Princes of Hell MC Set

by KJ Dahlen

  Fiona flinched inside but couldn’t show it. Crossing her fingers behind her back, she waited for the rest. Don’t let him ask it. Please don’t...

  Talon stared at her for a moment then nodded. Then he turned to unpack the groceries he’d bought at the local store. Eggs, bread, juice, peanut butter, jelly, hamburger, chicken, macaroni, coffee and an extra couple pack of smokes.

  Fiona was grateful for the food and the cigarettes. When he went to the second bag, he brought out some chips and her favorite granola. Fiona glanced over at him and saw him shrug, as if it were no big deal that he remembered her favorite food.

  Fiona grabbed the bread, peanut butter and jelly and went over to the counter to make her son a sandwich. It wasn’t much but it would be enough to carry him for a while. Then she went back and made herself one.

  Talon watched her in complete silence for a moment then had to ask, “How have you been doing since you left here?”

  Fiona froze briefly. The sandwich she’d been eating stuck in her throat. Swallowing hard she began chewing again. When she swallowed hard a second time she told him, “Been doing ok, I guess.” If barely making ends meet meant doing ok she was doing that much.

  “And the boy’s father, where is he right now?”

  Fiona took another bite of her sandwich so she could think of an answer other than the one standing right in front of her. “He’s not in the picture anymore. He walked out on me before I knew I was carrying his child.”

  Talon snorted. “You always did have bad taste in men.”

  “Guess that’s true,” she admitted. “I sure as hell did when I picked you didn’t I?”

  Talon’s nostrils flared at her statement.

  Fiona flushed with shame. “I didn’t mean that. Guess the past still hurts a little.”

  Talon shook his head. “No you were right. I wasn’t a good man back then and I’m still not. I don’t do relationships well.”

  Fiona’s throat swelled and her sandwich got stuck in her throat. She remembered well what kind of man he’d been years ago. He’d been the one man she’d fallen in love with and it took his club killing a man and her finding that he had slept with another woman to make her leave him. “I remember.”

  “So who is the loser?” he asked.

  “Nobody you would know.” Was the only answer she would give him.

  “Ever hear about your family?” he asked.

  Fiona shook her head. Her family had been a sore spot between them years ago. Her parent’s marriage hadn’t been great at any point but for her brother’s sake, she’d hoped they would straighten themselves out. When she’d gotten together with Talon, they had tossed her out, telling her if she wanted to hang with garbage, she could live with him. She heard later that her father demanded payment from Talon for ruining his daughter. Talon told him to go to hell and proceeded to beat the shit out of the man, leaving him broke and bleeding on the streets. Her mother wanted to file a report with the police but one of Talon’s brothers paid them a visit and shortly after that, her family left town for parts unknown.

  She did hear later that her parents split up. They had taken her brother to her dad’s parents and he’d gotten into some trouble and ended up in jail. She hadn’t heard anything of her parents since then nor did she try to contact them again.

  “Nope didn’t then and sure as hell don’t want to now,” she told him after she ate her last bite of food.

  He pushed the coffee toward her and said, “Coffee maker is in the cabinet next to the sink.” He turned and nodded at Bret. “The juice is for him. Didn’t know what else he could drink.”

  Fiona shrugged. “Juice is fine.” She moved to pull out the coffee maker and brew a pot of coffee. She poured a glass of juice for Bret and the coffee was done by the time she got back. Pouring two cups, she offered him one then sipped the hot brew.

  She closed her eyes and groaned at the first taste.

  Talon chuckled.

  “What?” she murmured.

  “I forgot how much you enjoy a cup of Joe. At least that much hasn’t changed.”

  Fiona’s temper flashed inside her but she knew she couldn’t let it loose. Nodding instead, she kept quiet and continued to drink her coffee.

  “So tell me more about this Devin fucker. What’s his deal?” Talon leaned against the counter waiting for her response.

