Dex
I’m awoken to the grinding sound of my phone vibrating its way across the wooden night-stand. I was meant to put it on silent before I fell asleep last night but I figured Melissa had fallen asleep when she hadn’t called in over an hour.
A dull ache pounds softly in the front of my head and my mouth is dry. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I hang my head in my hands and try to push the pain away. I didn’t drink nowhere near as much as I planned to, but I still feel like I drank the bar dry myself last night.
When the phone vibrates once, I grab the fucking thing and Melissa has sent me a message.
‘I need to see you.’
There’s another fourteen missed calls too. I don’t let it bother me when I realise it’s my first morning waking up as a brother. Usually as a prospect I’d have to be up and down in the bar before any brothers woke up and it fucking killed me not sleeping in.
I shoot off a reply saying I’m busy and regret it the second I hit send. I should’ve continued ignoring her. Especially when she starts calling again.
Someone bangs on my door and I reject her call, I’ll listen to the voicemail later.
“Yeah?” I call out.
“Everyone’s meeting in the basement,” Slade calls back, and then I hear his boots walk away.
Quickly dressing, I put my phone on silent and lock up behind me. I didn’t venture down into the basement when Danny was brought here yesterday, someone has tied all three brothers to their chairs and placed them in a row. Half of Danny’s face has a purple glow, curtesy of Cas’s boot when he tried running away. Every brother is down here and scattered around where they can find something to sit on or lean against. Cas is sitting on a chair directly in front of Danny, he lights a cigarette as he looks around and is satisfied everyone is here.
I stand next to Pope as he arranges an array of weapons on a table. He makes sure they are perfectly in place, from blades to dusters, ropes to a liquid I’m assuming is acid. I swallow thickly, this is hardcore and not for the fainthearted.
“So? How’s it going for you, taking over my club?” Cas begins, sarcastically.
The first time I met Cas, I thought he was too serious and not a guy I wanted on the hunt for me, but he dealt no bullshit and I liked that. During my prospecting time, I got to learn more about him, and he can be a cocky bastard, but he’s one hell of a loyal cocky bastard. He certainly knows how to play situations like this to his advantage.
Sparky rips off the tape covering Danny’s mouth and throws it to the floor. He slaps him across the face and leans in close.
“It’s not going so well, is it?” he snarls.
Danny’s eyes narrow and his jaw tenses, then a slow smile creeps over the scowl and he says, “I got Oak though, didn’t I?”
His tone is malicious and Pope inches closer to him, his fists straining against his skin. Brothers growl and hiss around the basement. Cas holds up his hand and everyone is silent.
“We got to more of your men, then you did ours…”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he sighs, feigning boredom, “but, none of them mattered to me like the old fuck did to you.”
As soon as the words have left his mouth, Cas is leaping out of his chair and he lands on Danny. The heavy impact sends them both crashing down to the floor, Cas climbs on top of him and delivers punch after punch. Relentlessly swinging his fists into Danny’s head. He delivers one last punch and gets in his face.
“You will regret killing Oak before we’re done here.”
His comeback is to spit blood at Cas, but my president has already heaved himself away from him and the blood misses him and lands near his boots.
Pope walks over and picks Danny up, still tied to his chair, and puts him back in place between his brothers.
“You’re wasting your time if you think he has a conscious and will regret it,” Cayden says as Danny’s head bobs all over the place.
“No one asked for your fucking opinion,” Sparky snaps.
I watch Kyle and he gives nothing away, he doesn’t look at his brothers. He stares down into his lap and doesn’t look up. He didn’t react once when Cas was beating down on Danny. He didn’t even flinch.
The door to the basement is metal, and it clangs loudly when someone bangs on it twice.
“See who it is and get rid,” Cas orders Slade.
No one moves as he yanks open the door.
“What do you want?” he asks whoever is on the other side.
“There’s some chick going crazy at the gates, she’s demanding to see Cas and Dex.”
I tense knowing full well it’s Melissa. Cas raises his eyebrow at me and I stand there shrugging my shoulders.
He turns his attention back to the brothers and Danny open his eyes.
“What a family reunion this turning out to be,” Cas laughs.
“Traitorous bitch.”
“Don’t call her that,” Kyle snaps, finally looking at the ass beside him.
It was because of me, she told me to come around before he got there. If he had fought for Kyle, I would still be using her for information.
I couldn’t believe my luck when I showed up and she told me to hide out in the bedroom and to call Cas when Danny arrived. She traded one brother for another.
“I’m going to say hi, ask her if she’s missed me,” Cas goads, then nods at me to join him.
Kyle is the only brother who thrashes against his restraints as we leave and climb the stairs back to the bar.
“You haven’t got any more secrets where this woman is concerned, do you?” he asks.
“None,” I lie.
We can both hear her shrieks as we head outside. Last night, Shannon done nothing for me, Melissa is screaming her head off and she has me twitching. Spending time with her wasn’t all bad, but I had a goal to achieve. I would use her, I would fuck her, I would do anything for the club. I forgot a few times what I was doing it for when she let her guard down and I got lost in her eyes but it all came back when I was around the brothers mourning Oak.
Her screams rise to her highest pitch when she spots us walking towards her. Her rage is evidently clear to see.
“I want my brother, Cas,” she shouts as we get near.
“Open the gate, prospect.”
Cas steps closer and he’s all she can see. Watching them both is like watching magnets trying to connect, only being held apart by a gate. Once opened, she flies towards him and he grabs her by her arm before she can attack him. He ushers her back into the bar before she can make a scene outside.
“Get off me,” she grates out, trying to keep her voice down.
He releases her and she rubs her arm where he laid his hand on her. She looks weary of him for a fraction of a second, then she raises her head and stands defiantly tall and holds herself strong.
“If you’ve hurt Kyle, I will burn this place to the ground,” she threatens.
I’ve been ignoring her, but I need her to shut her mouth, Cas can only be pushed so far.
“Is that right?” he smirks, finding her amusing.
“How you feel about your brothers is how I feel about mine and I want him back.”
It becomes a stand-off between her and my president. I move closer to her, not knowing why I feel like I need to protect her. My movements catch her attention and she spins around.
There’s always been a blaze in her eyes, whether she was scared, angry or trying to hide her fear. Tonight, they’re ablaze through rage and at this moment, it’s coming in my direction. She shoves against my chest and I don’t budge. This angers her further and her tiny fists feel like a weak massage.
“Tell him to release my brother, you owe me,” she screams.
“I owe you nothing,” I growl, restraining her by her wrists.
She fights against me and I know I’m fucked up when she’s turning me the fuck on.