“Pain told me what you said to him.” Maria’s angry voice doesn’t startle me. She has this nifty habit of showing up wherever I am, out of the blue like a damned ghost. It’s my fault though, I’m in Bubba’s, sitting in a booth in the back. I thought my presence wasn’t known but obviously I’m wrong.

I glance up to her briefly, “So?”

“So, culo, we should talk about that.” She growls it out, sliding into the booth across from me. I take a good look at her, wondering where the hell her drink is. Whenever we’re about to have a serious discussion she has a drink. This time her hands are empty.

“What are you waiting for?” Maria insists, her tone salty as hell. I just wanna wrap my hand around her throat and ask her who the hell it is that she thinks she’s talking to.

“You to get your ass up and get us a drink.”

She rolls her eyes, “If I wanted to be drinking I’d already have one. As for you, you have two legs and hands. Get it yourself.”

“You’re in quite the mood, Taquita.” I grumble, crossing my arms.

She scoffs, “Why shouldn’t I be? Pain told me what you said, about how I am yours and you’re just sharing me with him. We both know that’s bullshit. I’m not yours. I’m with both of you.”

“Is that so?” I sneer, gritting my teeth, clenching my fists on top of the table. “You’re not mine? Is that really what you think?”

“Yes. I belong to the both of you.”

“Maria.” I tsk, “You don’t belong to him, and you’d better get that through your head now. I was the one to slam you up against the wall and take you. I was the one who told you that you were mine, and you...you... slutty little bitch agreed. After we shared those words is when I allowed my brother into what we had. Do you understand me?”

Maria closes her eyes, breathing heavily through her nose before she looks back at me. “Si. I understand that you are a selfish, bastard of a man. You want me all to yourself, even if that’s not what I want. I want both of you. Everyone believes I belong to the both of you, because I do! I am not just yours.”

“Before you say another word, you’d better think about it.” I slide out of the booth and stand up, pulling my jacket close against me. “Someone else will be here to close the bar tonight. I wouldn’t want either of us to say something in the heat of the moment, now would we.”

I don’t bother waiting for her to respond. I grab her by the back of the hair and yank her until she yelps, slamming my lips against her. I’m this kind of bastard, the one that no matter what, will always kiss her. No matter how pissed I get, how angry she makes me, she will never for one second doubt how much I care.

I tear away from her and charge out the door, hopping on my bike, I tear out of the parking lot and let the cool air hit me. It’s no match though, there’s nothing that will cool me down in this moment. Absolutely nothing.

I told Pain in the hopes he would decide to back off and let me be happy with Maria, but instead it looks like he’s choosing to stick around. It’s only going to do one thing, hurt the relationship that we have with each other as brothers, and tear one of us from the woman we love. I had my eyes on Maria since the first moment she entered the club, he didn’t even fucking like her when she was first here. I should’ve been smarter and claimed her back then, officially. Trick was smart, laying claim to my sister so there’s no doubt. Me? I hold a lot of regrets for not doing something sooner, for not...securing my relationship with her. Anything can happen and it’s no one else’s fault besides my own.

***

I ride around for ages in the hopes that it will end up calming me down, but it doesn’t. My frustrations just spew around in my mind on a constant loop.

If Pain and I end up hating each other – it’s my fault.

If she chooses him over me – it’s my fuckin’ fault.

I think about what I should have done, could have done and would have done if I wasn’t so confident in myself. I should’ve been smarter, realizing that something like this would have been inevitable. Stupid on my part for thinking that it wouldn’t.

I pull up to the club parking lot, park my bike out front and dismount. It then hits me that I forgot to tell one of the brothers to go down to Bubba’s, shit. No point in texting them now, though. I walk through the front door, and the one person I don’t want to see is sitting on the couch talking to Trick.

“What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at Bubba’s closing up with the girls and making sure Mar’ gets home okay?” Reed roars at me. Shit, I feel like a kid who did something wrong.

“Supposed to be, Prez. Had to get some air. Figured someone else can close up tonight.” I mumble out. I’m already one foot in the grave. Dammit.

“Pain, go to Bubba’s and make sure Maria gets back here okay.” Reed orders to my brother and I sigh lowly in relief. Thank fuck he’s sending Pain cause I don’t want to even look at him right now. I can’t look at him, not when he’s the one to blame for me probably losing the one woman I’ve ever had more interest in then just getting my dick wet.

Pain gets up from his seat, sending me a shooting glare. “I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you, compromising her safety like this.”

“Enough. I’ll deal with your brother.” Reed snaps, and just like that Pain leaves to go down to Bubba’s. I’m sure she’s going to explain everything in full detail to him. He’s the emotional one after all, I’m the stern one. We’re two totally different men so I don’t even understand how she wants to belong to both of us. Pain and I may be brothers, but we can’t be more different.

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” Reed spits, and I can’t do anything but take it.

“Sorry, Prez. I wasn’t thinkin’ clearly. I should’ve texted someone to head over to Bubba’s and waited before I left.”

“Damn right you should have. It’s not like we don’t have a fuckton of other shit going on right now. Threats are coming at us from every direction, shit! Threats are directly being made towards your girl and you just fucking leave her there to fend for herself!?”

“Maria isn’t my girl, she made that shit clear tonight.” I snarl back at him, my anger seeping out of me.

“What?”

“Maria belongs to both Pain and I, apparently.”

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t your girl.”

“Doesn’t it? She doesn’t fucking want me. She wants both of us and I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to deal with that shit.”

“Did she ever have an option to be with just you, or did you throw her into whatever the fuck it is you three are doing?” Enzo interrupts. I flip him the bird, showing him that his input isn’t needed.

Reed continues to glare at me, “Maria is both your and Pain’s responsibility. That is obvious to all of us here. No other brother has gone near Maria because the two of you have both made it clear as day that she is yours. Both of yours. I don’t know how you’re gonna clean this shit up but you’d better, and soon.”

I nod, not saying a word.

“And Chaos, if you ever do something as irresponsible and selfish as this again, I will 86 you faster than you can blink. I’ll strip that patch from you and kick you out of this club. You didn’t just risk Maria tonight, you risked all of the Russian Dolls,” Reed tells me, and I know he’s right.

I made a bigger mistake then Pain ever did. What I did tonight was so much worse. I’m just lucky that Reed didn’t 86 me.

I damn well know how close I was.