Dark spots stung the edges of his vision as he leaned over Laurent, watching his skin go from pale to rosy. Closing his eyelids, Beast leaned in and smelled the soft hair. If Laurent chose to be so disloyal, there was no reason for Beast to care for his well-being either. What a joke.
“I don’t want you in my home. You will move out. I don’t care where to. Ask your beloved King about it. Maybe he’ll let you stay with him if you lick his ass long enough,” he said in the end and let go, abruptly stepping away.
Laurent started coughing and gasping for air. For a moment he cowered in the corner like a wounded animal, but as pissed off as Beast was, at least now he knew who was and who wasn’t on his side. He was VP of the Kings of Hell because men both feared and respected him, because everyone knew that when push came to shove, Beast didn’t take anyone’s shit. It was high time for Laurent to learn all about that.
Beast took a deep breath, shifting his weight and rolling his neck over his shoulders when the tension in his back became too much to bear. “Today. You’re leaving today. I don’t want to speak to you again, is that clear? You ruined everything,” hissed Beast in the end before grabbing Laurent’s arm and pulling him away from the wall. There was only so much time they could stay behind like this without anyone getting impatient.
Laurent wouldn’t meet his eyes, but he must have understood Beast’s point, because there was no more whining, no more disrespect, and no more defiant words. How could a kid not even twenty rattle Beast this way? It was about time he stopped torturing himself with Laurent’s presence in his apartment.
When they got out into the sun again, Beast couldn’t force himself to smile much when he was met with the curious glances of his brothers, and Mrs. Taube’s tense gaze.
“I hope all is well?” she asked.
“Absolutely”, he said, only then letting go of Laurent. His face ached when Beast forced it into a smile that felt so fake he quickly dropped any pretense of it. “We will be waiting for an offer.”
Mrs. Taube nodded with an expression even faker than Beast’s. “Of course. I hope you enjoy the rest of the day.”
“In this weather? Of course,” said Beast, holding on to the thought that he’d be back on his bike soon, riding it all out of his system.
But seeing Laurent stand next to his bike had Beast’s blood boiling yet again. Fucker had another thing coming if he thought Beast would wish for any physical contact after this sabotage.
“Joker, will you take him? I have something to do before I come back to the clubhouse.”
The hurt look on Laurent’s face had no place there. He wasn’t the one who got stabbed in the back.
“Sure.” Joker invited Laurent with a gesture to his red Harley.
Laurent sighed deeply, like an anxious puppy, but Beast would not be falling for that act. Laurent was a sly little con artist who still hadn’t disclosed much of the information the club wanted from him. Right now, Beast wouldn’t even be surprised if Laurent had hurt his own wrist to play the victim and have a free place to stay.
He acknowledged his brothers with a nod and quickly mounted the bike, wishing to leave and be alone again. Alone in his apartment with just Hound, the only being who would never turn away from him.
Chapter 14 - Laurent
Laurent took a deep breath, assessing his new outfit in the mirror. It’s been a week since Beast’s outburst at the viewing, and though a part of Laurent had hoped the issue would die down and he would be invited back into Beast’s apartment, that had not been the case. So he was stuck in a room containing a mattress, bedding and the few things he owned courtesy of his new friends. He didn’t like to be there alone at night because no one else lived nearby and in order to reach the bathroom he had to walk down a dark corridor with no electricity and a mirror that gave him a terrible fright each time he passed it.
Worse yet, he was suddenly deprived of access to books, because as it turned out, none of the other people living at the clubhouse had much interest in literature. So sometimes he traipsed through the building in daytime, wondering about the purposes of some of the items left behind by the people who had occupied those chambers years ago.
Beast hadn’t spoken to him once since the horrendous way things had developed at the property they’d been to see, so Laurent didn’t dare ask him about more reading material. It would most likely only get him into another argument that he couldn’t win.