After the Fall: The Fallen Men, #4

by Darling, Giana

  The cop let out a shaky breath and then gave me a smirk like a twisted wire, mangled and wrong. “Trying to stop a war, you know?”

  My hard chuckle was brutal as the cockin’ of a barrel. “Yeah, man. Though, gotta feelin’ it’ll happen whether we want it to or not.”

  King

  * * *

  There was a time somewhere in the earliest hours of the morning when the night was at its darkest and the stars began to dim where only the wicked and rebels were awake. It was that hour at The Fallen compound, the Chapel full to burstin’ with all twenty-two men of the Entrance Chapter squeezed into the long room, sittin’ in hand-carved chairs with wings at their back or standing against the wood paneled walls. A lone yellow light swayed over the oak slab table, castin’ shadows that obscured the brothers’ faces like masks, lendin’ an eerie, demonic quality to the meeting as if Zeus was Satan leadin’ a meetin’ of hell’s lords.

  I dragged in a deep lungful of the tobacco, leather, and pine-scented air, feelin’ the nostalgia of it in my chest.

  “We plannin’ on tellin’ those fuckers exactly who stole their loot?” Skell asked, leanin’ forward to make eye contact with Zeus. “They should know what happens to those who cross The Fallen.”

  Zeus snorted. “Don’t you worry about that. Priest left their lookouts a nasty little reminder right across their damned foreheads.”

  Priest’s grin sliced across his face, teeth shinin’ in the light cast by the blade he twirled in his tattooed fingers. “Carved it right into their skin.”

  “Buck, you’ll take Wiseguy, Heckler, and Boner to organize the new product in the Grouse warehouse tomorrow. Brace for retaliation, boys, but I’m thinkin’ the Berserker bastards have a lot on their hands right fuckin’ now, and we won’t see shit all from ’em.”

  “And the fuckin’ pigs sniffin’ ’round the grow-op?” Heckler mumbled around the cigarette clamped between his teeth.

  My smile was just as sharp as the knife Priest played between his hands. “Got the Porter boys up there now pourin’ concrete over the hatch in the shed. The workers can make their way outta the underground on the other side of the mountain through an old minin’ cave.”

  “It’ll have time to set?” Bat asked.

  Jerked my chin up. “It’s a Friday, and they got the tip this mornin’. Danner’ll still have to wrangle a warrant and dot all his fuckin’ I’s before he can get up there. It’ll dry by Monday.”

  “Criminal prodigy over here,” Boner crowed, wigglin’ his fingers over me like a magician workin’ magic.

  “If ya’d put it to the club, anyone could’a come up with that idea,” Buck reasoned, and I tried not to take it personally because he was an old guy mired in old ways, but I knew he still thought of me like a grandson.

  “Or a better one,” Wiseguy muttered, livin’ up to his name in ways I did not fuckin’ like.

  “’S a good idea and it’s rollin’ out,” Zeus said, stoppin’ the grumblin’ before it could roll into somethin’ bigger. “Keep in touch with the Porter boys and go up with Axe-Man to see it’s done right ’fore the weekend’s over, yeah?” I nodded. “Now, I got a woman keepin’ my bed warm at home, so let’s wrap it up.”

  There was a rumble of agreement as everyone shifted, readyin’ to leave, but I stood before they got the chance and cleared my throat.

  “Prez, want a chance to say somethin’ if it’s cool with you,” I addressed Zeus, who didn’t look even a little surprised.

  He inclined his head, rings clinkin’ as he linked his hands and sank back in his chair. “Let’s ’ear it.”

  “Mean no disrespect by sayin’ it, but I gotta. This was my plan tonight. Plan that landed us over three hundred pounds’a weed and a fuck ton of guns, not to mention providin’ a serious blow to those motherfuckers. Near on half of you wanted to toss it before even considerin’ the idea, and I get it. I bring some radical notions to this club. Might not make you comfortable, but I just proved sure as shit that they can work. Bein’ prospectin’ for well over a year now, and yeah, I know there’s no time limit on provin’ loyalty, but fuck me, brothers. I was born with Fallen blood, raised by a man who’d give his life for the club, and I’ve grown into a man who knows without the shadow of a fuckin’ doubt that my life is here with the club.”

