I Dare You To Meet Me
Chapter 30

By all that is holy in this world, who the hell is interrupting my well-deserved rest? I hope to hell he has the best reason in the world if he doesn’t want to lose a tooth.

With all the regret in my heart I rise from my bed at the insistent sound of someone knocking on my bedroom door. My eyes scan the room and I walk over to where I had left an old Niko’s T-shirt I used as pajamas and put it on to cover my body, even though it will only go halfway up my thigh. Actually the shorts I wore yesterday covered less so it doesn’t matter.

I finally went to open the door when the knocking became more insistent.

-I’m f*****g coming! I half shouted annoyed by the impatience.

I opened wide and my eyes met my second least favourite biker of the moment. My father’s VP.

-I hope someone is dying so I have to get out of bed. I blurted out as soon as I saw him.

The nightmares from the night before were wreaking havoc on my mental health, apart from the damn knot of feelings this man was causing me. But I came to the conclusion that the best thing I could do was to show him that I wasn’t affected by what happened in the basement the day before. Both the murder and the fact that I was so disappointed that he left me alone. Hunter had already seen me vulnerable too many times to allow him any more.

A girl, or rather anyone, had to know when to put her foot down and say enough was enough.

-The brothers are talking about how you came in last night looking like someone beat you up and then you got drunk at the bar. That was the first thing he said and I rolled my eyes as I leaned against the door.

-This place is worse than a school, doesn’t anyone have a life to worry about that they have to be so attentive to mine? And look how over the top they are, I only took a few swigs from a bottle.

Hunter looked annoyed as he detailed me from head to toe, but he also looked a little worried and I dare say guilty.

-Of course we have business to attend to but seeing our Prez’s daughter in such a state is always going to attract attention, what the hell happened to you Tasha, the last time I saw you you weren’t so beat up, who dared beat you up? I let out a wry laugh that made the biker stop examining the bruises on my face and look me in the eye.

-Seriously that’s what you want to talk about, after what we went through yesterday my physical state is what worries you the most, really Hell, whatever, I got beaten up by a guy named Michael when I got into an illegal fighting ring yesterday. But don’t worry I won the fight either way if you care to know. Although I doubt it, how was the emergency at the club yesterday, was it worth all the confidence I was giving you? Hunter opened his mouth to defend himself but I covered it – Oh wait, I realised I don’t care. I told you before and I’ll tell you again now you’re nobody to come and interrogate me, so if you don’t have anything productive to contribute to this conversation I ask you to let me rest. It’s been a shitty few days and I want to sleep.

I finish my speech as I uncover his mouth and take a step back. Hunter sees me hurt and angry, he crosses his arms and makes his short sleeved army green t-shirt and his leather waistcoat fit even tighter around his muscles.

Despite everything the fucker is still hot and I decided I could hate him a little more just for that.

-Tasha, I know you’re upset about what happened. But you don’t know the things that have been going on around here, it’s dangerous business, the Prez will cut my balls off if he knows I’m talking to you about this, everything I’m doing is to protect you, why the hell did you go to an illegal fighting ring, don’t you know how dangerous that is? He said to me in a serious but deeply tired voice, and looking at him I could see slight dark circles under his eyes.

-I’m not annoyed, don’t be mistaken Hell, I’m not annoyed. I’m fed up, fed up, tired, I’m just quitting, this club is your life and it comes first, you made that clear to me yesterday when you abandoned me when I needed it most. But easy, I get it, who am I to ask you for comfort, we’re not a couple, we’re not even friends, so I won’t make that mistake twice, to protect myself, really, it’s true, I haven’t the slightest idea what’s going on and guess whose fault it is, yours, because no one dares to say a damn word to me about it because they’re too scared of my dad. But guess what, I’m not one of you and I can do what I damn well please and that’s what I will do. Now seeing as there’s nothing more to say I’m going to take a shower, in case you haven’t noticed I look like shit and I want to fix it. Goodbye Vice President.

