Reed
I slowly got dressed, being as quiet as possible not to wake Elena. I wanted to be able to come back to her when I was through seeing what the hell was going on so damn early in the morning in my bar. I could hear breaking glass and screaming through the closed door and quickly headed in that direction.
I should have fuckin’ known who was responsible for the racket as I approached Daisy’s bedroom door. The only person who could get her that pissed off was my asshole, evil twin brother, Kyle. He had been in and out of the bar for a while now, and I still had no fuckin’ clue what he was around for. The guy straight up abandoned his post as Prez of Skulls Renegade MC and dumped the shit in my lap to fix after my father retired. He had been grooming Kyle to take over for years until he was done and just left, leaving us a fuckin’ note. Haven’t even seen the Ol’ Man in years.
I loved to ride my motorcycle and look like a badass for the ladies. Hell, I had even gotten into a fight or two where I beat the shit out of a few deserving assholes, but I had never been for this lifestyle of fucking people over for money and getting into illegal shit. The moment I got my hands on the operation, we went legit and never looked back. I made these people my family and was damn sure that Kyle would never walk back into mine or Daisy’s life.
I wanted to kill him when Daisy finally made it back to us and told me what happened. I was one of the only ones who knew just what the two of them went through. She hadn’t even revealed everything to Elena yet, who was clearly her best friend in the house.
I remembered the state Daisy came back in; bloodied and bruised with a warning to never cross the damn loan shark my stupid brother got involved with again. I was lucky to be able to redo the bar and pick this shithole back up off its feet and get the MC running again. It came as second nature now.
I banged on the door with my fist. “You better fuckin’ open up and quit the racket before you wake up my Ol’ Lady. She’s not a morning person!” I warned, which was the truth. If she found out Kyle and Daisy were goin’ at it again, she’d probably knock him out despite him being twice her size. She didn’t let anyone mess with the people she loved, which was one of my favorite things about that Siren of mine.
Kyle burst through the door, looking furious; his face all red like a fire. Did I look like that when I got mad? “What the fuck is going on here, Kyle? I told you if you were going to be here I didn’t want any fuckin’ trouble going on. You were to lay low and fix shit with Daisy, and here you guys go waking me up at the rack of fuckin’ dawn with your yelling and throwing shit.”
I pushed him back into the bedroom and shut the door. I wanted this solved once and for all. Daisy looked like she had been crying and exerting herself letting me know she was the one throwing this around. At least I wouldn’t have to take my own brother out for being violent with a lady. “One of you better start fuckin’ talking before I beat it out of you,” I threatened I didn’t want any of this nonsense going on at my club, especially with the FBI watching us. Not that anyone but Elena and I knew that. But it was a big deal. She could trust a piece of paper all day long, but I sure as hell didn’t. I knew we were walking a thin line with the law here.
“I’m trying to do what Irish told me to do and settle things with Daisy here. I know I have shit to make up for, and I know I’m an ass whose hard to swallow. But this damn woman won’t even hear me out at all. I can’t make up with something like that. So, what am I supposed to fuckin’ do? Disappear again?” I sighed and put my head in my hands. I didn’t know how to handle this shit. I wasn’t a mediator; just a Prez of an MC. I could talk business and fight all day, but not this emotional stuff. I didn’t have these problems with Siren. She was my everything, and I wasn’t about to disappoint her. So, how was I to see where my brother was coming from.
“She didn’t tell you to come in here and get back with me, you pig!” Daisy yelled at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “You wanna apologize, you wanna make it up to me? Well, you sure as hell can try, but I doubt it’s going to work. But I am not some damsel who’s going to fall back into your arms just because you burst through those doors again after leaving us all high and dry. I’m too damn strong for that.”
“Can the two of you give me just five minutes?” I asked, and they nodded. The only way this was going to get solved is by putting my head together with someone who had a higher emotional intelligence than myself, especially when it came to women.
“Siren,” I whispered, leaning down to her ear and kissing her forehead a few times. “I know it’s early, but Daisy and Kyle need our help.” I watched as the goddess that had somehow become my Ol’ Lady stretched her naked body out on my bed and smiled up at me. It didn’t matter if she had bed head or someone’s blood on her or if she was wearing the most expensive damn lingerie money could buy, she was the sexiest woman I had ever been allowed to lay my hands on. I felt damn lucky every time she let me look in those eyes of hers and touch the most intimate parts of her.
“Can’t we just go back to bed?” she teased with her signature pout. I always got mad at her for that because it killed me and made my dick wiggle to life every fuckin’ time. She knew just how to drive me nuts.
“No, I’m sorry, babe. It’s bad this time.” She sat up with concern and went into action, slipping on jeans and a tee-shirt before brushing her beautiful long hair that made her look so much like a siren rather than an average human woman.
