Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives (9 page)

Dante took a three day weekend once a month, and this one he was spending with Cynthia, or Sin as she was known amongst his motorcycle gang. Everything seemed to be pretty tame compared to what it had been lately as they walked into The Blue Pig. They were greeted with smiles and slaps on the back as if it were over a year ago again, and they all still liked him. Maybe they had gotten over it and saw the error of their ways. In any case, he was going to let go and have fun with his old lady.

“Hey, Diesel, you wanna play a game of pool?” Bryant called from the back where the new pool table had been moved to. It was one of the things the club had bought as an apology for wrecking the place the other day.

He looked to Cynthia, almost wanting to ask permission before realizing where he was. He slapped her ass cheek, making her squeal, and headed over to where Billy and Ax were picking out pool sticks. Barbie was sitting at the table next to them, watching Bryant and sipping on what looked like a pina colada. He looked around wondering where Liz was since she was usually locking lips with Ax. He saw the back of her head with her long black hair across the room in the arms of Saber, a boy almost ten years her junior that had just turned 21 and joined the club a few months ago. He was still being initiated.

“What happened with you and Liz?” Dante asked as he grabbed a pool stick himself. He looked to Ax who just shrugged and began to gather all the balls into the triangle.

Bryant began to cough while saying a word that sounded a lot like “slut”, which Dante assumed was his way of answering the question.

“So, who’s on whose team here?” Dante questioned as they all found a spot along the table.

“Well, I don’t think it would be fair to let Bryant and Diesel play together. The other two of us would never even get a chance to try. How about I take Diesel, and Ax can have Bryant,” Billy suggested. Bryant smiled and strutted around like a peacock as if the compliment had only been meant for him while Diesel slapped Billy on the back and gave him a bro hug.

Sin sat down next to Barbie, and Diesel watched as her skirt rode up her thighs revealing the hint of a garter belt. He could feel his mouth watering at the possibilities later.

“So, what do us gals do while the men play?” she asked Barbie, knocking into her shoulder. Barbie didn’t take her eyes off of Bryant, though, which at least made Diesel hopeful for them.

“We’re the cheerleaders, of course,” Barbie’s sweet voice cut through the sound of the pool balls shooting across the table, and Diesel held back a laugh. Barbie apparently was an actual cheerleader back in the day, had actually gone to college on a cheering scholarship, so the statement came out so natural it was comical. As much as he liked the idea of Sin in a short skirt with pom-poms in her hands, she didn’t seem like the type at all. He was pretty sure she was the goth girl sitting in the corner with pink hair writing poetry, which suited him just fine.

“So, looks like I’m stuck with you, Billy. Are we stripes or solids?” Billy answered by hitting a solid yellow ball into the far left pocket with the cue ball. “Well, solids it is, Billy. Looks like us as a team is pretty unfair as well.” Diesel took his stance and aimed at the green ball but accidentally hit a striped instead as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Psssh, I’ve got this in the bag. It seems like you’re off today,” commented Bryant as he strutted up to the table. Barbie stood up from her seat and started jumping and clapping. Diesel saw Sin’s eyes go wide as Barbie’s huge breasts threatened to pop out of her tight black dress, bouncing up and down like they were on a trampoline.

He shook his head and pulled out his phone, wondering who the hell could be texting him on his day off that wasn’t already in the room. His phone read a number he didn’t recognize and yet it was asking him to come into the office.

You better come into the office, Dante. Someone dropped off something pretty important for you.

His eyes narrowed at the cryptic message, but then he shrugged at it. Maybe his CEO had gotten a new phone or something, but he was curious to know what was waiting for him. He certainly hadn’t been expecting anything. A feeling in his gut told him he needed to go, though.

He leaned over to Bryant and whispered to him. “Man, I think I need to get out of here. Can you cover for me.” He looked over at Sin with a smile on her face, looking sexy as hell, lust dripping out of his eyes. At least he was being convincing.