I tell him and slam the door in his face before he can answer me, I slide the lock only because I see him very capable of getting in to finish the conversation. Hunter knocks on the door again but I tell him to go away, after a few minutes insisting he finally gives up and just tells me that Hades wants to talk to me and that he is waiting for me before he leaves.

Well, let him keep waiting, I waited thirteen years and he can sit there for a few minutes.

I go into the bathroom and take off all my clothes and then take the longest cold shower in history. My head was throbbing and my whole body ached, my face most of all but I still felt like shit. I made sure to wash all the emotions out of my body as my heart had raced when I saw the biker’s onyx eyes and f**k no, that wasn’t going to happen again.

When I got out of the shower I approached the mirror with fear and almost let out a scream of horror.

Holy shit, it was worse than I had imagined, my l*p was swollen and busted, my right cheekbone was purple and green, my left eyebrow was split and I had several bruises on my jaw. I also had bags under my eyes. The view of my body wasn’t much better, my knuckles had several scabs and were red and purple. Bruises of all shades dotted my pale skin on various parts of my legs, arms, shoulders, collarbones and even my abdomen.

Definitely getting into two fights in the same day wasn’t the best of my ideas, but damn it felt good.

Until you killed one of them killer.

F**k shut the f**k up conscience, I grimaced at the image the damn mirror gave me and walked out of the bathroom while drying my hair with the towel.

I didn’t feel like doing my make-up because my arms hurt but I didn’t want to look like a zombie all day either, so I did my heart’s content and took special care to cover every single welt on my body.

When I looked decent, because there was no way I was going to feel pretty with so much pain in my body, I chose my clothes like any other day. A pair of ripped jeans at the knees, a black sweatshirt/blouse, my military boots and that was it. I braided my hair as I wasn’t in the mood to wear it down.

Once I was ready to start a new day I left my room and walked slowly to the kitchen, or at least that was the plan because as I was walking down the stairs I could see Hades’ body leaning against one of the walls with his strong arms crossed on his chest. His eyes followed me all the way down until I descended and we were at the same height.

He looked tired, pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and dry lips. I let out a sigh as I slipped my hands into my jeans pockets and looked at him with reluctance.

-I guess we’re going to have that conversation you keep talking about. I said neutrally and Hades nodded, “Well, I don’t have anything to say to you so you start. My father sighed and sat down on one of the steps while leaning his elbows on his knees.

-I know our arguments never end well, and most of the time it’s my fault. But I don’t mean for things to get out of hand so often. With Bruno and Gael I never had any problems because unlike you they don’t argue with what I tell them. But you’re too much like me and your mother, which makes things always end on bad terms. Tasha I know yesterday was hard for you, I know you’re right and I really don’t have a f*****g clue what you had to go through these years that I wasn’t there for you. But now I am, you don’t have to face these things alone, yesterday when I tried to get you out it wasn’t because I didn’t see you capable of defending yourself. If not because you didn’t need it, I am your father and you are my only daughter, I am the one who should take care of you, my hands are the ones that should have been stained with b***d, not yours. Understand that the decisions I make are for the best for everyone.

I shake my head and smile half-heartedly.

-There are things you can’t protect me from, what happened yesterday is something that would have happened sooner or later,” I start to say and remember my promise to kill my mother’s killers, “Don’t feel responsible for taking care of me just because I’m here, because I can tell that’s all you’re doing it for. And make no mistake Hades, the decisions you make are not looking for the best for everyone, but the best for the Club, and that’s right, they are your family and family is never forgotten or betrayed, I don’t belong here and it’s becoming increasingly clear that I would never fit in this world. So yes, I must defend myself, because when I leave, when I return to my life, no one will do it for me-.

When I finish speaking, Hades looks at me annoyed and sad at the same time.

