Satan's Fury MC Boxed Set: Books 5-8

by L. Wilder

  “Why? Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just need to talk to Cotton about something. Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you want to come along?”

  I hoped that talking to him might improve his mood, so I decided to let him go alone. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll just stay here and take a hot bath.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.” I leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. “I’m sure. Just don’t take too long.”

  “I won’t,” he assured me.

  After my bath, I crawled into bed, and I was just starting to doze off when Diesel came walking through the door. Without saying a word, he crawled in next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. He lowered his mouth to my ear, and I could feel the heat of his breath as he whispered, “Hey.”

  I rolled over to face him. “Hey there, handsome. Is everything okay?”

  He pulled me over to him, and I laid my head down on his chest. “It is now.”

  “I know you’re worried about tomorrow, but everything is going to be okay.”

  “I’m the one who’s supposed to be saying that to you.” He chuckled. “But you’re right. Everything’s gonna be fine. I’m gonna make sure of it.”

  “I know you will.”

  He kissed me softly on the top of my head and said, “Get some sleep, angel. Something tells me that tomorrow is going to be a long one.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but every time I drifted off, I’d wake back up shortly after. The vicious cycle of dozing in and out of sleep started to wear on me, and after several hours, I finally gave up. Trying to be as quiet as I could, I eased out of bed and went to the living room, where I spent the rest of the night watching some silly horror flick on TV. By the time Diesel finally woke up, it was time for us to get ready to go, so I finished my cup of coffee and went to take a shower. When I came out, Diesel was waiting for me in the living room. “You ready?”

  “Almost.” I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. I inhaled a deep breath, taking in his scent and warmth, and after a brief moment I let him go. I looked up at him and said, “Okay. Now, I’m ready.”

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  “We both know I don’t have a choice. Let’s just get this thing over with once and for all.”

  I followed him out to the truck, and once I was settled inside, we headed towards the coffee shop. When we arrived, MJ and Cotton were already there. Tensions were running high as we each took a moment to greet one another and were only made worse when the chief’s car pulled up in front of the shop. My back stiffened as I watched him open his car door, and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for what waited ahead when Cotton called out to me. “Ellie?”

  “Yes?”

  “Remember what MJ told you. Keep it simple, and if he asks you where Brady is, you have to make him believe that you know nothing, that you haven’t seen him since the night you left the house.”

  I nodded. “I’ve got it.”

  I walked over to one of the empty tables up front and sat down. My heart was pounding as I waited for him to come inside, and when he finally walked through the door, I thought it would beat right out of my chest. Once he saw me, he gave me a small smile and said, “Hello, Ellie.”

  “Hi, Grayson. It’s good to see you.”

  “Not sure that you mean that, but it’s nice of you to say.” He pulled out his chair and as he sat down, he took a quick glance around the room. A flicker of animosity flashed through his eyes when he spotted Cotton and Diesel sitting with MJ. “I see you brought your friends along.”

  “I did,” I answered dryly.

  “Not sure I know what to think about that. Do you have any idea who those people really are?”

  “I know enough.”

  “They’re criminals, Ellie. They make a living by selling drugs and guns all over—”

  Before he could continue, I stopped him by saying, “Maybe so, but these so called criminals treat me better than your son ever did and he was an officer of the law! Besides, I’m sure you didn’t ask to meet with me just so you could tell me about the men of Satan’s Fury.”

  “No. I guess I didn’t.”

  “Good. So, why don’t you tell me what this is really all about? Why did you want to see me?”

  Just as he was about to answer, one of the waitresses came over to the table. “Can I get you two something?”

  “I’ll have a cup of coffee. Black. Two creams and one sugar. How about you, Ellie?”

  “I’ll have a small mocha, thank you.”

  When she walked away, Chief Blackwell turned his attention back to me. He studied me a moment before he said, “You’ve always been such a beautiful girl. I can see why my son was so crazy about you.”

  Annoyed by his comment, I grumbled, “Yeah … crazy is a good word for it.”

  “I remember the day he came home and told me the two of you were getting married. I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. I thought you were too young, but he was adamant about doing right by you.”

  “And when he beat me to the point that I lost your granddaughter, was he doing right by me then?” I snapped.

  “What are you talking about?” His voice trembled. “Brady said you were in a car accident.”

  “What about the time I shattered my collarbone, or the time I broke my wrist? Did he tell you that those were accidents, too?”

  “There must be some misunderstanding—”

  Unable to contain my anger, I interrupted him again. “And what about all the police reports that were never filed? Were they just misunderstandings, or did you know exactly what you were doing when you got rid of them?”

  He didn’t respond. He simply sat there staring at me, and I could see the torment in his eyes as he thought about everything I’d said. Brady had been feeding him nothing but lies for years, and I had no doubt that it was difficult for him to hear what had really happened. He remained silent until his face twisted in anger and he growled, “Is that why you turned against him? Because you blamed him for losing the baby?”

