I climbed off my bike, trying not to rush to Skylar’s side as I watched her stand toe-to-toe with some fucking asshole dressed in slacks and a dress shirt. My first instinct was to protect her and check she was okay, but right now, she looked like she was holding her own pretty damn well, so I took a minute to assess the situation.
I saw Op doing the same thing as we moved forward. “Skins, Levi, round these people up and usher them out of here, I don’t need all these people in our business,” Op ordered, his voice low and deadly. He was fucking pissed, but he still had nothing on me. I was ready to stab a motherfucker the second I heard that someone had put their hands on Sky. Skins and the club’s new prospect, Levi, quickly jogged around, using their arms to herd people away nodding and assuring them that things would be dealt with and that they should continue on with their afternoon.
We didn’t move until the people were well on their way out.
Blizzard, Kev, Ham and I all followed Optimus forward as he stalked toward the group of douchebags that were standing opposite Sky and Jess. The group seemed a little nervous, the handful of young guys unable to keep still, nudging each other and whispering quietly.
A couple of bikers stepped around them from the other side of the group. I recognized them both.
“Sorry to have to drag you away from your booth,” Rivet said, holding his hand out.
Optimus shook his first and then Twist’s, who walked up behind his father.
Rivet was the President of Hell’s Bandits MC. His club had close ties to the Brothers by Blood with Rivet’s sister being married to the Brothers’ Texas Chapter President, Digger. Twist was his eldest and also a member of the club.
“Not a problem,” Op responded. “I appreciate you looking out for them. But now, I’d like to know exactly who this motherfucker is.”
This guy still hadn’t acknowledged us, not even a glance out of the corner of his eye. He was either cocky or stupid, both were about to end with him getting his ass beat.
Rivet grinned. “Be my guest.”
“Sky, Jess, get over here,” I ordered sharply. My brothers and I surrounded asshole number one and his buddies. I needed to have Sky beside me, seeing the way this guy was looking down at her like he would delight in causing her pain, made me feel uneasy and a little stabby.
Jess tugged on Skylar’s arm, dragging her toward us. She walked a couple of steps before she finally broke eye contact with the guy and spotted me standing a few feet away. I saw her confidence and composure waver for a second when her eyes met mine, and in a split second she was rushing forward. Jess ran straight to Kev who tucked her under his arm, whispering to her quietly before he gently pushed her behind him in a protective move.
These girls may be club girls, but they were fucking ours. They were part of our family, and both had been for years. We cared about them, and when they signed up to be a part of the club and do what they do, we promised to have their backs.
I managed to brace myself as Skylar barreled into me. I wrapped both my arms around her, allowing her a few seconds and several deep breaths. “I got you,” I told her, resting my head on the top of hers. She inhaled deeply before pulling back, giving me a good look at her face. Her left cheek was bright red, the shape of a hand almost perfectly imprinted across the side of her face. Her eye was bloodshot, and I could tell she was fighting through the pain.
Optimus stepped up beside me, allowing her to stay in my arms as he hooked a finger under her jaw and turned her head to him so he could examine the damage.
“Go and get the stall packed up. We’re leaving,” a voice ordered, and we all spun to see fuckhead number one ordering his boys away.
One tried to leave, but Ham stepped in front of him. The guy tried to step around, but Ham stepped into his way again, a broad smile on his face and his arms folded across his chest. “Sorry dude, you ain’t leaving till you’re told you can.”
“Explain…” Op growled to no one in particular, obviously pissed after seeing the damage to Skylar and the asshole’s blasé attitude.
“They’re from the Colony,” Skylar said and my shoulders tensed. She tried to step away, but I held her tighter, hoping that the Colony she was talking about, wasn’t the one that I had heard about in the news. “This is my brother, Abel.” The tone of her voice was almost as though she was embarrassed to admit it.
“Your fucking brother?” I cursed.
“What happened here is none of your business,” Abel spoke to Optimus, standing his ground like he wasn’t standing in the middle of a circle of men, who wouldn’t hesitate to drop him where he stood and then bury his body in a national park. “It is an issue that is between me, my sister and God.”
Optimus laughed under his breath, holding up one finger. “See, my first problem with that is… that I don’t have a god, so I can’t rely on him to get the message through that I need to get through.” He raised a second finger. “And my second problem is… that you hit one of my girls and I’m a firm believer in an eye for an eye.”
Abel’s eyes lit up, and I could see him trying to hold his body hard and solid and not cower.
This was the difference between a man who could hold his own in a fight and a man who only went after women because he knew he had the upper hand with strength.
“Maybe if you taught your girls to only speak when they are called upon, then they would not get into situations where they needed to be reprimanded,” Abel shot back, finally finding his balls inside those tight ass fucking pants.
“And who the fuck are you to decide when a woman should speak and how they should be reprimanded?” Blizzard questioned seriously, taking a step forward, cracking his knuckles.
The shithead took in a breath, puffing his chest out like he was fucking Superman. “I am the son of the prophet. I have been given the right to do what I deem necessary to make sure that our people follow the laws, so that they may get into the celestial kingdom.”
