Chapter 30

brOOKE

I'm in the taxi on the way over to Chase's when I decide otherwise. I unlock my phone and send a text.

You at the factory?

Yeah, why?

I need to hit something.

I got you. Come over.

I give the address of the factory, and the driver changes direction, pretty much a 180, as he gives me a funny look about driving down to the edge of town, making comments about how a girl like me shouldn't be over there.

I almost laugh. A girl like me, if only he knew I had killed more people than he could dream of.

We pull up, and I get out, tipping the driver a little extra for the change mid-journey. I head over to the empty lot, around the back, and buzz myself in. I walk down to the VIP, and Levi is waiting for me.

"Damn girl, what happened to your face?" He grabs my chin, pulling it to the side.

"I got clocked in a bar fight, trying to bust up two guys."

"Ah, that's why Chase was down here last night? Guy full on raged on someone in the ring. He went through six fights before he was tired enough to call it a night."

"Yeah well, we needed some space from each other after that."

"My guess is he was protecting you."

"Not really, not until I got hit." I shrug. He winks at one of the girls who works for him, and she walks over in her tight miniskirt.

"You need something, Levi?" She looks at me with disdain.

"Watch that look, Brittany, or you'll be out on your ass. Brooke is a good friend of ours. There's no reason to be jealous."

"Sorry."

"Good, don't do it again. Go to the bar and grab us some tequila. Then, close the VIP area. Tell my brothers where I am, but I don't want anyone in there except them, okay?"

"Yes, Levi."

She totters off to the VIP area, I hear groans and people complaining, but I watch them leave.

"Everyone here do as they're told?" I say as I raise my eyebrow at him.

"If they know what's good for them. We run this place like a business. We're actually opening a club later this year too. Less violence, more partying. I'll get you an invite for when we open."

Brittany opens the curtains to the VIP area, showing us it's cleared out, before she walks over to the bar in the corner.

"Sure, I'd love to come."

"So, beautiful, why are you here?"

He leads me over to the VIP area, closing the curtains behind us.

"That's a long ass story and not one I know where to start."

Brittany appears with the bottle of tequila and four shot glasses. Top-shelf tequila, I might add.

"Your brothers are gonna join you. They're just finishing up with a client." She stays kinda hanging there like she's waiting for something.

He nods, waving her away, and she pouts before walking off. He chuckles.

"I let her suck my dick once, and now she thinks she owns it."

I punch him in the chest. "Hey, don't be so crude."

He laughs. "Ah, now I know why Chase calls you princess. I'm sorry, Your Highness, to be so crude in front of you."

I roll my eyes, pouring out a shot of tequila and knocking it back. I sigh as I lean back on the couch.

"Okay, talk," he says, and I do. Words fall from my lips, every bit of everything that's happened to me since the summer, everything between Chase and me, what happened when I left, Nate's death, and finally, the last hit of what happened this morning. It's like word vomit, and I can't stop other than occasionally pouring another shot to knock back.

Eventually, the other two enter, not saying a word, just taking a seat with us and letting me pour my heart and soul to them.

Brittany appears again with another bottle and a round of beers before disappearing. This time, her head stays down, and she doesn't say a word, doesn't hang around.

Devin leans forward to pour out another round of tequila shots as I finish my final words.

"I just don't know what to do anymore. I keep trying to do right by Nate, by Harper, by Asher, and it keeps landing me in shit."

Devin clears his throat.

"Mind if I interrupt?"

I nod, wiping the tears from my cheeks, leaning forward to grab another shot. I'm fucked. I've had numerous shots now, but I don't care.

"So, two things. I don't know if you know this but I'm friends with Chase. Have been since we were in high school. I was the one who offered him a chance to come fight here to work out his issues. You knew him as the guy who would show you his softer side, but he was angry back then—still is. His rage was fucking his life up. He was flunking his classes, trying to deal with everything because, truthfully, he's a good guy, and helping Asher was destroying him. He lost his relationship with his brother; he knew that, and he was trying to deal with everything and kept getting it wrong. I gave him a place to channel that shit, and it got a little better for him. But it wasn't until I saw you with him that I utterly understood what had been eating him as well.

"He spent years trying to protect this girl, who was younger than him, mind you, and I don't mean that in some creepy fucked up way. He didn't really understand how he felt about you till last year. He just saw you as this girl who was so pure and joyful and brought him and his brother a lot of happiness. He knew you had a crush on him growing up but didn't acknowledge it really till a few weeks after your eighteenth. He turned up here that night, trashed out of his head as he realized he had grown to love this girl he had fought for so many years to protect, and that scared him shitless because what if someone hurt you.

"Now, seeing you guys together, I know why he fought. I know why he kept trying to push you away. I knew why he had that much rage and anger in him. It was because he saw a little of Ellie's sister in you. And the thought of anyone hurting you caused him so much rage. So go easy on him, Brooke. Seeing someone actually hurt you is years of fear come to life. He will always be fiercely loyal to Asher and Jax but to you… He will burn everything down to make sure he doesn't see you get hurt," Devin says.

"I watched him torture a guy, and I didn't even blink, you know? But he needs to back off a little though when it comes to the normal stuff, the way he wailed on Kyle…he can't just beat the shit out of any guy that pisses him off."

"Listen, Brooke, I'm gonna get real to you for a minute. Chase is never gonna change. The Chase you know, has been created from years of Asher's shit and losing people he loves. He had to step away from a lot of stuff, including his career with his dad. He's gonna fight for you and protect you till the day he dies, and he's gonna deal with that in the only way he knows how. And that's beat the living shit out of anything that threatens you. Those guys came for you that night that Nate was shot. Nothing will ever change that."

Zane leans forward, brushing his hair back. "You can do one of two things here, Brooke. Firstly, leave him. Stay away from him and let him live his life without you."

Panic rises up in me when he says that. I can feel my heart beating quicker, and it is breaking at the thought of not having him in my life. "I don't want to do that."

"I figured. The second option is just to stop being a little bitch and accept it. He will never change. Deal with it because that guy fucking loves you. And that kinda love don't come around often. Don't fuck it up. Because I can tell you now, you'll never forgive yourself for it."

He downs a shot before getting up.

"I know you'll make the right decision, Brooke. Because I didn't, and I'll always live with that."

With that, he leaves.

Levi sighs. "I'll go check on him." He follows Zane through the curtain, leaving me and Devin alone.

"He lost someone, didn't he?" I ask. I could see it in his eyes, the torment. The grief.

"He did. He made the wrong decision once, and his girlfriend lost her life because of it. But that's not my story to tell. Much like Asher's isn't yours and that brings me to my second point. You're right—you have to keep Asher's secret from your friend. Chase lost his relationship with Nate for it, and maybe you'll lose your relationship with Harper." I go to interrupt, but he holds his finger up to shush me.

"Truthfully, I don't think Chase dealt with things well with Nate, and I told him that numerous times over the years. You need to make a decision; you either push her away to keep her safe, or you work it out and let her in, at least a little. I don't know this girl, but she seems like a smart cookie and a good friend. If it was up to me, I'd make sure you don't lose her."

His phone buzzes, and he grimaces.

"So don't hate me, but Chase is outside waiting for you. I told him you were here getting shit-faced and was worried about you getting home."

"I'm not mad. Thank you, Devin." I stand up, albeit I'm a little wobbly on my feet, and hug him.

"You're welcome, Brooke. We're here anytime you need us. You're family now. Plain and simple."

I smile at that. My new family grows every day, and I'll make damn sure I don't lose Harper or Chase along the way.