Mace (Untamed Sons MC: Birmingham Chapter #1)

21. Mace

TWENTY-ONE

MACE

I wake with a warm body pressed against the side of me. Dark brown hair fans over my arm, which is wrapped around her back, holding her close. Her hand drapes over my hip just as possessively as mine.

A calmness settles through me that I’ve never felt before. I could get used to this. Everything about this position, this situation, feels exactly as it should. Is it selfish of me to get involved with her considering all the shit happening in my club? Probably. But there is no way in fuck I’m letting her walk away or leave town as she had planned to.

Maylie is fuckin’ stuck with me now.

I wish we could stay like this forever, but I need to get up. Careful not to wake her, I slide out from under her, pulling the blanket around her body as she readjusts her position in her sleep.

I quickly dress, pulling my kutte on last before grabbing my wallet and phone.

“Is it time to wake up?” her sleepy voice asks .

“I got some errands I need to run. Sleep in as long as you want. When you’re ready to get up, find one of the prospects. Usually, there’s one behind the bar in the main room. He’ll get you, Toby, and Ivy something for breakfast.”

I lean down so I can kiss her head, and every part of me urges me to get back in the bed.

With monumental effort, I straighten, watching as her eyes flutter shut again, then I head for the door. I make my way to the bar room, knowing even though it’s early, Nicky will be here. He usually is.

There are a few brothers milling around, including Diesel, who is sitting at the bar, staring at nothing. I give him a lift of my chin in acknowledgement, but his dark eyes simply slide away.

Miserable prick.

I find Nicky outside, clutching a mug of coffee and halfway through a cigarette.

He’s not alone. Surprisingly, my foster brother is sitting with him. Nate’s eyes are squeezed shut as if he has a headache, and I’m guessing the ballooning swelling on his cheek as well the bruise under his eye might have something to do with it.

“You stay here last night?” Nicky asks before I question Nate.

“What are you, my fucking mother?” I banter, standing in front of them.

“Just observant. Your bike’s parked out front.”

“Yeah, I stayed here.” My gaze slides to my brother. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Nothing I couldn’t fix.” He squints at me through his swollen eye. “You look different. ”

“You’re just seeing shit because your eye’s all fucked-up.”

He sits straight. “No, that ain’t it.” He studies me for a beat before a smirk slides over his lips. “Did you get laid last night?”

I cross my arms over my chest, blinking at him in surprise. How the fuck would he know that? “Shut up.”

Nate grins. “You did! You got fucking laid. Who’s the lucky girl?”

“None of your business, that’s who.”

My brother grins like all his Christmases have come at once. “You must really like her. I’ve never seen you fucking happy a day in your life.”

“I’ve been happy loads of times.” Prick.

Nate snorts. “Tell that to your face. Smiling ain’t something that happens to other people, Mace.”

I roll my eyes at him, reverting back to my teenage self. I don’t know how he brings out this side of me, but sometimes I forget we’re grown fucking men. “I don’t kiss and tell. Were you brawling?” I circle back to the earlier conversation.

“Funny enough, I was also fighting about a girl.”

I’d say I’m surprised, but my brother has a penchant for attracting trouble, especially when it comes to women. “Let me guess, was she married?”

“No… well, not anymore.” His nose wrinkles. “Her shitty ex-husband decided to come to the bar where I was drinking and attempted to drag her out against her will. So, I did the only thing I could—I fuckin’ punched his lights out.”

Nicky pats his shoulder. “What a knight in shining armour you are. Where would the women of Birmingham be without Riot to keep them safe?”

My brother gives him a shit-eating grin. “It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.”

“You know this girl or just someone you met?” I ask.

“This prick was twice her fuckin’ size, and she had enough bruises for me to suspect he been hurting her for a while, so now, we can stop talking about me and get back to who put that smile on my brother’s face.”

Considering I need their help, I realise I’m going to have to come clean. Even if I didn’t, they’re the most important people in my life, and I want them to know about the person who has quickly joined their ranks.

“Her name is Maylie.”

Nicky’s brows climb up his head. “The little bartender from Temptation?”

“You’re dating a stripper?”

I glare at my brother. “The clue was in the word bartender, fucker. She’s not a stripper, but she is in trouble.”

