by Rynn, Alexa
I shook my head. “You aren’t listening to me!” I moved closer to him and slammed my fists down into the middle of the table. “I want her! I don’t just want her for a month, she’s mine.” I pinched my teeth together and snarled. “She belongs to me.”
My father let out a slow sigh. “You say that, but in a few weeks, you’ll be bored of her, just like all the others. And son, we just can’t put the brothers in jeopardy over your latest crush.”
“No,” I told him. “It’s different. I own her.” I turned away from him. “For good.” I ran my hands through my hair and dug my nails into my scalp, trying to get rid of the frustration that filled my bones. “And if anyone tries to take her from me I’m going to rage a war of my own.”
My father snapped his head around, startled. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
My father glanced at Blaze for confirmation.
“It’s true,” Blaze admitted. “She's his property now.”
My father ran his fingers back and forth over his lips for a few seconds. “And what, my son, do you propose I do about the battle raging on about her outside of these doors?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, father, that’s the thrill of being in charge, isn’t it? Figuring out ways to handle situations just like this.” I was being a dick, I knew I was, but I didn’t care.
It felt like I had been playing it safe more and more lately, worried about what would happen when my father finally retired. I had gotten so caught up in proving that I would be a good leader in his place that I had forgotten what it felt like to actually feel something real. But I didn’t care right now, all I cared about was keeping her.
It would be a hell of a lot easier with my father’s blessing.
But if I didn’t get it, I would kill anyone who got in my way.
“Suppose you change your mind…”
“I won't,” I told him sternly.
I’d never wanted anything so much in my life.
“I want to talk to the girl,” my father declared.
I shook my head. “Now, hold on a minute…”
“Oh, relax, son.” My father passed by me. “I’m not going to harm your new found jewel, I just want to talk to her. See what I’m getting us into here.” He swung the door opened and took off.
I charged after him.
“Here we go,” Blaze called.
And he was right.
Here we went.
Chapter Four
GRACE
Ace seemed unsure the entire time he was cleaning me up like he still didn’t fully understand what had just happened. Not that I could blame him, he just thought that he was following orders and a second later one of his brothers was almost killed in front of him.
He tossed another blood-stained paper towel into the wastebasket and titled my head up toward him. “You’re pretty knocked up but I think you’ll survive. You might need a stitch or two on the side of your neck, I’ll have Blaze check it out when he gets back and see what he thinks.” He paused. “And I’m sure Cutter will want to take a look, too.”
I gulped down the water bottle Ace had given me. Once I sucked that one dry, he took the empty bottle and replaced it with a fresh. I unscrewed the cap and took a long swig. “Yeah, that’s nothing. I mean, compared to what it could have been.”
Ace held my gaze for a second then backed away from me, standing up. “Jeez, make me feel worse, why don’t you, Grace?” He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“Oh, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine,” he cut me off and turned his back on me. “You’ll be fine by yourself until Blaze and Cutter can get back to you?” He walked toward the door, not waiting for a response. “I’ll grab the first aid kit. I’m sure if Blaze hasn’t called Heather to sew you up yet he will soon.”
“Heather?” I called out.
Ace turned around in the doorway. “Yeah, Heather handles all of our… accidents around here.” There was a glisten in his eye that told me ‘accidents’ meant all the injuries the brothers got while being involved in things they didn’t want the cops or anyone to have on record anywhere.
I didn’t know Heather had anything to do with that, though. That would be fun considering the last time I was alone in a room with her I’d hit her over the head with a gun and left her unconscious in the middle of the floor. She’d probably end up getting my wounds infected on purpose.
“Great,” I said, letting out a long sigh and leaning my head on the arm of the sofa. It was strange how I’d only known Cutter a short time but already I was very aware of him being near.
I couldn’t see him but I could feel him in the next room.
“Grace.”
I jumped a little, startled to find Ace still standing there.
“Yes?”
He stood there for a few paces longer, almost like he was going back and forth inside of his mind on if he should say what he said next or not. “I meant what I said, the brotherhood is everything to me, but if I had walked in here and that was going on… even without Cutter, I would… I would have stopped it.”
And the crazy thing was that I actually believed him.
“That happened to my mom,” he continued. “When I was little and I couldn’t, I mean, I was just a kid, I couldn’t do anything but I always wished that I could. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be down with that kind of thing or stand by while anyone else was, you feel me?”
I gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I feel you.”
Ace opened his mouth but before he could say another word he was being yanked out of the room and Cutter’s father was coming into the room. He turned around and addressed the people outside of the door. “Now, the more you try to interrupt us, the longer this will take, so just shut up and give us some privacy.”
He slammed the door shut and turned around, his gaze locked on me.
