Princes of Hell MC Set

by KJ Dahlen

  “Bret,” Fiona said as she looked around and saw no sign of him. Fear clutched her chest. Did someone get him? “Baby bear. It’s okay now. We’re safe now.”

  Talon dropped to the floor and lifted the bed skirt. “Got him. He’s under the bed.”

  Fiona placed a hand on her chest with a small sense of relief.

  “Come here, kid,” Talon said. “I promise, you’re safe. All my friends are here. Okay?”

  A few seconds later, Bret emerged from under the bed, clutching the feather necklace tight that Talon had given him. “It really works,” he said to Talon.

  Talon put his massive hand over Bret’s small hand that clutched the feather. “Yes, it does, kid.”

  Fiona grabbed Bret and lifted him up, hugging him. “I’m so sorry, baby bear. Oh, I’m so sorry!”

  “It’s okay,” Bret said. “I was scared.”

  “Me too,” Fiona cried into his hair.

  “No need to be scared anymore,” Talon said.

  Fiona looked over at Talon. “Your prospects let him in here and then they just stood there as he proceeded to call for back up.”

  “I’ll deal with those useless fuc—” he halted as he glanced at Bret. “...Those two losers, but first, I’m going to have a chat with our friend.”

  “Talon...”

  Talon leaned in. “Relax, sweetheart, I’m not killing him...yet.”

  Fiona sat Bret on the bed. “Baby bear, I need you sit right here. I’m going to talk with Talon and his friends.”

  “Can we get food then? I’m hungry.”

  “Kid, you can get anything you want,” Talon offered. “You name it and I’ll buy it. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Bret nodded.

  “Good boy.” Fiona kissed his forehead. “My sweet boy. Just stay put.” She followed Talon out of the room and grabbed his arm. “What are you going to do?”

  Talon looked back at her. He leaned back and stole a kiss from her lips. “That was first. Second, I make damn sure Devin never comes near you again.”

  “Where is he?” Talon asked.

  “Easy now,” Eagle urged and put a hand to Talon’s chest. “Prospect has him in the kitchen.”

  “Take him out back and kill him,” Talon said. “Simple.”

  “It’s bigger than that, VP,” Eagle said as he eyed Fiona for a few seconds.

  “Talk with her here,” Talon said. “She’s part of this.”

  “I know that,” Eagle said. “That’s why I busted in. If I didn’t give a shit, I wouldn’t have. He came through the fire exit. Disabled the alarm, even though in a shithole like this, it wasn’t working. I was coming to find you, to talk other business. Rolled up and saw the prospects were missing from their rides. And you were gone. Figured the worst and charged up here. Devin was already on the fucking ground.”

  “He was holding me,” Fiona said.

  Talon looked over at her. “Holding you how?”

  “Trying to choke me out. He said he was going to take Bret. And I’d never see him again.”

  Talon made a move toward the kitchen and Eagle stopped him. “Hey. We do this the wrong way and we’re adding another war to our plate. You’re the one who’s been preaching peace, VP. Think of the call here. First off, I have his phone. I have his contacts. I have his life in my pocket.”

  “The gun,” Fiona said.

  “What gun?” Talon asked.

  “He dropped it. I kicked it under the couch.”

  “Perfect,” Eagle said. “We have his fingerprints on a weapon. We have him in a corner. We fucking own him. Meaning, we have a stake in his business now.”

  Talon locked eyes with him. “Jesus Christ, Prez, you’re thinking of using him for the fifty grand.”

  “Fifty grand?” Fiona asked.

  Talon turned and faced Fiona. He gently touched her face. “Listen, sweetheart, go check on Bret.”

  “What?”

  “He’s right,” Eagle said.

  “You’re kicking me out of this?” Fiona asked.

  “No,” Talon said. “We’re handling it.” Talon knew Fiona was pissed, but he’d saved her ass. The least she could do was listen right now.

  Fiona started to walk away,

  Eagle gave a quick whistle. “You have this club’s protection. My orders. Whatever we decide and do, it’s all part of the greater good of the club. That includes family of the club. You and your kid.”

