Rogue: The Black Cobras MC #1

by Rylan, Savannah

  * * *

  I jerked awake by the sounds of footsteps in my room.

  When I opened my eyes, the sun was barely over the horizon.

  Carli wasn’t beside me anymore. She stood with her back turned to me, scrambling to quickly dress herself.

  “Where are you going?” I asked groggily, sitting up in bed.

  She pulled her dress down over her gorgeous body and already, I missed her. It messed up my head. This crazy need for her. Sleeping beside her all night didn’t seem to be enough.

  Carli turned to me. Her eyes were puffy with sleep and she ran a hand through her ruffled hair. I wanted to pull her back into bed with me again.

  “I shouldn’t have slept here last night. It wasn’t a part of the agreement,” she said, putting on her shoes.

  “It’s ok. I didn’t want to wake you. You looked tired,” I told her. “You can stay a little longer if you would like,” I said surprising myself.

  “I wish I could,” she said as she smiled brightly. “But I have to get to work, and you have the stuff to work out remember?”

  I could tell she wanted me to fill her in on the plans to save Hazel and Grimm. But despite feeling closer to her than I did with any other woman, a part of me wanted to keep all the plans to myself. Just in case. My face hardened in thought and cleared her throat.

  “When do you want me to come over again?” she asked a little colder than she was before.

  It would be our third night. I should have spaced it out, but I wanted to see her soon.

  “Tomorrow night,” I told her, remembering I had the meeting with the Sons of Satan tonight.

  “Okay,” Carli said. She was ready to leave now, but in her eyes, I could’ve sworn I saw a hint of sadness. Like she didn’t want to leave either.

  “Please, just find them,” she said firmly and then she was gone.

  14

  Carli

  I went back to our apartment, but I only had time for a quick shower and a cup of coffee before I had to leave for work again. Thankfully, Amanda was asleep.

  She hadn’t managed to make her way to her bedroom last night. She was curled up on the couch with a discarded bowl of pasta on the floor beside her. She couldn’t eat, and neither could I.

  The longer we went without word on Hazel, the sicker we both felt.

  I showered and changed, trying to rub the scent and sensation of Rogue off my body. I knew I shouldn’t have spent the night. Now, I had spent the whole night with him, and I felt more connected to him than I had before.

  I threw a blanket over Amanda’s sleeping body before making myself a cup of coffee.

  The only relief I felt right now was that Rogue had confirmation that the Son’s had taken Hazel. At least we were headed in the right direction. As much as I trusted Rogue to bring her back, I still couldn’t help but worry about her well-being. Hazel was a brave and strong girl, but she was only eight. I just hoped they were treating her well and that they weren’t hurting her.

  My eyes filled with tears at the thought of that, angry at Amanda again. She was the reason her daughter was involved in this dangerous world. It was all because she couldn’t keep her hands off a man like Grimm Daniels. I let out a small laugh when I realized I was following the same footsteps my sister did.

  “Carli?” Amanda’s voice called from the couch. I shook those thoughts away. There was no use blaming my sister again for this. We couldn’t change the facts now.

  I blinked my tears away and walked over to her.

  “Morning. I was just about to leave for work,” I told her.

  Amanda sat up on the couch and wiped her face with her hands. My sister looked miserable and skinnier than she was before Hazel was taken.

  “Amanda, honey, you should really eat something. When was the last time you ate anything?” I asked, kneeling down in front of her.

  “I can’t eat, Carli. How can I? When I don’t know what’s happening to my daughter?” she said, her voice breaking again.

  “Rogue has confirmed that the Sons of Satan took Hazel,” I told her. A twinkle of hope returned in her eyes again. She reached for my hands and squeezed them.

  “Really? Is he closing in on them?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. He’s not going to tell me his plans. I don’t think he fully trusts me, which I understand. He hasn’t told me anything more than this. But at least now we know for sure who has her. That’s progress,” I said, stroking her knee lovingly.

  Amanda nodded her head and attempted to smile weakly.

  “You didn’t come home last night. I stayed up for you,” she said.

  I looked away from her, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry. I fell asleep at his place. It shouldn’t have happened,” I said and stood up.

  Amanda got off the couch and followed me to the kitchen.

  “Carli, I’m so sorry that you have to do this for us. I shouldn’t have asked you to go to the bar and talk to Grimm,” she continued. “I should have done it myself.”

  “It’s fine, I’m not angry with you,” I said and drank some more of the coffee.

  Amanda stared at me, trying to read my face.

  “You wanted to spend the night at his place, didn’t you?” she asked. I didn’t reply. I couldn’t even meet her eyes.

  “Carli! This is how it started for me, too. You can be honest with me. I can help you,” she said.

  “How are you going to help me? I already made this deal with him.”

  “I can help you try and keep your emotions in check,” she countered.

  “I am keeping them in check,” I said. She glared at me, and I felt like her eyes were trying to find his mark on my body.

  “Fine, yes, I wanted to sleep at his place. I didn’t hate myself for falling asleep on his bed. And you know what? He didn’t wake me up either.” I said.

  Amanda sighed. I rolled my eyes and I walked out of the kitchen, but I could hear her footsteps behind me as I collected my bag and put on my shoes.

