“You’re doing good, McKenna.” Then she disappeared out the door. I knew she wasn’t a fan of me, and I knew that it probably had a lot to do with Millie being traded and all that shit, but I could still see that she wasn’t a mean person. Someone else barged into my shoulder on their exit and I stiffened. I see bright red hair and a tight ass walk out the door. Fucking Asha.
“That’s strike one,” I muttered, a scowl on my face.
“She probably won’t warm up to you.”
I turned to see Meadow smiling behind me. “She has loved Frost for a long time.”
“How do you know about what Jada just said?” I asked, pushing my phone into my back pocket. I really should check in with Raze and Miles.
Meadow hooked her arm into mine and guided me out the door. “First thing you will learn, is that around here, everyone knows almost everything while knowing absolutely nothing.”
“You know…” I began, just as we hit the wooden stairwell. “I only just left high school a year ago, I sort of don’t want to relive that shit. If ya know what I mean…”
Meadow giggled just as we hit the door to my room. “So if you left a year ago, that would make you—”
“—nineteen.”
Meadow patted my arm. “Just a baby. I truly hope you all the best when it comes to Frost and his chase.”
“He isn’t chasing me.”
“Oh, I know. Right now, but we will all know when he does.” She glanced into my room. “Get into something comfortable for tonight and I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” Then she left, shutting the door behind herself and I’m yet again, alone with my thoughts in the confinement of my new room.
“Shit.” My phone vibrating in my pocket steals my focus and I push it out, sliding it unlocked and bringing it to my ear. “Big brother.”
“Anything?” I know what he’s asking me.
“Negative. They all seem rather normal, like, in biker world, which I admittedly know nothing about.”
“How you holding up?”
“Awww, how nice of you to ask—”
“—Ella. Cut the shit.”
My smile dropped. “Fine. I’m doing just fine. How’s your queen?”
“Queen is doing fine.”
I took a seat on the edge of my bed. “So this… is just happening until this war is over?” I double checked with Raze, you know, just to be sure.
“Yes,” he ground out, then he exhaled, and I could picture his shoulders relaxing.
“I know you can handle this. It’s why I agreed. Regardless whether Frost fucking patched my woman as his.”
“He what, now?” A laugh escaped me, and I stood, walking toward the closet to find something to wear tonight.
“He made Millie his property. It was Millie’s sister, Melissa’s idea. Her way of making sure she knew her sister was safe.”
“You’d never fucking hurt Millie.” I rolled my eyes, pulling down a pair of ripped skinny white jeans and a tight navy blue tank top.
“We know that, but these people, they aren’t our people.”
“Roger that,” I replied, putting the shirt up to myself in the full-length mirror.
“You okay?” His voice sort of sobered. No one would have picked it up, but because I am his sister and he did raise me since I was a child, or baby, I saw it. Only two people walking this earth could peg the shift of Raze’s personalities. That’s me and Miles, and maybe, Millie. Time will tell. She’s nice and Raze has never ever been like this ever before, but shit can happen. I’m not holding my breath.
“I’m fine, big brother.”
He lets out a breath. “I’ll call you once Armageddon is over and you can come home.”
“Can I come play?”
“No. Not this time. Things are going to get messy, what with Kurr.”
My arms dropped to their sides and my voice dropped. “You’re really taking him out?”
“Fucking right.”