I explain everything Maylie told me about the guy her sister is dating, and when I’m finished, my best friend and brother exchange a glance.

“I have some contacts who might be able to find out who this Link guy is,” Nicky says when I’m finished talking.

I shake my head. “Ivy can get him to the flat. I can take it from there. What I do need help with is scaring the fuck out of this guy. I don’t want him coming near them again.”

Nate leans back on the bench, his fingers pressing against his cheek. “You know me, bro. I’m always up for a fight. ”

“This cunt hurt my woman.”

Nate’s mouth twitches into a grin. “Your woman? Fuck, you’re in deep with this girl.” I am, and I don’t even try to deny it. “You really like her?”

“Enough to put my fist through this guy’s teeth for daring to lay a hand on her,” I confirm.

Nicky gets to his feet. “Let’s go avenge your woman,” he says.

I head back to the bedrooms, knocking lightly on the door to the room Toby and Ivy slept in. After a moment, it’s pulled open to reveal a sleepy-looking Toby. He steps back to let me in, and Maylie is in the bed with Ivy, cuddled against her. Her eyes soften the moment they lock onto mine, and every urge in my body wants to claim her mouth.

“Hey,” she says to me.

“Hey, darlin’.” Fuck, she’s perfection. If her siblings weren’t here, I’d have my face between her legs already. But this is important. I need to make things safe for Maylie, so my eyes shift to Ivy. “I need your boyfriend’s details.”

She sits up, pulling free of Maylie’s hold, her face pale. “Why? Are you planning on confronting him? He’ll hurt you, Mace. He’s not a good man.”

I won’t tell her I’m not either. I don’t want to scare her.

Surprisingly, it’s Maylie who speaks, scooting up on the bed to sit next to her. “It’s okay. Mace knows what he’s doing. Link will never hurt you again.”

The trust she has in me floors me, and I intend to keep it.

Ivy raises her eyes to me, and I see the uncertainty in them. “He’s never going to let me go. It doesn’t matter what you do or what you say to him—he’s psychotic. He forced me to get pregnant. I’m carrying his child. Do you think he’s going to just give me up? He’s going to hurt my brother and sister just to get me back.” She dissolves into sobs, and Maylie pulls her against her, her gaze finding mine.

I hate the fear in her eyes, but there’s also resolve. Even if I wasn’t helping, I get the feeling Maylie would rip that fucker’s head off before she let him hurt her sister again.

“He ain’t gonna touch any of you,” I promise her. “I’ll make sure of it, but I need all the information you have and then I need you to contact Link and have him meet you at the flat.”

“He’s already coming over this morning,” Maylie says.

“Do you know what time he’s due to be there?” I ask.

“He doesn’t usually get up until late, so maybe another hour or so. He’s gonna be really angry if I’m not there.” Ivy’s voice trembles, and it makes me want to murder that fucking cunt.

“He’s gonna be angry no matter what you do,” Toby says. “He’s a dick.”

“Language,” Maylie chastises without any real heat.

“You swore.”

“I’m older than you.”

Before they get into an argument, I meet Ivy’s gaze. “He’s not gonna do anything,” I assure her.

She still doesn’t seem certain, and I can’t blame her for not trusting me. It’s not like she knows me enough to put her faith in me, but if she did, she would understand how much I fucking hate men who raise their hands to women. I saw my mother come home with bruises from men she’d supposedly been involved with or used to get a drink or drugs. I’d stopped my share of fights between her and other men, getting hurt in the process of protecting her. Ivy is still a kid, and that only flames my anger.

“Okay. I’ll tell you what I know.” Ivy gives me as many details as she can, including where he hangs out, his friends, and his real name—Jason Bennet. When she’s done talking, Maylie hugs her close.

“Thank you,” I say to her before shifting my gaze. “Maylie, can I have your keys?”

She frowns but slides off the bed, going to her coat and rummaging in the pocket. When she finds them, she walks over to me, dropping them in my palm. Her hand wraps around mine before I can close my fist around them. “What are you going to do?”

I kiss her, needing to taste her again. “Whatever’s necessary to protect you and your family. I don’t need you to worry about this.”

