Kase: M.C. Biker Romance (Great Wolves Motorcycle Club Book 19)

by Jayne Blue

  She laughed and patted me on the shoulder. She shook her head and went off, presumably to find Thorn, and hopefully not tell him what she thought she knew about Emlyn and me.

  I knocked on the door, though it was open, and Brogan turned around.

  “I’m so sorry to both of you. I was supposed to keep her safe.”

  “I was the one who pulled you from that duty. I’m the one who’s responsible for this,” Brogan said, and I looked at Emlyn, who was safe now but looking more bruised. I tried not to wince looking at her. I tried not to rip shit off the walls thinking about what had happened.

  Baby Paul was at the door now.

  “Ridge is calling a meeting. Officers, anyone in earshot, at the table. Like now.”

  “Yep, we need this,” Brogan said, and Emlyn slid to try to get off the exam table.

  “It’s time for me to head home anyway.”

  Brogan put up his hand. “No, you’re not going anywhere right now.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said, you’re staying here in HQ, at least for this meeting, until I can get you home.”

  “Brogan, I swear, if you don’t stop bossing me around, I’m going to lose it.”

  “Please, I need you where we know you’re okay. BP, can you set Emlyn up in one of the guest rooms upstairs? She can rest, watch tv, whatever.”

  “Yep, no problem.” I rushed forward. Emlyn refused my hand and then Brogan’s when we tried to assist her off the exam table.

  She walked past both of us in a bit of a huff.

  Brogan looked at me and I shrugged.

  “Fucking women,” I said, and Brogan nodded.

  “Let’s get to the table.”

  We filed in, with about a dozen or so other Wolves. Ridge sat at the head of the metal table with ornate wolf head logo forged into the center of it. Thorn was at his right, and Brogan at his left. Though I wasn’t an officer, I was treated in most things like one. I had been one of the first to step up and follow Ridge. I’d known like Brogan and Thorn had known that Crank and the old Great Wolves were a fucking disaster. I was sickened by their bullshit. Ridge respected my initial, unwavering support, no matter what the titles were in this club.

  Gooch.

  I knew it was him. I knew it was his violence that had landed on Brogan’s family. And, if I was being honest, on my heart right now, on Emlyn.

  I stayed quiet and listened to Ridge. Inside my body, a rage boiled. It felt like my blood was being replaced by acid.

  “We’re closing ranks. We’ve never had to do that here yet. But we’re doing it now.”

  “Rose is going to love that.”

  “She’s here. All your old ladies, sisters, whatever. One of the reasons we invest in this building is because it can hold our people. When it needs to.”

  The building was huge, massive even. It took up a city block here in Stickney Forest. We used the first floor for the MMA gym and for the community. The rest were apartments, rooms, offices, even a huge kitchen, which had all seemed sort of overkill, until this moment.

  “We’re patrolling, we’re watching this place, and we’re going to be striking back at Bane. But because of that, we don’t want what happened to Emlyn to happen again. Next time the retaliation could be worse.”

  Brogan winced at the thought of that and added, “And I’m going to be killing the mother fucker that did this to her.”

  Ridge gave him a harsh look. “I need you to keep it together. You need to do what’s right for the club, not right for your vendetta.”

  “One of their scumbag assholes put hands on my kid sister. She’s a preschool teacher, you get that?” Brogan said to Ridge, and it was the first time I’d ever seen Brogan do anything even in remote opposition to Ridge.

  “I get that. And we’re here to bring down the whole organization of Bane. That includes whoever did this. If you go off, you get killed or arrested. I need you here, at my side. Thinking clearly. They did this to get to you.” Ridge was logical. Ridge was tactical. He was planning a bigger mission and didn’t want our revenge to ruin our club.

  Brogan took a deep breath. He appeared to stand down and think about what Ridge was saying.

  “Fine. What’s the plan?”

  Everyone in the room took a beat; the temperature cooled a degree or two.

  “Let’s get our people in here first. And then we hit them where it hurts. But smart,” Ridge said.

  Everyone agreed. Everyone had a mission to accomplish.