  I took a deep breath, fisted my hands, and leaned into them over the table so I could look each of the men in the eye. “Now, I’m thinkin’ it’s time you proved me right and patched me in as a full member.”

  Priest grinned manically at me, Axe-Man crossed his arms and sat back in his seat with a small grin in his beard, Boner started slow clappin’ like the lovable idiot he was, and Nova thumped his hand on the table before hootin’, “Damn straight.”

  Zeus cleared his throat, and the room went flat as they waited for him to pass judgment on my speech. It was a gutsy move, makin’ a speech like that to men who didn’t like to be told what to do or when by anyone other than their Prez, but it had to be done.

  I was chafin’ at the bit, and I needed this shit sorted so I could move on with my life.

  With my plans for Cress and me.

  Zeus steepled his hands, eyes on his weddin’ band then up at me, the grey opaque as concrete. “You gonna marry your woman?”

  Seemed like a non-sequitur, but that was the one reason he hadn’t brought me in sooner, and I respected the question.

  I couldn’t keep my girl separate or shielded from my life choices. She was my partner, and she’d been my rough and tumble queen for a lot longer than I’d originally given her credit for.

  Jerking my chin up, I pulled the ring box outta my pocket and tossed it over the table to him. “That pass inspection?”

  Eyes on me as he scooped it up and flipped it open, then they caught on the bright shine of the massive square-cut emerald framed by two rectangular diamonds. He touched it gently with his thumb, then looked back up at me.

  “Bein’ a rebel doesn’t work out well for ya, you should go into jewelry,” he deadpanned.

  The joke shattered the tension like a fist through glass, and everyone laughed as he tossed the box back to me and I put it in my pocket.

  “Alright, King, you wanted it; you got it. Boys, prepare the garage.”

  Half an hour later, the club was crowded into one of the garage bays that had been cleaned up and out to make room for the ceremony. I say ceremony, but it was too religious and organized a word for the way The Fallen recognized a new brother.

  I was on my knees, shirtless and waitin’ while the brothers formed a circle around me. The cement was cold and hard, uncomfortable, but I didn’t even think of complainin’ because this, right there, was what I’d always wanted.

  “King Kyle Garro, prospect of The Fallen brotherhood, do you pledge your body, blood, and life to this club?”

  There was a solemnity to Zeus’s voice, a gravity I could feel tyin’ me to the floor, keepin’ me on my knees even if I would want to stand.

  “Yeah,” I said, and my voice came from my gut.

  “You swear to live free, die hard, and act in the best interest of this club ’fore all else?”

  My head was bent, gaze trained on the grease stains in the brushed concrete floors, but I knew Z was palmin’ a knife and readyin’ it over his exposed palm. The rituals of initiation were sacred, not spoken about even between brothers outside of these moments, but I knew this part because I’d been curious after the slanted scar across Dad’s palm as a kid, and he’d told me about it.

  “Yeah,” I agreed again and felt the surge of energy crackle through the room, sparkin’ from brother to brother as they encircled me.

  “Does each man standin’ agree to take King into the fold and see him as brother from ’ere on in?”

  There was a stompin’ of motorcycle boots against the ground, the vibration travellin’ through my bones until I reverberated with it.

  In answer, Zeus sliced his palm open with the wicked end of his knife and squeezed unt
il the blood ran down his wrist into a waitin’ metal cup branded with The Fallen emblem. One by one, the brothers passed the cup along, addin’ their blood, their life to it, until it reached Zeus again. Tipped my head up when he stepped in front of me and watched as his fingers dipped in the blood.

  “The Fallen is for life,” he reminded me as those red, wet fingers smear over my cheekbones, across my nose, then down from forehead to chin in a bloody desecration of a cross. Finished annoitin’ me, he moved back and said, pride blastin’ through his voice, “King Kyle Garro, awake, arise, and be forever Fallen.”

