Chapter Nine

Flame

Walking through The Clubhouse after leaving Wrath"s office, I see Shadow standing over at the bar. I quickly make my way over to check that he"s managed to get rid of the fucking bunny that Wrath kicked out. I need to know that she"s dealt with before I head out. We don"t need her still being here and running into Wrath and causing more problems.

Slapping his shoulder, I ask, "Is it all sorted now?"

"Yeah. The fucking bitch is gone. I threw her out of the gate myself. Whiskey told me what went down. Stupid whore, but it seems like my brother finally got his head out of his ass where you"re concerned. I"m happy for you, man."He chuckles.

"Thanks, man. It"s new, but I"m seriously happy about it. I was honestly giving up hope we"d ever get here."

"You were always going to end up together, Flame. I"ve known that since we were kids. It"s always been more than just friendship between you. I know how hard these past few years have been for you. I"m glad you"re finally getting your chance with my slightly idiotic brother."

"I'm glad you don"t have an issue with it. Wrath"s okay now, by the way; he seemed a lot calmer when I left him. He"s working in the office, doing god knows what. I"m off to check The Gym, so I"ll see you later."I say as I start to walk out, leaving Shadow to do whatever he"s got planned now.

I"m glad he said what he did, though. Maybe it"s always been clear to everyone that there was something more between me and Wrath, and I don"t have to worry about people"s reactions.

Quickly straddling my Harley, I gun it towards the gate but stop when I see the Prospect Pete"s arguing with someone. What the fuck"s going on here? Why the hell"s he yelling at someone through the gate?Hopping off my bike, I walk over to see what"s going on.

"Unless you tell me what you want, kid, you"re not getting in here."I hear Pete tell the person on the other side, sounding annoyed.

Pete"s only been a Prospect for a couple of months, and he"s young—only eighteen. He has promise, but he can be a little pig headed at times, and I"m worried this is one of those times.

Getting closer, I realize he"s right; there"s definitely a kid out there. Kids don"t just show up at our gates for nothing; Pete should have called someone down here for this. Note to self: talk to Pete about this later, once I"ve dealt with whatever"s going on here.

"Please let me in. I need to talk to someone; it"s important."The kid whispers, sounding desperate.

It's definitely a boy from the voice, and fuck, he sounds terrified.

"I"ve already told you." I hear Pete start to shout, but I cut him off.

That"s certainly not how he should be acting when the kid"s clearly fucking scared out of his mind.

"Pete, go back to the gatehouse. I"ve got this."I say, dismissing him, without taking my eyes off the kid.

I can"t see his face because he"s got his hood up. When I look, Pete"s listened but doesn"t look happy; tough shit, he"s a goddamn Prospect. Doing as I ask, he heads away, leaving me alone with the kid. Good, maybe now I can find out what the fuck"s going on.

"Hey kid, I"m Flame. I"m an Enforcer here. Can you take down that hood so I can see your face and see you"re not a threat? Then we can figure out what you need, okay?"I say calmly.

I don't want him spooked anymore than he is, and I have a soft spot for kids. They"re the innocents in this world.

He starts to lower his hood. The first thing I see is the bruising all over his face. He"s got two black eyes, bruising on his cheek, and fuck—are they finger marks on his throat? Then I look at what he actually looks like, and I feel like I"ve just been thrown back in time. If you take away the bruising, he looks like Wrath and Shadow did when they were younger. He"s got their bone structure, the same chocolate brown eyes, and even the same dark brown hair. He could be their fucking triplet if he was older.

Taking a deep breath, I shake off my shock and ask, "What"s your name?"

"Cameron, but I prefer Cam,"he whispers back, his voice shaky.

"Okay, Cam. Can you tell me why you"re here?"I ask while keeping my voice as gentle as I can.

"Well, I erm."He stops to clear his voice. "I overheard my mom and her boyfriend talking when they thought I had left and gone to my room as they told me to. From what I heard them saying, I think that my dad might be here. I think he"s a member of your club. I want to find him. Can you help me?" He nervously says to me while wringing his hands together.

Oh god. I can see where this is going; the way he looks, there are only three options for who his dad could be. Wrath, Shadow, or Blaze. Whichever one of them it is, they"re not going to be happy that they have a child, that they never knew about. Not to mention the fact that he"s been fucking beaten too. Yeah, this isn"t going to go down well at all. Someone"s head"s going to fucking roll.

"Of course I"ll help you. Can you tell me your mom"s name?"I hold my breath as I wait for him to answer; his mom"s name could give me the answer to who his dad is.

"Claire McGivens."

Oh fuck! Shit! Holy hell!

Wrath"s going to fucking explode. If I do the math, that makes Cam about eleven. I need to get Cam in here and fast.

"Open this fucking gate now, Pete!"I shout as loud as I can.

He quickly does as I ask, and I crouch in front of Cam with nothing between us. He looks so worried. I need him to like and trust me; this kid"s about to become part of my family. Wrath"s his dad. I have zero doubts about that. I also really want to know who the fuck hurt him like this because I will fucking end them.

