Beginning of the Reckoning (Feral Steel MC Book 3)

by Vera Quinn

  “Heath, oh god that’s it. So good,” I moan as my orgasm consumes me. Hacksaw continues his pace chasing his own bliss. He goes deep and then stills and then pumps a few more times.

  “Joy, so damn good!” Hacksaw yells out my name as he empties his seed in me. We didn’t use a condom again and I know I should be scared out of my mind but I’m not. I trust Hacksaw. Hacksaw stands up straighter. “We need to get cleaned up and get some sleep.”

  “I think you’re right.” I’m not going to ruin the moment by griping about something we both forgot. Hacksaw washes himself and then me. We get out and he dries us off and then Hacksaw picks me up and carries me back to the bed. “You know I can walk.”

  “I know you can but I want to take care of you so get used to it. Now quit giving me attitude and let’s get some sleep.” I look at Hacksaw and he looks at me and I kiss him tenderly and just when things are heating up again Hacksaw pulls me to him. “Goodnight sugar.” I could argue with Hacksaw but right now I am too satisfied to do anything but sleep so we do.

  I slipped out of bed and showered and Joy never moved except to roll over and take my pillow to snuggle up to. I know she is going to wake up in a snit. I may have fucked her into silence last night, but I am not going to try to convince myself I fucked her into submission. I fucked her into exhaustion but there is no way that woman doesn’t have some sass left in her. Joy underneath me in my room and in my bed, is the thing I have been needing. I still feel the need to hit the road on my bike but I can see Joy being on the back of my bike with me on the road of life. I don’t know for how long or where it will lead us but I am damn sure going to find out. Isn’t that what a life of freedom is all about? Finding our way and doing it our own way? I never thought I would want just one woman for more than just one night let alone riding on the back of my bike. In my past, any woman would do, but not for all night, just until I have had my fill and then she is out or they as the case has been at times. I’ve never been one to be selective in the type of women that I fuck. Short, tall, curvy, stick thin, blonde, brunette or redhead - anything and everything in between. Every woman has been a means to an end, my end of reaching a release, but Joy has gotten under my skin and in my head. I like her sass, her stubbornness makes me hard but when she gave herself to me last night for the first time, I felt like I had won the lottery. We have a physical attraction that combusted into the best sex of my life and I am not ready to let Joy walk away yet. The thought of her with another man is enough to make me want to kill someone. My first thought this morning was I need to find a way to keep Joy safe. There’s something that kept nagging at me in the back of my mind and it is time that we discuss our situation with the whole club. I know Devil wants to wait until after all arrangements are made for Sarah but Tito is one of the best tech guys that I have ever known. If Tito wakes up and he has no direction to point his thoughts then he is going to head back down the road he was headed last night. We need his head in the game and I think that may be the exact reason why Sarah was targeted first. To take our asset away. Oz is good but he is only one man. Bo was right last night. That prospect has a good head on his shoulders and he is going to make a good brother. It won’t take him much longer until we take a vote on him. I already texted Crockett, Bowie and Oz. Oz is going to drag Tito out of his bed. Tex, Creole, and Thrasher are doing perimeter duty and gate duty with a prospect. Ridge, Edge and Cowboy are sleeping. Bowie is texting Rome so it is just Devil we need to find. I am tempted to knock on his door but I am afraid to wake up his family. I am walking down the hall and about to text him when I hear his voice coming from the common room. I walk into the room and I see Devil with a cup of coffee in his hand and talking to Slick at the bar. I make my way over to the bar and motion for Possum to pour me a cup of coffee. The prospect looks like he could use some sleep. I sit myself down on the barstool next to Devil.

