by Wilder, L.
Ties That Bind
Ruthless Sinner’s MC
L. Wilder
Ties That Bind
Ruthless Sinners MC Series- Book 1
Copyright 2020
L. Wilder- All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication or any part of this series may be reproduced without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Some of the places named in the book are actual places found in Nashville, Tennessee. The names, characters, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of various products and locations referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
L. Wilder be sure to stay connected-
Social media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeslieWilder
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wilder_leslie
Instagram: http://instagram.com/LWilderbooks
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/L-Wilder/e/B00NDKCCMI/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/l-wilder
Sign up for L. Wilder’s Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1RGsREL
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Image: Wander Book Images
Model- Griffin
Editor: Lisa Cullinan
Proofreader- Rose Holub @ReadbyRose
Proofreader: Honey Palomino
Teasers & Banners: Gel Ytayz at Tempting Illustrations
Personal Assistant: Natalie Weston PA
Catch up with the entire Satan’s Fury MC Series today!
All books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Summer Storm (Satan’s Fury MC Novella)
Maverick (Satan’s Fury MC #1)
Stitch (Satan’s Fury MC #2)
Cotton (Satan’s Fury MC #3)
Clutch (Satan’s Fury MC #4)
Smokey (Satan’s Fury MC #5)
Big (Satan’s Fury #6)
Two Bit (Satan’s Fury #7)
Diesel (Satan’s Fury #8)
Blaze (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 1)
Shadow (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 2)
Riggs (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 3)
Murphy (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 4)
Gunner (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 5)
Gus (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 6)
Rider (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 7)
Day Three (What Bad Boys Do Book 1)
Damaged Goods- (The Redemption Series Book 1- Nitro)
Max’s Redemption (The Redemption Series Book 2- Max)
Inferno (Devil Chasers #1)
Smolder (Devil Chaser #2)
Ignite (Devil Chasers #3)
Consumed (Devil Chasers #4)
Combust (Devil Chasers #5)
My Temptation (The Happy Endings Collection #1)
Bring the Heat (The Happy Endings Collection #2)
His Promise (The Happy Endings Collection #3)
Created with Vellum
Contents
Prologue
1. Hawk
2. Delilah
3. Hawk
4. Delilah
5. Hawk
6. Delilah
7. Hawk
8. Delilah
9. Hawk
10. Delilah
11. Hawk
12. Delilah
13. Hawk
14. Delilah
15. Hawk
16. Delilah
17. Hawk
18. Delilah
19. Hawk
20. Delilah
21. Hawk
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from Prospect: Satan’s Fury MC-Memphis
1. Prospect
2. Landry
Prologue
I never considered myself to be a player. Sure, I appreciated the company of a beautiful woman from time to time, but I never led any of them on. I didn’t make empty promises or insinuations that I was looking for anything more than a good, hard fuck. Never had to. I’d always made sure the women I hooked up with knew exactly what they were getting into—a night of the best sex they’d ever had—followed by my immediate exit.
Just to be clear, I wasn’t some lost soul who was searching for the love I never got as a kid. Nothing happened to me in my past that fucked me up and I wasn’t able to shake it. I wasn’t seeking some kind of validation or affection to heal my wounded heart. I was simply a man who didn’t want any complications. I didn’t have time for it and most likely never would.
Don’t get me wrong. There were times when I found myself wondering if I was missing out on something—like the night my brothers and I had gone to Memphis to party with the brothers of Satan’s Fury. While I was there, I’d met a woman who made me question my wicked ways. She was beautiful, but it was her spirit and strength that got to me the most. For the first time in my life, I’d actually considered a life full of complications, but then I discovered she belonged to someone else. Normally, that wouldn’t have been enough to stop me from trying to make a play for her, but she was tied to Clay, my president’s nephew, which made her completely off-limits. I’ll admit, after meeting Landry Dawson, I started to wonder if I’d ever find a woman to claim as my own.
Hawk
Loyalty. Faith. Family. Those are the ties that bind. I'd never realized just how important those ties were until I joined the Ruthless Sinners MC. With them, I’d found a family who’d stand by my side when things went south, as I would them. No matter the circumstance, our loyalty to one another never wavered. We were family—our ties stronger than blood—and I’d never been prouder than the day my brothers voted me in as their sergeant-at-arms. I’d always done my best to fulfill my duties, even when it wasn’t easy—just like tonight.
The brothers had gathered at Stilettos, the club’s main front business, to check out the new strippers our manager had just hired. The guys were eager to see the fresh meat before we opened for the night. They looked like kids on Christmas morning when the music started playing and Candy stepped up on the stage. The hot blonde was all smiles as she made her way over to the pole, and of course, all the guys started hooting and hollering the second she slipped off her halter top. I, on the other hand, just wasn’t into it. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that I didn’t find Candy attractive, I did. Hell, when it came to chicks, it didn’t matter if they were tall, short, thick, or thin, I could find something appealing about all of them.
