Property Of Drex #2 (Death Chasers MC #2) (25 page)

Chapter 41

DREX

Flowers. Lots of fucking flowers.

I can’t believe I let her and the guys talk me into this. I’m supposed to be keeping her safe instead of dangling her at the end of a hook like fresh bait for any shark that wants to take a bite.

I also can’t picture Eve sleeping in a twin bed that has flowers all over the comforter like a pre-teen. But I’m staring at her old bed, studying the very different past she has from her future.

Too bad I’m too much of a bastard to do what’s right for her twice. At least I can justify keeping her with the fact
not keeping
her almost got her killed.

Her walls have pictures full of her and her family, all of them smiling and laughing. Except for one. There’s one where she looks like her heart has been yanked out of her chest, and she’s a million miles away in it. Distant, cold, hurt… It’s the only one not framed, but it’s taped to her wall.

Curious, I pull it off, and flip it over, seeing the date. Doing the math isn’t hard. This is right around the time her sister died. It’s probably the moment something in her changed and shifted, something bitter that spread inside her like a disease.

Something that made her trust and love a guy like me.

The bubbly girl in all of these other pictures wouldn’t have ever been strong enough to endure what she has since coming to me. Losing her sister might have saved her life, considering Marshall fucked this family over, and would have no matter what the circumstances.

Then again, if her sister’s hospital bills and funeral costs hadn’t been so high, her father might not have been desperate enough to ever get involved with us. It’s all a row of dominos, remove one, and they can’t all fall. Everything was pieced together to bring her to me.

My eyes flit to the crisp white dressers that also sport flower designs on them. Cheery. Bright. Young. Carefree… This was her before she lost her sister.

Walking over to the dresser, I flip open a sketchbook. Every page is dated, all of them within the past year. Every picture is mildly disturbing, showing pain, grief, anger, rage… Nothing flowery or cheerful in these drawings. I bet I’d find butterfly pics in the sketchbooks prior to her sister’s death.

Eve wasn’t made for me, but life molded her for me later on. It’s pretty fucked up that I became her light. No one probably even noticed she was suffering. Add in her father’s supposed suicide, and you have someone bitter, resentful, angry… Someone like me.

Blowing out a breath, I turn to see Eve leaning against the doorway of her room, watching me silently.

“Please tell me you don’t want fucking flowers in our place,” I say, trying to lighten the air.

Her lips turn up in the faintest of smiles. “Our place? As in your warehouse room?”

I shrug, leaning back on the dresser and crossing my arms over my chest. “There and our house, when I buy another one.”

“
Our
house?” she muses, smiling a little bigger.

“I think I made it clear I wasn’t letting you go again. So yeah…
Our
house.”

She looks down, smiling bigger, and her dark, shiny hair falls over her face.

“So how does this work?” she asks, looking back up as a flicker of fear tries to show itself, but she does well to act tough. I don’t like that.

Blowing out a breath, I glance around. “You stay here until he shows up. We drive away like we’re leaving you on your own. Snake spreads the word that I’m done with you. Since he’s the most bitter, he can sell it. Pop won’t make a move in the burbs. No worries. He’s smart enough to smell a trap anyway, and he’ll think it’s been set for him. He’ll avoid this entire situation. The only ones who will be drawn in are Ben Jr. and Marshall. Probably Ben Jr. only. I doubt Marshall is actually going to do any physical confrontation on his own. But once we have Ben, we can locate Marshall.”

“But you won’t be far away?” she asks hesitantly.

“Not far at all. Just down the road. Keep your phone on you at all times. The house is bugged, but I still want you to hit my number on your cell and drop the phone if someone shows up. Got it? We can’t be too close or they’ll figure shit out.” I groan deep in my throat. “Fuck it. I can’t go through with this. It’s too fucking dangerous, Eve.”

She walks toward me, and that determination spreads over her face, eclipsing every ounce of doubt she was wearing.

“I can do this, Drex.
We
can. It’s the only way to end it. We have enough to worry about with Herrin to have to worry about this as well.”

Brave. That’s one word for her. Stupid is the word for me.

“I don’t like this,” I grumble, watching the way she smiles up at me because she knows I’d do anything she asked. Pretty sure I’d fucking set the world on fire if she asked me to. “I also don’t like knowing this could take a few days or weeks. I prefer having you under me at all times.”