  Fiona stared at him looking stunned. “Thank you.” She then went through the bedroom door.

  “Prez,” Talon said.

  Eagle grabbed Talon’s shoulder and gave a quick nod.

  A sense of pride went through Talon. It was a relief to know Eagle supported Talon with Fiona. Why Eagle had changed his tune, didn’t matter right now. Maybe later as this meant Fiona was welcome at the clubhouse. That meant the other guys had to respect her. It also meant the kitties roaming around the clubhouse were beneath Fiona now.

  “Back on topic, VP,” Eagle said. “We kill this guy, his guys come racing right into town. We can’t have that. Dmitri has a hit out for you as it is right now.”

  “A hit?”

  “There’s no fight for money,” Eagle said. “He wanted to put you against some of his guys and see how far you could go.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “A bird told me,” Eagle said. “Tweet, tweet, right?”

  “So he wanted to finish what he started with me,” Talon said.

  “Yeah. Send a clear message to the MC. Have the head of the VP on a stake.”

  Talon rubbed his neck. “Fuck. This guy means business.”

  “Bratva, brother,” Eagle said. “They don’t care. They’ll burn this town down and just keep going.”

  “We can’t let that happen, Prez.”

  “We won’t. But we have to be smart here. That means... Devin goes on living.”

  “Fuck,” Talon said in disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, brother.” Eagle shook his head. “I want you to put a bullet in his head. Hell, when this shit settles, we can do that. But we have to be fair here. Your old lady kicked this up.”

  “Her kid was sick,” Talon repeated what he’d said before. “She needed cash.”

  “She called you after she got into trouble. Why not before?”

  Talon threaded his fingers through his s hair in frustration. “Because I chased her away. That’s why, Prez.”

  “Well, here’s the reality, VP. We’re looking at this debt from Hammer. The Bratva. The Dogs wanting to make a play on us. And now this?”

  “Don’t forget about Digger,” Talon said. “Spitting words at me about Jethro.”

  “Eh, fuck that, VP,” Eagle said with contempt. “Digger left this club. He chose another life. His words are shit.”

  “His words were right. About Jethro.”

  “We can talk about that some other time,” Eagle said. “Right now, we have to deal—”

  “Prez, we have a problem,” Condor interjected as he came through the front door of the apartment.

  The place was getting crowded. Smelling of booze, pussy, and dirty bikers.

  “What’s wrong?” Eagle asked.

  “Hammer’s place is gone.”

  “Gone?” Talon asked.

  “Caught fire,” Condor said.

  “Blew up,” Toll Man said as he slipped through the open door too, a lit cigarette between his lips.

  “Shut that damn door,” Eagle ordered. “And put the smoke out. Young lungs are in the room over there.”

  “What do you mean his apartment blew up?” Talon asked.

  “What the fuck do you think it means?” Toll Man asked as he scrubbed his cigarette dead against the wall, leaving black smears.

  “Someone blew it up because of the information we got there,” Talon said. “Goddammit.”

  “Looks like a sloppy job though,” Condor said. “But most of the shit is gone. You can talk to Werley about it. He’s dealing with the fire department and city coun
cil. They want our ass on the line for it.”

  “Our own place?” Eagle asked. “Fuck that. They just want a reason to ride our ass.”

  “Like we need it,” Toll Man scoffed.

  “Okay, we need to go in order here,” Talon said. “Condor. Take Toll Man and go assess the damage at Hammer’s place. We have to wrap things up here and then we’ll meet at the table to discuss what’s next.”

  “Too much happening at once,” Condor said. “Something is going to slip. Fucking Hammer.”

  “Do what VP says,” Prez ordered.

  The two left.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” Talon asked.

  “Bratva,” Eagle replied. “They’re fucking with our heads. Dmitri taking that pop shot at your shoulder. Wanting to lure you into a fight, thinking you’d score fifty large. Now blowing up Hammer’s place. Destroying anything that could have helped us.”

  “There were papers there, Prez. About my father. And Hammer. And Jethro.”