His words were all fucking, blah, blah, blah, bullshit, that I didn’t understand, but it was obvious he believed them with everything inside his soul, either that or he was just really fucking good at talking out his fucking ass and convincing other people what he was saying was the truth.
Skylar shot out of my arms and stormed toward her brother with fire in her step. I jogged after her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back against my chest. She fought against me, suddenly eager to take a swing. “Nobody gave you the right to steal children away from their parents and take them who knows fucking where! Nobody gave you the right to beat helpless women and men, who have done nothing but be faithful to a liar and a con man! And nobody gave you the right to rape our cousin when she was fourteen and make her have your children!”
Abel clenched his teeth, his face turning red in anger. You could see he wasn’t used to being talked back to or being questioned. “We marry and have children with the partner who our prophet chooses for us. It is called faith, and you had none. Therefore you will go to hell.” Every word was laced with venom and hatred. “But I am sure you will be quite happy there with your friends. Oh, and Emerald, too. If you see our darling sister, you let her know I am looking for her.”
“You leave her the hell alone,” Skylar hissed. Tears were streaming down her face now as she continued to struggle in my arms.
I can’t say I was faring much better. Listening to what she was saying was like gasoline to a fire. I wanted to take this asshole, tie him to the back of my bike and drive down the fucking highway. I’d heard stories about the things that went on in these places, but at that point, it was all from the news and media.
Abel folded his arms across his chest, looking quite pleased with himself. “I am guessing since you were not surprised to hear that she is no longer with the Colony that she has already found you. Hmm… I know someone who’s very eager to have her back so they can start a family.”
Every word he said made me feel ill, the way he talked about women like they were mindless beings that should sit down, shut up and be given away to the highest bidder.
“You are a disgusting pig! You deserve to be in jail!” Skylar screamed.
A fuse had clearly been lit, and there was no dousing that fire. What surprised me, was the smile that grew on Abel’s face, a smug smirk. It was sick and honestly sent a chill up my spine. Like a smart boy, he didn’t acknowledge that she’d accused him of a felony just moments ago. Instead, deciding to twist the knife a little more and turn things back on her.
“You remember your best friend Jade, don’t you? We got married last year. She just had twins. You should really come by some time and meet your nieces,” Abel threw back with a deviant smile.
I heard the threat in his voice, the way he delighted in telling her that he’d had two little girls, knowing it would break Skylar’s heart.
She clutched at her heart like a poisoned arrow had gone through it before the lioness was suddenly back. “Here’s something you can take back to father,” she said, her voice calm like the eye of a deadly storm. “I’m a whore. How about that for making the family proud.”
I couldn’t stop the growl that formed in my throat as she talked about herself that way. She focused on the boys who were standing behind her brother, their eyes widening with shock as they heard her words.
“Yup,” she continued confidently, stepping out of my arms as I released my grip on her now she had calmed. “Know what I do for the club? I’m their whore. The daughter of your great prophet, turning her back on the Colony and welcoming man after man into my body. Bet that bloodline doesn’t seem so perfect now, does it?”
Abel’s calm exterior broke, his face horrified as his people whispered among themselves. She knew exactly what to say to hurt them.
“You done?” Op asked as he came forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. Skylar turned to him, her body sagging slightly.
She nodded. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m done.”
I could already see her body sagging with exhaustion. This was big, it was huge for her to face these people again. I didn’t know the whole story, about why and how she’d gotten out, but after this, I was going to find out.
“Eagle,” Op said, turning to me. “You want to do the duty?”
My fists were already clenched as tight as they could be, I could feel the veins popping out and the tension in my muscles building. Blackness was surrounding my vision, like a target closing in on this fucking bastard. It only took me two strides to get to him, and by that time I had a lot of fucking force behind my fist. He was too slow to realize what was going on, or just a fucking idiot, thinking that no one was going to call him out on his bullshit let alone, actually punish him for it.
One swing, a right hook to the side of his face.
A look of horror and fear crossed his features as my fist flew through the air and his cockroach friends fled backward to avoid my fury. My breathing was heavy and labored even though I’d done hardly any work. He was dead weight when he hit the ground. Luckily his shoulder caught his fall and not his fucking chin. I didn’t want to watch the rest of his teeth scattered across the concrete.
He rolled over and groaned, and all I could think about was diving on top of him and pounding his face into the dirt. I had every intention of doing just that until Skylar’s voice tore through the haze that was in my head, and I turned as she latched onto my arm, her eyes wide as she pulled me away from her brother.
“Stop,” she said quietly, her eyes pleading up at me. “The police are coming, and I can’t have you getting arrested.”
Things started to become a little clearer, and I could hear sirens in the distance. I wouldn’t run from the fucking police, and if the asshole tried to press charges, there were plenty witnesses who saw him hit Sky and I’m sure the police would be much more interested in that.
Reaching out, I cupped her face gently with my hand. “You’re not a fucking whore.”
She smiled sadly, leaning into my palm, but she didn’t say anything.
She thought differently.
I guess I didn’t see her that way.
Could I see her another way?
I just wasn’t sure.