  “His name is Devin Brooks. He owns and runs a strip club in Santa Rosa, where I was living before. He ran the club where I was a waitress. I also worked part time at a diner but my hours at the strip club got cut short and I couldn’t pick up more hours at the diner hence the fact the money wasn’t enough to pay for Bret’s medicine.” She looked at Talon and tears blurred her eyes. “I swear I only took a hundred bucks. I never figured he’d miss that much. I had every intention of given it back and but he wouldn’t even listen. He acted like I took the whole damn stack of bills. I even tried to give back what I didn’t use but after he tried to beat on me I took it back.”

  Talon frowned. “Where did all this take place? Not in front of the kid I hope.”

  Fiona shook her head. “I was up on the roof having a cigarette when he showed up. He was just so damn mad. I told him I would return the money and like I said, I offered to give what I had left back but he threatened my life and then he told me he would make me watch as he shot Bret. To get away, I had to kick him in the balls. I grabbed Bret and just ran. I didn’t know where else to come but here.”

  Talon glanced over at Bret. “Is he all right now? I mean with the ear infection and shit?”

  “I made sure I grabbed his medicine when I left. We have that if nothing else. I didn’t exactly have time to pack or anything.” Fiona nodded. “We just got the hell out of Dodge.”

  “Does he know where you are?” Talon asked through a flinty glare.

  Fiona shook her head. “I never mentioned you or the club or where I came from before I hit Santa Rosa to anyone.”

  “Ok don’t worry, we’ll get some clothes for you and the boy.”

  “Ok, that works for me.” Suddenly, she was tired almost beyond exhaustion. “I think Bret and I need a nap.”

  Talon pushed himself away from the counter. “I’ll leave you to get some rest then.”

  Fiona watched as he went to the door. “Talon,” she called out softly. When he turned to see what she wanted, she gave him a slight smile. “Thank you for keeping your word to me. You really didn’t have to.”

  Talon smiled back. “I always keep my word. You should have remembered that much about me, even after all these years.”

  Fiona watched as he went through the door. She walked toward the portal slowly. When her hand reached for the deadbolt lock she whispered, “But I did remember your promise. That’s why I came here, that’s why I’m back.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Talon stepped into the cool dimness of the clubhouse and found Eagle sitting alone at a table. He made his way over to the table and sat down beside his President. He reached for the bottle of whiskey on the table and a glass.

  “What the hell were you thinking bringing a woman and kid here?” Eagle growled. “And expecting the club to protect them? We got enough shit to worry about at the moment.” He hesitated then asked, “Is the kid yours or something?”

  Talon shook his head. “Don’t think so. She took off on me about four and a half years ago, maybe a little longer than that but the kid is only three.”

  Eagle snorted and reached out to grab the bottle and pour himself another shot. “Where did you end up putting them?”

  “They’re at my place.”

  “What’s her deal then?” Eagle asked. “Why did she come back to you when she’s been gone all this time?”

  Talon shrugged. “She meant something to me back in the day and I told her if she were ever in trouble, all she had to do was call and I’d come get her. She’s in trouble and needed someplace to run to.”

  Eagle snorted. “And is this trouble going to come here look
ing for her and the boy?”

  Talon shook his head. “She swears she never talked about us or the club to anyone in Santa Rosa.”

  “So what’s her deal? Why did she come here with nothing?”

  “Devin Brooks is her boss and she took a hundred buck to pay for her kid’s medicine. He went overboard and threatened to kill her or have her watch him kill the kid in front of her. She kicked him in the balls and grabbed the kid and took off.”

  Eagle frowned. “All that drama over a hundred bucks? What the fuck?”

  Talon shrugged. “I know right? Don’t make no sense to me either but that’s what she says and I’ve never known her to lie. She’s stupidly honest, at least back when I knew her she was. I have no reason to think any different now.”

  Eagle was about to say something when suddenly the front door opened again. This wasn’t just someone coming in, the door was thrown wide open. So wide, it slammed into the wall raising all kinds of noise.

