Page 54 of Dragon Strife
“I know,” I snap, making Diego laugh.
“Genevieve.” Diego stands as she turns to head back into the bathroom, only looking back once she hears Diego calling for her. “We need to discuss our safety here and what happened back at our compound.”
Her eyes immediately land on me and I watch as the blue slowly hardens. “I know,” she says, then closes the door behind her. I should be nervous about that look. I know I should be, because it means she’s found some shit out, but fuck me, I just want to fuck her in my brother’s bed instead.
“What was that about?” Diego questions as his face fills with confusion.
“It’s about the mission Barrett sent me on.” I give him a pointed look and he curses under his breath and runs a hand down his face.
“How would she know about that?” he asks as his teeth sink into his full, bottom lip.
“Not sure.” I shrug. “But I have nothing to hide since that piece of shit is dead. Although, it will open a can of worms for the Dragons, and I have to admit, that’s a little exciting. They think their current President is as clean as the last, but wait until they find out both are as filthy as the fucking sewer.”
“We have to tread lightly because one was her father,” Diego advises. “No matter what he did as President of this club, he was her father. Same goes for her asshole brother.”
“We need to be honest with her, Montez.” I stand and point toward the bathroom, making sure my statement sounds firm. “She wants to claim this club as well, but she knows nothing about the shit they were involved in. The shit we tried to stop. The cartel and the weapons—”
The bathroom door opens, cutting off my sentence as I turn to look at her. She leans against the frame and looks from Diego to me, her expression stony. “What are you two murmuring about in here? Could it be why I found Malik having a secret meeting with Cash, or how, months ago, I stumbled upon him at a bar with both Cash and Kennedy?”
“I can explain,” I begin, hoping she gives me the chance to do just that. There’s so much she doesn’t know.
“I’m counting on it.” She nods, giving me a sardonic smile.
“We need to get Jaeger out of that room,” I say as I fall onto the couch beside Laith. “Having Hell’s March here is fucking dangerous. The brothers are trigger-happy and I don’t fucking blame them.” Most of the men are out back at the garage, cleaning and shining their bikes while a few linger in here around the bar. It’s quiet and I’m glad for it because the alternative would be the brothers banding together to get their President out of the basement. The fact that they’re not is another concern.
“One of those Hell’s March just helped save Kennedy’s life,” Laith reminds me as I scoff.
“While the other one caused the injury!” I give him a confused look. “Laith, your brother is fucking psychotic, and having him here is unnerving. They need to leave.”
“They would be taking Genni with them,” he voices as he gives me a nudge. “She’s their President.”
“Do you believe that?” I ask him curiously. “Do you think they really made her the President after she supposedly shot Barrett in the head?”
“What do you think?” he deflects. “You trained her to shoot. Is she capable of shooting a man between the eyes?”
“I don’t fucking know, man,” I groan as I scrub my hand down over my face, my fingers catching on the thick stubble growing along my jaw. “If you’re asking, did she have this skill? Maybe, although I didn’t train her while she was under pressure, but the woman who stood in the center of this room swinging that gun around is not the Genni we once knew.”
“No, she’s not,” he agrees as his eyes skim the room. “Everyone’s on edge and nobody’s happy that there are two, maybe three, Hell’s March members in our club. On top of that, our President is locked away and we’re unable to get him out.”
“We need to convince her to let Jaeger out or we need to get in there ourselves. What if she fucking shot him?” My heart begins to beat quickly in my chest, the sound booming through my ears. I consider that maybe Genni would have the nerve to kill her brother after everything he’s done to her.
“He probably deserved it, Chino.” Laith looks me in the eye, his brow raising. “I hope she at least took out a leg for what he’s done. I did teach her a bit about guns.”
My anxiety slows as I give him a skeptical look. “I know it’s very much a possibility he’s alive. You and I both saw her shoot at me and she missed by a long shot,” I deadpan. I hope she missed anyway.
He chuckles into his fist as he rolls his eyes. “We both know she missed on purpose. Whatever it was that you guys had, it’s the only thing that stopped her from killing you today.” I think back over our training sessions and how good she had gotten by the last one, and admit to myself that yes, she did miss on purpose.
His words send a barrage of images through my mind. Spending the day being pissed off because I had to teach the Varga Princess how to shoot, then the night we danced in the warehouse and the way her skin felt as I moved my hand along her cheek, the sweet taste of her lips when I finally gave in to temptation, but nothing compares to the night I settled between her thighs and confessed to her how I was feeling. I have no excuse for my actions after that, none that I want to voice anyway. I was a coward, and as hard as it is to admit, it was easy to betray Genni rather than be disloyal to my best friend and brother. I know I’m undeserving of her. I was then and I am now, but it doesn’t stop my heart from singing her name. It doesn’t stop the guilt that eats me alive each day, and if I go the rest of my life without having her again, then that’s the punishment I deserve.
“Looks like I lost you,” Laith mumbles as I finally snap out of my thoughts. “I can attest to her allure. I can’t deny that there was something between us before everything went down, and I told you as much back then, but in my eyes, she was still a young girl. She hadn’t experienced life, and I think even though she was beautiful, that was the reason why I held back. Now she has the confident swagger of a woman grown. She’s not going to take shit from nobody and I can’t help but be more attracted to her now than I ever was before.”
“Great,” I hiss as I stand from the couch. “You can join her other two boyfriends.”
I can’t describe the feeling that’s welling up inside of me. It’s like a strange mix of jealousy, despair, and regret. It feels more potent than anything I’ve felt before, and it’s driving me to doubt everything. Do I really want to live like this for the rest of my life? Or do I drop every lesson I’ve been taught since I was a kid? All for Genni.
“You need to talk to her.” Laith stands and looks me in the eyes. “We both do. She thinks she’s the President of this club, and by rights, she is, but the brothers would have to agree and I think most, if not all, would side with Jaeger. Then we have a decision to make.”
“What?” I step back and take a look at him. I find resolution in his eyes and the sight makes me worry further. “What do you mean?”
