Left alone, I ride straight into the open chain link fencing surrounding their compound and right up to the main door spray-painted with their insignia. My invitation to the Devils’ request answered.
I'm not off my bike before the metal door flies open, and Cobra steps out, flanked by two of his minions. The bald guy with the Devils crest tattooed on the side of his head is new, but the other one, tall and as thick as Hawk, was one of my prospect brothers back in the day. Moose, if I remember correctly, because when he charged, you either got the hell beat out of you or you got the hell out of his way.
"I'm here," I say, slapping my chest and holding my arms out. "I'm surrendering. Let the girls go, and I won't even fight you."
Cobra sneers. "As much as I like the sound of you giving up, that takes the fun out of my win." He dips his head and laughs while Moose pulls a slugger from behind his back and beats it into his palm. "You want those sweet asses back, you're gonna have to pay for them with more than your skin."
"Then what?" I step closer, but the new thug shakes his head, and I stop. "Name it, Cobra. Whatever you want. Send them both back to Bear, and it's yours."
"You know what I want. I want you to be the one to say it."
"Fine." I put my arms down before I pull off my cuts and throw them on the ground. "I'm yours. You want me as a Devil, you’ve got it."
Moose steps forward and picks up my vest with the top of the baseball bat. He pulls a lighter from his pocket and holds the flame to my Tempest Elite patch. We all watch as it catches and goes out and catches again. We watch until the patch blackens, and the rest of the vest catches before Moose throws it to the ground and lets it burn.
"You got what you want. Now, let them go."
Cobra nods. "We made a deal," he says before he waves in the air.
Two more members walk out from the front door, both with the same bald heads and tattoos. Must be the new initiates’ test. Cobra has always had one. Between them, a figure in baggy grey sweatpants and an oversized long sleeve shirt struggles with a black cloth bag over her head. I can't tell if it's Everly or India, but it doesn't matter. I'm leaving here with both.
Cobra brings her to me, kicks at her feet, and watches her stumble to her knees.
When I reach to catch her, Moose shoves me away. I'd punch him, but I'm outnumbered five to one, and even with Smokey somewhere in the back and Hawk riding up behind, I can't win with those odds.
"Where's the other one?" I ground out.
"You'll get her," Cobra answers. He reaches behind him and pulls a Ruger 9mm from his waist.
My body coils, ready to jump when Cobra turns the gun around and hands me the hilt. "Take it," he says, then shakes it when I don't reach for it immediately.
I'm not sure what he's playing at. This is part of my initiation, I am sure.
"You want in. You have to pay the price." He grabs my hand and points the barrel at the black sack. "It could be anyone under there, Scout. An exiled member. A grifter who tried his luck and lost. Everly. India. If you're willing to take the chance, you're back in. No questions asked. No penalties. If not…"
He doesn't answer because he doesn't have to. The cost of failing is whoever is under the mask eats a bullet seconds before I do.
I take a deep breath and point, stalling for time. Hawk has about ten seconds to show his ass up, and Smokey had better already be in the building looking for whichever of the girls isn't standing in front of me.
I close my eyes and a memory flashes. India in the bar. Innocent. Naive. Out of nowhere, she jumped a man twice her size and held on to him as if her life depended on it. She used such force, she took him down. She caught him off guard and off-balance, and she dropped him.
Something catches my eye behind Cobra. Smokey is positioned behind a truck and posed to take a shot. He nods to his left, and Hawk has the other side. If I play this right, we can take down three before the other two know what's going on.
"Well," Cobra prods. "Are you in or out, brother? Are you one of us?"
I glare at the covered face and point the barrel right where her temple would be. Cobra backs a step for the shot, and when I see the opportunity, I take it.
He doesn't have time to react before I move the sight to his forehead and pull the trigger. I don't hear the other two shots, but the men fall in my peripheral. Both Hawk and Smokey hit their targets. I run at the bundle kneeling on the ground, and I toss it over my shoulder before Hawk charges and takes out the guy closest to us.
I don't slow to locate the last guy. Full throttle, I charge for my bike and don't stop even after gunfire breaks. I only have time to notice my passenger has the hands of a girl as I cut the ties so she can hold onto my back. We are off, and I don't stop until we are far beyond the gates.
Near a clearing, I pull into the grass until we are hidden by a grove of pine trees. I cut the motor and turn, my hands shaking, my heart in my throat. The image of holding the gun to her head forever burned into my brain.
I loosen the tie around her neck and slowly lift the bag until India's hair falls to her shoulders and her darkened eyes meet mine. She's bruised and dirty, but she's safe. I pull her in, and she reaches her lips up to meet mine. I cup my hand around her neck, desperate to check over her entire body for injuries, but she's not going to let me go anytime soon.
I let her hold me for as long as she needs before I sit her back on my bike. "Where's Everly?" I ask. "Do we need to go back for her?"
"I don't know," India says before the tears break, and she sinks into my chest. "She's locked in a room somewhere inside the main building."