  Eagle and Talon looked up to see a prospect rushing inside. The man came over to Eagle’s table and was out of breath when he got there. “Boss... sorry to interrupt you but we... got a situation you need to know about r-right away.” Taos, the prospect was winded and nervous.

  “Slow down boy and tell me slowly so I understand what you want.” Eagle growled.

  “Sorry sir.” Taos took a deep breath and exhaled on a loud sigh.

  “Now what’s this all about?”

  “We have a visitor outside. He came here under a white flag and would like to speak to you.”

  Eagle snorted. “Who is he and why did he come here under a white Flag?”

  “He’s a member of the Road Dogs MC,” Taos dropped his bomb. “He wants to show you something but he wouldn’t say what it was. Said he’d only deal with you or Talon.”

  Eagle slowly rose to his full height of six foot two inches. Talon rose beside him. Both men seemed to grow in size and the whole room tensed.

  “What the fuck does the Road Dogs want here? Besides to lose their lives?” Falcon stated to no one in particular. He was the Prince’s enforcer and now he came to stand behind his president, ready to defend his club. If any man in the room thought they were huge and a powerhouse, they would think again, if they faced this man.

  “I don’t know but I plan to find out.” Eagle started toward the door with Talon and Falcon right behind him. When they all got outside, they could see the lone biker sitting on his ride smoking a cigarette.

  Two other prospects were flanking him and there was no sign that this was anything except a friendly visit. The other man’s eyes narrowed when they came into view and he flicked his smoke to the ground. As Eagle, Talon and Falcon came closer the other man issued an order, “Send the peons, away so we can talk.”

  “Give me a reason.” Eagle growled.

  “What I got to say, you might not want them to hear.”

  Eagle nodded and the prospects melted away to take up their posts of watch. Eagle crossed his arms around his chest and glared at the man. “What the fuck do you want bad enough to come here under a white flag? Thought the Dogs didn’t care about rules and such.”

  The Road Dog shrugged. “I was sent here by my President Slasher. He wanted to give you a message. He said to tell you now that Hammer is dead so is the arrangement they had.”

  Eagle frowned. “What fuckin arrangement?”

  “Name is Ripper.” He reached slowly into his vest pocket and brought of a bundle of papers. Handing them over, he let Eagle read them.

  A few minutes later, Eagle grunted in disgust and handed them back to Talon. “This is a fucking bunch of bullshit. Hammer never would have made a deal like this.”

  Ripper shrugged. “Ain’t no skin off my nose but that was the deal Slasher had with Hammer. Whether you believe it or not. Hammer sold out your club for a piece of the take every month. We paid him to let us go through your territory, as a curtesy, but now that he’s gone, we don’t see the need to pay anymore. In fact, we’ll just take what we want.”

  “The hell you will.” Falcon growled. “This is our territory not yours. Come one step over the line and you’ll need Hades to introduce you to hell.”

  Ripper threw back his head and laughed out loud. “You think the Road Dogs are afraid of you pussies? Like hell. We’ll just stomp you into the ground on our way through and leave you for the buzzards to finish off.”

  Eagle stepped closer and glared into the man’s evil eyes. “Get the fuck off Prince’s territory and don’t come back. There’ll be a bullet waiting for you if you do. You got here under a white flag this time, don’t do it again or we won’t see the flag, we’ll see just your fuckin colors and they’ll be red with your blood the next time we meet.”

  Ripper sneered but didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved slowly so as not to make them think he was trying anything. He started his bike and backed up, then swung around and headed out of the compound.

  Eagle watched as the man left and turned to look at Talon. “Bring those in with you. We need a closer look at them.”

  All three men went back into the clubhouse, all the way to the office Eagle used. They picked up the rest of the officers in the club as well, Toll Man, Condor, Hawk, Rogue and Raptor.

  All eight men crowded into Eagle’s office and when Eagle relayed the message Ripper had given them, the five new men protested angrily.

  “There’s no way Hammer would have such a deal, is there?” Raptor asked as the fuss died down a bit.

