Breakers (Academy of Stardom Book 3)

Pen

“Well, you look all kinds of beautiful, sweetheart,” Beast says, whistling as I step into Tales.

“Thanks,” I reply, grinning. I’m actually funneling a mix of Grim’s, Clancy’s and my own style by pairing black skinny jeans with my favourite heeled biker boots and a red, corseted top. I feel both sexy and stylish. My boys sure appreciated my efforts, each one of them kissing me until I was breathless before we left the flat.

Xeno snarls, putting a possessive arm around my waist. “Eyes up, motherfucker,” he grinds out, even though Beast is being a perfect gentleman and hasn’t lowered his gaze from my face.

“Xeno, don’t start a fight. We’ve only been here ten fucking seconds,” York mutters under his breath in warning. Though to be fair, he’s also giving Beast daggers. It’s kind of amusing because I know Beast is winding them all up. The guy is so in love with Grim it’s not even funny. He’s not interested in me, not in that way.

“I reckon the four of us could take him,” Zayn remarks, stepping into the club behind us. He doesn’t even bother to lower his voice. Despite everything that happened at Grim’s last weekend, he’s still pissed about Beast dropping me back to the Academy a few weeks back, it’s kinda sweet in a macho, chest-bashing, kind of way.

Dax cocks his head, giving Beast a once over. “Maybe if his hands are tied,” he suggests with a grin. He’s the first to offer Beast his hand to shake. Beast takes it, slapping Dax on the shoulder before levelling his gaze at Xeno.

“Number one, mate, you call me motherfucker again and I’ll deck you. Number two, Pen is a beautiful woman and deserves to be told that often, and number three, in case it’s escaped your notice Grim is my woman and no one comes close to how I feel about her. No offense, Pen,” he says to me with a wink.

“None taken,” I reply, resting my palm against Xeno’s chest, both in reassurance and in warning. He really doesn’t need to start a fight here tonight. I agree with York in that respect.

“And lastly, the four of you couldn’t take me on even if my hands were tied. Though maybe if Pen was added to the mix you might be able to get a one up on me. She’s feisty, and very distracting.”

Dax grins, glancing over at me. “She sure is.” Pride fills his gaze followed by a heavy dose of lust as his gaze roves over me appreciatively. “Our Kid can be very, very distracting,” he adds, and my cheeks flush at the memory of me giving him a blow job whilst he was driving the Bentley.

“I fucking bet,” Beast says, smirking at the look each one of my Breakers give me right at that moment. “Man, I’m glad Grim ain’t into ménage à trois. I would go mad with fucking jealousy.”

“Reverse harem,” Dax corrects him.

My mouth falls open. “What the fu—”

“Clancy lent me a couple books,” Dax interjects with a sly grin, “She said it would be good research. She wasn’t wrong. I read one last night whilst you guys were…”

“I’m gonna kill Clancy,” I say, my cheeks heating.

“Why? They’re good books,” he counters with a wink.

Beast frowns, shaking his head. “Well, props to you guys, but it ain’t my kind of thing. I’m not sharing my missus with no fucking one.”

“Just as well, mate, because we’re not sharing Kid with anyone else either, and I have it on authority that you ain’t her type,” Dax quips.

“What, you mean fit, tatted, with wit, charm and a big cock? I think I’m every girl’s type. Come on, I’m a fucking catch.”

Dax snorts. “Yeah, that and old. I know a guy who can help with erectile dysfunction. Isn’t that a common occurrence in men over fifty?”

“You little shit. I’m not that fucking old,” Beast retorts, cuffing Dax around the back of the head none to gently. Dax swears, giving him a shove back only for Beast to wrap his arm around Dax’s shoulder like long lost pals. I’m stunned into silence honestly. It wasn’t so long ago that Beast was threatening to shoot Dax dead. Now look at them.

“Nothing like beating the shit out of each other to help a friendship blossom,” Xeno grumbles under his breath. If I’m not mistaken there’s a little jealousy there too.

