Stain (King's Harlots MC Book 2) (22 page)

“Asher.” Coby was at the door, waiting.

I followed him, not giving Meeka the chance to ask me anymore questions for fear that I would spill everything.

“You’ll have to tell her eventually,” Coby stated.

“I liked it better when you didn’t talk at all and just disappeared into the night,” I mumbled, following him.

“I only talk when I have something to say,” he stopped, waiting for me to catch up and stared up at the dark sky. “And right now calls for me to talk.”

“I don’t tell you my shit, and you don’t tell me yours,” I reminded him. All of us were close, but we had spent so many days and weeks together, day in and day out, that we needed to keep some things to ourselves. Like Meeka and myself.

“I have nothing to tell.” Coby continued walking.

“Why aren’t we driving?” I asked, ignoring his statement. He had something to tell. A story of his own. But none of us knew what that story was. I only knew that my shitty childhood was perfect compared to his. “We would get there faster.”

“We’re walking,” he said, his voice final.

I dropped the subject. We continued to walk in silence until we got a couple blocks away from the club. After Angel and Jay had a run-in with Tyler, a silent agreement passed between Coby and me. We had worked together for so long that no words needed to be said. When Tyler was forced to leave the grounds, I had already decided that I was going to confront him. I didn’t care who he was or how tough he may be. He didn’t scare me. I had come face to face with the Devil himself. Tyler was a fucking pussy compared to my step-father.

“The girls are going to be pissed and Angel is going to hand our asses to us for this.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, the cool air whipping around me.

Coby smirked.

I shook my head. He lived for excitement. Silent in the night. You didn’t see him coming until it was too late. As cliché as that sounded, it was the truth. He was the ghost in the night. The shadows in the corners of your bedroom. He was a good man, but cross him and he would put you out before you knew what was happening.

We hadn’t discussed what we would say to Tyler but we would get a couple hits in before words left our mouths. My bones vibrated, my heart racing in anticipation of what was to come.

“One more block.” Coby popped the collar on his black leather jacket, his stance becoming relaxed and calm. This was his time. Between the two of us, I was the talker, and that was saying something when the only person I tended to talk to was Meeka.

When we walked that last block, I was shaking with the need to hit something, and I couldn’t wait for my target to stand in front of me.

“He’s inside.” Coby glanced at his phone, pressed a couple buttons, and put it back in his pocket before turning to me. “Ready?”

“Fucking a.”

The building was booming with a loud heavy bass. The walls shook, vibrating from the sound of the music. As Coby and I casually walked into the clubhouse, no one approached us or said a word. It was almost too easy.

“Did you show up for the women or for me?”

That voice. Fuck me with a rusty chainsaw.

Coby caught my reaction and turned around slowly.

I followed his gaze, my eyes landing on Charles Brian. What the hell was he doing there?

Charles smirked. “Surprised to see me?”

Coby frowned, no doubt wondering how Charles knew me.

Shit. A part of me was thankful that I had left Meeka back at the King’s Harlots clubhouse. Charles would have eaten that shit up otherwise.

“And who do we have here?” Charles asked Coby. “I have some toys that would be perfect for you.”

Coby’s jaw twitched. “Your
toys
as you say, couldn’t handle my kink.”

“Ah.” Charles’ eyes brightened. “Well—”

“We aren’t here for you,” I told Charles, my palms becoming twitchy. Just as I was about to question my brother over the odd statement, two large men came up behind him.
Well, this night just got a whole lot better.

“Ah, so you’re here for Tyler.” Charles nodded. “Makes sense seeing as his ex is dating your brother.”

“How the hell do you know that?” I demanded.

“Now, now, children, play nice.” Tyler came up behind them, his eyes narrowing. “Follow me.”

I opened my mouth to argue. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.

“Calm, my brother,” Coby whispered in my ear, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Remember the reason we are here.”

I nodded once.

We followed Charles, Tyler, and the two large mother fuckers down a long narrow hallway. The bass from the speakers jarred my thoughts. Why were we there in the first place? Would it really help? Angel would be pissed. Blah, blah,
fucking
blah.

Every so often, Tyler looked back at us until we reached a double set of doors. He stood off to the side, waiting for whatever was behind door number one.

“After you,” he sneered, crossing his thick arms under his chest.

Charles pushed through the doors, the music becoming louder as we stepped over the threshold.

I tried … I tried so fucking hard not to see. Without averting my eyes and making it obvious, I stared straight ahead. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw
them
. Girls. Boys. I would bet my life on it that they were all under the age of twenty.

If Coby was affected by the sight before us, he didn’t say or do anything. No reaction crossed his face. He would have his own way of dealing with things when we left.

Everything in me said that Tyler had something to do with what had been going on over the past couple of months. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know why. I made a mental note to mention it to Angel. If he knew anything about Tyler being mixed in with this shit, he never said. Tyler was a dick but men like him still had a line they wouldn’t cross.

“So you came because you wanted a piece of me.” Tyler grazed his hand over the ankle of a young girl curled into a ball on a tiny stage. She whimpered, escaping him. He only chuckled.

Bile rose to my throat. We needed to get out of this room before one of us ended up dead. And it wouldn’t be me or Coby.