“I don’t believe we have been officially introduced.” He paced back and forth across the room a few times, the same way I’d seen Cutter do the night before when we had ended up shooting those guys in the hotel room and he was waiting for Blaze to come. “I’m Richard, but most people refer to me as Casper.”
I set my feet on the floor. “Yeah, it’s kind of hard when you’re drugged and then carried off to some dungeon without your permission.” I shot him a sweet smile. “But, nice to meet you, I’m Grace.”
I knew it was risky giving him attitude, and my hands were shaking the entire time but I think knowing I had Cutter in my corner was making me feel brave.
Besides, this guy was the reason I'd almost just been sexually assaulted.
He started at me for a second and then let out a low chuckle. “My son always did have a thing for the feisty ones.” He paused, sticking his hands inside of his vest pocket while he studied me. “Tell me, Grace, are you just as infatuated with my son as he seems to be with you?”
Cutter’s father telling me he was infatuated with me made me feel like I was special like I was one of the most important women in the entire world. I placed my hand over my chest, trying to make sure my heart wasn’t going to combust on the spot.
Was that even a real question? Cutter was the core of my existence. That sounded crazy but I didn't really care, no one had ever made me feel the way Cutter made me feel. The second he left me, I just wanted him to come back.
Even if he had been a complete asshole.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He raised his eyebrows and continued pacing. “You have no idea what a predicament this puts me in, young lady, I love my son and I want him to be happy… but on the other hand, one of our strongest enemies is threatening to rage a war on us if we don’t hand you over to them.” He glanced at his watch. “And soon.”
“It seems to me you should care more about your son than a club of men who are already your enemies.” I had no idea where I was getting all my courage from, maybe knowing Cutter was so close was giving me the strength I needed to stand up for us. “If the roles were
reversed I doubt they would give you as much consideration as you’re giving them.”
Casper laughed again. “God, you’re really something, aren’t you?”
Even the way he talked was like Cutter. It really was cunning how alike they were. If Cutter looked as good as his father did when he was his age I wasn’t complaining at all. I’d gotten myself a catch.
That was if Cutter wanted me when he was his father’s age but I pushed the thought out of my mind, I was still too high off the fact that his father told me he was infatuated with me.
He wouldn’t have just assumed that, right?
Cutter must have said it.
He clapped his hands together, snapping me out of my Cutter daydream. “I have no doubt that you will make a great pet for my son, Grace, I really don’t.” He moved across the room and leaned down against the sofa. “Here’s my problem, I’m putting all the other brothers in danger so that my son can have his cake and eat it, too.”
Have his cake and eat it, too?
What was that supposed to mean?
“But…” he rubbed his fingers back and forth between one another. “I am a businessman, Grace, so what do you say me and you come to some kind of arrangement?”
“What kind of arrangement?” I moved further away from him.
Casper shook his head, disgusted. “Not that kind of arrangement, Grace. Please, don’t be ridiculous. I could have any woman in the entire city. I don’t need to dip myself in my son’s leftovers.”
I felt embarrassed immediately. “Then what do you want?”
He stood up again. “I built this club from the ground up, you know? I was only 25 years old. Do you know how tough that was? I was part of another club at the time. I had to go around and get permission from every single member of the committee to leave. I could have been killed, I almost was, but I did it.”
I hadn’t known any of this but I could tell I was supposed to be impressed.
“And all I wanted,” he continued. “Was a son to leave all of this to, a son to take over what I had created and do its justice. I didn’t start this club and work on it every single second of every day for it to get taken over by someone else, someone outside of my family. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, you want Cutter to take it over because it’s something that’s important to you, something you want to be passed down from generation to generation.”
His face lit up. “Exactly, generation to generation.”
I nodded.
“And someday, his son will take it over.”
I nodded again. “Look, I’m not trying to take Cutter away from the club. I want him to do whatever is going to make him happy and if it’s becoming president of the Red Sin, of course, I’m going to support him.”
Gasper’s eyes went black. “Not if he becomes president when he becomes president, and in 25 years it will be his sons turn. Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Grace?”
“Yes.” Even though I was still unsure.
“I want you to give Cutter a son,” he announced. “A son who will take over when his time comes just like Cutter is getting ready to do now.” He clapped his hands together in glee.
My mind felt dizzy all over again. “A son?”
Cutter’s father nodded eagerly, excitement written on his face now. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this moment? The day my son would find a girl he felt was worthy of him keeping.” He reached out and patted me on the head like I was a precious pet he had to keep caged up so I wouldn’t run away. “And you’re finally here, I just need to make sure that you have the same visions for the club as I do.”
A son? He wanted me to give Cutter a son. I was only 24! I hadn’t even thought about having children yet. I just knew I wanted to be married and committed before I decided to start a family. Could Cutter possibly ever want to marry me?
