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

  I smile. “No, but thank you for being honest with me. Now I’m not in the dark. Tell me everything, Beast. Even if you think I can’t handle it, I need to know. Especially about your ex-whores. It’s too embarrassing to not know, they’ll assume they have one up on me if they think I don’t know.”

  He swings his leg over and I jump on behind him, pulling myself up against him tightly.

  He runs his thumb over my hand. “I’ll always tell you, baby. I promise.”

  With that, he kick starts the bike and we make our way back to the house Melissa and I are sharing.

  After our shower, I walk out to the bedroom where Beast is sitting on the side of the bed, tying up his combat boots.

  “I’m going over to Jada’s tonight. What time will you be back?” I ask, squeezing the towel that is wrapped around my body.

  Throwing his cut on, he wraps his fingers into mine. “I’ll be back a bit later. About Garret—”

  Pushing my finger up to his lips, I shake my head. “Don’t. Please. I’ll find out when Melissa finds out.”

  His shoulders sag as his lips push into my fingers, kissing them gently. “All right then.”

  After giving me a brief kiss goodbye, he leaves through the door and when his Harley vibrates the walls showing his departure, I walk to my closet and pull out my yoga pants and loose long sleeve top that falls off one shoulder. Untying my hair, I let it fall in long natural waves down to my waist. Opening my bedroom door, I run downstairs and head straight for the kitchen to gather together all of the alcohol I can see.

  “Meadow?” Melissa calls out from the living room.

  Standing from my position of being bent over in the fridge, I walk in and smile at her. “Hey! You all ready?”

  She nods her head, standing from the sofa. “Yeah, just one thing…”

  Wrapping my arms in front of me, I nod my head. “Shoot!”

  “Do you know if Garret is Hella’s kid?”

  “No, I don’t. Beast was going to tell me, but I told him not to. We can ask her tonight if you want?”

  She nods her head. “Yeah, I guess. Not that it’s any of my business.”

  Spinning around, I turn to make my way back to the kitchen. “Well, I guess not. Come help me pull this out, then we can head over.”

  After Melissa and I both gathered together all the alcohol, we pile into my car and drive over to Jada’s. She texted me earlier, giving me a brief description of how to get there. When we pull up, I take a look around. The house is adorable. It’s much like the one we’re staying in, only this one looks more lived in and has ride on toys out the front. Getting out of my car, I shut the door and look at Melissa. “Come on, let’s go.”

  We’re halfway up the steps when the front door swings open and an older woman is standing there with a smile on her face. “Hello, you must be Meadow?”

  I nod my head, placing all the bottles on one arm and reaching my hand out to her. “I am, nice to meet you,” I say with a smile.

  “This is Melissa,” I say, nudging my head toward Melissa, who smiles and reaches her hand out.

  “I’m Bethy, nice to meet you too, dear. Come in. Jada won’t be long she just jumped into the shower.”

  I nod my head and follow her inside, removing my shoes on the way.

  “Well, go and take a seat out on the porch. Jada set everything up out there.”

  I nod my head. “Okay. Thank you, too. Beast told me it was you who filled up the cupboards for us, I really appreciate that.”

  She waves my comment away. “It’s the least I could do for you.”

  Tilting my head, I’m just about to ask what she means, when Jada walks down the stairs behind me, huffing out a breath as she gets to the last step. “Sorry, I forgot to shower and I was training tonight, so I didn’t want to engulf you in my sweat.” She smiles, pulling us both in for a friendly hug.

  “No problem,” I say, following them out the door to the porch that wraps around the entire house. There’s a little swing that sits to the left and to the right there’s a rectangular outdoor table and chairs where Jada has lined up all the foods you could think of. I laugh. “You trying to get me fat?”

  She laughs, taking a seat. “No, I just know that Beast trained you today, so no doubt you will be hungry.”

  I nod, placing the bottles of wine onto the table and glancing out to the large farmland that surrounds the house. “It’s beautiful here, all the nature is relaxing.”

  She smiles. “Thank you. Now take a seat.” She points to the table and I laugh, pulling a seat up next to her.

