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CHAPTER

ONE

CONAN

The first time I saw my demoness behind the cage, I was mesmerized.

She took every hit like a pro, as if she’d learned long ago how to dodge and lean with each jab.

Now that I know the reasons behind why she so expertly did those things, my entire body quakes with rage.

Her foster parents though, aren’t the only people on my hit list. The club has vowed to avenge her, but they’re dragging their feet which is why I’m so hot headed during this church meeting.

“She has nightmares every damn night,” I argue with my brother and president.

Kodiak peers over at me from the side of his eyes, and huffs. “I know that, Conan. I hear it, I breathe it, I live it when y’all sleep in your old room.”

I moved out of Kodiak and my shared house and all but shoved my way into Luna’s apartment where Demi now resides.

My woman is a powerhouse, independent to a fault, and balked at my appearance on the front stoop with bags in tow.

But I didn’t let that deter me, I was bound and determined that I was going to force her past her commitment issues and plant myself in the middle of her daily life.

She won’t be able to eat, sleep, or shit without seeing something of mine sprawled throughout the apartment.

She can push me away all she wants to—but she’s stuck with me because I’m not going any goddamn where.

She’s mine, and she’s stuck with me. The sooner she accepts that, the better off she’ll be.

I’m a determined motherfucker, and when I set my eyes on something, I won’t back down until it’s in my possession.

That may make me sound like a downright asshole to some, but it’s one of the attributes that makes me—well, me. The fact that I’m as headstrong as I am is what makes me one helluva good vice president. I don’t admit defeat and I never accept the word no.

Kodiak growls when he notices my focus is elsewhere. “Conan, pay the fuck attention.”

“I am,” I lie. “Just thinking, bro.”

“Think on your own dime, not mine,” he grits out. “Your bid to go nomad is denied. The club will take care of this, Conan. I promised Luna we would and I never break a promise I make to her if I can help it.”

“She’s my woman, pres. I take care of what’s mine.”

My brother twists his entire body sideways to where he’s facing me. Once again, he gets growly when he states, “She hasn’t accepted your patch, Conan. Don’t step out of line.”

“I’m claiming her ass whether she likes it or not,” I argue.

Club law clearly states in black and white that once a member lays claim to an old lady, officially or not, she’s that man’s property.

And seeing as I’ve made it known that she’s mine, the club can’t go against my wishes when it comes to her safety and avenging her.

“She doesn’t have to accept jackshit when it comes to the way things work in the club, brother. You know I’m speaking the truth.”

He harrumphs because he knows I’m right, whether he likes it or not. Damn, like it or not needs to become my new catch phrase because I’m either thinking it or saying it—a lot. “You’re skating on thin ice when it comes to her.”

“Living dangerously isn’t something new to me,” I state, shrugging my shoulders. “I don’t live in fear, Kodiak. If I did, the club would still be stuck on the road.”

I glance around the table and notice that all of my brothers have found something interesting to look at, the ceiling and floor are the top two places their eyes have veered to.

When Kodiak and I go toe-to-toe everyone scatters if possible.

But when they’re confined like they are now, they look everywhere but at us.

My brother and I, we’re passionate and temperamental.

Neither of us like backing down.

We’re both strong-willed and we’ll argue with a brick wall if necessary and will stay at it until the drywall ages and begins to crumble.

“Your request is still denied, Conan,” Kodiak says through a clenched jaw. “Trust your brothers, and give us time to get all of the facts straight and targets located before you go charging in.”

“We know where all of the targets are! We have our facts straight. For fuck’s sake, we got it straight from the horse’s mouth! Demi told us everything that happened to her that night at the bar,” I thunder, tired of playing the waiting game. “What exactly are we waiting for?”

I’ve done plenty of research into her attackers.

Joey, David, Liam, and Niles are dead men walking, they just don’t know it yet since they think they have a noose around Demi’s neck, keeping her silent. However, they don’t know that she has the Deviant Knights in her corner.

“Listen,” I begin but am cut off when Kodiak raises his hand in the air and slices it across his neck. Angrily, I slam my fist on the table and turn my head so I don’t piss him off more than I already have.

“Enough, brother,” he berates. “It won’t be long before we make our move, but you know, Conan, you know that we can’t go charging in.

We have to ensure that when we take them out there aren’t any witnesses.

