Sarge…
Also by Natasha Thomas
Vengeance MC series
Call Me…Vengeance
Fury
Jonas
Gage
Cash
Knight
Jump
Devil’s Spawn MC series
Burnt
Floating
Savior
Captive
Broken
Forged
Legacy
Forever After Novella series
Mine ~ Yours ~ Claimed
Patricks’ Brothers series
Staking Her Claim ~ Eye See You
SARGE
A Vengeance MC Novel
Natasha Thomas
This book is a work of fiction and is written to be taken as such.
Characters, names, road names, motorcycle clubs, places, businesses, towns, events, and incidents are a product of the author’s own thoughts, and imagination. As such, any resemblance to persons living, or dead, actual events, or incidents, the past, present, or future, is purely coincidental and is not in any way intended to offend, upset, or disturb person/s reading its content.
copyright ©2017 by Natasha Thomas
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the author or publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. Prior written permission is required to use any part of this book (other than for review purposes) and can be obtained by contacting the author: [email protected]
printing in the United States of America
First Edition: March 2017
www.natashathomasauthor.com
For Jensen…
You and Sarge have a lot in common. The way you both love your family, your brothers, and your sons is only the beginning.
Acknowledgements
I set myself a challenge with the acknowledgments section of Sarge’s book, so let’s see if I can manage to best it. Oh, and if you were wondering, my bright idea was to keep it to one page and no more. ;) Just for something different, of course.
To my family, you know who you are… I love you and thank you for not trading me in for a less crazy model.
To my besties, of which there are few, but all of you are of great importance… Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve got like 3 really special friends, so the list is short but sweet. And for everyone’s information, no they aren’t made of plastic or other such malleable materials.
To my BETA readers… You ladies are my greatest source of inspiration, and for that, you have my eternal gratitude.
Micha… You know you rock, just don’t let it go to your head.
Second last on the list is the man this book is dedicated to… Jensen. Give your son a break, that’s an order xxx
And to some of the most important people of them all… My readers. Sorry I kept you waiting so long. Hopefully, once you’ve read Sarge’s story, you’ll understand why. xox
PROLOGUE
~ Atlas ‘Sarge’ Cobb ~
CHAPTER ONE
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER TWO
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER THREE
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER FOUR
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER FIVE
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER SIX
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER SEVEN
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER EIGHT
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER NINE
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER TEN
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER ELEVEN
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER TWELVE
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
~ Shade ~
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
~ Gemma ~
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER NINETEEN
~ Sarge ~
CHAPTER TWENTY
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
~ Lucifer ~
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
~ Emily ~
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
~ Sarge ~
EPILOGUE
~ Shade ~
STOP!
A note from the author…
~ Sarge’s Playlist ~
~ Author Bio ~
PROLOGUE
~ Atlas ‘Sarge’ Cobb ~
“Life is not about waiting for storms to pass; it’s about learning how to ride in the rain.”
– Not as easy as it sounds
God’s honest truth, I can’t remember the last time I sat back and looked at the stars without being on a run, sleeping on the side of the road trying to catch a few minutes of sleep, but just because I can. But now, surrounded by my brothers, the boys I’ve watched grow into men, the ones who went on to find women and make families of their own that’s what I’m doing. I should be at peace; I’m not, though. I’m more restless than ever as an uneasy feeling of dread washes over me.
“What’s put that scowl on your face, old man? You should be as happy as a pig in shit that Gemma decided to show up after ignoring your ass for so long,” Boss asks, dropping down into an empty seat beside me.
“Just thinking, boy,” I rumble, handing him a beer from the cooler next to my feet.
I can’t deny my daughter – the one I didn’t even know existed until four short months ago – brings me no small amount of joy. After losing my son, Diesel, a son whose life I never played a part in as his father, only his brother, and losing my little girl Marlee years ago, finding out that I have a child, alive and well out there in the world was like all my birthday’s and Christmas’s came at once. But even Gemma’s arrival, which should have been a cause for nothing but celebration couldn’t lift the fog of desperation and unease I felt these days’.
Boss, President of Vengeance MC and the boy whose ass I’ve had to kick a time or two glances over his shoulder
at his wife, Beth as she blows him a kiss.
“Fuck, I love that woman,” he sighs contentedly, not noticing my clenched fists or the tightness of my jaw.
How I’m reacting now has nothing to do with how I feel about Boss finding the woman he was born for. No, I think, shaking my head in disgust, my reaction has a much more elemental cause, and seeing how those two are with each other brings it straight back to the surface with blinding clarity.
Truthfully, when I’ve got my shit together, my heart breaks for the pain Boss suffered as a young boy at the hands of his father, but in equal measure swells at the strong, loyal, devoted man he has become. If you’d asked me back then what his future held, I probably would have guessed a lifetime of fighting, pain, and anger. But thanks to, Beth, Boss will never have to face what’s to come alone, even if the road does get rocky from time to time.
“As you should,” I eventually nod, swallowing the last of my now warm beer. “Happiness looks good on you, boy. Never thought I’d live to see the day you settled down, but there you have it.”
