“Gunny called, right after Mason.”
“And what information did Gunny have to impart?” Bones was still reeling from the call to tell him Watcher had died on the side of the road in Texas. Only seven hours from his beloved Juanita. He went fast, Bones. Mason’s words ran through his head again. Nothing anyone could do. They’d all seen it before. He knew. Every rider knew the odds. It’s not if you go down, it’s when. Mangled bodies from crashes, riders more vulnerable than they appeared. Bodies subjected to impacts which destroyed them. Every person had a lifeline, and when the fates decreed an ending, it would come. Whether peacefully in bed, or in a crumpled pile on blood-crusted sand.
Road made a noise and Bones looked up, realizing he hadn’t listened to the answer he’d requested. “My apologizes.” He swallowed and corrected himself. “Apologies. What did Gunny say?”
“You were good friends with Watcher,” Road Runner commented, and Bones tipped his head to one side, nodding slowly. “Did you know his sister?” A headshake, because he hadn’t met Watcher until after he’d left the military, back when he was in the Outriders. Back before the world changed. “Fury has Gunny looking into some odd accidents in Kentucky, and turns out Watcher’s sister was one of the oddnesses. She died in a single car accident. Everyone thought it was suicide, because of…shit that happened to her when she was little.”
Road’s pause was odd, and Bones noted that so he could question it in a moment. For now, he allowed the man to continue speaking unimpeded.
“Now it’s looking like it wasn’t what they thought. Duck’s woman, Brenda, her parents were killed in a single car accident. She survived, but the circumstances around her survival are murky. Gunny’s finding it harder to zero in on that one, there’s some mystery about how she even lived. But there’s a pattern of deaths in that area of the country that does not feel right.”
“Why are you…?” Bones took a breath. “What does this mean to you?”
Road took a breath, and Bones braced for his next words. “Things line up with Morgan’s time in that part of the country, boss.”
Bones shook his head, still not sure what this meant. “Shooter’s been in and out of Kentucky for decades. I’m not sure—”
“Not Shooter,” Road Runner interrupted him. “Justice Morgan. Mason’s step-dad.”
***
Juanita
Juanita stared up into the darkness. She’d been awake for hours, knew from the glow slipping in around the curtains the sun would be rising soon. One of their roosters shared her knowledge, and crowed, his cracked voice pulling a weak smile to her tear-smeared face. Watcher insisted they have chickens, claimed he enjoyed the noisy things. The door to the bedroom opened silently, letting in light from the hallway, and she held her position. I refuse. Soft footfalls against the floor signaled the entrance she’d been dreading. Spider.
She’d been napping when she felt it, a pain in her chest that pulled her awake, sweating and gasping for breath. Heart pounding, she’d listened, but there was nothing more than the TV in the living room. As she sat upright, the ache spread, becoming agony swarming along her bones and she’d instinctively crawled to Watcher’s side of the bed, pulling his pillow to her body to help blunt the pain. His scent on the soft surface of the pillow had soothed her, a forest musk which never left him, melding with the metallic smell of a thousand road trips, musky and male, and him.
Throat tight, she’d been trying to fight tears, wanting to call out to Spider to pull him away from the television show, desperate for anything to distract her from the pain, when she’d heard his phone ring. The bright sound cut off quickly, and she’d strained for anything that would tell her what was going on. Bending to bury her face in the pillow when her hands lifted to cover her ears, trying and failing to block out the sounds of his grief. Sobs and cries that tore at her, leaving furrows of anguish behind.
Coward, she’d taunted herself, and still remained behind her closed door. Feigning sleep the dozen times he’d checked on her, leaving them to each fight their demons alone. The hour came and went when she would have expected Watcher to return, the clock on the nightstand uncaring of the order she tried to impose on it with her mind.
Now her time was up, gone was the solitary space she’d carved out by her refusal to admit what she already knew. The edge of the mattress depressed near her hip, and she slowly turned to face Spider, seeing news on his features she didn’t know she could survive. Outside a rumble grew and grew until she could pick out individual exhausts from the mix of what sounded like hundreds of motorcycles. Not the one she needed, though. No matter how she listened, how she searched, that belling rumble her ears were tuned to failed to appear.
And still
“How many did we lose?” The question came through the phone and he sucked in a steadying breath, not surprised when the question was snapped again, the man on the phone impatient for knowledge he didn’t want to impart. “How many, dammit?”
“Too many.”
The end (of this story)
THANK YOU AND EXTRAS
Hoss, Duck, and Watcher!
Thank you for reading these stories set inside the world of our Rebel Wayfarers. I hope they were exactly what you wanted!
Volume 10-12 Now Available on All Platforms
Featuring stories ten through twelve in the RWMC series, the next collection includes full versions of Bones, Fury, and Cassie and is available now. Happy reading!
