Axle's Brand (Death Chasers MC 3)

“Axle, what the hell?” Dash’s voice has me glancing toward the entrance where he’s holding his hands up.

“I’ll be back in a sec,” I tell him as he flips me off and heads back in. Then I speak to Sarah. “You ever gonna tell me what went down between you and your Pops?” I ask her.

“You ever gonna tell me where you got all those scars?” she quips.

My jaw grinds, and she takes my silence as my answer.

“Didn’t think so. Take care of Maya. I’ll be back soon with a present; then I’ll take her off your hands again.”

With that, she hangs up, and I pocket my phone while resting my head against the building. What happened to the days when we just drove for hours on open stretches of highway and built some fucking cars? The days where we sometimes kicked a little ass and maybe blew a few holes in people?

I miss those damn days.

Fucking mafia bullshit and girls in roller skates didn’t play a part in those days.

CHAPTER 13

MAYA

It’s late when I poke my head out the door, hearing the music blaring.

Par-tay. Heeey.

I could use a night of drinking and acting like a fool. I’m just not sure that’s so safe to do here.

There are a ton of guys downstairs, and also…a lot of women, though they’re gravely outnumbered by the dick holders.

I shut the door behind me and walk down the stairs. Another hit will go on tomorrow night, and until then, I need to take my mind off things. If this one goes well, it’ll be five successes in a row. That’ll hit Lathan and Phillip hard.

Not hard enough, but they’ll definitely start arguing. My brother will be under suspicion, if he’s not already. Phillip’s a paranoid fucker.

Coming down the stairs, I spot Eve as she speaks with another girl. Considering I don’t know anyone else, I head over to them. Eve is like a lamb amongst wolves in this place, but she doesn’t seem scared. I still don’t know her story.

I sidle up to them, and Eve smiles at me.

“You’re out of the room!” she says happily.

The girl she’s with turns to face me, gives me a body-sweep with a skeptical eye, and walks off.

“Something I said?” I ask rhetorically.

Eve laughs lightly. “That’s Colleen. She’s big on hazing the new girls. Liza—Sledge’s old lady—will be twice as bad.” She glances around before lowering her voice. “Everyone not inside the circle thinks you’re just a girl Axle picked up. No one knows the real deal, which I’m sure Axle has already told you.”

He told me my secret needs to stay a secret, but not that everyone thought I was his. It thrills me a little that he probably hates the hell out of that cover.

I smirk a little as my eyes scour the numerous bodies, and I finally spot him sitting in a chair, drinking a beer as he talks to the guy beside him who is getting a lap dance.

Axle’s eyes don’t even seem to stray to the half-naked girl. Hmmm. I never considered the possibility that he might be gay. That would explain so much.

And it really freaking sucks.

But he gets hard when he watches me…

“Is that why the girls seem to keep passing him?” I ask, watching as another girl takes a wide berth around his chair to move to a guy near the back. “Because they think he’s with me?”

Eve snorts derisively, and I return my attention back to her.

She gestures with her thumb to where Drex is shoving a girl away from him, his eyes narrowing like she’s crossed a line. As soon as the girl walks away, he rolls his eyes and resumes what appears to be an interrupted conversation with the bald guy they call Sledge.

“No. The girls don’t give a damn who’s taken. I’m learning to fight. Eventually, I’ll be able to kick their asses and stake my claim and all that. But until then, I have to silently seethe and try to keep from stabbing them with a broken beer bottle or something.”

I’d laugh, but I’m confused when I see another girl going out of her way to steer a wide path away from Axle on her quest to Dash.

“So why aren’t any of them trying to dance on Axle?” Not that I want them to. My fighting skills are rusty, but I can still hurt a girl if necessary.

I look over at Eve when she doesn’t answer, and she worries her bottom lip while shrugging.

“The girls here have a lot of options. And unless Axle directly requests them, they try not to draw any attention from him. I haven’t even seen him request anyone since I came here several months ago, but…anyway. He’s not… They don’t…”

She groans, and I slowly piece things together. “Because of the damn scars?”