“Right lads, now that we’ve got the male posturing bullshit out of the way and cleared the air where our women are concerned, let’s get some drinks in. Grim has gone to pick up Hudson and will be here in ten. D-Neath should be here a little while after.” Beast explains as we follow him to the corner of the warehouse where the bar is located. At the moment, Tales is cleared of all furniture apart from a large circular table big enough to seat us all, and of course the fighting cage, but even that looks like it’s had a new canvas fitted. I’m glad, the blood stains from the fights were bad enough to dance on.

“Where is everything?”

“We had to do a deep clean. Blood stains are a motherfucker to get rid of. The cleaners finished up this morning. We’ll be good to open up again soon.”

“The cleaners?” I ask, frowning. The place doesn’t look all that tidy. Just empty.

“Not those kind of cleaners, sweetheart,” he responds with a dark chuckle. “More… specialised.”

“Ah, I see,” I respond, catching his meaning. Come to think of it, the place certainly smells like a mixture of chlorine, industrial bleach and something close to paint thinner, not exactly products used in general household clean-ups. I shiver at the thought of what this place must’ve looked like last weekend.

He gives me a wry grin. “If you ever need to get rid of dead bodies and a shitload of blood, you just come find me and I’ll hook you up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Oh, and if you want to use the girls again in another routine, just let me or Grim know and we’ll arrange for them to be here when you need them,” Beast adds as an afterthought. “Despite the bloodshed, the punters still wanna come back for more. You’ve certainly made a name for yourself.”

“What name, the harbinger of death?” I joke, when really, it’s not fucking funny. Beast seems to think so though, even if my boys don’t. He laughs, then gets serious when no one else joins in.

“Listen, none of that shit is on you. Besides, as soon as I shot Malik’s brains out of his head, the place cleared pretty fucking quickly. It ain’t unusual for shit to go tits up at Tales. Most of the fuckers live off the excitement. If anyone’s the harbinger of death, it’s me. I got this name for a reason and I’m more than happy to take the title.”

“Well, in that case, can I swing by sometime this week after I’ve finalised the choreography? I’d like to run through a few things with the girls.”

“Sure thing. Give me a call when and I’ll come pick you—”

“No the fuck you won’t,” Xeno cuts in. “One of us will bring her. Your days as chauffeur are over.”

Beast grins. “Whatever you need to make you feel in control, mate. Now, what can I get you all to drink?” he asks, heading behind the bar whilst we all take a seat at the table.

“Titch would like a Malibu and Coke,” York says, pulling out a chair for me so I can sit. I smile up at him and he brushes a kiss against my cheek, then sits in the chair to my left seeing as Xeno has taken the one to my right and has thrown his arm over my shoulders possessively.

“Pen?” Beast asks, checking that’s good with me.

“Yep, like York said. Malibu and Coke please.”

“I’ll have an Irish cream over ice,” York adds.

Beast cocks a brow. “Sweet tooth?”

York smirks. “Yeah, something like that,” he says, leaning over and burying his nose in my hair before he presses a kiss against my temple.

“Brandy for Xeno, and a whiskey for me,” Dax cuts in, sitting on York’s left.

“And I’ll take a beer,” Zayn adds, flanking Xeno’s right.

“Coming right up.” Beast prepares our drinks and by the time he’s added another four drinks to the tray—presumably for Grim, Hudson, D-Neath and himself— a door to the left of the bar opens.

“Good evening,” Hudson says, letting in a blast of cold air as he enters. This time he’s not wearing a suit but dressed down in dark jeans and a black jumper. He gives me a smile that would be disarming if I wasn’t still pissed at him.

“Evening,” Dax and York respond. Xeno gives him a nod and Zayn jerks his head in greeting.

Behind him Grim steps into the club.

“Hey,” she says with a quick smile, passing us by and striding straight over to Beast.

Leaning over the bar, she kisses Beast passionately before taking the tray of drinks and placing them on the center of the table. I hold back a laugh at the look of shock on Beast’s face as he steps out from behind the bar.

