The Biker's Rules novel Chapter 22

***POV - Melaena

My brothers partied at Damion s house about a million times, but I ve never been. Not once. Never been allowed or invited for that matter. I just heard the stories.

And now I look at the house in awe, it s a breathtakingly beautiful double-story, limestone building with lots of glass, separated by stone and wood. It almost looks like a modern mountain cottage and is L-shaped with a hipped roof. I walk on the pathway edged by green shrubs and shining lights.

A forest surrounds it, the trees forming dark silhouettes in the moonlight. On one side is a little wooden dock with a large pond, misty steam evaporates from the water, creating a magical atmosphere. Hundreds of fireflies drift like stars over the surface and it looks like a fantasy fairytale scene. I stare at it in wonderment, and then eventually cope to close my dropped jaw.

"It s absolutely beautiful!" I manage to get out and I look up at him seeing the now-familiar unfamiliar glint in his eyes. He keeps looking at me for a while before he answers.

"Yes, it is." His voice is very husky and I get the feeling he s not talking about the scene.

"Is this yours?" I ask, he s still staring at me, his eyes shining like those fireflies.

"My father had it build so I can be on my own, but it s still on their estate." He opens the front door with lots of square-shaped glass frames embedded into the wood. We walk into an open plan cottage design giving it a homey feeling. I stroll towards the other side where huge glass doors open up on a veranda with lots of comfortable seating, even some hang mats, and swings.

A small swimming pool hosting a waterfall and a build-in jacuzzi is at the end of the terrace and then a green lawn sweeps out separated from the golden beach by some green shrubs and colorful flowers. I can t believe the ocean is mere meters away. To make it even more picturesque, a large barrier of rocks forms an edge on one side of the beach, forming a secluded private area. And everything is bathed in soft lights.

I pull in my breath, taking in the beauty of it all. It looks like something from a magazine or fairytale. Then there is a knock on the door and Damion rushes to open it. He pulls the woman into a big hug and swings her around, making her scream. He lets her go and they walk over to me. I ve met his mom at his birthday party but didn t get a chance to heartily talk to her. Damion looks like his father but he for sure has his mother's eyes.

"Mel, you remember my mom, Hayley." I shake her hand and get lost in her green eyes. Unlike Damion s, they are friendly and warm and not closed off to the outside world. I wonder what caused him to be that way.

"I brought food, you can just warm it later." She holds up some bags and my tummy rumbles.

"Great, and if you re a good girl I ll share with you." Damion grabs the bags and runs to the kitchen while I shoot him a glare of destruction. Damion comes back with some drinks and I look at him with a mischievous angry smile.

"How do I say this politely … but your son is a dick," I mumble to Hayley, still staring at the devil that looks like an angel. He just cocks his brow up with a lopsided grin, and I know he does that when he s amused.

"Ug, I know right. He has his father s annoying cocky attitude, unfortunately. It runs in that side of the family." I giggle and she takes my arm and steers me to one of the sofas and pulls me down with her. Damion grabs a blanket from one of the chairs and throws it over me.

"But, they have great hearts and make pretty decent husbands when you fix them up a little and show them who s boss." My eyes grow big and I look at him with a winning smirk.

"And just between you and me, my son seems to need a good fixer-upper by the looks of it." She winks at me and then turns back to look lovingly at her son that s now scratching the back of his head.

"She s extremely pretty. I can see why you and Luke are so smitten." Damion glares at his mom as if he wants to scold her, but somebody is at the door again and this time it s Uncle John. I run into his arms and he grabs me into a tight hug as if he doesn t want to let me go. Then all my brothers arrive with Kiara and Axel. Everybody grabs a seat, Kiara snuggling in with me under the blanket on the sofa.