“I like being on top on occasion,” she quips, smirking up at me.

I grunt as she snickers softly, and I roll my eyes before peering out the window. Dash and Snake are waiting on me. The last thing I want to do is leave her here alone.

“So I can’t talk to you until this is over?” she asks, slipping her arms around my neck.

I may have fucked her twice this morning before coming here, but I really don’t want to go all night without having her again. It’d probably ruin the illusion if I stay much longer though.

“We have to guess they’ll be tracing any calls leaving this house. We have some tech toys, so I’m sure Ben does too. There’s a scrambler in here right now that is keeping any and all bugs from working, including ours. But once I’m gone, that scrambler will be deactivated and anything you say or do can be monitored. Cameras are in here too.”

“Will you be watching those cameras alone?” she muses.

My dick stirs in my jeans, and I narrow my eyes on her as her grin turns wicked.

“Don’t get naked anywhere but your closet. It’s the only place cameras can’t see. No, I won’t be watching alone.”

“What about when I shower?”

“The shower stall doesn’t have visibility, but the rest of the bathroom does. No one will be monitoring those screens when you’re in there, though. It’s just for when you’re not in there. That room has a window. We’ve locked every window in here and tested the alarm, but it’s just a precautionary measure. No one should be able to enter without triggering the alarm unless you let them in.”

She nods, biting down on her lip, and I lift her face back up by her chin and push my lips against hers. She kisses me back, hungry and desperate, and I groan into her mouth when her hands start roaming south.

“I can’t fuck you right now,” I grumble against her lips. “I should have left ten minutes ago.”

She sighs before stepping back. “Then you better leave before I don’t let you stop me.”

My lips twitch, and I bend to kiss her once more, keeping this one chaste, before walking out of her room. She follows and prepares for the scene she has to make. Our vacant house sets across from her, but we can’t watch from there. We’d be too noticeable. I really fucking wish I could stay here or just across the street. But we know there are other bugs in the house.

As soon as I step onto the porch, I turn to face her, and I see her angry mask in place. It’s a damn convincing mask.

“I’ll see you in a week regardless of what happens,” I whisper softly.

She nods, but her expression doesn’t change. Good girl.

As I walk toward my bike, she calls out the rehearsed line.

“This is the last time, Drex. You don’t get to pull me in and push me away anytime you feel like it.”

It’s just loud enough without being too loud and too obvious. The jogger across the street who is stretching is much more obvious. He’s been stretching for a while, showing no finesse.

As I toss my leg over my bike, I look back up at my girl who looks really sexy while pretending to be pissed.

“Got it,” I tell her. “Stay safe, Eve. And be smart. Don’t stay here. Get out of town while you can.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m sick of doing what I’m told. This is my home. Herrin isn’t going to run me out of it. Neither is Ben. Neither are you.”

So hot. So angry. So… good at making me worry she’s actually pissed at me. Not liking that part. She’s not too great of an actress, so it’s definitely disconcerting to see real anger directed toward me right now. I feel like I’m supposed to apologize.

I pull on my helmet and go through the routine of turning on my ride, revving it a few good times. Eve bites down on her lip, and I wink at her, since she’s the only one who can see my eyes. As I turn the bike around, I feel her eyes on my back. I don’t even glance at the jogger, making sure not to let him know we’ve spotted him.

I wait until I see her front door close in my side mirror before I drive off her lawn, and I floor it down the street. As soon as we reach the warehouse, we’ll be taking the tunnels out and driving back around in dark SUVs. I don’t like leaving her unattended for even that long.

There’s a sick feeling in my stomach about all of this. I really hate that fucking feeling too.

Chapter 42

EVE

Five days without seeing Drex… Yeah. It sucks. It feels like an actual breakup. I haven’t left the house. In fact, I’ve been so paranoid that I’ve ordered my groceries and had them delivered here, which fits in with my act. I’ve barely showered, since I’m worried I won’t hear someone enter while my head is under the water—I’ve watched horror movies before. I’m glad no one I want to see has dropped by, since I probably don’t smell too pretty.

Drex left me with a gun, but let’s face it, I can’t hit a blind man from five feet away, so a gun doesn’t make me feel powerful at all.

