Chapter 31

31

GENESIS

" I must be getting old ‘cause it's taking a fuck of a lot longer to heal than it used to," I say, and Jinx laughs.

"You got hit by a truck, G. The fact that you're here walking and talking three days later means you're fucking lucky. You both are."

"I know." And I do. Moaning aside, it's a miracle that both me and Amity walked away with just a few minor injuries.

I look over at Mercy, Lil, and Legs. They're talking animatedly to Amity, who just jumped from one horse-drawn wagon to another like it was nothing.

"I thought you would've stuck with Mercy. I must look pretty pathetic," I joke. Truth is, I feel that way. I had Toot cover the set this morning while I crashed for a few hours in the RV. I could've used another day or two to recover, but I wasn't willing to let Amity out of my sight.

"It's good for her to spend time with other women," Jinx says. "Lord knows the ones at Chaos leave a lot to be desired, and she must get sick of seeing my face all the time."

I chuckle, knowing that's far from true. From what I heard; they were tight even before they were bonded by that fucked-up experience that nearly killed them both.

"You've reached your girly limit, haven't you?"

She blows out a deep sigh. "I like make-up and shoes as much as the next woman, but I was mostly raised by men and have always worked with them. I know what suits me and that's about it. When I left them, they were talking about blow job-proof lipstick and high heels, so it seemed like a good time to bail." She jokes, lifting one of her prosthetics as a reminder that heels are not really an option if she wants to stay upright.

"I'm not bothered about heels either but I want to know about blow job-proof lipstick," I whine, making her snort before something catches her attention .

I turn to look, and I see Monica watching us from outside Amity's RV. I bite back a groan, knowing she's probably here looking for me.

"What's the deal with her anyway? She's looking at you like you're her favorite popsicle."

"She has a stalker. And because I'm on set visiting Amity all the time, I was hired to watch her."

"Ah. The downside of being rich and famous. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with that shit."

"Amity says the same."

"I have to say, your girl is something else. I mean, I often think I have a screw loose. But then I met her, and she makes me look sane."

"You keep telling yourself that, Jinx," I joke.

"Tell you what?" Mercy asks as she walks over.

I jump out of my seat and offer it to her. She eases herself down into it and sighs in relief when she gets herself settled.

"Jinx is trying to convince me she's sane."

Mercy looks at Jinx for a second before she bursts out laughing. "Oh God, that's a good one."

Jinx shakes her head. "I need new friends."

"Oh, you can borrow mine. Hey, Legs, Lil, come here for a second."

They finish talking to Amity, who waves them off before she blows me a kiss and heads over to talk to Jack.

"What's up, Mercy?" Legs asks, looking over at Craft Services. "Do you need a drink or something to eat?"

Mercy turns a beaming smile at Jinx. "I love bitches who aren't bitches."

Legs shakes her head, but Lil looks confused for a second. "Thanks, I think."

"Mercy has no filter. You'll get used to it," Legs chuckles. "But seriously, do you need anything?"

Mercy shakes her head. "No, I'm good."

"Okay." Legs nods. "You know, I'm not gonna lie. I'm shocked as hell Scope let you out of his sight with you being ready to pop. Not taking anything away from you, Jinx. I'm pretty sure you could kill me and dispose of my body before I even realized I was dead," Legs speed talks. "But this is Scope we're talking about." She looks at Lil. "Imagine if Hannibal had an older brother."

Lil's eyes widen as she looks at Mercy. "Intense, brooding, and completely psychopathic?"

"So, you know him?" Jinx says with a smirk.

I laugh before taking a sip of my drink, refusing to get involved in the girl talk.

"You have to be brave as fuck or crazy as hell to get involved with someone like that."

"She's definitely both." Jinx grins at her.

Mercy sighs and holds up her wrist, showing us a pretty silver bangle with an opal in the center. "Tracker from Kaz." She fingers her small stud earrings. "Tracker from Wizz." Then she flicks her nipple before rolling her eyes. "Tracker from Scope."

Lil blinks, her mouth dropping open. "He put a tracker in your nipple piercing?" she shouts, drawing the attention of everyone around us.

"Sorry, sorry," she mutters before turning back to Mercy, who groans.

"He also has two prospects at the entrance to this place and another two stationed at the diner, just in case there's an apocalypse and I need saving. Not that I can't handle myself, and Jinx wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on me."

"There are worse things in life than being loved so fiercely," Legs says softly.

Mercy looks at her sharply. "You okay?"

Legs nods, but I keep my eyes on her, knowing she's struggling right now. "I'm leaving the MC. I handed in my notice at the pawnshop, and I've started looking for an apartment and a new job."

"Oh wow. That's huge. You mind if I ask what brought this on?"

"It's just time. Turns out there's more to life than just good dick. I know—it surprised the hell out of me too," she says in mock disbelief, making all the women laugh.

I watch her, seeing it for what it is—just an act. She looks at me and answers my silent question with a shake of her head.

