Dragon Chapter 12

I was tired of waiting for Daredevil to call us. When we got to the compound a while ago, I was geared up for the talk, or maybe confrontation was the better word. Finding him gone had frustrated me. Shain's attempt to advocate for calm amused me. She should've told him that before he started his conversation with Micaela.

We'd been back for a good hour at the hotel. It was hard to wait in her room, so we took Micaela downstairs to grab a bite to eat. When asked, she admitted she hadn't eaten anything all day. It was early afternoon. Studying the menu, I didn't think it was too bad. I saw things I'd definitely eat. She was perusing it slowly.

"Sunshine, we can go somewhere else if you don't see anything there tripping your trigger," I offered.

She shook her head. "No, this is fine. I'm not very hungry, so I'm trying to find something small unless you guys would rather go somewhere else."

"I'm good. Order whatever you want. We'll eat whatever you don't if you're worried about wasting it," I said.

"This works for me," was Ashes' response.

"I'm not picky. This is fine," Vicious told her.

The waitress who took our drink orders chose that moment to come back for our food orders. Quickly, we rattled off our choices. She jotted them down and then left. Micaela was fidgeting with her silverware. I reached across the table to take her hand. She gave me a tentative smile and squeezed my fingers. Ashes was next to her, and Vicious was with me on the opposite side of the table.

"Babe, I know it's hard to wait. We're anxious to get this over with, too. Let's try to relax and enjoy our food when it comes. Why don't you tell us about some of the locations for a studio you found? You said there were more than a couple. Tomorrow is Monday. If you want, why don't you set up appointments to see a few of them if you can? I'd be more than happy to go with you if you want another opinion. In fact, when we get done here, do you want us to go over the list you're making of them to tell you which ones to avoid?" I offered. It would allow us to eliminate those in a bad neighborhood or those that were objectionable for other reasons.

"How do you know I have a list?"

"Sweet Thing, you're a list maker without a doubt," Ashes said amusedly.

She grinned. "I am. I guess my secret is out. Should I ask how you know that, or if you can guess everything about me so easily? If you can, you'll be bored with me within another week."

Vicious shook his head as he responded. "That's not possible. You come across as organized, that's all. I have no doubt we'll still be finding out things about you until the day we die. The same goes for you with us. Boring will never be part of our lives."

This got her talking about her potential rental locations. Before long, we had our food and ate it while we talked about various things. Nothing too heavy. It was more get-to-know-each-other stuff. It was like everything else I discovered about her. It only made me want her more and want to keep finding out things about her.

We'd just finished our food and paid the tab when the lobby door swooshed open, and Daredevil walked in. All of us straightened in our seats. She blanched when she saw him. Why the hell didn't he call or text us? This wasn't going down in front of her. As one, Vicious, Ashes, and I stood and then moved. We placed ourselves between her and him. He noticed it immediately and wasn't happy about it based on his expression. Tough shit. She'd taken enough emotional abuse for the day. He kept coming until he was standing before us.

"Shain said you wanted to talk."

"We do, but we told her to have you call or text us. This isn't the place for this," I said.

"We can go home and do it. I thought it would save time since I was passing by on my way back there. I prefer we not do it down here. We can go up to Micaela's room." He was attempting to see between us to get a glimpse of her. We shifted.

"Is there a reason you're standing between me and my sister?" he asked tersely.

"Yeah, you've said enough to her today. Honey, you have to be tired. Wouldn't a nap be good? We'll head back to the compound and talk, then come back later," Ashes told her.

"She needs to come with us. I need to talk to her first before I speak to you three. It's ridiculous for her to stay here when we have tons of places at home. If she doesn't want to stay at the house, there are plenty of trailers."

"She doesn't want to talk to you at the moment," Vicious informed him. She'd said that to us when we got back from the first trip to the compound.

"Let her tell me that herself. She has a mouth," Daredevil snapped.

A slight push on my back had me moving for her. She slipped between me and Ashes. "I do have a mouth, and it's telling you that I have no desire to chat with you right now. As for returning to the compound, I'm not sure that's a good idea, regardless of where I stay. They want to have a private conversation with you."

"And you're alright with them doing it? What if they say something you don't want them to?" was his comeback.

"We've already talked to her about what we plan to say. She agrees with it. What's it to be? Stand here arguing or going back and talking?" I added impatiently. He was spoiling for a fight, and if he kept it up, he'd get it.

He threw his hands up in the air. "Whatever. Let's get this done. I'll meet you at the house."

"Be there as soon as we have her settled in her room," Ashes said pointedly.