Kurr is our father, and, also known as, The Army’s Sergeant. He’s a bad man, and when I say bad, I mean the worst. Raze was his front man. The executioner, or 000 as it was stamped over his pelvic bone into every single person’s memory who knew the organization in which my family ran. There were six men, known as “The Six.” They all wore distinct metal masks to cover their identity while they took care of some of the most notorious killers in this world. See, The Army was on the government’s payroll. It was a sick and twisted operation and only yesterday, I found out that our brother Beast had been caught up in The Army, as well as his now vice president, Hella. Raze was the ringleader. But out here, in the real world, he wasn’t known as 000 or the notorious executioner, he was someone just as lethal. He was Raze McKenna, lord of the underworld. He lived two separate lives, and for a while, so did I. Going back to Kurr, who was my biological father—but didn’t know about me because my brother hid me from him all of my life, for my own protection, and to keep my identity hidden—was who they were putting down. Other than that, I lived a fairly normal life. Raze had me in the best schools across the country, but at the same time, I knew everything. I knew about The Army and where I came from. My brother and Miles trained me since I was a kid for this Armageddon. I wasn’t sure why Raze felt like he needed to protect me from Kurr. Maybe because he knew he’d kill me? I wasn’t sure, but I was thankful, and I trusted him. I loved my brother, even if he never exactly told me that he loved me.
“Okay,” I exhaled. “I guess that’s the logical thing to do.”
“It’s what we’ve been working toward for as long as you know, Ella.”
“I know.” And I did know, but at the same time, it was still scary. I’m scared because Raze and Miles could get hurt. They’re the only two people walking this earth that I gave a shit about. So that meant that the only living and breathing humans who I gave an incredible amount of fucks about, were almost ready to waltz into a war zone. Yeah, I’m a tad uneasy about it.
“You know the protocol, you know what to do if shit hits the fan, I trust you to pass things on to Millie?” he paused, waiting for my reply. When I first met Millie, which was only a couple weeks ago, she assumed I was one of my brother’s whores because Cassia. Cassia was my brother’s whore, but I was not. My operation was just to get cozy with Cassia so I could find out any information that Raze needed.
“I know.” I started shutting down any visuals that his words were igniting in my brain. “I will show her.”
He hung up after that, and I let out a pent-up sigh, tossing my phone across my bed. All of this…drama…was making me queasy. I didn’t want to have to show her the video Raze had made if anything had happened to him, and I didn’t want to give her the keys to the kingdom along with it. Not because I wanted it, but because I couldn’t imagine ever losing my brother—either of them. It wouldn’t be pretty. I may have had only been nineteen, but fuck me, I felt as if I had lived a thousand more lives than most women who were in their forties. I picked up a pair of skinny jeans and a shirt, had a quick shower, and tossed them on. I tugged on my hair, pulling its long strands out of the bun I had it in. After straightening my hair out, letting the ends flick outwards slightly and hang around my breast and tailbone, I took out my makeup container and brushed on some light tinted moisturizer and mascara, and then add my cherry flavored and slightly colored lip balm.
I’m pushing my phone into my back pocket when there’s a knock at my door. “Hold up!” I called out, skipping across the room and tugging it open. Jada stands there, holding a bottle of vodka.
“So, I come bearing gifts. You might need this…” She waltzed in without waiting for me to invite her. This isn’t really my place, it’s more like a halfway house, so meh.
“Really?” I arched my eyebrow. “A special reason why, or just my life in general?”
She took a seat on my bed and that’s when I noticed what she was wearing. A tight black short dress matched with thigh-high leather boots. Her raven black hair was curled in a mess all around her fac
e and her makeup was on extremely thick, especially around her eyes. I suddenly felt self-conscious with what I was wearing and how my makeup was.
She eyed me up and down, cranking her head. “Dayum. You look hot.”
I almost laughed, it’s as though she read my mind and wanted to give me a reassuring squeeze. “Thanks. So do you.”
She patted the spot next to her, curling her ankle under her leg. “So, listen.” While handing me the bottle of Grey Goose vodka. I took it, twisting the cap off and wrapping my lips around the rim. “You know how—” the door barged open and my head whipped to the entrance to see Melissa, straightening her short skimpy dress. It cut low at the front while remaining tight enough to see every single inch of her curves.
“We’re going out!” she yelled, lifting her hand in the air, then her eyes fell on me. “Girl, you can’t wear that.”
“Wait, where we going? And what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
Jada laughed, shaking her head. “Let me guess,” she declared, standing from my bed. “You and Hella had a fight?”
