Wrath (Dirty Soul MC: Long Beach #2)

Chapter 23

“ E den. I know ya ain’t gonna like this but you can’t go to the studio today.” Aaron steps out of my bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips and his muscled torso on full display. It’s a good tactic because it almost distracts me from the fact he’s attempting to tell me what I can and can’t do.

“I’ve decided not to go back to the studio for a while, anyway. Things are obviously very raw for Mark and–”

“I didn’t exactly help matters when I smashed up his office.” He finishes my sentence for me and makes no apologies for it. “Look, I know ya mad about it, but all I did was give him a taste of his own medicine.” His shoulders shrug as if the thousands of dollars worth of damage he caused is no big deal. “ I don’t want ya to think I’m being overbearin’ but until we got this whole Cliff thing figured out, you and Peyton have to stay on the compound.”

“Okay,” I agree, noticing how my answer surprises him, he must know as well as I do that if this were under any circumstances I wouldn’t be so compliant, but when it comes to Cliff I’m not taking any risks.

“Just promise that nothing bad is gonna happen to Anita. She’s been through so much.” Me and Aaron didn’t get a chance to talk about the things Anita told me last night. We were far too busy making up for the years we’ve been apart, and if I had my way we’d spend all of today doing the same.

“She’s safe. Cliff would never risk comin’ here and we have a member sittin’ on her door 24/7.” He tries his best to calm me

“If that's true, how can he be the person who killed those girls,” I point out.

“Let’s not talk about that.” Aaron quickly tries to hide how worried that makes him by diverting my attention to something else. “What's this gonna be for?” He lifts up one of my sketches and examines it closer.

“A period drama that's going into production next year, I’ve never worked on one before and I was really hoping to get the contract.”

“Was?” He frowns.

“Come on, Aaron, we have to be realistic. Mark wasn’t lying when he said he has connections, and he’s already started his campaign to blacken my name.”

“Mark’s an asshole.” He places my sketch back down and moves over to the bed, dropping his towel so he can slide into his jeans. I don’t even pretend not to admire every bare, naked inch of him, and when he catches me staring he shakes his head and smirks.

“Like what ya seein’?” He laughs to himself.

“I like it very much.” The warmth of sheer happiness spreads from my tummy all over, until he takes the holster that contains his gun from the nightstand and clips it onto his belt. It’s a stark reminder that here I am, back in the world I vowed I’d never come close to again.

“What are your plans for the day?” I’m unsure if I want to know, especially now that things have changed between us. There's a lot for me and Aaron to figure out, one of those things is how much he’s going to tell me about club business. Raze shares everything with Peyton, and although I know it’s going to make me worry, I think I’d like our relationship to be the same. I hate the idea of Aaron keeping things from me.

“Well, first, I was gonna tear my girl away from her makeshift desk and take her to the clubhouse for breakfast.” He comes up behind me and rests his forearms on my shoulders. “Then, I have a very intensive trainin’ session at the gym. Because workin’ from a dressin’ table in a motel room is not where you should be creatin’ all your genius designs.” He looks at me through the mirror in front of us and drops his head so he can kiss my cheek.

“Here’s just fine, I think it’s best that I’m close to Anita. I’m worried she’ll forget where she is and panic. I’m going to call in on her a few times today.”

“That's a nice idea, Eden, but I don’t want ya gettin’ too caught up in all that crap, you have to think about yourself a little too.” Taking my hand he drags me up onto my feet and spins me round so he can wrap his arms around my waist.

“Y’know, once this Cliff thing is over and it’s safe to leave the compound, you're movin’ straight into my houseboat,” he tells me, pressing his forehead into mine.

“Don’t you think that's moving a little fast, you haven’t even taken me out on a date yet?” I point out.

“It ain’t fast enough, I spent a long time tryin’ to get over ya. Nothin’ worked, now I gotcha, I’m not wastin’ a fuckin’ second.” He kisses me and I quickly pull away before he gets me all consumed and unable to think straight.

