Adversaries by T.L. Hodel

Isipped on my beer and glanced at the stairs for the hundredth time. My apartment was up there. It wasn’t the place I was avoiding, so much as the girl locked inside. I’m sure she didn’t want to see me either, not after what I did.

I hated Micha Kessler for being that guy. The one that didn’t give a shit about consequences. It didn’t matter to him what Riley wanted or what she thought. He just took her, which was exactly why I didn’t get involved. Because it did matter to me, if Riley wanted my help, she would’ve asked for it.

Can’t get involved if you’re too busy hiding.

That wasn’t it. I’d do anything for my niece. For fuck sakes, I came back from the dead for her. I didn’t question it or think about what would happen once my brother found out I was still breathing.

I just did it because Riley needed me. Like what happened with Naomi. I did it because I had to break the bitch somehow.

She started the whole thing. Prancing around, playing her little game of seduction. When she climbed up on the bed back arched with her ass in the air… I could’ve taken her right then, but I didn’t. I held back.

Then she smacked her fucking ass. God damn, I couldn’t get that image out of my head. Green eyes glittering at me as her hand swung through the air and came down on that firm fucking cheek.

That was the only reason I mouth-raped her. Besides, she wouldn’t keep her fucking trap shut. Had to shut her up somehow. It had nothing to do with how good it felt shoving my cock down her throat. It was a matter of principle.

Who the fuck was I kidding? I was no better than Micha Kessler.

I dropped my head in my hand and scrubbed it down my face. Riley was going to kill me if she ever found out about this shit. I should let Naomi go, but I couldn’t. And what was more, I didn’t want to.

I liked knowing she was up there, sitting on my horrid floor, waiting for me to come back. After all, men like me didn’t ask for what they wanted. They just took it.

I looked up at Beast as he walked into the lounge, with a big smile on his face and a lipstick mark on his cheek. That fucker and his wife were so in love it was sickening. They’d been that way since puberty smacked us all in the face. Just watching them together made my teeth hurt.

‘You can be that happy too, Chase.’

“Go away, Sam,” I hissed and pounded back my beer.

Snake flattened his palms on the table and cocked his head. “We got a problem.”

I sighed. Of course, we did. “What is it?”

“Tex says there’s a group of girls headed to the clubhouse.”

I glared up at Snake. “What the fuck do you mean they’re headed for the clubhouse?”

“Apparently, one of them stuck a shiv in Cannon’s leg when he refused to let him pass.”

“Some chick stabbed…” I stopped and shook my head. “Let me guess, tiny as fuck blonde?”

Snake reared back in shock. “Yeah? How’d you know.”

About this time, I heard high heels clicking up the stairs—a lot of high heels.

“Let’s just say this isn’t the craziest thing she’s done.”

Pushing the chair back, I stood up and headed across the room. I got to the stairs just in time to see Ava leading a group of girls up the last flight. My arm shot out, cutting her off.

“What are you doing?”

She looked up at me with a big smile. “It’s hazing night.”

“Uh-huh?” I cocked a brow at the girls behind her, half of whom were looking around and wringing their hands. “And you decided to haze them by seeing how many times they could get raped?”

“Of course not,” she scoffed and waved her hand through the air, “that would just be mean.”

Right?

I took a deep breath and tried again. “Ava, this is a biker clubhouse.”

“Yeah?”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. What the hell was wrong with this chick? “I don’t think this is a very safe place to bring these girls.”

“Oh, no,” she placed her hand on her cocked hip and waved her finger in my face, “Naomi is not getting out of this.”

Leaning over, I looked past her at the four large men in leather staring hungrily up at the group. Unless she had a twin, I’m pretty sure Ava was there when I took Naomi.

She even packed her a damn bag. If she brought these girls here and disturbed my men’s sanity because she forgot about the night, I kidnapped her friend…

“Naomi can’t go with you.”

She didn’t say anything, just stared blankly up at me.

“You get that, right?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded.

I paused and eyed her sparkling eyes. Was she up to something? I knew her brothers. Parker was pretty tame, but Preston didn’t do shit without a reason.

Aside from Louis Kessler, Preston was the one person I kept an eye on in Ashen Springs. His coldness was almost as lethal as his intelligence. I wouldn’t put it past his sister to be just as methodical.

“If you think bringing these girls here is going to make me let Naomi go…”

“Oh, no, she’s not getting out of that either.”

Okay. Wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that?

“Okay, let me get this straight,” I crossed my arms and leaned my shoulder against the wall, “you brought these girls here because it’s hazing night, which Naomi is part of, and you don’t want me to let her go?”

“That’s right,” she said as if this was the most normal thing.

Huh?

“Alright,” I shrugged and moved aside to let them pass. This shit, I had to see.

The girls clicked past, swinging their large eyes round with fright and curiosity. A few of them looked like they wanted to make a run for it, and they might’ve if there wasn’t a group of muscle-bound men following them up the stairs.

One of whom was Tanner. Though I wouldn’t call what he was doing following. Fucker was running up the steps like his life depended on it.

“Hey,” he propped his arm up on my shoulder and hunched over out of breath. “I heard my future wife is here?”

Hoots and hollers roared through the air, echoing down the stairwell.

“In there,” I nodded at the lounge.

“Thanks,” he slapped my shoulder and limped towards the open door.

“Do me a favor and kick the sweet butts out.” There was about to be a roomful of drunk horny men, and those girls did not need to see that shit.

Tanner’s brows knit as I began to climb the stairs. “Where are you going?”

“To get Naomi,” I muttered, “apparently, it’s hazing night.”