Axle's Brand (Death Chasers MC 3)

“Tonight’s party was to keep the guys happy, keep them excited to have chosen our side. It’s a very fragile time for us right now, because if we lose too many, we deal with Herrin and an army on our own,” he says suddenly, cocking his head as he studies me.

My lips purse as confusion settles in, pushing anger to the corner at the moment. I stare at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

“We’re broke. Herrin took everything. It’s going to take a while to figure out which guys are double agents and which ones are truly loyal to us.”

He moves to the dresser, leaning against it as I sit up and pull my knees to my chest.

“Our sources are compromised, making the vetting process much harder for fear of an ambush with a job. Everything is in disarray right now. We’ve decided on a name, and when we get the cuts in, that will change the game a little. The second you put on that sovereign show of unity and pledge yourself to a brotherhood, the consequences for playing both sides suddenly doubles. It feels like twice the betrayal.”

“You’re explaining why tonight was important. Not why you treated me like a piece of dog shit that was stuck to your shoe.”

The bastard smiles. This is what makes him smile?

Oh, but it’s a damn good smile. One that transforms his entire face.

“Because,” he says as he wipes the smile away, “you just showed up a week ago. If I treated you too good, people would assume I’m whipped or weak. And as I said, this is a fragile time for us. No weakness allowed.”

“I don’t see Drex treating Eve like dog shit, and he’s the president, right?”

He moves toward the bed, and I shuffle back. When he grabs my ankle, I don’t fight. When he jerks me down the bed, I don’t fight. And when he spreads my legs so he can come down on top of me, I let him.

He braces his weight with his elbows on either side of my head as he stares down at me. The soft fabric of his shirt tickles the insides of my thighs, making me all too aware of how intimate this is.

I’m not sure why my breaths are so shaky. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve been in this position with a guy.

His gaze flicks to my lips, and his thumb starts to trace the outline of my mouth. I force my body to remain still and not to succumb.

“Eve has earned her place and her right to respect from the club. That’s a long story, but it took time. You’re the new girl. As far as everyone is concerned, you’re just some hot girl I brought in as mine. They can’t know who you really are to know why you get immediate respect. And as I said, anything else would be considered weakness.”

He stops tracing my lips, and his hand falls away as his gaze comes back up to my eyes.

“They’d be hard-pressed to believe your story anyway. Even if we did trust them all enough to tell them,” he adds like a sucker punch.

I shove at his chest, and he rolls off me, cocking that damn eyebrow of his again as he stands back up.

I jerk the covers back, shuffle out of my shorts, and grab a pillow to put in the middle of the bed. “Don’t worry, Axle. I don’t need you or anyone else to believe my story, and I no longer want to have fun while I’m here.”

His face blanks, giving nothing away, and I let him watch—as usual—as I get undressed and pull on one of his shirts that I had already picked out. For the first time since the first night, I leave my panties on.

It’s not like that will stop anything, but it’s a statement more than anything.

“I just explained—”

I cut my eyes toward him. “You just explained why you treated me like a gnat that needed swatting. Got it. But you still act like I need to keep justifying my intentions. And I don’t have time for that. It’s me who should be concerned with this club’s intentions. I’m going on blind faith in Sarah that this is a good idea…the best place to take cover while I work from the shadows—”

“I haven’t seen you work yet,” he interrupts with narrowed eyes.

I grab my phone and toss it to him. He catches it with one hand, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“Feel free to read all the messages. They’re mostly in code, but I’m sure a smart criminal like you can read between the lines. Now go. I need sleep. It’s been a shitty night, and I need to speak with Drex about getting out of here first thing tomorrow.”