by Wilder, L
Summer Storm
A Satan’s Fury MC Romance Series
L Wilder
Copyright © 2015 L Wilder
Kindle Edition
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 Paris, TN. 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. Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence, and explicit sex scenes.
Cover by: Carrie at
https://cheekycovers.com/
Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence, and explicit sex scenes
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Maverick
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
About the Book
Acknowledgements
Maverick
There are things that happen in our lives that mark us forever. That change us in ways that we don’t even understand. One chance meeting and fate casts her irrevocable spell. They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, and that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. Unfortunately, those are just words, and they don’t change shit.
I thought I had a good life, one I could be proud to call my own. My club meant the world to me, and I was proud to have them as my family. I knew I could depend on my brothers, and honestly they were really all I’d ever needed…. until I met Hailey. She was beautiful, smart, and sexy as hell. The woman captivated me…. Then she ripped my beating heart from my chest.
The hurt she caused cut me to the core. Her web of lies had had a catastrophic effect on my life and everyone else’s she had come in contact with, but she wasn’t around to see it. She wasn’t around to see how her choices had affected so many people. No… she was gone. Gone from all of our lives forever, leaving me and mine and everyone that loved her in her wake, picking up the pieces of her betrayal.
This is my brother Guardrail’s story. As VP, he was the one chosen to rectify the damage Hailey and her deceit had caused the club. He thought it would be simple – find the culprits and deal with them accordingly. He wasn’t prepared for the storm that ensued… none of us were.
* * *
Chapter 1
Allison
‡
“Parker, any leads on a contractor yet?” My boss asked gruffly as he leaned against the doorway of my office.
I jumped in surprise, torn from my wayward thoughts and flustered by the sudden unwelcome intrusion.
“I have several I’m looking into now, actually,” I replied with feigned confidence. It wasn’t entirely true; I had really only focused on one.
“Well… let’s get a move on it. The plans should’ve been finalized weeks ago,” he said with a heavy sigh. I could tell he was guarding his words to hide his frustration. Normally it drove me nuts when Neil micromanaged me, but this time even I had to admit he had good reason. He had finally agreed to let me take the lead on a major project, and I had lost my focus. It was so unlike me. I normally got totally lost in my assignments. It was always so liberating. I loved putting my all into a worthy cause, and I had finally gotten the perfect opportunity to do just that.
“I need to have a full proposal with your chosen contractor by the end of the week,” he asserted. He was done being polite, and I knew I’d be in hot water if it wasn’t done on time.
“It will be ready, Mr. Yates. You know I wouldn’t let the kids down.”
“I know. I know. I’m just ready to get things started. Thanks for everything you do, Ms. Parker,” he said as he walked out of my office. My mind started reeling as reality set in. The project was my chance to make a real difference. I needed to stop acting like a foolish teenager and pull my shit together. I couldn’t afford to screw it up.
I knew firsthand how difficult being raised in the foster system could be. After my parents died when I was six, my older brother and I were put into foster care. Unfortunately, we were separated, and our foster families couldn’t have been more different. Tony was placed with a family that already included four other foster kids, and their backgrounds were nothing like ours. He was surrounded by troubled teens and rebellion during his most formative years. Sadly, it became difficult for us to keep in contact as the turmoil took its toll and engulfed his home life.
My foster life wasn’t filled with chaos and anarchy, though. Mine was… lonely. I was placed with a kind couple named Tom and Wendy who hadn’t been able to have children of their own. They were nice, but not nice enough to take on my brother. In the beginning, after relentless pleading, they let him visit on several occasions, giving me vague hopes we could be reunited. When that didn’t happen, I pulled away from their love. I didn’t want a new family. I had a family, and I wanted them back.
I wasn’t willing to just give up on being with my brother. He was too important to me. Through the years, I’d done everything in my power to keep in touch with him, but things changed and he started pulling away. He was always keeping secrets from me, and it worried me. I could see the angst in his eyes, but he wouldn’t talk about it. When I asked him why he was pushing me away, he told me it was for my own protection. I tried to understand why he was doing it, but it still hurt. There was nothing I could do to help him, but there was no way I was going to lose him completely. Even if I didn’t get to see him very often, I made sure to keep in touch through emails and phone calls, reminding him every chance I got that I would always be there for him.
Being without him, I retreated into myself and spent most of my time alone growing up. It wasn’t until I started visiting the local community center that I finally started coming out of my shell. I met some of the other foster kids in town, and we created our very own sanctuary there. We would meet to hang out and play basketball or talk through things if we were in a tough spot. It was a place where we felt safe. We didn’t feel judged or inadequate. We weren’t outsiders there. We belonged.