"I don t know if my stupid son told you why you re here tonight," Hayley asks as soon as we sit down and I shake my head. Damion walks in with a beer for Uncle John and then, after a quick look around and not finding an empty chair, he asks me to shift up and sits down behind me on the backrest of the sofa, his legs on either side of my body. Kiara puts an arm around his leg now situated between me and her and leans her head against his knee. Me, I try to not touch any part of him. Hayley looks around as if to check that everybody is present before speaking.

"We think that you re father s past has something to do with the messages both John and Mel are getting." I look at Uncle John. I didn t know he also received messages. He smiles warmly back at me and then Damion puts his hand on my shoulder. So much for not touching him.

"We were kids of circumstance. Alberto Garcia, Deimos, and Xander, your father, were the same age, while Deimos s younger sister, Sophia, and I were two years younger. Later on, George took in two boys, the orphans of a very good friend." His eyes drift to look at Kiara.

"These kids were your father and uncle, and that s why your father ended up being my best friend." He gives a sad sigh.

"At first we were oblivious about what exactly our parents were part of, but as we got older we were pulled more and more into their world, seeing first hand the cruelty and destruction hidden away by the fa?ade and well on our way becoming monsters like our fathers," Uncle John wipes his hand over his face.

"But then Derick died from a heart attack and George allowed his wife to leave with all her husband s money. Deimos and Sophia dodged the bullet and got to grow up mostly free from the burden. Xander went to study law and met your mom, Miranda, and fell in love. We had a plan to escape together, but things don t always go as planned." He turns the beer bottle a little in his hand as if he s thinking about what to say next.

"You know, your dad, realizing that our father would never let us go alive, sacrificed his soul to keep me away from all the dark stuff. I was na?ve, or maybe I chose to be blind, but I honestly didn t realize back then that he took all of our father s monsters on him, my only job being to think out strategies, make plans, and design weapons. I never got to see or participate in the tortures, killings, and other sick stuff like him. No wonder he started drinking so much." His eyes drift off, getting misty as if he s thinking way back. He gets up and starts pacing up and down in the room.

I grab Damion s free leg now, holding onto it. His hand on my shoulder gives me a little reassuring squeeze and I immediately calm down again. He for sure has some or other magical power over my body.

"But a series of events occurred, changing the course of fate, sending each of us on a different path. After Mel was born, Xander wanted to save his family and we came up with a brilliant plan. Never did I, in a million years, suspect things to go the way they did." He stops and shakes his head slightly.

"I, with your father s help, started a company - the same company I m running now. Xander would secretly transfer money to the company and I legally bought and sold weapons and other tools to George. Later I got some military contracts and the company boomed. I managed to cut myself loose from my past life. Things were going in the right direction just like we wanted. As soon as the company was stable and making enough money, your father would divorce your mom and I would take care of her and you away from your grandfather. But then things started going very wrong." He sits down again.

"Harry Brown, the bookkeeper, suddenly found some discrepancies in the books, someone was stealing money from George. Thing is, Harry s wife, Lucy was a bit … eh … ambitious and she made her way into different beds and one of her lovers used her to steal the money. Xander panicked, thinking that Alexander and George would find out about the money he transferred to my company. I don t know if he stole the money, or what he did, but Harry and his slutty wife got the blame. The next thing we know Lucy committed suicide and Harry received the full treatment of George s rage, but someone helped him to escape with his two kids." He gets a sad expression on his face, pulling his mouth into a tight lip.

"Your father never talked about it, and I never asked. Our plan was still going strong, your father still transferring money, and the company growing successfully into one of the biggest businesses in the country. But then your mom got murdered and Xander disappeared into thin air, leaving you kids in my care. Soon after that, a car bomb killed both George and Alexander and Alberto had to take over as leader. What you must understand about Alberto Garcia is that he is nothing like his father. He might be strict, but he s also loyal and true to his word, if he makes a promise, he ll never break it. Since he took over he started to put loads of money back into the poor areas, fixing and adding infrastructures to make life better for the people. He s 80% a pretty decent guy." He wipes his eyes with his fingers and down the bottle of beer.