Melissa flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “You know me. Defiant and all…”
“Yes, we do.” Meadow came in, rubbing her belly. She brought her attention to me. “Ella, you don’t have to go with them if you don’t want to.”
I paused, my eyes shifting between both of them. I didn’t really feel like going out, and I sort of couldn’t be bothered getting changed into something more scandalous. Melissa must see my reserve because her face changed before she came toward me slowly, hooking her arm in mine. “Let me show you something, sweetheart.”
“Ah, okay…”
Jada and Meadow exchanged a worried look as I proceeded to get dragged out of my room, to the rail outside my door which allows you to oversee the entire hub of the clubhouse down below. I’m not sure what I’m supposed be looking for, but whatever.
She leaned into my ear. “Three o’clock, sweetheart.”
I followed her instructions, my eyes catching at our three o’clock. At first, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but then I saw the top of Frost’s head, then I noticed how his hands were wrapped around Asha’s slim hips. I wasn’t prepared for what rose inside of me. Fire. Jealousy. Confusion. Rage.
Melissa continued. “You see, they’re all the same, and they’ll never change. Hella? He loves me more than any male can love his woman, but he’s still Hella. Does he cheat on me? No. Do I know what he does on the road? Also no. Would they ever tell us? Also, double no. We are their old ladies, but the ones we choose plays a big part in how our life plays out.”
I examined her, my eyebrows knitting together. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this.”
She smiled weakly. “I think you know why.”
I didn’t, well, sort of. I knew what she was implying, but I also thought she was probably being a little dramatic. I could already smell the alcohol on her breath, which probably made her and Hella’s problems worse. So if I took what she was saying correctly, I think she was saying that I wouldn’t be cut for this life—with a biker as a partner. That’s fine for her to make that assumption—it wouldn’t be the worst one someone had made about me—but she was so mistaken with the limit of my capabilities.
“So,” she waggled her eyebrows at me, walking back toward my bedroom, “wanna wear red or black?” I chanced a sneaky glance back to Frost to catch him already watching me, but with Asha still secure on his lap. I shot lasers into his eyes until I could feel my cheeks rising in temperature. Just then, Asha glanced up at me, following Frost’s attention, and then the bitch smirked up at me, straddling his lap and wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. His eyes never moved from mine.
“Red,” I replied to Melissa, my eyes still locked on Frost. “Red.”
For fucking blood.
Chapter 4
With a bottle of vodka hanging between my fingers, we, (Melissa, Jada, and I) walked down the stairs, drunk and feeling a little dipsy. Damn, I’m pretty sure we were a sight for sore eyes. Or maybe we looked amazing. Yep, I’m going with we looked amazing because I felt amazing. Fuck the false sense of confidence alcohol gave me. It was real.
“I’m ready to dance!” Jada rose her hand above her head, just as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Me too!” The floor was spinning, and the clubhouse was pumping. We had plans to go to the Strip for a night out, well, Melissa had plans, whether she went with those plans was another story, but I’m not sure any of us would make it.
“Hey!” Jada pulled me in closer to her. She leaned into my ear. “You still want to hit the clubs if Melissa changes her mind? I am kid free for the night, and I don’t know about you, but I need to not feel like a mom for a few hours.”
I take another long drag of the vodka and take a mental note on how it tastes strangely like water now. Bad zone. This is Ella’s bad zone.
“Definitely, hey, I didn’t know you had a kid?”
Her head bobbed. “I do. A boy. He’s a hellion, but he’s my child so it’s not like he can help it.”