Global link: books2read.com/RWMC-Vol10-12
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raised in the south, Wall Street Journal & USA TODAY bestselling author MariaLisa learned about the magic of books at an early age. Every summer, she would spend hours in the local library, devouring books of every genre. Self-described as a book-a-holic, she says "I've always loved to read, but then I discovered writing, and found I adored that, too. For reading...if nothing else is available, I've been known to read the back of the cereal box."
Want sneak peeks into what she’s working on, or to chat with other readers about her books? Join the Facebook group! bit.ly/deMora-FB-group
deMora’s got a spam-free newsletter list she’d love to have you join, too: bit.ly/mldemora-newsletter
~~~~~
Hoss!
Thank you for reading Hoss, book #7 in the Rebel Wayfarers MC series. This book, more than any other, was a struggle to get onto the page in a way that made sense to the characters. The main female character has lived in poverty with her young son for years, separated from the support of her family by circumstances, desperate and in need. Alone. Like many single parents, she works hard to make certain her little family of two stays sheltered, fed, and most importantly, together.
Homelessness is a real issue in the U.S., as well as other countries around the globe. In the U.S., families make up about thirty-five percent of the total sheltered homeless population. Most are single-parent families headed by women, making up more than eighty percent of all sheltered homeless families. At least sixty percent of sheltered homeless women have children, but only sixty-five percent live with at least one of them. Families broken.
Please note the use of the word “sheltered” in those statistics, because these are the ones we know about. The ones who are lucky enough to find safe beds, warm meals, and helping hands. These figures do not count the most vulnerable families, the ones separated from society, subject to predators, and living in tent cities, automobiles, motels, or on the street.
More than four million single parent families in America were homeless in 2013. All studies indicate that figure has only grown in the intervening years. In large urban areas the evidence is painfully present on the street and asleep on park benches or in doorways every day, but even small rural towns are not exempt as families struggle with finances, health issues, job loss, or any combination of the three. In one place in this book, Hoss tells Mason that Hope had been living hand-to-mouth, not even paycheck-to-paycheck, and for too many families this is true. Homelessness c
an be just one financial misstep away. Their real life.
Resources can be difficult to track down when you don’t have stable housing, which opens the door, giving us all a chance to help, even if we cannot afford to assist monetarily. Simply being familiar with the opportunities in your area can allow you to become that desperately needed alternative resource.
For someone struggling to keep their family together, to lift themselves up and keep from drowning under the weight of it all, seeing your outstretched giving, helping hand can mean so much. Take a moment and become that supportive shoulder, give yourself a chance to hold out that caring hand. It can matter more than you might ever know. We’re all in this together, trying to make our way as best we can. Help make that process a little easier for someone. Become the brother, sister, or friend they didn’t know they had.
For more information about homelessness in your region of the U.S., and to find resources to help combat it, please check out the following resources:
Child Care Aware
800-424-2246
www.childcareaware.org
Health Care for the Homeless Clinics
www.bphc.hrsa.gov/hchirc/directory/
Homelessness Resource Center
Email: [email protected]
www.homeless.samhsa.gov
The National Center of Family Homelessness
Email: [email protected]
www.familyhomelessness.org
National Center for Homeless Education
www.serve.org/nche
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
202-708-4663
www.usich.gov
United Way’s First Call for Help
Dial 211 from any phone
www.211.org
BINGO’S POETRY FROM Hoss
Bingo is our resident poet for the Rebel Wayfarers’s, and for Hoss he penned a beautiful poem that could be lyrics, or a passionate spoken word.
What they say
Beauty lies
They say
In the eyes
Where what we see becomes truth
Where what we know becomes twisted
That twist bursting seams with joy wasted
Bringing down our towers of unused youth
Beauty lies
They say
In the mouth
Where what we remark can hurt or heal
Where what we hear can give us peace
True peace reaching through passionate release
Giving the courage to look within and feel
Beauty lies
They say
In the heart
Where what we feel turns into certainty
Where what we sense imbues our dreaming
Filling places inside with rich meaning
Eager ardor fully worthy of raw clarity
Beauty lies
They say
In the soul
Where what we absorb feeds our brightness
Where what we imbibe nourishes good
Enthralling brilliance blinding as it should
Our tribe surrounded free in captive rightness
Copyright © 2015 – MariaLisa deMora
Duck!
Thank you for reading Duck, book #8 in the Rebel Wayfarers MC series. I grooved on writing his story and seeing things come full circle for him in so many ways. Liked watching, tagging along in his head as he figured out how a broken life can fit back together, puzzle piece by piece, even if it looks impossible. He never gave up, and I love that about him. I hope you enjoyed reading his story half as much as I liked writing it!
Watcher!
This is Book #9 in a series. Throughout this series we’ve been introduced to so many wonderful characters. People who live in my head in a way that makes them seem real in many aspects. I hope you fell in love with Watcher and his Juanita, and will continue in this saga along with me. Next up will be Bones’ story, fraught with love and loss, and love.