-You may not remember, but you were born here, you took your first steps here, many of the older brothers heard you say your first words. This is your family too and your home if you want it to be. We have no female members but make no mistake Tasha, you are part of the club in the same way that Toro, Demon, Hell or myself are, and that will never change. No matter how far you go.

I swallow as my fingers play with my braid. I don’t know what to say to that.

-You were late last night. I comment quietly.

-Are you going to scold me for that? I raise an eyebrow and put my hands on my h**s and he shakes his head a little as he tugs on his hair with his fingers.

-You’re old enough to have a curfew, but there’s a lot going on right now and I’d like to know where you are from now on, just in case. Can you do that? Shit but don’t give me those eyes, where the f**k is all my self control?

-I guess next time I want to go to the fights I could let you know if I’m late. I say as I sigh and shrug my shoulders.

-You went where? Hades’ tone went up a couple of notches when he asked that question.

-Oh look at the time, it’s getting hungry. I’ll see you later. It was the quietest conversation we’ve ever had and I don’t want a scolding, let’s just leave things alone.

-Natasha…

I know what’s next but thank you no thank you, I leave my father with the word in his mouth and run off to my original destination. The kitchen.

I hear the biker’s footsteps behind me but he can’t catch up. My ribs burn and my chest grumbles from the sudden run, f**k I forgot I look like a punching bag.

Cursing and grumbling under my breath I sat down next to a curious Bruno, gave him a half smile and explained in summary my bad mood that morning. My stepbrother, unlike my father, did give me a good lecture about how bad it was to have gone to that place by myself, I didn’t bother to explain that I was in fact accompanied because something told me it was only going to get worse.

I ignored the look of, we’ll talk about this later, that Hades gave me when he also sat down to eat the bowl of porridge we were all given, it’s worth mentioning that there was grumbling and cursing from almost every man at the table. Including Hades and Bruno, but I shrugged my shoulders and ate it in silence. I had learned to appreciate a hot plate of food during my stay in my foster homes. I also ignored the attempts to get my attention from Hunter, who was sitting diagonally across from me.

Breakfast was quiet, or as quiet as a place with at least twenty rude, shouting, foul-mouthed men can be. I chatted quietly with Bruno who deliberately ignored the events of the previous morning. Good, because I wasn’t in the mood to revisit that subject for the third time in an hour.

But all peace and quiet went to shit when a biker in a waistcoat with a member’s patch entered the dining room with a letter-sized envelope and handed it to my father while explaining something to him in a low voice. Hades nodded and skim read the package, then stood up from his chair, walked over to where I was and handed it to me.

I raised an eyebrow with doubt on my face but still took it. As I saw several curious, or should I say gossipy, looks, I decided that this was not the best place to open it. So excusing myself for a moment I left the dining room/kitchen and went to the bar which was practically empty except for the sweet asses they were cleaning.

The envelope had a note taped to it that read:

I don’t like losing or being in debt to anyone, I spoke to Ivan and he told me who you are and what you needed. These are the results. The next time we meet you will be the one left unconscious on the floor, I expect my revenge.

He didn’t say who sent him but it was more than obvious. I didn’t know whether to be excited because now I would know as much of the truth as I could, or nervous about what it might reveal.

The envelope was a bit thick and when I opened it there were at least fifteen or twenty pages. Not all of it was specific information, there were also photos, blueprints, news, criminal records, reports and what caught my attention the most. A copy of a death certificate.

I saved that one for last and read the rest. I wasn’t surprised to replace news about suspicions of some kind of MC war over illicit business where the Black Raven were involved, but what did surprise me was seeing the faces of my father, Hunter, Bloody and several others in a police station.

Hades especially looked terrifying with his bloodshot eyes, messy long hair and b***d on his face. News stories ranged from a count of alleged victims, a civilian-involved shooting, a house explosion to mob involvement. In no report was the name of each club written directly, but among the photos they included I recognised the image of the Black Ravens’ crow in mid-flight. And besides that one I could count three other MCs I didn’t know the name of.

