Colt (Desert Sinners MC Book 2)

by Rachel Lyn Adams

  “Daddy!” Jasmine yelled as soon as she saw me.

  “Are you taking us to our swim lessons?” Jett asked, latching onto my leg.

  I may not have done a lot of things right in my life, but these two kids were my greatest accomplishments.

  Who would have thought two little ones would hold so much power over a biker. At four years old, Jett was the spitting image of me and shared my personality as well. Poor kid. Jasmine was three and also acquired my dark hair and eyes, but she reminded me of the carefree girl her mother once was, but Jenna had long since disappeared into something and someone else entirely.

  “Grandma’s taking you to swim, so go grab your bags,” Jenna said from where she was standing in the doorway.

  “I want you to take us,” Jasmine whimpered to me, refusing to let go of my neck.

  It broke my heart each time she said something like that. “It’s okay, baby girl. You’re spending all day Saturday with me.”

  I hated the fact I didn’t have my kids around all the time. Jenna and I split a little over a year ago, but our divorce still wasn’t final, and we didn’t have a formal custody arrangement. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. Being a member of the Desert Sinners and not having my own place yet while she played house with her rich boyfriend who didn’t mind letting her stay home and pretend to be a good mom was not going to work in my favor.

  The truth was, Jenna’s mother spent more time with Jasmine and Jett than she did. She was too busy enjoying the benefits of fucking one of the more well-known plastic surgeons in the area.

  I followed behind as my kids walked back toward the house to gather their things. I glanced over at my ex. She looked like a million bucks drenched in designer clothes and jewels, bought and paid for by her boyfriend. Hell, I was probably looking at his handiwork.

  “Hello, Colt,” Melanie greeted when I walked through the door. Despite the bad feelings between her daughter and me, Melanie always treated me with kindness I probably didn’t deserve. And I was beyond grateful for all she did for my children. Knowing she was with them most of the time allowed me not to worry about whether or not they were being taken care of.

  “Hi, Melanie,” I returned with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Okay, kids,” Melanie said, “it’s time to go if we’re going to make it on time to your class.”

  “Bye, Daddy,” Jasmine and Jett said in unison.

  I knelt down on one knee to hug and kiss both of them again. “I’ll see you guys in a couple of days. You may even get to see Uncle Viking.”

  Jasmine and Jett jumped up and down with excitement while Jenna rolled her eyes behind them, just as she did any time I mentioned the club. She liked to act like she was too good for the Desert Sinners now, but it wasn’t that long ago she was just a local girl begging to be let into one of our parties.

  I looked at her and wondered when the fun, sweet girl I met all those years ago disappeared. All I saw now was a calculating bitch who chose a lifestyle and money over her husband and kids. For a long time, she’d been my whole world. I’d loved her and had two kids with her, thinking we’d grow old together. I’d never figured out where things had gone so wrong, or when she’d decided I wasn’t enough. Now, I couldn’t stand the sight of her. Even her voice grated on my nerves.

  It’s not like I couldn’t admit my faults as a husband, but I’d always treated her like a queen and did everything I could to provide a comfortable life for her. But none of it was ever enough for her. She didn’t hesitate to rip apart our family for a shot with a man who showered her with all the material things I never realized were important to her. Or rather didn’t realize until I caught her fucking him.

  It seemed like I was cursed to be surrounded by selfish women who cheated on their husbands and thought nothing of it. These were the kind of women who had no concept of the aftermath of their actions. Or chose not to think about it, felt they weren’t in the wrong, and left a wake of hurt that never truly lifted.

  Thinking about that now wouldn’t do me any good. Instead, I followed Jenna to the dining room and took a seat across from her.

  “So, what did you call me over for?”

  When I got her text, I’d assumed it was about the kids. But she rushed them out the door after I showed up so now I was curious about why I was here.

  The situation wasn’t anything new. Jenna often called me over for random things. I played her game because she was vindictive enough to use my kids against me if I upset her in any way.

  It was why I wouldn’t ever allow myself to be in this position again. All I needed in my life were my kids and my club. They were the only ones that deserved my loyalty. I would never let someone have so much power over my life again like I allowed Jenna to have.

  “Jason asked me to marry him,” she said as she twirled the rock on her finger around, and I wondered how I’d missed the gaudy thing when I first arrived.

  “Congratulations. Looks like breaking up your family worked out well for you.” Yeah, I was still pretty fucking bitter.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Anyway. You and I need to finalize our divorce before I can marry him. I went to a lawyer the other day and had the papers drawn up. Once you sign, all of us will be able to move on.”

  When we first split, Jenna wasn’t in a rush to sign any paperwork. I assumed she wanted to make sure things worked out with Jason before making anything official. I didn’t push the issue because I was worried about how a custody agreement would look between someone with a record and someone who looked like they had their shit together, regardless if it was all an illusion.

  Jenna walked over to the sideboard and picked up a large envelope. She placed it in front of me and sat back down. Pulling the papers out, I started to read them, but when I got to the part about custody, I saw red.