  I did too.

  And it included ignoring everything Ridge had just said.

  While the rest of the club thought the only one who’d take revenge for Emlyn was her brother, I would do it for the both of us.

  Twelve

  Emlyn

  I was alone, finally. After all the hovering from Brogan and Kase. Even BP was in my space, trying to make sure I was okay.

  There was a lot of commotion in the HQ and I just needed a little time to myself. I needed to process what had happened. I needed to arrange my life around two sick days imposed by Dr. Rose. She was tiny, beautiful, smart as hell, and calmed me down when I was injured. She was also not someone I could argue with about health apparently.

  She was made of Russian Iron around here and as much as I wanted to sneak out and go to work, I knew everyone in this place would bust on me if it did.

  I called Wanda and broke the news.

  “Ugh, so sorry about this,” she said. “It just proves what I’ve been thinking.”

  “What?”

  “We’re not expanding, we’re closing up. I’m sorry, honey, I know you love the place but the violence, the closing of Head Starts, it’s because they can’t sustain without church support. And you know that’s gone. They see the writing on the wall. I have to also.”

  “But.”

  “See you in a few days. Get better. We’ll talk then.”

  I was despondent after talking to Wanda. Damn that Bane, and Crank, and the shit they were putting this neighborhood through. Gooch was working on Bane’s orders and it scared me. Were all the members of that club murderous thugs?

  They were winning. They were making Wanda want to leave. It felt like a lot of what the Great Wolves tried to build, what I wanted to build, could disappear with one more act of violence.

  We were so close—I was so close—to making something happen with Friendly Forest. The fact that they had used me to get to Brogan infuriated me, but the fact that their tactics were working to destabilize the community Brogan, Kase, me, and all of the Great Wolves were working to create, made me want to murder that asshole myself!

  Though I hated to admit it, I was weak, hurt, and my pacing around this room was causing my side to hurt more. I needed to let the ibuprofen that Rose had given me work. I needed to heal, a little at least before I decide how to fight back. Could I fight back?

  No. I mean, obviously not physically. I’d collapsed like I was made of tissue paper when Gooch attacked me. But I had something else to fight with.

  I was going to push forward. Even if Wanda wanted to pull out. There had to be a way forward. Friendly Forest deserved a chance. The kids in the neighborhood deserved a chance.

  I racked my brains on what the next steps might be. I had Robbie working to try to figure this out for me. Maybe there was hope on that front.

  It had been a dumping of bad news the last few hours. It was time for some good news.

  It was still early; I knew the bank didn’t open for a while.

  I had a plan though. Later today I could take a little walk over there. It was within eyesight of the HQ.

  If Robbie Kwiatkowski was who I thought he was, maybe he’d be able to figure out a way for Friendly Forest to expand, take on more kids, and renovate the building. I didn’t know what, exactly. I just knew our side was due a win. My head was pounding a little and my face was swelling up.

  I decided to listen to Rose and sit down. I put an ice pack on my jaw and determined I could rest a little.<
br />
  But only a little.

  I had some ass to kick. It might be a different style to Brogan, but dammit, I wasn’t going to let one beat down intimidate me!

  My own rallying cry rang in my ears as I fell asleep.

  Thirteen

  Kase

  As Old Ladies and the people we were close to filed into the HQ, I took a quick run upstairs to check on Emlyn. The door to the room she’d been given was open.

  “Em?” I called quietly. She was on the loveseat at the window. And she was fast asleep.

  I kneeled down next to her. I looked at her for a moment. The morning sun was streaming in. The rays highlighted her brown hair so that some strands looked copper, others almost gold. I reached out and touched her soft skin. And then I had to swallow the rage I felt when my finger edged the swelling on her jaw.

  I remembered then that she needed to be awakened every so often. I’d been down in the meeting for an hour. I had to wake her up.

  I leaned over and put a kiss on her forehead.

  She stirred and looked up at me. Her pretty eyes trusted me. They trusted too much, maybe.