But what the hell?

The more I read the more confused I became, threats, deaths, shootings, motorbike accidents, fistfights in the middle of the street, disappearances. The past of this place was really quite heavy, so it seemed incredible to me that my friends in Russia had not been able to replace anything.

Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to hide this.

When I finally got to the end, I took the death certificate that certified Adam Black’s death by a brain hit by a fire projectile. In other words, a bullet to the head, on the back was a small sheet of paper attached with a bad autopsy photo, but you could still read most of it.

-Multiple stab wounds to sternum, thighs, face, arms.

-Multiple bruises all over the body.

-Bullet impact to right leg, left shoulder and abdomen.

-Fractures to forearm, femur, scapula and four ribs.

-Bullet impact to the brain, the main cause of death.

I gasped in horror, Bruno had told me that grandfather died. But he didn’t just die, he was obviously murdered, a brutal murder. Just like my mother’s and my maternal grandparents.

My mind made the damn connection that moment. And like crazy I started to recreate the facts I knew.

First myself living here in California with my parents, and then our sudden escape with just my mother and me. No explanations and no communication with my father for years.

Secondly the existence of a second family of my father’s, this could have been the reason for our escape but after hearing Bruno’s story I doubt it very much.

Third, my half-brother and his claim of how he was almost kidnapped, witnessed one of the club’s confrontations, and the sudden unexplained death of the grandfather.

Fourth, the fact that I have three murdered family members and that the Club currently has a clean record when it is obvious that its past is troubled.

Fifth, Hades is still avoiding the issue of why he abandoned me with my mother and the recent “problems” and “emergencies” that he and Hunter are protecting me from.

My hands trembled with the urge to tear up the damn paper but I restrained myself. The only damn explanation I could come up with was that my relatives died in revenge for some absurd fight between MCs.

Hades was going to have to tell me the whole damn story right now or he wouldn’t answer to me.

I grabbed all the pages I was reading and stomped back to the kitchen. I was pretty sure that if anyone was watching I could see how my eyes were literally on fire and my ears were smoking.

When I walked in I went straight to my father who was drinking a cup of coffee while talking to Bullet and Toro. Hunter followed my gaze the whole time with doubt in his eyes, but I ignored him as I had been doing.

I stood behind my father and pulled his chair causing him to fall backwards onto the floor, my father soon stood up and looked at me angrily. Everyone in the dining room became deathly quiet and I felt the spotlight turn on me. Hades opened his mouth to yell at me but before he could, I slapped him in the face. Now half the bikers present stood up and looked at me with menacing looks on their faces.

I slapped my father’s chest with the information-filled sheets with enough force to make him take a step back.

-I said, “You have one goddamn minute to convince me not to get my stuff out of my room and get the hell out of this place for good. And believe me the last thing I care about right now is who’s out on the street or if I lose the whole goddamn inheritance. You’re going to explain to me why the f**k my mother and grandparents got killed over biker issues or I’m going to put a bullet in you for lying to me this whole time, father. I spat that last word with hatred, the more I spoke the angrier I got.

Hades grew paler and paler and paler. And his countenance turned almost purple as he held up the reports and skim-read them. She closed her eyes and a tick appeared under her right eye.

-You have thirty-five seconds left. I blurted through gritted teeth as I made my hands into fists.

-Who gave you this,” I asked at last. Is that what he finally asked. Is that really what he said?

I exploded.

-IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO THE HELL GAVE IT TO ME, WHAT MATTERS IS THAT I WAS ORPHANED FOR THREE F*****G YEARS AND IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT AND YOU STILL HAVE THE CYNICISM TO PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT ME AS YOUR DAUGHTER. BUT RIGHT NOW I’M TELLING YOU THAT YOU’RE AS DEAD TO ME AS MY MOTHER AND MY GRANDPARENTS. F**K YOU HADES!

I screamed until my throat burned. Zero, your minute is up. I’m out of here.

