Kings of Chaos by Eva Ashwood
Priest
It didn’t takemuch time after the woman left for Gage to send Knox after her.
He decided it was too dangerous to just let her go without keeping an eye on her, especially since we still don’t know enough about her motives or her story, so he sent my cousin to collect her. I know Knox will probably enjoy raining all over her parade, poking a hole in her assumption that she’s gotten away from us forever. Ash and Gage seem satisfied enough with the resolution, but I can feel irritation and concern moving like ants under my skin.
It’s not that easy.
Nothing is ever that easy.
Ash is grinning, feeling proud of his part in this, no doubt. Everyone knows why he wants the girl to stay here. She’s pretty and gives him his shit right back. He loves a challenge—even when it’s clear that the challenge might be too much for him to handle and might end up taking us all down with him.
“This is a mistake,” I say, speaking up and uncrossing my arms. “I don’t like it.”
Ash pulls a face the way he always does when someone goes against him.
“Of course you don’t like it,” he drawls. “You can’t run her through a background check and make sure she’s never kicked a puppy or something, so you don’t trust her. Why not have a little faith for once? Your nickname is Priest after all.”
I look to Gage, who also seems less than thrilled, but he’s not arguing with Ash. Now that he’s said we’re working with her, he won’t go back on his word unless she gives him a reason to, I guess.
“It’ll be great,” Ash continues. “She’s a spitfire, and she’ll be staying with us, so we can keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t do anything to fuck with our business. I can’t wait to find out what makes her tick. I mean, she practically broke her own damn wrists to get out of the cuffs and be able to fight me off. She has to have some kind of crazy story.”
“You just want to fuck her,” I shoot back. “That’s the only reason you want her to stay here. Don’t pretend you give a fuck about her story. For once, it would be great if you would use the head your brain is in, instead of the one in your pants when it comes to making a decision.”
Ash just laughs. Nothing can really get to him when he’s in a mood like this. “My way is more fun,” he insists. “You have got to lighten up and learn to live a little. Besides, we all know the only reason you don’t want her to stay here is because you don’t want to fuck anything.”
He says it casually, no bite to his tone at all, but it hits like a blow anyway. My face drops back into neutral lines, and I fold my arms again, closing myself off. Whatever response Ash was looking for with that comment, he won’t get from me. I don’t show him any emotion, and I don’t let myself feel it, either. It doesn’t matter, so I push it all back.
He can think what he wants. He can say what he wants. Whatever it is, it doesn’t change the facts. We can’t trust her just because she’s attractive and says what we want to hear. That’s beyond stupid.
Instead of trying to get through to Ash, which is largely a lost cause at this point, I look at Gage again. He’s on the fence, I can tell. Unsure of whether we made the right move or not. He gave the girl his word in a way, but if he takes it back, what is she going to do? There are four of us and one of her, and if Gage gave the word, even Ash would have to obey. No matter how much he wants to fuck her.
“She’s an unknown, Gage,” I say, dropping my chin a little. “It’s too risky. She might have been lying to us. For all we know, she’s working with someone else who hates Ivan, and she’ll drag us into the middle of it. This isn’t a good idea. We don’t have enough information, and she wasn’t exactly being forthcoming with offering up any reasons for us to trust her. This isn’t how we should do things.”
“What are we gonna do?” Ash cuts in before Gage can answer. “Have Knox bring her back here and then shoot her in the face? That’s just bad manners. It’s a done deal already, and you know it’s the best plan.” He turns to the dark-haired man who’s become our leader over the years. “You saw her. You saw how serious she is about this shit. The only reason she gave up anything at all is because she wants to get back to her fight, I bet. She’s going to take St. James down because she has some personal grudge against him, and then she’ll leave us alone. She doesn’t even care about us. If it wasn’t for her being at the club, she never would have even been involved with us.”
“But she is now,” I tell him firmly. My face is still basically blank, and even though I’m arguing with conviction, there’s no trace of emotion in my voice or posture. “What if she decides she wants revenge for being locked in the basement all night?”
Ash shakes his head. “She’ll take out Ivan first. That’s what’s most important to her, and if she gets it in her head that she wants to start some shit with us afterward, then we can deal with that then. But at least she’ll have already done the dirty work we want her to do, right?”
Frustration wells up in me. I want to grab Ash and shake him. Everything is so easy in his mind. Everything always works out for the best. He gets the girl and there’s no drama, and things work out the way they should, with all of us on top. He doesn’t understand that sometimes things blow up in your fucking face. Sometimes you don’t win. Sometimes you lose everything, and all you have left is the burning question of why you didn’t see it coming.
