1
Daimon
Nox pounds his fist into Greg Dawes face. There’s no remorse, no hesitation, just swift retribution. From my position against the wall, I watch the action unfolding, excitement stabbing up my spine as I watch Titch drag his head back by his hair, exposing his throat—a throat that could so easily be slit. I can’t stop the twitch of my mouth as he hits him again. This fucker is getting what he deserves. That sense of righteousness soothes the beasts inside me, calms me.
Greg owes us money, but what’s new? Every fucker in this town owes us their pound of flesh. We own this patch of London and we run it with fire, blood and an iron fist. No one crosses us and those who do don’t live to talk about it.
The clubhouse’s basement is silent apart from the echoes of flesh meeting flesh along with the groans of pain coming from Greg. It’s like sweet music. Blood drips from his face onto the concrete beneath him, the coppery scent of it lingering in the air, making my demons come to the surface, wanting to play.
“You think you can duck out on paying us?” Nox roars in his face before he slams his fist back into the man’s gut. Greg rocks on the hook attached to the ceiling. He’s barely hanging on, his feet no longer holding his weight. I can see the dismay in his eyes, see the blazing desire to live, but that’s Nox’s choice.
Blood, violence—it doesn’t faze me. I don’t think it ever did. I grew up a witness to shit no kid should ever have seen. It shaped me into the monster I am today. I was just six years old when I saw my father make his first kill and I was barely eighteen when I made my own. I’ve done things most people would never imagine; seen things I can never forget. I don’t have nightmares because I created my own. This life, it’s not for the weak, and that’s one thing I’m not either. I’ll kill a man because my president demands it. I’ll kill a man for slighting my club, too. Everything I do is for the Untamed Sons.
I rake my hair out of my face as I pull out a packet of cigarettes. I push one between my lips and light it up, taking a drag. The nicotine does its job and relaxes me as the smoke fills my lungs.
Nox slams his fist into Greg’s face again. He’s lucky it’s Nox doing the beating and not Fury. That animal has ways of pushing the human body to extremes that shouldn’t be possible. Nox will make it hurt, but he’s not a sadist. He doesn’t derive pleasure from hurting people, but he sees it as a necessity. I’m somewhere between the two. I enjoy hurting our enemies, and right now this man is an enemy. I have no reason to be down here. Titch and Nox could handle this, but I can’t tear myself away.
“I’ll get you the money,” Greg wails between mushy lips, blood dripping from his face.
“Too late,” Titch sneers.
Titch is more laid back than the rest of us. I don’t think he enjoys this side of it, but he does it because it’s expected. His darkness is surface deep. Mine is buried inside me, waiting to come out. I’m still nothing compared to Fury and even Ravage. Both men have demons who they barely keep at bay. I keep mine controlled.
My phone vibrates against my leg, and I want to rage at the interruption. I want to see how this shit with Greg plays out, but it could be important. It could be Ravage, my president, calling. I know better than to ignore a call.
When I free the handset from my jeans pocket, my eyes flare as I see ‘Maverick’ on the screen. Mav is the president of the Devil’s Dogs, another MC that has territory adjacent to ours. He’s a good guy, but why the fuck he’s calling me, I don’t know. Ain’t like we’re fucking friends.
I push a booted foot against the wall and move out of the basement, trudging up the stairs as I slide my finger over the screen to answer the call.
“Yeah?” I don’t bother with hello. If he’s calling me, something is wrong.
“I was doing a drop at a place across town. Saw one of your girls there. I tried to call Levi, but he ain’t picking up.”
Levi’s in Manchester on a run. He’s meeting with the chapter prez, Howler, some time tonight. If he’s not picking up, he’s either partying at their clubhouse or got his phone on silent while him and Fury are busy.
“Which girl?” I demand. I keep moving as I talk, heading for the common room.
“Levi’s sister.”
I stop walking and curse under my breath. Briella is a pain in the fucking arse. She’s always into shit she shouldn’t be and she gives her brother a hard as fuck time. I don’t know how Levi hasn’t strangled her already. If she was my sister, I’d have better control over her, but her and Levi didn’t have the best start in life and I get the impression he doesn’t want to upset the girl. He shrugs off her shitty behaviour. He’d be better taking a firm fucking hand with her.
“Where is she?” I step through the common room doors and see Kyle on the bar. I crook a finger at the prospect, who puts down the towel tossed over his shoulder and walks toward me.
“You know that new club down by the docks?” Maverick says in my ear.
I know it. It’s fucking owned by the Sic Bastards—a gang we are not allied with. Her being there is fucking dangerous. Ice fills my belly even as rage flares through me. I want to throttle her for being so reckless. Usually, this shit wouldn’t be my problem, but Levi’s a brother and she’s his kid sister. He’s not here to sort it, so it’s down to me to fix it, even though I can think of a thousand things I’d rather do. I’m not big on sorting out spoilt teenage brats.
“Know it.”
“I’d get her out of there fast. Looked like shit was getting a little rough when I left.”
“Thanks, Maverick.”
I hang up as Kyle steps up to me, question in his face. I like the kid, but he’s got some shit in his past. He wears it clearly in his eyes, which are as dark as his fucking soul. He’s eighteen, with black skin and short hair cropped to his head. He’s a hell of a fighter, which is why I’m bringing him along. Sin, Rav’s brother, found him at an underground fight club. He’d been kicking the shit out of opponents older than him since he was fourteen, and he was fucking good at it. When he patches in, we’ll put those skills to good use.
“We’re heading out,” I tell him, not explaining any more than that.
He doesn’t question me, just follows me out to the car park and says nothing when I climb into one of the pool cars. He’ll make a hell of a brother when his prospect term comes to an end.
After Rav killed Sin for raping his old lady, Sasha, I took over his sponsorship, meaning the kid is now my responsibility. It also means he’s my bitch.
We drive across the city towards the docks. The traffic is heavy, and I wish we were on our bikes, so we could move faster, but I have no fucking clue what state she’ll be in and I’m not about to put her on the back of my bike if she’s off her head drunk.
We have to drive through a few enemy territories to reach the club, which pisses me off. It puts both Kyle and I at risk. By the time we reach the place, my anger is through the fucking roof. Levi’s sister or not, I’m going to lose my shit when I finally get her out of there.
I park up in the car park, pointing the front of the vehicle in the direction of the exit, in case we have to get out of there fast.