  Popping open the bottles, I begin pouring the cold liquid into the glasses, handing one to both Jada and Bethy. “So, where’s Garret?” I ask, looking over my shoulders.

  “He’s just scrubbing up. He’ll be down soon no doubt, especially with all the food here. But I’ll be kicking his butt upstairs after that. He has school tomorrow.”

  I nod my head. “I have to ask.”

  Melissa sucks in a breath beside me and Jada smirks, tilting her head. “Do ask.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head. “What’s it like having a child in this life?”

  Jada picks up a handful of grapes and shrugs. “Just like one big family. Garret loves the guys. He has twelve badass uncles who ride on bikes and carry guns.” She rolls her eyes.

  “I notice you said twelve, not eleven?” I whisper, tilting my head to the side and Jada smiles.

  “Hella is Garret’s father. Not by blood, but by choice. He stepped up since day one to take on that roll.”

  Picking up a handful of chips, I tilt my head. “So he’s not his dad?”

  “No, he is not.” She smiles, taking a sip of her drink. “But he’s the closest thing that Garret has to a dad. He loves him like a son and Garret loves him like a dad. They adore each other, so Hella is very much active in Garret’s life. He even has him on every second weekend.”

  Smiling, I drink the rest of my glass before placing it back down and refilling. “That’s really sweet.”

  Jada smiles and nods her head. I guess there’s a lot more that went on there, but it’s not my place to pry. Melissa refills her glass quickly and Jada looks to her. “I feel really sorry for you,” she says to Melissa and Melissa pauses with the glass short of her mouth.

  “Me? Why?” she scoffs, placing the glass back on the table.

  “Because Hella wants you.”

  Melissa shakes her head and laughs. “That’s not true. Even if that were, why would you feel sorry for me?”

  “Because he’s ruthless when it comes to something he wants. He won’t give up. And what he wants? Is you.”

  “We will kill each other before we fuck each other again,” Melissa mumbles.

  Jada laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure that would excite him, too.”

  We all burst out laughing until Garret walks in, running his hands over his long hair that falls over his forehead. He’s adorable, looks a lot like Jada, only his hair is blond and he has more European features than Jada’s exotic ones.

  “Hey, kid. Come say hello to the girls,” Jada says, waving him over.

  “Hey,” he answers with a clipped tone. “Can I eat now?” he mumbles, taking a plate and piling it up with food.

  “Garret, that’s Meadow,” she gestures to me. “She’s uncle B’s Old Lady.”

  Garret pauses his food piling and looks to me. He tilts his head and I smile.

  “Uncle B doesn’t want an Old Lady,” he answers, narrowing his eyes at me suspiciously.

  I laugh. “You might need to take that up with him. Nice to meet you, Garret.”

  He grunts. “Nice to meet you too.” I laugh again, the kid actually grunted. If that’s not a dead giveaway that he spends far too much time with bikers, I don’t know what is.

  Melissa stands from the table. “Can I show you something?” she says to Garret and he nods his head. Melissa picks up the packet of TimTams that are sitting on the table and I narrow my eyes at her, knowi
ng what she’s about to do. She hands him a TimTam and points to his hot cocoa. “Bite each end of the TimTam, and then suck your hot cocoa through the cookie before eating it. It’s heaven in your mouth.”

  He narrows his eyes at her again. “Are you sure?”

  “Trust me. I’m like, the cookie queen.”

  He laughs, following her orders. When he takes a bite from the TimTam, his eyes pop open and roll back behind his head. “Oh my God,” he moans. “You’re shitt’n me. Where’d you learn to do that?”

  “Garret!” Jada snaps and he apologizes to his mom quickly.

  “I’m the cookie queen.” She winks, taking a seat back down. Garret picks up the packet of cookies and quickly runs upstairs. Jada stands from the table and huffs out, waving her arms up.

  “Fuck it. The kid will just have to get diabetes,” she says slumping back into her seat and I giggle.

  “He’s a sweet kid.”

  “Sweet enough to make your teeth rot,” she scoffs, tipping her drink back.

