Bear (Kings of Carnage MC - Prospects Book 4)

by Carmen Jenner

  “For a second there, I thought you were really going to let him go.” Saint walks closer and toes the dead man with his boot.

  “I told him I’d give him a head start. I never said how much of one.”

  Ruin laughs derisively and I step over the Nazi-loving fucker and exit the building.

  The night is still young. The Bayou Bastard’s prez is still out there, and I’m just getting my second wind.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Bear

  We watch the warehouse for what feels like an eternity. Eventually, a punk-ass kid with a mohawk exits the building followed by three other men. The last is a fat fuck I recognize from the little snuff film he posted to the Porn Kings’ OnlyFans account. They stand around shooting the shit and after a few minutes, the other three Bastards start their bikes and ride off, probably heading out to sell some drugs to kids on the streets. Bobby Ray’s killer turns and heads back inside, but not before I notice the President patch on his cut. Fuck.

  I look at the boys. “None of you need to set foot in that warehouse.”

  “I told you I had your back, brother. We’re going in,” Crow says.

  “How do you want to handle this?” Ruin asks.

  “Take out anyone you see, but the prez is mine.”

  “Got it.” Crow nods.

  We leave the tree line and cross the parking lot, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. Two prospects are protecting the perimeter, but they should be easy pickings. I tell Ruin and Sterling pair off and take the main entrance so they can deal with the prospects, but Saint, Crow, and I come in through the back.

  The fat shit is sitting on a worn couch facing away from us, a naked female on her knees in front of him as her mouth bobs up and down on his shrimp dick. The woman’s eyes widen, and she shrieks as her gaze locks with mine. I press my gloved finger to my lips but the ugly fuck shoves her out of the way and reaches for his gun on the coffee table beside him. I shoot, lodging a bullet in the center of his hand. Blood, meat, and shattered bones spew out around the wound.

  The woman screams and tries to flee, but I point the gun at her. “Don’t fucking move.”

  The prez doesn’t give me the satisfaction of screaming, which means I’m not doing my job correctly.

  “Fuck you,” he coughs, and the way this fucker’s lungs sound, he’s not long for this world as it is.

  “This your ol’ man?” I ask the whore.

  “No.” She shakes her head manically. “I’m just getting paid by the hour, I swear.”

  I cock a brow. “He pay you yet?”

  Her voice is a mousy little thing as she admits, “No.”

  “Bitch, didn’t your pimp teach you anything? Get the goddamn money first.”

  “I-I’m new. Only been doing it a few days.”

  Saint cringes. “Jesus, and this fat fuck is your first customer? You need a new line of work, sweetheart.”

  She nods, but she’s shaking so hard it could just be a byproduct of her nerves. I point the gun back at the prez. “Give the bitch her money.”

  “Eat my dick,” he spits.

  I cock the pistol, pull the trigger, and shoot his dick instead. That finally earns a scream from him, and I gotta give it to the bastard—those lungs surprise the shit outta me. Crow takes the wallet from the makeshift table and pulls a wad of bills free, handing them all to the whore. “Here ya go, darlin’. You never saw us.”

  She takes them with a shaking hand and stoops to pick up her flimsy dress. In a heartbeat she throws it on, tucks the money in her cleavage, and flees.

  “You fuckin’, asshole,” he screams, his hands shaking with shock. “I’m gonna kill you, and then I’m gonna go after your little purple-haired bitch and rape her with my knife, and then I’m gonna have all of my boys do it while the rest of her brothers watch.”

  I pull the trigger and I keep going until the magazine is empty, and the only sounds in the room are soft metal clicks, the roar of blood in my ears, and the Bayou Bastards’ president taking his last wheezing breath.

  “Shit,” Saint whispers. “Remind me never to even look in Jupiter’s direction again.”

  Crow pulls a canvas sheet from a shelving unit beside him. It’s lined with brick after brick of plastic-wrapped packages. A low whistle escapes him. “That’s a lot of drugs.”

  He takes one out and spears it with his knife. White powder plumes from the brick. He scoops a little on his blade and tastes it. “It’s pure.”

