And he doesn’t disappoint when he retorts, “Under a man.” I knew in my gut he’d say one of the few things that’d get my goat. The fucker.
His words trigger me and my five-foot-nothing-self reacts by lifting my leg and nailing him right between the legs with all of my might. “Aye guey,” I squeal.Oh crap, I translate my words to English as I berate myself—what did I do that for? I sprint around him and rush into the lobby of my complex and sprint up the steps to the third level. “I’m in deep shit now.”
I find myself constantly heading to my door and peering out the peephole. I’ve done nothing but pace my floors since I stepped foot into my apartment and engaged every lock on the door. I’ve checked my windows numerous times, easing my mind that it won’t be easy for the dickhead to climb through without me knowing.
“Chingada madre, I’ve made a mess of things. Me and my temper,” I scold, chewing on the cuticle of my thumb.
I donothave a good feeling about this and that thought follows me into the night as I climb into bed. At some point I fall into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning as I see monsters chasing me in my dreams.
A noise standing above me breaks through my restlessness and when I snap my eyes open, I see a figure looming over me. “Nighty, night, my Latina Goddess,” the male voice whispers as something sharp pierces my skin. “See you on the other side.”
From there, I drift off into a haze, my entire system shutting down.
CHAPTER
SIX
Icer
One Month Later
“The Onyx Dragonsare trying to confuse everyone by calling themselves the Onyx Devils,” LoneStar tells me as he plops down on the stool beside me in the main room of the clubhouse. “They can’t seem to make up their minds what they want to be referred to.”
“That makes zero sense,” I mumble as I take a sip of my watered down cola. “I think they started off as the Devils but wanted to be seen as something more ferocious so changed it.”
“Either way, they’re going by both names and the townsfolk are confused thinking there’s two enemies in town instead of one. We need to squash that shit,” he advises.
“Did you take it to Rip and Slayer?” I inquire.
“I did, they want us to make the rounds,” he informs me.
“Splendid, just what I want to do. Talk to people,” I quip, not amused in the slightest.
“I’ll do the talking, I just need you for intimidation,” he teases. “All you have to do is stand behind me and grunt.”
“Tomorrow,” I state. “Tonight, the clubhouse is full of drunk assholes and I need to be here in case shit hits the fan.”
“You mean more than it already has?” he asks, spinning around in his chair and watching our idiotic brothers get rip-roaring drunk. I still can’t believe what Rip told us about Gage. His betrayal hurts worse than his death. When LoneStar glances back at me, he suggests, “Why don’t I take this shift, you look exhausted, brother. I’ll come get you if things get too wild.”
“You sure?” I ask. I’m not a fan of pushing my job off onto others, but I haven’t been sleeping well this last week or so. LoneStar is capable of keeping everyone in line which is the only reason I’m considering it.
“Positive. I’m not drinking tonight so I’ll be the watchman. You need to catch a good night’s sleep, Icer.”
“Okay,” I say, giving in. “Come get me if something comes up you can’t handle.”
“Will do,” he says, saluting me.
The clubhouse is in uproarious chaos and there isn’t a single brother sitting as we invade the armory and arm ourselves, preparing to head out and tear the town apart until we find my princess and pseudo sister.
I tore the main room apart when Indiana woke me up and shared the news that Zoey and Elodie had been taken fromtheir home. There’s not a piece of furniture still intact, I feel withdrawn—separate from my body. I know that when my brothers look at me, they see the stone-cold killer that lives inside of me. Nobody and nothing will be safe from my wrath until my princess and sister have been located and rescued and I’ve shed blood.
“I’m done,” I announce as I assemble my semi-automatic rifle and strap it to my back. I’m not hiding this shit, I want everyone running scared and pissing their pants when they see me ride through town with it attached to me.
Rip, with murder in his eyes turns to Indiana and grits out, “I don’t give a damn who you have to torture to figure out where they’re being held, do what you’ve gotta do, but do not go in without us.”
“Will do,” Indiana says with a nod. After he salutes the brothers he turns his attention to me. “We have orders not to infiltrate without backup,” he tells me.
“I have backup,” I remark, patting the rifle affixed to my back.
