AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smile. "Yeah. I like him for Scarlett."
Jake turns toward me. "I asked him what his intention was toward Scarlett."
I bite my lip, barely able to control my giggle. "What did he say?"
"Said he'd do whatever it took to make her happy. Then I asked if staying in Polson with her sister would make her happy."
I blink, stunned Jake had been so bold with a guy he just met. "What was his answer?"
A slow grin spreads across Jake's face. "The kid said he could fix cars anywhere."
21
BLAKE
It's been a madhouse around the clubhouse, and tension is high with the threat of retaliation lingering over our heads. My brothers and I have been on a continuous security rotation since this all started. At this level of lockdown, the men are the only ones allowed to leave the compound, and when we do, it's in pairs. As of this morning, Satan's Hounds have yet to be spotted outside their territory, since Demetri's men gave chase to the ones who got away following Ember and Scarlett's abduction.
The club's decision to let war come to us instead of taking the battle to the enemy is a first, but the choice to stay was an obvious one when my uncle sent men to fuck with us, hurting my woman while we met face-to-face with him and his men. It's safe to say they've been watching the club much closer than we realized. The coming war is about more than my uncle wanting Bellamy. He is out for blood—mine.
I stroll in from making another perimeter check and notice Bellamy sitting alone at the top of the stairs with her elbows propped on her knees and chin cradled in her hands. I climb the stairs and sit beside her. "Hey, kiddo."
"Hey." She sounds sullen and defeated.
"Are you okay?" I nudge her shoulder with mine.
"No."
"Want to talk about it?"
Bellamy sighs. "What's the point? It's not like anyone will tell me anything anyway." Bellamy remains silent momentarily before lifting her face and looking at me. "I've heard the whispering, and I know our uncle wants me back."
"He does." I admit to feeling like shit for not talking to her about it before now.
Bellamy's face falls, and she looks away. "Why?" Her voice is thick with fear.
My throat tightens. "They've deemed you the club's property for stealing money from them." I watch as the meaning of my words sinks in.
"All of this is my fault," Bellamy whispers, her voice quivering.
"Come here, kiddo," I open my arms and wait for my sister to turn around. She faces me, then leans in, and I embrace her. "You did what you needed to survive. Don't harbor guilt for anything that's happened."
"They won't ever stop, Blake. His torment will continue. I shouldn't be here."
"You are right where you belong, Bellamy. No matter what happens, I will protect you—the club will protect you. We are your family, and this is your home."
Later in the night, I lie awake in bed with Ember nestled into my side, her leg draped across my hip, her head resting against my shoulder, and her palm pressed against my chest. She's been sleeping peacefully for most of the night.
I gave up on sleep hours ago. We're counting down the clock after sending a massivefuck youto Satan's Hounds following killing another of their members. We didn't have to say anything. The moment the ones responsible for the assault on Ember and her sister returned one man short, I guarantee my uncle knew his man was maggot food.
The Kings have no intention of bending a knee to those cocksuckers. If the bastards want Bellamy bad enough to start a war, they'll have to bring the fight to us on our turf. Handing my sister over is not an option—it never was. Disgust settles in my gut. How does a mother offer her young daughter to a man, treating her life as disposable? Is she that far gone in her addiction that she is willing to toss her child to the wolves?
"Your heart is racing," Ember whispers. "Want to talk about it?"
"This shit with Satan's Hounds has me locked and loaded, anticipating anything happening at any moment. I'm in a constant state of fight mode." Ember rubs my chest, and I close my eyes, trying to focus on her soothing touch.
"She's only fifteen, Blake," Ember says, her voice full of sadness, and the weight of her statement feels like an elephant on my chest. "It's disgusting." She pauses, then adds, "But why all the destruction? I don't understand. Is Bellamy part of a bigger picture we don't know about?"
"I don't know, babe. I've wracked my brain asking myself the same thing, but the truth is, they are the type of men who feed off fear and destruction. They need no reason other than they want to." I take a deep breath and ponder whether I should continue discussing this with her, but she must understand who we're facing. "My uncle, the one running the club now, held a knife to my throat while my father put a bullet in my mom's head. These are the kind of men we're dealing with, babe. Pure evil. If the devil has soldiers walking among men, it's Satan's Hounds."