Her eyes say my words aren’t going to prevent that.

“Let me come with you. I don’t like the idea of you going alone.”

My chest swells at her desire to protect me, even though she has no idea the kind of beast I am. If she knew, she may not look at me in the same way. “Ain’t going alone.”

The relief in her eyes again hits me in the chest. “That makes me feel a little better, but even so, please be careful. He’s not going to like you keeping Ivy from him.”

“I can handle myself,” I assure her. “I’ll be back soon.”

I give her a lingering look that has her eyes heating before I step out of the room and back into the hallway. I glance down at my watch. I have about forty-five minutes to get to Maylie’s place before he shows up .

Enough time to get comfortable.

Nicky and my brother are waiting in the bar area, and I signal for them to follow me. We head outside to our motorcycles, mount up, and ride to her building. The closer we get, the more my anger flames through me. I’m going to break every fucking bone in the hands that touched my woman.

We park our bikes around the side of the building, out of sight of the main entrance, and head inside.

As we make our way up the stairs to her flat, I think about the first time I came here. She’d called me a stalker, and she was right, I was. The moment I saw her in Temptation, she was just that—a fucking temptation.

I slip the key into the lock and push into the flat. I’m not sure what to expect, but considering the panicked way Maylie came to me, I figured her place would be turned upside down, but it’s not. It’s clear they left in a rush, but it’s still tidy.

My brother is the last of us inside, and he shuts the door behind him as his gaze roams around. “You’re gonna have to tell me something about this girl that caught your attention.”

I have zero desire to do that. “You already know about her.”

“She was the girl who tried to protect that shithead, Sam, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

Nicky sits on the couch while Nate picks up a photo frame from the coffee table. It’s a picture of a younger Maylie with her siblings and an older woman I assume is their mother .

“She seems way too nice to be with you,” he quips as I take it from him and put it back.

“She is. I couldn’t fucking tell you why, but for some reason, she likes me, and I ain’t gonna question it.”

It’s about thirty minutes—during which time Nate and Nicky grill me on everything about Maylie—before there’s an impatient hammering on the door.

That pisses me off. I can imagine how scared Maylie would have been if she’d been here alone, trying to protect her pregnant sister from this fucking monster.

I glance at my brother and best friend as the hammering sounds again.

“Let’s do this.” Nate stands, cracking his knuckles and tilting his head from side to side, limbering up. Even with the bruises covering his face, my brother is raring to fight.

The hammering continues as I make my way to the front door and cautiously peer through the peephole. The unfamiliar male on the other side of the door has my jaw clenching. I don’t see any weapons in his hands, but I’m still wary as I drag the door open.

The guy is older than I am, with shaved hair on the sides of his head and longer strands on top. It’s clear he’s trying to give the impression he’s some sort of fucking gangster with the rings dripping off his fingers and the chains around his neck, but he shits his pants the moment he sees my kutte.

That’s right, fucker. You ain’t so tough when you’re not dealing with two little girls.

“Where’s Ivy?” He doesn’t sound sure of himself as he asks the question.

You should have run.

Anger blazing through me, I grab him by the front of his jacket and drag him into the flat. Nicky gets the door, kicking it shut behind us as I ram my fist into his fucking gut with enough force to blast the air out his body.

The guy folds like wet fucking paper, retching at the force of my hit, and so I deliver a second punch, this time putting even more force behind it.

The sight of Maylie’s bruised wrist flares through my mind, adding fuel to the fire already burning inside me. I’m going to make this prick hurt.

I drag him into the living room, shoving him down onto the sofa. He quickly tries to get up, but I press my boot against his cock, adding pressure when he tries to move. “Do it. I dare you,” I cajole. “I’ll pulverise your cock into mincemeat if you so much as fuckin’ twitch.”

He holds up his hands in supplication, his face pale as milk. Fuck him. “Look, man, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t have any beef with you.”

“Wrong answer,” my brother mutters.

“Link, Link, Link. Or should I say Jason?” His expression is pure terror now. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with you?” I ask.

I lean my palms either side of the cushions next to his shoulders, giving him a menacing grin. “You touched what’s mine, and I don’t take that fucking lightly.”