  Sterling pops his head in the wide double doors. “Naw, shit. You killed him already?”

  “It was pretty impressive,” Crow says. “Bear takes grizzly to a whole new fuckin’ level.”

  “You kill the prospects out there?”

  “They’re just taking a nice, long nap.” Sterling shrugs. “But I’m pretty sure their club brothers are gonna kill them when they get back and find the prez dead.”

  “We gotta jet,” Ruin says. “There’s movement in the parking lot across the street.”

  I grab the bottle of Jack sitting on the table and pour it over the prez’s head. Blood and liquor run in rivulets down his body, soaking the couch and dripping on the floor with a heavy pat, pat, pat. There’s enough Fentanyl, liquor, and rat poison in this room to kill all of Atlanta.

  “Burn it down,” I say to Saint.

  He gives a resigned nod and pulls his lighter from his pocket, tossing it on the ground. I head out and the rest of the boys follow. I came here to kill the piece of shit who killed Bobby Ray, and I did exactly that, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. My woman is hurting, and I could tear apart every mother fucker between here and Uprising, and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference. I can’t bring back her brother and I can’t help her unsee his brutal murder.

  Maybe knowing this asshole is dead will help her sleep a little easier at night though.

  WE PULL UP TO TINK’S house and she comes tearing out, hitting me before I’ve even climbed off my bike. “Where were you? Why was Mako here instead of you, Bear? You should have stayed.”

  “Well, that’s our cue to leave,” Sterling says. “You okay here?”

  I nod, and the boys take off.

  I head inside, past her brothers in the living room, and through to the kitchen where I pull a beer from the fridge, throw my head back, and drink the entire can in one go. Aluminum bites into my hands as I crush the empty can and toss it in the trash.

  “Where were you, Bear?”

  “Bitch, it’s been a night. Back the fuck off and stop riding my ass.”

  She shakes her head and follows on my heels, dogging me every step of the way to the bathroom. “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “I had stuff.” I shuck off the hoodie, tank, and jeans, discarding them on the floor as I run the shower.

  “What stuff?”

  “Club business.”

  “What the fuck does that mean? Is it code for leaving your girlfriend at home while you go out and fuck the skanks who hang around the club?”

  “That what you are now? My girlfriend?” I shake my head. “Baby girl, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about.”

  “Then why don’t you enlighten me? Where were you, Tennessee?”

  I whirl on her, losing all of my patience. “I was out killing the motherfucker who slit your brother’s throat.”

  She stiffens, and then a gut-wrenching sob bursts from her.

  “Shit, darlin’, I’m sorry.” I pull her to me, even though I smell like sweat, blood, and ash. “I shouldn’t have phrased it like that. I shouldn’t have said a word.”

  Her big blue eyes are wide as she looks up at me. “You killed them?”

  “I killed the man who did it. Prez is gonna have my ass over it. Ruin, Saint and Sterling’s too.” I dart out my tongue to wet my lips. “I’m pretty sure I just started a war I can’t fight on my own. But I couldn’t leave him alive. I may not be able to get them all on my own, but he threatened your life, and I’ve never wanted to kill a ma
n more.”

  Her face crumples, and she tucks herself in tight against my chest as she cries. I pull her into the shower recess, clothing and all. She doesn’t protest, and I thank God for small mercies, because I am done fighting for one day.

  “I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I’m sorry this ever happened to your brother, to your family, to you.” My voice cracks over the last word. I press a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I feel like I don’t even know who Bobby Ray was.” She sniffs. “He’s always kind of been the family fuck-up, but dealing drugs through Kings territory, through our daddy’s garage? Through my garage? I just can’t believe he could be that stupid or put the rest of us at risk like that.”

  “Desperation will do strange things to a man.”

  “But that’s the thing—we weren’t desperate. I mean, it’s a small town, and some days I’m flat out just cutting a paycheck for my brothers, let alone one for me or any help we might take on, but things weren’t dire. Sometimes the bank likes us and sometimes it doesn’t, but my bills always get paid—without drug money.”