  For a brief moment, I actually thought he was starting to accept the terrible truth about his son, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t accept the truth because it was simply easier to believe otherwise. Unfortunately for him, I was done living with the lies. “Did you know that I actually had to deliver the baby that night? I held your granddaughter in my arms, and she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”

  “Answer my question!”

  I tried to keep my voice from quivering as I said, “She still felt warm to the touch. I almost couldn’t believe that she was really dead. Brady felt awful about what he’d done, and for a long time after that, he tried to make things right between us. But there was something broken inside of him, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fix it. And neither could you.”

  He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table as he stared at me with pleading eyes. “Just tell me where he is. Let me try to help him, please.”

  For a split second, I actually felt compassion for the man. Like any loving parent, he still had hope for his son, unfortunately, I knew differently. There was nothing in this world that could change a man like Brady, so I told him, “I don’t know where he is, Grayson, and quite frankly, I don’t want to know. As far as I’m concerned, he can stay gone.”

  “You honestly expect me to believe that you don’t have any idea where he could be?”

  “Yes. Why shouldn’t you believe me? Brady never told me anything. He never told me how he could afford his new car or how he managed to buy that new house. I knew better than to ask him, because I knew there would be hell to pay if I did. So, I just left it alone and tried to make the best of a bad situation.”

  “Brady was a good boy.”

  “Maybe, at one point he was a good boy, but he wasn’t a good man. You and I both know that. I final
ly let go of the hope that he could ever be better, and maybe it’s time that you do the same.”

  “I can’t give up on my son. He’s all I’ve got.”

  “That’s not exactly true. You have your wife and your career. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and you need to hold on to that.”

  “And Brady?” he asked with dread.

  “If what the news is saying is true, he’s gone, and he obviously doesn’t want to be found. We both know if that changes, you’ll be the first one he turns to.”

  I wanted to ask him about the evidence he had about my case, but I decided to leave it alone. I would just have to hope that he would keep his word and share what he had with the prosecutor. Having nothing else to say, I stood up and started to walk back towards Diesel. I’d only taken a few steps when I heard him say, “I’m sorry, Ellie. For all those things he did to you.”

  His words caught me by surprise, and tears stung my eyes as I turned back to him and said, “Thank you for saying that, Grayson. I really do hope that you can find some peace in all this. I wish there was more that I could do to help.”

  “If you hear anything …”

  “I’ll call you.” I lied. “Take care of yourself.”

  By the time I made it back to Diesel, I was relieved to see that he was already gone. As soon as I sat down, MJ asked, “How did it go?”

  “Better than I expected.”

  “Did he ask about Brady?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t tell him anything. I basically told him it was time to let him go. I’m not sure if he listened, but I guess we will see.” I shrugged. “I’m just glad that’s over. I could use a drink, a hot bath, and a nap.”

  “I’m just the guy who can make that happen,” Diesel replied with a smile. He stood up, and we all followed him out into the parking lot. Before we went out to the truck, Diesel turned to Cotton and asked, “Did you get that thing taken care of?”

  Cotton nodded. “Just let me know when, and you can consider it handled.”

  “Thanks, brother.”

  As soon as we got back in Diesel’s truck, I asked, “What was that about?”

  “Something.” He smirked.

  “So, you’re not going to tell me?”

  “Nope.”

  “Seriously?” I pushed.

  “You’ll see soon enough.”

  Chapter 19

  Diesel

  When I got home from the coffee shop, Ellie told me everything that was said between her and the chief. I respected the fact that he was the kind of man who wanted to stand by his family, his son, but I hoped that he would finally see the man his son truly was. Brady deserved whatever he got for hurting Ellie. She’d been through so much, but she’d come out on the other side. I was proud of her for standing up for herself, yet again, and I hoped her words would be the final push to get the chief to do what he needed to make this right for Ellie. Thankfully, two agonizing days later, we got the call from MJ. She informed us that the charges against Ellie had been reduced. While we were relieved, we still had no idea what they were reduced to, and we wouldn’t know until they met with the prosecutor.

  Ellie was a nervous wreck on the way to the prosecutor’s. I tried to convince her that everything was going to be okay, but she wasn’t buying it. She and I both had hoped that the charges would’ve been dropped completely, but since she confessed with explicit details, there was no way she could walk away without some kind of repercussion. MJ was waiting for us when we walked into his office. “He’s waiting for us in the conference room.”

  “Okay,” Ellie replied anxiously.

  “I’ll be waiting right here for you when you come out,” I assured her.

  Ellie turn to MJ and asked, “Can Diesel come with us?”

  “Yeah, I think that’ll be okay.” Before she started to walk down the hallway, MJ looked at me and said, “Leave the talking to me.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  When we walked into the conference room, John Pruitt, the prosecutor, stood up and adjusted his suit jacket and motioned us inside. “Come on in and have a seat.”

