Page 9 of Jaded Red

“C’mon man, he won’t help,” Tiny says pulling me toward my bike.

“What’s the problem, Bastard? Have to have yourbrothersfight for you?” Nolan argues.

I stop dead in my tracks and spin my body to face Nolan. His whiskey-colored eyes, just like his sister’s, pin me thinking he knows me and how my club works. “At least I don’t let my family get kidnapped and sold into a sex trafficking ring.” I reach inside my cut, pull out the picture I have of Nadia and their father and fling it at Nolan’s feet.

“Fuck this, I’ll find her myself.” I stomp off as Nolan reaches for the picture. I straddle my bike and strap on my helmet. Before I have a chance to fire her up, Nolan is on me. His big fist lands directly on my jaw and my head snaps back.

“Fucker wants to tango. Let’s do it.” Tossing off my helmet, I dismount my bike and head right for Nolan.

He’s crouched, waiting for me. I tackle him around the waist, pushing him against the hood of the car. He hits it with a thud and punches me in the kidneys. I loosen my grip around his waist and he slips out of my grasp. Swinging around, Nolan lands an uppercut to the side of my face. I hit him back with a cross-jab. We go at it blow for blow. I can feel blood trickle down the side of my face and my nose. I split Nolan’s eye open and his lip is swelling.

“That’s enough!” Krimson shouts. Rush and Redline hold him back, Tiny and Dagger are holding me back. A huge crowd is surrounding us, cheering and whistling. Crazy fuckers. Now that we’re separated, I see that I did get a few good hits in. A cut above Nolan’s left eye is bleeding down the side of his face, his nose is swollen and his right cheek is red and bruising. His eyes are wild with rage, his chest is rapidly rising and falling and if they let him go, he will try and kill me. The thing about it is, that I’m not afraid to die. After everything I’ve been through, death is the least of my worries. Krimson approaches Nolan with herhands up. I can’t hear what she is saying because my ears are ringing where the fucker caught me in the side of the head.

I shake off Tiny and Dagger. I’m sure I look just as bad as Nolan-fucking-Ryan does, but with the adrenaline running through my veins, I can’t feel shit. I’m sure that’ll change once I come back down. I pace back and forth across the street, my chest heaving with every breath I take. I shake my hands and roll my shoulders back, staying loose in case he wants another crack at me.

The more Krimson talks to him, the more the rage in his eyes settles. She cups his face in her small hand and he closes his eyes. What the actual fuck is happening here?

Nolan breathes deeply and opens his eyes. They land on me but the aggression he showed earlier is gone. His jaw relaxes and I can see the moment Nolan is back in control. I’ve never seen anyone lose control like that and have some tiny woman bring them back from the dark hole they spiraled down. It’s kind of amazing. Nolan’s body visibly relaxes and I find myself relaxing too.

Krimson leaves him and approaches me with determination in her stride. The photo of Nadia I flung at Nolan in her tight grip. “Where did you get this?”

Rubbing my sore jaw, I shrug, not taking my eyes off Nolan. “Found it.”

“Where?” She’s persistent.

“The file I have on her,” I answer. Nolan approaches us, his body ridged but not in killer mode like earlier. He doesn’t release my stare. Fuck it, I’m done with games.

Clenching my teeth, I don’t back down. “She is missing. You can either help us or not. I really don’t give a shit anymore. I figured since she’s your sister,” I pin my glare on Nolan, “you’d actually give a fuck, but must be the apple doesn’t fall far fromthe rotten tree. Like father, like son?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Why should I believe you?” Nolan spits out.

“You don’t have to. The choice is up to you.” I shrug my shoulders. “I’m done here, let’s go,” I say to Torch, Dagger and Tiny. We turn and walk toward our bikes. Once we’re mounted and ready to roll out, I look Nolan-fucking-Ryan dead in the eyes. “We’re getting your sister back one way or another. You can either join us or hide, the choice is yours. We’ll be at the Clubhouse until two a.m. tomorrow morning.” I fire up my bike and we take off. The crowd parts for us like the Red Sea and we head back to the Clubhouse to see how Capone’s plan is coming together.

Whether Nolan-fucking-Ryan joins us isn’t my problem anymore. Getting Nadia back is my top priority and I can’t let her down. Not this time.

I refuse to let this emotion go I haven’t felt it in years and getting Nadia back will amplify these feelings. She’s it for me. Something I never thought I’d have again. It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time, but I’m not fighting it anymore.

Chapter Six

Red

Torch, Tiny, Dagger and I roll into the Clubhouse thirty minutes later, after leaving Nolan at the races with his thumb up his fucking ass. Capone is waiting outside for us pissed off and I know I’m going to get my ass handed to me for fighting Nolan-fucking-Ryan. He immediately approaches me once I get my kickstand down. His fist rears back and punches me square in the jaw. My head whips back and blood fills my mouth.

“Fuck.” That’s twice in less than an hour someone has hit me in the jaw. I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth.

“If you ever do something stupid like that again, Red, I will put you to ground. Are we clear?” Capone spits out, fury in his voice.

“Clear, Prez,” I grumble in my response. Capone has worked hard for an alliance with Krimson and her crew and my actions tonight could have severely hurt it. But the fucker pissed me off and I’m dealing with emotions I’m not used to having.

“Good, now get your face cleaned up. Grab your laptop and meet us in Church. We have a lot to discuss and plan.” Capone turns on his boots and goes back inside, dismissing me.

Tiny snickers, “Bro, you got off easy.” Torch and Dagger laugh with him. I don’t respond, only climb off my bike and flip all the assholes off.

“Red must like this woman to pull that shit.” Torch says to my retreating back. I stop dead in my tracks and turn to glare at Torch. The fucker has a huge smile on his face, itching to egg me on. Waiting for my reaction.

“What’d you expect?” Tiny goads. “It’s his first woman.”

“Our baby isn’t a virgin anymore. We need to celebrate,” Torch cheers.

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