Page 13 of Loki’s Spellbinder (Hunters Creek Archangel’s Warriors MC #14)

We were gathered again at Brae’s apartment. She wasn’t in a better mood, but would eventually get over it.

“Alright, we’re here, and based on your expression, it seems Loki got you to tell him what you wouldn’t tell us. Not sure why, but out with it,” Wrath demanded.

Braelyn glanced at me, and I waved to indicate that the floor was hers.

She was seated in her chair. I remained standing while the others took seats.

Her arms were crossed, and she didn’t give off a welcoming vibe.

I walked over and stood behind her. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

I hoped she knew it was to be comforting.

I gave it a soft squeeze. I thought she’d shrug it off, but she surprised me when her hand crept up to lie on mine.

“Honey, go ahead,” Betty encouraged her.

“I want you to promise that when you hear this, you won’t lose your minds. I can’t have you going nuts and calling in the troops. It’ll jeopardize too many people’s lives, and I don’t mean just mine. It’s all of you and more. I shouldn’t be telling anyone this,” Braelyn told them.

There were mutters of agreement, but they were reluctant. She accepted them.

“The man I was referring to, who might be out to harm me, is Cedric Alves. Rage, Wrath, Chaos, you might have heard of him by his other name, Attila, the president of the Alpharetta chapter of the Brutal Rebels MC.”

She got no further because the three men exploded. Clearly, they knew his name. I hadn’t since I was from Tennessee, although I had heard of the Brutal Rebels.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Wrath shouted.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Rage remarked.

“Brae, you’ve got to be fucking kidding us?” Chaos snapped.

Betty sat there with her hand over her mouth and fear in her gaze.

The guys were swearing up a storm. I felt Braelyn trembling.

As upset as I was that she tried to hide it and hadn’t told them what she was doing months ago, there was no way I’d let them upset her more than she already was.

I placed two fingers in my mouth and whistled.

I turned away from her so it wouldn’t blast her eardrums, but she still flinched. It got the men to stop and look at me.

“Braelyn had her reasons, and if you want her to explain, you need to settle the hell down. This isn’t easy, and she asked you not to lose your minds. That’s why she didn’t tell you.”

“Do you know who he is?” Chaos asked snippily.

“She told me. While we waited, I did a bit of web surfing. I’ve heard of the Brutal Rebels, even if I hadn’t heard of him.”

“Then you know how bad this is. She’s on the radar of a one-percenter club that won’t hesitate to come after her. Why they’ve waited, I don’t know,” Wrath added.

“You’re done. We’ll get you somewhere they can’t find you. You’ll go underground, whatever it takes, until we take care of this. We know people. Alves isn’t untouchable even if he’s in prison,” Rage snarled.

Braelyn dropped her hand from mine and came to her feet. Her hands were on her hips, and I knew she glared at them without seeing her face. As inappropriate as it was at this time, her standing up to them made me half stiffen. Lucky for me, I was behind the chair.

“Daddy Rage, I know you’re upset, but you can’t make me do anything.

I’m an adult. And this is my job. I put criminals away.

It’s never going to be without risk. I’ve had threats before.

I’ll have them again. I’m not allowed to talk about a case when I work on it.

In this case, I didn’t tell you afterward because I knew you’d lose your shit.

You have to get used to there being more of these types of cases.

You can’t bundle me up and hide me whenever there is one, or a threat is rumored. ”

“Then you just need to change the kind of law you practice to one that’s safer,” Rage blustered.

“Not happening,” Braelyn shot back.

“If you’re in danger, why isn’t your boss hiring security for you?” Wrath snapped.

“Eli offered. I told him it’s a waste of manpower and funds.”

“That’s crazy and ridiculous, Brae,” Chaos growled.

“Honey, you need to listen to them. I can’t lose you. I can’t. I know why you’re doing this and what drives you to be a prosecuting attorney, but it’s not worth you being killed. They’re not him,” Betty cried. Tears were in her eyes.

Braelyn moved over to hug her mom. I wanted to know who the him Betty referred to was.

“Mom, I admit he’s a driving force behind my career choice, but he’s not the only one. If people like me don’t exist, then people like him get away with doing terrible things.”

