Page 49

49

Phoenix

S weat coats my skin as I run through another round of self-defense practice with Rae, Lace, and the guys. We've been at it for hours now, trying to soak in every ounce of knowledge we can before Dad and the others get back. Everyone knows once that happens, all bets are off. The club will make their big move against Dom's crew, hopefully putting an end to this war once and for all.

Whatever we can learn now will help us defend ourselves should anything go wrong. I hope so, anyway. With Rae's teaching, I feel pretty confident now, but you never know how low your opponent will stoop when they're desperate to win.

"Alright, Nix. Use that momentum and sweep his legs like I showed you," my sister calls out as I spar with Archie in our makeshift ring in the living room.

He tries to move out of the way before I can strike, but he's a second too slow. I do exactly as Raven showed us, kicking my legs beneath his, sending him sprawling onto the floor with a loud huff. Archie groans as everyone else lets out loud whoops and cheers at his expense.

"Great job, Nix," Raven shouts as Mason helps me up.

I smile at her, proud of what I've accomplished tonight. "You looked hot, babe," Mason whispers in my ear, shooting me a smoldering look. "My own little badass."

If I wasn't already burning up, I for sure would be now. The way his eyes spear me with such intensity always makes my heart race. No matter how much time has passed, I can never seem to get enough of him. The MC war is suddenly the last thing on my mind. One look from my tattooed bad boy has me forgetting we're in a room full of people and ready to jump his bones.

Mason bites his lip, pulling me into his side as Jesse and Bones start ribbing Archie. "Dude, she kicked your ass," Bones laughs as Jesse helps him off the floor.

"She's so small, and she took you down like you were nothing."

Archie flips them off, grumbling as he brushes off his jeans. "Yeah, well, she's fast. And surprisingly strong."

"And only half your size," Bones cackles.

"Shut up, dude. Lace almost knocked you out earlier," Archie retorts.

Gaping at his fellow prospect, Bones pouts, "She got a lucky shot. I didn't see her punch coming. I had something in my eye."

Jesse doubles over laughing. "Yeah, tears from when she kicked you earlier."

Stitch smirks at the prospect as he throws an arm over Lace's shoulders, making her blush. "Again, I'm so sorry I gave you a black eye," she tells Bones.

He shrugs her apology off, trying to be cool about their spar a while ago. "It barely hurt."

Archie shakes his head, rolling his eyes as the guys continue to bicker. I look across the room at Raven. She's leaning against the wall, watching the scene before us play out with a small smile of her own. I know she's been stressed lately. We all have, but seeing her lighten up a bit now, makes me feel a tiny bit better.

The playful energy in the room has replaced the looming darkness and tension we all felt earlier. We're in a waiting game now, holding our breath until Dad gets back. All hoping the Bastards don't make any more moves until then. Less than a day now, and that wait will be over.

Mason heard from Bear a while ago. Things went well with the Devils, and they struck up a deal to send several of their guys here to help out with Dom's crew. They already have a plan in place. We just have to wait for them to get back before setting things in motion.

It's almost over.

Raven looks over at me with a look that says she's thinking the same thing. A bit longer now, and we can go back to living our lives without constantly looking over our shoulders. She crosses an X over her heart, and I return the gesture.

It's almost over.

An hour later, we clean up and start digging into dinner. Everyone's mood is much improved from this morning. The playfulness that filled the air after our lesson is still coursing through us all. Something to be grateful for.

Conversations are running smoothly as we all eat. Jokes and jibes are shared, and there is more laughter than I've heard in weeks. It's an incredible feeling, but my gut is tense like this is too good to be true. It's almost as if we've been allowed too much joy today, and something bad is about to shoot in and ruin it all.

It's probably irrational, but I can't shake it. Something feels wrong.

"You good, Nix?" Raven asks.

I plant a fake smile on my face as I lie, "Yeah, all good. Just tired from earlier."

She eyes me carefully but doesn't push the issue. "You did well," she says, still surveying me. "I'm proud of you."

My heart tugs at her compliment, and I swallow the knot forming in my throat. "Thanks, Rae."

Jesse pulls her into a conversation, freeing me from her watchful gaze. I breathe a small sigh of relief, though the knot in my stomach is still wound tightly. I try to process it, try to calm myself, and convince my gut that it's nerves and nothing else. Everything will be fine. Nothing I tell myself works to cool the warning blaring in my soul, telling me to be careful.

It has me so distracted I hardly notice when the conversation changes. The sound of one name jolts me out of my stupor. "I can't wait until we cut Dom and his guys down to size," Raven says.

Jesse scoffs his agreement, "Yeah, none of us can. Plus, I'm sure Viper is chompin' at the bit to finally take down Scar."

"Scar? Who's he?" my sister asks.

I look over at them in time to see Jesse give her a strange look. "He's the Bastards' Prez, Rae. You didn't think Dom's dumb ass was calling the shots, did you?"

Raven's brows furrow as she shakes her head, realizing something. "I never actually looked at his patches. I only saw the cut and his ugly mug. Shit, I assumed he was the president with the way he puffed his chest all the time."

"Nah, he likes to pretend he's the boss, but he's just the VP. Scar is in charge."

"Why has no one mentioned him before?"

The guys exchange a strange look before Mason cuts in. "Viper doesn't like talking about him. Shit between the two of them goes back over three decades."

