Bound In Secrets : A Death Kings Novel

**Storm**

Drunk, sitting on a bar stool at Gator's Den, was not how I was expecting this night to end. But I am grieving for the perceived woman I thought Sawyer would be. I wanted to come home to have her stake her claim on us, as Carley did to C.H.A.O.S. I wanted to be needed by her just as much as she needed us, again like Carley and C.H.A.O.S. I don't know why I expected Sawyer to be Carley. I guess I'm envious of her relationship with C.H.A.O.S.?

I'll admit had romantic notions when, at first, JT, Jensen, and I were dating her. Then my mother and her mother hooked up. Carley and I had sex, and it felt wrong. She has become my friend and not a friend with benefits like Carley, JT, and Jensen. Just friends, almost as if she was an older sister instead. Someone I could idolize.

It's difficult not to love Carley. She is easy to love with her caring heart, smiling blue eyes, and soft nature. She is the adorable fairy you want to keep in your pocket so you can always be surrounded by shine. I miss her.

I stupidly drunk-dialed her, only for Arson to shred me with his acidic tongue. He pointed out how pathetic I truly am at this moment. Fucking venomous basilisk. I hate him sometimes. He is right, though, which is why I hate him. I need to get my pity party over with so that I can learn who Sawyer is now.

"You know, the payout is good when we win our fights, but not near as good as our job," Jensen slurs, leaning into me. He is just as wasted as I am.

Jensen's reasoning for getting drunk is not the same as mine. While I'm drinking over a non-existent Sawyer, he is drinking because his little sister won't talk to him.

They had always been close as kids. Jensen was Carmen's protector and confidant. Now he is a stranger to her. It's always like this. For the first week, they fight and bicker, but then they get along as if they had never been separated. I don't know why he is so worried about it this time, other than remorse over missing her handfasting/wedding.

We were in the middle of a job helping Fury Corps acclimate to life here from being overseas for so long. They are the Death Kings' first team. They are nomads who took the jobs overseas so the other teams could stay in the States. I don't know who is going to replace them, but I'm sure the Death Kings have a plan.

That job resulted in all sorts of weirdness. I swear these rabid people had to be on some new drug with how violent they behaved. But Ryder said Fury would oversee what was going on in Colorado while we were back home.

Griffen and I keep in contact, letting each other know we are both still alive. I heard last week that one team member was killed. I like Finley. He was a fun guy to be around. He and Jen would carry on conversations in Spanish that the rest of us didn't understand because they spoke too fast for us to process translating.

Thinking of the devil... Griffen is calling me now. I tell Jen I'm stepping outside to take this call. It's loud in the Den between the music and shouting.

I answer with my codename.

"Just checking in to see if you were still alive, Clyde."

"Was the Demon Commander worried about me?" I question with a slur, trying to sound sultry but failing.

He chuckles. "Are you drunk, kid?"

I pout. "I'm only, what? Five years younger than you?"

"Give or take, but you are in your mid-twenties and I'm almost mid-thirties. You're still younger." He reminds me.

I feel nauseous shortly before throwing up all over some giant's boots. I mean giant; the guy is tall and four times my size in width and covered in leather. Oops.

The guy hoists me up by my blood shirt collar. "You owe me a new pair of boots. I'll be collecting my payment by putting you in the ICU," he rumbles.

"You can try, but I doubt that'll happen. I'll give you the money for the boots." I tell him before bringing my phone back to my ear.

"Sounds like you're busy. Send me a pic so I know who to send the ambulance to come to pick up. I'll get the local phone number from Preston. Later."

I thanked him before calling JT to come pick up Jen and me. The problem with that is it wasn't him I dialed but Carter on accident.

"What's going on?" Carter asks.

"Have you had your meds yet?" I ask him, still dangling.

"Yeah. Why?"

Several guys who look like they know the giant come out. Behind them tumbles out Jensen, kicking the knees of one biker with a laugh while the guy falls face first.

"Call JT to come get us. Jen and I are in a fight. These guys will need medical attention, but Griff is calling the emergency number for the ambulance," I tell him and then hang up.

My eyes never left the face of the giant, who was only getting redder and angrier looking.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"You're the one who is going to need an ambulance," the big man growls, his meaty fist flying at my face.

I curl my legs up and kick him in the round belly. He lets go of me to double over. I land in a squat, then use one leg, and sweep his feet while he is distracted.

He lands with an audible thud. Ouch, that must hurt, since the saying the bigger they are, the harder they fall, is true in the giant's case.

Another guy comes after me, but I duck and then use his moment to flip him onto his back by shouldering into him and then straightening up. When he landed, I heard a snap, and the man screamed in pain.

I just broke his back. My bad. This is why I don't fight when I'm drunk.

Beside me, I hear the crunch of a joint breaking. I look to find Jensen releasing the muscular tattooed arm of another screaming man. The arm is now twisted down in an unnatural position.

The giant wraps his arms and lifts me to squeeze me. I'm not above playing dirty, and he put my feet in the worst place possible for himself. My heel connects with my groin, and then he grunts in pain. His hold loosened around me enough to push his arms up so I could slip out. I slide feet underneath him and then do a spinning, jumping back kick to his wide rear.

He falls head-first into the concrete. Blood is underneath him and he is not moving with his ass still in the air. It's not pleasant because the giant has the no-ass-at-all syndrome, which has his pasty white ass mooning me. His leather pants aren't covering anything currently. Grody.

"I'm blind!" Jensen shouts, covering his eyes and facing the giant, and I snort a laugh at him.

"Shut up and knock the screaming ninnies out already, Romeo!" I shout at him, fed up with the noise that was causing my headache to worsen.

I make sure the giant is still alive and that he didn't crack his head wide open on the concert while Jensen applies his fist between the screaming men's eyes to quiet them.

"Is the blinding moon still alive?" Jensen asks with his back turned to me, so he doesn't have the white lump of flesh in the air.

I snicker. "Yes, he is still alive." I see JT pull up in his car. "Let's go, you prude! Our ride is here." I chuckle to myself at my jab.

If looks could flay the skin from someone, I'd be nothing but a musculoskeletal man. No one enjoys being called a prude, and Jensen is no exception. Let's just hope he doesn't remember this in the morning. Paybacks can hurt.