One Hundred & Thirty-Six Scars (The Devil's Own, #1) (26 page)

After grabbing Melissa, we are all in the gym when Jada comes walking in, dropping her duffel bag to the floor. “For the record, I’m not a fan of this idea.”

I laugh as Beast tugs on my hands to wrap them in gauze. “Me either.”

“Self-defense Jada. Don’t touch her.”

“I know, I know. I’m still not a fan of this plan.”

We both get into the octagon and I laugh. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”

Jada pulls her arms up. “Give me your best right hook.”

I shrug before landing a right hook on her, only it didn’t land because she blocked it effortlessly.

We spend forty minutes in the octagon, flipping each other around and tapping out. My body is soaked in sweat and I have a bad case of the dries.

“All right,” Beast answers, stepping into the octagon. “You’ve learned a lot in a week, baby. You’re a natural.”

Melissa jumps in too with a bottle of Ready To Drink in her hand. “Seriously, Meads. You’re a badass!” She nudges me with her shoulder.

“Hardly. Did you bring the bow?” I ask, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my towel.

He nods. “Yeah, come on.”

After a couple hours on the bow, we head back to the house with Melissa in the passenger seat and Beast behind us on his bike.

“What’s going to happen when you go back to Westbeach?” Melissa asks, peering at me from the passenger seat.

I shrug, changing down gears. “I don’t know yet.”

“You don’t want to go back, do you?” she asks with disbelief in her tone.

“What? Don’t be stupid, of course I do. I just don’t know what’s going to happen with me, him and the distance between us.”

“Well…” she begins, “…if there were anyone that could make the long distance thing work, it’d be you two.”

“You think?” I ask, glancing at her.

“Yep, positive. You were obviously carved out of the same stone. You’re perfect for each other.”

When we pull up, I get out of the car and wait for Beast while Melissa walks into the house. It’s dark out and I know she’s tired, but I also know that Hella has had a major impact on her. I want to take her home. I know that would be the right thing to do, so I’ll have to talk to Beast about it tonight.

“You good?” he asks, removing his gloves.

“Yeah,” I say, walking up to his bike. “I’m good.” Maybe Melissa is right, maybe we were cut from the same stone.

Dragging my overworked body up the stairs, I drop my duffel bag onto the floor. Beast walks into the bathroom before coming back into the room. “Come on, I need to talk to you about something.”

I follow behind him into the bathroom, my heavy steps dragging me toward the steamy room at snail pace. Closing the door behind him, I strip off my clothes, huffing out a tired breath when I struggle with my sports bra that’s stuck to my sweat soaked skin. He chuckles, gripping his hand around the bottom of it and ripping it off.

I sigh. “Thank you.” Before stepping into the ceramic bathtub and taking a seat under the high pressured scalding water.

He steps in after me, my thighs clenching together at the sight of him in all his naked glory. Sighing again, I shake my head because even though my body is beat and my ass is literally sore from landing on it so much tonight, I know I’d still happily saddle up for a round with him.

“What did you want to talk about?” I ask, taking the soap bar in my hand and running it over my aching arms.

He sits opposite me, running his damp hands through his hair. “We’re ending this thing with
The Army
in a couple nights,” he states, bringing his eyes to mine.

I tilt my head. “Is it safe?”

He laughs, taking my hand in his and pulling me over to him. I rest my back on his chest, his shaft pressing against my back. “I can’t guarantee anything baby, but I promise nothing will hurt you.”

“That’s not reassuring for me, Beast.”

That’s not reassuring for me at all.

The next night we’re pulling up to the clubhouse, I swing off my bike before helping Meadow off. She turns in my arms so her back is flush with my front. “You know,” she mumbles, her perky ass rubbing against my cock, stirring him to life. “I think we need a drink.”

I laugh, spinning her around in my grasp and pulling her into me. “Let’s go.”

Pulling her body to my side, we both walk up to the open metal door where there’s loud music and a whole lot of drunk patched members crawling about everywhere. Meadow laughs, resting her face against my chest.

“Where’s Melissa?” I ask, inhaling the sweet smell of cherries and coconut coming from her hair.

