Caged Rage: Caged Duet #1, #1

By Nancy Chastain

Blood doesn't always come first when you have a family like mine.
Going to Prison for ten years should have made my feelings for her easier to handle… It hasn't. She became a drug, a real-life fantasy. She's my reason for survival. The day of my release, the last person I expected to see was the one person I needed to see the most, Macy. Will I be able to control my craving and need for her? 
Hearing what my brother, Jack has done to the woman I love causes my blood to boil. He will pay for all the pain he has caused and all the things he has made her do. I will kill him with my bare hands. 
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nancy Chastain
• Release date: Dec 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223366485

Book preview

Prologue

Ten Years Earlier, David

As I walk up to the house, I try to calm my racing heart. Tonight, we celebrate Macy’s coming of age. I have dreamt of holding her in my arms for years. I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans before knocking on my best friend’s front door. I’m coming in! I yell as I shut the door behind me.

Marcus shouts from upstairs, I’ll be down in a minute. He’s still not enthused about taking his sister, Macy, to the club we work at to celebrate her eighteenth birthday.

Neither am I, I think to myself as I head over to the kitchen for a drink. Macy’s beautiful and innocent—the perfect jackass magnet combo—and the club’s full of guys looking for that kind of attraction. My skin crawls at the thought of someone else’s hands on her skin… or on her lips…

Fuck. I have to stop thinking about this.

I glance up to find Macy in her room, standing on her tip toes in front of her closet. She’s reaching for something on the top shelf, and her shirt has ridden up just enough to give me a peek of her flat, muscular stomach. I lick my lips as I think about kissing the soft flesh and work my way down to her thighs. My cock grows harder with every second I watch her.

I am brought back to reality by the sound of Marcus coming down the stairs. She’s off limits, I chastise myself.

David, can you help me reach something please? she asks, flashing me a smile. There’s a rosy glow to her cheeks.

Sure, what do you need? I play it cool, but I’ve been in love with her for three years now, and every day it gets harder to hide. I walk into her room and stop beside her. Perhaps a little too close.

Can you hand me the shoe box at the top of the closet? She points toward the closet, leans into me and rubs her taunt nipples across my chest. Oh, I’m sorry, she says with a wicked grin.

Are you ready? Marcus asks, causing us both to jump. Or do you two need a minute?

David is handing me my new shoes, she adds awkwardly and places her hand on her hip. I’ll be ready to go in a minute.

There’s that snarky attitude, I think to myself while I glare at Marcus.

He’s leaning against the doorframe with his hands crossed at his chest, making it clear that he’s not leaving until I do.

Thank you, David, Macy distracts me, her cheeks turning red again.

I smile and go out to talk to Marcus. Be nice, Marcus. She is excited. It’s her birthday. I slap him on the shoulder.

Twenty minutes later, we say goodbye to their younger brother, Mike, and his friend, Chase; climb into my Camaro; and drive to the club.

We park in the employee parking and head in. Macy grows quiet, fidgeting with her hair and jeans, not saying anything.

You alright? I ask, bumping her in the arm with my elbow.

Yes, just nervous. She pushes a strand of lose hair out of her eyes and looks at me. What if no one wants to dance with me?

You don’t have to worry about that. Marcus and I are the two best dancers in the joint. Your dance card will be full.

Marcus, who has been watching us, walks up to Macy. He kisses her forehead and says, Laughing at David and his so-called dance moves is guaranteed fun. Marcus flaps his arms as if they’re wings, mimicking my dancing skills. He looks like a chicken with its head chopped off when he dances.

I punch Marcus in the arm. Come on, Macy. Let an expert show you how to dance. I take a hold of her hand and lead her into the club.

Chapter One

David

It’s Sunday visitation day, and my best friend, Marcus Anderson, will be here. Since I entered the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, about ten years ago, Marcus hasn’t missed a Sunday visit. I sit back on my cot and watch the wall clock outside my cell slowly tick the minutes off. I spend twenty-three hours a day, six days a week, alone in this cell. I pass the time by working out. My body, once thin and lean, is now ripped with muscles and is a testament to the hours I’ve put in on staying physically fit. If I’m not working out, then I’m reading everything I can get my hands on. I think I’ve read every book in the small library three or four times.

Four hours later, and not one guard has announced, David Martin, you have a visitor.

I can’t believe Marcus didn’t show, I think to myself and lie back on the cot in my cell, recalling the night that changed my life forever: Macy’s eighteenth birthday.

I know, no matter what, I would have done it again.

Marcus is paying the tab while I help Macy slip on her jacket. Jack’s shrill whistle catches my attention, and I look over at my brother. He’s pointing toward two guys throwing punches by the bar, and of course, not intervening.

Fuck him, he knows it’s our night off, I say to myself.

Macy turns around to face me, leaning in slightly so she can ask, Everything okay?

Her cheeks are still tinted from the heat of the dance floor, and from this angle, I can see down her low-cut shirt. Yeah, I quip and look up quickly, just in time to see the guys bump into one of the barmaids as she walks by with a full tray of drinks.

Yo, jackasses, you going to tend to business or what? If you want to keep your fucking jobs, handle this shit!

Marcus comes toward us, looking pissed. Looks like we’re needed, he growls and nods his head toward the fight scene. He turns to Macy, shoves his keys in her hand, and says, Go straight to the car and lock the doors until we get there.

Macy looks hurt and confused, not understanding why the mood of the night has changed.

I take Macy’s hand and walk her to the door. He doesn’t want you to get hurt; there is a fight by the bar. We have to take care of it, okay?

She darts her eyes skeptically toward the bar.

