Property of Drex (Book 1) (Death Chasers MC Series) (12 page)

Chapter 21

DREX

“Don’t want no trouble,” Drake says, looking up from the tattoo he’s putting on a girl that barely has any more space for tattoos. “Go ahead and leave the way you just came in.”

He does well not to show his surprise, but I can tell he’s ready for a fight.

I’m not here to fight. This time.

“I need some ink put on my girl.” Somehow, I manage to keep from grinding my teeth while forcing out the words.

This time his surprise sneaks out, but he masks it with impassivity almost a second later.

“Then make an appointment. I’m booked up for six months.”

He goes back to his buzzing, and I run a hand over the scruff on my cheek.

“I need it today. Now, actually.”

The sound of the buzzing stopping is abrupt, and Drake’s cold eyes meet mine.

“You lost the right to come in here and demand shit when you threw your fist into my face and put a ban on my place. Make an appointment. Be glad I’m even considering doing a damn thing for you.”

Eve peeks out from my side, and she sucks in a breath when she sees Drake. Yeah… he’s a scary motherfucker to a sheltered girl like Eve. He’s tall, overly tatted, and has such light blue eyes that they almost look white.

It’s freaky as shit.

Those freaky eyes land on her, and his eyebrow cocks as though he’s shocked.

“She can’t be your girl.” The surprise in his voice only pisses me off.

Eve, however, steps closer.

“Please,” she says, poking out her wrist for some weird reason. “I need that damn thing so those big bastards don’t try touching me ever again.”

Her voice wobbles on the end, and I see Drake’s eyes go from cold to furious as his gaze snaps back to me.

“You let them put their hands on
your
girl? Fucking unbelievable.”

“It’s a long story. Just give her the ink, and I’ll lift the ban. You can start getting Death Dealer business again.”

That sure as hell has his attention.

“You mean the ban I shouldn’t have gotten? Not good enough. You want me to ink her, then admit you’re an arrogant ass.”

“I’m an arrogant ass,” I deadpan.

His lips twitch, but he rolls his eyes. “Fucking hell. Fine.”

Eve pulls her arm back in, and I lean down to kiss her just beside her lips. She reaches up, slipping her arms around my neck, and she leans against me as though she’s finally relaxing.

I love these shirts she keeps wearing—the ones that seem to always hang off one shoulder. And I’m about to take advantage of it.

Drake finishes up what he’s working on, and I look behind me at Axle who is stifling a grin as he sits down. Yeah. This shit isn’t easy. I’m doing good not to choke on the wad of pride I’m having to swallow.

Drake and I clashed two years ago over a girl. I had no idea he was fucking her.
She
was the one who came onto me. Then the asshole permanently fucked up some ink on my body as retaliation. I had to get the shit inked over so that I didn’t have a motherfucking daisy that said “cocksucker” on my back.

Jackass dick.

I messed his jaw up, banned him from inking Death Dealers, and essentially had him shunned. Not that it hurt his business, considering he’s the best in town, even better than Cecil.

He stands, still dealing with the Ink Queen, and Eve looks up to me.

“I’ve never had a tattoo. How bad will it hurt?” she asks, reminding me how fucking innocent she is.

And I’m still the bastard who can’t let her go. Normally, I’d already be done with a girl. But Eve seems to be my weakness. I’m still deciding if that’s good or bad.

“Not much. But you can squeeze my hand if it gets unbearable,” I joke, earning a small pout from her.

I really love those damn lips of hers.

My thumb rubs over her bottom lip, and she leans into my touch. She might be innocent, but she’s as tough as any Death Dealer in the club. Mentally, at least. Physically? I need to teach her some stuff. She needs to be able to protect herself in the future.

“Alright. Let’s do this,” Drake says, eyeing me curiously as Eve reluctantly turns away from me and goes to the chair he motions her to.

She sits down, and Drake comes over to me, leaving her in the room as he gestures with his head for me to join him. Great. He wants to talk. I knew this was all too easy.

I look at Axle, who nods in understanding, letting me know he’ll keep an eye on my girl as all the curious ones in the waiting lounge glance her way.

As soon as we’re in a different section far away from Eve and everyone else, Drake crosses his arms over his chest.

“Why come to me instead of Cecil?”

“He’s out of town. Family shit or something. And Eve needs ink. She was attacked a few nights ago. I’d rather it didn’t happen again, and we both know my name on her will stop all that shit.”