  The room reminded me of an upscale version of our meeting room at the clubhouse. It was small with a long, rectangular table and leather chairs surrounding it, and there were large, abstract watercolors lining the walls. As she sat down, MJ smiled and said, “Thanks for meeting with us today, John. I know your schedule is crazy busy.”

  “It is, but I managed to move a few things around.” He spoke to MJ like we weren’t sitting there as he said, “I’d like to get this case resolved today so we can put this all behind us.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She reached into her briefcase and pulled out Ellie’s file. “You mentioned on the phone that the charges against Ms. Blackwell have been reduced.”

  “They have. I’ve written up a plea bargain.” Still speaking like we weren’t in the room, he casually slid the paper over to her. “If your client agrees to sign, we can call it a day.”

  Ellie leaned over to MJ as she asked, “What is a plea bargain?”

  “It’s an agreement between you and the prosecutor where you plead guilty to a specific charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.”

  “In English?”

  Before she could respond, the prosecutor looked at Ellie with disapproval and answered, “If you plead guilty to providing false information to law enforcement concerning your husband’s missing person’s case, we won’t press for jail time. This particular offense can carry misdemeanor or even felony penalties, but the fact that you have no prior convictions, and considering your state of mind at the time of your confession, we’ve decided that counseling would benefit you the most.”

  “Counseling?”

  “Yes. Six to eight months of weekly sessions with a therapist of your choosing. If you agree, then we can consider this case closed.”

  I couldn’t believe it. The deal seemed too good to be true. It was everything we’d hoped for, and I thought we had it in the bag until I heard Ellie mumble, “But, I—”

  MJ quickly lifted her hand and placed it on Ellie’s arm, signaling her to stop talking. “I need a moment with my client.”

  He nodded, and then I heard her say, “He’s throwing you a bone, Ellie. You won’t get another one, I assure you. This may not seem perfect, but you need to sign those papers.”

  “Okay.”

  MJ turned her attention back to Mr. Pruitt and inquired, “And the counseling can be done at any location the client chooses?”

  “Yes. I will just need the name and address of the counselor, so I can add it to the summary.”

  “Great. She’ll agree to the deal.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  It seemed like we’d been riding on a fucking rollercoaster for days, but thankfully, the ride was finally coming to a stop. MJ eased the papers over to Ellie, and after handing her a pen, she showed her exactly where she needed to sign. Once she was done, MJ handed them over to Mr. Pruitt. “I guess that just about does it.”

  He extended his hand and said, “It was a pleasure working with you, MJ. I look forward to the next time.”

  “Thank you, John. I appreciate your help with all this.”

  Once we were done, MJ followed us back out to my truck and said to Ellie, “I’ll ask around and see if I can get some info on any highly-recommended counselors in the area. Once you’ve made your decision, I’ll send everything to John, so he can add it to your file.”

  “Okay. That sounds good.”

  “Oh, and I forgot to tell you. The judge signed your divorce papers. I know it’s just a technicality, but it’s official. You’re divorced.”

  Ellie gave her a slight shrug. “As crazy as this may sound, it really doesn’t change anything. Our marriage ended before it ever started, so you’re right … it was just a technicality, but thank you for handling that for me.”

  “No problem, sweetie.” She winked and added, “Now, you two don’t have too mu
ch fun celebrating tonight.”

  “We’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.” I teased. “You and that bun in the oven be careful going back home.” Then Ellie paused for a second before turning in her direction and called out, “MJ! Thank you so very much. For everything.” She simply gave us a warm smile and waved.

  Once she was gone, I looked down at my watch to check the time. I had a surprise planned for Ellie when we got back to the house, and even though it was a three-hour drive back home, I was afraid they still might not be done. Hoping to kill some time, I suggested, “You wanna grab a bite to eat before we head back?”

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  Remembering the diner where Cotton and I had eaten, I took her hand and led her across the street. We each ordered a burger and fries, and as we started eating, Ellie said, “I can’t believe it’s really over, can you?”

  “I gotta admit. I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

  “It makes me wonder what the chief told them.”

  “Doesn’t really matter now, but I’m glad he did the right thing.”

  A hopeful look crossed Ellie’s face as she asked, “Can I ask a favor?”

  “You know you can. What’s on your mind?”

  “Since we’re in town, do you mind if we run by to see my parents? We don’t have to stay long. I just wanted to tell them the good news, and let Dad know he’ll be getting his bail money back soon.”

  “Absolutely, and we can stay as long as you like.”

  Once we were back in the truck, Ellie gave me the directions to her parents’ place, and after a twenty-minute drive, we pulled up to their house. It was a small, white ranch-style home with a good bit of fenced-in land behind it, and from the similarities of another fence surrounding the fields, it looked like they owned that as well. We’d barely parked when a woman stepped out of the front door, and the minute I saw her dark hair and penetrating, dark eyes, I knew she was Ellie’s mother. Ellie opened the door and rushed over to her, and in a blink of an eye, they were both crying as they hugged one another. As I started towards them, I heard Ellie say, “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so, so sorry.”