  “Hey, you,” she said, and I smiled.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay, really okay. A little sore, but okay. I just dozed off.”

  “I think you can sleep, but you know, you need to be checked on.”

  “Yeah, so I don’t die. Comforting.” She slid up on the loveseat and I saw that wince again. It served as a reminder of my next move.

  I reached out and put my arms around her to help her sit up.

  “What the fuck!”

  I turned to see Brogan storming in towards us. I jerked backward and am sure my face revealed how fucking guilty I was.

  I didn’t know what I was going to say. How was I going to explain that I had my arms around his sister?

  “What the fuck you!” Em said to Brogan.

  I looked back and forth at the siblings.

  “Kase, hello, can you finish?” I looked at Em and had zero ideas about what I was supposed to finish. Kissing and hugging her? Yeah, that was going to help the situation.

  “Ugh, duh, idiot. I can’t get up without an assist. I swear you two are useless.” She put her body on one arm and then grimaced. I slid back down and went exactly where I’d been. I played along with her idea that I was an innocent hospital orderly in this scenario.

  “Ow, careful,” she said to me, with supreme annoyance, as I tried to help her sit up.

  “Let her go, I’ll do it.” And Brogan more or less shoved me aside from my inept nursemaid abilities. He swooped her upright and she now sat on the loveseat.

  “Thanks.”

  Brogan looked from Em to me. The anger had receded, but there was something there now under his gaze. Was it suspicion? Had he figured something out?

  Em moved on as though there was nothing to see.

  “Okay, listen. I have a meeting today. That is non-negotiable.”

  Brogan looked down on her and started in.

  “No, no meeting, no leaving. We’re on lockdown and that’s it.”

  Emlyn shook her head and prepared to engage Brogan in a battle.

  I took this as my cue to let them go at it. It was actually the perfect distraction. I’d let them duke it out. I needed to do what I had in mind and neither of them could be involved or even know. Both of them would have instantly agreed to try to stop me. I did not think I had the ability to fight the Tierneys when they were aligned against me.

  I was going to have to slip out. I had a surgical strike to deal with that didn’t include Rose. I avoided Thorn, had let Brogan and Em occupy each other, and hopefully, that was enough to get out of HQ unnoticed.

  I headed to my bike as everyone in the HQ was in an uproar. Bringing in the lost puppies of Stickney Forest and from all of our lives was a big undertaking.

  From somewhere I heard Frankie and Ridge having a discussion about her boundaries. And when I say discussion, I meant knock down drag out fight. Frankie was no one’s lost puppy.

  “This is MY neighborhood; I am going to go where I want to go, Ridge Diaz Callahan and I’m not going to hear another word!” She was giving Ridge as good as she was getting.

  It was the perfect amount of chaos to sneak out, unnoticed, for a little while, for just enough time to do my deadly business.

  Except I heard my name as I rolled out my bike.

  “Kase, what you up to?” I turned, and Titus was there, watching me try to make my little side trip.

  “Uh, brother, just uh, running an errand.”

  “An errand, eh? By yourself? I think the rule from on high was three of us these days. Not two, not one, but three.” Titus wasn’t going to let me go without some bullshit.

  “Yeah, well, this is a quick trip. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Here’s the thing,” Titus walked up to me and looked at me, no, he looked through me, “you’re not going anywhere right now alone.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me, you heard Ridge. Bane is looking to score points at our expense. Let’s not make it easy.”

  “I have a score to settle on my own.”

  “Yeah, that worked out great when A.C. did it.”

  “A.C. had the right idea, now that I think of it.”

  “Look, I’ll come with you, two’s better than one.”

  “I’m going to be honest with you. What I’m about to do isn’t, uh, sanctioned.”

  “My favorite kind of errand.” I thought about it. I needed to strike now while I could. I needed my fucking rage to do the job of taking out Gooch.

  “Can I trust you?”

  “I thought this was a brotherhood, that we could all trust each other.”

  “Yeah, it’s because of that I’m doing this.” I knew I would probably go back to prison if I let this get out of hand. I also knew Emlyn was right: if Brogan knew who had hurt her, he’d be the one risking his freedom to take care of it.