Please go straight to the car and lock the doors until we get there. We won’t take long.

Macy nods her head and walks outside while I go help Marcus.

Twenty minutes later, everything has calmed down, and we head outside. Screams come from the alley, and we sprint toward the narrow street.

A man holds his forearm across Macy’s throat, trapping her against the side of the building. He draws back his fist and punches her in the face. Macy screams in pain; her eyes bulge in terror as the man rips her shirt open.

Still fueled by adrenaline from the earlier fight, I’m quickly filled with rage, but it’s fear that gets me speeding toward them.

I’m going to kill him.

Marcus beats me to him and wraps his arm around the guy’s throat, dragging him off Macy. He shoves the guy against the wall and pummels him with his fists. I pull Macy into my arms and hold her close. She jerks away, trying to hold the shredded pieces of her shirt together. The mascara stained-tears drip down her bruising cheek.

I hand her my jacket just as I hear the sickening sound of the man’s head hitting the wall—undoubtedly fracturing the skull. Abandoning Macy, I rush for Marcus, grab him by the shoulders, and tear him away from the man. Without support, the man crumples to the ground…his body lifeless.

We freeze.

Marcus stands there staring at the limp body; his eyes grow wide with the realization of what he’s done.

Marcus, go! Macy needs you.

With the cloud of anger clearing, Marcus struggles with my command, so I shove him in Macy’s direction and then walk back to the man’s side and kneel to check for a pulse.

Fuck! I yell to no one in particular. He killed him.

I glance over my shoulder at Marcus; he has his arms wrapped around Macy, holding her tight against his chest. My heart fills as I watch him tenderly ease her pain.

She needs him. Mike needs him.

I take a deep breath and glance at the lifeless body. I know what I have to do.

I aim for the wall and punch over and over until my knuckles bleed—each punch expelling some of my anger and fear. I stare at the crimson liquid on my skin and think, there is no other way… I am not letting Marcus go to prison for this. I’m going to make sure they will be okay.

Two bouncers from the club enter the alley to check on the commotion. I instruct them to get Marcus out of here and clean him up. They quickly oblige leaving me alone with the girl I’m in love with.

I head to Macy. She’s staring at the man; her body shaking from shock.

Macy, look at me.

Her fearful brown eyes slowly raise toward me as they fill with unshed tears."

You need to listen to me. Marcus was never here. I did this!

Without saying anything, Macy nods and returns her focus on the dead man.

Grabbing her firmly by the shoulders and shaking, I urge, Damn it, Macy! Pay attention! The cops are on their way. Marcus wasn’t here; I did this. Do you understand?

Panic sets in as the gravity of the situation sinks into her. She tries to form words, but she can only nod her head.

She’s in shock, so I repeat it. It was me, Macy.

Her eyes slowly lift up toward me, indicating her understanding.

Good. Marcus was not here? I ask the question only because I need her to corroborate my story.

In the softest voice, she mumbles, Just you.

This time I wrap my arms around her, and she doesn’t pull away.

Once the cops arrive, Macy is in my arms, and I try to calm her down. I take in this moment, embracing the girl of my dreams…cultivating memories I’ll soon need. Where I am going, there’s no love. No friends. No happiness...No Macy. I may never hold her again, so I lightly kiss her on the top of her head.

Macy lifts her head from my chest to glance at me and says, I’m so sorry, David. Leaning in, she gives me a soft kiss.

Our first kiss, our last kiss—my heart breaks at the thought of never getting a second.

I pull her in closer to me. It will all be okay. You and Marcus will be okay. I promise I’ll take care of everything.

The first officer walks over to us, and I distance myself from Macy.

Officer, my name is David Martin. I’m a bouncer here at the club. I came outside and heard her scream from the alley. When I got here, he had her by her throat and was ripping her clothes. I pulled him off of her, and I started hitting him. I glance over my shoulder to look at my alleged victim. I didn’t mean to kill him… but he’s dead. I lost it when I saw what he was doing to her.

It’s not long before I’m being handcuffed. My dad and my brother, Jack, come out of the club as I’m being escorted to the squad car. Dad walks up to the officer, who just closed the car door with me inside, and juts his chin at me. That’s my son, can I have a minute?

No one else would be given such courtesy but my father. He’s the president of the Hells Guardians, a local gang that runs the lower east side of Oklahoma City, and my brother is his Sergeant-at-Arms. The Guardians have politicians and law enforcement in their pockets. There isn’t anything that happens in OKC that the Guardians don’t know about.

What the fuck are you doing, David? Let Marcus handle his own shit. You need to tell the truth. I don’t need this kind of heat around me or my club. The words, though hushed, are spoken through clenched teeth and filled with hatred.

I did it, Troy. He was trying to rape Macy. I lost it, and I killed him! I spat back at him, loud enough to spark the interest of the officer standing at the front of the police cruiser. You’ve never been fucking concerned before, so why now, Dad? Referring to Troy as Dad is like eating a mouth full of razors.

The officer approaches us and looks at my ole man. What do you want me to do with him?

He said he did it. Take his sorry ass to jail. Troy stomps off toward the entrance of the club, not once looking back at me.

Jack walks up to the window, beaming. He gets down to eyelevel and chants, Mama’s angel is headed to prison. Good fucking riddance. Maybe I should take care of Macy while you’re gone? He laughs at his own joke and then turns his back on me, pleased with the night’s events.

That was the last time I saw the ole man. Neither Troy nor Jack ever visited. About three years ago, Marcus told me Troy was shot five times in the chest when he was leaving the club. Someone came out of the same alley my life ended and murdered my father. As far as I know, they never