  “I can’t tell you why he did it, darlin’, only that I’m sorry it ended up this way.” I start peeling off her clothes one item at a time and throwing them in a sodden heap on the bathroom floor. “Maybe if he’d come to the club for help in the first place ...”

  She shakes her head. “That wasn’t how we were raised. That wasn’t Bobby Ray. He’d rather risk his neck than hold out a hand.”

  “So, I guess stubbornness runs in the family then?”

  Her humorless laugh reverberates through my chest. “You could say that. I don’t know how we get through this without him.”

  I hold her tighter and rub my palms soothingly up and down her arms. “One day at a time, Tink. Just one day at a fuckin’ time.”

  I don’t say that I’ll be here with her every step of the way, because the truth is, I don’t know what Chaos’s punishment will be. I’m not a patched member of his club, but I’ve brought a war to their door with my actions tonight, and I know I’m going to pay dearly for it, maybe even with my life. But if it keeps Jupiter safe, then I can’t help thinking it was worth it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Bear

  I roll over and grab the phone. Prez. Shit. I hit accept and crawl out of bed, walking into the bathroom before I say a word, so I won’t wake Jupiter. “Yeah.”

  “Get your ass to the fuckin’ clubhouse. Now!”

  I open my mouth to respond but the dial tone cuts me off. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s heard by now. It doesn’t take an intellectual to know this might be my last day on earth.

  I piss, wash up, and splash water on my face. Then I grab my jeans, pulling on my cut over the black hoodie that was discarded on Jupiter’s bathroom floor. I lean over the bed and brush the hair back from her forehead before I kiss her.

  “Goodbye, baby girl,” I whisper, wishing I had time to say goodbye the way I want. If I’m about to meet my maker, I’m gonna be real pissed that I didn’t get to fuck her one last time.

  Jupiter stirs and smiles up at me. “Where are you going?”

  “Club business.”

  “Will you get some creamer while you’re out? And then come home and fill me with your big, fat cock.”

  I laugh. She’s cute when she’s delirious. “Sure, darlin’. Anything for you.”

  With a sleepy sigh, she rolls over, and I head for the door.

  “Love you, Tennessee,” she mumbles, and I stop dead in my tracks and turn to look at her. She’s facing me, cocooned in the blankets so all I can make out is the pretty shade of pastel hair and her long lashes fanned out against her cheeks. She shifts and for a second, I think she’s just realized what she said and will jump up and take it back, but her mouth just falls open and a loud snore comes out.

  I smile and whisper, “I love you too, Tink.”

  And then I leave before Chaos sends the brothers after me. This is one heartache I want to save Jupiter from.

  Outside, I slide onto my bike and pull my phone from my cut, opening my list of contacts.

  I dial the first number.

  It rings a handful of times before he picks up. “Fuck. What?”

  “It’s Bear.”

  “Jesus.” Anvil groans and the unmistakable sound of him flicking a Zippo lighter and inhaling comes through the receiver. “You forget how to tell time down there in Georgia?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Christ, Bear. You fuck with someone’s ol’ lady?”

  “No. I fucked with someone’s club, and I think I’m about to meet the reaper.”

  There’s a long silence from the other end. “And you want me to save your ass?”

  “Nope. I want you to help out your fellow Kings. My actions have made a war inevitable.”

  “Players?”

  “Here’s where it gets interesting. Remember those fuckers from the Bayou who were shooting up Kings territory in Nashville?”

  “I’m old, kid, but I ain’t that old.” He barks out a wheezy cough and I frown. Anvil has smoked a pack a day since I began prospecting. “My lungs might be shot to shit, but there’s nothin’ wrong with my memory.”

  “They’re running drugs through Uprising to distribute in your backyard.”

  “Motherfuckers.”

  “Thought you’d say that.” I sigh. All I wanna do is climb back into bed with Tink, but that ship has sailed. I gotta do what I can now to help Chaos and the rest of my brothers. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll let me live. “I handled the prez.”

