Mountain Misfits MC: Complete Box Set

by Deja Voss

  “It’s great… are you still…?” I ask, not knowing how to delicately ask if my sister is still prostituting herself for guns.

  “Hell no,” she giggles. “I learned how to outsource the dirty work. Besides, even if I wanted to, Brooks would probably have a conniption.” She holds up her ring finger and shows me the tattooed initials.

  “Brooks, huh?” There was always something up with those two when they were growing up. “I don’t hate that.”

  “Yeah well, even if you do, you gave up your say a long time ago, big brother,” she laughs.

  “Esther, you do whatever you want no matter what anyone tells you. I don’t think I’ve ever had any say in your life, woman.”

  “Exactly,” she says with a wink.

  She leads me to a big wooden door, and slides it open with a loud creak, and I feel like I’m finally home again, the room we held church in, exactly how I remembered it, complete with my Misfit brothers, hanging out drinking and shooting pool, the smell of weed hitting me over the head.

  “Look what I got,” Esther announces, everyone turning to look.

  A lot can change in fifteen years, but when you finally find yourself back with your clan, back with your family, it feels like time stopped. Everything is the same. Everything aside from the fact that we’re not kids anymore.

  “This is a joke, right?” my brother Gavin asks, eyeing me up and down. He grabs my arm and turns my bicep, exposing my Misfits tattoo. “How much did you pay this guy to be Micah’s body double?”

  “It’s me, dude,” I say, pulling him in for a hug. He definitely hasn’t changed much since the last time I saw him. The clean mountain air must be doing him good.

  “Looks like the marines were good to you, brother,” Brooks says. “You’re fucking yoked. Thanks for your service.” He pats me on the back with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “Thanks for your service, prez,” I say, eyeing his patch. “I’d rather be in the desert getting shot at than have to deal with the wrath of Esther on a daily basis.” She punches me in the arm. “Seriously, thank you for taking care of her. I worried about her, you know.”

  “Yeah well, don’t you think we worried about you, son?” Heat asks. Damn, he didn’t look so great when I left all those years ago, but now he looks downright geriatric and frail. His smile is sad, and as he wraps his arms around me, I’m afraid to hug him back, scared that I’ll break him in two. “I should’ve never let you walk out that door that day, Micah. It’s one of my greatest regrets.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, Heat. I was a grown man. It was my choice.”

  He looks at me with those knowing eyes, and as much as I want to address the elephant in the room, my father, the man who ultimately pushed me from my home, I’d rather just spend the night getting caught up with my clan. I never realized how much I missed everyone until I saw them. I never shed a tear over these guys, but now I feel like I want to break down.

  “Holy fuck, speaking of grown men,” I say, my voice wavering. My brother Goob stands there with his hands in his pockets, eyeing me up reluctantly. The only way I can tell it’s actually him is by the patch on his cut. He’s taller than I am, and he still has those bright blue eyes and blond hair, but he’s definitely not a little kid anymore. “Last time I saw you, I could pick you up and throw you over my shoulder.”

  He gives me a half smile, but I can tell he’s not exactly thrilled to see me.

  “Listen, Goob, I didn’t expect to just roll in here and pick things up like nothing ever happened. You don’t owe me anything.” I’ve been gone for more than half of his life. His world has existed without me more than it has with me in it. To him, I’m a stranger, and that’s my fault.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, reaching out his hand to shake mine. “Thanks for your service, Micah. I’m gonna need some time to process this.”

  “Take all the time you need,” I say. “I want to make things right.”

  Before I can say another word, I feel a set of arms wrapped around my waist so tight that I damn near throw up. “You asshole,” she screams. “I thought you were dead, Micah.”

  ‘Aunt’ Trixie looks the same as she always has, her wild mop of brown curly hair smashed down under a baseball cap, and she’s wearing a bowling shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, which only accentuate her linebacker build. This woman dedicated her life to the club and asks for nothing in return. She was the closest thing to a mother most of us had when we were growing up, and even though she’s strangling me with her hug, I can still feel the love. She’s sobbing into my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around her and kiss her on the head.