The scowl stayed on Daredevil's face as he turned and marched out. She let out a soft whimper. Our hands landed on her back and shoulders to offer her comfort. Gently nudging her on her back, I got her started moving. She was quiet the whole walk and ride up to her room. Once inside, we reiterated our promise not to throw a punch first. Like last time, we kissed her and reminded her to lock the door behind us and that we'd return as soon as possible.

"See you then. Be careful riding. Watch the idiots on the road," she told us with a slight smile. Grinning, we headed out after assuring her we would.

This time, the ride back seemed to fly by. I was ready for whatever Daredevil decided to throw at us. By the time we left, he'd have no doubt we were all planning to be a permanent part of her life, and there wasn't a goddamn thing he could say or do to stop us.

Cullen was at the gate this time when we came through. We gave him chin lifts to acknowledge his. We sped past the clubhouse and straight to Daredevil's house. Parking this time in the driveway, I wondered if Shain would be home or if he sent her elsewhere. Not that I cared. I was merely curious. By the time we got to the door, he had it open. He was glowering at us. When he didn't move out of the way to let us inside, Vicious threw down the first challenge.

"You gonna let us come in, or would you rather we talk outside where God and everybody can hear us? Personally, I don't fucking give a rat's ass who hears me, but you might."

"You want them to hear what an asshole you are?" Daredevil flung back.

"The only asshole, or should I say asshat around here, is you. I think they'd like to know what you called your sister. Think they'll be on your side or hers?" I taunted.

His face reddened before he stepped back. He made sure we still had to squeeze past him to enter. I made sure to brush against him as I did. As soon as we were inside the door, he slammed it shut. Walking away, he headed for the living room. We strolled along behind him. He dropped into the recliner. Not waiting for him to offer us a seat, I plopped my ass on the couch. Vicious sat on my other side, and Ashes landed on the smaller loveseat. We were all watching Daredevil.

The house was eerily silent. He studied us through narrowed eyes. I knew if we waited much longer for one of us to start, Vicious would lose his cool. He wasn't generally shy to speak up when he was pissed off or thought someone was wrong. It was Ashes who broke the uneasy muteness.

"Is Shain here, or did she leave?"

"Why do you care?" Daredevil asked.

"I don't. Just a question. Are you ready to get this started? We've got a woman we need to get back to." This was precisely the prompt we needed.

"You need to get back to her," he muttered, then snorted. "What the fuck do you guys think you're playing at with my sister? How dare you play games with her!" he snarled.

"Who the hell said we're playing? The better question is, what the fuck were you thinking when you attacked her and accused her of being a whore? You compared her to a hang around or bunny, for Christ's sake," I snapped back.

"I never called her a whore. I said people might think she was one if they saw her out with each of you, one right after the other. She's never done anything like this. Believe me, if she'd ever tried to date more than one guy at a time, my brothers would've told me and put a stop to it. It's our job to protect her."

"So insulting her, making her cry and threaten to leave and probably never speak to or see you again, that was you protecting her?" Ashes questioned him.

"You don't have sisters. You don't know what it's like. To constantly worry she'll be taken advantage of or get hurt, whether it's physically or emotionally. I do. I won't allow you to use her and then discard her the way you do other women."

"You have some goddamn nerve accusing us of intending to do that to her. You're so in your head you didn't allow her to explain or consider other possibilities," I retorted.

"I have nerve? What about you three? The guys who're supposed to be my friends and club brothers. We have an unofficial rule in this club. You don't screw with our families. Hooking up with sisters, cousins, aunts, or whoever is family-like to a brother is a no. There are plenty of women who come to the clubhouse or you meet in town to satisfy your sexual needs. Leave my sister alone!" he roared.

"We are your friends, you idiot. And we know the unofficial rule, as you call it," Ashes shouted back.

"Then why are you breaking it?"

"Who said we are? You're assuming, and you know what that means. We never went out with Micaela to bang her and then bail. We like her. We wanted to get to know her and see if we might have a long-term connection," Vicious informed him. I was surprised he didn't yell it, but he was eerily calm.

Daredevil gave us disbelieving looks. Was it that hard to fathom us wanting what he and other brothers had? What made us so damn different from him? Nothing. He had hardly been an angel when it came to the ladies. The silence stretched out until it was becoming uncomfortable before he responded.

"You guys want me to believe all three of you want to settle down in a permanent relationship, and it just so happens you think my sister might be the one for you? Christ, this is a disaster," he muttered.

"Why is it a disaster?" Ashes asked.

"Because she might not want that with any of you. Even if she does, it leaves two of you pissed off. How will you get along with her and the brother who ends up with her? If you're sincere about having feelings for her and the whole relationship thing, hurt feelings will occur. It'll disrupt the whole club," he argued.