I pull away and hold her tear-stained cheeks in my hands. "Are you okay to stay here? Sit behind one of the bigger trees until I come back. Don't show yourself to anyone.”
She nods, and I help her off the bike before turning around and heading back to the compound. I'm not more than a few yards away before Hawk turns the corner, hauling ass with Smokey on his trail with Everly clinging to his back.
It's all I need to see to know we've done what we came for.
Everly and India are safe and Cobra will never bother either again.
India clings to my back and I’m off behind my brothers, heading home with my ol’lady on my bike, right where she belongs.
Epilogue
India
My stomach rolls into a tight knot the second I step out of our borrowed truck. I wasn't sure how my parents would react to meeting Scout. For one, he's the size of a linebacker. For another, he's covered in ink, and no one from my small town has tattoos. At least not ones that show.
I talk Scout into borrowing the truck because, combined with those things, seeing their little girl ride up on the back of a motorcycle might push my parents over the edge.
"Don't be nervous," Scout says. He has his hand on my neck and is massaging away the tension that’s been building there. Or at least he's trying too.
"I should be the one telling you not to be nervous." I force a grin. I really am happy the man I want to marry is about to meet the people who mean the world to me, but that only adds to the pressure.
They know what Scout did for me. It's been all over the local news. Kidnapped. Two women taken from a local hangout and held captive under threat of death. The media ate the story up.
As Scout explained it, Tempest Elite would have rather kept the whole thing in house, but the fatal shot to Cobra and another to one of his goons wouldn't go unnoticed. With three men left to spin the story to their benefit, Bear thought it best to get the police involved, and with my testimony, Scout was cleared of all charges.
That was almost four months ago. It took awhile for the news to reach home, but my phone exploded once it did. Scout's the one who suggested we take a trip to visit my family so they can see for themselves I'm alive and thriving.
Tina has also been calling. She's left messages and texts asking for a girl's night, but I know what she's after. She wants what I have. A man who'll lay down his life to save the wom
an he loves. Not a prayer in hell is going to win her that kind of loyalty.
Speaking of Tina and Joanne, I left my job after my kidnapping. It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable stepping outside the clubhouse, and my boss wasn't very understanding. Bear got me a job working in Hawk's pizzeria, and I'm comfortable there knowing I'm always being looked after. That and Nina has become the unofficial mascot of the place, and I bring her to work with me daily.
"This is it." I point to the narrow dirt road that curves back into a wooded lot. "Turn right here. It's about a quarter-mile down."
Scout does as I instruct, sending me sliding across the bench seat and into his side.
"If I didn't know better." I laugh. "I'd think you cut that turn tight on purpose."
Scout drops his hand from my neck and moves it to my side. He pulls me in even closer, so I'm smashed up against his hard body. This is my favorite place. Next to him with not an inch of space separating us. This is where I feel the safest.
"What if I did?" He jokes. "In about two minutes, I'm going to have to pretend like I haven't thought about taking you in this truck a thousand times in the last three hours. You gotta give me something to hold me over."
I peck his stubbled cheek. He didn't shave for my parents. He was going to, but I told him no. He's perfect the way he is, and if they can't see that from seeing him with me, a clean shave isn't going to change anything.
"I'll make you a deal. When this visit is over, we can stop at one of those motels with the jacuzzi tubs in the room and the half a dozen porn channels."
Scout scows at me. "Not for my ol' lady. We're doing things right. I want my room door on the inside of the building, but I wouldn't mind a little hot tub action."
We pull up to the house, both laughing and smiling. My parents are standing on the front porch. Daddy has on a button-down collar shirt, which means he's serious. Momma has on what is probably her best dress. It's blue and purple with a floral print. She even has her hair done up.
My stomach bottoms out at the sight of them.
"Whoa," Scout says, holding me close as I shiver. "You can't go getting scared on me now. You promised this would all be okay with your parents."
"It will be," I manage, though my throat is closing up. "I just hadn't expected feeling so emotional at seeing them."
Scout pulls to a stop, and he steals one soft kiss before he opens his door and jumps right into the fire. I can't move from fear. He unfurls his entire length from the truck along with his back tee-shirt that shows off double ink sleeves and a pair of tight black jeans that show off everything else.
I can feel my father judging him as he takes him all in with a long up and down glance. I will myself to open my door and move. Scout needs me. He hasn't had a family in so long. I'm not sure how much my father's rejection is going to set him back. I'm rounding the front of the truck, bypassing my mother to reach Scout before my father can start in on him.
But it's all for nothing.
Before I can reach him, my father steps forward, a tear glistening the corners of both eyes. He holds his hand out for Scout to take, and when Scout does, my father pulls him into a bear hug then pats him hard on the back, calling him my son as he does.
My mother's hands fall to my shoulders, stopping me from reaching Scout. She pulls me back and smiles. "Your father has been waiting for this meeting since he heard the news. Let him have his moment."