“I’ll take Kyle into my office, alright? I think you and Daisy have some things to talk about, and then maybe we can come up with a solution for this. They woke me up with their fight this morning.” Elena nodded, look determined as we went back to Daisy’s room.
“Morning, Irish.” Kyle apparently couldn’t help himself, and one of these days it was going to get him shot. Elena gracefully ignored it, though, and went to sit on the bed next to Daisy as I pulled my brother into my office. I needed to get to the bottom of this.
“Kyle, I don’t wanna play games anymore. Daisy is an important part of the Skulls, and I can’t have you messing with her head all the time. It’s time, to be honest about why you’re here.” I laid it to him straight. I didn’t have the patience for it anymore.
“I came back for two reasons, brother. The first was to check on the responsibility that I just dropped on you. I wanted to make sure no one was suffering because of that decision. Regardless of how I left or why I did care about some of the people here.” I tried to take what he said in stride without automatically reacting in frustration. It was hard to believe that he cared for people he just walked out on like that.
“What’s the second reason?” I asked him, point blank.
“I came to get Daisy back.”
***
Elena
“Dais, what’s going on with Kyle? I asked him to fix things with you so he could stay here, but I’m worried about the both you at this point. Reed and I both are,” I said softly, placing my hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, Elena, I was so sure all of it was in the past, and I would never have to talk about it again. But here he is, showing his sorry face around here like he’s gonna win me back. It’s makes all those memories come back to me. I just wanna punch him for thinkin’ it’s that simple. I don’t think my heart can be won back after everything that went down here.”
I shook my head and gave her a quick embrace. “Dais, it must be hard to talk about, but maybe if you tell me what happened, other than him leaving, then I could help you out here. You know I’ve been through some tough shit too. I mean, I just shot my father dead less than three weeks ago. You can tell me anything.”
“Oh, I believe you, Elena. If Reed trusts you, I trust you. It’s just hard to talk about when I’ve tried to put it in the past. You see, things were bad once Kyle took over. He and his old man got into a lot of arguments over how to handle the MC, and we were hemorrhaging money like crazy. Once his old man left, all we had left was Kyle. Reed wasn’t around. He wasn’t that interested in this kinda life. So, Kyle was runnin’ us into the ground. I tried to keep him sane. I loved that man so, but he got in with a nasty loan shark he couldn’t pay back. The best way the loan shark saw fit to get back at him was to take someone he loved…”
Daisy trailed off and put her head in her hands. It was the second time I had seen her cry since I’d met her. This tough chick really had been through hell and back. I could only imagine how closely her tale, after that point, matched up with some of the things the girls I had just brought home with me, had been through. Loan sharks were nasty business. You didn’t fuck with ‘em unless you could walk the walk, and Kyle didn’t strike me as the type who could.
“They took you, didn’t they?” I asked her, rubbing her back as a mother might. Kyle really left her to that?
Daisy nodded. “Yeah, and they did things to me,” she admitted. She didn’t need to clarify. “They had me for a good month before Reed came for me with the news that Kyle had just up and fuckin left me and the MC. So, he got me kidnapped and tortured and just ran off, leaving me for dead. They only let me go because Reed promised them the money and because Kyle clearly didn’t care about me enough anymore to make it worth it for them.”
By the end of her story, I was fuming. I don’t know how in the world I was ever going to be able to look Kyle in the eyes again. I had known he was a self-righteous ass, but this was more than that. “I want you to take the day off. I’ll see if Michelle can handle the bar for you today, okay? You go and pamper yourself, and we’ll deal with Kyle.”
Daisy nodded and went to get dressed while I went to see what that heart-to-heart looked like between Reed and Kyle because I was damn well expecting it to turn into a fist-to-fist situation. But when I knocked on the door of Reed’s office and walked in, I found a very different scene from what I thought I would. Kyle had the hint of tears in his eyes and instantly stormed out when I came into the room. “What the hell?” I asked, pointing in the direction he went. Reed patted his lap, and I sat on it. He gave me a sweet peck on the cheek.
“I really hate to say this, but I think my brother has better intentions of begin here than I thought. Though, he did make mention of a few pieces of business we’re doing that he doesn’t like. I made sure to give him the what for on that,” Reed told me, pretending to look tough. It made me laugh.
“Reed, you know what happened to Daisy because of him, right?” I asked softly, running my fingers against his scratchy facial hair.
“So, she told you then?” I nodded. “I knew she would at some point. I’m one of the only people here who knows. She was in an awful state; I know that. But he’s explained some things to me, and you’re just going to have to trust me on this one for now.”
“Just please don’t let him keep coming around here and making her hurt,” I begged.
“We came to an understanding. He’s gonna be around but only as a legitimate member, under my direction, and he is to leave Daisy alone unless she approaches him first. I got this.” I smiled and kissed his cheek.
“My man always has things handled.”