His lips thin, and he groans before dropping his arms back to his sides. “The ban is lifted? Because I fucking hate Hell Breathers, and they’ve been coming in like crazy. It’d be nice if they had a reason to avoid my place again.”

My skin prickles at the mention of their club. Why are they traveling to Drake? He’s way outside of their normal perimeter.

“Why?” I ask him. “They used Michaels the last I heard.”

He shrugs. “Don’t know. But they ask a lot of questions about your dad. I tell them the generic shit, let them think they’re learning more and more, when really they aren’t learning shit.”

My teeth clench. “And you didn’t think to call me to warn me?”

Drake was once my best friend, until two years ago when a girl got in the way. Guys only seem to have problems when pussy is involved.

“I would have,
if
you hadn’t been a dick to me. Now you know. Like I said, they think I’m giving them something.”

What the hell is Benny after?

My eyes flick to the doorway as Eve crosses my mind. Pop is still leery of her and her intentions, finding her relationship to one traitor too coincidental. The fact she was
gifted
to us by Benny… Even I can’t deny something is up. But Eve hasn’t given me any reason to think it’s more than just all a coincidence. She’s actually making me believe in coincidences.

“So you want the usual DD on her inner wrist?” Drake asks, snapping me back to the moment.

Ahhh, so that’s why she stuck out her wrist. She must have noticed the other girls sporting the DD tat.

“Nah. She’s not Death Dealer property. I want something special for her.”

Chapter 22

EVE

I was expecting a tattoo on my wrist, not on my shoulder. But Drex always seems oddly interested in that particular piece of skin, which is why I find clothes to wear that show it off, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

But how the hell long does it take to put a simple DD on there? At least it doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. And no way am I looking. I don’t want to see blood, and Drake said there would definitely be some blood. No thank you.

The stinging sensation continues, and I wince when he hovers over a sensitive area for much too long. Damn. He’s really putting a lot of work into those two letters.

Drex walks up beside me, putting away his phone. He’s been in a private room for a while, so I assume he didn’t want anyone overhearing whatever he was saying.

He peers around, and a smile blooms across his face as he studies what Drake is doing. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him look so excited about something.

“They won’t question if she’s your girl anymore,” Drake says, even though I still won’t look at him. Looking at him might mean seeing my blood.

“Good.” Drex sounds entirely too pleased, and he runs his hand up my bare leg, stopping on my thigh just where my shorts start.

His fingers toy with the flesh just under the hem of my shorts on my inner thigh, and I ignore the embarrassing shiver that wracks my body from that small, intimate touch.

He held me all night that night. Kept me in his bed. And he never once tried to touch me in a sexual way. He was… considerate. Which isn’t what I expected from Drex.

He hasn’t touched me like that since then, and he’s been attentive… even sweet? It’s been nice. It’s also been blurring those lines even more. Fortunately, I’m a little tougher to break than I thought. Or maybe I’m still suppressing feelings about this entire new world I’m in until it’s safe to really go crazy.

“I expect to see some of you guys soon,” Drake tells him, and the buzzing stops as he starts wiping at my tattoo again. Shit, that burns.

“I’ll spread the word,” Drex says absently, still smiling at my arm even as he continues to torture me with his fingers on my leg.

“I take it you approve?” Drake asks, stepping back.

Drex’s touch leaves me as he moves around to take Drake’s spot, and I glance up as his smile grows even broader.

“Perfect.” His eyes lift to meet mine, and he winks at me. “What do you think?”

There’d better not be any blood
. That’s what I think as I turn my arm toward the mirror to see what has been put there. A small breath leaves my lips when I see what it says.

No wonder it took so long.

Just under my shoulder is a very easily read tattoo that proudly says, “Property of Drex” in some really neat font over the top of the Death Dealer grim reaper with a skull. Insulted is how I should feel. Relieved is how I actually feel.

No doubt no one else will ever touch me with that thing on. Even though I’m still worried about what happens after Drex is done with me, I’m not worried about things right now.

“It’s beautiful,” I say lamely.

Drake rolls his eyes. “If he had his name put on me, I wouldn’t think it was so damn beautiful.”

Drex glares at Drake as he walks off, but then his attention turns back to me. When his smile turns wicked, I can’t help but get a little excited.

I’m warped like that now.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says while tugging my hand.

I stand as Drake comes over, putting a clear patch of some sort on my skin that feels cool to the touch. I don’t ask questions. Drex is covered in tattoos, so I’m sure he knows how to deal with the aftercare for one.