I have no issues stepping back while my father welcomes Scout into our family. No problems at all. It makes the fact that I want this man in my life forever that much easier to explain later.
Scout
A handshake was more than I'd hoped for, but when India's father called me son...twenty years of not belonging to a family melted away in seconds.
I can't explain the feeling of being accepted other than to say it feels like home.
Inside their farmhouse, I meet one of India's brothers who acts tough, but I can tell he is threatened by me.
We sit in their den and drink tea and talk about the city and how India and I met, leaving out her breaking a beer bottle over a guy's head to save me. Her parents have had enough of a shock for one day. I'll let them find out on their own that I kidnapped their daughter and held her captive in a biker club.
It's getting late when I tell India I'd like to speak to her father alone. I'd brought the ring Everly helped me pick out the week after she and India were saved. I knew then I wanted India in my life forever, but I wanted her to have time to make her own choice. The box has been burning a hole in my pocket, but I could never find the right time.
Until now.
Asking her father for permission was the second hardest thing I've done in my life. Asking India and waiting for her answer will be the hardest. It's now or never. We won't be back to visit her family for a while, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate.
I wait until we are all sitting out on the front porch. India's parents are on the bench swing. Her father's arm is resting on her mother's shoulders. They give me goals for my future with India.
Kids. I hadn't realized it until now, but we've never discussed wanting any. I never thought I'd make a good dad until India ran full force into my life. I wait until she's sitting in a rocking chair beside mine. Her father nods at me and smiles. Her mother’s wearing the same expression on her face, and I'm sure the only person who doesn't know what I'm about to do is India.
She's talking about Tina and Joanne and how she had to work so hard to make friends until she met me. Now she has Everly and Bree, to name a few.
The sun setting behind us makes this the perfect time, so I slide out of my rocker and down to one knee. She stops talking and asks what's going on before her hands fly to her mouth.
"India." My voice is shaking. I pull the box from my pants pocket and open the top. She glances at the ring, but her eyes are back to me within seconds. That's how I know India is for me. I'm her top priority.
"You make me want to be the person you think I am. I'm whole when I have you, and I can't imagine living a day without knowing you are mine. Please, let me love you the way you deserve to be loved. Make me the happiest ol' man in the club and be my wife."
She doesn't answer right away. I watch her gaze move from me to her parents to the ring then back. The seconds ticking by are killing me. Each one is a chance she could say no. Each one is agonizing until she slips her hands from her mouth and nods before she cries, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."
She wraps her arms around my neck, and I have to pry her off to put the ring on her finger. The second I get it on, she gives it a quick glance, and then she's attached to my neck again.
I'm hugging her and watching her mother and father tear up and hold hands. In another twenty years, they could be us, watching one of our kids get engaged and remembering this night.
And I will never forget this moment. Tempest Elite is my home, but here, on this front porch in the middle of the sticks with the love of my life...here, I'm finally with my family.
The End
Note From The Author
I hope you enjoyed Scout finally getting his happy ever after with India. Did you notice Hawk had a bigger role in this book? Want to see what happens when he finds out one of his waitresses at the pizzeria has a stalker? Hawk: Tempest Elite MC Book # 5 is coming soon.
What to know where it all began for this series? See Everly Fall in love with her leading man in Staking His Claim: Tattooed And Taken Book # 5
Kyle
For the past year, I’ve avoided Tempest Elite’s invitations to join their club. Aligning with them could be bad for my business. I’m also not a joiner. I’ve been on my own for years and I’ve settled into a life of long hours and returning home to silence. That is until I walk out of the TE’s clubhouse and see the woman who makes me want to change everything. She’s tall, blonde, and curvy as hell and I’m instantly wanting to brand her with my name. Only issue. She’s the Sergeant at Arms daughter and off-limits to non-me
mbers. I don’t have a prayer in hell, but that won’t stop me from trying.
Everly
I owe my life to Tempest Elite MC. Gunner, the Sergeant at Arms, adopted me when my mother chose drugs and men over her child, and I’ve been raised to respect the lifestyle. Now that I’m twenty-one, Gunner wants to see me settle down with a member and have babies. Only, the man I want refuses to join. I can’t break my father’s heart and disappoint the men who helped raise me, but I can’t say no to my heart either. There has to be a way to bring my two worlds together.
Check out Everly and Kyle stories by one-clicking Staking His Claim today.
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Books By Reagan
The Blue Line Brotherhood Series
Confess
Seduced
Uphold
Protect
Tattooed And Taken Series
Baby on Board
Her Brother’s Best Friend
Tattooed By Her Silver Fox
Her Bad Boy Bartender
Staking His Claim
Her Tattooed Single Father
Tattooed and Taken Box Set
Stand Alone
Lone Star Sizzle
Second Chance Cowboy
Tempest Eilte MC Series
Bear
Doc
Gunner
Scout: Tempest Elite MC Page 9