Page 47 of Brick's Redemption

“Yeah.”

“Mine did, too.”

Wild. “It’s going to take a while to get used to it,” I admitted.

“Sharing space in our heads? Yeah, you could say that.”

We rode out of the desert and toward the Strip, following the urging of our new companions. We were led to a casino. How ironic, considering the Graven Bastards had acquired an old one to renovate for their new clubhouse.

Maddog was a new president and had only been in Las Vegas since 2023, while Grim, the president of the Tonopah Chapter, had been around a lot longer since his club put down roots there in 1985. The Las Vegas Graven Bastards were still setting up businesses and connections, growing in number, and establishing their income sources. We were joining at a crucial time in the chapter’s history.

It felt right, even if it also made my chest ache at the thought of those Dagger and I lost. The sorrow was too new, and the rage we both felt increased with our new ability to sense these fucking murderers.

We parked our bikes outside, not bothering to hide who we were or our arrival. I hoped to see Butcher quickly, but as we entered the casino, none of the Crimson Skulls greeted us.

“Where are they?” I growled, feeling the bloodthirst of my inner companion.

Maddog snarled. “Below us. Hiding like cowards.”

“It won’t protect them,” Dagger announced, striding toward the door marked Stairwell.

When he reached it, he flung it open, and we all joined him, descending into the bowels of the casino and away from the people, loud whirring slot machines, and the chatter that filled the first floor. The bells, whistles, and flashing lights disappeared behind us.

We will vanquish our enemies.

Yes, I agreed.

We busted through the door and into the hall, already knowing where the Crimson Skulls had formed their base of operations. It didn’t matter why they were in a casino. Maybe Butcher had a connection. I didn’t care. The second I sensed him, I separated from Maddog.

Dagger followed me. “Audrey is close.”

“Is she okay?”

“No, but she will be,” he vowed.

I could feel Ginny. Her sweet presence washed over me with a soothing, exotic wave of heat, lust, and love. She was waiting for me, and when I returned to her, I’d claim her all over again, probably for hours.

My cock swelled, but I forced myself to concentrate on the vengeance burning bright in my chest. I felt it grow warmer the closer I got to Butcher. He wasn’t far.

I found him in an empty ballroom. He wasn’t alone.

Around us, I heard screaming and shouting in other rooms as my new club brothers found their targets. Dagger veered left,and I went right, letting the entities inside us guide our actions. My palms lifted at the same time as Dagger’s, and tendrils of shadow began to leak from our skin, curling outward to reach toward Butcher.

“Fuck!” he yelled, stumbling backward to avoid us.

“Nothing will save you,” I announced, as the Crimson Skull member behind him whistled and Audrey was brought forward. Her eyes widened when she saw Dagger. She whimpered as the shadows took an interest in her, sensing her importance. They knew Dagger wanted her protected.

The inky black clouds slowly filled the room until it was nearly black. Visibility reduced. Me? I could see perfectly. I guessed Dagger also could.

Somewhere in the underground of this casino, I knew we weren’t alone. Lucifer’s sinister laughter seemed to ooze through the walls. If I’d been the one hunted, I would have pissed my pants in terror.

Butcher reached for his gun and began firing, spraying bullets into the shadows, but nothing harmed us. Audrey was also protected as she stood with her hands cuffed, her body dirty and bruised like they’d roughed her up before we arrived. I didn’t sense any sexual assault and was relieved she’d been spared that horror.

Dagger would have gutted them all, not that he wouldn’t now.

The bullets that entered the shadows never passed through or hit any walls. Instead, they began to turn in the air, hovering before rapidly flying in the opposite direction. Every Crimson Skull member in the room was suddenly shot with that ammunition. They howled and cried out for mercy as they crumbled to the ground, bleeding out from their wounds.

Audrey trembled as Dagger ran toward her, surrounding her in his shadows. One second, he was beside me. The next? Gone.

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