Page 103 of Their Domme

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Rhodes

Sunday

The smellof ash and smoke was still heavy in the air as I walked around the remains of what had been my home for the past ten years. There had been nothing left of it besides the shells of buildings; everything inside of it had been destroyed. I scuffed a boot along the ground, thinking of my woman. She had been tucked in close to Sacha and Vas when I last saw her, and although I hadn’t wanted to leave, I had a few things to take care of.

Well, one thing in particular.

Christopher.

A man I was going to kill with my bare fucking hands if I got the chance. He didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as Nic and after what he did to the women here, to my Nic… he’ll be lucky if all I do is kill him.

A customer who had become a friend of sorts, a confidant, betrayed me and everyone who mattered to me. I clenched my fists, wishing like hell I had something or someone to lash out at. If he had truly done this… He had taken away everything I had built for the Lords of Chaos, our safe place and headquarters. We’d have to be careful and make sure our presence was still felt in the city. No one was going to swoop in and steal our territory away because of this.

“Rhodes…” Razor’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced over at the other man who met my hard stare with one of his own. “We’ll rebuild.”

“We will,” I replied roughly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. I inhaled deeply, savoring the taste of it on my tongue before walking toward Razor. “Let’s go back. I want to check out something before we go to Ansel’s.”

The place Nic had given me—a fresh start, a landing place until I figured out what the club was going to do. When she showed me the paperwork, I couldn't believe that she would just hand over the place. I hadn’t told anyone else about it, wanting to make sure it would work for us before I announced anything.

“Excuse me,” a small voice said, breaking the morning silence.

We stopped dead in our tracks, Razor’s hand immediately found the gun on his hip as we eyed the young boy frozen a few feet away from us. He had a bloody and bruised face, and his tired blue eyes watched us from the shadows of a nearby alleyway. Fear came off of him in waves, and he was swaying on his feet.

“You should go, boy,” Razor said first, his voice gentle despite the blunt command. “This isn’t a safe place for you to be.”

My eyes narrowed as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, paling even more before he looked at the burned buildings behind us. “Are you— Are you the MC? Lords… something. I can’t remember.”

His voice cracked, sounding strained, as he focused on me in particular. He took a half step forward into the full light of the sun, and my heart skipped a beat. A flash of the picture Bodhi had found filled my mind, so I motioned at Razor to hold.

“What’s your name?”

He bit his lip, and tears fell down one of his swollen cheeks. “Are you— Are you Rhodes? Wrenn told me— She told me to look for you or…”

“Yes, I’m Rhodes. Are you Thomas?” He nodded a few times, and Razor released a shaky breath, relaxing his stance. “Were you followed?”

“I don’t know,” he replied softly, wincing as he rubbed his throat. “I just… Where’s Nic?”

“I can take you to her,” I told him, offering my hand. I waited patiently, letting him come to me. After the abuse I could tell he’d suffered, I knew better than to be too physically assertive. Painstakingly, he walked to me, and every bruise that was revealed made my anger rise, but I kept my face blank, not wanting him to think it was directed at him. Nic would kill me if something happened to him.

When he placed a shaking hand in mine, I grasped it carefully, not wanting to hurt him more, and looked at Razor. “Get my bike somewhere safe. There’s no way he’d make it on the back of one like he is.”

“I’ll call Blade to ride my bike and take yours back to Ansel's place. If that works for you?” Razor replied. I told him that was fine, and he stepped away to handle that.

I reached into my back pocket and called Ansel. He’d left before Joe was killed, and I would bet anything he was around Ashview, waiting to see what popped up in his search for the asshole that had betrayed us all. A few rings, then I was greeted with silence.

“I need a ride.”

“What happened to your bike?” Ansel asked, sounding distracted.

“I also need a doctor,” I told him, not bothering to answer his question. “I’m at the old compound. Come get us ASAP.”

“Us?”

“I have Thomas.”

There came a few curse words in German before the call ended.

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