  “You need to remember what this is, Carli. It’s an agreement between the two of you. After the four nights are up and he gets what he wants from you, he’s going to discard you!” she argued.

  I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her.

  “You told me that Grimm tried to get in touch with you after you cut off contact with him. He didn’t discard you, Amanda. You chose to push him out of your life because you realized you made a bad decision. So, how do you know what Rogue is going to do after the four nights are up?” I countered, my voice rising.

  Amanda pursed her lips together and shook her head.

  “It’s happening, isn’t it? You have feelings for him,” she said.

  I looked away from her so she wouldn’t see the panic in my eyes. Was it that obvious for people to see how I felt about him?

  “Anyway, we shouldn’t be talking about men and discussing feelings right now. We have Hazel to worry about,” I snapped and brushed past her toward the door.

  “When are you seeing him again?” Amanda asked.

  “Tomorrow night,” I replied, as I opened the door.

  “Okay, the sooner this agreement comes to an end, the better it will be. Carli, I want you to remember that I love you and I’m trying to look out for you,” she added.

  “Thanks!” I barked at her as I slammed the door shut behind me.

  15

  Rogue

  Cash, Patch, and Bones accompanied me to the abandoned warehouse. Crow’s men had texted us earlier to give us the address for us to meet them at midnight. Cash and I drove my car while the rest of the guys rode their bikes. Crow had given us strict instructions to not bring more than four men. I was sure that the Sons of Satan were going to outnumber us this time.

  I knew Crow, but not as well as Grimm did. Crow and Grimm used to be friends as teenagers and our uncle tried to train both of them to take control of the Black Cobra MC once I left the club. Crow and Grimm were very close and used hang out together a
ll the time.

  Then when our uncle died, he had left Grimm in charge of the club, and Crow didn’t like that at all. Jealous of Grimm’s power and authority, he started to disobey orders more and more. Then one day, Grimm turned up for our weekly drinks and told me that Crow had been recruited by a rival club, the Sons of Satan. He was quick to switch sides in hopes that he could move quickly up their ranks, given the knowledge he knew about the Black Cobras. Grimm was disappointed and angry, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

  We arrived at the warehouse on time, the other bikes already lined up out front. The Sons of Satan were there already.

  I walked over to where the men stood, with Crow in the center. He hadn’t changed much; he was still big and overweight with a long, dark beard which he didn’t look after. He wore a leather cut and had thick, tattooed arms. Crow smiled as my men and I walked toward them.

  “Little Rogue, you’ve grown up, boy!” Crow exclaimed with a laugh in his voice.

  “You’ve gotten fatter,” I remarked, and he laughed some more.

  “Insulting me isn’t going to work in your favor, kid. I’m guessing you don’t know how this works. You follow my instructions like a little bitch and keep your head down,” Crow said. I came to a stop in front of him.

  The four of us stood in a row. There were at least a dozen of Crow’s men standing in a row before us.

  “Where’s my brother?” I asked. Crow looked at his side to exchange a look with one of his men.

  “I’m sure he is around here somewhere,” he said, his stomach shivering as he laughed.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I growled.

  He stopped laughing. “Didn’t your uncle teach you any respect when it came to motorcycle clubs? You and Grimm are exactly the same. Though, Grimm is probably the bigger asshole,” Crow said.

  I took a step forward. Crow’s men clicked their guns and aimed them at me.

  “Rogue,” Cash hissed behind me and I stopped in my tracks.

  “That’s right; stay, bitch!” Crow laughed again and I had to clench my fists on my sides to stop myself from pouncing on him.

  “What do you want from us? What will it take to release Grimm?” I growled.

  Crow stroked his beard, like he was carefully considering the question.

  “I’m sure you don’t know this because Grimm is stupid enough to keep it a secret. Your brother and the Black Cobras have taken a lot of our territory,” he finally said.

  I glared at him. “Is that what you want? You want me to give you back the territory?” I asked.

  “It’s more than just territory kid,” Crow said. “We lost money because of it.”

  I tried to mentally calculate how much money I could accumulate on such short notice. It would drain a lot of my business’ funds, but I could manage a couple hundred thousand if that was what Crow wanted.

  “I want the money back, of course, but I want Black Cobras to be finished,” Crow replied. Behind me, Cash twitched.

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I asked. A happy glow appeared in Crow’s eyes.

  “Finished, destroyed, run into the ground. I need you to hand over all the capital and business contacts and disband the club. So, the Black Cobras are no longer in existence,” Crow explained. “And if anyone is caught in their leather cut, they will be shot on sight.”

  “You can fuck right off, you fat fuck!” I growled. Even though I had left the club, it was still a part of me. I knew that all of the guys relied on the club to get by and I wasn’t about to take that away from them. Besides, Grimm would probably kill me himself if I actually disbanded the club.

  Crow stepped forward, and Patch and Cash were quick to aim their guns at him.

  “You think this is some kind of joke, boy? You think I’m playing games with you? I have your brother. I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in his head if I don’t get what I asked for,” Crow hissed through gritted teeth.