  “I wouldn’t like to think so, as Hammer was one of the founding members but we have no proof, except this piece of horseshit.” Eagle indicated the papers Ripper presented them with.

  “If this is true, Hammer sold us out, each and every one of us,” Falcon stated the obvious. “I’d hate to think that was possible.” He shook his head.

  “Neither would I,” Talon seconded his President’s statement of fact.

  “We need to let everyone know about this and find a way to prove or disprove this claim,” Eagle grumbled. “This is our club and we have to protect our own. I don’t care what deal Hammer might or might not have made, this is our club now and I won’t give the fuckin Road Dogs an avenue through it.”

  “Hell no!” Everyone exclaimed.

  Eagle turned to Talon. “Call the brothers in for church. We need to step up and be more watchful. They think they can walk right in through our town and there ain’t squat we can do about it. Well, I’ll be damned if that’s gonna happen.” Eagle slammed his hand down on the top of the desk.

  Talon picked up the papers again and studied them carefully. He’d known Hammer his whole life as the man had been his father’s best friend. Glancing at the name scrawled at the bottom of the contract Talon began laughing out loud.

  Eagle got to his feet and grabbed Talon’s shirt. “What the fuck do you find so funny? This ain’t nothing to laugh about brother.”

  Talon pulled away from Eagle’s hold and pointed to the signature line of the contract. “Don’t you fucking see it? It’s right there.”

  Eagle frowned and took the contract from Talon’s hand. He didn’t know what the fuck he was looking at. “See what?”

  “Look at the signature man,” Talon suggested.

  Eagle studied the signature and began to smile.

  Falcon grabbed the papers but didn’t see what they saw. “What the fuck are you two grinning about?”

  Talon’s grin went wider. “Hammer’s real name was Theo Hunter, not Theo Hunt. Only someone who knew him would know that. He would never sign his name as Hunt.”

  “But isn’t that what he always went by? Hunt?” Falcon gritted.

  “Sometimes yeah, but he never signed his name to a legal contract by anything but Hunter.” Eagle shook his head. “That document isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

  “Besides that,” Talon went on. “That looks to me like whoever signed it was left handed. You all know what Hammer thought about writing left handed. He always though
t southpaws did things backwards.”

  Falcon finally saw what they had. Nodding his head, he agreed. “So now what? How do we send them a return message?”

  “You leave that up to Rogue and me,” Hawk stated. “We’ll make sure they get the message.”

  “Yeah, we know how to find the fuckers.” Rogue swore.

  Eagle’s head snapped over to his Road Captains. “And where would that be?”

  “Every Tuesday they like to hang out at Dusty’s Bar. It’s on the border of our territory and theirs. They like to taunt us into starting trouble.”

  “And why wasn’t I told this before now?” Eagle growled furiously.

  Hawk shrugged. “They finally stopped taunting us when we wouldn’t respond but they’ve been keeping an eye on us the whole time.”

  “Fucking hell,” Talon swore low in his throat.

  “Today is Tuesday. Let’s make sure they get the message.” Eagle glared at them all. He lifted his hand and said, “Let’s all ride out there and give them our answer.”

  Just as the sun went down Eagle and his brothers, thirty strong, met the few bikers from the Road Dogs that showed up.

  Five men stopped and stared at the other side of the road. They looked worried for a moment then Eagle got off his bike and walked across the road to stop in front of one of the men. He pointed to the other man’s chest and as he threw the papers Ripper had given him earlier back at him he said, “We need you to take a message to Slasher. Tell him his claim is bogus and we know it. Tell him to keep his dumb ass out of our territory or he’ll take a bullet and not be able to sit down for a month.”

  The other man laughed out loud. “Who the fuck do you think you are to threaten our MC like that?”

  Eagle smiled evilly. “I’m the man who will cap his stupid ass. If he wants a war he’ll get his fucking war, but it’ll be on our terms not his. If you come into our territory you won’t be leaving on your own two feet, you’ll be leaving via a hearse. You got that?”