Page 173 of Malice and Surrender
“Fuck,” Chase said, holding his jaw as he stumbled backward. I was impressed he didn’t end up on his ass.
Before I could land another hit, someone grabbed me from behind. I knew it was Beast without having to look. Only two people would dare grab me like this, and Mannix wasn’t here tonight, leaving one person.
“Get the fuck off me,” I snarled over my shoulder.
“No fucking way. You need to calm your ass down,” Beast said.
Like fuck I did.
“Let him go, Beast. If Snake has an issue with me, we’ll sort it out between the two of us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Let him go,” Chase said, dabbing at the blood on the corner of his mouth. Beast’s python-like arms released me, and I was tempted to lunge for Chase again but kept myself rooted to the floor. “I take it you’d like to have a meeting?”
“I’d rather continue punching you.”
Chase smirked. “I deserve that,” he said, the anger diffusing, which pissed me off more than if he had yelled back. I wanted him to fight me, and all he did was fucking agree? Fuck him!
Beast stayed close like a looming giant as I stomped up the metal steps behind Chase to his office.
“It’s fine, Beast. Go back downstairs, I think Snake and I need a moment.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Beast said like I wasn’t standing two feet away.
“Fuck you,” I growled at Beast, but he ignored me. What was it with everyone? Had I lost my touch?
“Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t need a bodyguard.” Chase pulled a bottle of whiskey and a pair of glasses from the bottom drawer of his desk.
“Whatever, but if he tries to kill you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Beast slammed the door to the office on his way out. The Harley picture on the wall rattled and tipped sideways. I stared at it until I couldn’t take it any longer and straightened the frame.
“Here.” Chase held out the full glass of whiskey, and I grudgingly took it from his hand.
“You can’t placate me with alcohol,” I said. Taking a sip and flopping into the leather chair as Chase sat down on the couch. I wondered how often that couch had been slept on over the years. How many times had Beast slept there trying to hold this place together?
“I know I can’t. I like you, Snake. You’re loyal but not afraid to speak your mind. Too many yes men in this place.” Chase rubbed at his jaw, a bruise forming already.
“You calling Beast a ‘yes man?’”
A deep chuckle filled the room as Chase shook his head no. “Beast speaks his mind, just not openly. Look, the point is I owe you and the club an apology. I haven’t been the prez you all deserved.”
I glanced around the office. “Is this a joke? Am I being punked?”
Chase smiled and then took a sip of his drink. “No. I know it may seem like I’m an oblivious asshole—”
“No, just an asshole,” I said, cutting Chase off.
He laughed and nodded. “Fair enough.” Chase leaned forward so the drink dangled from his fingers between his knees. His eyes were fixed on the floor for a long time, and I wondered if that was the end of the conversation.
Music and laughter could be heard through the two-way window as the other members were welcomed home. I wouldn’t be participating in the festivities tonight. I had a lead on Dave and planned on looking into it before the slippery slug could vanish into another hole.
“Look, I’m gonna be straight with you, Snake,” Chase said, and I jerked out of my fantasies of killing Dave. “We don’t know each other well, but I never wanted to run an MC. I’m sure that’s not a surprise to you. This place was my father’s legacy, my grandfather’s, and so on. I always thought my brother would get the gig. He was older, and it made logical sense.”
Chase shrugged as if he still couldn’t believe that this had happened. This wasn’t news. He was given the MC before I was sent to prison and had hidden, pretending to be dead the entire time I was locked up.
“When my father handed the Lost Souls to me instead and started the war between my brother and me….” Chase’s eyes turned to look out the window. It was like he was watching a movie play out on the glass that only he could see. The sound of a crash was followed by loud laughter from the clubhouse below.
“Let's just say that if I could go back, there are a lot of things I would’ve done differently, but that’s the fucked up thing about time. It only travels in one direction, and all we can do is move forward.” He held up his finger as I opened my mouth. “Fuck time zones and the clocks moving an hour,” he said. I smirked. “Stupid forward, backward shit. You know what I mean.”
