Chapter 21 Lash
LASH
Dakota unlocks her front door, while me and Stiff keep an eye out.
Jackal’s back at the club keeping an eye on Logan since he isn’t comfortable with anyone else yet.
Her door looks like someone tried to pry it open with a crowbar and it pisses me off to see the proof that someone came for her.
An older woman opens the door on the landing before hers, giving us dirty looks.
“Hi, Mrs. Vasquez.” Dakota waves at her.
She holds the glare a little longer before her eyes dart to Dakota and her mouth opens like she wants to say something, but instead slams the door shut. The heavy click of the bolt being thrown sounds a moment later, leaving us looking after her.
“What the fuck did she think we were up to?” Stiff sounds insulted. “We’re just standing here.”
“In her defense, someone tried to break into my apartment last night, the police came, and I just showed up again with a couple of gang members. I give it an hour before I’m the talk of the community chat.” Dakota laughs, but it sounds tired. “I don’t really blame her I guess.”
“It’s a motorcycle club, not a gang,” Stiff rolls his eyes. “She’s not gonna call the police or anything, is she?”
Dakota shrugs. “Probably not. People here tend to mind their own business, for better or worse. It’s a tossup if she’d be more annoyed about you guys hanging around, or the cops being here twice in a week.
Either way, it’s more attention than anyone wants.
” She pushes her door open, revealing an apartment in total chaos.
“I thought you said they interrupted the break-in.”
“They did!” Dakota stares at the disaster in total shock.
I push her behind me immediately in case there’s someone still in there. “Keep back, just in case. We’ll check it out.” I slip my iron out of my belt before moving in. Stiff does the same behind me.
The whole fucking place is trashed. Books pulled out, cushions ripped off the couch, everything in the kitchen on the floor, all the cabinet doors open with broken plates and cups everywhere.
The fridge is open, the temperature alarm beeping weakly, like it’s been going for a while and now it’s just going through the motions, since no one’s listening to it anyway.
Fuck, even the TV’s busted. This wasn’t a robbery, it’s straight up vandalism.
Both of the bedroom doors are closed. I don’t hear anything behind them, but if we do catch someone in the act, that’s where they’re likely to be.
Stiff and I nod at each other, then nudge our respective doors open at the same time.
We take cover behind the frames, just in case there’s someone in there who’s trigger happy.
Nothing.
Her bedroom’s been turned over, but it’s not as much of a disaster as the kitchen and living room. Drawers are pulled out, her closet’s a wreck and the mattress is pulled half off the box spring. “Clear! Not pretty, you?”
“Same, but this is Logan’s room, so honestly not sure this is just how a four-year-old’s room looks or not.”
My chuckle is dark and dry. I shove the mattress back into place to get a look at the nightstand. Oh, we’re definitely bringing that with us home. I’m surprised the intruder didn’t do something with Dakota’s vibrator, but I have no problem pocketing it for later.
We give the bathroom a quick check before declaring the place safe, then wave in Dakota. “Whoever it was is long gone.”
The expression of shock and anger on her face makes me wanna rip someone’s head off. She wanders through the apartment, looking at the carnage. “Why would anyone do this?”
“Searching for something?” Stiff closes the front door before he starts picking up shit.
“It could’ve been whoever the cops ran off. If they came back and saw you were gone. Is anything missing?”
“I don’t even know where to start,” she says in a hopeless voice.
“If they stole anything, I bet it’s just to cover their tracks.” I look around the room. “This is either someone who was seriously pissed off, or wanting to scare you. It’s too much random destruction. Why bother smashing plates or leaving the fridge open?”
“The cop that keeps showing up? Officer Dillard? He said he thought it must be connected to some sort of criminal network. He implied that it was you, but that’s obviously not right.”
“No shit.”
“Could it be the people Georgia worked for? You said her landlord was involved in something.”
“Eh,” Stiff doesn’t look convinced and neither am I. “It’s not that I don’t think he could do it, but he’d have to have a damn good reason. Sergei is generally a pretty lazy crime boss if you even want to call him that. He’s happy with what he’s got and doesn’t like rocking the boat.”
Dakota spins in place, gesturing to the destruction.
“This is where I live and they’ve stomped all over it.
I knew we might have to move, but Logan’s grown up here!
It’s his home and I don’t want to feel like we’re getting run out of it.
” She grabs a cushion and slams it back into place on the couch.
“Invaded my space. Broken my things. Gone through our freaking bedrooms!” Another cushion.
“And I don’t even know why! What did I do? ”
“Baby, nothing.” I wanna pull her in for a hug, but maybe it’s better for her to vent a little first. Besides, she’s pretty fucking hot when she’s furious.
“This isn’t your fault. It’s not even Georgia’s fault, even if she might’ve been the one to get into trouble first. It’s the fuckers who did this, and trust me, we’re gonna find them and make sure they know not to fuck with us or ours ever again. ”
Stiff nods. “They’re never gonna get close to you or Logan. And if they try, they’re gonna fucking regret it. If they live long enough.”
I nod at him, knowing my smile is a little unhinged and vicious.
Ever since Dakota showed up, I feel like we’ve been watching him wake up after several years of living for nothing but the Sons.
He knows exactly how fucking fragile tomorrow can be.
If he ever made empty threats, those stopped the day he saved my life.
“Fuck ‘em,” she growls. Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve heard her swear properly.
It’s hot. “I want to tear them to shreds. They make me feel violated.” She throws the last of the cushions back on the couch after wincing at a long gash in the side, where the stuffing is coming out.
“And I want them to pay for all the stuff they ruined! I can’t afford to replace all this. ”
“Baby, come here.” I approach her like I’m approaching a cornered animal. “We’re gonna fix this.”
“How? They’ve trashed my life!” She tips her head back and lets out a strangled scream. “I want to shoot something. Can I shoot something?” Her eyes are a little too bright.
I hold up my hands. “Shh, relax, baby. If you want to shoot something, we’ll go back to the club and you can let it all out on the shooting range. Doing it here isn’t a good idea unless you want little Mrs. Vasquez to lose her ever loving marbles.”
“We’re gonna figure out who’s targeting you,” Stiff says quietly, as deadly as I’ve ever fucking heard him, letting the savage out. “And if you wanna be the one to pull the trigger, we can arrange that.”
Dakota pauses, like she only just realized that when we say we’re gonna fucking kill someone, it’s not a damn expression. She seems to deflate a little, some of the fire dying down to a low simmer. “I don’t literally want to shoot someone.”
I open my arms and pull her into a hug. “But if you did, we wouldn’t hold it against you.
” She sighs, relaxing into my arms. I slide my fingers into her hair, find a good grip, then make her look up at me.
“And there’s more than one way to work off some extra tension.
The fucker who did this isn’t here to shoot, but you’ve got two volunteers to make sure you come. ”
Her pupils dilate and her plump lips part. Fuck, that’s hot. I can think of all sorts of dirty things involving those lips, and the tongue that just wet them.
Stiff steps up behind her, putting his hands on her hips and sandwiching her between us. She lets out a surprised gasp as he leans in and hisses into her ear. “Whaddya say?”
“Really? You want to fool around now?”
“Baby, fooling around is what high schoolers do. If you let us, we’re gonna show you exactly what we can do and you’ll never fucking call it just fooling around again.
” I lean in, pause just long enough for her to stop me if she wants, but there’s no denying that hungry look or the way she parts her lips in anticipation before I’m even there.
She tastes like pure motherfucking heat.