I turned and stormed out to my room. I heard several pairs of footsteps behind me but I quickened my pace. I ran like few times in my life and when I got to my room I locked the door.

I took out the suitcases and put everything I had in them. This scene felt ridiculously familiar.

I heard a knock on the door. The voices of Hades, Hell and Bloody were asking, or rather demanding that I open the door.

In their damned dreams, I’d had enough. I was getting the hell out of this place.

My chest was rising and falling rapidly from my rapid breathing. It took me long enough for the bikers to get tired of doing things the easy way and just like the VP had done before. Someone banged on the lock until it was broken and I could get in.

I kept packing my things without even turning to look at them. They didn’t deserve it, none of them.

-Stop, Tasha, you’re not leaving here! Hades told me but I continued.

-I told you to stop, let’s talk. More clothes in the suitcase. Where did I leave the keys to my Jeep?

-Natasha please look at me. I was going to have to come back for my bike. Will I go to my flat, I don’t think so, it will be the first place to look for me.

-Natasha, I said you’re not leaving! He finally snatched the suitcase from me and emptied its contents back onto my bed. I glared at him, turned around and saw the keys to my bike on the nightstand, grabbed them before he could stop me and turned around to go to the door.

Hunter stood in my way with Bloody.

-Move or I’ll move you. That was all I said as a threat but they stayed where they were.

My father grabbed my arm and even though my body was sore from my adventures the day before, that didn’t stop me from elbowing him out of the air and letting go.

I kicked Bloody in the balls and Hunter in the nose so hard I heard him crack.

I pushed their bodies away and left the place.

-I’ll come get my stuff or I’ll send someone to get it, but this is the last time you see my face.

-Natasha… Hades grunted, recovering from the blow.

It was the only thing I managed to say before I left, several brothers tried to avoid him. But I had an advantage, they couldn’t hit me and I could hit them. And as angry as I was, I didn’t mind exploiting that unfair advantage.

I finally got out of the damn clubhouse and got on my Harley, started it up and almost fell off it when I accelerated leaving marks in the car park.

In the rear view mirror I watched as my dad shot out behind me along with his VP and Bullet. I thought I had gotten away from them but I didn’t count on the three of them speeding towards their bikes.

Shit, speed up.

Why can’t they leave me alone, can’t they see how much I hate them right now?

The roars of the motorbikes behind me made me become reckless. Well, they wanted me to go back to the club, to catch up. I had won enough races on my bike to give them a hard time.

I ran through traffic lights, dodged cars, made sharp turns. But I still heard them close by.

-Daughter, please stop! Hades shouted and it’s a miracle I heard him.

We continued our frantic race to the inhospitable parts of the city, which was not that far from where the clubhouse was, surprisingly the streets were empty except for a few homeless people.

I saw my chance in the distance as a train coming through town was approaching so the street was being closed to wait for it to pass.

Perfect.

I accelerated so fast that my front tyre went up a few centimetres, I clenched my jaw and my hands gripped the handlebars tightly so that I wouldn’t lose control by accident.

The train sounded its horn and although I didn’t hear them I was sure that the three bikers who were chasing me cursed to death guessing my intentions.

The train was approaching and three voices shouted my name. My heart pounded frantically in my throat. The sound of the brakes and the skidding tyres made me accelerate again. The train was a few metres away and was frantically beeping for me to stop.

Nikolai if you’re up there, save my a*s from this and I promise not to do another stupid thing like this.

I walked in front of the transport and literally saw my life flash before my eyes.

When I crossed by a hair’s breadth I was so excited that I turned back to see the train crossing in disbelief, I also saw the crows watching me from the other side with faces of fear and relief that in other situations I would have found funny.

Damn, I was still alive, but not for long.

I heard tyres screeching and then I remembered that I had to pay attention to the road, when my eyes went back to the front it was too late, a white van, out of nowhere, crossed my path and forced me to brake while I swerved.

