Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
I look up at my mother and find her occupied with the server. So I pick up the water in front of me, bring the straw to my lips and suck on it as I take a quick selfie. Setting the cup down, I send it to him.
HAIDYN: That’s my good little whore.
The throbbing between my legs intensifies, and my underwear gets wetter. Looking up quickly, I see my mother’s friend’s eyes on mine, and my cheeks redden.
Fuck, I’m so fucked!
My phone goes off again, and it’s Wesley texting me this time. I sigh. How do the Lords expect me to handle this? Does it mean I can break up with Wesley now since Haidyn knows who I am? I’m not sure what to do, and I can’t ask them because then they’ll know that Haidyn knows who I am. Goddammit! I want to slam my face into the table. Instead, I open his text.
WESLEY: Hey, baby. Sorry you had to cancel our dinner tonight. Tomorrow night, I’m going out with the guys. Want to go with?
Sure.
I respond and turn the phone off, done with this day. I need a margarita, not a water, and I need a fucking nap.
TWENTY-FIVE
HAIDYN
Senior year at Barrington
“Where’s Kash?” I ask, my eyes heavy. My head hangs forward, and blood drips from my busted mouth.
“His fear is being alone, right? Abandonment.” The woman laughs. “The Lords were made to be unstoppable. There’s power in numbers, but the Spade brothers…you were always meant to be different.” Her red-painted nails run along my sweaty chest. I try to pull away, but the chains that tie my wrists above my head prevent it. “You boys were raised together, dependent on one another. Hell, you even shared the same girl,” she adds, referring to Ashtyn. “How do you think Saint will feel when he wakes up? Hmm? Will he still love her?”
“Where…” I take a deep breath, and it hurts my aching chest. “Is Kashton?” I ask through gritted teeth. We fought eight prisoners who had been given shots of adrenaline, and when I was done, I saw him lying on the floor next to me. Face bloodied. The only thing that reassured me he was alive was that I felt his pulse on his wrists before they dragged his unconscious body out of the arena.
It’s just us at the moment. Adam is gone, and Saint was shot.
“He’s learning to live alone,” she answers cryptically, and my teeth grind.
She grips my chin with her pointy nails and pushes my head up so I have to look down at her as she stands in front of me. I’m six-seven, and my feet aren’t touching the concrete floor. She’s maybe five-nine with her heels on.
I spit blood onto her face, and all she does is smile at me. “Funny how the girl you were supposed to have, you gave to your friend, and now he can die because of her.”
“He’s not going to die,” I grind out.
She shoves my head back, and I look up at the chains wrapped around my wrists just to make sure they’re still there. I can no longer feel my busted hands from fighting in the arena.
“You killed your fathers because of her.” She goes on. “And now I’ve been brought in to make sure it never happens again.”
“They’re dead,” I state the obvious and joke when my head falls forward to stare at the bloody concrete floor once again. Pretty sure I have a couple of broken ribs since it hurts to breathe. “Can’t kill someone more than once.”
“The Spade brothers are supposed to be THE Lords. You take care of the ones who betray your oath that you hold so high. But you all went fucking weak over pussy.” I hear her heels clanking on the concrete as she walks away from me. “I volunteered my assistance to the society to train you boys. Make you men again. Remind you of who you are. They said I couldn’t kill you, but I’m allowed to do whatever is necessary to get you back on track.”
“Take me to Kash.” I try to take a deep breath, but the pain in my side makes it hard. Where could he be that he thinks he’s alone? Have they told him that Saint and I are dead? Maybe they told him I didn’t survive the fight.
Her laughter fills the cold room as she comes back to stand in front of me. “I like you, Haidyn, and I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”
“Fifty-eight,” I breathe. “Fifty-nine.” Another breath. “Sixty.” Dropping the bar, I step back as the weights hit the padded floor in my home gym.
I fall onto the bench behind me and hang my head, running my hand through my sweaty hair. My chest is on fire. I’m overdoing it, but it is what it is. I’m trying to get back to who I was before I got shot. I’m not lifting heavy, but consistently.
Reaching over, I pick up my cell off the bench and hover over Kashton’s number and press call.
He answers on the first ring. “Haidyn??”
“Want to go for a ride?” I stand and walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that run the length of the back wall. The sun is just starting to set over the mountains. I love riding at night. It’s my favorite time.
“Yeah…wait! Are you in town?”
“For the night,” I decide to say. Not a total lie.
“I’ll ask Saint…”
“Just you and me,” I tell him before he can involve Saint. I’m definitely not in the mood for that argument right now.
“Okay. Where do you want to meet?”
After a quick shower and thirty minutes later, I pull into an empty parking lot and see Kashton waiting for me on his bike-a Ninja H2R. Coming up next to him, I shut mine off.
He wears a backwards hat and no helmet. “What the fuck is going on, Haidyn?” he asks, getting off his bike. “Why are we meeting here like it’s off the books? And why the hell wasn’t Saint invited?”
I sigh and reach into my leather jacket pocket, pulling out the picture. “Do you know who this is?”
He walks over to my R1 and takes it from my hand. Scrunching his face, he shakes his head. “Only Benny looks familiar. Who is the other guy?” he asks, handing it back to me.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
He lets out an aggravated sigh. “And you can’t do that from Carnage?”
I could return, but not now. Not with Charlotte. I’m not letting her out of my sight, and it’s too risky to bring her into our world. The guys will start questioning her and who she is. As far as they know, I’m no longer seeing her since I’m not there for our session. “I’ll come back soon,” I assure him.
He runs a hand through his hair.
“Found anything else out since I spoke to you last?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. The bastard is almost dead by this point. But he’s not going to give anyone up.”
“And Laura?”
“Nope. Until she has the baby, we’re not getting shit from her.” He leans up against his bike, crossing his tatted arms over his chest. “We spoke to Sin, and he told us to do whatever needs to be done, even if we have to pull her out of her coma for answers, but we don’t think it’s worth it. Once the baby is born, we’ll find out what we don’t have by then.”
I nod. “Luke?” I go to the next name on my list.
He gives a rough laugh at that one. “That guy is fucked. He just mumbles nonsense to himself twenty-four seven.” His face grows serious, and he rubs the back of his neck. Looking up, he meets my eyes. “They cut your tracker out when they shot you.”
I say nothing because it wasn’t a question.
“Why haven’t you had it replaced?”
“I will.”
“When?” he demands.
“When I get back to Carnage,” I snap, not liking the direction of this conversation.