"First, you have no idea what we've discussed with her or how we feel. Second, regardless of your feelings, we're adults, and no one has the right to tell us how to live our lives. This should be something we were able to discuss with Micaela here, but we're not letting you go off on her again, so here goes. You want the truth. Hope you can handle it," I spit out.

"I can handle it."

"The fact is, Vicious, Ashes, and I have deep feelings for Micaela. The kind we have no doubt will grow in no time to include deep, everlasting love. We want to spend the rest of our lives with her. The whole old lady, marriage, and kids' kind of life." I paused to let this sink in before we got into the unusual part.

"See, that's what I was talking about! How will two of you not be hurt? Since she's letting you talk for her, it has to mean she's open to the idea with one of you. Has she indicated which one? Wait. No, if she had, you wouldn't all be here. It's still up in the air, isn't it? You're competing to be the one she chooses," Daredevil rambled.

"No, we won't because she's already chosen. She wants all of us," Vicious dropped the bomb without remorse, I saw. He seemed satisfied to say it aloud.

Daredevil came bounding to his feet. He faced us. Fury was written clearly on his face. His fists were clenched, and he was shaking. "What did you say?"

"He said we all want her, and she wants us," Ashes reiterated.

"Over my dead body will she become a pariah. She's not living with and having sex with three men. Do you have any clue how people will treat her? How her photography business will be impacted? What about those kids you mentioned? They'll get the brunt of it, too."

"Why is it so different for us than for Bullet, Raine, and Phalanx? I didn't hear you saying all this when they wanted to claim her," I reminded him. Had he secretly thought this about them but kept it to himself?

"They'll have to face some, but nothing like this, whatever you call it, is. Three men with one woman. How can people think she's anything but a whore?"

"I suggest you refrain from calling her a whore if you want to keep your teeth," Vicious snarled.

"I didn't call her one. I said others would. This isn't normal. People don't do this shit," he protested.

"They do. There's even a name for it. It's called a reverse harem. Listen, we get it's a lot to take in. And there will be bumps and difficulties along the way we'll have to deal with. But we will deal with them. Nothing anyone else says or does can change how we feel about her."

"What if one or more of you do this and then, down the road, realize it's not for you? You figure out you don't love her or want her forever. It was merely lust. You'll end up hurting her badly, and she'll forever be tainted by how people see her. And what if there are kids involved?"

"What if you and Shain end up falling out of love, and the baby she's carrying is caught in the middle?" Ashes fired back.

"It won't because I fucking love her, and it'll never change I won't let it," Daredevil hollered.

"Exactly. It'll be the same for us with Micaela. I don't know about these two, but I'm already more than half in love with her. It's not gonna be long until I'm fully there," I confessed. This wasn't the time to hold anything back.

"I'm with Dragon on this. I am, too," Ashes immediately added.

"Same," was all Vicious said.

"Like hell. No. It's not happening."

"It is. You can deal with it or lose your sister by pushing her away with your attitude. Do you have any idea how badly you hurt her today with what you said? It gutted her. We have our work cut out for us to get her to come back here. When we do, you will either make up for it or stay the hell away from her. But don't doubt she'll be here. You step out of line, and we'll go to the officers," I warned him.

"You're threatening me! In case you forgot, the club votes on claiming a woman."

"We haven't forgotten. It has to be a majority vote, and I don't believe you'll get most of the club to side with you if you decide to be a dick and sabotage us," Ashes informed him.

Daredevil was infuriated. You could see it. He was shaking.

"I'm done here. It's time to get back to Micaela. It's clear he's not changing his mind, and neither are we. Just be warned, you hurt her again or try to fuck us up with Micaela, and you won't like me," Vicious warned him.

"I'm not afraid of you, Vicious," was his response.

V stood up and moved toward the front door. He paused before leaving the living room to stare at Daredevil. "You'd better be. She's one of the few good things I've ever had, worth a damn. I won't give her up for you or anyone else. The only one who can make me leave her is Micaela." Without another word, he walked out. Moments later, we heard the door open and close.

This was our cue to leave, too. There was nothing we could say or do to get through to Daredevil. I wasn't sure what was behind his animosity. It seemed to be more than just fear we'd hurt her or people would talk. Not saying a word, I stood, and then Ashes did. We left him standing in his living room.

Outside, V was on his bike waiting for us. Wordlessly, we mounted ours and took off. Time to get back to see how our woman was doing. I dreaded telling her how it went, but there would be no hiding. She had to know.