Page 13 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

5

River

The spikeof adrenaline in my blood is so intense that it feels like ice water is pouring through my veins. Rage rattles around in my chest, and if there wasn’t a gun pointed at my head, I’d probably beat that slimy motherfucker down even more.

I’m still fucked up in the head from the mess of last night, and I didn’t sleep well on top of that. Being here is only putting me more on edge.

I keep thinking about that fucker I helped Knox torture. How Knox told me the guy tried to coerce one of their dancers into helping him—and then when she wouldn’t, he tried to take advantage of her.

Assault. Always the first tool in the arsenal of every shitty man who doesn’t know how to take no for a fucking answer.

Being here in this stupid clubhouse reminds me of all the men in the world who are just waiting to take what they want from a woman. Ready and willing to assault her for having the audacity to not give in and roll over for them when they want her to.

It’s fucking disgusting, and the minute that asshole put his hand on my ass, just because he felt like he could, savage fury flashed through me.

It still boils in my veins, and I glare at the fucker with the gun pointed at me.

All the Diamond Devils look pissed as shit.

“What the hell? You come into our house and attack us?” the bruiser who stopped us at the door asks. “What the fuck is that about?”

“Tell your asshole cronies to keep their hands to themselves,” I spit back, jerking my head at the guy who looks ready to shoot me. “It’s not exactly good hospitality to get handsy with your guests.”

We’re in a standoff now. No one moves. No one even seems to breathe. The Kings of Chaos and I stand still, our bodies tense and ready to move as we stare down the guns trained on us, and the Diamond Devils don’t seem to know what they want to do.

If they start shooting, it’ll be a shit-show. They have the advantage in this moment, but if they know the Kings’ reputation at all, they have to be aware what starting a fight with them will mean.

My heart is pounding, more from anger than fear, and I’m certain Gage is probably thinking to himself that this is why he didn’t want me to come.

Well, too fucking bad.

Knox, in true Knox fashion, doesn’t seem to give a shit. There’s a gun pointed at his chest—mostly because the dude holding it is shorter than him by a good bit—and he seems as fearless as ever.

He grins broadly, his dark brown eyes glittering as he looks at the bruiser, the only person in the room bigger than he is.

“Sorry. The Kings of Chaos don’t put up with people laying hands on our women,” he says, his grin taking on a vicious edge. “Or didn’t Reggie give you that message?”

The bruiser frowns in confusion and looks to the guy next to him, who shrugs.

I swear I see Gage roll his eyes. “Derrek,” he supplies. “You know him. He’s one of yours.”

The tension cranks up another notch as that name hits home, reminding the Devils what Knox and I did to one of their members before letting him go.

“Hey,” Knox says, shrugging. “We could have killed him. He deserved it. He came into our house and tried to get his way. And when he couldn’t make it work, he tried to force the fucking issue. We don’t put up with that kind of shit.”

The Devils all look angry, but even they can’t really argue against that point. Reggie, or Derrek, or whatever his fucking name is, was out of line.

Before anyone else can say anything, there’s a commotion from somewhere near the back of the room, and a door opens. A tall, lanky man steps through and narrows his eyes at the scene.

He looks more intimidating than any of the other clowns in this place, and everyone goes silent in deference. He must be the president of this little club of idiots.

Gage steps forward, basically ignoring the gun pointed at his head. Knox bares his teeth at the one Devil who seems like he’s going to take issue with Gage moving, and that simmers the guy the fuck back down. I fold my arms and keep giving the man in front of me my worst glare, letting him know that I’m not fucking afraid of him and he’s a piece of shit.

“What’s all this?” the club president asks, his voice cold and hard. He radiates that kind of vibe that says he doesn’t have to be built like a tank to fuck someone up, and it makes sense that he’s in charge.

Fortunately for us, Gage gives him back the same energy, letting the anger simmer in his eyes.

“They’re the ones who fucked up Derrek,” one of the clowns says, jabbing a finger at Knox. “Then they came in here and started shit with us.”

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