Addictive (The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 2)

my president, my best friend, the man who saved me from so fucking much. “You’re gonna make a fucking awesome president.” My eyes widen. “It’s in you, it always has been. You have ways about you that are… not… all good, but beneath all that, you have a strong heart. A loyal heart. Someone who would take the shirt off his back and his fucking pants, too, if I needed them. You have an addiction, and I know it controls you, but brother, I’ve seen you manage it. I’m not sure what it will take for you to live your life happily, but life in the club doesn’t call for quitters. It’s like having someone who’s addicted to drugs, they can, and do seek help. Think of it like that, Wraith. See your damn therapist, I know she helped in the beginning. Put her on our payroll. If you’re going to be around my family, and the club, I have to know you’re gonna get the help you need.”
“Time’s up! Back to your cells,” a guard calls out.
Fear cripples me.
This could be the last time I’m with Zero.
“I’m so fucking sorry. For every messed-up thing I’ve ever done. For every time you have had to save me from my fucked-up ways.”
Zero exhales. “Just promise me you won’t fuck-up with Prinie, and we’re even.”
“I promise, man.”
“Good luck, brother. Thanks for e-everything,” Kevlar’s breaking voice murmurs.
“Walker… hurry it along,” the guard calls out.
“Good luck, Zero,” Finley offers.
He dips his head, then turns to walk off. Anxiety almost breaks me, I can’t let him leave, so I reach out grabbing his arm and pull him back. I take him in a back-slapping man hug.
He chuckles, embracing me.
“Hey,” the guard calls out, but I don’t give two flying fucks as I hug my best friend saying my goodbye.
I can’t place the emotions flowing through me.
I can’t fathom a world without Zero in it.
So, I hold him tight.
A guard grabs me, yanking me back. Another seizes Zero, pulling him away faster than I have time to think.
“Tell everyone I love them,” Zero calls out as he’s rushed through the door, and it’s slammed shut.
The guard shoves me from his grip, and I let out a heavy breath.
Kevlar’s face is as solemn as mine.
“How the fuck am I going to tell everyone?” I throw my head back with a loud sigh.
Finley licks her bright red lips. “You don’t. You wait. You wait until we get a call. Don’t upset them until we know for sure.”
“I agree. Telling Cherry and Prinie right now when there’s nothing to tell, is not the right thing to do. We’ll inform the other brothers, but not the girls,” Kevlar suggests.
I nod, I don’t care to talk right now.
We slowly walk toward the exit with my mind running an array of scenarios.
This time tomorrow I might have lost my best friend.
I will be president if that happens.
Prinie will be the head of the Walker family.
None of this shit I want to happen.
But with Damir seeing me today, it’s probably the way tomorrow’s going to pan out.
And I, for one, don’t want this version of tomorrow to arrive.

PRINIE
Wraith, Kevlar, and Finley went to visit Zero at the jail today. I wanted more than anything to go with them, but Wraith wouldn’t let me. He sprouted some bullshit about Zero not allowing it. But he hadn’t spoken to him, so how would he know?
This interim presidency is going to Wraith’s head.
All I know is since he’s taken over, he’s making sure to spend all his time looking after the club. He’s making damn sure everyone is catered to—everyone, that is, except me.
This last week has been so fucking weird. After him coming to check in on me when Zero was taken, I thought things were different. I thought he was starting to show he cared. I thought he would want to be around to protect and comfort me like he did the first day, but he’s just not.
Why do I keep falling for this act he puts up?
The one where I think he cares about me?
I should know better.
Sitting outside under the verandah, the ominous clouds glisten with the flashes of an evening spring storm. The lightning forks down to the ground, splintering off in all directions as it plummets to the earth. I sit back, sipping on my whiskey waiting for the slow roll and rumble of the heavy thunder to surge through the atmosphere. The large, lazy drops of rain casually fall sporadically, threatening to pour down and soak the ground, but for now, it’s just a sprinkling and the cement dries as soon as the large drops hit. One. Pause. Then another. The rain is trying to show his presence, but it’s not disturbing enough for me to head inside. Plus, the verandah is large enough to keep me dry—for now.
Another blast of lightning crackles through the sky, lighting the purple-hued atmosphere like a disco. I tense, waiting. It doesn’t take too long this time when the rumble rolls through my body as it moves closer. The swirling intensity of the storm reminding me of how I feel inside.
When Wraith, Kevlar, and Finley returned from the jail with their moods all kinds of miserable, Wraith called for church right away. I knew instantly something was wrong. He can try to deny it all he wants, but I know how this club works. I recognize the fever in a biker’s eye when one of their own is threatened.
Zero is in a world of trouble.
I’m just unsure of how deep that trouble is.
Because Wraith won’t let me in. He’s pushing me out of everything.
Is that because Zero doesn’t want Wraith