“You caused problems at our party,” I told him, my heart jumping when a door closed behind us.

“What the hell did you do at their party?” Charles demanded, leaning against a large oak desk in the far right corner of the room.

“I made an appearance.” Tyler scratched his jaw. “Nothing special.”

“That’s not what it looked like to me.” I glanced at Coby. “You?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“What gives, T?” Charles pulled a file off the desk and threw it at Tyler. “I have enough shit falling into my lap. I don’t need the problems with your ex-girlfriend added to the pile.”

“I only talked to her.” Tyler opened the file, a grin forming on his face. “Well, it looks like you have been busy,” he told me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” There was no way any of them would know about our undercover operation. Hell, even the Captain had no idea. Angel didn’t do things by the book and even though it wasn’t my job, he recruited me because he knew I could take care of it. But when my gaze landed on the photo staring back at me, my world crumbled around me. The black and white photo showed my bedroom, my bed, and two very naked bodies on it. My chest panged. Red seared across my vision. These fuckers had been watching us the whole time. Words formed on my tongue, but they wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t even begin to say what I wanted to. Meeka. She was all I cared about. She would be pissed and disgusted that this happened. That
I
let it happen.

“I wonder how your little girl would feel if we showed her this.” Tyler pinched the edge of the picture, swinging it back and forth. Taunting me.

My back stiffened, rage bubbling from the deep pits of my gut.

“She won’t find out, now will she?” Coby interrupted. “You want to know why? Because you are a pussy. It’s why you showed up earlier when Angel wasn’t alone. You knew that we would pull him off of you. Did you have your crew hiding? Were they waiting for you to make the call?” Coby took a step forward. “You see, if it were me and
I
wanted to make an appearance to see my ex-girlfriend and scare her new boyfriend, no one would see me. I would show up during the night when everyone was asleep. Catch them off guard. Maybe show up in her room when the boyfriend went to take a piss, or better yet, when he went back to his place.” Coby’s voice dripped with venom.

Tyler stared at him, locked on the man looming over him. And
that
was the reaction Coby was going for.

Charles wouldn’t stop him.

“I would scare her a little bit,” Coby continued. “But I wouldn’t hurt her. I’m not a sick fuck like you people are. I don’t prey on women.”

“They’re the weaker sex,” Tyler added.

Coby laughed, the deep maniacal sound turning into a growl. “The women I know would eat you for dinner.”

And that was so fucking true. Meeka may be small but she was feisty as shit. She could definitely knock me on my ass.

“You are weak then,” Tyler countered.

“We’re weak. Hey, Asher,” Coby said. “Did you hear that?”

“I sure did.” I grinned. It was funny seeing that side of Coby. Anyone who didn’t know him, would think this was him, but I knew it wasn’t. He was acting. No one knew the real him. Even us, his squad and brothers—we only knew that he was quiet but lethal.

“All right, gentlemen.” Charles picked up another file off his desk. “Do I have to show you more pictures? Or did you want to get right down to business?”

“How do I know that’s even me? It could be doctored.”

“Yeah, because other couples are going to end up naked in your bed.” He rolled his eyes. “Come on now. You’re smarter than that.”

I couldn’t bring Meeka back to my place. Not until this was over with and all the cameras were gone. The place would be swept for bugs, and after, I would sweep it again to be sure. But I would have to tell her. As much as I didn’t want to, she deserved to know. The picture didn’t show all of her, thank fuck for that, but it showed enough.

I was going to kill him.

As soon as Angel gave me the go ahead, Charles would be mine.

***

(Meeka)

An hour after Coby and Asher left, I sat at the bar while Creena cleaned up. Max and Brogan had ushered everyone out of the club so we could spend the rest of the night in peace and quiet. Angel and Jay never left her room. There were no sounds of yelling so I hoped for the best that they were talking through their problems. Or they could have been like Asher and me and just have sex instead.

“Hey, boss,” Creena greeted, wiping up the counter.

I spun on my stool, finding Jay standing at the entrance to the hallway. Her shoulders drooped, dark bags circled under her eyes. She yawned, rolling her shoulders back and forth.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her gaze moving around the now empty club. “Where is everyone?”

“Max kicked everyone out,” Brogan jabbed, sliding onto the stool beside me.

“Good.” Jay nodded once. “Where are the guys?”

“Stone left shortly after Dale did,” I answered. “And both Coby and Asher went to take care of something.”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “What?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Angel came up behind her, kissed her head, and whispered something in her ear.

She tilted her head, waiting.

He smiled, placing a soft peck on her mouth. “I love you, princess.”

“I love you, my king,” she muttered.

If I could gush without sounding like a dork …
Oh, screw it.
“I think that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

Jay’s cheeks reddened, her eyes twinkling as she watched Angel head out the front door.

“Everything okay?” Max grabbed two bottles of water, handing Jay one before taking a sip of her own.

Jay inhaled a sharp breath. “It will be.”

WE HAD
explained to Jay that Coby and Asher had somewhere to be. They wouldn’t tell us what or even who they were meeting.

When Angel left, Jay couldn’t stop pacing back and forth in front of the bar.