This all seemed so fast, even the thoughts seemed premature.
I swallowed. “And if I refuse?”
Annoyance flashed in his eyes, the same way it did whenever you questioned anything that his son said to do as well. He shook his head. “If you refuse then you’re useless to me and as good as dead anyway.”
The message was clear, do what he said or he would have no trouble handing me over to the Misfits himself, even if it was at the expense of his son. Even if he handed me over, I had faith Cutter would find a way to save me, find a way to find me and rescue me.
But what would I have to go through until he got there? And what would he put himself through in the process of getting there? He wasn’t supernatural, he was human, and sooner or later he was going to be on the wrong side of a barrel. Wasn’t he already in enough dangerous situations without me adding some of my own?
Cutter’s father cleared his throat loudly.
I met his eyes, so dark and intense, filled with want. But, a baby, could I really make such a promise? It was true that I already felt like Cutter was a part of me but I didn’t even know if he wanted children.
But what other choice did I really have?
I could always agree to it now then have Cutter figure it out with me.
“Grace?” Casper’s tone sounded pitched now, he was sick of the unsure.
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted.
He shrugged. “Fine, I’ll prepare arrangements for you to be dropped off.” He turned his back on me like I was useless to him now and headed toward the door. “I’m sure Cutter will wish to say goodbye to you, I’ll see if I can arrange it.”
“Wait! Please!” The words had left my mouth without my permission.
He paused on the other side of the room, not turning around. “Yes?”
“Okay,” I whispered before I could change my mind.
He swung around and took an eager step toward me. “Yes, what?”
“I’ll do it, I’ll have his child.”
“His son,” Casper corrected. He clapped his hands together before I had the chance to respond. “This is wonderful news, I knew you’d see it my way.” He must have seen the unsure expression on my face because he titled his gaze to the side. “You’re doing the right thing,” he reassured me. “You and this child are never going to want for anything.”
The thought of us being taken care of hadn’t even crossed my mind but he was right, of course, Cutter and his father had a lot of money. I was pretty sure most of it was made in illegal ways but they had it just the same.
“I just hope you don’t plan on running to my son and telling him about our little arrangement right away. My son has been through a lot these past few years and the idea of him getting hurt or worked up right now makes me angry.”
I looked away, ashamed he knew the hand I was going to play before the cards were even dealt. “I would never want to hurt Cutter,” I assured him. “The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.”
“Good, don’t misunderstand me, Grace. My son is the most important thing to me in the world.” He moved back across the room and opened the door. “Lion,” he called out. “Come back in here for a moment.”
A second later the brother who had attacked me came into the room and Casper slammed the door shut behind them and locked it. I could hear Cutter pounding on the door and throwing himself into it immediately.
Casper smiled at the commotion on the other side of the door. “My son really can be so dramatic sometimes, but like I said, he’s the most important thing in the world to me.” He circled around Lion slowly.
Lion huffed. “How was I to know he had claimed her? I thought…” he shook his head back and forth. “I thought she was useless, it was an honest mistake.”
Casper held his finger to his lips, silencing Lion, then looked at me once again. “And when someone hurts my son… well, they hurt me. Do you understand what I’m saying, Grace?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” He lifted up the edge of his vest and pulled his piece out.
Lion’s eyes filled with fear. “Wait, Dad, please…”
Casper fired two shots into his head. He went right for the kill shot.
He shook his head. “I’ll never get why they call me dad.” He dropped the gun on the floor. “Like I said, don’t hurt my son, it’ll only end badly for you.” He shot me a wink. “Looking forward to our life together.”
I knew he was talking but his words sounded like soft echoes fading in and out from far, far away, all I could concentrate on were Lion’s brains scattered all over the floor.
What had I gotten myself into?
Chapter Five
CUTTER
Grace lay on my bed, sleeping peacefully. It had been days since that day at the warehouse. The day my sweet Grace had been attacked and my father had killed the piece of shit that put his hands on her.
The only thing I regretted was that I hadn’t been able to end his life myself; I would have chosen to do it a heck of a lot slower. Drag out his pain until the very last minute, but if it couldn’t be me, my father was a good close second.
I wasn’t sure what Grace had said to him inside of that room but when he came out it was like he was a different man, completely onboard with helping me keep her. When I asked him how he would handle the Misfits all he had said was “he’d figure something out.”
And once my father decided something; that was that.
I pushed a piece of her dark hair out of her face.
Mine, I thought, she was all mine.
My body started to heat up at her closeness but I didn’t move away, just being near her was enough to turn me on. I thought about the other night, placing her in the shower and washing her body up slowly. Her big natural breasts flashed into my mind, the image of her nipples growing hard and round in her wet shirt.
My dick started to twitch back and forth inside of my pants.