“She’ll be in there,” she answers, mumbling into my chest.

I turn her face to me. “She hasn’t left yet?”

“Nope. She’s a lot stronger than she looks.”

I nod my head. “Yeah, Hella is a bit of a—”

“Fuck boy?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say those exact words—”

“A pig?”

“All right, I get that you’re mad, baby. His loss, don’t sweat it.”

“Does he care about her?”

I pause, nodding my head. “He does. Just… not enough.”

Sighing, she laces her hands into mine, pulling me toward the bar where Jada and Hella are both siting.

“I need to get drunk,” she announces, taking a seat on one of the stools beside Jada.

Jada laughs, sliding the bottle of Tequila across the bar. “Go at it.”

Running my hand across my chin, I pull her stool closer to mine, taking the bottle off her and taking a long pull.

The atmosphere is alive. Goosebumps run across my skin as the effects of the Tequila begin to pulse through me, warming my blood and setting off happy jolts of electricity static over my skin. Peering around, I drag my slightly drunken eyes to Beast, who’s sitting beside me, taking gulps of his drink.

“Wanna dance?” I ask, removing my zip hoodie and placing it on the bar. I push my white tank down to cover my stomach, only it pops back up and rides on my hip bones.

Behind a light chuckle, he shakes his head. “Really?”

I smile at him, turning my back on all of them with Hannibal sitting beside Beast to make my way to the sound system where Ripper is sitting, drinking his beer.

“Hey,” I say, walking to the sofa he’s stretched out on.

“Sup mischief. What are you planning now?” he asks his pierced eyebrow cocked. Seriously, who still has their eyebrow pierced in this day and age? Surprisingly he pulls it off with all his boyish charm.

“Nothing at all,” I answer, stepping over his outstretched legs and picking up the iPod.

“Can I ask you a question?” He places his beer on the table before running his hand through his long blond spiky hair.

I pause my scrolling to peer at him on the corner of my eye. “Sure, only if I can ask you one too?”

His eyes narrow before he pulls his lip into his mouth. “Fuck it, it’ll be worth it.”

“Shoot,” I gesture to him.

“I sort of… ah… know… about what happened.”

My body stills as the alcohol that was once turning my body hot with happy temperaments now drops to an icy level. “Really?” I say, swallowing down the bile that’s formed in my throat.

“Not like that,” he says, taking a stand and moving to me. He pushes his hands into his jean’s pockets and cocks his head. “I only know because I overheard Beast and Hella talking about it a couple years back.”

“Oh,” I whisper, my palms sweating against the metal back of the iPod. “You had a question?” I say after clearing my throat.

“Yeah,” his eyes softening. “Did you ever get over what happened?”

My eyebrows quirk as I think over his question carefully. “No. I just learned to live with it. Why?”

He shakes his head. “No reason. Carry on,” he gestures to the iPod before retreating back to his spot on the sofa. “What was your question?” he asks with a smile around the rim of his bottle.

“How’d you get the name, Ripper?”

His eyes drop and a devious smile invades his face. “Isn’t it obvious?”

After a few seconds of silence, I register what he means. “Shit, really?”

He nods his head. “Yeah, really, really.”

“That’s sick.”

He shrugs, placing the beer back on the table. “Not for me it’s not.”

He keeps his eyes on mine, tilting his head and flashes of him ripping people apart with his bare hands invade my mind. “Why?” I ask. “Why do it? Why not just kill them and get it over with?”

“Why do you think the police can’t pin anything on us, sweetheart. It’s because they can’t find enough of the remains.”

“Okay, yes, got it. Forget I asked.”

He laughs, picking up his bottle again.

I continue through the playlist until I come across the perfect song. Smirking, I tap on Breaking Benjamin
‘Dance with the Devil’
before walking back to the dance floor, pulling Melissa up from her spot on the sofa on my way. “Come on.”

She laughs, tapping my elbow and nudging her head at Beast and Hella, who are sitting at the bar watching us intently. “We dancing with the devil?”

I nod my head before we begin dancing and losing ourselves into the lyrics of the song. Bringing my arms up, I run them down again and drag my eyes to Beast with a small smile. His eyes lock onto mine, a smirk sprawling out across his lips before slowly running his eyes up and down my body. Licking his lips, he places his bottle down on the bar and begins making his way over.