  “Since when do you call church?” Devil gives me a hard look. “Since there is something pestering the piss out of me.” I smile at Devil. “You said we would meet after you take care of Sarah’s arrangements and I think it is a mistake to wait.” Devil looks at me in either astonishment or like he going to take a swing at me. I know emotions are running high so I better get to the point. “If what I am thinking is correct then we need to address it before you make arrangements that will be hard for you to change. My head was cleared a bit last night but I realized whoever it is that is doing this knows a lot more about us than we do him. He must have been watching us for a while and the BlackPath MC too to be able to coordinate the events of the last few days. That means they know some of how we operate. If we want any breaks we are going to need to break some patterns and to do that we need a plan. If the arrangements for Sarah are made without thought first we may be walking straight into a trap. I know once Callie, Felix and Hanna decide on how they want to say goodbye to their friend you aren’t going to want to change anything but if you are in a mindset when you go with them to make the arrangements maybe you can point them in the right direction so it doesn’t blow up in our faces.” Devil looks like he is considering what I have said.

  “What brought this revelation of clarity to you?” Slick asks. “Not that I think you’re wrong, but you aren’t exactly known for your patience.”

  “I was put in charge of Joy’s safety and I am going to keep her safe.” I will not let any asshole touch Joy. Devil looks at me closely.

  “You have something to share?” Devil asks me. “Better if we do it with all the brothers. Tito needs to be kept occupied or he is going to lose himself in a bottle. He’s no good to us that way.” It’s not what Devil was looking for but it is a matter that needs to be thought about.

  “Then let’s do it.” I finish my coffee and put the cup on the bar. De vil and Slick do the same and we go to talk to our brothers. We walk down the hall and as we enter the room I can see most of the brothers are here except for the ones keeping an eye to make sure no one is entering the compound. Devil walks to the head of the table. Bowie is standing where we usually put our phone and weapons but no one has bothered to hand anything over. Crockett is by the door. I see Bo is standing by Bowie. Prospects are not usually allowed to attend church but Devil wants him here today. Devil bangs his gavel. “Everyone is to hold onto their phones and weapons until this situation is settled and that includes during church, so everyone sit and we can do this. Hacksaw you wanted this meeting, so you have the floor,” Devil tells me. Devil sits down and I sit back in my chair and look at Tito. This is going to be hard on him but he needs to hear it all.

  “ Before I say anything else I want everyone to know that I have no facts to back up anything I am about to say. It’s just something that has been nagging at me since yesterday. I think Bo is onto something and it is exactly what is bothering me,” I tell all the brothers. All eyes go to Bo.

  “I told Bo to be here today. He had the idea last night that we may have had someone watching us for a while and that Sarah may have been targeted first because of her relationship with Tito. Bo’s observation may have some merit,” Devil says. The brothers look at Bo but my eyes are on Tito and how he flinched when Devil mentioned his relationship with Sarah.

  “It’s not your fault Tito. It’s just you and Sarah weren’t as secretive as you thought you were. Someone could have caught on to it like Bo,” I try to ease Tito’s mind but I know if I was in his place I would blame myself.

  “Hacksaw just tell us what you are thinking and why it couldn’t wait a few hours. I need to get back to Callie.” Devil is getting impatient.

  “That’s exactly part of it.” I watch as Devil’s face turns red.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think me wanting to be there for my woman means I am not pulling my weight around here?” I stare Devil down. “No asshole, I think anyone that knows anything about the Feral Steel MC knows that is exactly what you are going to do.” I let that sink in before I continue. “Ever since Callie has been with you we have fallen in
to some patterns.”

  “Are you blaming my ol’ lady for keeping me away?” Devil is sitting on the edge of his chair and I expect him to come at me fists flying any minute. I raise my hand up to try and calm him down.