  Emlyn needed Brogan; he was keeping a roof over their heads. He was her blood. He was her family. There was no question in my mind that I had to do it. I wanted to do it. And it had to be now.

  “I know exactly who hurt Emlyn, who beat her.” I hated even saying the words, much less the vision of her that those words brought up in my head.

  “But Brogan doesn’t?”

  “Right, I promised not to tell him, because Em needs him. Their mom needs him out, not in prison. You get me?”

  Titus didn’t hesitate. He was there for me.

  “Yeah, let’s go do some damage. Off books.”

  “You sure about this?”

  “Yep, you’re not going alone. Brotherhood, remember?”

  “Fine, I can’t promise we come back this time.”

  “If anyone promises you that in our line of work, they’re a liar. At least you’re honest about your lying.” I laughed at his turn of phrase.

  “Okay, let’s go, before HQ figures out we’re gone.”

  “Right behind you.”

  I had the number in my phone. The assholes terrorizing Stickney Forest. Well, I used to be one of them. It wasn’t that hard to get in touch, so I called.

  “Hey, old buddy. I’m fucking sick of the Great Wolves. They’re a bunch of pussies. I’m ready to jump back.”

  Gooch laughed in that pinched, nasty way of his. A vision of what he did to Emlyn turned the acid to ice water. I wanted him to think I was crawling back to Bane, and Crank, and their entire shitty club.

  I told Gooch that I wanted to meet, not to kick his fucking ass, but to leave the Great Wolves. I told him that I had a proposal that would make him look good, that Crank, his prez, would love it.

  I arranged to meet him at the abandoned South Mercy Hospital. The haunted old building was fit for rats and I was acting the rat right now. And it was far enough away from everything and everyone. That’s really what I needed.

  “I’m going to hang back if you have trouble. Does that wor
k?” Titus said. He could be a surprise beat down if I needed it. Though I didn’t really care if this killed me at this point. The main driver was making Gooch understand what happened to anyone who touched Em.

  “Yep, fine by me.” I had allowed Titus to come along, but I really didn’t want him to be there. I didn’t want him to jeopardize his future or his club membership. I knew what I was doing was personal. If there was heat from it. I’d take it. Titus stuck to me like glue on this, but I hoped he wouldn’t get the shit I was going to get if I survived.

  We parked and I walked into the rotted out old building. I’d gotten there first and the memories of the shitty experiences we’d had when I was in Crank’s crew flooded back. Fucking asshole, violent, sadistic, piece of shit. This building and Bane were the perfect fit.

  “Well! Kase! You’ve seen the light.” And there he was, in need of a shower, and a beat down.

  “Gooch. Nice to see you out of prison.”

  “Ha, yeah, that time wasn’t as hard as I expected. I mean, what’s a few years? All I had to do was give up a few mother fuckers, and boom. Back in business.”

  “Like a food truck during Polish Festival,” I quipped.

  “That’s why I took your call, you know? I missed your jokes. Anyway, how you propose, you’re going to get back on Crank’s good side?” The distance between us shortened as Gooch talked.

  “I stay in Great Wolves.” I decided to offer Gooch a spy, one he could control. He could use me to look good to Crank.

  “Fuck man, they’re so fucking straight, and you know, boring.”

  “Yes, but you need someone on the inside.

  “Ah, so a spy, you want to be a spy.”

  “Fuck yeah.”

  “You know, we could have used that. I mean, I got a little lucky with that bitch, what’s her name, Brogan’s sister?”

  “What? How so?” I decided to make good on the spy thing and get a little information on how Gooch had done it before I rearranged his face.

  “Yeah, this slut I’m fucking her kid goes to that daycare Brogan’s sister works at. I found out the sister’s schedule, and it worked out. I caught her at the right time. Man, I wish I could have seen Brogan’s face. I ripped her blouse open, just to really drive his ass crazy. I clocked in the jaw, soft really, but she goes down thud.” Gooch laughed at the memory. That was all I could take.