Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Kate
2. Mac
3. Kate
4. Kate
5. Mac
6. Kate
7. Mac
8. Kate
9. Mac
10. Kate
11. Mac
12. Kate
13. Mac
14. Mac
15. Kate
16. Mac
17. Kate
18. Mac
19. Kate
20. Mac
21. Kate
22. Mac
23. Kate
24. Mac
25. Kate
26. Mac
27. Kate
28. Kate
Epilogue
Also By Rachel Lyn Adams
Author’s Notes
About the Author
Copyright © 2018 by Rachel Lyn Adams
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Mac is intended for readers 18 and older.
Acknowledgments
Cover Art: T.E. Black Designs
Photography: Wander Aguiar
Cover Model: Kaz Van Der Waard
Content Editing: Underline This Editing
Copyediting: Jenn Wood at All About The Edits, Carolyn Pinard, and Andrea’s Proofreading
1
Kate
The cemetery was now shrouded in darkness. Everyone had left hours ago, having paid their final respects to my grandmother. There was a reception at the house, which I assumed was still going on, but I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. I was a little surprised, albeit extremely grateful, no one had come looking for me yet.
It seemed appropriate that the California sky was a dull gray and the winter sun was hiding behind equally gray clouds. I tipped my head back as the wind whipped my hair around my face. I thought of the last few months I’d watched Grandma’s health decline. I’d spent most of that time taking care of her, making sure she was as comfortable as possible. It was the least I could do for the woman who took me in when her daughter had decided the burdens of this world were too difficult to carry any longer and took her own life. I’d only been six years old at the time, so my memories of my mother were few.
Unfortunately, the house my grandmother raised me in wasn’t a happy one. My grandfather had been a mean, old man and when he passed away, my uncle stepped effortlessly into the role of an overbearing jerk. And while Grandma was always sweet to me, and I believe she did love me, she often deferred to what her husband and later, Uncle Stuart, wanted.
Then there was the fact that I had no idea who my father was. No one ever spoke of him, and as I got older, the only conclusion I could come to was that my father must not have wanted anything to do with me. Now, with Grandma gone, any semblance of a family had disappeared as well. I knew I needed to come to terms with that or I’d never make it. But sitting here, alone, left me numb inside.
The cold air was starting to get to me, so I decided it was time to head home. If I was lucky, everyone would be gone by the time I got there. As I stood up from the plastic folding chair provided by the funeral home, I heard the low rumble of motorcycles driving along the road in front of the cemetery. I closed my eyes as they passed by and imagined how free it must feel riding on one of those beasts. I’d never felt free in my nearly twenty-one years.
“There you are.” A familiar voice had me spinning around to look at my friend. “Why are you still here?”
“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.” I didn’t like to lie to my only friend, but it was hard to explain to him that I would rather sit amongst the dead than be forced to deal with the living back at my house.
No one knew the truth of my home life because my uncle always waited until we were alone before yelling at me about whatever ridiculous thing pissed him off that day. Jonathan and everyone else I came into contact with assumed everything was fine. But the ugly words my uncle spewed at me on a daily basis hurt, and today, I was afraid they would break me.
“Well, it’s getting late,” Jonathan said. “We should probably get you home. I think most everyone has left by now.”
That was a relief. I stared down at the hole in the ground, wondering what the future would hold for me. After I said a final, silent farewell to my grandmother, I grabbed my purse and started to walk toward the parking lot.
Jonathan reached out and grabbed my wrist before I got too far. “You know you can always come to me if you need anything.” He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and then cupped my jaw with his hand.
I slowly stepped away from him. Sometimes his actions made me uncomfortable because I sensed he wasn’t content with our “just friends” relationship status.
The two of us met shortly after I moved in with my grandmother. We instantly became best friends and were inseparable. In high school, we gave dating a try, but it didn’t take long for me to figure out that any feelings I had for him were more brotherly than romantic. He’d said he understood, but sometimes he couldn’t hide his frustration that I hadn’t tried harder to make things work between us. His friendship meant the world to me, and I didn’t want to lose him, so I always tried to make sure I wasn’t leading him on in any way.
Since I had driven myself to the cemetery, Jonathan followed behind my beat-up sedan in his own car. My stomach knotted as we pulled up to the house I shared with just my uncle now. We lived in a little town called Apple Valley. It was a nice place, and I lived in a nice house, but what was on the inside wasn’t nice at all.
Jonathan walked around to my door as I got out of my car and immediately reached for my hand as we moved toward the front door. This time, I didn't pull away because I needed to borrow some of his strength. You would think the death of Stuart’s own mother would’ve kept him from lashing out at me. But instead, he decided an hour after she died was the perfect time to tell me exactly how he felt about me. I no longer had any doubt Stu despised my very existence. I never understood why he hated me, even when I’d tried everything in my power to be on good terms with him.
