by Bella Jewel
Zariah’s fists clench now. “You’re pushing me too far, Alarick. I’ve protected your club at risk of my entire career. I’m the only person you’ve got that is stopping Kendric from getting locked away for life.”
Alarick glares at her and she returns the look, both of them holding it for a long moment.
Something springs into my mind—something I hadn’t thought about with all the chaos.
“Someone in the club gave Dax information.”
I say it mostly to myself. Everyone turns to me, and Alarick’s eyes flash with confusion and utter rage. “What did you just say?” he asks me, his voice a low whip.
“Dax told me,” I say quickly. “That someone in the club was giving him information, that they were telling him our every move. It’s how he knew exactly what we were doing.”
Alarick snarls viciously, and Briella immediately takes his arm and tries to calm him down. There’s no point, though. He’s going to explode and it’s not going to be pretty.
“Who?” he barks.
“I don’t know,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, Alarick.”
He turns and just before he gets to the door, he looks back to Zariah. “You get my fuckin’ brother out of prison, or I’m coming for you.”
With that, he slams the door.
The entire room goes silent.
Where do we go from here?
19
WAVERLY
I take another sip of whiskey, and then look to Mykel and nod. He nods to Cohen, and Cohen gently hangs onto my arms so I don’t jerk when Mykel feeds the needle through my goddamned head. I close my eyes, grit my teeth and wait for the sharp sting. It comes quickly, and I cry out as Mykel pulls the stitch string through the wound, trying to close it up. He said he can get away with two stitches, but those two stitches feel like hell on earth.
I try not to cry, or to scream, but by the third pull, I’m whimpering and tears run down my cheeks. “Fuck,” Mykel growls. “I’m sorry.”
“Just finish it, man,” Cohen orders.
One more to go.
One more.
I feel the sharp sting, followed by a long throb of pain as Mykel pulls the last string through and then ties it. When he’s done, I open my eyes and he looks down at me, clearly feeling fucking bad about what he just had to do. He swipes a tear away from my cheek with his thumb and then hands me the bottle of whiskey. I swallow another shot down before Cohen helps me to sit up.
“I’ve seen grown men react worse than that,” he tells me, smiling. “You did good.”
I give him a grateful smile, and then take a deep, shaky breath. “Well, it’s not like today could have gotten any worse.”
Cohen’s face gets stony, and he looks to Mykel. “This is goin’ to erupt into somethin’ the club has never seen before.”
“Yeah,” Mykel mutters, his voice thick.
I sit, quietly, because what else is there to say? Tonight, everything we thought was going to happen was completely thrown out, and the worst of the worst took place. Our plan became a fucking nightmare and now we have a member in prison, a bad man on the run, and no fucking idea about where to go next.
What the fuck are we supposed to do now?
“I’m goin’ to get going, see what Alarick needs me to do. You two good?”
We both nod, and Cohen leaves. Mykel cleans up and I go to my room, brushing my teeth and washing my hands before staring at myself in the mirror. That’s going to leave a scar on my forehead, but it’s nothing compared to the scar this whole thing is going to leave on the club. I clench my eyes shut, take a shaky breath, and then walk out and climb into bed.
Mykel comes in only minutes later and, taking his shirt off, climbs into my bed with me. I hold my breath, quite shocked at the fact that he’s deciding to spend the night with me, but not at all ungrateful. I don’t want to be alone, but it’s not like we’ve had much of a chance to talk about how things are going between us, what with the whole fucking world upending.
“Zariah said I have to distance myself from the club,” I whisper.
“Yeah,” Mykel says, his voice low and husky.
“Does that mean . . . I have to move out of here?”
He puts his hands up behind his head and is quiet for a moment. “No,” he tells me. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.”
My heart flutters and I roll to my side, looking at him. “I’m not?”
“No. You’re not.”
“Why is that?” I whisper.
He looks to me and the intensity in his gaze has my heart going from aflutter to an all-out rave. “Because I want you here with me. I’m done wastin’ time.”
“What do you mean?” I’m scared of the answer, and yet I need it.
Mykel rolls slightly and his expression becomes incredibly deep. “I want you. End of story. If tonight showed me anything, it’s that shit changes in a heartbeat. When you were gone, and we didn’t know if you were okay, I didn’t like how that felt. I want you, and that’s all there is to it.”
For a man of very few words, that was a lot.
I smile at him, and my heart swells with utter joy. “What about Briella?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “I was in love with her, but you’ve made me realize it was for all the wrong reasons. You’re right; I’m fuckin’ broken, but you stuck around no matter how many pieces there were to pick up. You’re what I need, and you’re what I want.”
Oh god.
“And all along I thought you didn’t like me,” I say, laughing.
He takes my jaw in his hand. “Sometimes you don’t realize what’s right in front of you.”
“So . . . you want to see where this goes?”
“Yeah, I want to see where this goes.”
Fuck yes.
That’s one good thing that’s come out of the evening.
