Nothin' But Trouble

by Nothin' But Trouble [Evernight] (mobi)

  “Christ, baby.” And then there he went and surprised her again with the endearment. He had said it too low for anyone but her to hear it, but he had said it nonetheless.

  Lilly looked over Court’s shoulder at her brother, and he appeared just as stunned as she felt. They might have grown up around each other, but the age difference had made it so they never ran in the same circles. She was just the little sister of Roan. But now, as he held her, she felt like something more, like how she had felt when he held her and kissed her in the back of his truck five years ago. He pulled away and put a strand of hair behind her ear. The soft look he had given her vanished as he became angrier the longer he stared into her face.

  “What the fuck did he do to you?”

  “I’ll fill you in. She just got done telling me, and I don’t want her having to go through it all over again,” Roan said to Court, but he still stared at her.

  “Yeah.” Court watched her for a couple more seconds and then turned and took a step back from her. “You’ll be okay for a few minutes, baby?”

  She swallowed and nodded.

  “Dallas, watch over her until I get back, okay?”

  The one she assumed was Dallas took a step closer.

  “Lilly, I’m going to talk to Court, and get everything taken care of. Then I’ll take you home.” Her brother came over to her and kissed her on the forehead, but she didn’t miss how he darted a confused look at Court. She could only imagine what her brother was thinking about, and the connections he was making at Court’s strange behavior. They left her alone in the room, shut the door behind them, and she glanced over at the big ass biker named Dallas.

  “Don’t you worry. No one is going to fuck with you anymore,” Dallas deadpanned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Didn’t know Court had an old lady, but it’s clear you’re something’ special to him.” Dallas leaned against the wall, and she was about to correct him on how she wasn’t anyone’s “old lady”, but he started talking again. “When you have something that changes you in here,” he placed his fist on his chest, right over his heart, “you don’t let it fucking slip through your fingers.”

  Chapter Five

  Court paced back and forth and felt the eyes of The Grizzlies and The Brothers of Menace on him. But he didn’t give a fuck, because the female that he shouldn’t have walked away from all those years ago had gotten the shit beat out of her and had nearly been raped. He didn’t even want to think about all the heinous shit that motherfucker currently tied up like a hog in the garage behind the clubhouse would have done to her if Lucien and his boys hadn’t shown up.

  He looked at Roan and felt his blood rise violently to the surface of his body once more. He wasn’t pissed at his once best friend, but at what Roan had just got done telling Court. Just thinking of Lilly all alone out there, scared to death and getting hurt, had Court’s grizzly bear pacing back and forth, ready to hurt something, someone.

  “You need to relax.” He looked over at Jagger. The Grizzly President had insisted on coming with Dallas, but Court was thankful he had the support and backup. Still, no way in hell could he fucking calm down.

  “Did you not see what happened to her?” He pointed to the room down the hallway where Lilly currently was. “Did you not fucking see her face, or hear what that asshole would have done to her if The Brothers hadn’t shown up when they did?” Court gritted out the last part and had to close his eyes and grapple for control with his animal. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head around on his neck. “You tell me if you could calm down if that was Darra in there. Lilly is my female, and now way in hell can I fucking calm down right now.” Everyone glanced at each other, and Court realized he had called Lilly his female, but she was his, whether she knew it or not. It was a fucking shame that it had taken him this long to realize what a coward he had been staying away like he had. But he had thought it had been the right thing to do, and that all the shit he had felt for her could be buried deep down inside of him. How wrong he had been. All it had accomplished was hiding from Roan, being a shitty friend, and not thinking being with Lilly could ever be anything more than that one night. It could have been so much more if he had just allowed his fears and stubborn ass to accept what was right in front of him. The past was just that, the past, but he could make up for all the time that had passed. He needed to man up and be the male that she needed now and the friend that Roan deserved.