“Aaron, I want us to do things right, and I like being here at the club. Let’s not run before we can walk, I’m going through some major changes in my life and I need to keep to a steady pace,” I try explaining and hating how he suddenly looks so disappointed.

“Okay, I get it. But you are comin’ for breakfast, no arguments on that. It’s time for me to show the whole club that you're mine now.”

I make no argument with that at all and reach back to the dressing table and grab my purse.

The clubhouse is packed when we step inside, and everyone starts staring when they notice we’re holding hands.

“Why’s it so busy?” I ask him under my breath, as I smile awkwardly at all the faces that are still looking at us.

“I don’t know.” He looks as confused as I am but still strides confidently toward the bar, dragging me along with him.

“Mornin’.” My brother looks down at the hands we still have linked together, and I try not to think about the fact he’ll have a good guess about what happened between us last night.

“D’y’all know somethin’ I don’t?” Aaron glances around the barroom and frowns.

“I take it ya didn’t have time to check ya phone this mornin’?” My brother raises his eyebrows.

“No, we were–”

“Save it.” Raze cuts him off and closes his eyes. “I called everyone in for a meetin’, somethin’ came to my attention late last night and we got some shit to discuss. Now that you're here, we can get started.” He slides two fingers into the corners of his mouth and whistles to get everyone's attention.

“Church!” he calls out to them all, before leading them through to the room where the big long table is.

“I guess my breakfast will have to wait.” Aaron lifts up my chin with the crook of his finger and kisses me like he did last night. “You go ahead and eat without me.” He leaves me a little unstable on my feet as he follows my brother and the others into the meeting room. I watch him all the way inside, still mesmerized by how my life has changed in the past few weeks. I can feel eyes burning into the back of my skull and when I eventually turn around, I get hit with Peyton, Alicia, and Polly’s curious eyes.

“What?” I laugh innocently as I join them at their table.

“I assume it finally happened?” Peyton can barely contain her excitement.

“Maybe.” I shrug, lifting one of the muffins from the plate in the center of the table and picking some crumbs from the top of it.

“Oh, come on, you’ve got that freshly-fucked, loved stuck look in your eyes, hasn’t she, Alicia?” Peyton nudges her friend, who looks far too pale and distant to care.

“How would I know,” she answers flatly, as she pushes the plate of turkey rashers and eggs that’s in front of her to the side.

“Somethin’ wrong with my eggs today?” Polly questions her.

“Nothing, they taste great, I’m just not hungry. Mom insisted I ate properly while I was staying with her and Dad. I don’t think I’ll need to eat again for a fortnight.” Alicia laughs unconvincingly, and I can tell from the way Peyton looks at her that something’s not right.

“So, come on, back to you and Wrath.” Alicia uses me as a distraction.

“Well, we came to an agreement.” I try to keep the beam off my face.

“And that would be…?” Peyton looks as if she’s about to burst.

“To put everything behind us and start again. I guess I’m his old lady now.” Hearing myself say it out loud reminds me of how long I used to spend fantasizing about us being together when I was younger. It also brings back memories of all the nights I cried because we couldn’t be.

“Well, welcome to the club.” Peyton raises her coffee and when Alicia gets a waft of it she quickly scoots up from her chair and rushes toward the bathroom.

“There's definitely something wrong with her.” Polly frowns suspiciously.

“She’s probably hung over.” Peyton tries passing it off as no big deal but she’s a terrible liar.

“Nope, she wasn’t drinking last night, she was the designated driver,” Polly presses, proving that not only is she not buying it, but that she knows pretty much everything that goes on around here. Lucky for Peyton, the pressure is taken off her when the club door opens and Anita strolls inside with her arm linked to Saint’s.

“Ladies, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind some extra company while I attend the meeting.” He leads her over to us and shows that he’s a gentleman when he pulls out a chair so she can take a seat.

