Page 82 of The Puck Chase

Once dry and in some fresh clothes, he leads me to bed, tucking me into his side. It isn’t long before Josh appears with a sandwich, a bottle of whiskey, and my phone. I take only the whiskey, uncapping it and swallowing nearly half without taking a breath. I see Archer and Josh share another concerned look, silently communicating, and in other circumstances I might be happy they are finally bonding with one another, but the only thing on my mind right now is getting rid of the pain in my chest.

My phone rings again, and my eyes flare in a panic, but Josh quickly cuts off the call and turns my phone on silent. “It’sJasper,” he murmurs, tossing it onto my bedside table, all I can do is inhale more whiskey.

Josh takes a seat at my desk, as Archer’s hand rubs up and down my back in firm circles, and it’s the only thing keeping me sane. Without him I’d be lost completely, and I fucking hate myself for it. We sit in silence, the pair of them watching me like it’s their sole mission in life, and guilt and grief drown me like fucking poison.

I hate my father. I hate what he did to Jasper, what he did to me, what he did to Ryan, but I hate even more that he still has the power to hurt me. I finish the bottle of whiskey. Josh is quick to grab me another bottle, while we all pretend we don’t see my phone lighting up with countless calls from my brother.

Maybe I understand now why he ran and never looked back.

That’s the last thought I have, before I pass out completely.

Rage like I have never known burns inside of me. Daemon passed out about an hour ago, and Josh and I still haven’t moved. I can’t, not when I feel him physically falling apart, not when I’m not sure if he will ever be able to pull himself back together. I stroke his hair back from his face, and a pained sigh escapes him, only making me angrier, as I pull back and reach for my phone. I dial David’s number, not caring that Josh is within earshot, and I wait for him to answer.

“Arch, everything okay?” It’s the same way he always greets me, as if he believes there has to be something wrong for me to be calling him, but even I can hear the worry in his tone, because something wrong has already happened.

“He called him,” I spit quietly, trying and failing to contain my emotions. “He fucking called him, and he…” I cut myself offbefore my voice breaks, and I hear my stepfather’s sigh, as Josh’s questioning stare penetrates into me.

“It’s almost over,” he assures me in his most promising tone, but with Daemon drunk and passed out beside me, it doesn’t bring me any relief. “I’ll get a restraining order put in place, just in case it takes longer than expected, barring any phone calls or mail.” From the way Josh’s frown deepens, I know he can hear every word.

“Get it done tonight, please,” I beg, trailing my gaze over Daemon, feeling nothing but pain for him. “He can’t go through this again,” I add, and I don’t just mean his father calling him, I mean all of it. That man has done enough, and I won’t let him take anything more from his son.

“I’ll text you when it’s done,” David replies before cutting off the call, and I let out a deep sigh.

Josh opens his mouth, no doubt to ask what the fuck is going on, but at the same time, Daemon’s phone lights up again on the nightstand. I’m out of bed before I can stop myself, grinding my teeth when I spy Jasper’s name across the screen. I let it ring out, before I open up the phone and find almost twenty missed calls and multiple text messages.

“Is it Jasper?” Josh asks, and I nod, my eyes flying across the messages, before I quickly tap out a reply. “What are you doing?” Josh questions, but I ignore him, watching typing bubbles appear and disappear, until Jasper’s response comes. I type out another response, and when I still don’t reply to Josh, he marches over to me. “What the fuck are you doing?” he snaps, reading the messages over my shoulder, but I lock the phone and put it in my pocket.

“Protecting his fucking peace,” I snap, pulling on my shoes, and then pointing between them. “Do not leave his fucking side until I get back, do you understand?”

Josh still looks pissed, but he nods swiftly, and then I’m gone.

I make a quick pit stop at my own house, grabbing what I need, and then I am driving across town to the fucking Hades MC Clubhouse. By the time I pull up it’s almost midnight, yet their gates are half open, and a party is raging on the forecourt. I leave my truck in front of their entrance, pushing through the gates without pause, ignoring all the questioning looks as I try to find the man I am looking for.

“You lost, kid?” An authoritarian voice cuts across the yard. Suddenly the music stops, and all eyes are on me.

I meet his stare head on, before my eyes drop down to the patch, sewn across the left side of his leather cut. I’m not that well versed on biker gangs, but I’ve seenSons of Anarchy, I know what the word President means in this world.

I ensure my voice is loud and clear, as I respond, “I’m looking for Jasper.”

The President looks me over, no doubt assessing how much of a threat I am, and though he appears to quickly dismiss me, right now I feel like I could take on the fucking world. He nods his head at another guy, this one wearing a patch that says Vice President. “Go get Forbes, tell him he has a visitor.”

The VP, who looks like he could be his brother, only nods, obeying his order instantly. The tension remains between the rest of them, as we wait, all of them watching me closely, but I keep my focus on only one thing. My anger. A feeling that is only intensified when the VP returns, with a bigger and broader version of Daemon close on his heels.

His stare is wary at first, flying across the yard in search of his brother, but when it lands on me instead, he looks pissed. Good. He isn’t the only one. “It’s okay, Prez, he’s not here to cause trouble,” Jasper tells his president, and I can’t help the scoff that leaves me.

“I wouldn’t be so fucking sure,” I snap, and I swear I see his leader smile.

“Whatever, just take it out front,” the President replies, gesturing toward the gates, and I turn on my heel and walk out, knowing that Jasper will follow.

When he catches up to me, I am already pacing beside my car, the file in my hand almost crumpled completely, as he lights up a cigarette and says, “I was expecting my brother.”

Another scoff leaves me. “Then you’re dumber than I thought,” I tell him truthfully, and his eyes widen in surprise, watching me closely.

“Did my father call him?” he finally asks, and I stop pacing, my gaze snapping to him. “He did, didn’t he? What did he say?”

“What did he say?” I repeat, the rage inside of me burning even hotter than before. “Is that why you’ve been blowing up Daemon’s phone all night, so you could find out what other ways your father fucked him up? Not to see if he’s okay, or ask if he needs anything, but just to check on his communication with that fucking piece of shit?” I shout, my body shaking with anger, as I rip open the file and start tossing documents at his feet. “Where were you when your father took a knuckle duster to his jaw, and he had to have it fitted with a metal plate? Or how about the time he attacked him with a bat and broke four of his ribs, or all the fucking times he cut him with his fucking blade, leaving his body littered in scars?” I spit, tossing medical documents that detail the abuse, and social service reports that were swept under the table after they were paid off. “Or how about the night he slit your little brother’s throat, where were you then?”

His stare doesn’t even drop to the documents, as if he’s already seen them, as if he could recite every word, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that they cause him physical pain. “I was a kid, I made a mistake, and trust me I’m paying for it, butI’m going to make it right,” he replies firmly, and all I can do is shake my head in disgust.

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