  “I missed you, Trixie,” I say. “You don’t look like you’ve aged a day.”

  “Well you sure have grown up,” she says, looking up at me with watery eyes. “What’d they feed you over there in the desert? Sexy pills?”

  I laugh as I hug her tighter. Esther grabs me a beer, and the rest of the crew gathers around to greet me. There’s some new faces mixed in, but for the most part, all of these men are the ones I grew up with as my family, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be. I never realized how ‘homeless’ I really was all these years.

  “So what’s the occasion?” Gavin asks. “Are you just passing through?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I just felt like I needed to see you guys.”

  “Dad’s dead, you know,” Goob says.

  “I heard.”

  “I want to be mad at you. I’ve spent so many years trying to hate you, Micah, but I couldn’t. You were the smartest one of us. You got out before shit got really bad.”

  He hugs me, and I feel overwhelming guilt. I’m sure they don’t know the extent of my leaving, just that one day I was here and one day I wasn’t. I was too busy playing marine to protect the people most important to me.

  “How is shit now?” I ask. “Still really bad?”

  “Actually it’s good. It’s great, even,” he says, smiling, the same goofy grin he had when he was a kid. “You picked a good time to come back. You want to be in my wedding?”

  I didn’t even want to come here to begin with. I definitely didn’t plan on staying longer than a quick visit, but standing here with my brothers, my real family, I don’t know how I could justify leaving ever again. I guess old habits die hard, and I wasn’t made to be a lone wolf, wandering the world alone.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I tell him. “I’d be honored just for an invitation to your wedding.”

  “Too bad,” he says. “Austin, you’re out.” The burly redhead just shrugs and shoots him a thumbs-up.

  “Somebody’s staying in your old apartment,” Esther says. “I’m sorry. You are more than welcome to stay at our place, though until we figure something out. I mean, if you’re staying. You know you don’t have to feel obligated. It’s just… it’s so nice having you here. I want to know everything. I want to keep you locked up and never let you run away again.”

  “She might be serious about that,” Brooks says, raising his eyebrows. “I probably wouldn’t go into any dark basements with her if you ever want to leave.”

  It’s nice to feel welcome back, but they hardly know me anymore. Once they get to know the man I’ve become, their tune might change.

  “So what are you doing now that you’re out?” Gavin asks. “I always figured you’d end up being an engineer or maybe a computer programmer?”

  “Look at the guns on this guy.” Trixie runs her hands up and down my arms and shivers. “He’s probably a private bodyguard.”

  “Trixie, you used to bathe Micah when he was a child,” Heat says, rolling his eyes at her.

  “Well, if you need a bath while you’re here, I live in the little log cabin just up the road.”

  “Actually, I’m just bartending right now. I haven’t really figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life,” I shrug. “Maybe you all can help me figure it out.”

  “I’m sure we
can find work for you, and you know you’re welcome back in the club if you want,” Gavin says. “I mean, you don’t have to decide right now. I’m sure you probably have shit going on back where you’re from. I’m just glad you’re here right now. You were definitely missed.”

  I do need to think about it. My heart is telling me to patch back in, jump in headfirst to this chaos and live the life I was born into, but my mind is telling me to take it easy. Sure, things are a lot different without my dad around, but that doesn’t mean this place is my destiny. Just because I’m not thinking about Ava right now, doesn’t mean the thought of her won’t haunt me every step I take up on this mountain.

  “You want a blowjob?” Esther asks. Everyone stares at her with confusion, myself included. “Not from me, you sick fucks. I just mean it’s a veteran’s deal we have here at the ranch. Your first blowjob is on the house.”

  “How about you guys just show me around,” I suggest. “I want to know everything that happened while I was gone.”