She's not okay yet, but she will be.

"I get wanting to leave the life. There aren't many options for women in it. I know I'm the exception, so I understand wanting more. But that doesn't mean you have to leave your job . It might be good to have something familiar around you while everything else changes," Jinx tells her.

I look up when I sense Amity approaching and so miss the first part of Legs's reply.

"…clean break. Besides, it's hard when you've been known for one role for so long; people have a hard time seeing you as anything else."

"I understand," Lil says, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

Everyone's quiet, and I'm glad for the reprieve as I wrap Amity in my arms because I don't know what the fuck to say.

"We're wrapping up early for the day, but I thought it might be fun to traumatize your man a little, Mercy. Get a little payback for him hijacking your womb," Amity says, feeling the sadness in the air and doing something about it—because that's my girl.

"Ooh, tell me more."

"As your bodyguard, it's my duty to tell you no. But as your friend, I'm warning you that it's a bad idea while you're pregnant with my goddaughter," Jinx teases Mercy. "And as an old lady whose men cross the line so fucking often, I say fuck it . Do what you've gotta do."

"Eeeee!" Mercy squeals

I groan. "Scope's gonna kill me."

Amity pats my chest. "There, there, I'll make it up to you."

"By testing blow job-proof lipstick?" I ask, excitement creeping into my voice.

She grins, clearly amused, but doesn't say no.

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" Mercy asks as Amity points over her shoulder.

"We have some spare sugar glass sheets over there. How do you feel about putting your head through one while Jinx films it?"

"Sugar glass?" Lil asks.

"It's what we use in stunts. It's made of sugar and shatters easily, but looks like real glass," Amity explains. "So if Mercy headbutts it, it'll look like she broke real glass."

"Ooh, I want to try that. It might make the guys think twice about slapping me on the ass if they think I might headbutt them back," Lil jokes, making Legs snicker.

"I'd headbutt them regardless," Jinx states.

"Not really an option for us," Lil admits as all eyes turn to me.

I'm a grown-ass man, but damn if I don't feel the urge to squirm under their gazes when they look like a bunch of witches plotting my downfall.

"I don't make the rules, I just enforce them. Now, are we doing this stunt before Scope decides to show up, or what?"

Mercy narrows her eyes at me but then sighs and tries to get out of the chair. We all watch her for a moment as she struggles to stand before I decide to risk Scope's wrath by lifting her out of the seat and placing her on her feet.

"I used to be able to do a backflip. Now my stomach has popped I can't get out of a fucking chair," she grumbles.

"You're growing a whole human. Stop whining. Besides, I'm sure one of your men would be more than happy to bend you over backward and—" Mercy quickly covers Jinx's mouth, muffling the last of her words.

"Let's go break some glass," Mercy exclaims, removing her hand from Jinx's mouth as Amity slips out of my arms and leads the way over to the remaining crew that's still lingering around.

"You're going to film this and send it to Scope, aren't you?"

Jinx looks at me as Lil, Mercy, and Legs follow Amity.

"Do I look insane to you?"

I stare at her, making her smirk.

"I'm gonna send it to Wizz," she says and hurries off to catch up with Mercy, laughing when she hears me curse.

Wizz is one of Mercy's men and a slightly saner version of Scope. The problem is, he's also the Chaos Demons' computer whiz, doing much like I do for the Ravens. I know he'll send that video to every fucking member of his club and all the other clubs they're friendly with. He'll make sure that not only will I get my ass kicked by Scope but also by Inigo and all her pseudo-uncles at the Kings of Carnage clubhouse.

"This is why we don't have female prospects," I mutter under my breath.

I try to catch up to the women, only to get stopped by Monica. She's as white as a fucking ghost and looks like she's about to pass out, so I grab her arms to steady her. "Breathe, Monica."

She sucks in a shaky breath, her eyes glistening with tears as she looks up at me.

"What's happened?" I bark, frustrated. I'm not mad at her. Despite the animosity between her and Amity, she hasn't done anything to set off any alarms. Maybe I've spent too much time around catty club girls and jealous old ladies. Besides, Monica's flirting is wasted on me because I don't see her. All I see is Amity.

"I got another letter," she manages to get out.

I look at her empty hands and frown. "Where is it?"

"It's in my trailer. I didn't want to touch it. It has blood on it, Genesis," she whispers, her eyes going wide as if just remembering it.

"Shit."

I look around and spot the prospects Scope sent, watching Mercy from a distance. I wave them over when I catch their attention. They look at each other before heading my way.

"I've gotta go take care of something, and Mercy and Jinx know you're here, so there's no need for you to keep your distance.

He frowns at me but nods, both walking toward the women. I look over to get Amity's attention and find she's already looking my way. I point to Monica and then to her trailer. After a few seconds, Amity nods and turns back to the girls.

I let out a sigh and look at Monica. "Let's go."

"She doesn't like me, does she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Monica," I tell her firmly.