“What was that for?” he asks her.

“Can’t a woman kiss her man when she feels like it?” Grim takes a seat at the table opposite us whilst Beast hands out our drinks to muttered thanks.

“Babe, you know you can kiss me whenever you fucking like, I ain’t ever gonna say no, but you’re not usually so… open with your affection.”

She shrugs, her gaze flicking to me. I frown. I hope this isn’t her staking her claim on Beast because I’m seriously not interested in him. I’m about to say exactly that but Hudson steps in with a comment of his own as he sits at the table opposite Dax..

“You should’ve seen the kiss she gave me on the way over. The driver nearly crashed,” he jokes, winking at Xeno who smirks.

Beast’s hand hovers over a pint of Guinness and for a minute I think he’s gonna lose his shit, but when he barks out a laugh, passing the drink to Hudson, I relax. “Now I know you’re lying. Louisa would cut your balls off,” he says, pulling out a chair for Grim. She sits, and he settles beside her opposite us.

Hudson raises his glass of Guinness. “Yep, she certainly would,” he confirms before taking a sip of the black liquid. They both crack up laughing whilst Grim pulls out a packet of cigarettes and lights one up. The tip glows a fiery red, sizzling with the inhalation. She seems tense.

“Well, now we’ve got that all cleared up. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Beneath a cloud of smoke, her gaze flits between Xeno and I as she takes in our body language. I’m leaning into his hold, my hand resting against his chest. I know what she must be thinking, that I’ve given in too easily. Whilst I appreciate her concern, I don’t need her judgement. She might’ve made Beast work for her love and affection, but I’m not going to waste one single moment more playing games. Xeno’s fingers stroke absentmindedly over my bare arm as he takes the sudden silence as an opportunity to speak.

“Beast tells us that you’re reopening soon.”

“Yeah, just as soon as we get the place sorted. It’s getting a makeover first,” she confirms, before glancing my way. “I’ll let you know when we need you back, but if you need the girls to practice, let Beast know.”

“Yeah, Beast said. I will swing by this week sometime…”

She nods. “Good.”

“What have you done to secure Pen’s safety?” York suddenly asks, squeezing my thigh. “Because we were close to losing our girl last week and not one of us is willing to put her in danger again.”

“We’ve beefed up our security by double and have put in more stringent checks on any new members joining. No one’s getting close to your girl again. Not on my watch,” Beast assures me with a wink, before looking at each of the Breakers in turn.

“Has the new security been cleared? I need guarantees, not half-baked promises,” Xeno growls.

Grim cocks her head, tapping the ash from her cigarette into an ashtray. “Yes, they’ve been cleared. What do you take me for? You’re not the only one with somebody to lose.”

“Babe, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t need protecting. Never have. We all know I’m bulletproof,” Beast says with a grin.

He reminds me a little of York, another man who thinks Lady Luck is on his side. Maybe it’s all just bravado, and I suspect it is a little with York, but Beast really does seem to believe he’s untouchable. I can tell by the easy way he holds himself and the frustration in Grim’s eyes. She

takes a sip of her champagne and twists in her seat to face Beast.

“That kind of arrogance will get you killed. Don’t talk stupid. I need you to be smart and stay the fuck alive until we can deal with this situation.”

Zayn leans forward, his elbows resting on the table. “No disrespect intended, Grim, but you didn’t check out the crew who brought in Malik’s man thoroughly enough. If you had, then we wouldn’t be in this position now. You also knew that Malik wanted Pen and yet you allowed him back in your club. So, forgive us for not trusting your word. Like Xeno said, we need guarantees.”

“Now listen to me, dickhead—!” Beast starts, glaring at Zayn. Grim holds her hand up and shakes her head, silencing him.

