by S. Nelson
Copyright © 2020 S. Nelson
Editor- Hot Tree Editing
Cover Design – CT Cover Creations
Proofreader – Judy’s Proofreading
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the publisher’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Ace/ S.Nelson. -- 1st edition
To families, in whatever form they come
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Epilogue
Want More?
The Original KCMC
Stay Informed
Also Available
About the Author
Note to Reader
Acknowledgments
Books by S. Nelson
1
Gravel kicked up beneath the tires when Hawke steered off the main road and onto a hidden pathway. The seat in the back of the van, across from Linc, with the Reapers’ prospect lying unconscious between us, wasn’t the best one to have. I had to brace myself against the side just so I didn’t topple over, especially when our driver took a few corners too quickly.
“What do you think is gonna happen when we get to the safe house?” My question was directed toward anyone who cared to answer, even though I was looking at Linc. I doubted he could see me, however, because we were shrouded in darkness.
Kaden turned in his seat up front. “Who the fuck knows at this point. I swear shit went from bad to worse in just weeks.”
“Stealing Reaper property didn’t help things any,” Hawke gritted right before he veered the vehicle to the right, entering a residential neighborhood.
“Don’t start,” Linc rebutted.
“I’m just sayin’,” the nomad retorted, slowing down as he pulled into a driveway.
“We don’t need a recap,” Kaden chimed in that time. He opened his door and hopped out as soon as Hawke tucked the van inside a garage.
Seconds later, the sliding door opened, and Linc jumped out, waiting for me as I stepped over the lifeless body in front of me. Once we all stood together, Hawke came around and pushed me out of the way, motioning for Kaden to help him by pointing at our unwanted guest, then yanking the Reaper from the van and dumping him on the ground.
“Need some help?” Rez appeared in the doorway leading into the house, walking toward us as he glanced down at the bloodied man. His black hair was messed, like he’d just woken up, and while that might be the case, he looked otherwise alert and ready to lend a hand.
He’d been assigned here with Nash and Miles, all three from our Laredo charter, to watch over Tag until Marek decided what to do with him.
“Yeah. Grab his other arm,” Hawke instructed, helping to haul the guy into the house, giving me, Linc, and Kaden a few seconds to wrap our heads around the entire scene before following them.
“We were gonna end up here anyway. We’re just a day early.” Kaden shook his head then checked his phone, typing out a message before jamming the device back into the inside pocket of his cut. “And originally Prez wanted Cutter here, but I gotta say I’m happy he’s not. That man’s intensity freaks me out sometimes, and we have enough to deal with as it is.”
We’d recently been made aware of the club’s safe house but hearing such a place existed and standing in its garage, about to walk inside any moment, was a whole other thing. Tag had been tortured in the basement of this place, and while I knew he wasn’t strapped to the table any longer, I had no idea what condition he’d be in once we set eyes on him.
I didn’t know much about Tag, but from what I did, I liked him. He was a help to Kaden working at the garage and had always been friendly toward me. Wishing for a good outcome where he was concerned didn’t mean one would come to be. Some of us were still in the dark as to what Marek was gonna do with him, even though he was aware the only affiliation Tag had to the Reapers was that his father was one. A despicable one at that.
An ominous feeling hung overhead as we finally stepped inside.
“They’re in the basement,” Miles shouted from the living room where he was sprawled out on the couch. The few times I’d met him, he always struck me as a serious guy. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, but he could be older, his light brown, shoulder-length hair streaked mostly with gray.
His eyes roamed over the three of us quickly before he turned his attention back to the television, lacking any sense of concern for what was going on right under our feet.
“This way,” Kaden shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared into another room. Linc followed, as did I, all three of us descending a rickety set of steps into the underbelly of the house, moving to the side when Rez passed us on his way back upstairs.
I wasn’t sure what to expect once we entered the basement, but the sight that greeted me wasn’t it. Dried blood droplets were splattered along the ground beneath a long table, two wrist and ankle straps attached, which now restrained the Reaper. A metal rolling cart sat in the corner with several knifes of various sizes set on top. The ominous vibe of the room disturbed me, plain and simple.
“Where’s Tag?” I hadn’t seen him when we walked in, and the only people in the basement were the Reaper, me, Linc, Kaden, and Hawke.
