Page 31 of Three Beasts

Chapter 19

Wade

I see her walk into the Honeypot with my brother of all people. My first thought is if she betrayed me or not. Why is she with him? What good could it possibly do her?

I run to her side determined to get her out of his clutches just in case he has her under some authority like maybe he's going to arrest her or something.

"What the fuck are you doing here Cole? You know you're not invited here. And more than that, what are you doing with my girl?"

Zeva steps forward,"It's okay Wade. I promise. He saved me okay?"

I take her face in my hands, urgent to get all the news out of her that I can. "What happened? What does he mean he saved you? From what? What happened?"

She attempts to remove herself from my grasp but there's no way I am letting her out of my control.

"It's okay. Wade, listen to me. Cole saved me. You can trust him."

I fly to Cole and place my hands around his neck. All I see is rage. All I feel is fury. "What did you do? What happened to her?"

I'm flying off the handle but I can't help it. I love her. This one I love. And seeing her with my brother makes me fucking crazy. Zeva is tugging at my waist, trying to pull me away from my brother.

"Please Wade, come on. He didn't do anything. Just let me tell you."

She succeeds. Her insistence is enough to pull me away from him. "Okay, baby, what is it? Tell me."

I release Cole and he holds his neck where I was squeezing him. "God man, take it easy."

"Shut up Cole! You are not my brother."

"Wade! Please."

She is desperate now for my attention. "What is it baby?"

"They shot up my house. Wade, I almost died. These guys came to the house and they fired at me. I shot back at them but it wasn't until Cole arrived that everything seemed okay. He rescued me."

"You did that?"I am all fury and rage but also confused. "Who shot at her Wade?"

"Well if you'll calm down for a minute I can tell you."

"Listen to him, Wade."

"It was probably The Iron Legion. They came up to her house in a truck and fired several rounds but she had a gun and she fired back. I was thinking maybe Zeva would be a target since she started dating you guys. Everyone knows about you. I knew they were in town so I went by her place just to check that everything was cool. I came up as they were speeding off. I didn't do much. This girl of yours handled herself really well. She protected herself and her dogs. The house needs a lot of work so I thought I'd bring her here. I knew you were her and that she needs you."

I am shocked. How did I not see this coming? How did the Iron legion slip past my defenses and get into town so quick? A part of me is grateful to Cole for handling this but another part feels anger towards myself. I should have been the one to protect her. I wish I had thought to check on her like that. I let my newfound princess get into trouble but it sounds like she's more cowboy than princess with the way she handled herself. I didn't even know that she had a gun.

"Thank you Cole. We owe you our thanks."

He nods his head in my direction but I can tell things haven't cooled off between us. It'll take some time for that to happen.

Just then Jason calls and I answer. I start to tell him everything and he's simultaneously telling me about his encounter with the scout. Fuck. This is too much going on at once.

I notice Cole taking the opportunity to sneak out. I'm distracted and I can tell he wants to deal with me even less than I want to deal with him.

He kisses Zeva on the cheek and then leaves. I'm barking orders to Jason. We are both erupting in anger. We decide that the safest place for Zeva is not at the Honeypot but at my house. I need to take her back to my compound.

"Let's go."

As we walk away from the Honeypot I see someone new drive up and I’m immediately suspicious. His bike is loud and sputtering weirdly, but he’s not wearing any symbols or jacket. I shake my head. He’s young, probably just in it for the symbolism of being on a bike. He bumps into me as he walks past and immediately stares up apologetically. Just a child, I guess.

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