  “Just the prez?”

  “I had a score to settle.”

  “Jesus, you already got your dick twisted up in another bitch, didn’t you?”

  “Somethin’ like that.”

  “So, you fucked a pretty piece of pussy, offed a club president, and now you want me to come clean up your mess?”

  “That’s not all.” I give him the one thing I know that will have his ass on his bike, Georgia bound. “White Nation are involved.”

  He coughs and splutters in the receiver. “Well, why the fuck didn’t you lead with that?”

  I smile, knowing my former prez has been dying for another shot at taking them out after a beef back in the ’70s.

  “We’ll be there in four hours,” he says, then adds, “Kid? If Chaos decides you’re going to hang over this, there isn’t much I can do.”

  “I know. If I hang, she was worth it.”

  “Stupid motherfucker. How many times have I told you not to get attached? Fuck all the pussy you want, but never let a bitch sink her claws in so deep it scars.”

  I chuckle. “Not all of us operate like that.”

  “Asshole, I’ve seen you carve up motherfuckers with a goddamn smile on your face. I never pegged you for a fuckin’ softie.”

  “The right woman will do that to you, Prez.”

  “I’mma miss you calling me that. For what it’s worth, my club hasn’t been the same without you.”

  I laugh. “Now who’s bein’ a fuckin’ softie?”

  “Well, kid, I hope Chaos doesn’t kill you. It’ll give me a chance to kick your ass when I get there.”

  I PULL UP TO THE CLUBHOUSE and park my bike beside Crow’s. Everyone is here—already in church, more than likely—and I sit on my bike and take several deep breaths, looking up at the stars above. I don’t know exactly how this night will end, but I got a feeling I ain’t gonna like it. In my chapter, if someone went against the prez’s orders and brought war down upon the club, that someone found themselves in the ground. I have no reason to believe Chaos will save me from a similar fate, but a man can dream.

  I stroke the chrome handlebars and then flip the kickstand down. The leather seat creaks as I slide off my bike, and I head toward my fate like a dead man walking.

  Inside, everyone is gathered around the table, chatting amongst themselves. All talk ceases when I enter. Chaos glares at me. I dart my gaze toward the other members:
Bouncer, Sly, Jinx, and North, then to Ruin, Sterling, and Saint. Crow and Mako stand behind their sponsors, looking equally chagrinned. Poe closes the door behind me, and Bash joins him, blocking the exit with both arms folded.

  “I ain’t gonna run,” I tell them, but it falls on deaf ears. I turn my attention back to Prez.

  Chaos leans back in his chair, knife in hand as he inspects the blade. “You wanna tell us what the fuck happened last night?”

  “I killed the motherfucker who threatened my girl.”

  Poe laughs, but it’s without humor. “This asshole doesn’t even try to hide it.”

  “Would you? Would any of you sit around with your dick in your hands while someone threatened your ol’ lady?” I look at each of them. Ruin’s throat bobs as he swallows, Saint’s shoulders fall with his long exhalation, and Sterling gives an infinitesimal shake of his head. “I understand your orders were clear that we were to wait, but I wasn’t willing to stake Jupiter’s life on your timeline.”

  “Well, you’ve well and truly fucked us now, haven’t you?”

  “I talked to the Tennessee charter. They’re on their way.”

  Chaos’s brow arches. “You invited a sister charter here without telling me first. That’s a pretty ballsy move, Bear.”

  I shrug. “I’m a desperate man, Chaos. I know the Bayou Bastards have likely figured out it was us and are on their way—after all, it’s what we would do. Avenge our own. Jupiter is mine. They fucked with what’s mine. Their prez died because of it, but I know this doesn’t end here. I know this means war.” I take in each and every one of them, and then direct my next words at Chaos. “I don’t know if I’ll still be breathing air by the day’s end, but I wanted to make sure you had backup when I brought this war to your door.”

  Chaos leans forward in his seat, searching my gaze. “You think I would put you to ground for disobeying my orders?”

  I smile, but it’s pained. “I’ve seen men go to ground for a lot less.”