"You"re safe here, Cam, okay? I know who your dad is, but can you tell me who did this to you and are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I hurt pretty much everywhere. Sometimes it hurts to breathe, so I think there may be something wrong with my ribs. It was my mom who did this. She hates me because she says I look just like my dad. Is that true?"He sounds so unsure and scared. I fucking hate it.

"Yeah, you look just like your dad."

I can"t help but smile at that thought, but god if I don"t feel my blood boil at finding out Claire did this to him. I swear she"s going to pay. I hate people who harm kids; they"re the fucking scum of the earth.

Standing, I hold my hand out to him, and he grabs on tight. Fuck me, this kid"s slaying me right now. I know hardly anything about him, and I'm pretty sure I"m going to love him like he was my own child. I know I want to protect him, and he certainly looks like he needs it.

"I just need to make a couple of calls while we walk back to The Clubhouse, okay? I don"t think it"s safe to take you on my bike with all your injuries."

He just nods his head, and we start walking.

As we walk, I see him looking around The Compound, taking in everything that"s inside the gates. I quickly dial Doc, knowing I"m going to need him to check Cam out. I wait for him to answer.

"What"s up, Flame?" Doc asks as soon as he answers.

"Are you in The Clubhouse?"

"Yeah, I"m here. Why?" He asks curiously.

"Meet me in the infirmary, but keep it quiet. That"s a fucking order." I tell him seriously.

I"m not messing about right now; I don"t want anyone else to find out about Cam before Wrath.

"Sure."

Hanging up, I dial Shadow next. He"s going to know something"s going on, as I only just saw and spoke to him, but I don"t have a choice. I need him to get Wrath because if I call him, he"ll tell by my voice something big is happening, and I don"t want to tell him about Cam over the phone. That"s certainly not the way he should find out about his son.

"What"s wrong? You just left." He quickly says as he answers.

"Fuck man I didn"t even get out of the gate. We"ve got something major to deal with. I"m on my way in with someone, and I"m not going to fucking get into it on the phone. I need you to get Wrath and meet me in the infirmary. Be ready to contain him just in case he blows up."

"Are you hurt?" He asks worriedly.

"No, not me. You"ll see soon enough."

"Then what's-"

I hang up because he"s never going to stop.

As we approach the front entrance, I ask, "Are you doing okay, Cam?"

"Y-yeah,"he manages to get out.

He's struggling to talk, though, and he's breathing extremely hard. Oh shit, that"s not good; why didn"t he say something?

"Fuck, no, you"re not. I know you may not want this, but I"m carrying you in. You"re struggling far too much for my liking."I tell him as I let go of his hand and pick him up bridal style before he can protest.

He feels far too light for his age and height. It doesn"t take a genius to figure out Claire probably wasn"t feeding him right. That"ll be changing from now on, that"s for sure. Resting his head against my chest, I can feel his tears soaking into my shirt. God, he"s breaking my heart. I wish I could take away all his pain and trauma.

Walking as quickly as I can, I rush into The Clubhouse and straight into the infirmary, where Doc"s waiting. Doc, as his name suggests, is an actual trained doctor. However, he gave up working at the hospital a few years ago because he was fed up with hospital politics, which stopped him from treating patients who needed his help most but couldn"t afford it. He"s older than me—around forty, if I remember correctly. He"s what people would call a silver fox with his graying hair and well-toned body.

Rushing towards him, he asks, "What do we have, Flame?"

"This is Cam; he was badly beaten. Struggling to breathe after walking from the gate to nearly The Clubhouse. He thinks there"s something wrong with his ribs."I inform him as I place Cam on the bed. "I need you to make sure he"s okay, Doc. He"s fucking important."

Before Doc can speak, I hear the door slam open behind me and notice Cam flinch.

"It"s okay. They won"t hurt you, I promise."I whisper to Cam, who calms down at my words.

Turning around, I face Wrath and Shadow. I know it"s going to be them.

"What the hell is going on?"Wrath demands as he walks into the room.

He can"t see Cam behind me at the moment. Taking a deep breath, I start explaining what just happened at the gate. Quickly telling them about Pete arguing with someone, realizing it was a kid, then getting him to take his hood down and asking questions like his name and what he was doing here.

Looking into Wrath"s eyes, I say the next part: "I asked him why he needed to get in here, and he told me he thought his Dad was here after overhearing something that was said between his mom and her boyfriend. I asked him his mom"s name, hoping it would give me some clue as to who his Dad could be, and the name gave me all the answers I needed."

I slowly step away from blocking Cam so both Wrath and Shadow can see him as I say, "His mom"s name is Claire McGivens."

Both their eyes grow wide with shock. They both know what his mom"s name means. It means he"s Wrath"s son. He"s the President"s son. He"s a Devil"s Inferno Prince, and he"s been kept hidden from us all. I watch as they both take in his state. Shadow has moved, so he"s standing close to Wrath. He's obviously worried his brother might lose it, and he wants him within his reach so he can contain him. Wrath, though, is somehow managing to control the rage he"s no doubt feeling about the fact his son was not only hidden from him but has clearly been beaten too. I have a feeling if Wrath lost it right now, he"d terrify Cam. He"d more than likely think Wrath was mad about him being his son, not the situation. That"s the last thing we need to happen.