“Oh, I get it Diesel. You want some time with your old lady. You’re still in that honeymoon faze. Barbie and I have got that going too. Go ahead, no big deal,” Bryant said, patting him on the back. Diesel waved to everyone and swooped Sin out of there in a hurry, carrying her to his bike to the sound of barbaric cheers from the club.

“Diesel, where are we going?” she asked, breathless with a giggle that made him want to take her right there on his bike.

“The office needs me to come in for something, so I figure I’ll change at my place, and we can head in real fast.”

“Aww, I was looking forward to spending the day with you and seeing all the wild things that bikers do.” She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. It made him growl a little just looking at her like that.

“I can still show you what wild things us bikers do. Hold on tight, babe,” he snarled with a playful smile and climbed onto his bike. He felt her arms squeeze around him as he revved the engine and took off going from zero to sixty in less than ten seconds, then pushing that up until they were going at least double the speed of everyone on the road. He could hear her screaming and squealing behind him, her dark hair trailing in the wind.

* * *

“Stay in the car, okay? I’ll be right back. I’m just going to run in and see what they want.” Dante gave Cynthia a kiss on the cheek before prompting her to roll up the window and leaving her in the car he used whenever he came to the office.

As he stepped into the elevator he straightened his tie and checked that the buttons were all aligned on his lilac shirt. He had to make sure every detail was in order to not arouse any suspicions about his afterhours lifestyle. And it was that thought that made him feel jittery about whatever had been left for him at his office. It could have been anything, but what if it was something that could bring him or his company down?

He let out a breath and shook the thought out of his head. Virtually no one knew about his double life, and he had always been so careful. It was probably some trivial document that could have waited until Monday. He’d probably be chewing out whoever sent him that message in about ten minutes.

He flipped on the light to his office and looked around. All he saw was a plain white envelope sitting unopened on his desk. It had no address and no name other than his own. Was this envelope really all they wanted him for? Yep, the yelling would definitely begin in about five minutes.

He used his thumb to tear the seal open and out fell three photographs with his own face staring back at him. They all had his bike in the photo, and one even showed him at The Blue Pig. It wasn’t like they were incriminating, but they could be particularly disastrous to the company he built from the ground up, his one great accomplishment in his miserable life. To make matters worse, there was a small note inside as well.

I know who you are and what you do in your spare time. What do you think would happen if I told somebody?

Your secret admirer

“Fuck!” he exclaimed under his breath, kicking his desk chair. It had finally happened; somebody had found him out, and it sounded like they meant to shout it from the rooftops. But who and why?

Dante racked his brain for an explanation; someone he had confided in, some point where he’d let his guard down just for a moment. All those thoughts unfortunately led to the exact same place; to the one person he trusted. Cynthia was the only living soul he had ever told the truth too, and thus the only one who had just enough information to ruin him forever. And he had allowed her into his bed. He had kissed and been inside every inch of her, only to have her stab him in the back. She was his stepsister, and yet she had still sold him out.

There was a reason the only people he ever thought of as true family were the MC.

He stormed out of the building, not caring who noticed the steam coming from his nose like a raging bull.

When he got into the car, he slammed the door and was ready to explode on the woman who was smiling goofily at him like nothing had happened. She had to know something about all this. “Who the fuck did you tell, Cynthia? And why the hell would you do that to me? Was that the plan all along?”

Her face displayed confusion, but he knew better. There was no other explanation for the note he’d gotten, for the photographs. He threw the envelope into her lap, desperate for answers she didn’t seem willing to give. As she looked through it, he saw it dawning in her eyes. She was beginning to understand why he was so angry with her.

“You think I did this, Dante? Why would I do this?” Her voice sounded hurt, but he wasn’t buying any more of it. How had the president of a motorcycle club and a billion dollar company get taken for a ride by a pretty woman from his past?

“Don’t give me that shit, Cynthia! You’re the only one that knows everything. Even if you didn’t do this yourself, you told someone who did. Who is it?” He demanded answers, his voice ringing through the car making their ears vibrate.

