Page 3 of Malice and Surrender
Two more sets of hands joined in, each pair taking a leg and pulling them apart. My heart was beating so hard that I could hear the thumping echoing back at me through the surface of the counter. A hand gripped the back of my jumper and the panic that had been building reached new heights at the sound of tearing material.
“Look at that ass. Mmm hmm,” Red said, his large hand cracking off my right ass cheek.
I snarled, and turned my head as best I could. “Get the fuck away from me. Or so help me, I’ll rip your tongue from your head and shove it up your ass, so you’ll know how you taste.”
Red glared at me and raised his hand to strike again when a deep voice I didn’t recognize boomed inside the room.
“Let him go, Red,” a man I couldn’t see said.
“Fuck you, Mannix. This guy is mine. He broke my fucking nose. I deserve payback,” Red argued.
“The thing is, I don’t see it that way.” This voice was a lot more threatening than the whiny sound of Red’s higher pitch. “You see, the kid here has already agreed to be part of my crew. So, technically, you’re encroaching on my territory. Don’t hand me some line that he wandered over here all on his own, either. We both know better.”
I could make out a shadow along the wall, and I strained my neck to see who the hell this guy was. My eyes landed on the biggest man I’d ever seen. I didn’t know where he came from, but I hadn’t seen him before, and he was definitely someone you remembered.
The standard issue jumper looked too small and was open at the top. Even with my limited view, I could tell the guy was jacked. Tattoos covered every inch of his deep brown skin, but my attention was drawn to the reaper on his neck. His glare was focused on Red, and those eyes screamed do not mess with this guy. He also looked like the type who was used to people following his orders.
Great, now I’d been claimed by another leader. Why not have multiple people wanting my ass today? The fucking stars were not aligned in my favor.
“What do you mean, he’s your territory? Where’s his tattoo?” Red held his arm out in my direction.
Mannix stepped in close to Red, and I held back a smirk as Red craned his neck up to look at him.
“He was supposed to get it today after his duties in the laundry room, but he never showed up.”
How the hell did this guy know my schedule? I’d never even seen his face before. “But then I heard you were down here, and I had a feeling that you were once more trying to steal something that wasn’t yours,” Mannix snarled. “Do I need to remind you what I said would happen if you did that again?” His voice dropped even lower. “What I would take from you?”
The tone of his voice made me shiver, and it wasn’t even directed at me. The room was so quiet it was like everything, including the air, had been sucked out. I swallowed as I waited to see what way this would go.
Red stepped back, and I could no longer see him from my position. “Fuck, fine, you can have him. He’s more trouble than he’s worth,” Red said. “Let’s go,” he grumbled, and the men holding my arms and legs let go like I was a hot potato.
Pushing myself up from the counter, I washed my hands and scrubbed at my face, horrified to think how many hairy asses and cum shots had landed on this counter.
Mannix casually stood as I washed. My eyes flicked to his light, amber-colored ones. Time to face the music. I couldn’t delay any longer. Turning, I looked up at the man who still had a solid five inches on my six-four frame.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, wary of the answer.
“I was keeping an eye on you, and some things just can’t be explained.” He lifted a big shoulder and let it drop. “You’re officially under my protection, but one day, you’ll owe me a favor. That’s how this place works.” His lip curled up with a smirk. “Come on. I’ll get you back to your cell in one piece. With your ass hanging out like that, hard to say what would happen.” He smiled wide and held out his hand. “Everyone calls me Mannix.”
“Kaivan, but everyone calls me Snake.”
PRESENT DAY – MIAMI, FLORIDA
Kaivan
I could hear Beast stomping up the stairs. He had a very particular gait, and it was called elephant. Taking a sip of my coffee, I waited on the long couch for him to emerge like some great troll out of the black hole of the stairwell.
Beast stepped into the main clubhouse area and stared around. “Where the fuck is everyone?”
“Fuck if I know.” Unless needed to do a job, I kept to myself. Being in the clubhouse alone was rare, and I was taking full advantage of the silence and the fancy espresso machine. I had to admit that as much as I made fun of Mannix for having it installed, it was amazing. I would almost say I was becoming a coffee snob. Who knew I had it in me?
“I need to speak to Mannix. I heard from Chase and…”
Cutting Beast off, I growled, “I don’t want to hear about it. Tell someone who gives a fuck about him and his missions. I’m not even done cleaning up the last pile of crap he decided to leave in his useless wake.”
Beast huffed and marched over to the bar. He grabbed a couple of beers from the large glass fridge before making his way toward me. I knew the conversation about Chase wasn’t over. Beast had been loyal to our illustrious president for far longer than I’d been in prison, so he gave the guy a break at every turn. I, on the other hand, had no reason to do so. Mannix inducted me into the Lost Souls, and two weeks and four days after my release, I had to go to some place called Ashen Springs to save a girl I’d never met. Like a fucking magic trick, Chase Mathers came back from the dead and popped out of whatever hole he’d crawled into to claim he was the rightful leader of the MC.
From that moment on, it had been one clusterfuck after another or Chase’s complete absence. I did get a damn good blowjob out of his old lady while he was out whoring around. He disappointed me again when he didn’t try to kill me. That would’ve been fun. Mannix filled me in on Chase’s history like that would make me feel sorry for him and maybe shed a tear or two. Not likely. What I saw was a piece of shit who couldn’t handle the crap in his life head-on and decided to hide like a motherfucking coward. I had no time for cowards, and they certainly didn’t get my respect.