  Court scrubbed both of his hands over his face. He was pissed, feral, and wanted blood on his hands and chest as he fucked that bastard up. But he had to remind himself that he needed to control himself around Lilly. He had done a damn fine job when he was in the room with her, but he had barely been holding on, especially when he had hugged her and felt the light tremor go through her body.

  “Take me to him.” Court looked at the ground and clamped his jaw.

  “I want a go at that fucker, too,” Roan said with barely repressed anger himself.

  Court looked up at Lilly’s brother. Roan had every right to go after the man that hurt her—more right than even Court since he really had no claim on her—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get a round in. Besides, even if he had fucked up by walking away, he cared about Lilly, and that had been brought violently to the surface when he had seen her just minutes before. His crew and Roan might not know that he wanted her, and had all but claimed her if he was being honest, but he was done being a pussy on how he felt.

  “Come on, let’s deal with this.” Court nodded to Roan and Lucien. The Brothers of Menace President didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to, because Court wasn’t hiding his emotions. They were volatile, rage-filled, and he wanted blood covering his body as the man that hurt his female paid for what he did with his life.

  Lucien lifted his head toward the back of the clubhouse, indicating without saying anything that the motherfucker Court and Roan wanted was back there. Lucian then turned, and Court and Roan followed him. Jagger stepped up behind then, too, and the four of them made their way to the back of the clubhouse, headed outside, and continued to where a large garage was. The Brothers of Menace clubhouse was on Sterling Hill, with thick forest surrounding them, and privacy from the populated part of River Run. It was also clear they had renovated the place that, as far as Court was aware of, used to be a lumber distribution center. But thoughts of anything that didn’t pertain to violence and bloodshed faded the closer he got to the garage. Court started to get itchy and felt his bear pace inside of him. The wild animal wanted a taste of the man that had hurt his female, too. The bay doors were shut, but Lucien led them to a side door and opened it. Once inside Court took note that there were two of Lucien’s club members leaning against a workstation. A few broken down Harleys were in the center of the garage, and numerous toolboxes were lined up along the walls, as well as other items that were needed to work on bikes. But Court’s focus turned to the big motherfucker currently restrained to a chair with a nasty, grease-stained rag shoved in his mouth.

  “He’s awake. Good.” Court felt adrenaline and endorphins pump through his body and had to push his bear down, because although he wanted to let his inner animal out and tear this man to shreds, his human side wanted at him even more. He looked over at Roan, saw the other man was just as juiced up to do some damage to this guy as he was, and took a step back. “You want at him first?” For a human Roan was a big guy, always had been. Hell, he rivaled a lot of shifters in the height and muscle department, Court included. The years had only seemed to harden him, but Court knew he was working overtime at Horrison Construction, and putting in some long hours. Being a Grizzly member meant you knew what everyone in town did. It was the only way to make sure Steel Corner stayed safe and ran smoothly. He looked at Roan again. That manual labor showed, and Court knew the human needed to get all that aggression out.

  Roan glanced at him. “I’m going to fuck him up.”

  Court grinned, but it was one of sadistic satisfaction. “Good, but leave some f
or me.”

  Roan stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded. “We’ll talk later.”

  Court didn’t need to ask what he meant, because he knew damn well Roan was talking about the shit he had said about Lilly being his girl, and the way he had gone all possessive and territorial when he saw her. Court nodded once, and tipped his chin toward the bound human.

  “Let’s get this fucking thing going.” As much as Court wanted to hurt this guy, he wanted to get back to Lilly even more. He removed his cut, handed it to Jagger, and then took his t-shirt off. This was about to get messy, but he was fucking looking forward to that. Looking at Roan, he saw him clenching and unclenching his fists, and then cracking his knuckles as if he were impatient. They had a lot to talk about, he had a lot of explaining, and eventually the truth that Court had slept with Lilly, and that was the reason he had acted like such a fucking douche-bag, would need to be brought up. Hell, Roan might not even care about what he and Lilly had done, and it would have meant Court feeling guilty over it had all been for nothing. No, that wasn’t right either, because he still would have felt like a piece of shit friend that had done something he knew was forbidden. And it had been so damn wrong, yet had felt so fucking right.