The creak of the steps alerted us to another visitor. “He’s upstairs.” Nash walked into the room, greeting everyone and acting like this was one big fuckin’ reunion. His lengthy dark hair was tied back from his face, and while he appeared young, he was actually at least thirty years older than me, putting him around fifty-four, give or take a year. “Who do we got here?” He peered around me and Kaden.
“Reaper,” I answered.
“Another one?”
“Yeah. Only this guy really does belong to their club. Not like Tag.” Linc checked his cell while he spoke. “This guy is one of their prospects.”
“He looks like a fuckin’ kid.” Nash walked up next to the unconscious guy and moved his head from side to side before stepping back.
“Who cares how old he looks?” Linc hit a button on his screen before answering. “What?” He walked toward the corner of the room, plugging one ear so he could hear who
ever was on the other end of the phone. “Fuck, Brick. Fine. Put her on.” His entire posture locked up tight. “Maddie, calm down. Yes. I’ll be back when I can, then we can talk. No. I can’t right now. I. Know.” He turned to look behind him, catching my eye. He shook his head, his nostrils flaring while he continued the conversation with his woman. “I’m not gonna talk about it right now. I told you not to concern yourself with him anymore. I’m aware of that. I was there.” A short pause followed. “I don’t care. That’s none of your business.” Another brief stretch of silence. “Maddie. Hello? Maddie!” he shouted, pulling the phone away from his ear so he could check the screen. “Fuck!” He shoved his cell into his back pocket and ran his hand down his face, mumbling something before shaking his head.
Maddie hadn’t been with us long, but we could all see the connection between them. She was slowly coming out of her shell, more so when she had a few drinks in her. I couldn’t begin to imagine what she’d truly been through while kept locked away with those bastards, but at least now she was free of them. And Linc was doing what he could to help her get over it, or at least move past what happened.
My thoughts quickly shifted to Chelsea. If she’d endured a fraction of what Maddie had, I’d rain down hell on those who’d touched her. Which was probably why Linc glared at the Reaper, who had just started to come around, groaning every time he tried to move.
Before I saw him raise his arm, Linc smashed his fist into the side of the prospect’s face, blood splattering from his nose and mouth, beads of red joining those already dried on the floor. I jumped back just in time not to get any on me.
“What the hell?” I was gonna ask him why but quickly deduced that he was more than amped up from his call with Maddie, which was nothin’ more than a reminder as to why we were all here right now.
He never acknowledged my quick outburst, instead, hitting the guy once more. “You know we’re gonna kill you, right?” One more jab to the jaw. “Right?”
“Maybe we should wait for Prez to get here before we do anything else.” I tried to be the voice of some semblance of reason, although my words fell on deaf ears.
Linc wasn’t a violent guy by nature, even though some might think the opposite because he was a trained fighter. In fact, the opposite was true. Even with his moods switching easily these past couple of weeks, he was typically calm, which only made his threat to the Reaper that much more alarming.
Nash hung back, leaning against the nearest wall, watching intently with his hands hidden in his pockets. Kaden stood next to me, tension radiating off him but nowhere near the level it was from Linc.
“There it is.” Hawke laughed, securing his hair out of his face, his devious grin making my stomach roll. I wasn’t a pussy. I’d been in my share of fights, some of them right alongside my brothers here, but killing someone was in a whole other category, and seeing the enjoyment on the nomad’s face made me take a step back.
“There’s what?” Kaden asked.
“The fight.” Hawke glanced at all of us, minus Nash. “I thought you guys were soft. There might just be hope for you yet.” It was pointless to argue with him on whether we were “soft,” because in the end, I didn’t care what he thought of me. And I could speak for the other two, stating they’d agree with me.
A door slammed above our heads, followed by several voices. Assuming it was Marek and one of the other guys, I waited impatiently until they joined us. Then a moment later, I heard the creak of the steps right before I saw him, followed by Tripp, who had to duck so as not to hit his head.
Prez shoved past all of us and stood directly next to the Reaper. “What’s his name?”
“Does it matter?” Hawke asked, snapping his mouth shut when Marek flipped him a glare.
“Pike,” Linc answered, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he closely watched every movement our leader made.
Marek leaned over the body, studying him before opening the Reaper’s cut, peeling his shirt away from his side. “Which one of you shot him?”
I looked to Kaden, then Linc, my eyes coming to rest on Hawke, who ended up answering.
“I’d love to take credit, but it wasn’t me.”