  “I am not sa ying that Callie is to blame for anything. Just listen, you damn hothead.” I wait for Devil to calm down a little. “Look, you must admit that since Callie has been here and you took the gavel up that when shit hits the fan we have a pattern. We don’t spill blood first and ask questions later. We talk about things and try to do things the legal way. It’s not a bad thing but it is a predictable situation.” I see when Devil understands what I am getting at. I look around the table and see my brothers are with me so I go on. “When we need someone to watch our asses we call the two chapters of the BlackPath MC. Again, not a bad thing, just predictable. If it goes further and we need people that still ride the line of working outside the law we call on Krill’s club but if we need someone outside the law we call on Sarge’s club. All four clubs have battled the same people for more than a few years. So, what do you think anyone watching us is going to think we are going to do this time? Reach out to the BlackPath MC would be anyone’s bet. Don’t you think it is a bit of a coincidence that all the women and Felix have ties to all four clubs?” I see I have everyone’s attention. “That tells me that we aren’t hunting for a new enemy but an old one. Someone that knows us well or who has a beef with us over something in one of our pasts or all of our pasts.”

  “He’s right ,” Oz says. “When I was looking at the crime scene photos they have of the Becky girl it has to be something personal. It’s too bloody not to be. Nothing has come up on Sarah’s case yet but if someone just wanted to send us a message they took a big chance going into an apartment building with security cameras and they knew we would see them. They were so arrogant in the camera. They took a lot of risk for someone who wasn’t even directly connected to the club. What did they gain from it?”

  “Sarah was an easy target. She refused club protection and she was sneaking around with me so it made it easier to get her away from the clubhouse. I was supposed to meet with her for lunch the last day anyone saw her. I was running some background checks and the time got away from me and I texted her I couldn’t make it. I never got a response. I figured she was pissed at me for waiting so late to contact her and let her know I wasn’t going to make it. I made it easy for the son of a bitches to grab her. I couldn’t pull myself away from my damn computer for an hour to eat with my woman and now I will never see her again,” Tito says in a low voice. He is here but his mind is on regrets. I don’t want to have those regrets. This is something that is always going to haunt him and I hate it but there is not a damn thing any of us can do to convince him he is not responsible. All the brothers see the pain written all over his face.

  “Tito, Sarah wouldn’t let the club protect her. We tried putting someone on her before and we all know that has nothing to do with you it has to do with her not wanting anything to do with any club. I don’t know the whole story but it is her past with Tazer. This isn’t on you,” Devil tells Tito in a quiet voice.

  “I know exactly who it had to do with. I wanted to claim Sarah but she couldn’t get over being cheated on by Tazer and her ex-husband, especially after I didn’t want to share with everyone when we picked up our relationship. I thought I had time. I didn’t want to force the decisions, I wanted her to want it as bad as I did. Now I know I was wrong. If I had …” Tito is hurting.

  “Stop that shit!” I yell. “You can either wallow in that pity party you got going on or you can put your talents to work and find us something. This is exactly what the people doing this want. We need to stop reacting and start making things happen by finding answers.” I am trying to snap Tito out of this. If he doesn’t get retribution for his woman it is going to destroy him. Devil bangs his gavel.

  “I don’t have time to babysit. Hacksaw, you have something else to say then spit it out.” Devil is looking tired.

  “Did Sarah have a will or let anyone know what her last wishes are?” I ask, glancing at Tito and Devil.

  “Callie has her power of attorney but I don’t think she had even thought of a will,” Tito answers.

  “Sarah wanted to be cremated and put in the cemetery close to the plots Callie owns,” Devil says.

  “Then we can put off having a service until this is figured out.” Devil’s eyes meet mine. “What are you getting at?” Devil asks me . I hear the door open and Rome comes in and takes his seat. I thought he was on perimeter duty since he wasn’t here when we began. Devil looks at Rome. “Did you get our guest settled?” Rome nods his head yes.

  “They are set up at the safe house.” I guess I am not the only one who has been working things out.

  “Hacksaw, go on. I’ll bring everyone up to speed on this other situation when you are finished,” Devil tells me. All eyes are on Devil. “It’s just I don’t think we should be doing any big services anytime soon. Since Sarah is being cremated it won’t matter if we wait.” Tito looks like he wants to say something but he doesn’t so I go on. I don’t want to make this any harder on him. “The distance between here and Texas isn’t that far but it would make us perfect targets. The service would be the perfect place to have us all in one place at once. If we don’t react in the way we would normally they can’t ambush us or set a trap unless we have a rat. I don’t see that being the case but we need to make them react to our actions not the other way around.” I look at the eyes that are on me and some of the brothers are hard to read.

