Page 58 of Dragon Strife
Is that where he was doubtful? Did he have reasons to believe I would be somehow put in the middle of things? I asked Diego and Malik the same thing and they were just as stumped as I was. Unfortunately, I killed Barrett, and he took the secrets of their rivalry to the grave.
“Get me a bottle of water.” I roll my eyes at my request because although I want this man to suffer, I have a fucking moral compass. Maybe after a few years in my President position that will all change.
Chip saunters over with a bottle of cold water, his eyes still holding a hint of pity while his hair is a mess of waves around his ears. “Be careful,” he warns me. “There are more of us here who support you than you think.”
Laith overhears him and gives him a slight nod, but thankfully, Quinton is waiting near the hallway, thinking he’s getting a front-row seat to see how I will be dealing with my turncoat brother.
“Thank you,” I murmur to Chip and take the bottle. “It’s reassuring to know that.” I watch as he strides back to the bar, his cut gleaming with fresh oil and the red dragon seemingly dancing with the motion. “Tell Quinton to fuck off.” I turn to Laith. “If he’s there, I won’t be able to watch both of them, and I can’t trust that he wouldn’t trap me to save Jaeger.”
“Chino!” Laith calls out. “You’re waiting up here.”
“What?” he comes forward, his face darkening more with each step. I hate him, but fuck, he’s gorgeous. “I’m Vice—”
“I haven’t given you that title,” I snap, making him draw his head back with surprise. “You’re a brother, Chino, nothing more. Now move aside and know your place.”
“V,” he puts emphasis on my chosen name, as if it offends him. “You are not our President, and with all due respect, I have been tolerating this shit because of my part in what has happened to you, but I won’t let you near ourPresidentwithout his Vice being present. He deserves your wrath, I agree, but not to die for it.”
His words ignite an anger so hot inside of me that I have to take a few deep breaths before reacting. Laith’s hand lands on my arm, his comforting warmth a needed reprieve. I look up into his eyes, Malik’s eyes, and the inferno recedes a bit further. With one final deep breath, I take the five strides toward Quinton, putting us chest to chest. I don’t have to tilt my head too far to look him in his eyes. I can feel the audience around us. My gaze skims around the room, taking in the curious looks. The few brothers lingering are watching, none reaching for their guns, surprisingly, and then there’s Chip, grinning from his place at the bar. I think he’s right and maybe that’s why Quinton is so desperate to get to Jaeger. The brothers here doubt their leadership.
Quinton’s hazel eyes rove over my face, eyes that used to sing to my heart as his hands touched my skin. I shake those feelings aside and give him a grim grin. “If you don’t stand down, I will force you to your knees.” The ambiguous smile that settles over his face taunts me and my knee slams into his groin, forcing him to his knees, just like I said he would be. “It’s funny that this is the second time I’ve used that maneuver on you and it worked. Thanks for teaching me that.” His face tips upward while he grunts through the pain, and I hear boots shuffling around me. I look over my shoulder to find a few brothers with concern etched on their faces, but they don’t come forward.
I turn back to find Quinton trying to stand and slam my fist into his temple, making him hit the ground with anoof!I won’t deny the sick satisfaction I’m getting from watching him lay there, knocked out and motionless.
I face the few members of the Steel Dragons in the room and try my best to channel my father. “I don’t want to fight with you and I don’t want to cause disarray in your ranks, but I do believe I deserve justice for what happened to me and my father. Some of you may know the details, while others know nothing, and I will be correcting that soon. This is a family, a band of brothers who are meant to work together. There will be no more secrets between us.”
Slowly, they begin to nod and I take that opportunity to step over their fallen brother and head to the basement door. Laith takes up my rear as his chuckle hits the back of my head, so similar to his brother’s. It makes me miss the man who patched up my soul when it was nothing more than shreds. Do I want Laith to leave behind his brotherhood to join me? No, but do I want him to bewithme? I stop in front of the door and look back at the man whose kind heart emanates through his chest with every beat. Yeah, I do.
My cheeks warm as he looks back at me, his eyes never wavering. “Thank you for being here,” I tell him. “It would’ve been hard to do it alone.”
“But you would’ve if you had to.” He nods as he places his hand on the small of my back. “You’re tough.” Then he reaches over my shoulder to punch the numbers into the console by the door. “Quinton gave it to me today. He said Jaeger changed it soon after Vic died. I think he knew you’d want to go down there without him.” His fingers press into the buttons and my brows fall with each number. 2-0-0-0.
“Are you sure Jaeger set this code?” I whisper as the lock disengages.
“That’s what Quinton said. Why?” The door opens and I’m hit with a sudden shot of anxiety. I fucking hate basements.
“Because that’s the year I was born.” I take the first few steps down as Laith hums in thought. “Trust me, I don’t for one second believe it was done for me. Maybe it’s the year Angel was born too.”
“Jaeger doesn’t give a shit about Angel, or any of those girls,” Laith supplies. “Trust me on that.”
I do. I know my brother has no regard for females, except his mother. The thought of Claire has my throat swelling with emotion and my stomach flipping over. She’d hate what was happening between us right now. She raised us both the same, as if the blood in my veins came from her. I wonder how she would feel if I end up sending her son to Hell.
I hit the bottom of the stairs as Laith shuts the door above and looks down at me. “I won’t go any farther. I’ll make sure no one gets by me. Go do what you have to do and we’ll deal with the repercussions after.”
“And if I do kill him?” I whisper the words as my heart sinks with them. Could I kill the man who was raised to be my big brother?
“Then we’d better move fast.” He crosses his thick arms over his chest and stands guard like an unmovable object. I nod as I hurry for the steel door, apprehension coiling tight inside of me. What will I find when I open the door? Will he attack me?
I pull the keys out of my cut pocket and pull the largest from the bunch, the cool metal resting near my keychain. I swallow down the feelings of nostalgia and missing my family as I shove it into the lock. My family is dead.
The first thing I notice when I open the door is the pitch-black, and then his voice surrounds me like a blanket of ash. “Just couldn’t stay away, huh?”
I’ve been laying here in the dark, curled into the fetal position because this place is so fucking cold, listening to nothing, and turning my mind over to everything that’s happened in the last six months. When I handed Genni over to Hell’s March, I was still reeling and feeling enraged with my mother’s death so fresh in my mind. I saw her as the sole reason for it and felt triumph when I shot Vic in the head. Her screams of pain felt like nothing compared to what I was feeling inside. If my mother wasn’t killed that night, I don’t think I would’ve gone through with letting them take Genni.
Or maybe I would’ve. I don’t know.
Being the club’s President meant everything to me, and as soon as it was taken away, a heavy veil of anger covered my eyes, not letting me see who was truly at fault. It’s still there, but I’m learning to see past it. Genni only ever wanted to make her dad proud of her, the same way I wanted Vic to see my worth. I never wanted to be the burden boy who forced a man to be his father.
I hear the key in the lock and a smile creeps over my mouth. That wasn’t long at all. I try to ignore the quick beat of my heart and tell myself I’m just anticipating getting the fuck out of here.