I’ve had nothing to do but binge watch TV shows and think. Lots of thinking. But mostly I’ve thought of one thing: Drex never told me he loved me. He seemed fine with me telling him, but he didn’t say it back.

Do men like him even say things like that? I don’t know. He shows me how he feels about me. Even without him saying it, there’s no doubt he feels the same way. Actions speak louder than words and all that.

It’d be nice to hear the words out loud though.

Sighing, I let my eyes flick to the eyeball of the teddy bear in my room. It’s hiding a camera. I think I’ve subtly found all of them, and I hope they all belong to Drex. It’s creepy knowing a group of them are hanging out and watching me.

But it also feels good to know that Drex is most likely watching me as well.

I bite down on my lower lip, and debate putting on a show. If he’s watching, he won’t let anyone else see it. If he’s not watching, though… nah. I better not put on a show. I’d rather no one got hurt, and I don’t want to put on a show for anyone else anyway.

My eyes flit over to the daisies on my wall. Yep… I wrote “cocksucker” on them just because I was missing Drex. Drake finally gave me the full story when we were in the hospital, and I regret not teasing Drex about it.

As my mind drifts through an array of more random thoughts, I shift my gaze back to the window, staring at the house that is twenty feet away. I wish Drex was closer. Maybe we could tunnel underground or something.

Boredom is an annoying thing, but I stare out the window like I have for most days, while lying on my back. It’s not until I catch a flash of blue that I jolt up. Maybe I’m seeing things…

I try not to go press my face against the window and give myself away, but I do jog out of my room and head toward the backdoor while pulling Drex’s number up and letting my finger hover over the “send” button. Looking out the large, back bay windows, I see nothing but some trees and my brothers’ sandbox.

My eyes move around the yard, expecting something to pop out and yell, “Boo!” Fortunately, that doesn’t happen, and I put my phone back in my pocket. I’m officially paranoid. Besides, there are cameras outside too. If something ran by, Drex would have—

My breath seizes in my lungs when a shadow falls over me from behind. Slowly, I turn around and my mouth turns into cotton.

“Hello, Eve.”

My eyes fall on the sandy blonde in front of me, and I swallow despite the dryness in my throat.

“Uncle.”

Chapter 43

EVE

Uncle Marshall doesn’t look as preppy and sophisticated as he normally does. He looks haggard and unkempt as he stares at me.

“Been trying to get ahold of your mother,” he says, standing a bit away with no weapons in his hand.

“She left town. I… got into some trouble,” I tell him, stalling, waiting for Drex to show up in his shiny armor and all that. So much for no one being able to get in without the alarms sounding. “How’d you get in?” I ask him, trying not to act like I want to stab him with the butter knife that’s on the table.

Wish I had that gun. Maybe I’d get lucky. What’d I do with it?

Then again… Even though I hate him, I’m not sure I could actually shoot him. I remember a time when he seemed somewhat nice. Back before he was a using bastard with my father and a criminal mastermind who killed him.

He looks around warily, as though he’s investigating. Pulling out my phone now to call Drex would just be suspicious.

He’s wearing a blue shirt, so that accounts for the flash of blue I saw earlier. Surely Drex has seen him by now and is on his way.

“What sort of trouble?” he asks me, not bothering to answer my question.

“It’s too crazy. You’d never believe it,” I tell him, smiling tightly.

My eyes shift to the counter beside us… where Drex’s gun is… Ah shit. That’s where I left it. When my gaze shifts back, Uncle Marshall is giving me a dark smirk.

“You’re a terrible actress, Eve. Really.”

A tense knot forms in my stomach as everything plays out in slow motion. My heartbeat slams like a warning drum in my ears, steadily growing louder as my eyes widen and I dive, acting on instinct alone. A scream pierces the air and it takes me a second to realize it’s from me as a sharp pain spreads through my scalp.

The bastard is pulling me back by my hair, and I feel a sense of weightlessness when he uses his hold on my hair to throw me across the room. A grunt leaves me, stealing my breath, when I hit the ground hard enough for searing hot pain to shoot through my spine and tingle against my toes as I slide on my back. My head thuds against the floor, and my vision dims only for a second before sharpening once again. I stare helplessly as Uncle Marshall casually picks the gun up and examines it like he finds it fascinating.