Three decades? It takes a second for me to process the information, but something sparks in my memory. The story Mom told us—why Dad was headed here in the first place. His friend had found them a job and a place to live. Was Scar that friend? I'd always assumed it was Bear or Miguel, but I never asked Dad about it.

Shit, everything makes so much more sense now. "Is that why there's so much animosity between the Sons and Bastards?"

Mason looks at me with a solemn nod.

"What happened between them?"

He takes a deep breath before answering. For a moment, he fights an inner battle with himself before telling us cautiously, "Scar used to run with the Sons."

The information hits me like a punch to the gut. Scar has to be him—Dad's friend from Colorado who introduced him to the MC to begin with. What the hell happened?

Rae's outburst at the news mirrors my shock as Mason continues, "He joined shortly before Viper did. He said he had a friend back home that needed a new start. Scar vouched for Viper to get him into the MC, so the president, Axel, brought him on as a prospect."

Mason looks like he doesn't want to say much more, but Jesse adds to the story. "My dad used to say the two of them were like brothers. Thick as thieves, always watching out for each other. They were like sons to Axel."

When he gets quiet, Raven pounces. "Oh, come on. Tell us what happened. Why are Scar and Viper now mortal enemies?"

Jesse and Mason share a look. Neither wants to say more, but Mason finally relents after catching my pleading stare. He rubs his face and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, looking anxious as he fills us in. "As the club grew, Scar and Viper took on more responsibility. Went on bigger jobs, making more money for the Sons. Gained notoriety from other crews.

"Everyone figured Axel was priming one of them to be the next leader. Scar was jealous of how close Axel and Viper got. He started getting greedy on jobs. He'd go rogue, do his own thing behind Axel's back."

He shakes his head. "My dad knew him. Said he had no moral code. He'd maim and kill people just for looking at him sideways. Axel tried to rein him in, but Scar kept getting worse. They had a job, running guns for some mob hotshots out of Chicago. A rival MC caught wind of it and stole the job right out from under them. Scar didn't take it well.

"He saw the rival MC president's daughter in town one day and kidnapped her. Said he'd let her go if the club paid the Sons back what they made on the gun-running job with interest. They paid up, but Scar didn't let her go right away. He—" Mason looks away, his words catching in his throat as he shakes his head.

"He what?" Raven presses.

His jaw clenches as he meets her eye. He opens his mouth, but no words come out. Mason shakes his head again. "He beat her nearly to death," Stitch answers as he stares at the floor. "And he raped her repeatedly while he had her locked up."

Lace lets out a gasp as Raven's face blanches. I'm nauseous. Scar, the president of the Desert Bastards, was Dad's old friend and a fucking monster. My head is still reeling from the story, and my fear about what's to come multiplies tenfold.

"Why the fuck didn't Axel do something about him then?" Raven asks, her voice low and deadly.

Mason is the first to reply. "He couldn't bring himself to kill one of his own. He still saw Scar as a son. The rivals agreed not to retaliate, but only if they got their money back and Axel got rid of Scar. So, he axed him from the Sons, told him never to show his face in Phoenix again, or he'd put a bullet in him. For a long time, no one saw or heard from him.

Axel died, Viper became president, and life went on. Scar was pissed when Viper took over and didn't let him back in. He felt betrayed by someone he saw as a brother and started pitching a fit. That's when Scar's Desert Bastards formed and started making noise. Every one of his guys is as twisted as he is, or worse. They've beefed with us back and forth over the years, but nothing too bad until now. Things have always been tense, but we all thought Scar mellowed out with age."

There's more to it—something he doesn't want to tell us, I can sense it. So can my sister. "And . . . " she says insistently.

A loud huff leaves Mason's lips. He doesn't want to say it—whatever it is he's holding back—but Rae isn't letting it go. "Come on, Raptor, you can't give us half the story and expect us to be okay with it. What happened that changed things?"

Mason looks at me, and I see the answer in his eyes. "After one of our feuds a while back, Viper and Scar came to an agreement—they'd stay on their turf, we'd stay on ours. It worked, and we hadn't heard or seen the Bastards for months. Not until—"

"We showed up," I finish for him.

He looks at me, and the agony I see in his eyes breaks my heart. "Yeah."

It feels like I can't breathe. Knowing such an evil person used to run with the Sons, and what he's done to people before—it's horrifying. It makes so much sense now why Dad always kept such a close eye on me and Rae after Dom showed up. He didn't want history to repeat itself.

"Viper thinks Scar wants to use us to get to him." Raven's words make me shudder.

Mason nods, and I hear Reaper's growl from across the table, "Not gonna fuckin' happen." His fists clench, and it looks like he wants to murder someone.

"No, it's not," Mason agrees confidently, pulling me close. "They won't get to you, Nix. I won't let that happen," he adds for only me to hear. "I won't ever let them get close to you."

I hold him tight like a lifeline as my heart beats erratically in my chest. My eyes fly to Raven, who's grown eerily quiet. She, like Reaper, looks murderous. I know if it comes down to it, she'll step up to defend us. She'll raise all hell to protect us if, God forbid, something happens to the rest of them. I only hope it never comes to that.

Dad will be back soon. Then it will all be over.

Just a little longer.

It's almost over.

It's almost over.

The thought echoes over and over in my head, but it doesn't calm the heaviness in my heart or the sinking feeling in my gut. Something bad is coming for the Sons, and there isn't a damn thing we can do to stop it.