“You’re right. I didn’t do my job thoroughly enough, and for that I hold myself completely accountable. Which is why I’ve made sure that this time we’ve got Tales and everyone who works within it, protected by the best.” She sighs heavily, looking directly at me. “I allowed Malik Brov back into my club for selfish reasons, but I didn’t for one second think he’d dare try to kidnap you from beneath our noses. I underestimated him and that is something I’m going to have to live with, to learn from. I was arrogant, certain of my position. I thought I was untouchable. I’m not. None of us are. Reputation only gets you so far, but there will always be people who will test your limits. Who will try and steal what you have.”

“Selfish reasons… you mean money, right?” I ask, fixing my gaze on her.

“Yes. Like I’ve always said, I’m a businesswoman and old habits die hard. Malik paid a lot of money to be seated closest to the stage. My greed and arrogance put you in danger and I’m sorry for it.”

“Looks like I wasn’t the only one who fucked up that night then,” Xeno remarks.

Grim cuts him a look. “I guess not,” she concedes, giving him a slight smile. “I give you all my word that I won’t be complacent again. These men and women we’ve hired were handpicked by Hudson’s head of security. Every single one has experience in the military and protective services. They’re completely off grid. The best of the best.”

“Completely off grid? No one’s completely off grid. You can’t take a shit these days without some motherfucker knowing about it,” Xeno says, looking pointedly at Hudson who managed to find out about the money they were saving and their plans to live abroad.

“They’re ghosts,” Hudson says.

“Ghosts?” I question.

“For all intents and purposes, they don’t exist. The same rules we live by simply don’t apply to them.”

“Then why didn’t you ask these ghosts to help deal with Santiago? Why risk my men?”

“Pen’s got a good point there,” Beast says, earning him a glare from Grim.

“Because I needed people who were already on the inside. People who were familiar with his businesses, who could gather information in plain sight without raising suspicion,” he explains.

I level my gaze with Hudson. “I understand your reasoning, but that doesn’t mean to say that I agree with any of it. Frankly, I wished you’d never approached them.” I’m very aware of everyone’s eyes on me, but I ignore them. I’m still pissed off with the whole thing, and I didn’t get a chance to voice my opinion fully the first time I met Hudson. Hence the verbal diarrhea now.

“Even if that meant you never seeing them again?” Hudson asks me, pinning me with his penetrating green eyes.

“At least they’d be safe from harm.”

“That’s a falsity and you know it. Life expectancy for gang members is drastically lowered. Most don’t get to see their thirtieth birthday.”

“Hey, I did,” Beast exclaims rather proudly.

“You are the exception to the rule, Beast,” Hudson replies, then fixes his eyes back on me.

“And what you’re doing now isn’t life threatening? They might not get to see their next birthday, let alone their thirtieth,” I point out, refusing to concede the point.

“This is something they can control. I’ve given them the chance to get back what was taken from them. They wouldn’t have agreed if it wasn’t worth the risk,” he counters.

“He’s right, Titch. No point in arguing over something that we chose. Let’s just move on, yeah?” York says, squeezing my thigh.

“Fine,” I mumble, picking up my drink and draining it.

“Okay, so whilst Pen is working here, she’ll be protected by the ghosts—” Dax says.

“Err, who the fuck am I?” Beast remarks.

“And Beast,” Dax adds with a smirk.

Xeno rolls his eyes. “Outside of Tales she has our protection. David has already asked Tiny to get close to us, and now Jeb has suggested we allow her to do the same, so there’ll be no issues on that front.”

“Good, that makes everything a hell of a lot easier,” Grim says.

“But how are we going to deal with David? He’s going to be calling Pen soon, and when he does, we need to give him something,” Zayn says.

“What exactly did he ask of you?” Grim asks me.

“David isn’t a fool. He knows that the Breakers aren’t at the Academy to further their career in dance. He wants to know what they’re up to. He’s pissed at Jeb for keeping secrets,” I explain. “He said that when the time is right, he’s going to kill them—”

“Cocky fucker. I’d like to see him try,” York growls.

“He said that as long as I find out what the Breakers are up to at the Academy, he won’t hurt Lena. That’s about the sum of it.”