That community center helped me learn how to deal with my anger and pain and turn it into something positive. Watching the older kids mentor the younger children helped me realize what I wanted to do with my life. I’d been working with the foster care system for the past eight years, and I’d devoted my life to making things better for those kids. Ever since I could remember, I’d wanted to find a way to make a difference, and I thought building a Youth Center would be a great way to help. I knew how much the community center where I had grown up had affected me, and it was important to me to make sure that these local kids had that support, too.
The center had to provide a stimulating environment for kids of all ages. I knew it needed to have a w
ide range of programs, activities, camps, and special events for the kids throughout the year. They needed to have a place to feel safe and spend time with their friends. It had taken a lot of work and fundraising, but I’d finally gotten it approved. Our Downtown Youth Center would have classrooms, a fitness center, a large auditorium, and a gymnasium with basketball courts. We would be able to offer activities and classes for the kids and their foster parents. I’d worked hard to make this project a possibility, and I wanted it to be perfect.
Once I had completed all the details, I placed several ads with all of our specs and projected budget. I encouraged any contractors that might be interested to contact me about submitting their bids, and the inquiries quickly began to fill my inbox. After reading through several offers, one in particular caught my attention. I wasn’t sure what made his email stand out, but something pulled me to ask him for more information.
He and I spent the next few hours emailing back and forth. At first, the emails primarily consisted of contractor inquires and references, but then they grew increasingly more personal. I even found myself wondering if he was flirting with me a little. He was charming and funny, and I admit, I loved the attention. My imagination ran wild with possibilities of what the rugged, charismatic construction worker might have looked like. With every email, my mind tried to piece together my fantasy man. Our little online routine progressed just like that for several days. I still continued to look into the other offers, but his remained at the top of my list. After all, he had great references, and his proposal was below the budget. And… okay, there was something about seeing his name in my inbox that always made my heart skip a beat. I just couldn’t resist.
I had gotten completely wrapped up in the fantasy, and I just didn’t know what I was thinking. The Youth Center had been my dream for so long, but suddenly the charming stranger had taken over my every thought. He was like a drug, each message leaving me craving more. I found myself compulsively checking my inbox, looking for my fix. He had me hooked. Over the next week, the number of messages increased as the conversations became more addictive. I knew I should’ve stopped messaging him. He was a potential employee, and no good could come from it. But I couldn’t stop myself. The truth was… I didn’t want to.
It was easy to get lost in the fascination of some mysterious man, but it was more than that. I felt like I was getting to know him through his emails. His interest… his hobbies… even what he wanted in the future. This Kane Blackwood was no simple man. He was passionate about his work, and he was proud of the success he’d had at SF Construction. Kane was not afraid of hard work. It was one of the things I found most endearing about him. When he told me that he was a member of a motorcycle club, I was immediately intrigued. There was something about that secret world that I found appealing. As crazy as it sounded, the idea of having a group of brothers that had your back, of having a family that you could always turn to, made me envy him. When he first mentioned his motorcycle, I found myself fantasizing about what it would be like to ride with him. I had never been on one before, but the thought of it excited me, giving me goosebumps all over. Everything about him excited me, and truthfully, that scared me a little. The more we talked the more he seemed to be genuinely interested in me. That made me feel… well… wanted.
Honestly, the whole thing was the ideal situation for me. I’d always kept men at an arm’s length, even if I really liked them. It was an unfortunate side effect from my solitary childhood. I didn’t let my guard down easily, so romantic relationships had always been a struggle. My little online infatuation was the perfect mix of intimacy and self-preservation. I got the affection I craved without the danger of having to be truly vulnerable. The anonymity of being online gave me the safety net I needed to be confident and flirty… brazen even. I allowed myself to open up for the first time in forever and engage in a little harmless fun. He had a way with words, and it was hot. I didn’t want it to end.
We continued down that path for almost two weeks, messaging back and forth every chance we got. As Neil started to remind me of our deadlines, though, I began to get nervous. I was going to have to actually meet Kane soon and get the ball rolling on the Youth Center. No more hiding behind my computer. I had to show him the location of the building site, and I needed to discuss the blueprints with him.