His hand finds the small of my back as he guides me outside. Axle follows us, along with two other guys I don’t really know. I also don’t ask for names, especially since Herrin still acts like I’m some majorly awesome spy that is fooling everyone.

“You look sexy as hell with my name on you,” Drex says. No one has ever accused him of being humble.

I smile about the claiming, like the idiot I am.

But his smile falls as his phone buzzes. He looks down, and he holds up a finger, gesturing for me to stay put, as he walks off to answer it.

Axle is left alone with me as the two other guys walk over to speak to Drake, who has come outside. I look at Axle, who is looking anywhere but at me.

In the sunlight, I notice that big scar isn’t the only scar on his face. He has a smaller one that goes vertically over his lip, curling down to his chin, and two on his right eyebrow that seem to cause very thin spots where hair can’t grow—they ride up into his hairline. That had to have been something massive.

He catches me staring too hard, and his eyes narrow threateningly. Immediately I clear my throat, feeling like an ass.

“I never thanked you,” I say quietly.

His look softens, but he doesn’t speak. Only nods.

Drex’s arms wrap around my waist, tugging me back against him as his chin rests on top of my head. To the outside world, we look like a normal couple right now.

“We’re going home,” Drex announces. I thought that was the plan anyway.

“Home?” Axle asks in surprise.

“Yeah. Pop says he wants to cool things down for a week or two. He’s moving our business dates back a few weeks. There are three cars camped outside the warehouse right now. He worries they know something, even though I don’t know how they would.”

I don’t want to hear this. I don’t need to hear this. However, Drex and Axle keep speaking in front of me as though they aren’t worried about what I overhear.

“Shit,” Axle grumbles, not seeming happy about any of this. “Fine. I’ll see you when I see you then.”

Drex talks about meeting at the club next week, while I try to figure things out. Is he sending everyone away?

Finally, he tugs me toward his bike, and I follow without protest. The second I’m behind him with my helmet on, my legs firmly clamped against him, and my arms around his tight middle, the beast beneath us roars to life.

Chapter 23

EVE

When he said we were going home, I of course assumed he meant the warehouse. Instead, we’re at Drex’s house. For the first time. And it’s nothing like I was expecting.

It’s not a huge house, but it’s bigger than I thought it’d be. Much bigger. And there’s a damn pool. Which in Texas, that’s not too surprising, but often times the droughts restrict water supplies, so I’ve never figured out how that works.

We’re isolated here. In fact, I only noticed a few houses within a few miles during the drive here. It’s nowhere near the warehouse. It actually took us close to an hour to get here. I don’t even know where
here
is exactly.

The inside is all modern, sleek, industrial, and pristine. I mean, you can’t tell a bachelor lives here, because it’s that spotless.

A massive TV is mounted on one wall, with an array of neatly assorted gaming systems. Several pieces of black leather furniture decorate the living space.

The kitchen is a gourmet kitchen. I don’t picture Drex as the cooking type, but he’s in there right now, cooking something for my growling guts. And it smells so damn good.

He’s also distracted. He’s spent most of the time we’ve been here on his phone after the brief tour. There are two bedrooms, but he said I’d be in his. Which means I’ll be able to sleep. Sadly, I don’t feel safe without him. Yet he seems to think I’m a tough girl.

His presence gives me false bravado, because somehow, I know he’s got my back.

He did something weird with some machine the second we got here. He flicked it on, but it never made a noise or did anything. But he said he didn’t want to take chances of bugs in the house. Apparently it has something that jams those sorts of devices.

I feel like I’m living in an entirely different world.

Drex walks into the living room with a frown on his face.

“You need to call your mom and let her know you’re good. She’s been at the police station looking for you.”

My stomach sinks and my heart plummets. Shit.

“Okay,” I say hoarsely, pulling out the phone he gave me a while back. I’ve never even used it before.

I chance a glance at him to see he’s studying me.

“Why don’t you want to talk to her? You know by now I don’t want to hurt her? Why would I?”

There’s a hint of an accusatory tone in there, as to say,
“What are you hiding?”
He doesn’t understand.

Instead of answering the unspoken question, I take a deep breath and steel myself for the call.

She answers on the second ring with a confused, “Hello?”

“Hey, Mom. It’s me. Sorry, I had to get a new number because—”

“Damn it! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Eve!” she shrieks, emotion choking her words. “Do you have any idea how terrified I’ve been? Where the hell are you?”

