Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Hella
“Ihate you right now.”
Her words should hurt more than they do, but I know she’s in pain.
She’s angry and feels like we’re not moving fast enough, being stressed enough, and fuck, yeah, okay, so maybe if it was Melissa in Millie’s position I would fight harder, but after what Beast just laid out for us, I need to make Melissa see reason in a world that isn’t coloured in black and white.
It’s painted in colours that don’t fucking exist. With uncertainty and violence that force you to make decisions that you otherwise probably wouldn’t.
See reason in scenarios that come straight out of a fucking slasher film.
My chest tightens. “Yeah, fuck, I know.” I nudge my head over my shoulder, dismissing her army of terrifying women.
They all move sluggishly past me, Phoebe giving me a pointed death glare.
For someone raised in the arms of this MC, with her old man being a founding member along with Beast’s, she sure knows how to throw a fucking tantrum.
As soon as the door closes, I breathe out a sigh and move closer to where she sits, curled on the single bed that’s seen more ass than my bike.
“You can hate me, baby. That’s fine, but I need you to hear me out.”
Her eyes snap to mine as she crawls further up the bed and away from me. “You're all asking me to give up on her.”
My jaw locks. Annoyance grazes my thoughts because what if it was as simple as that? How is that too much to ask. “If this was about that, Melissa, I wouldn’t be asking you to give up on your sister. I’d be asking you to fucking live for your daughter.”
She flinches, making me feel instantly like shit. Great. I need to chill the fuck out before this turns into a fight and I end up fucking my reasoning into her instead of talking.
“Speak, and don’t leave out any details.”
Shit. Suddenly, words fail me, and I reach into my pocket and pluck out a cigarette. It’s I smoke this, or I rip her clothes off, but something’s gotta calm my shit down first.
Smoke fills my lungs, and I feel the tension slowly uncurl through my muscles.
“When I was at Vanguard—” I start. Stop. “There were rumours. About Triple Zero. About what happened to people who crossed him.”
“And?”
“And every story ended the same way.” I pause. “With bodies that couldn't be identified. With families that disappeared. With entire operations wiped off the map overnight.”
“Are you trying to scare me?”
“No.” I reach for her hand. She doesn't pull away. “I'm trying to make you understand that this isn't like other enemies. This isn't something we can fight head-on and win, but I need you to understand this before I move on.”
She nods, and I continue. I tell her everything that Beast did, including Beast’s thoughts on it all. I watch as emotions cross her face in waves.
We sit there for a long time, the silence stretching out, heavy and suffocating. Neither of us speaking.
Finally, she pulls back, her movements slow, deliberate. She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing the evidence of her breakdown, though the rawness still lingers in the hollows of her face.
“The fact that they kept her alive,” she says slowly, her voice rough, like she’s dragging the words up from somewhere deep and broken. “You really think that means something?”
“Yeah, we do, and we think that something is Vanguard. She’s being delivered to them.” I stand, the ache in my knees reminding me how long we’ve been out here.
“That’s bad, though! Jada told me what happens there!” Melissa’s eyes widen, as if remembering all the details.
“Hey!” My fingers curl around her chin. “Part of this life, is sometimes, we have to let shit play out. It’s how we survive. We choose our battles, and this one, isn’t one we can take on overnight. Millie’s smart, right?”
Melissa’s eyes land on mine, glassy, soft. She nods. “Yes, but she’s not tough.”
I smile, but it’s heavy. “Babe, Vanguard don’t need you to be strong.
They train that. They’re more interested in this—” I tap at her head, and her hand flies to mine.
I think she’s about to shove me away, but she brings it to her lips and kisses my knuckles.
My entire fucking chest caves in. The power this one woman has over me is fucking criminal.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her voice rough. “I don’t really hate you.”
My mouth twitches. “Sure you do, that’s the fun of it.”
Tugging her up to her feet, my other arm locks around her waist as I pull her into my chest. “I know this is gonna be hard for you. I know you want to know all the answers and I appreciate you not busting our balls about it. Shows your knowledge about this world is a lot better than I gave you credit for, but baby?” I brush the loose strands of her hair behind her ear.
“If you even think about going rogue or putting yourself in danger?” I flash my teeth in what’s meant to be a smile, but I’m sure it looks more feral.
My fingers move over her throat gently. “I’ll slap a collar on this pretty little throat so fast you won’t even realize it’s collared to my cut until you try to run.”
Her eyes widen. “You guys do that?”
I shrug, tucking her under my arm and kissing her head. “I mean, there are legends…”
“No more fucking legends!” she melts into my side and we make our way back downstairs. Did I know what was going to happen going forward? No. Was I sure that Millie would make it out of whatever is happening to her?
Yeah, fuck yeah I did.