“Of course, not.” I smile at her as she sits beside me. She’s still wearing the smart, knee-length skirt and blouse that she arrived here in. I guess we’re going to have to fix her up with some more clothes if she’s going to be staying with us for a while. I don’t think she’ll want to borrow anything from me or the other girls. I can’t really imagine her in ripped jeans and a band shirt.

“Coffee, Mrs Carter?” Saint asks her and once she nods back at him, I notice the way Peyton’s eyes narrow as she watches him move across the bar.

“Sinner?” She folds her arms when he carefully places the mug in front of Anita.

“Aaah, yes.” His eyes flair with mischief as he flicks them onto her.

“I’m glad you decided to join us. We need to talk.” There's a firmness in her tone that suggests she’s pissed at him.

“As much as I’d love to hear what ya gotta say, I got a meetin’ to get to. I’m trustin’ that I can leave this lovely lady in your care?” His hands rest on Anita’s shoulders and she looks up at him with an adoring smile.

“Of course,” Peyton smiles through her teeth. “But when you're done, make sure you come find me.”

Anita waits until he joins the others and closes the door before she looks back at us.

“What a charming young man.” She wrinkles up her nose before she takes a sip from her mug and Peyton's expression makes it obvious that she doesn’t agree. I remember her explaining about the disorder Saint suffers from, a few days ago. It sounds, from what I’ve heard, that his alter ego, Sinner, can be a problem. Though he didn’t seem much like one to me during that encounter. If anything Anita was right, he is charming.

“What did he do this time?” Polly rolls her eyes.

“He took my father and my stepfather to a strip joint, got them wasted, and they both ended up locked up for fighting with a pimp.” Peyton doesn’t look impressed and although I can understand why, I still find it hard not to laugh.

“Oh dear, I’m sure he didn’t mean it to go that far.” Anita surprises me when she plays it down, while Polly looks unfazed.

“My dad and Billy have both already served time, they need to keep a clean record or they’ll be heading right back inside. If it wasn’t for the fact Raze knew one of the custody officers on duty that night, they could have been in some serious trouble,” Peyton explains, and when Alicia joins us back at the table, she looks embarrassed as she retakes her seat and smiles politely at Anita.

It’s another hour before the club meeting is over and as I watch each member step out, I get excited to see Aaron. He and my brother are the last ones to leave and while they both head straight for us, it’s Sinner who Peyton chases down.

“You stop right there. I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to have this out with you again.” Peyton calls after him, and when he slowly turns to face her, he’s got a real cock-sure grin on his face.

“Listen, sweetheart, I get you’re upset about what happened, but those coffin-dodgers needed no encouragement. It sure wasn’t their first rodeo.”

“You got them arrested ,” she fumes at him.

“No… They got themselves arrested when they got all chivalrous over some Nancy nutjob after her shift ended.” He turns his attention to Anita. “Sorry.” He offers her a lopsided grin and she must take no offense because she nods back at him.

“It ain’t my fault that the two old men wanted to be heroes.” He shrugs.

“Well, in future stay away from both of them,” she warns, and he laughs as he makes his way to stand in front of her.

“You’ll come to learn that tellin’ me not to do somethin’ is a surefire way to ensure that I do.”

Raze moves to intervene when he decides Sinner’s got too close and Aaron quickly gets between them.

“Sin, you got work to do,” Aaron reminds him, nodding his head toward the door, and Sinner laughs while my brother glares at him like he’s gonna strike any second.

Sinner doesn’t budge, just stares back at him fearlessly, seeming oblivious to the fact Aaron is pushing him back. And when he finally gets him to the door and shoves him out, I’m shocked as hell that Raze lets him leave in one piece.

“Man, I fuckin’ hate that guy,” Aaron mutters under his breath as he marches back to join us.

“Then why let him stick around?” I look between him and my brother, still stunned at how controlled my brother is being.

“Because we all like Saint.” I turn around when a voice comes from behind, and realize that it belongs to Dev. Being a tower of a man makes him very intimidating and I’m assuming he’s close to Saint from the slight threat I sense in his tone.