I have to pull the phone back because of her volume, and I wince as Drex arches an eyebrow. I don’t know if he’s amused, confused, or just intrigued.

Mom is so loud, that I decide to go ahead and put it on speaker. Drex is going to ask what all she said as soon as I’m done anyway. Or one of his guys is listening to the call as I speak. It’s not like I have privacy.

“I’m with a friend. I told you I was leaving town for a while. I’ve been—”

“Get home. Now! You have a family. Your two brothers are worried to death about you. Do you have any idea what you’ve put us through? How selfish can you possibly be, Eve?”

Drex’s jaw tenses, and my lip trembles. Somehow, I manage to keep the sting of her words from affecting my voice.

“I can’t come home right now. I love you, and tell the twins I love them. But I got a job. I can’t just come back. I’m trying to make some money.”

She curses, which is highly unusual for her. “Eve, I have plenty of money. Apparently your father had a friend hold back money for him. He found me the day you took off, and I paid the bills. I guess your father wasn’t the asshole I thought he was after all. There was enough left over that I was able to quit one of my jobs. But I still need you to help with the twins.”

My father becomes the hero and I become the villain in this moment. I feel it. Benny told her dad had left her money. While I’m really the one paying the debt.

“I can’t come home, Mom. I told you. I have a job—”

“I can’t believe you’re being this way. I have a job, too, Eve. The twins need both of us. I can’t do this on my own. Find a place to work around here. Stop thinking about yourself and remember we’re a team.”

A tear creeps out, and Drex comes over. He stops short, running a hand through the longer strands of hair on top of his head. Then he turns around and stalks back to the kitchen.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

I sound like a broken record.

“Unbelievable. Fine. Do whatever. I never thought I’d see the day where you stopped caring about your family and only worried about yourself. Here I was thinking your father was the selfish one.”

I saw that coming, yet even knowing she was going to go there doesn’t stop the punch to the gut I feel. She has no idea what I’ve done for my family.

I just hang up. There’s nothing left to say. And she doesn’t call back to try and talk me into coming home or apologize for assuming the worst in me.

Drex comes back out of the kitchen with two plates in his hand, but my appetite has vanished. He sits down beside me, putting the food on the coffee table in front of us, while I quietly digest my mother’s disgust.

He watches me as I pick at the food, nibbling small bites.

“I take it she had a low opinion of your father?” he asks, treating it as though it’s casual conversation.

“Not anymore.” I give him a forced smile, and he grunts while taking another bite of food.

“What’d your dad do?” he asks, still sounding casual, as if this isn’t a touchy subject.

Lying isn’t an option. Not that I want to lie. Not answering him is also not an option.

“He killed himself,” I mumble.

Drex doesn’t act surprised, meaning he already knew about this.

“And that’s why she hates him?” He pauses a beat. “Or why she
did
hate him, rather,” he amends.

I nod, hoping he doesn’t want me to elaborate.

“How close were you to him?”

A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it, but it dies in my throat when tears threaten to emerge.

“I was daddy’s girl when I was younger. But the older I got, the less he wanted me around. He grew distant… from all of us. Especially the last few years. He was barely home.”

He puts his fork down, and he studies his plate for a long minute, as though he’s trying to find a way to ask a difficult question.

“Did you know he worked for us at one time?”

My entire body tenses, then suddenly, without warning, a burst of laughter comes out of me. It’s hysterical, crazy laughter that is taking the place of the tears that I don’t want to fall.

Drex cocks an eyebrow at me as I completely lose my dignity, unable to stop laughing. Finally, I see the seriousness in his expression, and my laughter halts abruptly, almost painfully.

“You can’t be serious.” I shake my head, actually feeling a lot better now that I’ve had my weird, cathartic release. “My father was a straight-laced, stick-up-his-ass accountant. He wasn’t a biker. He drove a Fiat.” He just stares, so I repeat the last part for emphasis. “
A Fiat
.”

He snorts derisively, a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips. “Never said he was a biker. And he did indeed drive that small little car everywhere. But he was our accountant for a while.”

My skin prickles as a weird chill settles in my bones. My brow furrows in confusion, and I desperately try to grab ahold of any memory that might give me an answer as to if Drex is lying or not.

But why would he lie?

“No,” I say softly, shaking my head absently while still mulling over dusty memories.