  Eagle stared at him. “All that has to wait. We take care of the literal fires we have to fucking put out right and god damn left.”

  “Ok...fuck! So Dickwad Devin lives,” Talon said in disgust. “We keep his phone. We keep him on a leash.”

  “It’s the right thing to do, VP. We’ll keep your old lady safe. And the kid.”

  Talon walked away from Eagle and went into the kitchen.

  Devin stood there with his arms at his sides.

  The two prospects stood with guns pointed at him.

  “Guns down,” Talon ordered. “You walk away. And for failing to do your job earlier, we will have a talk.”

  They looked startled then left Talon alone with Devin.

  “You can kill me,” Devin said. “But the war you’d start—”

  “I’m not fucking killing you,” Talon cut him off. “You’re free to go. You piece of shit. But we’re going to use you. We have your phone. We have a gun with your finger prints on it. You even think about Fiona or Bret and we’ll have you set up for murder. The contacts in your phone are now ours. We’re going to take a cut of your earnings at your titty bar too. And your underground poker games? We expect kickbacks from those.”

  “Fuck you,” Devin spat. “I’ll bury you all before you get a—”

  Talon threw a right hook and nailed Devin in the jaw.

  He spun and clung to the sink as if it was a lifeline. He let out a deep groan as his knees bent.

  “This isn’t a fucking negotiation, asshole. This is an order. Unless you want a bullet to the back of your head, you leave here right now with everything settled with Fiona. She owes you nothing. You go back to your shithole life. We’ll stay in touch about the payments. You’re going to love working with us, Devin. We’ll keep your business safe. We’ll keep your poker games safe too.”

  “I don’t need protection for that,” he said.

  “Believe me, you do,” Talon said with a smirk. “We’re the ones that can either destroy you or protect you. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  Devin touched his jaw and walked toward the door.

  Eagle opened the door for him. “We have eyes everywhere. And if you ever put your hands on a woman again... or threaten a kid... we’ll cut you limb by limb and keep you alive as long as possible.”

  “Wait a second, Devin,” Talon said. “I forgot something.”

  Devin looked back. “What the fuck else do you want?”

  Talon reached into his pocket and took out five twenties. “Here’s your fucking hundred bucks back, you motherfucker.” He flicked the cash at Devin and started to laugh.

  Devin growled and made a quick move for Talon, but Eagle was there to quell it. With one swift punch, Devin was out in the hallway, on his ass.

  Prez and VP started to laugh.

  Getting up as he swiped the blood from his lip, Devin pulled out a gun and a cell phone from seemingly nowhere.

  Instinct kicked in for Talon as he jumped at Eagle, wanting to protect his President. He let out a yell for help and that’s when things got even crazier.

  Two large men appeared in the hallway, guns in their hands, ready to shoot to kill.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Talon turned his back and pushed Eagle into the apartment. At the same time, he pulled his weapon from the back waist of his jeans. Spinning back around, the bullets started to fly.

  Instantly, one of the prospects flew back with a loud scream, taking a bullet to the chest. He thudded against the wall and toppled down like a weak tree in a storm.

  That little prick, Devin quickly started to crawl away.

  Toll Man and Condor appeared from the other side of the hallway, returning fire.

  The two men quickly started to retreat, realizing their error by picking a fight with the MC.

  “Where’s Prez?” Toll Man growled.

  “Inside,” Talon yelled. “He’s fine. Get one of these pricks now.”

  Condor crouched and pulled a knife from his ankle. He stood and threw it with sickening precision, hitting one of the guys square in the back. The man’s arms shot out as he froze and fell face down on the carpeted hallway.

  “Fuck,” Talon yelled. “I didn’t want him dead!”

  “Should’ve said that, VP,” Condor said with a shrug.

  Talon made a move down the hallway just as the door shut. He got to the door and opened it, listening to the footsteps echoing from below.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he heard Devin ask the downed man.

  There was no answer to the question.

  What the hell is this? Talon turned his head and saw Condor standing over the guy with the knife in his back. Condor reached down and pulled the knife out with a grunt then quickly produced a rag to wipe the blade clean.