  “You’re asking for sole legal and physical custody? You’ve got to be shitting me!”

  “C’mon, Colt. Do you really believe any judge will find you and your lifestyle fit for raising children?”

  “I don’t give a shit what a judge thinks. You bringing guys around to fuck while Jett and Jasmine napped wasn’t model parenting, but I’m not using that against you.” I ran my hand over my head, trying to calm the rage that was building. “I’m not signing this. I’ll take my chances with a judge.” I shoved my chair away from the table and started to walk out. “I’ll see you when I get the kids on Saturday. Don’t try to pull any shit.”

  Slamming the door behind me, I let out a frustrated breath. If Jenna thought she could fuck around with me and my kids like this, she had another thing coming. I would do whatever it took to keep Jett and Jasmine in my life.

  11

  Ember

  I was enjoying the quiet morning, sipping my cup of coffee, and looking out my front window. The cool mid-November breeze coming through the screen was a welcome change from the warm weather we had last week. Looking at my watch, I realized Fitz would be here in about thirty minutes to take me to work. The two of us had fallen into a comfortable routine over the last few weeks. He was now the one taking me to and from work, except for the rare times he was unavailable. We’d even started having dinner together every Thursday when I worked late. Fitz, along with Kate and Evelyn, were among a select few I would consider real friends here.

  Things were starting to look up, and I was even beginning to think about making the move to Las Vegas permanent. Luckily, I didn’t need to broach the subject with my brother for a few more months. Of course, I needed to deal with the Torch situation and make sure Phoebe was safe before any decision could be made. There was some comfort in knowing both my mom and sister were being well cared for and they were loving their stay in NYC. I missed them, but I was grateful they were out of Torch’s reach.

  Not everything was rainbows and unicorns, though. Torch started calling me a couple of weeks ago. And his verbal abuse increased with each conversation. A week had passed since we last spoke, and he’d ended that convers
ation by calling me a worthless slut, and if I didn’t start giving him useful information, I would regret it.

  I knew Torch was unstable, and I felt like I was running out of time. It was clear I could no longer handle the situation on my own, and I needed to talk to Viking about what Torch wanted me to do, but I was terrified he wouldn’t believe me. Claiming a patched member was betraying the club was a serious accusation. Viking was helping me out because he’d respected my dad, trusted James, and felt sorry for me, but I had no idea how much respect and trust actually extended to me personally if I were to test him. I couldn’t help but wonder if the bond between brothers would have Viking and the others here believing any story Torch fed them on principle alone. Torch wasn’t stupid, and I was positive he had some sort of back-up plan in place. Maybe I could talk to Fitz at dinner this week and go from there.

  As if he could sense I was thinking about him, my phone rang, and Torch’s name lit up the screen. With a deep sigh, I answered the phone, knowing things would be much worse if I ignored him.

  “Hi, there,” I answered, pretending I was happy to hear from him.

  “Hey, baby. I’ve missed you.”

  That was typical Torch. He could act like everything was fine, even if our last interaction resulted in him yelling at me. You could get whiplash trying to keep up with his psychotic mood swings.

  “I’ve missed you, too.” The lie was easy enough to say, but it made my skin crawl. Too bad my safety depended on me making him believe I meant every word.

  “You didn’t call me last week. You’re not getting used to me not being around, are you?”

  “Of course not. I’ve been busy with work. That’s all.”

  “No guys have been hanging around, have they?”

  “You know I’m not interested in anyone else.” It made me sick to my stomach every time I pretended to want only him.

  Some nights I would lie in bed and wonder what my life would be like if I’d never shown interest in Torch. Would I be with someone I truly wanted? Or would he have found a way to blackmail me anyway?

  “Good, let’s keep it that way.”

  “Who are you talking to?” I heard his wife’s voice in the background.

  “It’s club business. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  I rolled my eyes at his statement. “I have to get ready for work, and it sounds like your wife needs you,” I said, trying to rush him off our phone call.

  “Not so quick. Do you have anything useful for me?”

  “There isn’t anything to share. The guys give me rides to and from work and check in on me occasionally. You know it’s policy to not talk about club business to anyone, so they don’t talk to me about that stuff. And I haven’t spent any real time at the clubhouse, so I haven’t heard anything indirectly. I’m sorry I don’t have more information for you.”

  “That’s not what I’ve heard. A little birdie told me you’ve been getting real close to one of the guys.”

  That caught me off guard. As far as I knew, he didn’t have any contacts out here in Vegas except for the Sinners, and none of the guys in the club seemed to be on friendly terms with him.

  “I allowed you to move there because you promised to help me. Looks like I’m going to have to come up with another plan.”

  “No, wait!” I blurted, wanting to explain that any guy I was seen with was on protection detail but knew how pointless it was. “I’ll try to get something for you.”

  “It’s too late for that.” With that last warning, he hung up on me.

  My hands were shaking so bad I had to set my phone down before I dropped it. What the hell did he mean it was too late? I let out a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t wait any longer before going to Viking, but I needed to keep Torch from following through on his plan to hurt James or Phoebe if he found out I said something. I tried to think of the best way to go about approaching Viking when my doorbell rang, startling me.