“Any idea how he kept his family a secret? That one is baffling me. We checked him out thoroughly before taking him on, and he lived in a one-bedroom apartment downtown. No family. No history of family in his file. Nothing.”

The memory of my dad and mother separating briefly after the accident that took my sister’s life floods back to me. Even after he came back home, he often stayed somewhere else, growing more distant.

My dad was a tech genius, so faking a background check would be child’s play if he wanted to keep us hidden. But… No. Not possible. Can’t be true.

“It’s true,” Drex says, worrying me that I said that aloud. “He cooked our books and handled the shady shit I won’t explain, so he wasn’t as straight-laced as you thought.”

My veins run cold, and a new brand of betrayal singes me. How could we not have known?

“My dad… was he bullied into working for you?”

He gives me a look that borders on insulted, but it fades quickly. “No. We don’t force people to work for us. That just invites trouble. Someone in a situation like that would turn to the feds the first chance they got. Your dad came to us. But I had no clue Benny knew him.”

I sit back to gather my thoughts, but I give up on processing my feelings.

“Benny has known me for most of my life. Well, he knew me at a glance. I never really talked to him. I rarely saw him, but the few occasions I did, he never let on like he knew my dad outside of my relationship with Ben.”

Drex picks at a piece of his food as his eyes drop.

“What kind of relationship was that?” The hard edge to his tone is subtle, but I still notice it.

Is he jealous right now?

When his jaw tics, proving he’s growing impatient with my hesitation to answer, I bite back a grin. He’s freaking jealous. Of Ben.

Ben would die to have this ego stroke right now.

“It was… a good one?” I say, but it sounds like a question. When his knuckles turn white from the grip he has on his fork, I decide to put him out of his misery.

“Ben was my best friend. At one time, I thought I loved him. And I did. Just not the way I thought I did. Or wanted to. We were more curious than anything when… well, when we were together. We lasted for two years before we decided we were better as friends than a couple. That was almost a year ago.”

He looks up at me, still seeming pissed. I can’t help but poke the bear a bit.

“I can’t believe you’re jealous right now.”

Surprise flickers across his face for a fleeting second, but then it’s replaced with that cocky look he wears so well. He loses interest in strangling the fork, letting it clank to the plate, then grabs my legs and jerks me, forcing me to fall on my back as he shifts to be in between my thighs.

He stays sitting up, slowly running his hands down my bare legs, teasing the edges of my shorts with his fingers.

“Jealous?” he asks, but I’m too busy panting for air to answer him.

How he makes the world vanish and distract me from all my problems, I don’t know.

He smirks as he pulls my hand up to his lips, and I’m fairly sure I moan in response when he sucks a finger into his mouth. I know that no intelligible sound emerges when his other hand starts messing with my button.

“I’m not jealous of Ben,” he says seriously, shifting so that his body is more aligned with mine.

In one swift move, he’s lifting me onto his lap, grabbing a handful of jean-clad ass roughly, forcing me tight against him.

“Okay,” I say breathlessly.

He grins while standing, keeping me straddling his waist, but then he lowers my feet to the ground with an abruptness that immediately has me feeling bereft. I start to ask him why he’s stopping, but he turns me around, pushing me toward the window of the living room until I’m forced to put my hands up reflexively to stop myself from crashing into it.

My hands hit the warm glass, just as Drex’s hot breath finds my neck. I suck in a painful shot of air just as he pushes my shorts down. They drop to my ankles, and I step out of them, even though he keeps my movements restricted with his hold.

My shirt is torn off me, and my bra is tossed aside. He does all this with one hand as though it’s the easiest task in the world. I stare out at the backyard, looking over the pool, trying to catch my breath, just as he grabs the lacy underwear and jerks them down to my thighs.

A whimper escapes me, and I feel him grin as his teeth graze a spot of flesh between my neck and shoulder.

“Could Ben have you whimpering before he even really touched you?” His voice is challenging, as if daring me to tell him a lie.

But I don’t lie.

“No,” I whisper.

His hands run up my sides, moving up until he’s cupping my breasts, and he takes my nipples, squeezing them both. My knees try to buckle, but he drops one hand to my waist, anchoring me to the spot.

“Could Ben cause your knees to give out?” His husky whisper is barely heard over my own loud breaths.

The more he talks, the wetter I get, and he notices, especially when his hand curves around and cups me. My back arches reflexively as I try to grind against him, needing that friction.