  I got to one knee and then stood at the center of my brothers, my family, finally and irrevocably one of them.

  “Welcome to the fold,” Zeus said with a wide, almost manic grin.

  “’Bout fuckin’ time,” Nova called and then set the hose on me, cold water blastin’ into my chest.

  I laughed as it cleansed me the way it was supposed to, a biker baptism of blood and water in a house of iron.

  Shakin’ my wet hair out of my eyes like I dog, I grinned at my brothers, and yelled, “Live free, die hard!”

  “Fuck yeah!” they roared, and then they were on me, punchin’ me, huggin’ me, shakin’ me, hands on me in the final step of acceptance, in a show of love and loyalty I felt like it was carved into my bones.

  Fuckin’ finally, I was truly Fallen.

  Cressida

  * * *

  “Cress, babe, wake up.”

  I moaned, still caught in the tendrils of a fragrant dream and unwilling to embrace wakefulness. Shadow meowed quietly near my face, and I realized my cheek was pressed into his fur.

  “Cress, do as your man says,” King’s voice said against my ear, and then I registered the feel of his hands sliding up his oversized tee against my back. “I have somethin’ to show you.”

  Even half-asleep, the sweet call of King’s voice was too irresistible to ignore. I rolled languidly onto my back, tangled up in the soft bedclothes, Shadow hissing in protest as I dislodged him, and then arrested at the sight of King sitting over me.

  His chaos of blond kinks and curls hung in his face, partially shading those extraordinary glacial water eyes, crinkled at the corners with pleasure as he looked down on me, the sentiment echoed in the curled set of his full mouth.

  “Gosh, you’re beautiful,” I breathed because I couldn’t help it.

  My hand went to his cheek, fingers sliding through silky hair, just to feel the realness of him. He smiled as he grabbed that hand and brought my palm to his mouth to kiss.

  “Come, I don’t wanna miss it.”

  “Miss what? It’s got to be the middle of the night.”

  “Not quite and that’s all I’m gonna say. Get dressed.”

  I grumbled but did as he asked, shivering at the cold nip in the air as I shed my tee and slipped on an easy pleated dress. King whistled as I quickly ran a comb through my hair and brushed my teeth.

  “You’re awfully cheery for so early in the morning,” I mumbled through my toothpaste before I leaned over and rinsed.

  King’s hand found my hips, and he pressed his groin to my bent behind. “Got a good woman, the best woman, in my bed, a club of brothers at my back, and a house we made together into a home. How can you doubt my cheer?”

  I met his gaze in the mirror, sass softening under his warm regard. “I’ll remind you of that whenever you get grumpy.”

  “Never grumpy,” he countered, scowling at the use of the word. “When the fuck have I been grumpy?”

  “Um, maybe right now?”

  He chuckled and landed a swat on my ass. “Will be if you don’t hurry this fine ass up. Meet you downstairs in one minute, or I’m comin’ up and takin’ you over my shoulder.”

  I tipped my chin. “Maybe I need two minutes.”

  He dropped his head back between his shoulders as if beseeching God for patience and then ducked quickly, wrapping those long arms around my legs and lifting me up over his shoulder as if I weighed no more than a sack of rice.

  “King!” I protested through my laughter as he moved out of the bathroom and into the landing at the top of the stairs. “Put me down!”

  He spanked me once, twice, and then hooted as he pounded down the stairs and straight out the doors of the cottage. He dumped me in the Honda, to my surprise, and then closed the door before I could say a word and jogged back to the house.

  I touched my face just to feel the breadth of the smile there and then sighed as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

  “This is your life,” I told myself. “This is real.”

  Because sometimes I needed to hear it aloud. I need to remember that this man and the family that’d adopted me through him were real, alive, and mine.

  I started as the backdoor opened. King swung a bag onto the seat, and then rounded to the driver’s seat. It never ceased to amaze me how delicious he looked driving my girly pink car. It seemed to emphasize his sheer size and manliness instead of undercut it.