“Then it wasn’t any of us,” I said, glancing back between Linc and Kaden, waiting for them to disagree.
“It must’ve been his club.” Linc relaxed his fingers before cracking them. “He said they were the ones who beat him up.”
“Not surprising,” Tripp added. “The only rule with that club is that there are no rules.”
“Like in Fight Club,” Hawke retorted.
“No.” Tripp shook his head. “The main rule there is that you don’t talk about Fight Club.” They bantered as if there wasn’t a man teetering between this world and the next.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Hawke grinned and slapped his brother’s shoulder. “I miss this shit. Is that wrong?”
Tripp looked down at Pike before returning his eyes to his sibling. “A little bit.”
“You two done?” Prez asked, turning the Reaper’s head from side to side. They both nodded in response. The prospect groaned, finally fluttering his eyes open soon after Marek touched him. I stepped closer, craning my neck around the side of Hawke so I could see better. “Why did you come to our club? You had to know things wouldn’t end well for you by doing that, right?”
Marek appeared cool and collected, even though he looked disheveled. Anyone could see he was exhausted, like he’d seen too much during his life and this was just something else he had to create a memory of.
Pike didn’t respond at first, so Linc did it for him. “He said he came to warn us they were comin’ for us. And he confirmed they were the ones who set the fire at Indulge.”
“Why would he come to warn us?” Tripp asked, scratching the side of his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I think he’s got a thing for Maddie.” Kaden held up his hands when Linc took a step toward him. “Hear me out. He said he tried to get them to leave her alone. To get new pussy. You don’t do that, try and protect someone like that unless you care about them. He even shoved her at you during the fight so you could take her.” He paused a moment before saying, “I think he’s in love with her.”
“He. Raped. Her,” Linc seethed. “He was the reason she was there in the first place.”
“I’m not sayin’ we should let him go. I’m just tellin’ ya what I think.”
“Well, no one wants to hear it.”
The tic in Linc’s jaw showed he was about to lose his shit any minute, and I didn’t want to be in such close quarters when it happened, so I retreated until my back hit the wall.
Marek grabbed a chunk of Pike’s hair and lifted his head off the table. “Is this true? Were you tryin’ to protect Maddie even though you were the one who brought her into your fuckin’ club?” I waited for him to ask if he was in love with her, but he didn’t, which was probably for the best, considering Linc’s demeanor.
The back of Pike’s head hit the wood of the table with a thud. “Ye… yeah,” he finally said, his expression contorting as he struggled to pull air into his lungs. “I hate my… myself for bring… bringing her there.”
“You should,” Linc yelled, advancing a step before Tripp laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“What do you think we should do with you now?” Prez asked, folding his arms over his chest, the crinkle of his leather amplified in the small space.
“Kil… kill me.”
“Did he say what I think he did?” I asked, pushing off the wall and walking back toward where Pike was sprawled out.
“Yup. He wants us to kill him,” Hawke parroted, pulling the gun from his waistband the same time Linc did. I wasn’t sure how I felt about witnessing a murder, but I sure as hell didn’t want Linc to be the one to pull the trigger. I could sleep better at night if Hawke was the one to end the guy’s life. The act suited him more.
Marek leaned over the prospect, asking him a question I was
curious about myself. “Why do you want us to kill you?”
Although slow, his response was immediate. “Bec… because you’ll give me… a quick death.” I thought I heard a gurgling sound when he inhaled. “They won’t.”
Prez nodded before stepping closer to our VP’s son, resting his hand on his shoulder. “This one’s yours.”
I thought there would be some sort of hesitation on Linc’s part, but only a second passed before he cocked his gun and pressed it to the side of Pike’s temple.
“Lincoln!” I had to stall for time before he pulled the trigger.
“What?” He never took his eyes off the prospect.
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
“After everything Maddie’s been through because of him? You’re fuckin’ right I do.” A veil of contempt and rage drifted over his face, and for a moment, the guy pointing the gun at the Reaper wasn’t someone I recognized. In the end, however, he would have to be the one to deal with his decision, so I clamped my mouth shut and didn’t say another word about it.
Just when I thought the next sound I’d hear would be a gunshot, Pike pried his lips open and spoke.
“Ca… can I ask you some… something first?” His breathing sounded more labored than before. Linc’s answer was to press the nozzle of his gun harder into his temple. “Can you watch over my sis… sister and mother?”