That thought makes my stomach clench, a years-old ache in my chest throbbing dully.
But again, I don’t show any of that. I just take a controlled breath, letting it out and looking at Gage once more.
He seems angry, growling under his breath as Ash and I argue. He’s always got his anger close to the surface, ready to use it like a weapon when he needs to even though it burns him up right along with it. I can tell he’s working through the situation in his head, turning over the few things we know about this girl and the things Ash and I are saying.
Out of my three best friends, Gage is the one most likely to take my side. He’s cautious enough to not do things recklessly. Usually.
He sighs, dragging a hand through his hair in a motion that looks like it hurts. “Ash is right,” he says finally, even though it sounds like he still doesn’t like it. “She’ll be solving a problem for us if we let her take down Ivan St. James. We need him gone so that he stops fucking around with our business, and she’s giving us the perfect chance to do that without upsetting any of our allies or bringing down fire on ourselves.”
Ash grins, folding his arms and mimicking my posture.
I don’t say anything, but I grit my teeth.
I can see their points—mostly Gage’s point, since everyone knows what Ash’s point is, and it mainly has to do with his dick—but I’m not convinced, and I don’t agree.
Before I can make another argument against it though, the front door opens. A second later, a scruffy brown dog comes trotting into the room, tail wagging a mile a minute and tongue lolling out of its mouth. It gives one loud, gleeful bark, and then plops down on the floor in front of us, its tail thumping against the carpet as if its expecting attention or a treat or something.
I blink at it, confused, and for the first time today, Ash and Gage are on the same page as I am, staring down at it like they have no idea how a dog just materialized in our house.
Then Knox comes strolling in, a grin on his face.
“Everyone say hello to River,” he declares, gesturing behind him. “Our new houseguest.”
River.
So that’s her name. It fits her somehow, even more than Ghost does. She’s slippery and hard to grasp, seeming calm on the surface but concealing rapids underneath. Not someone you should trust when you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.
Knox doesn’t seem to care about any of that. He grins, bending down to pet the dog. “Good boy, Manson,” he says.
“That’s not his name,” the girl—River—snaps from behind him, stepping around him with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. She’s showered and changed since we last saw her, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, and more of her body covered up by a t-shirt and jeans. Her skin has been scrubbed free of blood, but her wrists are still raw and red, and a bruise blooms over her temple.
“I’m just trying it out,” Knox shoots back, rubbing the dog behind the ears. “You obviously don’t care about his name, and this one fits him better.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Don’t mind her, Manson.” Knox puts on a funny voice as he talks to the dog, scratching him under his hairy little chin. “She’s just cranky. We’ll find you a good name.”
“What. The. Fuck,” Gage breaks in before she can reply to Knox again. “I told you to bring her back. Not her and this.” He gestures to the dog like it’s dragged in some kind of disease, and judging from the state of the thing, it very well may have.
It’s scrawny, and its fur is matted in some places despite not being very long. There are healed scars and bite marks on its droopy ears, as if it’s been through some shit.
“We’re a package deal,” River snaps, matching Gage’s anger in a flash. “If you’re going to drag me back here after telling me I’m free to go, then you get to put up with Dog until I’m done with my mission. Otherwise I can leave.”
Gage narrows his eyes, and I know he hates her tone. She’s acting like she’s the one calling the shots here, instead of her being here because we said so. His face darkens, ready to lash out right back at her.
Ash and Knox both look a bit amused. Knox keeps petting the dog, and Ash is looking at River, not at all deterred by the fact that she’s more covered up as he lets his gaze roam all over her.
I just stand back and watch it all happen. That’s my usual role anyway. The observer. Trying to sniff out trouble before it happens. But this already smells like shit. This girl is trouble, and it’s obvious. Knox looks self-satisfied and smug, like he’s already had his fun and can’t wait to have more, and Ash just looks hungry. Neither of them bother to hide it.
It makes me hate her, and I can feel that anger and resentment bubbling away inside me. None of it shows on my face, but just for a second, I let myself indulge in the emotion before shutting it down. We’ve worked hard to build this life for ourselves. Dealt with lowlifes and assholes and all kinds of bullshit to claw ourselves up to where we are. Anything that could destabilize what we’ve built is a threat in my eyes, and as I watch River glare at Gage while the other two eye her like a piece of meat, I know this woman is trouble waiting to happen.
The rage builds beyond where I can control it, warping into a kind of unaccountable fury that makes me see red.
Usually, I’d shut it down and carry on, forcing my emotions down, but this is different.
This is outside of my control.
I don’t want any of them to see it, least of all this woman, so I turn on my heel and stalk out the door, leaving them all to keep carrying out this farce if they want to.