  Still, I smiled at him as he adjusted the seat and brought up the song “You and I” by Barns Courtney. He tinkered with the rear-view mirror, then turned his gaze to me.

  “You ready, babe?”

  “Honestly, why do you even ask? You know I’d follow you anywhere,” I admitted, blushing because I couldn’t seem to quit the habit.

  King chuckled, planting a hand on my thigh as he began to drive us through the dark, empty streets of Entrance. We were quiet for a time, but my curiosity eventually got the better of me. As an Old Lady, I wasn’t entitled to know much about the goings-on in the club, but King was the type of man who didn’t mind sharing with me most of the time, and I felt lucky for it.

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  “Nah, but for good reason. Dealt with the Berserker problem fuckin’ beautifully, and now you’re lookin’ at the latest fully patched member of The Fallen MC mother Chapter.”

  Instantly, I squealed, drawing my legs onto the seat so I could sit on my knees and lean across the console to wrap my arms around his neck and pepper his cheek with kisses.

  “King, this is fab! Like holy freaking wow! I am so just thrilled and beyond proud of you. It’s like a promotion at work, only so much better because this is like…the family business, and I am just. So. Flipping. Happy!”

  He chuckled, bracing against my attack. “Sit your ass back down or at least get outta my face, babe. Can’t see to drive and not crashin’ this cage with precious cargo in it.”

  “Oh, fine. But you should know, I think this is deserving of something special,” I announced as I flounced back down in my seat. “What do you want?”

  “What do I always want?” he asked with a salacious grin as he parked the car in the shadows of a dead end.

  “Sex.”

  “Mmm.” He crossed his arms over the steering wheel and waggled his brows. “So what’s on offer exactly?”

  Heat sluiced over me like a bucket of warm water. I wriggled in my seat a bit and nibbled my lip. “Whatever you want.”

  “Givin’ me a lot to think about,” he teased. “Now, c’mon.”

  I followed him out of the car, waited for him to retrieve the bag from the back, and then snagged his hand as he led us off the road through a barely trodden path in the bushes until we emerged in a clearing.

  I knew the cliff we stood on because King had spoken of it often. It overlooked the caramel sanded half-moon of Entrance Bay from its farthest right corner and offered spectacular views of the snow-capped towering mountains across the ocean.

  I’d never been there before. We’d talked about it a few times, but I respected that this was King’s special place with Mute, their haven away from home where they could hang out and do whatever it was boys did as they grew older. I could picture them easily there at the horrifying edge of earth, legs dangling over the abyss, shoving at each other when they laughed as if they weren’t suspended from a terrible height.

  The grass was long and slightly damp as
the weak light of the pre-dawn washed across the sky, but King led us through it to nearly the very edge before he let go of my hand to unearth a large blanket from the bag. He spread it out for us and then dropped to his knees to retrieve my well-worn copy of Paradise Lost, a thermos, a container of berries, and his current brown leather notebook.

  “Sit,” he urged with that boyish smile I’d first caved into temptation for. “Watch the sunrise with me.”

  I folded to the ground beside him and then giggled when he flopped down over top of me and wrapped me up in his limbs as if I was a present and he the ribbon. I curled my legs around his narrow hips and smiled into his face as he drew his thumb gently over my brows.

  “What are you looking at?” I asked, tracking his eyes as they moved over my face. I counted the dips and craters of vivid blue in his irises and wondering if I had the topography of them memorized yet.

  “Only girl I ever wanted,” he said somberly.

  “I’ve never really been a girl to you.” I laughed. “I’m still eight years older than you even if it doesn’t seem like such a difference now that I don’t actually teach you.”

  “Still teach me every day, babe. One of the reasons I love you. Because I got a curious mind that needs stimulatin’, and you’ve got a mind like a vortex, no matter how far down I go, you never end, and I get to keep on learnin’.”

  “I’ll never get used to you saying things like that so easily. Such beautiful words spoken so confidently when you’re so young and such a man in every other way.”

  His brow knotted, and one thick golden brow arched. “Tellin’ you the ways I love you isn’t manly?”