Hooking his arm around my waist, he spins me around and pushes my body up against him front to front. Bringing his head down to the crook of my neck, he growls, “You’re playing with fire, baby.”

I laugh, bringing my arms up behind his neck as the chorus kicks in. I tilt my head, running my eyes down the angry scar that starts from behind his ear, running down his neck all the way to his V lining. Dragging my thumb across his cheek, I bring it down to the risen white scar before taking my eyes back to his. His jaw tightens as he shakes his head and grips onto my hands, pulling them back down again.

Gripping me into him again, we finish up the song before walking back to the bar where Jada is sitting with Hella watching Melissa closely.

“Why don’t you two just talk?” I say, dropping onto the barstool and taking a long drink of Beast’s beer.

“Because,” he starts, keeping his eyes locked on her. “I don’t want a girlfriend.”

“What makes you think that’s what
she
wants? She wants to kill you, Hella. I think you’re safe from a grade A clinger.”

A slow smile pulls on the corner of his mouth as he drags his eyes away from Melissa and brings them to me. “Maybe. But maybe that’s where the excitement is? I’d fuck her black and blue up against a brick-wall whether she had a knife in her hand ready to shank me or not.”

Beast exhales, bringing his elbow to the counter, pinching his eyes between his fingers and shaking his head with a low chuckle. “Brother, you are fucking sick.”

“Don’t I know it,” he replies, his eyes still locked on mine with the same smirk on display.

Jesus, there is no words that could explain this man.

“May I recommend a therapist?” I tease, taking the shot Jada just slipped to me.

He laughs, throwing his head back. “I’d put your therapist in the nuthouse, sugar.”

I believed that. Shaking my head, I shoot back the shot as Beast shakes his head, his shoulders jiggling under his laughter.

Hella bumps Beast with his elbow, nudging his head to the crowd. Beast pauses, spinning his stool around so I follow suit, turning around to see that same woman from the other night walk in through the doors, her eyes searching the crowd.

She’s stunning. Her long mouse blonde hair sits around her jawline in a perfect halo, her sharp nose and high cheekbones showing she has a no fuck around attitude about her. She pushes through the masses of people, shoving through the crowd while she makes her way to us. Swallowing, I look to Jada, who laughs at the expression on my face.

Bending her head into my ear, she whispers, “She’s not your issue, babe.”

A nervous laugh escapes me as I pour another shot.

“Everything good?” Beast mumbles beside me, looking toward the dance floor at I presume where the blonde beauty is standing.

Downing the shot, the hot liquid burning the back of my throat like a cloak of fire, I spin my stool back around and lock eyes with her. “Hi,” I say, placing my hand out. “I’m Meadow.”

Her eyes narrow as she tilts her head at Beast. A small smile slips over her mouth after a few seconds and she takes her finely manicured hand into mine, shaking it lightly. “I’m Shelby. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Finally?” I ask, glancing between her and Beast.

She nods her head before taking her attention back to Beast. “We need to talk.”

“Talk with Hella,” he replies, taking his eyes off her and wrapping his arm around the back of my chair, pulling me in close.

She looks between both of us as Beast lands a long kiss on my temple. She swallows and begins shuffling uncomfortably, glancing between all of us.

“Beast?” she begins but he doesn’t look back to her. Instead, his strong hand cups around my chin softly as he tilts my face to meet his. Searching my eyes, he runs his thumb across my bottom lip, bringing his lips to mine, the warm sensation shooting straight between my thighs. When he sucks my lower lip into his mouth with the strong bitter taste of beer lingering on my tongue, a light moan vibrates off my lips and he groans his reply.

Pulling back from me, he leans back against the bar, resting his elbows on either side of him and cocking his head. “What, Shelby? You’ve met my Old Lady, you can leave now.”

Her eyebrows rise. “I need to talk to you, Beast. It’s about Layla.”

“What? I gave you this job because I thought you were woman enough to handle all the whores.”

Her shoulders square. “I am, Beast,” she hisses.