I take another swig of the alcohol. Interesting that she has a child. I never would have guessed it. “Familiar Taste of Poison” by Halestorm begins playing, and I don’t know why, but my eyes find Frost’s immediately, and to my shock, he’s already watching me. Asha was beside him now, no longer all wrapped on his lap. He raised his glass to the rim of his mouth and took a sip. I sucked in a breath, pulling my bottom lip into my mouth. I was annoyed with how much he affected me, but before I could explore that annoyance, the song kicked in more, and my eyes closed briefly as I got lost in the song. Someone tugged at my hand, interfering my moment as Jada pulled at me to go dance. The guitar came into the song at full blast and I laughed, throwing my head back as Jada dropped down and danced her ass into me. I swung my eyes back to Frost as the hook came back in and all air sucked out of me. Everything went into slow motion, his face turned serious, his eyebrows pulled in together and then suddenly the song was over, taking the intensity of the scene with it. Then it snapped. “I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace started playing next, and just then, it was as though the same wall dropped down over his face and he tugged on Asha, pulling her back onto his lap. He looked at me with a grin on his face and even though it felt as though someone had punched me in the gut, I continued to watch. He drew his tongue out and licked from her collarbone up to below her ear. My eyes fluttered, my blood boiled, and I slammed my mouth shut.
Rage.
“Okay!” Jada jumped in front of me, cutting off my vision of Frost and the bullshit façade he was putting on for me. “So we’re going. Right now.”
My eyes finally cut to her. This was why I couldn’t be involved with him. Like, ever. So what if I felt a little something toward him, it was just lust. I need to kill something. I feel my rage begin to simmer under my skin. This is bad. I haven’t felt this, emotion in general, for so long, it’s kicking up warning signals for me.
“Now?” I asked her, almost pleadingly. Now I knew I needed to get out of here fast before I did something stupid and ruined everything for my brothers. My beast was savage; she should not be awoken.
Jada searched my eyes, hers narrowing as if she could read me a little. Read, and maybe recognize the rage I keep hidden so well. “Yeah, chica, right now. Come on.” She took my hand. “We can find some poor suckers to bring home to my house tonight since my kid is with Hella.”
I didn’t bother chancing another glance at Frost. I followed Jada out the front of the clubhouse, leaving him and that skank to do whatever the fuck they wanted.
I was Ella Motherfucking McKenna. You couldn’t fuck with a McKenna, because, well, because we’ll kill you.
“Yo!” Jada called out to the bearded man who walked into the octagon room earlier to grab Frost. “Give us a ride to town?”
He gazed suspiciously between both of us, and I could see his face a little clearer now—ignoring the fact
that I was in fact, intoxicated. He was deliciously tall and built. He had dark brown hair that was long enough to slick back, and he rocked that shit. He had a long full beard that was scruffy and thick but still maintained nicely.
His eyes cut to mine and it’s then I noticed his thick dark eyelashes and deep warm mocha brown eyes. I wasn’t sure how old he was. If I had to guess, I’d say…I tilted my head, running my greedy eyes up and down his impeccable body. “Thirty-eight.”
Shit. Did I just say that out loud?
“Eyes up here, sweetheart.” A deep voice cut into mine. I brought my eyes back up, only to find his dancing in humor.
He stepped closer to me. “Ripper.”
“Ripper?”
Jada rolled her eyes. “That’s his name.” She gaped back at him, but Ripper still glared at me, only he had a slight grin on his lips while doing the glaring.
“Rip, please?” Jada broke in again.
His eyes fell down my body, and then he shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. Jump in the truck.” He gestured behind him and I shot a look over his shoulder to see an all-black Chevy truck.
Jada jumped up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best, Rip.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved her off and I followed her to the truck.
Jada had already scooted into the middle, so I slid in beside her, making me on the passenger seat.
Ripper jumped in and began pulling out of the compound. I glanced out to the clubhouse to see Frost walking out with a cigarette in his mouth, watching the truck with narrowed eyes.
I slowly flipped him off, my lips curved impudently, then turned to face the road.
After a short twenty-minute drive, we were on the Vegas Strip. Aka, my stomping ground. I had a feeling things were about to get messy tonight. The bright neon lights lit up the busy streets, and a weird feeling came over me. It was the first time I had been out in a long time, and admittedly I didn’t go out much growing up. Maybe once or twice, and that was because I was with Miles and we had something to do. This was the first time I was out just for fun, and it felt…normal.