Also by MariaLisa deMora
Neither This Nor That MC romance series
Legends are born from moments like these. Folktales spun around a single point in time so perfect, you can almost hear the click resonating through the universe as things align. Meet Twisted, Po’Boy, Retro, and Ragman, good old boys from southern states who have many things in common. First, is a bone-deep love of the biker lifestyle. Second, would be their love of the brotherhood, and knowing that you trust the man at your back. Finally, these men have the love of a good woman. None of these come without a price, and it is our pleasure to journey along with them as they discover the blessings that can be won, and lost along the way.
This is the Route of Twisted Pain
Treading the Traitor’s Path: Out Bad
Shelter My Heart
Trapped by Fate on Reckless Roads
Thunderstruck
5-Star Reviews for the stories of the NTNT MC series
This is the Route of Twisted Pain
"This is the Route of Twisted Pain is an exhilarating, gripping romance novel contrived of incredible world building, complex yet relatable characters, and a unique, captivating plot.
Gifted storyteller MariaLisa deMora beautifully balances exciting suspense, fast action, intriguing secrets with delicious, blazing hot romance scenes.
Readers will be up all night with this riveting page-turner."
~ NY Literary Magazine
I am completely tickled in my fancy for TWISTED!
First off, let me state that there was one thing I didn't like about this book and that is the LAST PAGE! I hated for it to end. I dearly loved this book and its characters as well as their setting.
~Colleen M.
Gripping tale
Twisted and Penny fit together beautifully. The book covers so much more than just their love story. Great introduction to the Incoherent MC. The tale is gripping and gritty. The journey is full of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down. Cannot wait for the next one.
~Lillmil
Twisted is one of the most original and interesting characters I have read in a long time. Marialisa's character building is setting a high bar for her to follow, she will hopefully continue with Po'Boy's story. The Route of Twisted Pain was pure brilliance, and I highly recommend this read.
~Penny T.
This book obsessed me!
This may be the best book I read all year.
These people...they're not characters, they're real... have stuck in my head from the day I met them.
MariaLisa deMora can throw words down that'll Twist (hehe) your insides up till you can't breathe for waiting to hear what's next!
I'm working my way through her other 'families' and yup....she really is that good.
~DeLane
Treading the Traitor’s Path: Out Bad
"Treading the Traitor's Path: Out Bad is a solidly engrossing, well-written novel by a talented author.
MariaLisa deMora delivers a thrilling ride filled with exciting suspense, deliciously explicit, vivid sex scenes, and gritty, fast-paced action. Her characters are smart, complex, and strong with sharp edges. The settings meticulously detailed.
Fans of Motorcycle Club romance stories will not want to miss this second installment in deMora's exciting series."
~ NY Literary Magazine
What an amazing read! DeMora does not simply wrote a book, she pulls you into a different world. When you read her work, you are very much surrounded by the characters and setting. Prepare for a book hangover because once you finish the book, you will still be stuck with Po Boy.
~KW
THIS WAS AMAZING. Highly recommend for a good story line, interesting characters. I just wish there was more more more.
~Laura
Loved This Book!
What did I just read?! Is my kindle still working? I'm pretty sure it combusted into flames while reading this story. RED HOT READ for 2017. Not what I was expecting at all! I te
nd to stay away from ménage a trois, because for me it's hard to say there's any kind of conflict except for jealousy, and the ending kind of leaves things unresolved and unrealistic. NOT THIS BOOK! The best one out there guaranteed.
~Linda A
...seriously this series is just WTF so freaking good. Dark, Twisted, harsh, painful and raw. Po'Boy lives for his club, his brothers and his family, there is nothing he wouldn't do for them.
~Fay
I live and breathe for books like this! Fabulously Naughty!...Wickedly Hot! This is my first book by MariaLisa deMora and it will not be my last. MariaLisa delivered a 5 STAR READ! The plot is filled with action, suspense, romance and tons of hot scenes.
~Jenny F
~~~~~
Alace Sweets, a dark romantic suspense standalone
A dark thriller, this book is not a light read. Filled with edge-of-your-seat suspense, this intense story commands the reader's attention as it drives towards the explosive ending. Alace Sweets is a vigilante serial killer, with everything that implies and is sure to trip all your triggers. Be ready.
At seventeen, Alace Sweets turned a corner in her life, taking the wrong shortcut home from school.
Resisting the harsh knowledge her attackers will never be made to pay for their actions, Alace takes a stand. Justice must be served, and if fate’s scales are out of balance, she’s determined to set things right as best she can.
When the laws of men fail, the rules of Alace prevail.
5-Star Reviews for Alace Sweets
“Whatever deep dark trench [deMora] pulled a character like Alace from should be revisited again and often.”
Rebel Wayfarers MC Boxset 3 Page 106