Page 33 of Deviant Bastards

“Fuck, Little Brawler? How could you tell it was me?” he asks as he throws open the door and steps into the room.

“Because, you big meathead, Dayton knocks like a gentleman. You, on the other hand, knock like a fucking police officer, you bastard.” He smirks at me as he looks at Ric.

“It’s here,” is all Barker says as he turns and walks back out of the room. Ric begins getting dressed as Gryffin mumbles something about taking a shower,

“Want some company?” I ask,

“Nope, you two will take too long,” Ric says sternly. He points at Gryffin, saying, “You go shower, and you Brat, throw some clothes on. We got you a present.” With that, he saunters out of the room. I turn to ask Gryffin what the hell is going on, but I find that he’s already in the bathroom.

“Come on, Spitfire. Move your arse!” Dayton yells from somewhere out in the hallway. I chuckle as I rummage around in my drawers for a pair of shorts and a top. I throw my hair up in a ponytail and make my way downstairs to see what all the damn fuss is about.

I find Ric, Dayton, and Barker in the living room sitting on the couch, each one wearing a grin of satisfaction on his face. “Okay, spill it. What did you do?” I ask as I sit on the chair facing them. No one speaks for a beat, not until Gryffin walks into the room, freshly showered.

“We bought you a present,” Ric says as he stands and approaches me with a box in his hand. I take the box from him and open it, nestled inside with some tissue paper is a stunning gold locket with a small red heart stone in the corner.

“It’s gorgeous,” I say as tears build in my eyes. “But... why?” I ask them.

“This.” Ric says while pointing to the blindingly beautiful jewllery “Is our promise to always protect you, to be there for you. This is our way of saying that we want not just you, but Ellie too, to be with us. We want this, whatever this is, to work. You, Ellie, the guys, and me. We’ll rule all of London together,” Ric explains with words that make my heart melt.

Two grunts choose that moment to enter the room. “We got company, Boss,” one of them announces.

Kendric hisses at them, “Who?”

“She says that she’s a friend,” the guy says before both of them walk back out of the room.

“Kayla,” I state. “What the fuck is she doing here, and how the fuck did she find us?” I ask as we follow the guys out of the room and to the front door, where we find Kayla being detained by Jordan and another guy.

“Harley, would you tell these fuckers to get their big, meaty fucking paws off of me before I have my brothers come here and kill them,” she growls. I look at Ric as he gestures for the guys to let her go.

“How the hell did you find me, Kayla?”

“I had some help from Barnett and Deacon. They figured it out after our meeting at the coffee shop,” she states as she takes a step towards me. The guys move closer to me, effectively cutting me off from Kayla. This causes her to chuckle.

“Got them wrapped around your fingers already, girl?” she quirks her head to the side as she asks the question. She’s sizing the guys up, trying to figure out their motive for protecting me.

“Does my father know that you’re here?” I ask her because if he does, then it means the guys are at risk from my father’s wrath. She shakes her head.

“Nope, Deacon didn’t want to tell him. Especially not after you tore him in two. He misses you, babe. I want to help you, Harley.Wewant to get you back to your daughter, safe,” my best friend says. Part of me believes her, but there’s a niggling feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach that’s telling me there’s something more at play here.

“I’ll call you,” is all I say as I turn my back on her.

“WHAT THE FUCK, HARLEY? GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE, NOW!” she yells at me as Jordan begins pulling her back down the driveway.

“You don’t wanna hear her out?” Ric questions as we walk back to the house together. The other guys are walking ahead of us slightly, but they’re still close enough to hear our conversation.

“Nope, I have a date to get ready for,” I say as I lock eyes with Gryffin.

* * *

GRYFFIN

I’m a ball of nervous energy as I get ready for my date with Pixie. “I can’t remember the last time I went on a date with a girl,” I mumble to myself as I pull the zipper on my jeans up and finish doing up the last few buttons on my shirt.

“It was the night that Barker met Carson in that club on the other side of the river. You had arranged to meet Carson’s friend, the loud one. What was her name again?” Kendric chuckles as he leans against the doorframe.Fuck, that was Paige.

“Paige. Damn, that girl only wanted to be seen with me to piss her father off because he was some big shot lawyer, and she was going through a rebellious stage,” I chuckle. Ric takes his time looking at me, checking me out from head to toe. Approaching me, he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me closer to him as he licks a line up my neck.

“Damn, Brat is fucking lucky that I’m letting you guys leave the fucking house,” he says as he steps back from me.

---