Chapter 15 Creature
I tackled Blair on the mattress, pinning her arms above her head as I circled her wrists. She was so warm and ready for me. Her core pressed upward as she arched her back.
With a roll of my hips, I pressed my cock between her thighs. Fuck. She always turned me on.
“Balen?”
“Yeah, baby?”
She bit her lip, drawing my gaze to her delectable mouth. “I met Drake.”
I figured. When I lost control, I knew he’d taken over. I didn’t doubt that he would protect our woman. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“He’s different, but I liked him.”
That did surprise me. “Really?”
“Yes.” She giggled. “He has a wicked sense of humor.”
“Doesn’t he scare you?” I asked, sitting back as I pulled her toward me, sliding her onto my lap. Her hands traced my shoulders and wrapped around the back of my neck.
“No. Drake has a quirky personality. A bit dark, perhaps. He was quite protective of me.”
Ah. I figured out what intrigued her. Lucifer had mentioned something when I signed his contract about the gifts from the spiritual entity that would join me and Drake. “He used the shadows to keep you safe.”
The shadows. They still hovered around the corners of the room, observing, waiting for my instructions. I could feel their desire and excitement. Sometimes they pulsed and broke free, tickling my skin with light caresses. It was. . .odd, but also strangely comforting.
Her blue eyes brightened. “Yes. Fascinating. Can you use them, too?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s mostly Drake.” I decided to surprise her later when I let the shadows hold onto her wrists and ankles, spreading her wide as I fucked her.
A shiver ghosted my spine as dark, sultry laughter filled my head.
Yes. She will enjoy all of us.
“That’s fine.” She licked her lips. “Do you think we could get him to come out and play in the bedroom?”
Oh, without a doubt. That was the plan. “I think he could be persuaded.”
She laughed as I hugged her against me. “Good.”
My smile tightened. “Are you okay? With what happened to Bells?”
I worried the mental toll and betrayal would be too much.
A flicker of sorrow crossed her face. “She made those choices, and they had consequences. She’ll have to face a judge for it.”
“And Roderick, too.”
Mateo didn’t survive his untimely fall. I wasn’t upset about it.
That left Angel Mackenzie and Luis Diego. They would answer for their crimes. The shadows would bring reckoning.
“I talked to Phyllis,” Blair continued. “She said her brother needed to learn his lesson, and prison time should help Roderick gain perspective.”
Damn. She was hardcore.
“You know she’s staying on with your dad, right?”
I smirked. “Yeah. I think they’re good for each other.”
“Me too.”
“I need to talk to my dad. There’s something that hasn’t been sitting right with me about my mother’s murder. Details that don’t add up.”
She opened her mouth to respond when the door to our room was flung open.
Skel rushed inside, his features pinched with what appeared to be a mix of pain and rage. “Creature. Fuck.”
“What is it?” I braced for whatever bad news he had to share, wanting one fucking day without having to shield my woman or my club from a threat. “And where the fuck have you been? I blew up your fucking phone.”
“That’s what I’m sayin’, brother. I did a deep dive on the web and found information about a hit ordered by the Bladed Serpents. Issued when your father was V.P.”
What. The. Fuck.
“Are you telling me his own club called the hit on our family?”
Skel tensed. “Yeah, brother. I’m fucking sorry. Looks like someone tried to cover it up, too, but they weren’t good at it.”
“Who?” I roared, grasping Blair’s hips and setting her on the mattress.
“We need to look into it, but Ratchet is the president of the Bladed Serpents now.”
Ratchet? “He used to be the Treasurer when Tinman was the V.P.”
“Yep. If he didn’t order the hit, he has to know something about it. I’ve found some shady shit with the club’s books. There’s a connection that’s mentioned multiple times. Luis Diego.”
Fuck. “We need to take this to Maddog as soon as he returns.”
“Agreed.”
Ratchet. Luis Diego. And fucking Angel Mackenzie, the nephew of cartel boss Salazar Guerrero. They were all connected.
After all this time, I was finally gonna find the motherfucker who ordered my mother’s murder. There would be no mercy once I did.
“YOU SURE ABOUT THIS ?” I asked, staring at the photo Skel brought up on his laptop.
