Live Free (Lords of Mayhem 3)

Chapter One

We’re all rubber bands, able to stretch to the point of breaking. We can bounce back when put under stress. But everyone has a breaking point. A moment when we’ve pushed past our limits and snap in half, go off the deep end or act out of character. Standing in the middle of her kitchen while the boys from Mayhem combed every inch of her house for bugs, Evonne came close to her meltdown threshold. Arms wrapped tightly around her waist to hold in the remains of her tattered soul.

Paralyzed by the negative thoughts spinning in her mind like an out-of-control merry-go-round, she replayed the events of the previous day. Levi’s face and the crazed look in his emerald eyes as she succumbed to a drug-induced sleep were seared into her brain forever. The entire fucked-up event was a horror movie stuck on repeat. I should’ve seen this coming! What would a man like that want with me? And I ate it up. I’m a pathetic nerd so desperate for attention I couldn’t smell a trap. I put everyone in danger, for what? She closed her eyes. The tiny voice intensified. I need to keep busy.

She lowered her arms and walked over to the cabinets, opening and closing them with disgust. Nothing looked appealing. Scanning the area, her gaze stopped at the wooden wine rack. A nice full glass of pinot noir would hit the spot. The clink of glass sounded obnoxiously loud as she pulled down a goblet. It’s not even ten in the morning. Ignoring the nagging voice in the back of her head, she popped the cork and poured a healthy portion. With nothing in her stomach, the wine went straight to her head. Pleasurable warmth spread through her body.

She leaned against the counter, eager to stay out of the bikers’ way. Every time they looked at her, a fresh wave of shame ran through her body. God, how stupid I must look to them. I’m the sheltered, silly bitch, who risked them all to get a little dick. The last thing she remembered was Levi’s voice, swearing he would never hurt her as she drifted off to sleep.

“We got a hit!” a male voice barked.

The words popped her bubble of bliss. Glass shattered. She blinked and realized she had just pitched her drink across the room.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” a deep voice boomed, making her jump.

She glanced over at Crazy, not really seeing his face. “He fucking bugged my house?” Her body shook as her rage searched for a way to get out. “The cock-sucking motherfucker.”

A chorus of whispers rose around her.

“There might be more. It’ll take us time, Evonne. I don’t think it’s safe here for you,” someone said. Unable to focus, details became blurry as her anger and self-loathing consumed her.

“Fucking perfect.” Her face twisted into a sneer.

“Bitch, are you giving me attitude right now?” Crazy stepped forward, drawing her attention to him.

The old Evonne would apologize and cower, but she was done being that person. “Are you giving me attitude? I just found out the man I was fucking only wanted to get information. I’ve been drugged and my friend damn near lost her life. Do you expect me to be cool, calm and collected? Come the fuck on.” She narrowed her eyes, balling her fists as she prepared to unleash her pent-up emotion on him.

“Bitch.” Crazy took a step forward.

“Stand the fuck down,” a quiet voice demanded.

Crazy froze. Evonne glanced toward the doorway. A bronze god stood there, glaring at them with steely blue eyes. With his shock of black hair, fit frame, and sculpted face he was downright gorgeous. His beauty stunned her. Contrary to popular belief most M.C.s did not have a plethora of Charlie Hunnam lookalikes running around. She’d seen Rocky in passing, but never spent actual time with him, until now.

“Rocky, did you hear this bitch spouting off at me?” Crazy gestured toward her.

“I heard her talk, but I’m pretty sure you weren’t the man she was thinking about just now. You know she’s off-limits. You want the Prez to bust that thick-ass skull wide open? Go take a walk and get it together.” Rocky shook his head as Crazy stalked off. “Always a loose fucking cannon,” he mumbled. The mixed martial artist had a quiet strength about him as he spoke. “Look, Evonne, I get that you’re pissed. But you can’t mouth off to my boys like that and show them disrespect. They won’t stand for it, and I’m not always going to be there to bail your ass,” Rocky said.

“Did I ask you to?” She placed her hands on her hips. Despite her fuckup, she’d always been independent. That would not stop now.

He shook his head and sighed. “Listen, we need to get you out of here. Go pack a suitcase.”

“I’m not going anywhere. This is my home,” she said.

“Yes and I’m trying to save your life, so I trump.” His calm tone ruffled her feathers. She wasn’t a child he needed to placate.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m trying to be nice, but I don’t have a proble

m with throwing your ass over my shoulder and carrying you out of here with nothing but the clothes on your back. Either way, you’re leaving here on the back of my bike in the next fifteen minutes. How you choose to use the time is up to you.” Bombshell delivered, Rocky turned on his heel and walked away.

Rocky’s attitude seemed to stoke the fire blazing in her belly. “Son of a bitch,” she whispered, stunned by her response.

“I heard that. It’s not nice to talk about people’s mothers, even if mine was a bitch.” Rocky’s voice came from a distance.

“Damn his Vulcan hearing,” she whispered. The joke broke through her dark mood. He’s right. She winced. I’m being a bitch to the wrong person. She wandered out of the kitchen through the living room and up the stairs to her room. This place felt off now, since it’d been violated. Suck it up, ain’t no white knights out there to come to your rescue, and the girls all have their own shit going on. Running on empty, she walked to the closet and pulled out her suitcase to pack. The jeans she pulled out burned her hand. I bought these to impress that fucker. Her chest heaved. A bellow crawled its way out of her throat. She ripped every article of clothing related to him off the hangers and tossed them over her shoulder. Tears flowed like brackish rain, and her head throbbed with a steady rhythm.

Choking, she began to hyperventilate. Her head spun and she sank down onto her knees. She closed her eyes, covering her hot face with her palms and forced huge swallows of air into her lungs. Now is not the time to fall apart. Then Levi wins. He cannot win. She snickered at her position. All her planning, tests and caution brought her here. A broken-down pathetic creature. No more. Now, I do things completely different. Teeth grinding, she mentally rebuilt her armor. I am strong, powerful, capable and past the point of giving a fuck. The woman she admired rolled through her mind like a microfilm show. Joan Jett, Pink, and a few more names of the women she knew of who lived on their own terms. I can too. I have to.