“I’m sorry about what went down tonight. I know Kendric is your brother, and it’s a big blow to all of you to have him arrested.”
“We’re goin’ to get him out—that’s what we do. The club won’t give up the fight until he’s back where he belongs.”
“I know you’re all upset at Zariah, but she was just doing her job.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s risking a lot to help us.”
“Know that, too.”
“Mykel?” I say, swallowing.
“Yeah?”
“I’m scared.”
He pulls me until I fall into his arms and my cheek is resting on his chest. “Don’t ever be scared while I’m here, Waverly. Not goin’ to let anything happen to you.”
The thing is, he’s telling the truth.
I believe him.
I’ve always believed him.
I don’t plan on stopping now.
THE MORNING COMES, and as we make our way to the club, Mykel and I say nothing to each other. We’re both thinking the same thing? What the hell are we going to do now? How the hell are we going to find Dax? What is going to fix this goddamned big mess we’ve managed to create for ourselves?
It seems like there’s no end to this nightmare.
When we arrive, complete chaos is erupting. The moment we walk inside, we see Briella, who is rushing out towards the front door, tears rolling down her cheeks, her hands covered in . . . blood. Oh god, is she okay? My eyes widen at the very sight of her, and I rush over, stopping her. She looks up at me, makes a hiccupping sound, and then starts crying.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“He’s lost it. He’s lost it.” She says this over and over again.
Mykel looks to her, and then leans down close and asks, “Where is he?”
“Shed.”
He picks up his pace as he goes out there, and I carefully take Briella and sit her down on the sofa. She’s crying, her whole body shaking, and whatever just happened has her shaken up in a big way. “Talk to me,” I say to her, keeping my arm around her shoulder.
“He’s got three men out there, men who apparently work for or with Dax. He’s
just . . . he’s just torturing them. I went in there, and he was going crazy, just punching this guy over and over, like a goddamned psycho. I tried to stop him, but he . . . he wasn’t even with it.”
She looks down at her hands, and they’re shaking.
“Let’s get this blood off you.”
I take her to the bathroom so she can wash the blood off her hands. I know exactly how that feels, and there’s no worse feeling. When her hands are clean, we sit back down. She’s trembling, and I feel terrible for her. I know how scared she is right now, and Briella is a strong girl. “It’s going to be okay,” I say, putting my arm around her again. “He’s just . . . he’s struggling.”
“It’s not his fault. If anyone is to blame for all of this, it’s me. I came back into this town looking for Magnolia, and I started the war with Dax. I was the one who insisted on finding out what happened, and who he was. If I didn’t do that, none of this would have come about.”
“You’re wrong,” I say to her. “King was looking for Dax, and had been for years. This is something that would have come around eventually, honey. You have to know that. Alarick is struggling right now because one of his club members is in prison, and the person responsible got away. He just needs to get it out of his system.”
“Murdering people isn’t exactly how he should be doing that!” She shakes her head, dropping it into her hands.
“They’re a club, and while we see the kinder side to them, they’re still a club. They do what they have to do, and it’s not really up to us to get involved. Let them sort out what they need to. Do you want me to take you for a drive? Clear your head?”
“No,” she says softly, standing. “I just need to take a walk. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
She gives me a weak smile and then disappears out the front door. I watch her go and make my way down to the shed. I’m not sure I want to see what’s going on in there, but at the same time, I know that I’ve come this far alongside of them—I’m not about to stop now. I step through the door and immediately am assaulted by the coppery smell of blood.
Alarick is standing in front of three tied men on chair, they’re hands roped tightly behind their backs, and they’re all absolute messes. Bloodied knives lay on a table beside him, and he’s covered in blood, his fists swollen. I’ve never pictured him like that, but seeing him standing there, is utterly terrifying. Cohen is standing beside him, Mykel on the other side, and they’re both bloodied, too.
King is in the corner, arms crossed, his face expressionless as he lets his son take over the worst job the club probably has—dealing with scum.
I’m surprisingly not upset by the sight in front of me, because those men, and anyone involved with Dax, deserve everything they get. Not to mention, someone in this club has betrayed everything they stand for, and they’re not exactly about to forget that. They’re going to do what they have to do to get answers.
I guess this is what they have to do.
“You can’t be in here.”
Samson’s voice comes from behind me, and I spin around to see him walking in with a hammer in his hand. I don’t even want to know what he plans on doing with that. Nope, I’m not going to think about it.
“I need to talk to Alarick,” I say firmly.
“He’s busy right now.”
“I know that.”
“Come back later.”
“Samson . . .”
“Waverly, come back later.”
I swallow and meet his eyes, and the expression he’s giving me is telling me that he’s not going to take no for an answer, and I need to leave right now. I exhale and look back to Alarick, who extends a hand for the hammer Samson has. Okay, yep, it’s most certainly time to leave.
I nod, and then walk out.
Samson closes the door behind me and locks it.
