Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

ARIES

“What’s going on, Cordy?” I ask, holding the phone to my ear while watching the security cameras in the backroom of the strip club we’ve opened. It’s similar to the one back in Stonewall Mills but setup a little differently. We’ve got different tiers to give the clientele who visit the place what they’re looking for. From the perverts to those who want class. Then there’s the ones who want kink to vanilla. We cater to it all. I guess you can call it a jack-of-all-trades establishment. You have the look but no touch full nude and your typical strip section of the club. This is the area where we see a lot of both men and women visit to watch the shows. Then you have the upper levels, where the cost gets higher, and the real fun plays out.

One area has the advanced lap dances that end with those paying for it getting that shit yanked on. The higher level is nothing more than a fuck fest. Best way to way to describe it is free-for-all fucking. Men come in to fuck however they want. Some women even get in on it. We’ve even got rooms for those who don’t want to participate but want to watch. It’s hilarious to me seeing the amount of people who will come just to fuck other people. Because of this, we take care of the girls we’ve hired for the job and make sure they know this is their decision and they don’t have to work the upper levels.

Usually, nights after I finish my shift here, I head back to the clubhouse and snag one of the clubwhores and take her to my room to fuck. I’m not about to use one of the employees. I’m not that fucked up, and the women at the clubhouse, they don’t mind it when I tie their arms behind their backs or fuck their asses. Hell, they beg for it most of the time.

I’m covering for Kevlar while he takes a few days to take Rosemary back to Colorado to see her dad and brother. Getting a call from one of my sisters is the last thing I need right now. I love both Cordelia and Tempest, but that doesn’t mean they’re not both pains in my ass. Swear to fuck, growing up, it was all Fox and I could do to keep them from driving us crazy. Now, with Fox all but vanished, it’s up to me to be there for the girls.

Cordelia’s silence meets my ear, other than her hitched breathing that tells me she’s been crying. “What’s happened, little sister?” I ask, turning my full attention to the phone call rather than the video feed on the surveillance cameras.

“I . . . I think I’m in trouble,” she whispers, her voice breaking.

“Talk to me,” I demand, getting to my feet while pressing a button on the desk to alert Dutch and Wolf, who are working the front, that I need them both back here. If something’s up with my sister, I’m going to have to go to her.

“My friend and I were out with a couple other friends and . . . and we were attacked. They hurt my friend really bad, Aries,” she manages to explain while sobbing.

“What do you mean someone attacked you both? Was it random?” It’s a loaded question, I know it. Just like I know it’s stupid to ask Cordelia such a thing. She might be high maintenance and a city girl now, but Dad, Fox, and I taught both my sisters how to take care of themselves.

Cordelia’s silence is answer enough. It wasn’t.

“Where are you now?” I ask, gritting my teeth. At the same time, both men step into the office, eyes dark and alert.

“I’m on the New Jersey Turnpike. We had to run. They were going to kill her.”

This is why I didn’t want her to move that far away. To make matters worse, I moved with my club, taking my patch as Road Captain for the Mississippi Charter. Hearing those words from my sister, though, sensing her panic, hearing fear in her voice, it pisses me off. I’m her big brother, and the fact someone put her in danger doesn’t sit well with me.

“How badly are you hurt?” I demand, meeting both my brothers’ gazes and getting to my feet, ready to head out to get Cordelia.

“I . . . I’m not hurt too badly. But . . . oh God,Aries, they were going to kill her. They . . . they were going to kill her. They’d been sent to kill her.”

“Who is this friend?” Whoever this bitch is, she’s getting my sister wrapped in something that pisses me off.

My sisters know better than to let themselves get involved with shady people and those associated with such a life.

“You know her, Aries. It’s Rory,” Cordelia says cautiously, nearly hesitant.

That’s the last name I expected ever to hear again, and my sister knows it. She knows the history there. So, what the hell is she still doing hanging around the other woman?

Closing my eyes, I tighten my grip around the phone. “Where are you heading?” I demand, fury starting to seep in. It’s all I can do to keep myself in check now, knowing who it is that’s put my sister in a situation like this.

“To you, Aries. We’re heading to you. That’s where Rory said we should go before she passed out.”

Well, fuck.

That’s the last thing I expected to hear from my sister. I thought she’d never leave New York City, she loves it there, but she’s coming here and bringing the trouble with her. That trouble circles around the one woman I never expected to see again.

“Get here safe, Cordy,” I manage to say, gritting my teeth. There’s nothing else I can say at this point.

My sister has rocked me with what she’s just shared with me. That Rory is with her. That they’re both on the way here. Cordelia said they’re on the Jersey Turnpike, so they’ve got about seventeen hours before they get here.

This means I’ve got roughly that amount of time to come to terms with the one woman who I never wanted to set eyes on again.

“I will, Aries.”

“Check in every hour,” I tell her and hang up. I don’t need her to confirm with me that she’ll do as told. She knows to check in with me when she’s on the road.

“What’s going on?” Wolf demands.

“Cordelia and a friend of hers were attacked earlier.”

“They okay?” Dutch asks, watching me closely. He’s a damn good brother to have at your back when you need it. During the shit going down with Rosemary, we all saw him in action in that death ring. He had no problem finishing his fight, killing his opponent.

“No.” Slowly, I retake my seat. With them being on the road, there’s nothing I can do right now. Not until they get here and I find out who attacked them. “They’re on the way down here.”

“Who’s the friend? We know her?” Wolf would ask that damn question. He like Kevlar, knows me. Sometimes better than I know myself.

It means he knows exactly who Rory is to me.

Holding my brother’s gaze, I answer, “Rory.”

Wolf’s eyes narrow, and you can see him visibly gritting his teeth. “The fuck is Cordy doing being friends with that bitch.”

“Don’t know,” I grunt. “I’ll find out in about seventeen hours.”

“Want me to get Vulture to start looking into your sister’s friend?” Dutch asks, eyes going between Wolf and myself.

“No.” There’s no need for Vulture to get involved.

Once I have my sister here, hear what Rory got my sister involved in, I’ll kick her ass to the curb, just as she’d done to me all those years ago.

Fuck that bitch and whatever she’s brought on herself. The only one in this situation I care about is my sister. I’ll make sure she’s clear of it and send Rory on her way.