But tonight, I had more important things on my mind than getting laid. I was pissed that I hadn’t heard back from Danny—the club’s supplier. He and I needed to have words, and he knew it.
I reached into my back pocket for my phone and was about to dial his number when I heard Axel ask, “Something up?”
“Just waiting to hear back from Danny.”
No one would ever guess that Axel had a good ten to fifteen years on me. The guy was built like an ox and could take any asshole who was stupid enough to go up against him—which was one of the many reasons he was the club’s VP. Axel was aware of the issue with Danny, so I wasn’t surprised when he asked, “You think we should have Shotgun pay him a visit?”
“Definitely.” While Stilettos brought in a good bit of cash for the club, it was nothing compared to the mo
ney the girls brought in when they sold coke to our customers. The club had been using Danny for years. We’d done our homework, knew he was supplying for several others in the area, and they’d been pleased with not only his reliability but his product. Everyone knew he wasn’t the main supplier, that he was getting the take from a distributor in Texas, but he’d always been dependable when it came to keeping up with our supply and demand. But recently, it seemed we were having to deal with one fuck-up after the next. It started with a couple of late deliveries, which quickly progressed into him missing one altogether. That in itself should’ve been enough for us to walk away, but we were in a bind for time and bought one last shipment from him—one big fucking shipment that cost over two hundred grand to get our hands on.
We’d assumed it would be our last time having to deal with Danny ... until we discovered that part of the shipment was counterfeit. That discovery hadn’t come until days later, when we started breaking down the shipment. Viper was pissed to find that over half of the take was counterfeit, especially since it was the half we hadn’t tested on delivery. That was on us, but the fact remained, Danny was the one who’d swindled us. He’d crossed a line, a big fucking line, and he damn well knew it. The motherfucker knew he would have to answer to the club for what he’d done. That’s why he was laying low and hadn’t returned any of my fucking calls. I glanced over at Shotgun, the club’s enforcer, and Rafe, then shook my head when I saw him gawking at Candy’s ass as she stepped off the stage. “The sooner the better.”
“Can’t disagree with you there.” A concerned look crossed his face. “This whole thing is fucked up.”
“Yeah, but one way or another, we’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t doubt that ... It’s just ... we need to keep in mind there’s the possibility that Danny didn’t know the product was counterfeit.”
“Maybe, but there’s also the possibility that the asshole just got fucking greedy and was hoping to pull one over on us.” I reached for an Ultra-Light and took a long pull. “But I hope, for his sake, that’s not it.”
“Yeah. If that’s the case, it won’t end well for him.”
“Well, we won’t know for sure until Shotgun gets his hands on him.”
Axel glanced over at Shotgun, snickering as he watched our brother pull Candy onto his lap. “As amped up as those two are right now, they’re liable to kill the stupid sonofabitch before he ever gets a chance to talk.”
I chuckled as I stood and walked over to Shotgun. Our enforcer wasn’t a small man, but he wasn’t as big as one might think. He was tall with an athletic, muscular build, and he could handle himself just as well as the rest of us, but his physical appearance had nothing to do with why he’d been chosen as the club’s enforcer. The choice was simple really. Shotgun had talents the rest of us just didn’t have. He was missing that part of the brain that made a man feel empathy or the slightest bit of remorse for the pain he dished out, especially when that person had gone against the club. When vengeance took over, torture and all the other things that might make another man squeamish wouldn’t affect him in the least. There was nothing he wouldn’t do when it came to extracting the intel we needed from a particular individual. That, and the fact that the man could do some real damage with a shotgun, like wipe-out-an-entire-army kind of damage, made him a force to be reckoned with. With his particular skill set, the guy was invaluable to the club, and I knew I could trust him to figure out what the hell was going on with Danny. Candy was trying to squirm out of his lap when I said, “’Gun ... I got something I need you to do.”
“All right.” He let out a deep sigh as he lifted Candy off his lap. “What do you need me to do?”
“I want you and Rafe to head over to Danny’s place and see if you find any sign of him.”
“And if I do?”
“Bring his ass to the club. We have things to discuss with him.”
His brows furrowed. “This about his last shipment?”
“Yeah.” I crossed my arms as I continued, “It’s time he gave us some answers about what the fuck is going on.”
“Understood.”
“He’s gotta know we’re gonna be looking for him, so watch your back,” I warned. “You can never be too careful in situations like these.”
“I got it covered.”