His eyes flash with rage for a split second before he manages to control his temper, but it doesn’t matter. I see it. I see him. I understand the thin thread he’s holding on by. “Ivy is mine. She’s carrying my kid?—”

I wrap a hand around his throat, squeezing until his face turns an impressive shade of puce. “Not Ivy, though we are going to get into how you raped a fucking child in a moment. I’m talking about Maylie.” His eyes bounce between me and my brothers behind me. “She’s fucking mine.”

Just as he seems like he’s going to pass out, I loosen my hold, letting him drag in a breath to refill his starved lungs.

“I didn’t know,” he gasps.

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“You’re a real piece of shit, aren’t you?” my brother asks, and I agree with him.

“You don’t understand,” Link sneers. “Ivy and I are dating. I love her.”

“What you’re doing ain’t even in the same ballpark as dating, and we both fucking know you don’t love her,” I growl. “You don’t do the shit you’ve done to her if you love someone. Do you like them young because they’re easier to control?” I demand. “A seventeen-year-old isn’t gonna fight back against you, is she?”

“Just give me Ivy and I’ll leave. You can’t keep me from the mother of my fucking child.”

“Oh, Jason, you’d be surprised what I can do. You’ve heard of the Untamed Sons, haven’t you?” He nods. “So, you know what I can do to you if you don’t leave that girl alone.”

I see he’s fighting against his desire to have Ivy and his fear of me.

“I love her,” he reiterates, keeping his voice low.

“From this moment, Ivy Fernsby is nothing to you. She’s not a thought in your head, do you understand? If you don’t stay away from her and from her family, I’ll fuckin’ kill you. And if you ever lay hands on Maylie again, you won’t have fucking hands to touch anyone.”

“That was a little too anticlimactic,” Nate says .

“I ain’t done,” I mutter.

Grabbing Link by the collar of his shirt, I drag him to his feet and then I beat the shit out of him. I hit him until blood trails from his nose and the side of his mouth. My fists lash out over and over, his face barely recognisable as I land hit after hit. He tries to fight back initially, but then he stops moving, and I step back, heaving in huge breaths.

Fuck him.

I spit on him as he curls into a ball, whimpering. He’s not dead, though he’ll wish he was in the morning.

“That was a breathtaking display of anger,” Nate says, sounding proud as he clasps my shoulder.

I spin to him, red filming my vision as he steps back. “Easy, brother. I’m not the person you’re pissed at.”

“You good?” Nicky asks, caution tempering his words.

Am I good?

My torn-up knuckles burn, and the beast is out of the cage. All that rage that has built for years inside me has found an outlet. I want to bleed him more. I want to hear his fuckin’ screams. I want to?—

“Mace.” Nicky grabs my face, forcing my gaze from Link. “Hey, pal, you with me?”

I shake my head, trying to clear it, and after a moment, I come out of the fog. “Fuck.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Get him out of here before I actually kill him.”

I head down the hallway to the bedrooms and find the room I’m certain is Maylie’s. I can smell her everywhere as I flop onto her bed, pulling a pillow over my face and breathing in her scent. Fuck. The anger pulsing through me starts to calm with each inhalation.

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to lose control, just as I have so many times in the past, but the way the club is fractured right now, it’s not a good idea to need favours from anyone other than the two men I know will be cleaning up my mess.

I don’t know how long I lie there, but the door opens eventually and Nicky peers around it. He doesn’t come inside, which is a good decision. I don’t want anyone in her space.

“We’re done here.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“You level?”

I sit up, placing the pillow back on the bed. “Yeah.”

I don’t apologise. There’s no need. He knows I’m sorry. “Okay. We’ll wait downstairs for you.”

I take my time getting moving, and it’s at least ten minutes before I lock up Maylie’s flat and head down to the bikes. Nicky and my brother are waiting for me, and I feel the weight of their stares as I climb onto my bike. “Whatever you want to say, get it off your chest now,” I say before I plot my helmet.

Nate holds up his hands. “I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

I glance at Nicky, who shifts his shoulders. “Me neither, but I really want to meet this girl properly.”

“You can. She’s still at the clubhouse.”

“Then let’s go meet her,” my best friend says, giving me a lopsided grin before he pulls on his helmet.