  “Well you’re definitely stuck here at least a couple days, then,” Gavin says, patting me on the shoulder. “It’s been a long fifteen years.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Amber:

  Holy fucking adrenaline rush. Maybe I started off my set rattled, but as soon as the dollar bills started flying up on the stage, I recalibrated myself fairly quickly.

  I don’t know if everyone just feels bad for me, or if I’m actually doing a good job, but I’ll take their pity cash. I thought sliding out of my leotard, showing every inch of my flesh to a roomful of rowdy bikers, was going to be a lot more daunting, but when it came time to strip down, I felt nothing short of liberated. The money kept piling up on the stage every time I swung around the pole, and when I got to the part where I stood on my head and did splits that would make my gymnastics coach proud, I could barely hear the music over the cheering.

  I gather up my loot as the lights dim and run off into the dressing room where Olive is waiting with my robe.

  “Shit, woman,” she laughs, “You make me wish I was a lesbian. You’re a natural.”

  “Seriously,” Sandy, the cute brunette with big fake glitter eyelashes and a pair of pasties with cupcakes on them stammers, “what’s your secret?”

  “Beginner’s luck?” I shrug. “Plus lots of yoga, and ten years of gymnastics.”

  Jasmine hands me a flute of champagne, and I look at the girls nervously. “I’m not twenty-one.”

  “Are you driving?” she asks. I shake my head. “You got anywhere to be?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.” My set is done. I figured this was the part when I just snuck down to my apartment and hung out until tomorrow when I did it all over again.

  “Drink the champagne,” she giggles. “Usually when we finish our main sets, we either go work the side stages or do private dances, or if you have clients booked upstairs, there’s always that.”

  “No clients, no private dances,” Olive says, pulling my robe shut tighter.

  “Okay, mom,” I laugh, rolling my eyes at her as I take a sip of the champagne. This definitely tastes better than chocolate milk and vodka.

  “I’m just saying, for a girl who’s never even worn a bikini outside, take it slow, Amber. I know it’s easy to get sucked into the money, and the scene, and how sexy it makes you feel. It’s easy to want to just jump right in, but I don’t want you to have any regrets. I want you to stay here with us for a long long time.”

  I think if I actually had a big sister, this is exactly what I’d want in one. I respect her opinion. I hug her.

  “I can still dance on the side stage, though, right?” I ask. Now that the champagne is going to my head, I definitely feel like I want to dance.

  “After my set,” Jasmine says, smacking me on the ass. “Don’t be stealing my thunder, baby bitch.” She winks at me and struts out on to the stage. I’m a little bit flattered but she also made her message loud and clear, and I definitely don’t want to be on anyone’s bad side.

  “You’re totally going to teach us some yoga moves tomorrow, though, aren’t you, Amber?” Sandy asks.

  “Of course,” I say. It is my trained profession after all. And for some reason, I really want these girls to like me. I hardly know them, but for once in my life, I feel like I’m actually making friends.

  Olive gets back to work waiting tables, and I throw on a tight black sequined dress that barely covers my ass cheeks while Jasmine finishes up her set. We do a couple shots of something that tastes like pineapples and head out to the side stage to dance.

  I’ve never had girlfriends to go to the clubs with, and even though we’re half naked and being watched by a bunch of rowdy bikers, I feel like it’s only the three of us in the world. I keep scanning the crowd for that mystery man from earlier, Micah, but I don’t see him out there. I still dance like he’s watching, hoping that maybe he’s just hanging out in the back. I don’t know why I can’t get him out of my mind.

  “How much for a private dance?” an older man yells at me from the ground below. He’s wearing a leather vest that reads Sabers. He must be with the bachelor party. I just shrug and look over at Sandy and Jasmine, not sure what to do.

  “I don’t do that, I’m sorry,” I say.

  “Come on, sweetie,” he says, reaching for my arm. He smells like beer and sweat, and he’s gripping me so hard that I can’t jerk away. I start to shriek, but he just laughs in my face.