“Yeah, well, someone needs to put that asshole in his place.” Raze cracks his knuckles. “No man is gonna step up to my old lady and get away with it.”

“I’ll speak to him.” Dev tips his chin and moves toward the door.

“Poor fucker always has to be the go-between for them.” Aaron shakes his head as he watches Dev leave.

“You good?” Peyton checks with Raze, who eventually drops the tension from his shoulders and nods back at her.

“I just wish I could teach that shit a lesson.”

“Raze, you could knock the shit outta him five times over and he still wouldn’t learn. I’ve seen him take pain for fun and not even flinch,” Saul explains as he takes a seat beside Alicia. “You okay? You’re lookin’ real pale.” He goes to press his hand to her head and she slaps it away.

“Stop being weird, I’m fine!” she snaps.

“Yeah, well, if he doesn’t start showin’ some respect, he’ll learn all about pain and how much patience I got when it comes to servin’ it,” Raze threatens, taking a cigarette from his packet and lighting it.

“Saul’s right though, Sinner’s got some kinda switch-off in his brain. He don’t feel nothin’ — no pain, no emotion, and no fuckin’ empathy,” Aaron explains.

“And what about Saint?” I ask.

“Saint always gets left to pick up the pieces. Saint and Sinner are two very different people, trapped in one body. They can’t communicate with each other and they can’t control the other person's actions. Saint’s done everything he can to try and get rid of Sinner, he’s been to shrinks, and all kinds of doctors,” Saul explains.

“There has to be some kind of medication he can take.” I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must be to live with.

“None that's ever worked, and what makes it worse is that Sinner seems to be the dominant personality. We have to accept them both or none at all. Occasionally, Dev can get his point across to Sinner, but it don’t happen often.”

“Is Dev related to them?” I ask, wondering if there's a reason for the fact Dev is the one he sometimes listens to. Yeah, he’s big and scary but from what I’m hearing I doubt that would bother Sinner too much.

“No, but Saint and Sinner came here from Nebraska with him, apparently Dev spent six days straight back interrogating Sin at his old charter. He did some real fucked-up shit and that fucker never even broke into a sweat. Nothing had been officially diagnosed back then, and when Saint came through he was petrified. No one at Dev’s old charter believed it, they thought it was an act. But Saint really did have no idea where he was and what got him there.”

“And what did get him there?” I note the way all the brothers look at each other after I ask.

“Come on, what did he do?” I laugh, because surely it can’t be that awful. The guy’s still breathing.

“ Sinner broke into Dev’s old president’s house,” Saul explains.

“ And …” Alicia raises her eyebrows at her brother, urging him to continue with the rest of the story.

“He fucked his wife.” Saul raises his brows..

“Wait, Sinner raped another member's wife?” I look between all these men who supposedly live by a brotherhood and wonder how Sinner is even alive let alone a member.

“I don’t think she could have got away with callin’ it rape since she was the one bouncin’ on top when they got caught,” Ruckus sniggers.

“He was just a kid back then, can’t have been any older than seventeen, she was fifty-two. He got brought to the clubhouse for Dev to handle and that's how Dev met Saint. I don’t think Saint, or Sinner, ever had a friend until they met him. When Dev moved charters he brought Saint with him, and that's how Saint became a Soul.” Aaron rounds up the story but I still have questions.

“So is Sinner a Soul too?” I’m much too fascinated by the situation to just leave it there.

“Yeah, he is.” Polly surprises me when she takes a turn in bringing me up to speed, and she sounds a little defensive. “And he’s never let any one of you down when you’ve needed him.” She looks around all the brothers individually, to remind them. “Raze, he’s gonna take some getting used to, and maybe he doesn’t always toe the line, but believe me when I tell you, there are times when his lack of empathy is needed.” She stands up from the table and clears up the empty plates, leaving everyone silent for a moment while they take in what she just said.

“Excuse me.” Alicia breaks the silence, slamming her hand over her mouth as she pushes out the table and barges past her brother to get to the bathroom again.