“All my planning and then you come along,” he says on a sigh. “One crazy coincidence that fucked it all up. Fucking Ben. He couldn’t help himself. Had to have you. I used that.” He looks up at me, toying with the gun as he slowly takes a step toward me. “Backfired when you started letting Herrin’s son fuck you like his whore.”

I don’t move, trying not to spook him. Where the hell is Drex?

“I actually thought you were setting a trap for me with this charade,” he goes on, squatting down just a few feet away from me with the gun casually resting in his hand, pointing it at the ground instead of me. “But then saw Drex all over some girl downtown and realized this was real. He honestly doesn’t give a fuck about you, and I was stupid enough to think he did. No, not stupid. Paranoid. Because of you, this entire fucking thing has gone to hell. Because of you, a beautiful plan has gone to shit. Ben is running, knowing his father is going to slit his throat. Half the men we’d assembled have scattered. The others are dead, thanks to your sweet ex. Damn pussy. All the best laid plans are fucked by pussy.”

My stomach drops as my mind tries to process what he said about Drex and some girl, even though it’s the last thing I should be thinking about right now. Everything boils over until it hits a peak near eruption, and I swallow as he continues to talk, giving that evil monologue I once waited for Ben to do.

My ears hum with a steadily growing white noise, and something inside of me snaps. With one hard push, I’ve launched myself at him, catching him off guard, and I land on top of him as the gun skitters across the floor.

Screaming. I’m screaming again as my fists collide with his face over and over while I straddle him, but it’s not enough. Shoving me off him, his hand connects with my face in a slap so hard I taste blood and hear a ringing almost simultaneously as my head snaps to the side.

When I look back over, he’s standing over me with a gun, but my lips twitch when I see a second gun being put against the back of my uncle’s head.

“I
strongly
suggest you lower that gun before this gets ugly,” a familiar voice says from the right, and my uncle’s eyes go wide as he glances in the direction where Axle is lounging on my living room sofa across from us. It’s hard to see him from this angle, since I’m still in the dining room, but there’s no mistake about who is right behind him.

My uncle slowly holds his gun out while swallowing hard, and he drops the weapon that clanks against the tile as Drex steps out from behind him and stares at me, putting about three feet of distance between my uncle and himself, but never lowering his gun.

“Your call, Eve. Still want me to do this?” Drex asks as I stand up on unsteady legs.

My breath shakes in my lungs like the oxygen is laced with thousands of tiny air bubbles. My eyes move from the cool blue ones to my uncle’s, and I see the terror in there because he knows Drex will kill him. He knows it’s over.

“Should have went with your first instinct about the trap,” I manage to say despite the tremor in my voice.

The surprise and horror on his face stirs a sense of pride inside me. I hope Dad can see this right now.

“I bet my father was terrified when you threatened us,” I whisper hoarsely, watching his eyes widen as though he’s shocked. Just the look I see in his eyes lets me know it’s true. He did kill him. “I bet he begged you not to hurt us… Not to make him kill himself. I bet it broke his heart to know how sick his brother was.”

His lips thin as he glares at me, and it’s all the confirmation I need. I don’t need closure; no answers will ever be good enough; and I don’t care what he has to say.

“Yeah,” I say, looking back at Drex just as my uncle yells something, but it’s muted as something quiet zips through the air, causing his words to cease immediately.

I hold Drex’s gaze, never looking away, and he never looks away from me either as the telltale sound of a heavy
thump
hits the ground, rattling the cabinets just a little. My eyes stay fixed on Drex and the small drop of blood that has landed on his neck.

It’s not as messy as I expected, then again, my eyes haven’t fallen to the floor, and I never actually saw the bullet enter. Axle walks in to join us, and Drex hands him the gun, never moving his eyes away from mine.

“Get rid of that and the body,” Drex tells him, before wiping the blood away from his neck.

“No problem. Probably should have asked him a few questions before killing him though.”

Drex takes a step closer, watching me like I’m a caged animal that will strike at any moment.

“Marshall wasn’t my call. He was Eve’s,” he says as though it explains everything.

Wordlessly, I walk out of the house, sucking in a deep breath. My father’s executioner was his own brother. His executioner was his niece, completing a vicious circle.

He just died at my request, and I feel like justice has been served.

No guilt.

No pain.

Revenge feels better than people want you to think. It doesn’t feel hollow anymore.

Drex comes out, still warily gauging me.

“Take me home,” is all I say.