“Let’s tell Stu you’re home and then you can get some sleep. You have work tomorrow, right?”
I nodded my head in response. I was grateful I still had a job. My boss at the restaurant had been extremely understanding when I had to cut back my hours to care for Grandma. But, it was time to get back to my regular schedule. I needed the money so I could enroll in some college courses while continuing to pay the rent Stu had been charging me since my eighteenth birthday, almost three years ago.
I let go of Jonathan’s hand and pushed the front door open. Immediately, I could tell Stu wasn’t alone. I heard the voices of his friends, Jerry and Lou. I assumed the two of them didn’t have jobs, just like Stu, because they hung around the house all the time. Lou was okay, I guess, but Jerry gave me the creeps. His beady eyes were continually checking me out, and I could only stand being in a room with him for about thirty seconds before I had to make an excuse to leave.
I walked toward the kitchen to tell Stu I was home. I wanted to make it quick so I could go to my room and get things ready for tomorrow.
“Well, hello, Katie,” I heard Jerry say as soon as I walked around the
corner. The lecherous tone in his voice made me sick to my stomach.
I glared at the jerk, but my uncle interrupted before I could form a snarky reply.
“Where the fuck have you been?” I was accustomed to hearing the maliciousness in Stu’s voice, but I’d hoped, just for today, he would be kind to me. After all, we had both lost someone special to us.
“I stayed behind at the cemetery.” I tried to say it calmly. But inside, I was shaking with fury.
“Too bad you wasted your time there,” he snarled back. “Now you have less time to pack your shit.”
I stared at him, not sure I’d heard him right. “What?” I asked, slowly. “Pack...?”
He pointed at me, his expression ugly. “I want you gone tonight, otherwise I’ll throw you and your shit out. This is my house now. I don’t want you here, and I don’t give a fuck what happens to you.”
Everything around me started to go blurry, and I felt like I couldn’t get my breathing under control.
“I would have done it sooner, but Mom wouldn’t let me do that to her precious granddaughter.” His hatred for me was so obvious that everyone in the room was aware of his feelings for me. He stood up; his face was red and blotchy. “I’m not supporting some stupid-ass kid my slut of a sister had no right giving birth to in the first place.”
Jonathan started to lunge toward Stu. There was no way that would end well, seeing as Jerry and Lou now stood behind Stuart, just waiting for a reason to kick Jonathan’s ass.
It was my turn to grab Jonathan’s hand. “C’mon, there’s no point in staying down here. Stu won’t change his mind.” I pulled Jonathan toward the stairs that led to my bedroom.
As soon as we entered my room, I plopped down on my bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. As stunned as I was, I should have anticipated something like this. I’d figured he’d tolerate me staying here as long as I paid him rent, but clearly, he despised me even more than I thought. Then again, he had enough money left over from Grandma’s life insurance policy that getting rid of me wouldn’t cause him any financial problems. Stu had never treated me well, but despite that, his final rejection of me stung. If there were any more tears left in me, I might have cried at how unfair it all was, but I forced myself to get through today. I could fall apart later, when I was alone.
Meanwhile, Jonathan began pacing while running his hands over his closely cropped brown hair. I was afraid he was going to wear out the carpet. “That guy is a total asshole.”
I let out a sigh and nodded my head in agreement. “He is. But there’s nothing I can do about that. It’s probably for the best I get out of here, anyway.”
The truth was, I was scared to stay here with Stu, but I was also scared to be on my own. I didn’t have much money saved, but I was taking Stu’s decision as a sign it was time for me to move on to new things. I would look for a second job if I had to.
Resigned, I sat up and started looking around my room, trying to gauge how much stuff I needed to pack. I came to the sad realization it would only take my large suitcase and a few boxes to remove everything that was mine.
“You can stay at my place,” Jonathan offered, kneeling in front of me. “Mom loves you and would be happy to have you there.”
His mother, Louise, had always been nice to me. While I didn’t want to take advantage of anyone’s kindness, I wasn’t exactly in a position to turn down his offer. I promised myself it was a temporary solution and my first goal would be to make enough money to find my own apartment.
“Okay,” I said, trying to sound as grateful as I could, although I was hesitant and anxious at the sudden turn in my life. I stood up and looked next to my door where I noticed a few moving boxes Stu must have put in my room earlier. “At least the asshole gave me some boxes.” My attempt at a joke fell flat when my voice cracked.
Jonathan and I spent the next two hours packing my belongings. Once we were done, my eyes scanned the room one last time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. “I guess that’s it.”