“It doesn’t look like him.” I’d remember.
At thirteen, I killed the man who murdered my mother, but there had been another with him.
A guy with a reddish-blond beard and spiders tattooed on his shoulders.
He laughed when that cocksucker shot my mother but left before I could kill him too.
Why think of him after all this time? I wasn’t sure.
Maybe Lucifer’s gift gave me clarity, allowing the final pieces of that day to enter my mind. I remembered every agonizing minute of that deadly encounter. And the one who allowed my mom to die without stopping her murderer deserved the same fate.
“Yeah, I’m fucking sure.” Skel pointed at the older biker in the image. “You said he has spiders tatted on his shoulders. It’s the same guy.”
“He got fat,” I deadpanned.
Skel shrugged. “So?”
“I need him to go to ground.”
“We clear that with Maddog first.” He lightly slapped my back. “Don’t think it’ll be an issue. He knows what that day cost you and Tinman.”
“What’s this fucker’s name?” I never did learn it. Didn’t matter, though. Once the memory surfaced, I knew I’d find him. If Skel didn’t stumble onto it, Drake would have helped me.
“Jim Buffer.”
Jim is going to die a painful death.
I agreed with Drake.
“I want to take this to Maddog now.”
Skel nodded. “I thought you’d say that. He’s in the chapel. I’ll meet you there.”
Blair was on a separate floor, helping Lark and Bianca with cleaning, but on strict instructions from me not to overdo it.
I popped my head into one of the bedrooms that would belong to patched members once it was updated. Blair was sitting on the floor, rubbing an oiled rag over the wood. It matched the desk in the corner, close to the window. “Hey, baby.”
She lifted her head. “Hi.”
“Got something to take care of. I might be gone all night.”
Concern flitted across her brow and then disappeared. “Drake, make sure he’s unharmed.”
An answering growl rumbled through my chest. He fucking loved it when she spoke directly to him. “He’s telling you he’s got it under control.”
“I don’t doubt it.” A smile followed her words.
“Fucking love you, Firecracker.”
“Love you, Balen.”
“Yeah?” I asked, fucking giddy to hear it.
“Oh, yes. I’m pretty fond of that protector inside you, too.”
The feeling was mutual.
“Need a kiss before I go,” I announced.
Blair rose to her feet and padded my way in her socks, sliding her arms over my shoulders as I picked her up and pulled her against my chest. Warm, soft lips brushed mine with a sweetness I’d never get enough of as long as I lived. “Take care of business, Creature. I need to come when you return.”
A wicked grin widened my lips. “Count on it.” I kissed her thoroughly, sliding my tongue into her mouth, and nearly paused for a quickie, but Maddog and Skel waited downstairs. “Gotta go.”
“Okay.”
I set her down and slapped her juicy ass, watching her walk away with a swish of her hips.
Maddog ticked his chin toward me as I entered the chapel and sat.
Manic arrived at the same time as I did.
Good. The whole club needed to know what was happening, but I only wanted Maddog with me this time.
He’d been there the day my mother died, and it felt right for him to join me as I served justice in her name.
“Skel says he found the guy you remembered. The one who was with that cocksucker who shot your mom.”
“That’s right.” I sat at the table but bounced my knees. This was a necessity, but I couldn’t help thinking I wasted enough time. Now, I just wanted Jim six feet under.
“Skel showed me his image. He’s still in the Bladed Serpents.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“So we kill two birds with one fucking stone,” Maddog declared. “We take out this motherfucker and let Ratchet know we’re coming.”
“About fucking time.” Manic eyed our pres. “You goin’ with him?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Thought so. We both needed to see this through, and if we found Ratchet in the process, then we’d end him for his betrayal and the war he started with my family.
“Your shadows wanna play, huh?” Skel asked, grinning at my expression.
Whatever my thoughts revealed, I hoped it showed my determination. “Fuck yeah.”
“Then let’s stop wasting time,” Maddog announced. “Time for some fucking vindication.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
“Address I found is pinged to your cell, Pres.”
His phone chirped. “Got it.”
I pushed off the table and locked eyes with Skel and Manic. “No one touches my woman. She’s been hurt enough.”
“With my life,” Manic promised.
That was enough for me.