They’re never alone, and I don’t know about you, brother, but I don’t want their wives and children to see what we have planned for these men. ”

“Of course I don’t,” I grind out, then reason, “but they leave their offices at some point and they’ve been traveling. That’s when we need to strike.”

“But they haven’t been together on their road trips, Conan. We need them in a group so we can take them out at the same time. Don’t you think they’d find it suspicious that they’re disappearing one at a time and start guarding themselves?”

“Dammit,” I grumble. “This is why I think we should split up into groups of four and take them out simultaneously.”

“We’re stronger together,” Kodiak presses. “We don’t separate on missions for a reason, brother. Haven’t we learned from past mistakes?”

“That was one time,” I argue.

“One time too many!” Kodiak roars. “We lost not one, but two brothers. That’s a lesson I learned and a mistake I will never make again. We stick together. End of motherfucking story.”

“Fine,” I say, huffing out a heated breath. “But, Kodiak, I’ll hand in my patch if things don’t progress.”

“Is that a warning?” Kodiak asks, looking ready to throttle my neck.

“It’s a promise,” I counter. “I will lay Demi’s demons to rest one way or the other. With or without the support of my brothers and club.”

“Understood,” Kodiak spits. “But, brother, do not threaten me. You do it again, and I’ll strip you of your rocker, get me?”

“If you feel froggy, brother.” I don’t like being threatened.

I joined my brother on the road because he was the only family I had left.

Now, however, there’s somebody else in my life who’s more important than he is.

Demi will now and forevermore come first. She far surpasses his ranking in my life.

In her, I’ve found the peace I’ve been longing for my whole life. Simply put, she’s my home.

If I have to drop my patch and disown the club I helped found, then I will without any quarrels.

I’ll always love my brother and be there for him if he needs me, but he needs to understand the placement he now holds, and that is at the bottom along with the club.

They are my brothers and I’d take a bullet for each and every one of them, but for her, for my demoness, I’d slay every dragon and put them before her as her shield if she were under attack.

“We’ll meet up this time next week and formulate a plan. One more week, brother. Give me that time and we’ll go after these dipshits,” Kodiak vows.

“One week, brother, and not a day longer,” I spit out.

“That’s church,” Kodiak announces, his eyes staying leveled on me as he bangs the gavel on the table.

“I’d die for you,” Kodiak tells me as he slips in beside me, close enough that our knees touch, at the booth I’ve commandeered in the back corner of the main room. It’s my usual place, it’s where I sit so I can watch over the happenings of the clubhouse.

“Same,” I announce, taking a sip of the beer that’s been clutched in my hand since the end of that disastrous church session. It’s warm to the touch now, since I’ve been stuck in my head since walking up to the bar and grabbing a bottle.

“I don’t like fighting with you,” he continues, sipping on his own beer. “I also won’t be disrespected in front of our brothers. You and I, we’re supposed to be on the same page with things. From now on, I’d prefer it if you and I aired our grievances in private.”

“Then I’d suggest you start telling me shit like you did in private, Kodiak.”

“I can agree to that,” he mumbles. “If the shoes were on the other foot, I’d want that same respect from you too.”

“I’m your VP, Kodiak. You can’t surprise me with things you know will get me riled up.

She may not have accepted my claim on her yet, but for all intents and purposes, she’s mine according to our bylaws.

That means she’s afforded the same privileges as Luna.

She’s my home, Kodiak, and you know yourself what that means to me. ”

“And even with my moon, I’d want to get every single scenario worked out with contingency plans, Conan.

There’s no way I’m going to fuck this up for her, for you, or for the club, dammit all.

I get where you’re coming from with the home statement, too.

The club is still everything to me, but Luna is my top priority, then you, and then our brothers. ”

“Same,” I advise. “I just hate it when she’s gripped in the throes of a nightmare, brother, because I can’t do a damn thing except hold her, then make sure the sheets are changed while she’s in a bath to settle herself.

And that’s after I manage to wake her up.

She’s exhausted right now, and the stress of these fuckers still living free and breathing easy isn’t helping her one bit.

I know we don’t tell them club business, but if nothing else, I want to be able to reassure her that their time is coming. ”

“It is, Conan, I promise you,” he replies.

And that’s a promise from him that I’m going to hold him to.