“CageTheBeast”—Adelita’sWay
“Iheard Kira is wearing your brand,” Angel said with a repressed grin the second I walked into the clubhouse. He and Croc smirked from where they were playing pool, and I wanted to knock their heads together.
“Fuck, you all gossip worse than a bunch of chicks,” I said with an exasperated huff as I gave Chains a disgusted eye-roll. He’d obviously been running his mouth.
“Never thought I’d see the day when Voodoo was pussy-whipped,” said Ghost from the bar. Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the glass of ice water in front of him. With a smirk, I flipped him off, and the glass tipped over, spilling water all over his leg.
“You fucker!” He jumped up, standing the cup up. “That was fucking cold!”
“Quit whining. It’s only water. You’ll dry,” I said with a smug expression. Croc chuckled, and the water on the bar gathered up and landed in the glass. Water was his thing. He could manipulate it and control it like it was a part of him.
Ghost rolled his eyes and muttered, “Show off.”
“Voodoo! My office. Now,” Venom said from the entry to the back hall.
“Oooo, you’re in trouble!” Ghost chided with a grin. Again, I offered him a one-finger salute as the rest of my brothers laughed.
“Don’t you fuckers have shit to do? I know there are jobs waiting to be completed in the shop. If you need a list of things to keep you busy, I think the shitters could use an extra deep clean.” Venom loudly announced to the room. They all scattered, and I followed Venom down the hall.
He moved to stand behind his heavy wood desk. When I sat across from him, he dropped a folder in front of me with a loud smack as it hit the table.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Is it true? Kira Baranov aka Kalashnik is officially your ol’ lady?”
“Yeah,” I replied warily, with my fingers preparing to open the folder.
“She got your brand already?” Venom asked.
“You know she does if you’re asking me if she’s my ol’ lady. What’s in the folder?” Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I wanted to see it.
“De Luca took you up on your offer. When you see what’s in there, you may wish you’d sacrificed her. This could bring a whole shitload of trouble with it if you aren’t careful, brother.” Venom said with a serious glint in his eye.
Trepidation filled me as I flipped open the cover. Inside, were pictures that turned my stomach. With each one I flipped over, rage and hatred burned. When I’d seen the last one, he tossed three more images on the pile. They fanned slightly and I picked them up.
“De Luca said the girl lives if you can take out Grishka Kalashnik, but first, he wants Ivan Miloslavsky ruined and Anatoly Kalashnik’s head in a box.” My eyes lifted from the images of the three men.
“In a box, literally?” I asked with a raised brow.
“Yes. Literally.”
“Done.” I sifted through the repulsive images of the things her father had done until I found the one that made my blood boil.
“Who’s the fat fuck?” I asked with barely repressed fury. The pens in the cup on Venom’s desk rattled and fell over. Venom sighed and shook his head as he righted them.
“That’s Lester Damen. He’s the oldest son of former senator Frank Damen. Rich as Croesus. Twisted as fuck—whole family is.” Venom spat out his reply as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Tell De Luca I’ll throw him in for free.” I tossed the images to the desk as my lip curled.
“Voodoo….” He said my name in warning.
“No. This is not negotiable. That fucker paid a million dollars to her piece of shit father for her motherfucking virginity. She was fifteen fucking years old. I’ll deliver him to hell myself if I have to, with his dick shoved so far down his throat he’ll be shitting it out as he swallows.” Violence radiated through me, and the need to unleash the darkness within was nearly uncontrollable. “You want to put it to a vote, that’s fine. But if I have to, I’ll step away from the club and do it on my own.”
The beast was lunging and gnashing its teeth.
Venom set his hand on my forearm, and the room stilled. The snarling creature slunk back to its corner, and I sat breathing heavily as I stared into Venom’s odd-colored eyes.
“We’ll put it to the vote, but I want you to keep your shit together. You can’t throw your entire life away because you are trying to protect her.”