I lost control of the bike and fell with it on the asphalt. My head hit hard and so did my whole body. I rolled and pain exploded everywhere. My eyes couldn’t focus, everything was blurry and I didn’t have the strength to move.

I knew I was going to pass out at any second, in fact I was surprised I was still conscious, I was on my side and it took all the energy I had to roll over onto my back.

My chest burned with every heavy breath I took, an explosion of pain everywhere, I didn’t know where it started and where it ended. I felt weak and more than feeling, I saw a pool of b***d spreading under my body at an alarming rate.

I turned my head slightly and saw several men getting out of the white van, I didn’t see how many because I wasn’t in a position to pay that much attention. The pairs of shoes approached me and I gasped as someone lifted me into their arms while my body looked like that of a broken doll.

My head fell limply onto the man’s arm, and the last thing I remember was hearing the desperate screams of my father and Hunter as my eyes focused on the club waistcoats with a dragon logo on the men in the van before my pain became too much and everything went black.

Help…

(…)

Hunter Hell POV

Three f*****g weeks, twenty-one days, five hundred and four hours. And still no sign of Tasha or the f*****g Dragons that took her.

All of us brothers are on high alert. The Prez has our asses 24/7 looking for her even under the rocks, but the Russian doll is nowhere to be found.

It was like the Earth swallowed them up.

Since that morning when everything went to hell nothing has been the same at the Club. Hades seemed to be dead in life, he hardly ate or slept, he was giving orders and shouting in despair every time we told him the same news.

I wasn’t much better, the few hours of rest were plagued by dreams of the beautiful Russian girl who stirs my heart. But they were restless dreams, I saw her again all bloody on the floor, dying slowly without me being able to reach her no matter how hard I ran to her side.

I also saw her in the same position where we had the bastard who tried to hurt her, tied in a chair while dragons beat her and hurt her, enjoying her screams.

At this moment she was in the basement of the clubhouse with the Prez and Toro. Demon had managed to replace the person who had sold the information about Tasha to the dragons, who was none other than the brother of the boy who had been in the doll’s room several weeks ago, whom she had almost killed by watching him run his hands up and down her naked back.

When Hades and I watched them take the dark-eyed girl away, we almost lost our heads. Bloody and I had to throw him to the ground so he wouldn’t throw himself against the f*****g train in an attempt to get to her. The Prez immediately recognised the logo of the Golden Dragons, an MC we had problems with in the past and who swore revenge on us.

They are responsible for the threats against Skull Hunters, Demon Angels and also us. They are also the ones to blame for the murders of multiple Raven Brothers, the Kozlov family as well as Hades’ father.

As soon as the white van disappeared from our sight we started to communicate with everyone to ask for help. But we hit the wall that we were not the only ones in the same situation, Venom and King also had at least one family member missing and tempers were low and despair along with anger was our bread and butter.

The guy Demon found for us was chained to the ceiling, his body hanging like dead weight as we took turns beating him.

-Where are you keeping my daughter?! shouted the Prez as he punched him in the abdomen.

But the guy didn’t say anything.

-You’ll never replace her. He mumbled as best he could, causing Hades to punch him in the face.

-I’ll tell you again. Where is my daughter?

Where is my daughter?

-You’ll kill me anyway. He spat b***d with those words.

-At least you’d earn a fast pass to hell instead of prolonging your suffering.

A dry laugh from the guy.

-F**k you.

Hades walked away and Toro replaced him, he had a bat in his hands and didn’t hesitate to smash one of his legs to pieces. His screams were music to our ears.

I approached the Prez who was wiping the b***d from his hands with a rag and squeezed his shoulder in solidarity.

-She’s still alive Prez, we’ll replace her soon. I said in a hoarse voice and he fixed his emerald eyes on mine. I shuddered because they were the same colour as the doll.