As I walk back to my car, the agonized roars of those men follows me. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and then exhale slowly.
How much more can we possibly take?
20
WAVERLY
“Zariah,” I say, opening the door to see my sister standing, fully in uniform.
She looks tired, and worn, and I know this is bothering her. She hates what she had to do; she’s torn about what side she should be on. She has a son, and her job means everything to her. She’s worked so hard to get where she is, but at the same time, she knows the club has been good to her, and they’re good people, and it’s tearing her apart.
“Can I come in?” she asks.
I nod, stepping aside. We head into the kitchen and I turn the coffee-maker on. If anyone loves coffee more than me, it’s my sister.
I look to her while it heats up and ask, “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head, exhaling.
Zariah is strong, stronger than any woman I’ve ever met, but she’s tired. I can see it in the way her shoulders are sagging, and the way her eyes seem like she hasn’t slept in days.
“Talk to me,” I urge, walking over and putting my hands on her shoulders. “What’s happening?”
“They are currently doing an autopsy on Bennett’s body, and looking into his connection to Dax and the club. I don’t know how well Dax hid what they were doing, but I imagine they’re going to find something pretty damned revealing. They’ve got an arrest warrant out for Dax, and they’re going to come and question the other members of the club later today.”
Well, Alarick would want to clean up the mess he’s making then. I make a note to warn him about that.
“Kendric?” I ask, my heart aching at the thought of him sitting in prison.
“He’s angry—god, he’s so angry. I’ve never . . . I’ve never had someone hate me so much in my life. He . . . he just hates me.”
My heart aches for her. Anyone with two eyes can see that she and Kendric had some sort of weird connection. I don’t know what it was—I just know that when they’re together, you can practically feel your skin burning from the sparks flying off them. He helped her a lot when we were looking for Dax, and I know they spent some time together, though I don’t think it went any further than that.
For him to hate her now, I know it bothers her.
“He’s so mean,” she whispers, hanging her head. “I deserve it, too.”
“First of all, you do not,” I say, clicking my fingers in front of her face so she looks up at me. “You’re doing your job. It’s not on you at all. This is something that went horribly wrong for everyone. The club knew they were working with a cop, and they knew how much you were risking to help them out.”
“I’m no better than Bennett, and whoever else is helping Dax and Peter. I’m no better, Waverly. I’m helping a club that does plenty of illegal things. I’m supposed to be on the right side of the law, but here I am, risking everything for them.”
“They’re good people, Zariah. That’s the difference between them and most of the criminals you deal with. They’re good people, and they keep to themselves.”
“They’re still doing illegal things.”
“But are they hurting innocent people?”
She exhales, running her hands down over face. “No.”
“Listen, you’re going to figure this out. You know how I know that?”
She looks to me, her eyes so broken it hurts my heart. “How?”
“Because you’re strong, Zariah. You’re good at your job, and you’re a brilliant human being. You’re going to figure this out, and this will all be okay. You just have to trust yourself and what you know. Trust who you are, because you have worked hard to get here.”
“It’s just such a mess. I don’t know how we’re going to get Kendric off these charges. He admitted to working with Dax. He admitted to being part of this. Even if we find Dax, unless he makes a full confession, Kendric is going down.”
“We’ll find Dax, and he will make a full confession. We will find a way to have him give a full confession. Everyone has a weakness, Z
ariah. We’ll find his. We’ll get Kendric off. In the end, without evidence, what can they charge him with? He’s protecting the club, they know that, but they’re going to see the club has no link to Dax when they look into it properly. We have to trust that.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” She exhales. “I just don’t know how we’re going to get past this. They’re convinced the club is in on it, which means they’re going to be looking into them.”
“And me?” I ask, holding my breath.
“Like we said, if it comes back on you, it’s because they were told you were forced to help. You just need to keep your distance from the club, until it’s sorted out.”
It’s not going to be easy to do that.
“That’s not going to be easy . . .” I tell her.
“You have to do it, Waverly. Trust me, you have to do as I’m asking if you want to be left out of this. They’re going to question you, too. If they ask, you were so drugged you don’t remember anything. You got tangled up with Dax, and he tricked you into believing he cared about you. Say nothing unless you absolutely have to.”
I nod, swallowing. “Okay.”
She sighs. “I should get back to work. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” She nods. “Yeah, I hope so.”
So do I.
I really, really hope so.
“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR face?” Officer Blart asks, narrowing his eyes as I sit across from him at the station later that day when I was called in to make a statement. It didn’t take long for them to track me down and ask for me to come in.
“Dax tried to take me with him last night, and . . . we fought. I got away, but I don’t remember much after that.”
“Why were you with Dax?”
“He took me to dinner,” I tell them. “We went to a hotel and we were going to spend the night, but he told me his real plan and I freaked out. That’s when he tried to get me out of town.”
It’s a lie, but it works. If they check the restaurant and the hotel, they’re going to see that I was with Dax, and my story will check out. It puts me completely away from the club.