I watched as he motioned over to Rafe, letting him know it was time to go. Rafe took one last glance at the new chick on the stage before standing and following Shotgun out the door. Once he was gone, I turned my attention to the stage, watching as our second new stripper, Kaleigh Jo, removed her top and tossed it to the guys. Like Candy, she was a pretty girl, young with a killer body, and the lights shimmered against her mocha-colored skin. There was no doubt that the girl had mad skills when it came to working the pole. Hell, she had all the guys completely captivated, including me. It was one of the reasons I hadn’t noticed that Lisa, Stilettos’ bartender, had come up next to me until she asked, “Enjoying yourself there, handsome?”
“Hmph.” I grunted. “I’m doing all right. You?”
“Same.” She inched closer as she purred, “I’d be a lot better if you paid me a visit later tonight. I could use the company.”
Lisa was a beautiful woman, tall with an hourglass figure and dirty-blonde hair, and I wouldn’t lie, I’d considered hooking up with her in the past but never followed through. She busted her ass at work, did whatever she had to do to take care of her kid, and something in my gut told me she was interested in more than one night. Much more. That wasn’t going to happen. Not with me. So, I simply smiled and said, “I’m not the kind of company you need or want, doll.”
“I don’t know about that.” She placed the palm of her hand on my chest and provocatively whispered, “I think you’re exactly the kind of company I’m looking for.”
I took hold of her wrist and gently removed her hand. “As tempting as it might be, it’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?” A mix of hurt and anger crossed her face. “You’re not attracted to me?”
“Didn’t say that, Lisa. You’re a beautiful woman. You know that.” I let go of her wrist and took a step back. “Set your sights on a man who can give you what you really need, ’cause trust me when I say, it isn’t me.”
Before she could respond, I turned and headed over to Axel. After I let him know that I was going back to the clubhouse to check in with Viper, I went out to the parking lot and got on my Harley. Moments later, I was in the thick of Nashville traffic. Rush hour had come and gone, but there were still plenty of cars on the road. It was Nashville after all—the homeplace of the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry, where many country music legends got their start. People from all over the world visited Music City, making Nashville one of the fastest-growing cities in Tennessee, which was always a good thing for a business like Stilettos. Over the past ten years, the strip club had doubled in size, and we were in the process of opening a second one closer to downtown. With all the red tape of zoning and permits, it was a lot to take on—which made the hassle with Danny all the more frustrating. We didn’t have time for distractions, and I hoped that Shotgun and Rafe would be able to help us get some kind of resolution on this fucking thing.
When I got to the clubhouse, I found Viper sitting at the bar with Lynch and Menace. They were each drinking a cold one as they talked amongst themselves, but quickly grew quiet when I approached. Noting my expression, Viper asked, “You heard anything from Shotgun or Rafe?”
“Not yet.” I took a seat next to him. “Shouldn’t be much longer, though. Danny’s place isn’t far from here.”
Lynch shook his head as he muttered, “Surely, the asshole isn’t stupid enough to be at his place.”
“I pinged his phone’s location a few hours ago, and he was still there,” Menace, the club’s computer whiz, replied. “Well ... his phone was still there. I can’t say the same for him.”
“We’ll know soon enough.” Viper ran his hand over his beard with an unsettlin
g grunt. “I gotta tell ya, I’ve got a bad feeling about all this. I’m thinking this thing goes a lot further than just Danny.”
“Who else could be involved?”
“Danny’s not big enough or smart enough to be leading the chain on this supply,” Viper replied. “Besides, he doesn’t have the balls to try and pull one over on us. He knows what we’d do to him.”
“You’re right about that,” Lynch scoffed. “You thinking it’s his supplier?”
“Don’t know yet, but we’re sure as hell gonna find the fuck out, and when we do, there’s gonna be hell to pay,” Viper growled. “Nobody pulls this kind of shit on the Sinners and gets away with it.”
The room fell silent as we considered what Viper had just told us. The possibility of going to war with a drug lord wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, especially considering the timing. Stilettos was booming, and we were under the gun to get the second club up and running. There wasn’t time to deal with any distractions, which was one of the main reasons we’d decided to be done with Danny in the first place. We knew something was up with him but made the mistake of trusting him with one last delivery anyway. That mistake wasn’t sitting well with Viper. He was a man who was always a step ahead. He caught problems before they happened, so it only made sense that all the unknowns of the situation were getting to him. We were all lost in our own thoughts when the back door of the bar flew open and Danny stumbled inside.
“What the fuck?” Viper roared as he shot up and rushed in that direction with the rest of us following closely behind. Danny’s hands were bound behind his back, and he could barely see through his swollen eyes and the blood running down his face. Just as he was about to topple over and fall flat on his face, Viper grabbed him by the arm and shoved him into a chair. “Sit your fucking ass down and don’t move.”