“Okay. We’re all in agreement that David is a huge problem that needs to be permanently resolved,” Grim states, watching me carefully. “He’s your brother…”

I shake my head. “He might be my brother, but he’s not family. I just share the same DNA,” I reply, making my point.

“So you want him dead?” Beast asks.

“I didn’t say that…” I bite my lip. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s death. Even my brother’s. Murder, even if it isn’t by my hand, is a surefire way to stain a person’s soul. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to bear the marks of such an act. “I just don’t want him to hurt the people I love anymore.”

Grim leans across the table and reaches for my hand, squeezing it. “When he next calls, you don’t tell him shit, Pen. In fact, whilst you’re on the phone why don’t you tell him to go fuck himself. I’m pretty sure you’ve been wanting to do that for years now.”

“What?” My mouth drops open in shock, and the built-in fear I’ve always had when it comes to my brother begins to show. I press my shaking hands flat against the table.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” York counters, looking over at me. He knows what David is capable of. They all do.

“Lena is safe, she has guards protecting her around the clock, but I’m gonna add two ghosts to the team looking after her as well,” Grim says, looking at Hudson who nods.

“Done.”

“Even if David was able to follow through with his threat personally which, by the way, I highly doubt, neither he nor anyone else will be able to get close enough to Lena to hurt her. I guarantee you. Besides, telling him nothing, provoking him, might just work in our favour,” Grim points out.

“How so?” Dax asks.

“David is egotistical and narcissistic, not to mention bat-shit crazy,” Hudson says, seemingly picking up on Grim’s thoughts. “He will hate that you’re not afraid of him anymore and it will make him question why.”

“I’m still afraid of him,” I admit.

“Yes, but he won’t know that. It will have him worried, perhaps enough to force his hand into doing something drastic.”

“Drastic, like killing the people I love?”

“That’s a given,” Hudson says. “No, I mean drastic like going against Jeb.”

“Why would he do that?” I ask.

“He’s built quite a business in Mexico for Jeb and ultimately Santiago. If he believes a deal is being made without his knowledge, which it clearly is, then that’s going to dent his pride. Your brother won’t let that slide. He’s going to have to take matters into his own hands.”

“You mean take out my guys?”

Xeno laughs, hauling me closer and pressing a kiss against my temple. “Tiny, we are more than capable of looking after ourselves. He can’t take us out.”

I throw Xeno a scathing look, not impressed. “A bullet doesn’t care about your confidence, Xeno, it’ll kill you regardless.”

“David is due to call you after the drugs are delivered. By that time, he’ll make his own assumption about what’s going on. The same assumption we want him to believe…” Grim says.

“That Jeb’s fucking over Santiago…”

“David has always wanted what Jeb has,” Xeno confirms, glancing at me. “He’s played the long game. Jeb is too fucking stupid to see it.”

“Your brother is power hungry,” Hudson says. “Like Xeno said, your brother has always wanted the Skins and what we’re doing will give him the perfect opportunity to sow the seeds of doubt with Santiago. Once the drugs are delivered and the placebo placed amongst the mix, it won’t take long for word to get out that the drugs are duds. David will hear about it too, and guess who he’ll blame…”

“Jeb,” I respond.

“Precisely, playing right into our hands,” Grim says with a sly smile. “And all you need to do to confirm his ideas is refuse to tell him a damn thing when he asks.”

“He’ll run back to Santiago, who by then will have heard something’s up with the shipment too. Jeb will be panicking and looking guilty as fuck. Things will begin to unravel, and Santiago will have no choice but to intervene,” Hudson says.

“It’s a perfect plan.” Grim smiles and leans back in her chair. “When he calls, you tell him nothing. Then you tell him to go fuck himself.”

“Tell who to go fuck himself?” a familiar voice asks.

“Ah, Duncan, perfect timing. Come and join us,” Hudson replies.

D-Neath strides across the warehouse, acknowledging everyone at the table with a jerk of his chin, then pulls up a chair and sits next to Hudson. “So, what did I miss?”