“So, are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” I ask Aaron when we’re finally alone together. I’ve spent most of the day adding the finishing touches to my designs while he’s been at the gym training. He’s looking very hot in the shorts and tank he’s wearing, and I can’t help feeling grateful that he decided to come here to take his shower.

“What makes ya think there's somethin’ wrong?” He lifts off his tank and completely distracts me from what I was going to say.

“Earlier at the club, after the meeting, you seemed on edge,” I point out, and the way he closes his eyes and takes a breath confirms that I’m right.

“It ain’t for you to be worryin’ about, ya got enough to be dealin’ with.” He shakes his head.

“Aaron.” I get up and move across the room to him. “If I’m gonna be your old lady, you have to trust me.”

“I trust ya, that's not the issue,” he assures me. “I just…things are good right now, you're happy, and I don’t want ya havin’ any concerns.” He sits on the bed and crosses his hands over his knees.

“You know, when you're in a relationship, it’s important to share problems.” I sit beside him and he catches me by surprise when he wraps his arms around my waist and slams me onto the mattress. The way he kisses me into the pillow makes my stomach flip and when he pulls away I see the sparkle in his eyes quickly fade with his smile.

“There’s another motorcycle club called the Reapers,” he starts, taking a strand of my hair and wrapping it around his fingers.

“The one Peyton's dad used to be a member of?” I check.

“That's the one.” I can tell he’s thrown off by my knowledge but he quickly continues. “We ran them outta town a few weeks ago when all that shit went down with Peyton's brother and Sonny.”

“You mean you slaughtered every member,” I correct him. Peyton told me all about what happened and I need him to know he can be completely honest.

“Jeez, what do you women talk about when you get together?” His eyes stretch wider.

“You don’t have to pretty it up, Aaron, my brother is the president of this club and I plan on sticking around.”

“Okay, yes, we slaughtered every member.” He moves on to the point. “So, Kenny came here last night and spoke to Raze, he’s heard some rumors that Reapers have been selectin’ members from their other charters to regroup here like they originally planned. Raze thought what happened last time would put ‘em off, but turns out they can’t take a fuckin’ hint.” I can tell from his expression that he thinks this is gonna be bad for the Souls.

“They’re gonna be workin’ on some kinda retaliation for what we did which, once again, puts you in danger.” He focuses his eyes on the finger that’s now stroking the waistband of my skirt, rather than looking at me. “Eden, I’ll understand if ya–”

“Don’t even finish that sentence.” I slam my hand over his mouth.

“I know that being back here puts me in danger, but this is my choice and I’m not running.” I slip my hand away so I can kiss him and when those fingers slide a little lower into my waistband the loud knock at the door makes me groan in frustration.

“I swear I’m gonna kill whoever that is.” Aaron drops his head into my neck and kisses me before getting up from the bed to answer it.

“Is Katie here?” I recognize the voice straight away and quickly stand up, straightening out my skirt and moving to the door.

“Laura, what are you doing here?” I’m surprised to see her, especially here of all places. She made it clear when I met up with her that she was scared of the Souls, and she’s a nervous person at the best of times. I’m even more shocked when I see that she has a suitcase beside her.

“I got in a huge fight with Mom and Dad. They’re so blindsided by Mark. I was only trying to get them to see things from your perspective.” She bursts into tears and Aaron looks across at me awkwardly.

“I was going to check into a hotel, but I really don’t want to be on my own.” She drops her case and charges toward me, throwing her arms around my neck and sobbing

“I, ummm, I should go.” Aaron clears his throat as he slowly slides past us and out the door.

“Wait, go where?” I call after him.

“Back to the gym.” He offers me a guilty shrug as he rushes his way down the steps.

“I’m sorry for just interrupting like this, but I have no one else I can go to. How pathetic is that?” She buries her head in her hands and shakes it.

“Hey, you aren’t interrupting anything, come on let's talk this over.” I wrap my arm around Laura's shoulder and guide her inside.