Incandescent

“Want us to follow you?” Brooks asks, knowing I’m in for some fun.

“Fuck no. I’m not ready for my boys to see me get my balls handed to me,” I tell them, watching them laugh. Fuckers have no idea. “Head back. I’ll stay with her tonight, or head back to mine. Either way, she’s with me.” Brooks and Sy nod before taking off on their Harleys. I don’t know what fucking game Gu

***

“Open the goddamn door, Kadence” I bang for the fucking tenth time. The woman is stubborn; I’ll give her that.

“Go away, badass biker daddy. She doesn’t want to see you,” her friend Holly calls back.

“Swear to Christ, woman, open the damn door or I’ll kick the fuckin’ thing down,” I yell out, my patience wearing thin.

“Nix, can you just give me tonight? Please,” Kadence calls through the door, her voice soft and quiet, letting me know she’s right there at the door. So close, yet I can feel her already pulling away.

“Babe, whatever you’ve got goin’ on in your head, get it out.” I move to the door, resting my forehead on the dark wood. “Let me in, Kadence. I’m not leavin'.” The silence is deafening before the latch on the lock clicks, and I step back waiting to see her. The door opens enough for me to walk through, and I enter, kicking it shut behind me. Not noticing the apartment around me, my eyes zero in on her. She stands in front of me, her dark hair in a knot on top of her head. Loose strands hang free, framing her face. Even in a tight cami with matching pajama bottoms, she looks amazing. Every bit of her screams sexy and fuckable. I walk forward, but her hands come up, stopping my pursuit.

“Don’t,” she orders me, but it’s not the command that stops me. It's the tone in her voice. I’m taken back by the coldness of it, of her. Looking into her eyes, I see the same look of vulnerability I witnessed when she showed me her scars back at my house.

“Don’t what, Kadence? Don’t comfort you when you’re standin’ over there all in your head, overthinkin’ some serious fucked-up shit? If you think I’m go

“Wa

“Nix, it was fine.”

“No, Kadence,” I warn, my tone leaving no argument that I want the details.

“He’s in bed with a fuckin’ drug kingpin, babe. You weren’t fine,” I tell her, stepping back to look at her face creased with concern.

“Nix, I didn’t know that. I swear. He wasn’t selling drugs when we were engaged.” The words leave her mouth, but with her teeth biting down on her bottom lip in worry, I know she’s starting to question it.

She has every right to question it. That asshole has been around for the last four years and has only recently worked his way up to be Gu

“What did he want?”

“What did you do to him?” She ignores my question, asking her own.

“What did he want?” I repeat, not prepared to let her know I used my fists while he ran his mouth. I already know her feelings on using your fists.

“He wants money. He lent me money to put into the house, and now he wants it back.”

“He doesn’t want your money, babe. He has plenty; he's just testin’ the waters. His boss controls the drug trade in two counties and is movin’ in on ours. He has the Warriors of Mayhem in his sights. If he gets their territory, then we got major problems here in town.” I feel myself getting worked up at the thought, but I don’t miss the ghastly whiteness spread over her face. “What is it?” Her body stiffens at my question.

“Do you know the Warriors of Mayhem?” The question comes out like she’s shocked.

“Yeah, babe, I do.” She pulls back abruptly, moving out of my arms.

“What is it?” The color of her face makes me uneasy. The fear and anger mixed in with a tortured look doesn’t sit well with me.

“Are they your friends?” She takes another step back further away from me, like she’s frightened.

“I wouldn’t call them my friends. We keep out of each other's business. We have an agreement and sometimes have to do things for each other, why?” She shakes her head, not letting me in.

“What is it, Kadence?”

I’m starting to wonder if she knows someone in the club. The anger in her eyes tells me it’s bad.

“They were responsible for the fire,” she says quietly before continuing, “Zane owed them money, and he didn’t pay. That’s what the police told me. I lost my home because they wanted their money.”

Fuck me. My day just got a whole lot more messed up.

“He owed them a lot more than money. He used their money and tried to set up his own distribution in town. That is a big fuckin’ no,” I try to explain the situation. “The Warriors of Mayhem and our club have an arrangement: no drugs in Rushford. We’ve kept it clean for the last five years. Edwards has been around that whole time, tryin’ to break through that law.”

She shakes her head not accepting what I’m telling her. She walks over to the living room, planting her ass down on her leather sofa. “I’m serious, Kadence. He started out small time, got into some serious shit with Gu

“It doesn’t matter what it was, Nix. They are responsible for what happened to me.” I walk toward her, squatting down in front of her.

“I don’t doubt your anger, Kadence. Knowin’ they did that makes me see red, but that anger and that fear needs to be directed at your ex.”

“So you think it’s okay that they set my house on fire, just because it was a warning?”

“Fuck no,” I quickly reply, sensing things are getting way out of hand. It’s not fucking okay, but fuck, I have to explain how dangerous these men are. I have no doubt the Mayhems threatened her; this is how they run. I feel conflicted in wanting to agree with her, but at the same time, I don’t. “Kadence, just let me get my head around the fact that you were even engaged to that asshole.”

“Don’t bother. It sounds to me like you’re defending them. Is that what sort of club you run?” She’s not listening to what I have to say and I have no idea how to get through.

“Kadence, don’t fuckin’ put words in my mouth. All I’m sayin’ is you obviously don’t know the truth. All this anger should be directed to your ex. Goin’ to a fuckin’ secluded park with a man like Edwards is not smart. What were you thinkin’?”

“He’s my ex. I was fine,” she dismisses my concern, pissing me off.

“Yeah, so I’ve been told. That and how much you loved working your warm mouth on him. No wonder you’re so good at it,” I lash out and regret the words before I finish saying them. Her hand comes across my face, the slap stinging my cheek, the sound echoing in the quiet living area, shocking both of us.

“Get out.”

“I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“I swear to God, Nix, get the fuck out of my house. I've got nothing to say to you.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot to say to you. Be pissed. That was a shitty thing to say, but fuck, listenin’ to him tell me about you workin’ his cock wasn’t on top of my list of things I wa

“Nix, just go. I don’t want to see you anymore. This thing between us will never work if you’re in bed with those types of people,” she repeats my words about her ex back at me. I know she's angry, but so am I. I don’t wa