  Stop thinking about the past right now, Court. Right now think about this piece of shit getting so fucked up he won’t survive the night.

  Roan turned and looked at Court, grinned the same sadistic smile Court had just been wearing, and faced the bound man again. You know that girl in there?” The guy was bound and gagged and couldn’t answer, but it hadn’t been something Roan wanted a reply to, that much was clear by the tone of his voice and the way he stalked forward menacingly. “That’s my baby sister in there, and the last person you should have fucked with.” Roan was right in front of the guy a second later.

  Court moved closer, needing to smell the fear that came off of the human about to get his ass kicked by first Roan, and then Court.

  Roan grabbed the guy’s head, yanked it back with a chunk of his hair wrapped tightly around Roan’s fist, and bared his teeth. “I’m going to make it so you can’t walk, let alone hurt another innocent woman.” Roan slammed his fist into the side of his face repeatedly.

  The guy’s eyes had already been swollen from when Lucien’s men worked him over, and blood and gravel coated one side of his face. He was the worse for wear, but by the time they were finished with him there wouldn’t be anything left. He watched as Roan beat the living shit out of the human, so much that the guy started throwing up blood and stomach contents. But the rag was in his mouth, and he was choking on the vile shit. Roan reached out and pulled it out.

  “No way you’re going out like that.” Roan was breathing heavily, and his knuckles were covered in a mixture of his own, as well as the fucker’s blood. “Besides, I’m not the only one that is going to have some time with you.” He slammed his fist into the guy’s head once more, so hard this time that the chair tipped over and took the guy to the ground with it. He groaned and grunted, but he didn’t beg and plead for his life like Court might have thought, and there wasn’t any fear that came from him. Huh. This guy was either insane, or didn’t know who in the fuck he had gotten involved with when it came to The Grizzlies or The Brothers. But then, like he was psychotic, the fucker started laughing.

  “You’re lucky these biker fuckers came when they did, because I was about to tear that pretty young thing up until she was crying and bleeding and begging me to end her pain.”

  Court growled low, but Jagger placed a hand on his shoulder. The only reason he didn’t turn around and tear the male holding him back from killing that human prick was that it was his brother and his President that restrained him.

  “Breathe. You’ll finish it before you get to enjoy it.”

  Court knew what Jagger meant. The President wasn’t stopping him, but making sure he got the pleasure of killing his female’s abuser. Court had been about to shift without his human side enjoying the bloodshed. He took a deep breath and nodded. Jagger let go of him, and Court rolled his head around his neck once more.

  “You must not know who we are.” Court said the words low, deadly. The human laughed again, and then turned his head and spit out a mouthful of blood.

  “Ain’t from here, but I don’t give a fuck who you are. The lot of you can suck my fucking dick and choke on that shit.” He started laughing again. “That’s what I was going to do to that pretty little thing until our party gotten broken up.”

  Hearing the bastard continuing to defile Lilly with his words had Court snapping, and no amount of self-control could stop him. He couldn’t control himself, or his bear, and felt the shift move through him so powerfully he didn’t even try to stop it this time. His bear broke free. His skin tore apart, bones broke, and muscles swelled as his animal moved through him, about to do some serious damage. He swung his massive head in Roan’s direction. There was no fear or shock that came from the man when Court inhaled deeply. He stood before them all in his grizzly form, breathing heavily, his claws scraping on the concrete floor, and his incisors itching to tear into flesh. Roan stepped back to give him free rein, and that sadistic smile once again covered Lilly’s brother’s face. Moving closer to the asshole on the floor, Court bared his teeth at him. He would have grinned if he could have at the scent of the fear that finally came from the human. He had wanted to prolong this fucker’s pain and then inevitable death, to draw out the agony, but he couldn’t after hearing the sickness that had come out of this man’s mouth.