  We glared at each other as I tried to assess the seriousness of his claims. He looked pretty serious to me right now.

  “You want me to run Black Cobras to the ground in return for Grimm?” I asked. Crow continued to stroke his beard.

  “Did I stutter?”

  “I can’t do that. I don’t have the authority. I don’t belong to the club anymore. Release Grimm and then sort it out with him like a man,” I growled. Crow shook his head.

  “Look at you, a child, trying to teach me how to be a fucking man. You think you are out of the fucking club? You never were fully out. Grimm stays locked up and beaten till I get what I want. The Black Cobras have run their course. They are a flimsy pathetic excuse for a club anyway. Nobody will miss you guys once you’re gone,” Crow said, looking at the faces of the men behind me.

  Cash stepped up and I threw a look at him, warning him to stand back.

  “Your brother owes me more money than you can count, son. This is the only way you bozos will manage to repay me what I’m owed. Get that into your thick fucking skulls and scurry along now,” Crow said, scowling at me.

  I needed to think about this. The one thing I was sure of was that Grimm would not want to see the club destroyed and our uncle’s legacy run into the ground. This was exactly why Crow had abducted Grimm because he would never agree to this. He would fight the Sons of Satan to his death and all his men’s deaths if he had to. Crow thought I was going to be an easy target.

  “And what about the girl?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  Crow stared at me like he wasn’t expecting me to ask him this question.

  “I was wondering when you were going to ask me about her,” Crow commented.

  “She is just an eight year old kid,” I growled. “Hand her over to me now, and then we can continue to discuss about my brother.”

  A smile spread on his face.

  “Not a fucking chance. She’s hanging out with her father right now, but we aren’t going to give her up. We can put her to good use.”

  I shouldn’t have done it, but when I heard those words, my first instinct was to shoot him. I pulled the concealed gun out of my belt and shot it in Crow’s direction. The bullet narrowly missed his ear. The men standing behind him started shooting too.

  I growled when a bullet grazed my arm and pain shot through my body.

  “Get cover!” I yelled to my guys.

  Cash, Patch and Bones ran out to their bikes, as I ducked behind a dumpster.

  “Rogue!” Cash yelled. “Get the fuck out of there!”

  I popped my head out and continued to shoot taking out two of the Sons of Satan. But we were still outnumbered by them. I spotted Crow and I aimed my gun at his head. I had a clean shot, but I paused. Grimm and Hazel could be anywhere, and if I killed Crow now, we would never be able to find them.

  Fucking shit.

  I lowered my gun and shot him in the arm. He cried out in pain.

  “Fuck off, you little pussies!” Crow yelled.

  I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I quickly turned to see who it was. I let out a slight sigh of relief when I realized it was Cash.

  “Come on Rogue, we have to get the fuck out of here.”

  While the Son’s went to check on Crow to make sure he was alright we took our chances and ran out to my car.

  Cash drove, blood soaking his jeans. Guilt washed over me. It was my fault; I’d fired the first shot.

  “Fuck Cash, are you alright?”

  “Yeah, the bullet just grazed my leg. It didn’t go through.”

  “The others ok?”

  “Yeah they are fine,” Cash said. “But Rogue?”

  “Yes, I know, that was stupid of me. Fuck!” I growled and punched the dashboard with my fist, bruising it. But Crow had just admitted the truth. Carli wasn’t lying. She wasn’t sent by the Son’s to distract me. Hazel was my niece and this fat motherfucker had her.

  “Rogue?” Cash asked pulling me from my thoughts. “What’s the deal with this Hazel?” Cash asked pulling me
from my thoughts.

  “She’s my niece. Grimm’s kid. And you heard what Crow said about her. Now I know why Grimm gave himself up to them willingly,” I replied and pressed down on the wound on my arm with a hand.

  “You need stitches,” Cash said to me.

  “Yeah, we all fucking do,” I mumbled.

  “What do we want to do now?” Cash asked.

  “Get the guys together at The Pit. We need to fill them in on what is going on.”

  * * *

  I waited at the bar for everyone in the club to arrive. The Black Cobras were smaller, only about fifty of us total, but it was at least something. As the guys filed in, I nodded at them all as they took their seats. Most of them knew me from when I was a prospect, but there were a few new faces that I didn’t recognize. Once everyone walked in, I stood up and cleared my throat.

  “Most of you know who I am, but for those of you that don’t, I’m Rogue. I’m Grimm’s younger brother. Before he went missing, he came to me and asked that I come help lead the club if something happened to him.”

  “Yeah but you fucking left us,” someone called out from the back. “Why the hell should we follow you.” A lot of murmurs of agreement broke out amongst them.

  “Because that is what he wanted,” Cash yelled out, quieting them down.

  “Thanks Cash,” I nodded at him. “But the truth is, you don’t need to follow me. I’m not asking you to. Hell, I’m not looking to take over the club. All I want is to get Grimm and Hazel back.”

  “Who the fuck is Hazel?” the same guy called out. “Some piece of ass?” The guys erupted in laughter.

  “Hazel is Grimm’s kid.” I said and that shut everyone up really quick. “She is eight, and Crow took her to get Grimm to do whatever the fuck he wanted.”