“Club property, huh? She ain’t wearin’ no cut,” he says eyeing her up and down.
“She’s mine, asshole. Property of fuckin’ Demon. Put your hands on her again and you’ll be sorry. I will gut you in front of your whole crew,” I warn him. It’s a fair warning but I also know what I just did and I’m a little shocked myself.
“You claimed her,” Evie says but I ignore her.
“You got a lot of balls, Demon.”
“Goddamn right I do. You better take a walk and stay away from my girl.”
“Funny thing about that. She’s not your girl. She’s mine,” he roars.
“You know what you’re doin’ right now, brother?” Drake asks but I ignore him.
“She was mine first. Ain’t that right, princess.”
I hear her gag but I don’t look over before she throws up next to me. Evie moves to hold onto her while I step closer to this asshole who thinks he can lay claim to what’s mine. I don’t rightly give a shit who he thinks he is. He isn’t touching her.
“You either turn and walk or I fuck you up here and now,” I warn him once more. That’s the last time, too.
“She’s mine. My kid,” the fucker sneers back at me.
It all hits me like a ton of bricks. This is the motherfucker who hurt her. The one that let men touch his little girl. Before I can think about it my fist is colliding with his face. I don’t see him, I see her. A little girl being used and abused because her father didn’t take care of her. I see a girl who was hurt by the hands that were supposed to save her, and now I’m seeing red because that’s the one thing I hate the most. I know what that feels like. I know how lonely that can be.
So I beat this motherfucker until I’m pulled off him and sirens sound in the distance. I vaguely remember being pulled through the alley. There is too much going on in my head. Too many memories of a past that we both had to endure by the hands that were supposed to protect. I shake my head rapidly trying to erase the visions of that motherfucker coming into my room. The way he would talk to me. The sound of his goddamn voice. Irrational anger surges through me. She did this. She awakened all of this shit!
“Fuck!” I roar when I’m slammed against the wall “This is all her fault!” I scream loudly. I can’t think straight. I can’t focus. They’re all there. Every fucking memory I’ve kept locked away for so long have all resurfaced.
“Calm the fuck down, brother!” I hear Drake calling to me.
Taking deep breathes, I try to calm my nerves. Calm the rage. When I finally blink everything back into focus, I see her. Tears run down her cheeks like a fountain and I’m stuck once more. She caused this. Her life, her admissions that I forced out of her. That’s what triggered me. And yet I can’t hate her for it. I can’t blame her.
“Get off me,” I growl low in my throat at Drake. I don’t want him touching me, near me. He pulls away from me and that’s when I move. I grab Cheryl, roughly by the arm and pull her along with me. I hear Grinder ask if he needs to stop me but I dare him to do so. I fucking dare him right now to come near me.
We walk the rest of the way to the hotel, and once we’re back to my room, I release her. Tears continue to stream down her cheeks while I walk around running my hand through my hair. This is bullshit. I can’t believe this is happening right now.
“I was molested as a kid,” I say just to put it out there. I hear her gasp but I can’t look at her. I’m so goddamn ashamed of that happening to me that I can’t even look at myself some days.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It shouldn’t have happened to either of us, Kitten. We should have had people there to protect us. We shouldn’t have had to do this, be this.”
“You’re strong, Demon.”
“Timothy. My name is Timothy.”
“It’s perfect,” she whispers. When I look up at her, I see her. The sincerity in her eyes, the real her. Not the girl he made her into. No, I see her.
“You’re beautiful, Kitten. No man ever had the right to touch you.”
“Except you. You have every right,” she whispers softly.
My heart leaps in my chest, and with each step I take toward her, my chest explodes a little more. This is what I wanted. This is what I’ve been missing. Someone who understands me, who completes the fucked up puzzle that is me. Cheryl does that.
“I’m keepin’ you, Cheryl. I’m not lettin’ that motherfucker near you ever again.” Noise outside has me pulling away from her. I rush to the window to see those bastards firing shots into our bikes. Grinder’s explodes before the others do the same. Anger rushes through me as I grab my extra gun from inside the dresser and rush toward the door. Cheryl watches with wide eyes but doesn’t say or do anything. That’s perfect. I need her in this room and safe.
Chapter Thirteen
I hear the gunshots and I’m not stupid enough to walk anywhere near that window. I just pray that Demon isn’t getting hurt out there. I can’t believe my dad is here, and wearing a cut at that. He was never into the club scene, but then again I haven’t seen him in years. I didn’t go looking for obvious reasons.
I’m pacing the room when the door flies open. I rush toward it ready to greet Demon only to be stopped in my tracks by a kid that looks a lot like me.
“Who are you?”
“Come with me and everything will be fine,” he says. I look him up and down shaking my head. No way am I going anywhere with him. He’s one of them. He’s wearing the same cut.
“Get out of here or I’ll scream.” He doesn’t move, just smiles at me.
“I’m your brother.”
“I don’t have a brother. Help!” I scream loudly when he moves toward me. I’m about to run when he grabs me, spinning me around so that my back is pressed to his chest. His hand is over my mouth, the other around my stomach. His lips are close to my ear, warm breath dancing over my flesh.
“Just go along with it all. I won’t let him hurt you.” What does that even mean? He won’t let him hurt me? I don’t understand any of this. I shake my head rapidly but it does no good. The man drags me from the room like a ragdoll and down the hall. He forces each step I take down the staircase until I’m dragged out the back door and thrust into a van.
“Go!” he yells and the van starts moving. My heart beats rapidly in my chest, fear eating me alive. I begin to tremble when he passes me a blanket. He keeps looking at the driver and back to me before I pull the blanket over my body. I don’t want them looking at me. I don’t want them anywhere near me.
“I won’t hurt you,” he whispers once more. His eyes mimic mine. He looks so much like me. Could he really be my brother? I wasn’t around long enough to find out if my dad had other kids.
When I was old enough to start talking, I was tossed to the side. I was sent to live with family that weren’t much better than he was. I may have been beat on there but at least I wasn’t molested. Demon’s words slam into my chest, tightening it up. He was hurt as a child. How could someone do that to him? How could they do that to me? so many questions and no answers. I look up at the guy in front of me that claims to be my brother with interest.