-Three f*****g weeks Hell, those sons of bitches have had her in their clutches for too long, I have no doubt we’ll replace her. The thing that eats at my brain and keeps me awake at night is, what condition will she be in when we finally replace her?

He said tiredly and with a defeated voice. I felt bad for the man, he had lost his Old Lady, his father, his in-laws, and now his daughter at the hands of the same rats.

-Tasha is tough, she won’t break. She’ll get through this, I have no doubt. I said without hesitation but trying to convince myself of the same.

When the screams of pain stopped we turned to look and saw how the Raven Enforcer was rolling his eyes as he walked away from an unconscious guy.

-He passed out again, these guys can’t take anything now, but don’t worry Prez, the guy doesn’t need fingers to talk, or maybe an eye.

-I need that information Toro. Hades threatened.

-I’ll get it Prez,” swore Toro.

-He trusted you, Hell let’s go upstairs, I want to talk to Demon about the security cameras in the city and you’re going to walk the streets again with Diablo and Bloody. I nodded and walked out of the basement with him.

I needed to get my hands on something or I risked going crazy.

Hades’ mobile phone rang halfway and he answered.

-Hades here. Seconds of silence -FUCKERS. I ran after him with my heart in my throat.

Had something happened to Tasha, f**k no!

Many of the brothers, also alarmed by the President’s shout, ran with us.

I followed the Prez to the backyard of the club, in the distance at the edge of the property was a large wooden box.

I literally felt the b***d drain from my face and freeze in my veins.

Was she…, no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

I ran faster, Hades and I arrived even, we exchanged a glance before we started trying to open it with our bare hands.

My skin was rising as my fingers tore the lid apart as best I could, it wasn’t long before I was bleeding from my hands and damn it burned, but that was in the background.

Hades was grunting and cursing as he also got rid of the pieces of wood. Brothers helped us as best they could, until we managed to open a hole big enough to put our heads through.

With the help of the lamp from one of the mobile phones we illuminated the contents and with our hearts in our hands and fearing the worst, the Prez and I peered in at the same time.

Hades started to cry as he took several steps backwards, seconds later he laughed in despair and I wanted to cry and laugh with him from the f*****g relief that ran through every last strand of my hair.

I calmly opened the whole damn wooden box and everyone unsure of the Prez’s reaction came closer to see the contents.

Inside the bucket was Tasha’s bike, or what was left of it. The bike had been in pretty bad shape after the Russian’s accident, but now it was disassembled piece by piece.

I’d recognise the red parts of the Harley anywhere, though. As would any of us who had seen the bike before, we would never mistake it.

-You, tell Demon I want to know how the f**k this thing got here without anyone noticing. The rest of you I want a surveillance grid around the clubhouse 24/7, get all the non-essential people out, the sweet asses I want them in one of the hotels if they want to wait for us to sort this shit out or they’re free to go, have a prospect take this to the main workshop-. Hades ordered when he was a little calmer, but with bloodshot eyes.

-I’ll do it,” Hades looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t think Tasha would like to hear about all the people who had their hands on her bike. I defended myself with a shrug, and he nodded in agreement.

-My daughter is capable of cutting the guy’s hands off, that’s fine. After that you do what I told you. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

-Yes Prez. My lips quivered in a small grimace too, but it disappeared as quickly as it came, I wasn’t going to smile again until I saw her safe and sound.

-Get off your asses now, the sons of bitches aren’t going to give themselves up on a silver platter! Hades shouted and led two brothers away as he walked back to the club.

I sighed and closed my eyes, I took my time to let my soul return to my body, it had flown away when I thought that inside the container I was going to replace the decomposing body of the girl who won my heart.

When I was calmer I looked at another crow that was already on its way back as well.

-Hey you, help me carry this. The boy wearing prospectus patches turned and nodded but avoided meeting my eyes.

I almost snorted but restrained myself, we both worked in silence. The prospect was trying his best not to look me in the face and that irritated me more and more.