  “I don’t know if this is where you want my two cents but I agree. Just like whoever is doing this knows a lot about how this club operates,” Bo says. “I didn’t want you letting Callie and her friends make arrangements and then need to go back and change them. That’s only going to upset them more,” I add. Devil is nodding his head.

  “We could have a small, informal gathering here to say our goodbyes and then go to Texas when all this is taken care of and give Sarah the memorial she deserves,” Devil says but waits for Tito’s input.

  “I think if that is what we need to do to keep everyone safe then Sarah would not only understand it but would want it done that way. Sarah loved her best friends and her nephews and niece.” I know Tito is talking about Devil and Callie’s children when he says nephews and niece. “I don’t want Sarah’s parents included in any of it. They wouldn’t even take her calls and she put on a tough front but I know it crushed her.”

  “Good call Hacksaw. I don’t want to take any unnecessary chances,” Devil says. “I also don’t think we should be going to Texas or have Chief’s club come here. It puts too many targets in one spot.” If my gut feeling is right, this is exactly what the people watching us want.

  “I agree. It’s something that has happened many times over the last five years,” Bowie says. I’m glad I am not the only one thinking it. “I thought of that one. Rye and Bourbon and some of their men are at the safehouse. We can’t stay in the clubhouse indefinitely and as soon as we speak with them I am sending Hanna and Felix back to their house along with Joy, Tara, and Rome. I am also taking my family home. My mom will be there with us along with Bourbon.” Devil is talking like he is thinking it out as he says it. “We are going to need to open our businesses back up.”

  “Joy will be staying with me,” I tell Devil and I hear the laughs from the other brothers. Devil raises his eyebrow at me. “Is Joy aware of that because that is not how I was reading the situation? I know I said you were her protection but she can stay at the other house and you keep check on her. Rome and Felix will be there.” Devil is still looking at me.

  “Nope. I am claiming Joy. She’s mine, as in, hands off to ev eryone and she will be in my bed with me and not somewhere else.” Devil smiles. I look around the table at my brothers. “Anyone else have something to say?”

  “Hacksaw, I’ve never known you to be a one -woman man but if you want Joy then don’t dick around. If
you do then your head is going to be full of regrets. That’s a hell all its own. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about it, just do it even if she doesn’t agree,” Tito tells me and I know he is talking from experience.

  “But don’t fuck her around either. She’s family,” Rome speaks up. “And she always will be ,” Devil finishes. Rome and Devil might not have known they are blood brothers for very long but they think more alike than Stone and Devil ever did.

  “I’ve got it,” is all I give them.

  “Any prospect leads, might as well get this over with while we are here?” Devil asks.

  “Trance and Ranse both want to prospect. I’ll sponsor both.” Trance and Ranse are Bowie’s twin nephews and Crockett’s cousins.

  “I will too,” Crockett speaks up. We have already let Crockett’s nephew, Possum, prospect. “Joey arrived with Bourbon and Rye and said he is ready to prospect too. I’ll sponsor him,” Rome adds. Joey is Tara’s brother. He was released from the military six months ago but he had family issues to work out first before he would commit to prospecting.

  “Anyone have a problem with these three prospecting? I know we need a full vote, but right now that isn’t an option.” Devil knows we could use the manpower. “We don’t know much about Joey except that he is Tara’s brother,” Slick looks at Rome while he is saying it. “Trance and Ranse have been around the club and they know what we are about. Are you sure Joey is the right fit for our club?”

  “I have met and talked to Joey and I will sponsor him also. He has the milit ary background and he has his shit straight. I would bet he is a perfect fit. What he doesn’t know right now he can learn. That is what prospecting is about. Making sure he is a fit and showing his loyalty to the club,” Devil says with a determination. He and Rome have wanted to bring Joey in since they first met him. Joey just wasn’t ready yet.