Neil had started prowling around just outside of my office, glancing in my direction like he knew something was going on. I shook my head and tried to focus on the task at hand. I pulled up my email, and after explaining Neil’s demands, I asked Kane if he could meet me at the site on Thursday. I had to get things started and fast. Time was up. As soon as I hit send, my heart started to race. What if I had been wrong about everything? What if he was some kind of serial killer? Or a fat, balding old man with a boner for younger women? I had been so stupid, but there was no turning back. I had no plan B. When his response popped up on my computer screen, however, all my doubts quickly disappeared.
May 1, 2015
2:45 p.m.
Kane Blackwood
SF Construction
Morning All-Star,
So Thursday’s my lucky day, huh? Just tell me where and when, and I’m in. Don’t worry about your presentation. I’ll make sure I’m ready; you just make sure you’re ready. I’m going to need you all day to get this done right.
* * *
Butterflies and fear raced through me as I read his words. I smiled to myself when I saw the new nickname he had for me. I still don’t know what had possessed me to tell him that silly story. I’d nearly died of embarrassment the day I tried my hand at baseball. I never forgot the expression on the coach’s face as my ball crashed through the front windshield of his car. He was furious. It didn’t matter that I had actually hit the ball for the first time; he was too busy freaking out about his car. I never was able to hit the ball like that again, and eventually I gave it up altogether. Sports were just not my thing.
* * *
Chapter 2
Guardrail
‡
“How’s our little project going? Have you found out anything we can use?” Maverick asked.
“I know she isn’t frightened of the club life like she should be, if that’s any indication of how much she talks to her brother,” I told him as I took a drink of my beer.
“You think she has any idea what he’s been up to?” he asked.
“No. Nothing has come up on any of the feeds. He hasn’t been to her house, and there hasn’t been any communication between them through her phone or email. The prospects are still rotating shifts, and none of them have seen any sign of him.”
As Vice President of Satan’s Fury, it was up to me to find Tony, the lowlife motherfucker that stole a fifty thousand dollar shipment from the club. Because he’d been a long-standing leader of one of the street gangs in town, he’d gotten a unanimous vote at the table for the drug distribution. He was a professional, but in the end, he’d decided he could fuck us on our money. Surprisingly, the asshole actually thought he’d be able to get away with it.
He’d forgotten that Satan’s Fury owned the whole damn town. Because drugs were an unavoidable reality in the outer east and west side of our territory, we negotiated which gangs could run product and where. It was the best way for us to keep control of what drugs were sold in our area. We’d allowed Tony and his minions to distribute our product, same as the other little set on the west side. We used them out of necessity. Our product kept us in control of the territory. They did the distribution, and we took our cut… a large cut.
Nobody in the clubhouse talked to anyone about anything, so we were caught off guard when Tony managed to manipulate Maverick’s girl, Hailey, to get information about the club. It cut deep. Maverick had it bad for Hailey, and no matter how many times she’d come and gone, he was always there for her. Hell, he didn’t even realize she’d gotten hooked on junk until it got bad, and even after that it took an overdose for him to finally be able to cut her off. Although w
e all knew he would never share club business, the whole situation had us all on edge.
The last time she called Maverick begging for money, he’d tried putting her off by telling her he was going on a run and wouldn’t be back for a week. Unfortunately, Hailey’s decision to give Tony that little tidbit of information had given him a five-day jump that nobody saw coming, and it had cost us… big. We’d come home early only to find that Tony and his crew had taken off with our money, and Hailey was nowhere to be found. It was a shit ton of fuckery.
They had to be found… all of them. We knew Tony was hiding, and we had eyes everywhere. It was only a matter of time before we found him. We started with their families. Unfortunately, none of them kept any strong family ties that we could pull intel from. They had kids like kittens, and too many baby’s mamas to count. Since we decided that cutting the head off the snake was our best option, Maverick, our Sergeant of Arms, and I have spent weeks searching for information on Tony’s whereabouts. When we came across the name of his sister, we both agreed she was our best lead.
“Has she said anything about Tony? Do you think she knows where he is?” Maverick asked.
“Nothing yet, but she’s opening up more every day. If she does know anything or he contacts her, I’ll get her to talk,” I told him confidently. I could tell she was beginning to trust me. A part of me felt guilty about misleading her, but in the end, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“You’ll find him. Once you put your mind to something, there’s no stopping you,” Maverick told me as his hand slapped against my back. “That’s why the Pres put you on this.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to find him, and he’ll pay for fucking with the club,” I told him as I slammed my empty beer bottle down on the counter. “He will slip up, and I’ll be there waiting when he does.”