“What’s up with you and him?” Malik juts his chin to the swinging doors and then turns to look at me with a smug look. “You got a little fierce there.”
“Is it weird that I can share with you, but the second someone else speaks her name I want to kill them?” I place my palms on the desk in front of me and lean forward, hoping Malik and his strange mind can sort this irrational behavior out.
“I did what I wanted, and when you realized you wouldn’t be able to stop it, you accepted it.” He lifts a shoulder, then gives me a smile. “No one tells me what to do, Montez, you know that.”
Is that the reason I accepted him? Because I had no other choice?
“Yes, it’s the reason,” Malik says with a hum, looking very self-assured.
“Did I say that out loud?” I give him a puzzled look as I tip my head to the side. I have been exhausted lately. This past week has been full of long hours here at the clubhouse and when I finally get home to sleep, Genevieve wakes me with her nightmares.
“No, I can just tell what you’re thinking, it’s written all over your handsome face.” He shoots me a wink and I swear I can feel my cheeks heat.
I clear my throat before saying, “Does she speak to you about her nightmares?”
Malik leans back in his seat and slowly shakes his head. “No.”
“Do you think it’s what she endured in this basement or the night she was taken?” I watch him intently and wait to hear his opinion. Malik Charles never holds back, and no matter how chaotic he acts, he’s perceptive as fuck.
“I was there the night she was taken, I fucking took her. You know this. It was traumatic, and I will admit, I regret that decision. Some days I wonder if it would’ve been better to let Barrett kill me instead like he threatened to. She watched as her brother fucking shot her father, she was carted off to an unknown location, and then Barrett kept her for himself. Out of all of that, I would bet it’s Barrett who causes her to scream most nights.” He sounds just as he looks with his eyes downcast, dejected and ashamed, and if I were in his position, I would feel the same.
“You didn’t know his intentions,” I try to reason with his guilt before reaching over the desk and clasping his shoulder. “You can’t beat yourself up forever, and she forgave you.”
“I should’ve known though, as his Vice, I should know what he’s capable of.” He pats my hand and then rises from the chair, straightening his cut. “Speaking of, he called me again.”
“Who? Barrett?” I ask as confusion slips over me.
“No, not him.” He gives me a pointed look and it’s suddenly crystal clear exactly whoheis.
“Malik”—I push up from my chair and lean my hands on the desk—“you need to be very careful with him.” Panic rushes through me as I stare him in the eyes, willing him to understand the danger he’s putting himself in.
“He’s right about one thing.” Malik shrugs his shoulders and gives me a grin. “He created the Hell’s March and if he’s feeling so inclined, he can end it.”
“He can’t do that…” I trail off as I shake my head. I don’t know what I would do without this club, without most of my brothers.
“As long as we can keep him away, we’ll be fine.” Malik walks toward the doors, his swagger exaggerated as his shoulders sway. “I’m going to go and hang out with the guys for a bit. I’ll see you later.”
My ass hits the chair, creating a loudwhooshas I groan into my hand. I want to believe Malik has a handle on things, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a cloud of annihilation hanging over this club.
The clubhouse is bumping even though it’s nearing dawn. The brothers are partying hard and have been doing it frequently since the day Slayer torched the Steel Dragons MC. Of course, they think I did it, and they thought it was funny knowing Jaeger’s fixation for fire and bombs. I couldn’t tell the brothers of Slayer’s involvement because Diego, Ajani, and I agreed to keep her out of it, knowing it was for her own good. We didn’t want Barrett’s attention on her.
The morale is at an all-time high and Barrett has been off my back, no longer trying to convince me to hand over my Vice position to Bear because I supposedly torched the Dragons’ den. Bear will suck my left testicle before that happens.
So while I’m in my Prez’s good graces, I’m going to get fucked up with my brothers, and when I ultimately fall out of grace, he can also suck my left testicle, like Judas did for Jesus.
Listen, I know that’s not how it went, but in my mind, Judas was a little bitch who couldn’t own up to being a snitch.
That rhymed.I chuckle at my wit.
“Rockz,” I call out to our bartender. “I need a stiff one and I don’t mean your cock.”
“That’s not what you said last week,” Rockz retaliates with a chuckle.
“That was last week, lover,” I continue the joke as I blow him a kiss. “This week I’m trying new flavors.”
“Dangerous living, brother lover,” he snickers as he puts a whiskey on the rocks in front of me. “You’ll catch something Penicillin can’t cure.”
Rockz used to be our Sergeant at Arms, but as he grew older, he opted to hang out here with us and make sure the brothers were okay while they partied instead of enduring long rides. He and I have been close since I showed up on Hell’s March’s doorstep with a mission and a chip on my shoulder.
