Selah’s Wish (Imperial Knights MC #1)

Chapter 10

TEN

Butcher

Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Roanoke clubhouse looks like an explosion of tinsel and strung lights. Never in my lifetime have I seen anything like it. Last year when we invaded their clubhouse, I was so fucking numb and lost in my own head that it didn’t compute how obsessed their old ladies are when it comes to Christmastime.

I’ve been playing cat and mouse games with my best friend, hiding from him and leaving a room whenever he enters to avoid him. I’ve had to gnash my teeth together anytime Dragon brings our sister up in conversation. He knows all of my tell signs, which makes it next to impossible for me to keep what I know about her fucked up situation to myself and not blurt it out, which is why I have been blending in with the shadows unless we’re in church.

When Wrecker is adamant that something needs to play out a certain way, you listen. I don’t discuss my ‘special gifts’, I don’t use my abilities because afterward it makes me vulnerable to my surroundings—my system shuts down for hours and sometimes days thereafter, I’m all but comatose, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know that when fate talks, that shit is not dismissible.

When Selah found out that not only do I have telekinesis, but I can astro project, she damn near lost her shit. When one moves their body through space and time, they can get stuck there even if they have a guide and anchor on standby. Confessing that to her after she dug it up in one of Joceline’s husband's files was an intense conversation. She had no clue I had that aptitude, but that’s because I don’t tell anyone about it. Not because I don’t trust a lot of people in my life, but because it's such a rarity that nobody understands the ramifications of it and they expect me to put it to use without understanding that I could die if my concentration breaks.

Was Selah hurt that I kept that to myself and didn’t tell her about it? Absofuckinglutely. It wasn’t a pleasant conversation, she had a meltdown, some things may or may not have flown by my head, but after she calmed down and when I laid down the bulletin points of why I don’t ever speak about it, the tension between us eased.

Today, I’m wound up tighter than a nun’s asshole. My entire body stiffens as the gavel is banged on the wood top, getting ready to bolt and make a run for it when Brick and Dragon call an end to church. I should’ve known the gig is up when Brick leans back, crossing his arms across his chest. Dragon points at Cuda, Wrecker, and me then growls, “You, you, and you, sit your asses back in your seats. You are not dismissed.”

Wrecker and I share a forlorn look before exhaling and plopping back in our seats. Dragon knows we won’t be easily broken, so he narrows in on Cuda who’s shifting in his seat like he’s got ants in his pants.

When Dragon points at Cuda, I see his Adam’s apple bob before he looks our president square in the eye, and states, “I plead the fifth.”

“You can’t plead jack shit,” Dragon barks.

In an attempt to save our brother from being stripped down, Wrecker speaks up, saying, “We can’t tell you yet, Dragon. It’ll fuck up the timeline and someone will get hurt, maybe dead.”

“You fucking with me right now, Wrecker?” Dragon poses it as a question, but the rest of us know it’s not.

He is pissed and doesn’t take harbinger warnings well. He has an issue with Jericho’s cautions, he thinks they’re bullshit. We’ve argued with Dragon time and again that he’s not one-sided, he sees the bigger picture and advises us in ways that’ll leave the least death and destruction in our wake.

“I wish I was,” Wrecker murmurs. “It won’t be much longer now.”

“How long are we talking about here?” Brick interjects, asking a question of his own. “Need to know if this is going to interfere with Christmas or not because if so, I need to start setting the scene for my ol’ lady. Otherwise, she’ll have my balls.”

I bite my tongue because there’s so much I can do with that statement, he left that hanging wide open for a pun, but I know it won’t do anything other than amp up the tension growing in the room. There are times when too much testosterone in an enclosed space isn’t a good thing, like now.

“Why?” Dragon starts off low and smooth before his octave rises to that of a stormy roar when he shouts out a myriad of questions, “Am I suddenly on the low end of the totem pole? Why do my men think they can take the word of a spiritual advisor over my own and put me in a need-to-know category? Since when does my order mean so little around here?” My eyes widen because it’s been months since anyone’s awakened the dragon inside of him. He’s been a calm and cool presence in the last ten or so months. I was beginning to wonder if he’s gone soft since the birth of the triplets and co-leading the MC with Brick.

“We’re waiting for all of the stars to align, so to speak,” Wrecker confesses, not perturbed or affected by Dragon’s fire in the least.

The second that statement is complete, the doors bang open before slamming shut again. RiffRaff looks up at our two leaders and whistles. “Keep your britches on, boys.” He looks over at Wrecker and says, “I’m ready. Let’s put these guys out of their misery before they pop a blood vessel.”

My back goes ramrod straight in anticipation. I knew that Cuda and Wrecker have been working with the powers that be, both in the spiritual realm and in our stomping grounds. The people of Cedar Creek have rallied around Joceline, and a few of them who have been known for breaking and entering without detection have infiltrated her house when both her and her husband were away, and they hit pay dirt.

When the door flies open again, and Selah comes rushing in with her laptop in hand, declaring, “I’m here,” the tightness in my body expels and I slump back in my chair. Then she narrows her eyes at Wrecker. “The next time you’re going to talk to me in my damn head, give me some warning. I had just taken a sip of my coffee and nearly choked on it.”

My head swivels on my neck as my jaw hangs wide open. “Since when can you do that?” I ask him.

“His power is evolving,” Selah answers for him, shooting him a triumphant smile. “It goes hand in hand with his daywalking ability.”

“Great. That’s just what we need. Another brother who can probe our minds and invade our brain anytime he wishes,” I state, shooting Dragon an accusatory look.

He holds his hands up in the air before defending himself. “How the hell am I blamed or responsible for his power spike? That shit’s not up to me and it’s not like I’ve trained him on how to do it.”

Brick blows out a heated breath before playing referee and asking, “Can we get back to the matter at hand here? Y’all can duke this shit out later.”

“In other words, one of you start telling me what’s been going on behind my back!” Dragon howls.

“Don’t blame me, I wanted to tell you right away. Blame him,” I clarify, leveling a finger in Wrecker’s direction.

Dragon steeples his fingers, placing the temple over his lips before constricting his eyes at the four of us. Selah gulps so I reach over and place my hand on her leg. I pull out the chair directly beside me and nod my head at it. She lightly places her laptop on the table and gracefully takes her seat. Cuda looks like he’s about to shit his pants and Wrecker is lounging against the backrest of his chair, acting nonchalant. Me on the other hand, I’m antsy, ready to get the air clear so we can come up with a definitive plan to get my sister and her kids out of their abusive situation.