Page 6 of Sinful Mates

Her gaze dropped to my bloodied knuckles. “Fuck, Slade, what did you do? If you hit Zethan…”

I blocked the words with my palm. “I punched the wall.”

“Fiery mate.” She pressed a kiss to my broken bones, injecting her healing magick into them. They cracked and reset.

“Thanks, Nurse A.” I spanked her ass gently to get her moving because her kid and Zethan were waiting. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.” She inched up for another peck on my lips and I held back fucking her mouth in front of everyone. “Love you.”

I didn’t deserve her love for what I did, but I was going to earn it back.

“Love you too, sugar.” Frustration sizzled under my skin as I watched her leave, the sway of her ass gone from her step.

Alaric came up beside me. Shame twisted his bond in knots. Asshole was hiding from her because he chose the club over her.

“How are the women?” I asked, trying not to let the click of the door close on my heart.

“Holding up as well as they can.” Alaric held the sides of his radios as if they grounded him. “I just sent Brix, Dusty, and Pitbull to collect bedding for them.”

I didn’t want to hear that asshole’s name mentioned in case the room went up in smoke, so I stuck to my plan. “I’m sticking around for another hour, then I’m going home with Aaliyah and Mia. Stay here with Castor and watch the women.”

Alaric stiffened, his grip on his radio tightening. “I can't do that, sir.”

Fuck, not thissirshit again. How many times had I told him?

“Why not?” Heat burned at my nape.

His gaze went to the window where Aaliyah climbed into the van with Zethan and Mia. “Respectfully, I’m still not on full duty.” Work didn’t cease when employed by an MC. “I obeyed you tonight partly to get back on full duty, partly for other reasons. In the process, I wrecked my woman. Now I’m going to be with her.”

I relented, only because she needed her mates, and I didn’t want to be the cunt that kept them from her. “All right.”

Alaric gave me a respectful nod as he departed. I burned up, bitter at having to stay. Being the boss had its perks, but it also came with heavy responsibility, and sometimes I wanted to be free of it for a while.

I scanned the club and found Brix’s beady eyes on me. Fucker returned with bedding for the women. He started this bullshit with Zethan, and I’d be the one to end it. My bond was pro murder right now and I had my sights targeted on him.

Mutiny was upon me. Brix’s bullshit was just the beginning. Nothing I could do was going to stop the apocalypse baring down on me.

CHAPTER3

Aaliyah

Void.Bereft. Rejected. War between the clubs, the immense strain on my relationships, and killing Danny had taken its toll. Everything hit me when I arrived at the club, and I almost lost it. What once held promise and hope turned dark like everything else tainted with my brother’s malice.

Zethan’s van rocked as we drove to Slade’s house east of Bathurst. The cabin smelled like the fluid he cleaned the seats, steering wheel, and other fixtures with. My mate was clean and meticulous about his bike and vehicle as I was in my role as a nurse. Something I hope might rub off on Mia if she was messy.

Lost in thought, I barely felt the pinch of our curse, and if I did, my darkness swamped it.

Pink flowers blossomed everywhere in their spring bloom, but all I saw was red. On my hands. Running in the streets. Splashed on cars. Streaming down Dany’s chest, his goddamn ghost taunting me from the rear of the van behind Mia.

A noise brought me back from my dark thoughts. Light and effortless. Bright smiles and innocent laughter. Mia. Squealing about all the pink, her favorite color. My saving grace. I smiled before my thoughts delved back into the darkness again.

After taking out Danny, Zethan escorted the bodies of Mia’s parents to their respective Underworlds. When he returned, we washed the blood from our skin, clothes, and from Mia. She awoke on the ride back to the club. We took her to McDonald’s because she was starving. That bastard Danny kept them captive for almost two days with no food or water. Once we left the shed where I murdered Danny, the three of us went to a pharmacy to get my daughter electrolytes and minerals.

My brother was finally gone, one dark chapter of my life closed. My father’s death avenged. After all that, why didn’t I feel safe? Enemies swarmed around the Jackals. Police. The legal system. A mysterious avatar adversary. And now, the club turned on me. They didn’t want me here, just like the Wolves.

Fuck that. I belonged here. I saved their president from a bullet. Healed their road captain from a shot wing. Helped them eliminate a rival club’s sabotage. I was more of a Jackal than those assholes were. Once I might have cared to show them, but now, I only held indifference. That part of me died when I took my brother’s life.

My brain hadn’t caught up with the situation. Numbness crept around the edges, protecting me from more pain, loss, and tragedy. Hitting my limit, it switched me to autopilot to swallow the pain and shock of the last five hours.

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