  “Help!” I shout, while Jasmine runs off to find someone and Sandy pokes him in the eye with her stiletto. It doesn’t seem to faze him. It’s like the man has superhuman strength. “Somebody!”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” I hear Esther shout, the clicking of her high heels across the hardwood floor music to my ears. “Roy, get the fuck off her.”

  She doesn’t even have to ask twice. He lets go of my arm and hangs his head.

  “Thirty days. I don’t want to see your face around here for at least thirty days. And if you ever try this shit again, I’m gonna throw your ass up on that stage and let the guys manhandle you.”

  “Don’t you want to hear my side of the story?” he asks. “You know I spend a lot of money here, right?”

  “Thirty days, Roy. Now get out of my sight.”

  She puts her fingers in her mouth and lets out a loud whistle. Two guys in cuts come running. Their eyes look bloodshot and their faces look frightened.

  “Be cool,” the one whispers to the other a little too loudly.

  “Where the fuck were you morons?” she asks. “My dancers are getting groped and you’re back in the corner sucking each other off?”

  “We weren’t. I swear,” the one says.

  “I should fire you both right now. You don’t even deserve to be wearing those prospect patches.”

  They look like little boys being scolded by their mother.

  “It won’t happen again.”

  “I’m so sorry, Amber,” Esther says. “Are you ok?”

  I look at the fingerprints on my arm. They don’t really hurt. I think I’m stunned because all I do is nod while she takes my hand and helps me off the stage.

  “Let’s go get your stuff out of the dressing room and I’ll walk you to your apartment. I think you had enough excitement for your first night.”

  “I’m fine,” I plead. “I swear. I don’t want to be a burden. I like it here.”

  “You’re not a burden whatsoever. That was a total fluke. I promise it will never happen again.”

  “You’re damn right it won’t,” a voice calls from behind us. I turn and look over my shoulder and am paralyzed by those piercing blue eyes. It’s the man from earlier. Up close and personal, he’s even hotter. His square jawline is covered in a light stubble, and I can see his abs popping through his t-shirt. I can’t talk. I swear my palms are sweating. He’s definitely too old for me. I’m sure he’s experienced beyond anything I could even imagine. Something about that terrifies and excites me at the same t
ime.

  “This is my brother Micah,” Esther says. “He’s gonna work security around here for a little bit.”

  “Oh,” is all I can fathom, trying not to stare into those eyes for fear that I’ll just rip my dress off and hand it over to him as an initial offering to warm him up. He can have my virginity for dessert.

  “This is our new girl, Amber. Keep a special eye out for her, please. She’s not like the rest of us.”

  Way to blow up my spot, Esther. He probably thinks I’m a total dork. He probably thinks I’m just some young girl who’s in way over my head. He’d probably be right.

  “Nice to meet you,” he says with a smile.

  The sound of glass shattering and tables being dragged across the floor stops the three of us in our tracks.

  “I gotta go,” he says. Esther starts walking me to the dressing room faster, but I try and steal looks of the scene going on in front of me. You’d think I’d be scared, watching these bikers hurling chairs at each other and throwing punches, but as I watch Micah and the rest of the Misfits dive right in, pulling bodies apart and tossing them out the door, I feel safe. I feel protected. I know they won’t let me get hurt.

  The music comes to a stop and the lights flick on, and everyone scatters, Micah standing in the middle of the chaos with a guy in a headlock. I swear he winks at me and I feel myself blush.

  “It’s not always like this, I promise.” Esther stands beside me while I grab my stuff out of my locker, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. “These guys are a royal pain in my ass.”

  “I had fun.” More fun than I’ve ever had in my entire life. Something about being Amber the dancer is so freeing. Something about being so far away from home, living this secret life, is so exciting.

  “Did you make any money?” she asks.

  I nod. I had nearly forgotten about the giant wad of cash I stuffed in my tote bag.

  She walks me down to my apartment in the basement. There are girls standing in the hallway smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, and laughing loudly, and they all greet us as we walk past. I never had the college experience, never lived in a dorm, but I imagine this is what it’s like.