  We all laugh again and Jada turns to Melissa. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

  “Our friend, Alaina, she’s from New Zealand. She gets her parents to ship all this food from New Zealand. TimTams is one of them.”

  “TimTams are Australian?” Jada asks before adding, “They’re basically the same countries, so I guess that’s why.”

  I laugh, not wanting to correct her. Melissa nods her head. “Yeah, basically. Where’d you get them from?”

  Jada smiles. “His dad is from our Australian chapter. They’re Garret’s favorite, so he sends them in his parcels once a month. Too bad he can’t send time,” she whispers sadly, taking a drink of her drink.

  Our night rolls by smoothly, we laugh and all relax into each other’s company. It’s a little over midnight when I look around for Melissa. “Where is she?” I say over the music that’s playing.

  Jada laughs. “She’s asleep in the living room.”

  I look down at my phone and grin. “I better get home.”

  “I’ll drive you,” Bethy says, standing from her seat.

  I smile at her and hand her my keys. “Thank you. You can bring my car back here. I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

  She nods her head. “All right.”

  I look over at Melissa, who’s sprawled out on the sofa. “Should I?”

  Jada laughs, shaking her head. “She’ll be fine there.”

  Nodding my head, I pick up my handbag and pull Jada in for a hug. “Thank you for tonight.”

  “No problem.” She smiles, squeezing me.

  Reaching my car, I laugh at my attempts at trying to find the door handle. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Bethy. I’m a bit drunk.”

  She laughs, opening the door for me. “It’s okay, love, hop in.”

  I slide in and pull my belt on. When she takes a seat, I turn to her. “So you knew Beast’s mom?”

  She smiles gently, trying to find the key. I laugh and take them off her. “It’s keyless. Just push the button.”

  She laughs shyly, before starting it up. “Yes, I did.”

  I nod my head. “What was she like?”

  Putting my car into first, she smiles again, pulling out of Jada’s driveway. “She was beautiful and very, very, intelligent. I never understood what she saw in Luce. Aside from his looks, he was a bad man back then, before Beast came into his life he was ruthless, had nothing to lose.”

  I nod my head. “You believe she’s still alive?”

  She nods her head, just as we pull up to the house. “I believe she’s alive. Yes.”

  After thanking Bethy, I reach the door and swing it open, darkness taking over my already unstable eyes.

  “Shit,” I whisper, pulling out my phone so I can use it as a light. I didn’t even bother to see if Beast’s bike was here. Once I find the stairs, I step on the first step before realizing this is just not going to work, I’m too drunk. Dropping to my hands and knees, I begin crawling up the stairs, laughing at myself in the process. I reach the top step and bang into legs. “Ouch!” I moan, rubbing my head.

  “Beast?” I ask, trying to look up at him from my position. My eyes scan up light washed ripped jeans that are unbuttoned, hanging low, his trail disappearing underneath. Swallowing down the saliva that has built in my mouth, I carry on my travel. When I pass his ripped tanned chest, I reach his face that’s covered by his skull bike mask and just as I’m about to bite my lip, my weight shifts tilting me back, almost falling down the stairs. His hand wraps around my arms as he pulls me to my feet. Biting down on my lower lip, I smile up at him. “Is this your way of paying me back for tying you up?” I knew he’d get me back one day for tying him up, but this is playing dirty. He knows how much I love that mask. Don’t ask because I don’t know why.

  Maybe I’m a little more twisted than I thought? Wrapping his hands behind my thighs, he picks me up and walks me to the bedroom. I slide my hands over his arms, my drunken mind taking my body hostage. I push my head into the crook of his neck, drawing my tongue out and running it over his scar down his neck slowly before nipping it. His body tenses his arms squeezing me. Walking into the room, he rips my top over my nipples, sucking one into his mouth roughly before kicking the door shut behind us and throwing me onto the bed. In our world of shattered reflections that look back at us, I’m the girl who wants to dance with the devil.

  We’ve been here for almost a week now and I’m in the shower scrubbing up when I hear my phone ring on the bathroom counter. Pulling the curtain out of my way, I quickly jump out of the shower and answer it when I see it’s Beast.