“Watch your fucking tone and remember who you’re talking to,” he answers, clenching his jaw with eyebrows raised.

“Beast,” I whisper to him. It’s the first time I’ve seen him talk like that. He’s always sweet with me so it shocked me a little.

“What is it? And why should I care about Layla?”

“You want to do this here and now?” she whispers loudly.

He shrugs. “Spit it out.”

Shelby crosses her arms in front of her. “She killed a client.”

Beast’s bottle pauses short of his mouth. “Come again?”

Hella sits forward in interest with a smile on his lips.

Jada chuckles. “This should be good.”

Spinning back around, I pour another shot and shoot it back.

“He tried to go backdoor. She said no, he tried again so she stabbed his dick with a pair of scissors. Asha walked in after she’d done it and he was spitting how much shit they were going to be in and how he was going to burn the entire place down…” she pauses, clearing her throat. “So they both ended him.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Beast whispers, bringing his bottle down. “Where are they now?”

“In my car outside. The body is still in the room and I don’t know about you, but that’s above my pay bracket.”

He shakes his head, standing on his feet with Hella standing beside him. He wraps his fingers with mine and pulls me up. “Take the lead,” he says to Shelby and she smiles at me before leading the way to the door. This time, the crowd parts for us as we head outside.

The sudden fresh air hits me at once and a light shiver runs over my skin. Squeezing my hand into Beast’s we carry on over to the red Camaro that’s parked beside the line of bikes in front of the barn.

Hella walks up to the car and pulls the door open. “What’s going on with these little murderers?” He laughs into the back of the car.

We stop short and Beast nudges me behind him as he pulls the door open wider and gestures for them to get out. The inside of the car is too dark for me to make out anything and I don’t want to stare too hard. I know what the Sinful Souls’ club whores are like.

Two petite girls stumble out of the car. One has wavy brunette hair that hangs in low waves down her back. I think she has more hair than body. She’s stunning too. Her red laced eyes come up to Beast and I tilt my head, staring at her in amazement. God, this girl is not just beautiful, she’s drop dead gorgeous. What’s she doing with a job like this?

She runs her hand across her cheek, wiping away the tears that have formed. “Beast, I’m so sorry.”

“What happened, Layla?”

I take my greedy eyes off Layla and look to the equally stunning girl standing next to her. They look too similar to not be related except where Layla’s hair is an auburn brown, this girl’s is a dark blue-black.

“I told him I didn’t do anal and he didn’t take no for an answer. After my third “no” he forced me down onto the bed and tried to bind my wrists together. I managed to free my wrist and take hold of the scissors that were on the bedside table which was there after he chopped up his weed earlier. And I don’t know, it just happened.”

Hella laughs from his position. “Marry me?”

Layla rolls her eyes. “The answer is still no, Hella.”

He drops his lip behind a smile, pouting. “I’ll ask you every time.”

Layla looks to me and tilts her head. “Hi?”

I smile, pulling my hand out of Beast’s grasp and holding it out to her. “Hi, I’m Meadow.”

She takes my hand in hers, looking to Beast.

“She’s his Old Lady, Layla.”

Layla’s eyes shoot up in surprise. “Wow, nice to meet you,” she says with a genuine smile. “This is my sister, Asha.” She points to the girl next to her and Asha puts her hand out with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Sisters?” I ask, intrigued. Walking to them and leaning against the door. I bump into Shelby and she looks to me apologetically. Beast turns toward Hella and starts whispering to him.

“Cute teddy,” I say to Shelby, pointing to the brown teddy bear with a pink bow hiding in her back seat. Her body stills as she shuts the passenger door quickly.

“Thanks.”

Layla chirps from beside me, bringing my attention back to her. “We’re twins!”

“Wow,” I answer, bringing my hand back into Beast’s.

I wouldn’t blame Beast if he had slept with either of these girls.

“Who is he?” Hella asks Shelby.

She leans her body onto her car. “It was one of the boys from Blood Razor MC, Beast.”

“Fuck!” Hella yells, pushing his body against Layla’s making her fall against the car. He pushes his groin into her and wraps his hand around the back of her neck, jolting her face up to his. “Do you know how much shit you’ve just caused?”