  He attacked without thinking any further. His human side watched the act from deep within him, but it was his bear doing the violence, protecting their female, and making sure no one else ever got hurt by this human again. Dragging his claws into the human’s side had the ropes that bound him breaking away. He scrambled on the ground now that he was free, but Court wanted the chase. There was no more arrogance that came from him. He knew he was fucked. Court let the fucker get a few feet before he charged forward, reached out, and dug his nails into his back. The man howled out in pain and fell forward. The scent of his blood filled Court’s nose and made him crave more. Court saw red and lashed out repeatedly with his claws and teeth until the human lay on the ground. His body was torn the fuck up, and a pool of blood spread out from his lifeless body, staining the grey concrete beneath him in a grisly red. Court breathed heavily, but he was too amped up to shift back to his human form.

  “Fuck.” He swung his head and looked at Lucien. The human biker was staring at the now dead human on the floor. He had a smirk and leaned against the wall. “You fucked him up.” He looked over at the two other members of his MC. “Can you call Slicks to clean this shit up? Not sure if anyone will be looking, but I don’t want anything left of this POS that can be identified.” The two men nodded at what their President had just said, and like this wasn’t anything they had never heard, and turned to leave the garage. Lucien looked back at him again. “You’re gonna need a pair of pants, since I assume you want to see your old lady.” Lucien didn’t wait for a response, just tipped his chin toward the door. “You need me to step out to give you a minute?”

  Court made a gruff sound. He could understand Lucien just fine, but right now he was more animal than human, and the wild nature inside of him didn’t want to sit and bullshit, and wasn’t nearly as sated in his bloodlust as he should have been. Lucien nodded again without waiting for him to shift back or for Roan to say anything, and headed out of the garage.

  Court looked at Jagger, and then Roan. Lilly’s brother had an expressionless face. “I hope you get yourself under control because we need to go back and see Lilly.”

  Court made a low warning sound in his throat. Roan might have been his best friend nearly his whole life, but right now he was on the edge and he could see that Roan realized that. Lucien came back in a few minutes later and tossed a pair of jeans onto one of the toolboxes.

  “These should fit you.” And then he looked over at Jagger. “Yo
u need anything? Need me to call my guys to get her car towed back to Steel Corner?”

  Jagger shook his head. “Thanks, but no need. I was about to call one of my guys to get it.”

  Lucien nodded. “No problem.” Lucien turned, looked once more at Court, and then turned and left the three of them alone.

  “You good, Court? You need to run off the steam?”

  He shook his head after Jagger spoke, well, as well as he could seeing as he was in his bear form. He just needed to get back to Lilly, and he wasn’t about to do that looking like this.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated on lowering his blood pressure and calming his erratic heart. Slowly, after several minutes, he was able to do that, and soon shift back to a human. When he was no longer a bear he walked over to the utility sink and washed the blood off his body as best he could. Roan walked over and did the same, and once Court was dressed once more they headed back to the clubhouse and to Lilly, the woman that he wanted to claim as his old lady. But the problem he faced was whether he could mend turning his back on not just Lilly, but Roan, too.

  Once he was cleaned up as well as he was going to get, he got dressed and headed out of the garage. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Court was still ramped up and felt the adrenaline of killing that fucker pump through his veins. But he wasn’t nearly sated from taking that fucker’s life, and in fact felt even wilder. His bear was greedier for more bloodshed, and he wished he would have taken it slow when ending that piece of shit’s life. He sensed Roan and Jagger behind him, but they kept their distance and didn’t try to calm him down. Court was too far gone as it was. He paced the length of the gravel driveway, and clenched and unclenched his hands. His knuckles cracked, and he thought for sure his skin would split open from how tightly he was straining. He had never felt this out of control before. Although he did have a wild animal housed inside of him, and the bastard was a beast and tried to exert his supremacy on more than one occasion, at this moment in time Court felt like he could go on a fucking murdering spree for how unstable he felt.