Blood filled my mouth and I roared, charging toward him, tackling him to the ground. We crashed into another table. I straddled him and started swinging.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Blood splattered across the floor. Across my hands. Across everything.
“Derek, stop!” Jack’s voice cut through the haze.
Zero bucked beneath me, throwing me off balance. He rolled, pinning me, and got in two solid punches before I threw him off.
We scrambled to our feet, circling each other.
“You’re a fucking coward,” Zero spat, blood dripping from his mouth. “Hiding what you did. She deserved to know the truth.”
“Shut your fucking mouth!”
I lunged again.
Hands grabbed me from behind—strong, unyielding. Gunner on one side, Ace on the other. Big Ben wrapped his massive arms around my chest, hauling me backward.
“Let me go!” I roared, thrashing. “Let me fucking go!”
“Derek, stop!” Gunner shouted. “You’re gonna kill him!”
“Good! He fucking deserves it!”
Zero was on the ground, coughing up blood. His face swollen, bruised, and bleeding. But he was still conscious.
Still fucking smiling.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Cash’s voice boomed.
The VP pushed through the crowd, his face dark with fury. He looked at Zero, then at me being restrained by three men, then at the destruction. The broken tables, shattered glass, blood everywhere.
“He started it,” Zero wheezed. “Came at me out of nowhere.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Cash snapped. Then he turned to me. “What the fuck, Derek?”
“He had no right,” I growled. “He told Kat about Sam. About what I did.”
Cash’s jaw tightened. “That true?”
Zero shrugged, wincing. “She asked. I answered.”
“You piece of shit,” I snarled, lunging forward.
Gunner, Ace, and Big Ben tightened their grips.
“Enough!” Cash roared. “I don’t give a fuck what he said. You don’t come after a patched brother. Take him to the basement. Lock him in the cell until he cools the fuck down.”
“What?” Jack’s voice rose. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious,” Cash said. “He’s out of control.”
“This is bullshit,” Jack said. “Zero crossed a line—”
“Zero will be dealt with,” Cash said. “But right now, Derek goes to the basement. That’s final.”
I stopped fighting.