We walk the rest of the way to her trailer in silence. I wait for her to open the door and step inside before following her in.

I spot the letter on the table right away. "Stay here for a minute."

She nods, eyeing the door like she's ready to make a run for it.

"I mean it, Monica. Stay right here. I'll be two minutes."

I jog over to Craft Services, which is packing up, and ask if they have any disposable gloves or sandwich bags. They hand me a couple of each, and I thank them before heading back to the trailer.

Monica's where I left her, so I pull on one of the gloves and walk over to the table to read the note:

It's time to remember who you belong to and what I'll do to you if you don't come to me. I let you play your games, but enough is enough.

Keep defying me, Agatha, and I'll fuck you until you bleed and my dick is raw. Good girls get rewarded, but bad girls must be taught a lesson.

I can see why she's freaked out. It's not just the wording—it's the blood.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Genesis," she says as I pick up the note and slide it into one of the resealable baggies, sealing it closed.

"You're doing everything right, Monica. I have no fucking clue who this person is or how they're getting in and out of here, but leaving a note isn't the same as hurting you. They would need to take you to another location because we'd all hear you scream here. If anyone other than a Raven tries to get you to go somewhere with them, you tell them no. You don't go anywhere without me or one of my brothers."

"I know, I won't. I just want this to be over. I'm so fucking tired of being scared all the damn time. The only person that makes me feel safe is you, but I can't spend time with you without Amity thinking I want more. And I understand. I'd probably be the same, but this isn't what that is." She grips her hair in frustration.

"What about if I got one of the other guys to be with you?—"

She cuts me off by shaking her head vehemently. "No. I think I feel so safe with you because you're not interested in me, if that makes sense. All you care about is keeping me safe, not what color my panties are—which are yellow, by the way. In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't," I mutter absently, looking down at the letter in my hand with the smeared blood. I'd hoped there'd be a fingerprint or something, but I guess that was just wishful thinking.

A knock on the door has me pulling my gun. I crack it open and sigh when I see Hoops. Sliding my gun away, I open the door and let him in.

"Hoops is gonna take you back to the hotel. Leave the note with me," I tell Monica before turning to Hoops. "Hoops, don't let her out of your sight until she's safe in her room. And make sure you do a walkthrough first."

"You got it, G."

I turn back to Monica. "Amity's doing her last stunt tomorrow. After that, I'd like you to meet some of the other brothers. None of them will touch you, whether they're single or not. You need someone on you until we find this guy, and it can't be me. We're supposed to be keeping this situation under the radar, and people will ask questions if I keep showing up here when they know I'm with Amity, and she won't be on set anymore."

"I'm sure they'll understand. I'm the leading lady, for goodness' sake. It's like one of those romance movies where the bodyguard falls for the movie star," she says, walking her fingers up my chest.

I take a step back and shake my head. "Not that movie, not this man. I love Amity, and I would never do that to her. But even if there was no Amity, I don't mix business with pleasure. Go home. Take a shower, grab something to eat, and if anything spooks you, call Hoops. Or Dice—he takes over later."

She stares at me, something working behind her eyes before she laughs. "It's just pretend, silly. Though I bet if you'd seen me first, this would have all played out differently."

The woman is delusional. Sure, she's pretty, but that's all she is. Amity's that and so much more. She's funny and confident, smart, and takes no shit from me or my brothers. I think I fell for her the moment I fell off that damn stool into her tits.

"But I didn't. And it won't. Go home, Monica."

With a frustrated sigh, she stomps out of the trailer, passed a confused Hoops who frowns at me..

"I'm starting to think the starlet and the stalker might be a match made in heaven."

"And I'm starting to think there might not be a stalker at all."

He frowns. "What do you mean? You have the proof in your hand."

"Maybe. But something about this whole thing feels off. Like how he hasn't escalated beyond the letters and her tires being slashed—which, now that I think about it, seems too convenient. After all, having them slashed meant she had to ride with me.

"Funny how there hasn't been a single sign of the bastard. If I'd been allowed to set up cameras, I'm sure we would've caught him already. But the studio was dead set against it, in case footage of the movie was leaked."

"Are you saying you think Monica is doing all this to herself?"

I look out the door that Monica just stomped out of and sigh. "I don't know, Hoops. I really don't. What I do know is I can't wait for this case to be over."

"I hear ya. I better go catch up to her."

I grab the helmet off the shelf and hand it to him. "Keep your eyes peeled. We don't know what's going on with Havoc's old chapter. And the last thing we need is a dead actress on our watch."

"You got it." He looks down at the letter. "What are ya going to do with that?"

"I know a pathologist who owes me a favor. I'm going to have him test the blood—if it even is blood—and see if anything pops up in the police database. Now go. Keep an eye on her and call if anything seems off."

He nods and leaves me staring down at the note. I pull out my cell phone and scroll through my contacts until I find the number I'm looking for and call.

When they pick up, I sit on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Genesis?"

"Bruce, I'm cashing in my favor."