  “Fuck,” Talon said. “Roll his ass over.”

  Condor rolled the man over by using nothing but his foot.

  That’s when Talon saw the gunshot wound to the man’s gut.

  “Shit, I guess he’s had a rough day,” Condor said with a chuckle.

  “He brought it on himself,” Talon said. “Fucking prick.”

  The man gurgled and looked at up Talon. “End it...”

  Talon dropped to one knee. “So here’s how we do this. You tell me what I want or I let you live. I’ve got guys who can keep you alive. And we’re going to patch you up, bring you back to health, and then fucking kill you. Or better yet... your partner left you. What kind of guy does that, huh? My guys are going to get him right now. And he’s going to give you up. Your entire life. Your wife. Kids. Parents. Uncles. Aunts. Cousins.”

  The man shook his head. “No—you can’t...”

  “So you stepped in shit, huh? You working for Devin?”

  “No.”

  “Are you fucking lying to me?”

  “No.”

  Talon made a fist and pushed it down on the man’s gunshot wound.

  The man let out a dying scream and started to cry.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Steve.”

  “Okay, Steve. You don’t work for Devin. Yet, you showed up at the perfect time to save his ass.”

  “We—didn’t know...”

  “So you came here to just shoot at me? Eagle? Who?”

  “Anyone,” Steve said. He shut his eyes and groaned. Sweat poured off his face as the seconds ticked down on his life. “It— was a hit.”

  “Bratva?” Talon asked.

  “No,” Steve said. “Please—it hurts—I can’t breathe...”

  “That’s from the knife,” Condor explained. “Goes right into the lung and fucking deflates it.”

  “This isn’t a fucking anatomy lesson, brother,” Talon said looking at Condor. “Be useful and go get Prez.” He then set his sights back on Steve.

  With a weak hand, Steve reached for Talon. “I want— to— die...”

  “Oh, you will,” Talon said. “Tell me what I want to know. Who the fuck are you working for? Not Devin? Not the Bratva? Then who?” />
  Steve opened his mouth and blood leaked out. His eyes suddenly went gray. Death had its grips on him.

  “Goddammit! Wake the fuck up, man.” He slapped Steve’s face. His head flopped around like a fish out of water. And he felt the same too. Slimy and scaly. “Tell me,” Talon growled.

  Steve let out an almost hiccup sound and looked right at Talon. He then whispered one word ‒ one name, “D-Digger...”And then he was gone. Dead for real this time.

  Talon stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “What the fuck?”

  “What a fucking mess,” Eagle said, stepping up next to Talon.

  “No shit. Where’s Fiona and the kid?”

  “Looking for you,” Eagle replied. “Take them out the back way and get to the clubhouse.”

  “What about this mess?”

  Eagle nodded. “Looks like we’re going to need a favor from Chief Werley on this one.”

  Fiona gripped the steering wheel as she looked in the mirror and saw Talon riding her ass. She could pick out the steel frame of his jaw he was that close to her. In front of her, she had two motorcycles leading the way. The big guy with a knife, Condor and another one.

  But there was one thing she noticed as she carried Bret out of the apartment.

  There had been no sign of Devin.

  She fully expected to find Devin on the floor, dead. In fact, she hoped to see it. Just to know that the situation was finally over.

  Seeing the clubhouse come into view was almost like a relief for Fiona. The other bikers parted ways to give her a chance to park her car. Talon came right up next to her. He was quick to get off his motorcycle and ripped open the back door to check on Bret. “You need a ride, kid?” Talon asked.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I was going to carry you inside. Get you something to eat. What are you in the mood for?”

  “Grilled cheese,” Bret said.

  “That sounds good. And a cold beer?”

  Bret giggled.

  Fiona watched it from the rearview mirror.

  I have to tell him. I have to tell him soon. I know there’s no good time to do it. I know there’s a lot going on with the club, but he has to know.

  “Fine,” Talon said. “Two grilled cheeses. One beer. One apple juice. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Bret said.