in.
“I don’t get a good feeling about this guy, Prez. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve never been able to read him. I try to make sure I’m available for when she meets him in case he tries some sleazy shit.”
So that’s where he goes when he disappears for half a day randomly with the excuse of ‘I have shit to do.’ It’s all starting to click now. But if Scotch doesn’t trust the guy, then I sure as fuck don’t either.
“Why did you go to Storm before us?” I ask, getting the elephant out of the room.
“Because the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. I don’t talk to people. I don’t have friends. So for someone to know what’s out here? There are only two people who could have told that to someone. Zeke or Storm.”
Fuck. I hate that she’s right.
“I thought you said that Storm didn’t come out here? Thought you and Scotch would meet up with him at a mutual location?”
“Yeah, but he knows where I live. There were a couple of times Zeke wasn’t around to go with me, so he came here to pick up. I figured if something was going to happen, I wanted it to be in a place I know like the back of my hand, and Hades would be here.”
“Don’t,” I say to Scotch as he palms his face. I can see the guilt already setting in. Like he thinks this is all his fault. “This isn’t on you, man.”
“He’s never been inside anything. When he came, I had everything ready to go outside the barn. So he doesn’t literally know exactly what I have goin’ on in there, but it doesn’t take a fucking genius to put two and two together.”
Fuck. She’s right again.
“It’s possible, but it doesn’t explain breaking into your house and spray painting a warning on your wall like a little fucking bitch.” I’m starting to get really fucking pissed again.
In my world, if you want to give someone a warning, you do it face to face like a fuckin’ man. Break a few fingers, fuck his bitch, whatever. What you don’t do, is break in and leave a note like you’re fucking pen pals.
“Right. So, this is the part where I felt like something was a little off. I decided I wanted to feel him out, thinking that in the process, I would be able to eliminate him from my very long list of possible suspects.” She snorts.
“This isn’t fucking funny, Evangeline,” Scotch growls.
“Oh, come on! I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Anyway, he texts me and tells me to meet at his pla?—.”
“Please tell me you fucking didn’t,” I growl, looking at her like she’s grown an extra head. Has she lost her goddamn mind?
“I did.” And there goes my last little bit of control
“Have you lost your fucking mind?!” I explode. Scotch is on his feet, stepping between us.
“Get a lock on it, Prez.”
I would never lay hands on a woman but holy shit. I can only deal with so much right now. If she even thought this Storm guy had anything slightly to do with it, why would she think it’s a good fuckin’ idea to go over to his place?
I’m trying to calm down.
I really am.
But all I can think about is everything that could have happened to her while she was there. Beat the fuck up. Raped. Murdered.
I’ve never felt rage and possession like this over a woman.
“Stop talking to me like I’m a fucking idiot, Cain! Do you want to hear what I have to say or not? Because I don’t owe you anything,” she hisses, doing that little head bob women do when they’re extra pissed and throwing sass.
“You don’t owe me?” I say as I push Scotch’s hand off me, stalking toward her until I’m inches from her face. “Was it not my fingers you just came on hours ago in the shower? Was it not your pussy I shaved while you clenched my fingers? Was it not my dick you were fucking grabbing like you’d die if you didn’t feel it pounding in you?”
Yeah.
I went there.
And judging by the “Jesus fucking Christ” I heard from behind me and the look I was currently getting from Evan, two people are not happy about it.
“Did you really just go there?” she yells, her voice going up an octave.
“Yeah, hellcat. I did.”
“Just because you gave me a quick, mediocre orgasm doesn’t mean I owe you shit. This isn’t a Desperate Housewives episode. You don’t see me begging for it. Any fucking guy down at DD’s can give me the same, if not better.”
“You’re signing a death wish to whatever motherfucker you try that with in my bar, babe. I’ll cut his fucking hand off if he touches what’s mine,” I growl, trying my best not to lose my shit, but she has me seeing red. The thought of another man touching her gives me a murderous rage that I haven’t felt in a long time.
“What’s yours?” She rears back. “I’m not yours. I’ve never been yours, and I will never be yo?—”
I can’t listen to her spew bullshit anymore.
I grip both sides of her face with my hands and roughly kiss her. She gasps in shock, giving me the opening I need to dominate her mouth with my tongue. It only takes a few seconds for her to get over the shock before she kisses me back just as roughly. Her tongue battles mine and swirls before I bite and pull on her bottom lip.
“I can’t decide if I want to beat the shit out of you for messing around with the closest thing I have to a sister or throw up at this PDA,” Scotch rumbles from behind us, making me pull away slightly.
Still holding her face in my hands, I place a light kiss on her lips. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”
Heat still flaring in her gorgeous mismatched eyes, she quickly agrees, “Okay.”
“If I promise not to lose it again, can you finish telling us what you have to say?”
She takes a minute to look between Scotch and me before she nods. “As I was saying, I said I would meet him at his place. As soon as I knocked on Storm’s door, he sounded super paranoid and freaked out. Like he didn’t know who was on the other side even though we had just made plans to meet, you know?”
“You think he was on something?” Scotch asks what we are both assuming.
“I didn’t until he opened the door, and then yeah, I’d say he was definitely on something. His eyes were bloodshot, and he smelled so bad of stale alcohol. Like to the point where I thought I was going to throw up.”
I wince because I’ve smelled that smell many of fucking times, and I swear it stays in your nostrils for days.
“What was really weird, though, was that he wouldn’t make eye contact. And the whole time I was standing in the doorway before he invited me in, he was scanning his yard behind me—almost like he was looking for something or someone.”
“Did you see anyone?” No one is that paranoid unless they think they’re being watched.
“No, that was the thing. I didn’t see anyone, but I also couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. You know what I mean? Like that weird tingly feeling you get at the base of your spine.” Scotch and I both nod because we did.
“I couldn’t really figure out if he was making me feel that way with how paranoid and jittery he was acting or if someone was actually watching me in the bushes like a creep or something.” She wraps her arms around herself while reliving the memory as if it still made her uncomfortable.
And no one makes my girl fucking uncomfortable. “Well, I think it’s time we have a chat with our new buddy Storm,” I say as I crack my knuckles while turning to face Scotch. “Text Hash and tell him church first thing in the morning. Have him let the brothers know.”
“I’m staying here tonight.”