“I don’t know anything about this, Dante. I would never do this to you or anyone else for that matter. I have kept my mouth shut just as you asked of me.” Her voice was pleading, begging him to believe the outrageous lie, but he wasn’t buying it.

“So, it just happens to be a coincidence that you’re the only one I’ve told and that you wanted to be a part of the club. You want me to believe that you had no hidden agenda with all that’s going on? I’m sorry, babe, but I’m not that stupid. Even if it was simply that you told someone you had full confidence in, it clearly wasn’t a good judgment call. Just tell me who he or she is, and I’ll let it go, I’ll take care of this. But you have to tell me.” Dante tried to sound calmer, trying to get her to fess up, but he could see by the stubborn look on her face she wasn’t about to budge.

“I don’t expect you to love me yet, or put a ring on it Dante, but I do expect you to trust me. I did not tell a soul your secret, nor would I. I care about you, and I’m not that kind of girl. I can’t believe that you could even jump to that conclusion.” He saw the hurt in her eyes and didn’t know what to make of it, so as she exited the vehicle and went to hail a cab, he didn’t stop her.

Dante started punching the steering wheel in all his anger, gritting his teeth like an animal. He was writhing and throwing the biggest fit anyone had ever seen. His horn honked to show his frustration with himself and with Cynthia. He had made such a mistake hiring someone who knew about his secret and then telling her even more, family or not. Then he went and made her his old lady. She infiltrated the ranks, and he had been so blind with lust that he just let it happen. He knew he should have kept that private investigator on her tail. For all Dante knew all it would have taken was one more day for him to find something suspicious.

He shook his head and restarted the car, ready to get out of there. Since he had no idea who had threatened him, there was nothing he could do just yet. He would have to see what information he could gather Monday, and maybe he’d hire a more reputable investigator to look into the matter.

He pulled up into his parking space at home and hung his head over the wheel, feeling suddenly exhausted. All his dreams could come crashing down on him any moment, and he had no control over the situation. For all he knew his secret could be on the news before he got back to the office next week.

His feet felt heavy underneath him as he climbed up to his luxury loft alone. He peeled his clothes off and let them fall to the floor of his bedroom in a pile. It meant they would need ironing later, but he just didn’t care at the moment. Sleep was about to take over as he scooted his feet across the floors to his bed. He fell down in it and shut his eyes, his thoughts of Cynthia and Essential Steel swirling together trying to put together where he had first gone wrong, when she might have decided to betray him. But all he could remember was that first unsure kiss he had given her in his office and the way he felt when she let him kiss her again.

Dante drifted off to a dream filled sleep where he hoped to find solace and a solution to his impossible dilemma.

* * *

Saturday afternoon came along, and Dante woke up after tossing and turning all night. He had big plans to try and reconcile with Devil’s Pirates MC once and for all before things there got out of hand, though he wasn’t looking forward to explaining why Cynthia wouldn’t be there with him. Hopefully, they’d just get the hint and leave it alone. He was determined to get her off his mind, at least for the day.

He walked out the door with his hair gelled and spiked. It had grown out a bit, and he always liked the more punk look when it was longer. His leather jacket and boots went well with the look. He left the apartment and hopped onto his trusty bike, headed for The Blue Pig, decked out to play the part of Diesel. The renovations had been totally completed, and it was getting more business than ever. It was getting harder to get private time for their MC meetings.

As soon as he pulled up to the parking lot, Diesel was sure he was experiencing déjà vu. The lot was filled with bikes already, like the entire club had arrived without him again, but at least there was no loud music or sounds of breaking glass bleeding out of the facility. In fact, it was bright inside but almost dead quiet. Something was going on, and he wasn’t sure that he even wanted to know what by the way his weekend was going so far.

Still, he wasted no time bursting through the doors to see the club assembled congregation style, sitting in even rows, as quiet as mice feet on a floor. They all had pens and pieces of scrap paper that they were writing on and passing to a man holding a glass jar who was then bringing them up to Bryant. It looked like a vote was being cast. What voting would his club be doing without their leader?