“Who are you talking about? Got away with what?” Chaos asked.

It was Rage who answered. He was watching the women who were wearing painful expressions.

“She’s talking about her sperm donor. The fucker who spent his free time terrorizing and beating the hell out of his family.

He was an abusive prick. He was lucky that he was dead before I met Betty.

He lasted too long, and no one did anything about it, even though they had to know. ”

“I’m sorry, Brae, I didn’t know. I knew that he was dead, and there was no love lost, but that was it,” Chaos said.

Braelyn turned to face us. She kept her arm around her mom.

“My donor dad, DD, was a mean, abusive bastard who loved to mentally and physically terrorize his wife. When he had kids, he began to treat us the same way. He eased off Hayes, my brother, when he began to get older, since DD wanted Hayes to be like him. Mom protected us, but we couldn’t escape. ”

“Why?” I asked, making sure no judgment was in my tone.

“Because he was untouchable. The blue wall of silence protected him from the illegal stuff he did. His peers knew what he did to his family. They let him get away with it, though not all of them were like him.”

“Blue wall of silence?” I was lost.

“He was a cop, and he was dirty. The blue wall is when your fellow cops know you’re doing wrong, but don’t tell.

The day he was killed on the job during a drug deal gone wrong was the best day of our lives.

To make it better, the dealer who killed him was the one he was working with.

Once that came out, the cases he’d worked had to be re-examined, and numerous criminals were set free due to the taint on the processes caused by his role as lead detective.

And those they suspected he helped to go free through losing evidence, witness intimidation, and more could never be recharged for the crimes.

I knew then I wanted to stop that from happening when I grew up.

And I didn’t want to do it as a cop.” The fire burning in her eyes was evident.

“I get that, but these are outlaw bikers. You know enough from being around us what that means. The Brutal Rebels are bad news. They’re not bikers playing at being one-percenters. The fact that you put away a club president makes it more certain they’ll come after you,” Rage told her.

“Are they coming after the DA? He’s the one who would’ve assigned you to the case,” Wrath asked.

“There’s more than Eli and me at risk. That’s why I kept quiet about this even afterward.”

“Honey, if you want us to understand, then you have to make us understand. You said we have to get used to more of these types of cases. What do you mean? Are you trying to prosecute other clubs?” Betty asked.

Braelyn didn’t answer, which was her answer.

I had to speak. “If you’re going after more of them, then the DA needs to insist on you having bodyguards and not those pussy kinds. They need to think out of the box.”

“What do you mean by out of the box?” Brae asked.

I smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. It was the smile I got when I was about to fuck someone up. I was named Loki for a reason, mainly because of the evil and mischief I could think up when necessary. That was what the Norse god Loki did.

“Who better to be your protection than other bikers? We know how men like the Brutal Rebels think. We can anticipate their moves and make moves that law enforcement can’t.

We need to meet with your boss. I see why you want to do this, Braelyn.

But you can’t expect your family, friends, and loved ones not to ensure you’re protected.

And before you say it’ll place a target on them, we can take care of ourselves. ”

“I’m not letting any of you talk to Eli. This idea is crazy. No, I won’t let anyone put themselves in harm’s way.”

“Then I guess you’ll have me as your roommate,” Chaos said.

There was no way in hell I wanted that. If I were to get a chance to tell Braelyn I wanted to see if there was a chance for us, I would have to spend time with her. Having Chaos hanging around would kill that.

“I have no doubt they need you over in Eatonton. I’m on extended leave from work. Bull has it covered. I came down to see how I could help. It seems logical I should be the one to stay with her.”

I saw Wrath and Rage exchange bemused looks. Betty was beaming, Braelyn was frowning, and Chaos was the one who confused me. He was smirking.

“No, Loki, you’re not doing that. It would make you a target just like any of them. And you can’t stay indefinitely,” Braelyn protested.

“I can stay, and there’s a way to make it so no one knows I’m anything more than a regular guy. They won’t need to know I’m in a club,” I said off the cuff. An idea had popped into my head. I hoped Bull wouldn’t fine me or do worse when I told him.

“And exactly why would they think that, especially if you’re always around her?” Chaos asked.