  I looked out the peephole and saw Fitz standing there. He was wearing a black t-shirt under his leather cut that molded perfectly to his firm biceps. But his good looks weren’t what caught my attention. It was the scowl on his face and the way he was standing, almost like he was bracing for a fight.

  I cracked open the door, trying to gauge why his mood was off before opening it all the way. Usually, I was happy to spend time with Fitz, but right now, I could feel the anger radiating off of him which had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, opening the door wider so he could enter.

  “Who were you talking to on the phone?” he asked through gritted teeth, barely managing to keep a tight hold on his emotions.

  Shit! How did he know I was talking to someone? I looked at my window, which was open, and answered my own question. I didn’t know how much of the conversation with Torch he’d overheard. Judging by his reaction, it was safe to assume he heard most of it.

  My palms started to sweat, and it was getting hard to breathe.

  “Fuck, Ember. What the hell is going on?”

  Fitz was vibrating with fury, and I took a step back. From his perspective, it sounded like I was a traitor, and if I didn’t start speaking soon, this wasn’t going to end well for me.

  But, maybe this was my moment. It may not have been how I envisioned it, but I needed to take the opportunity. I sure as hell didn’t have anything else to lose.

  “I can explain...” I started, hoping he would hear me out. “It’s not what it sounded like.”

  He let out a forced chuckle. “That’s what they all say.”

  “Please,” I begged him. I didn’t care if I sounded desperate because that’s exactly how I was feeling. I needed him to give me a chance to explain.

  “You’ve got five minutes before I haul your ass over to Viking.”

  I knew he was serious as he stood there, glaring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. Knowing this was going to be a long conversation despite his five-minute warning, I moved toward the couch and took a seat.

  Fitz reluctantly followed me to the living room and sat in the chair across from me. He didn’t say a word, but the look in his eyes told me he didn’t hold out much hope I could convince him I wasn’t up to no good.

  Taking a deep breath, I decided to start from the beginning. “I was talking to Torch. In order for you to understand what’s going on, I need to give you some background. I started dating Torch right before my dad passed away. He was a huge comfort to me at a time I needed someone.”

  “Yeah, you already told me that,” Fitz interrupted, sounding like his patience was already running thin.

  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I had so many regrets, and my emotions were all over the place. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts that would have me breaking down and focused on the task at hand.

  “I know, but there’s a lot I didn’t tell you. I thought Torch cared about me, and I believed the lies he told me about his marriage. But I started noticing little things after we started seeing each other. He was always asking me questions about my conversations with my father and brother. I thought it was weird but I figured it didn’t mean anything because he knew they didn’t talk to me about the club.” I paused, gauging Fitz’s reaction, but his face was like stone. I continued, looking away. “Then he started asking questions about our family's finances and any money my father left after he died. The first time I confronted him about it was the first time he ever hit me. I knew then I needed to end things between us.”

  “That fucker hit you?” Fitz interrupted, his lips pressed in a thin line.

  I nodded, hands shaking in my lap, but moved on. “I decided to tell my brother about it, but as I was walking to James’ office, I saw Torch talking to Phoebe. He was standing just a little too close to her. He turned around before I could decide what to do. I could see the intent in his eyes. He told me that night, if I didn’t fall in line, he would move on to my sister. I couldn’t let that happen, so
I gave up telling my brother anything. I didn’t know what Torch’s end game was, and I still don’t. But, I played whatever role Torch wanted me to because it was the only thing I could do. When James said he was sending Phoebe to New York and gave me the chance to move here, I took it so I could get away from Torch.”

  “Why not go to New York with Phoebe, where you’re further away from him?” he asked, frowning.

  “I didn’t want him to have any reason to follow me there if that’s where Phoebe would be. Besides, he came to my house that night and said he would let me leave if I promised to feed him information on the things happening around here. I told him I couldn’t do that. That’s when he handed me an envelope. Inside were pictures of my brother torturing and killing a man. I’m not dumb, I know my brother is involved in some less than legal things, and the man he killed wasn’t an innocent victim. It was a man who raped and murdered a young girl in our community. I looked at those pictures, and instead of feeling disgust and fear, I felt pride that my brother handled the situation when the cops weren’t doing shit about it. But then Torch threatened to leak those pictures. He said James would face life in prison if he were charged with murder unless I did what he wanted. He assaulted me that night, choking me until I agreed to help him. You have to know I never planned on giving him any information, especially anything that would hurt the club. You guys were my last chance at freedom. I thought maybe you would be able to help me, or I could at least use the time here to figure out a way to escape him.”

  I finally stopped rambling and chanced a glance over at Fitz, who had sat in silence.

  His eyes were boring into me, and he was clenching his fists on top of his thighs. “Jesus, Red. How the fuck did you live with that kind of shit hanging over you all the time?”

  I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. At least it seemed his anger was now on my behalf instead of directed at me.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I would do anything for James and Phoebe.”

  “We need to tell Viking what’s going on.”