Although he wasn’t the only one, since I was little when I went to school boys and girls would run away and avoid me because they were afraid of me. They would shout at me that I had the Devil’s eyes and that I was going to suck their souls. I didn’t have many friends, and my personality became surly and suspicious.

As a teenager that only made people even more afraid of me, but at that stage I learned that sometimes it was better to be feared than loved. It hadn’t bothered me for years when people avoided eye contact with me, I’d gotten used to it because it was commonplace. Even the girls who looked at me with desire and with whom I f****d shuddered and fled from my black eyes when my mood changed to a serious or annoyed one.

Only a few of my raven brothers were the exception to the rule, such as those of us who belonged to the circle that controlled the club, apart from one or two other members who knew me well.

So it was quite a surprise when the emerald-eyed, sin-bodied redhead I’d been spying on since she’d arrived, (because f**k as soon as she set foot in the bar half of us were undressing her in thought), looked straight at me with those incredible orbs with no fear or panic in them.

She just looked at me like I was an ordinary human before going about her business. I remember the shudder that ran through me in those moments, and instead of being annoyed by her indifference, it only made her more attractive in my eyes.

And now that beautiful doll, the bravest, strongest, proudest, most beautiful woman I had ever known was missing. I couldn’t get out of my head the blank stare she had given us before she ran off and got on her motorbike and then drove like the devil was chasing her.

…I’m done, fed up, tired, I just quit, this club is your life and it comes first, you made that clear to me yesterday when you abandoned me when I needed it the most. But relax, I get it, who am I to ask for comfort, we’re not a couple, we’re not even friends, so I won’t make that mistake twice….

I had been an idiot, a stupid idiot, and I wouldn’t be able to live to apologize to him for disappearing the way I did. My only excuse was that it was a real emergency. Gael had been the victim of a kidnapping attempt when Isadora had taken him to the garage to wait for Bruno.

He was fine, fortunately they were close enough for the brothers to protect them, but many had been injured and Hades had gone mad for the safety of the boy and his children in general and I had a hard time helping him to calm down.

It had all been quite confusing and tense from then on and so none of us noticed the disappearance of the Russian until a brother phoned the Prez to let him know that Tasha had been seen in the garage with her motorbike.

Hades wanted to drag her back to the club but Bruno convinced him that it was best to give her space, after what she had done she deserved a break from it all.

Because none of us were in any doubt from his attitude that this was the first time he had killed someone.

I objected immediately, we didn’t know when the dragons would attack again and we had to be ready. But orders were orders and I had to swallow my opinions.

Like whores I regret that.

After all the speech she gave me the next morning I knew I would have to beg her forgiveness on my knees, and now with her kidnapping I swore to myself that if she came back I would dedicate the rest of my life to making her happy and I would do everything to make her forgive me.

The Russian didn’t know it, or maybe she did, but she had me by the balls. And as much as my male pride hurt I had to admit it.

The prospect and I were quick and efficient. In a few trips the once beautiful and powerful Harley, (like its owner), was in a place in the workshop where nothing more would happen to it until the Russian returned.

Because she would come back, my head didn’t admit any other possibility, it was impossible and unheard of to even think about it.

I thanked the guy and tried to remember his face to report back to Bullet later. I got on my metallic blue Harley Iron 883 and was starting off to go on my patrol through the city when my mobile phone rang.

I pulled the device out of my pocket and answered the call from an unknown number.

-This is Hell. I spoke and a gasp sounded on the other end of the line.

My fingers felt weak in my grip on the mobile phone. A thousand scenarios flashed through my mind and if I hadn’t been sitting on my bike I would have fallen on my a*s.

-It’s me… whispered the Russian’s voice and I gasped.

-Tasha… My voice reflected all the emotions I was feeling at that moment and the hope I so carefully guarded grew in my chest until it almost exploded.

Alive, she was alive.

That was the only thing that mattered because I was going to replace her no matter what.

I would have her by my side again if my life depended on it.

I promised.