Bryant pulled him in close and squeezed Diesel's shoulder. “Don’t grab me like that, man. What the hell is going on here? Cuz this sure looks like fucking mutiny,” Diesel whispered desperately into Bryant’s ear, but he was pretty sure with all the quiet that much of the club could hear him.

As the jar got full, Diesel watched it get passed to Missy, the bartender, who was laying out the pieces of paper onto her counter to count. “It sort of is a mutiny, Diesel. That’s all I can say for now until our neutral party counts up the votes.”

“What is it they’re voting on, Bryant?” he asked through gritted teeth, his anger rising. Why would no one just tell him what was going on? He was about ready to roll some heads. Bryant held his hand up to still his leader as they both looked to Missy who had the papers separated into two piles. Adrenaline was pumping through Diesel's veins mixed with fiery anger. This was his fucking motorcycle club, and he had no idea where the hell they got off doing things without him.

“The votes are in, Diesel,” Missy nodded to him, bowing her head. At least someone still had respect for who the leader was even if it was a non-member. “They voted for you to step down.”

“They did what?” His voice echoed through the building, bouncing off the walls. He watched some of the members cower in their seats in fear. If only they had been afraid enough to stop such a crime against his leadership.

“I’m afraid it’s true,” Bryant confirmed. “And they will use the vote against you if you don’t follow their demands.”

“What demands? I’m the fucking president, and I make the demands.”

“Not anymore, man,” Bryant said solemnly, handing him an envelope. But he got the feeling Bryant couldn’t be anywhere near as sorry as he was acting if he was going through with this dumb ass charade. Envelopes were becoming an awfully huge part of his life lately. “These demands. Someone wrote them and passed them to me. It was sealed, and it has remained that way as a verbal demand was given as well, that I not reveal the information enclosed to everyone.”

Diesel opened the envelope with all his fury; ripping through the paper. He saw inside familiar handwriting that made his heart freeze in his chest.

We, the new faction inside of Devil’s Pirates MC do not approve of Diesel’s leadership. We want a vote to eradicate him forever. Diesel, if you are reading this, you must step down, no matter what the vote says or we will expose you for what you are to your precious company.

Diesel felt like someone had pushed him backwards, and he stumbled against the bar. He glared out at the people he once called his family and saw a true devil in every face. His enemies and his friends all looked the same, and his fists were clenched, ready to punish them all until they revealed themselves for what they really were.

“I don’t know which of you voted for me to step down or which one of you wrote this, but I am still the fucking president of this club, and I make the fucking decisions! This vote is not a valid one, and I am going to get to the bottom of this. And believe you me, when I do, the assholes responsible will have their heads on a stake!”

He could feel his face turning red and his blood pressure rising as he spoke. He had never felt so desperate and so angry like he was now. It was a miserable state of being, and he had no idea how to handle it as his world came crashing down. He had lost Cynthia and now his motorcycle club family. It seemed that Essential Steel was next. He could see himself turning into one of those scruffy homeless men that held up quotes that made no sense as people passed by and ignored him.

Some of the members did look frightened or ashamed, slinking down in their chairs or avoiding his glare, but there were others that reacted a different way. A few of the men stood up, matching Diesel's threatening fists and others just walked out the door like they couldn’t hear or see him. It was making him feel crazy.

Then he picked out Billy’s face in the crowd along with Barbie who walked up to Diesel together, putting an arm on each side of him. He couldn’t help but notice the evil glare she was giving Bryant, as if she was angry with him. Billy looked stunned that Barbie was anywhere near him.

Diesel was about to break out of their hold, but Bryant gave him an extra push while the other two dragged him outside to the parking lot and sat him on the curb. Billy pulled out a cigar and offered it to him. Although he wasn’t a huge smoker, he was quick to take the offer, knowing that it would help him calm down.

Barbie bent down to the cigar in his mouth and lit it with her bubble gum pink lighter.

Diesel took a puff, letting all his troubles float in the air with the smoke, drifting away as the wind carried everything he knew about himself and his life with it.