  “Hey! What’s up?” I say breathlessly down the phone.

  “Meadow…” he growls and my shoulders stand to alert.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you touching yourself?”

  “What? No, you perve. I’m in the shower,” I scowl down the phone but my mouth tips to a curve on its own admission. “You calling just to ask that, or is there another reason?”

  He chuckles down the phone. “Another reason. Jada is going to join the training tonight, I need to see you in action.”

  “Okay,” I say, pushing my wet hair out of my face.

  “It’s fine, nothing serious, but I need to see where you are in a fight.”

  Huffing out, I take a seat on the side of the bath. “She’s going to totally kick my ass.”

  He smiles down the phone. “No, she’s not. I’ll be up there soon. I have something to talk to you about, too.”

  “Oh?” I say, straightening my back. “Good or bad?”

  “Bit of both. Come down and bring Melissa.”

  “She’s not leaving the house.”

  “Make her.”

  “Why? She just can’t wait to get home.” I haven’t had time to actually miss my home yet.

  “Yeah well, that’d be sooner rather than later,” he states. “I gotta go, come down and try to bring Melissa.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  Hanging up my phone, I walk out into my bedroom and throw on the little black spandex shorts, sports bra, and a loose tank top, before walking downstairs to find Melissa on the sofa watching Breaking Bad. I laugh. “Which season are you up to?”

  She turns the volume down on the remote. “Season four! I think I love Jesse Pinkman.”

  I scrunch up my face, shaking my head. “No, Melissa. Just. No.”

  She nods her head. “Yes. ‘Move me further, bitch.’ The man has the keys to my heart. Anyway,” she says, standing from the sofa, her hair falling all over the place. “When can we go home? I’m tired of hiding here.”

  “You don’t have to hide here. And besides, don’t you want to come and watch Jada kick my ass tonight?”

  She pauses. “You’re fighting Jada! Beast will not let that happen.”

  I shake my head. “No, she’s training me. Beast wants to know where I’m at.”

  “Oh, okay. I’ll come.”

  “Good,” I say, slapping her ass. “Get changed we’r
e going down to the compound now.”

  “I don’t want to,” she moans, her shoulders sagging.

  “I don’t care. Go get pretty. I miss my friend.”

  She smiles, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck. “I’m sorry, I’ve been a terrible friend. But Beast has been keeping you company.”

  “You smell. Shower, then we’ll go.”

  She laughs before running off upstairs and taking a shower.

  Shaking my head, I walk to the fridge and pull out a bottled water before taking the keys from the table. “You ready?” I ask as she walks down the stairs in all of her Melissa glory. “You look hot, babe. I’m surprised you haven’t bedded any of the other guys. Hannibal’s beard? Damn,” I say with a smile, nudging her, attempting to get her into a better mood.

  She laughs, throwing her hair up in a high pony-tail. “Yeah, they’re all hot to boot, and trust me, I did try. But none of them will touch me. Bikers, Meadow. I can’t even score a biker… who by the way, sleep with those beautiful club whores all day. That’s probably why.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s why,” I mumble under my breath as we walk out the door and make our way to the compound.

  Pulling up to the clubhouse, it’s in full blast by the looks of it. Music playing and people everywhere. Jada’s car is parked up beside the bikes, so I pull in next to her and jump out. Melissa stays rooted in her seat and I kneel down, peeking into her. “Get. Out.”

  She chews on her lip nervously. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Melissa. Let’s get you a drink and then you can watch Jada beat my ass. Come on.”

  “For the record…” she states, finally getting out from the passenger seat, “...if she does, I’ll have to jump in.”

  I laugh, hooking my elbow in with hers. “I love you. You know that, right? And screw Hella. He doesn’t deserve you. Let me work something.” I wink at her and her eyes narrow.

  “What are you up to?”

  I laugh, tapping my nose. “You’ll see.”

  We’re both laughing when we walk into the clubhouse and see it choc-o-block filled with bikers, half naked women, and more bikers.