I grabbed a box while Jonathan grabbed another and dragged my suitcase behind him down the stairs. I didn’t bother to tell my uncle we were leaving. I had no desire to speak to him ever again.
After another trip inside to grab the remaining boxes, we loaded everything into the back of my car. It was depressing to see that all of my possessions fit inside a small trunk.
Just as I opened my car door, I remembered something my grandmother had told me about when she first got sick. “I need to run inside for one more thing. I’ll be right back.”
I climbed up the stairs and ran into Grandma’s room. I was immediately hit with a blast of lavender. It was a scent I would always associate with her. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the fact sink in that this was the last time I would be surrounded by the things she held dear. With one last deep inhale, I wiped the lone tear that had fallen down my face, opened her walk-in closet, and looked for the box she’d described. Back in the furthest corner sat a small, purple hatbox. I didn’t bother to look inside; I would go through it later when I wasn’t feeling so emotional or in such a hurry to leave.
As I walked out of her door, I ran right into a solid wall. Looking up, I met the angry glare of my uncle.
“What are you still doing here?”
He was drunk, his bloodshot eyes and the slur in his voice a dead giveaway. How did I miss the fact he was drinking earlier? Drunk Stu was even worse than sober Stu. I needed to get out of here quickly and not say anything to set him off.
“I was grabbing one last thing. All of my stuff is already in my car. I’m leaving now.” I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t take the box away from me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want me to take anything from Grandma’s room.
“Good. Don’t need you coming back for anything after tonight.” It was the only thing he said as he turned to walk down the hallway to his room.
I let out a small sigh of relief and ran down the stairs as fast as I could.
As soon as I sat down behind the steering wheel of my car, I shut the door, slammed the car into reverse, and sped away from the house I had spent a majority of my life in. I didn’t look in my mirror to give it a final glance. With Grandma gone, there was nothing left tying me to that place.
2
Mac
It was well past midnight when my brothers and I finally pulled up to the clubhouse. Off to the west, the neon Las Vegas skyline lit up the dark sky like daylight. Just north of us, roaring sounds from Nellis AFB could be heard as they conducted nighttime exercises. I took a second to enjoy the windless evening as we sped through the gates of the club. I shuddered, as the chilly February night had a bite to it.
I parked my bike between our VP, Colt, and our Road Captain, Viper, and stretched as I climbed off my bike. I watched as two prospects closed the gate and secured it. The perimeter of our property was heavily gated with barbwire on top, security cameras, and lights all around. It was a fortress, and it was home.
I wanted nothing more than to head up to my room and crash, but I knew our President would want a rundown of our trip to California first. No sooner had I taken a step toward the large, brick building, when Michelle came running up to welcome me home with two other club girls hot on her heels.
“Hey, baby,” she purred as she wrapped her arms around me. “Want to head up to your room?”
It grated on my nerves anytime one of the girls around here called me “baby.” We weren’t in a relationship and never would be. They were here strictly to keep the brothers entertained, that was it.
“Got shit to take care of first,” I said as I removed her hands from my waist. “Go wait at the bar and I’ll come find you later.” I swatted her ass, which elicited a giggle from her, and watched as she walked back into the clubhouse.
“Let’s go find Viking,” Colt said as he passed me on his way inside.
I pushed my hair back off my face and followed my VP.
Viper gripped the back of my neck. “
It was a good run, Mac. We’ll give Prez his update, and then we can all go find a piece of ass.”
I had to laugh. None of us were saints, but Viper took fucking to a whole other level.
We walked into the building and were instantly hit with loud music and dancing girls surrounded in a thick haze from various things being smoked. From the looks of it, the party had been going on for a while. In the center of the clubhouse was a large room that served as our main entertainment space. There was a bar off to the left with the entrance to the kitchen behind it. To the right were a few couches, a big screen television, and two pool tables. Down the hallway was another room where we held church. Across from that was Prez’s office. Upstairs, there were several rooms for those of us who chose to live here.
Only a handful of guys lived off of the property. Viking had a house a couple of miles away, and some of the older members also had their own places nearby. They were the ones with old ladies and kids. The rest of us stayed here. It was convenient, and there was something to be said for surrounding yourself with the people who had your back, no matter what.
It was more than I had growing up.
Colt knocked on Viking’s office door before we entered. It didn’t matter that I’d been a member of the Desert Sinners for almost seven years and had sat in this office more times than I could count, I was always in awe of the club history that was displayed proudly in this room. Viking, along with two of his friends, Rome and Falcon, founded this club more than twenty years ago. Unfortunately, our club suffered a horrible loss five years ago, when Falcon and his old lady were killed in a crash. That was when Viking became President. Then, Rome stepped down a couple of years ago when his health started to decline, and long rides became more difficult.
Mac (Desert Sinners MC Book 1) Page 1