“And what about you? Things going okay with you and, Emily? I noticed she left earlier than usual tonight and you didn’t go with her.” There’s a cool detachment to his voice, making it appear as if it’s a casual question, but Boss’ eyes are dark and assessing.
After Emily, the love of my life, and the mother of two of my three children and I got hitched in secret at the Furnace county courthouse
four-and-a-half years ago, it’s been a long road back into my brother’s good graces. It’s not that they were opposed to our union, no, not at all. If anything, they would have championed it if we had come clean about our intentions.
What their problem boils down to was the secrecy surrounding our marriage. At the time, the club was going through a shit storm the likes Vengeance hadn’t been forced to weather before. Times were tough, men were uneasy, and our women weren’t safe. The boys didn’t need another thing added to their plate, which is why Emily and I decide to keep what we were doing to ourselves for the time being.
I won’t lie to you, there was also an element of me not being able to wait to finally claim the woman I had been in love with for two-thirds of my life. Truth be told, it had everything to do with it. Especially since our history had
been rocky, to say the least.
Everything from how we met to how quickly I fell in love with that woman, and what went down after we were separated was soul destroying when you feel as deeply for someone as I do my wife. The worst part is, that back then, back when I was a cocky twenty-two-year-old fuckwit, I made the mistake of not telling the first woman I ever and would ever fall in love with that I loved her. That she owned me, mind, body, and soul, and would for however long I walked this Earth. But by the time I figured out my mistake, it was too late; Emily was gone, and it would be months before I’d see her again.
With that said, wouldn’t you be chomping at the bit to finally claim and marry the only woman you have ever loved, and the one woman you thought you could never have? Because I know I sure as fuck was.
The day we said ‘I do,’ pledging to love, honor, and cherish each other every day for the rest of our lives was the happiest day of my life. And every day after has been a gift
from God. I love that woman with every fiber of my being, every breath in my body, and with every beat of my heart, but I haven’t been able to find it in me to forgive her yet.
Clearing his throat, Boss pulls me back to the present, and I realize I haven’t given him an answer. There’s only one problem with that, though. I don’t have one he’ll accept.
Whoever said, “Forgiveness is divine,” didn’t know
what the fuck he was talking about. Forgiveness is hard. It takes time and patience. The price is steep, at the cost of a million tears and the risk of a broken heart. And for what? A chance that when it’s all said and done that you can still piece the remains of your life back together. Or maybe a glimmer of hope, that after your wife has cried herself to sleep for the hundredth night in a row that you’ll be any closer to understanding why she made the decisions she did.
Well, fuck that, and no thank you. I’d prefer to bury my resentment and anger deep. I’ll fight tooth and nail to beat back the bitter disappointment that rears its ugly head every time I look into her sea green eyes. With every breath I take, I’ll hold on tight as Emily slips further away from me – that’s a fucking promise. But keeping a man’s daughter from him is no small sin in my eyes and one that will make it fucking hard for me to forgive or forget, regardless of how much I love Emily.
Shaking my head, I think fast and offer up,
“She didn’t want to come tonight, but I talked her into at least showing her face for a bit. I convinced her that even though, Gemma isn’t willing to talk to her yet, let alone be in the same room, it’s a big night for, Shade and she owed it to him to be here.”
Shade has busted his ass to earn his patch over the last eighteen months, more so than most of the prospects that came before, or will come after him. For reasons unknown, Shade was determined to wear the Vengeance cut when he approached me asking if I would vouch for him, and if anything, that desperation for his spot in the brotherhood has
only grown over the final months before the vote was cast.
“That’s not like her,” Boss muses, tapping his finger on his thigh. “Em is usually all over throwing these parties for the boys after they earn their patch. I know Gemma’s still harboring resentment about being hidden for all those years, what with having a family so close and all, but I would have thought Em would have been all over being as close as possible even if it was only to see Gemma again.”
I thought so too, but clearly, that’s just another fucking thing I was wrong about.
When I sit back and think about how I found out about Gemma, and how she made her appearance at the clubhouse gates, demanding to see me and threatening to stage a sit-in if she didn’t, it sort of makes sense. Not once during our first meeting did she mention the woman that gave birth to her. Gemma didn’t ask about her, insinuate she’d like to see her, or even acknowledge my wife’s existence until I brought her up. And when I did, I was met with a resolute, “No” that brokered no room for negotiation.
However, the piece of the puzzle that’s missing for you to fully understand Emily’s reluctance to be here tonight came a week after that. It was a chance meeting – fucking poor timing that my wife and just happened to be leaving at the same time my daughter was arriving.
That day my twenty-six-year-old daughter stood in front of my wife and told her that as far as she was concerned, Emily was dead to her, and as such didn’t have
any right to play even the smallest part in her life, I should have stepped in, but I didn’t. My daughters’ harsh words visibly and audibly shattered my wife’s heart, and I did nothing to help her. From across the front lot, I clearly heard Emily’s pained moan, and if it weren’t for Shade’s quick reflexes, Emily’s knees would have hit the ground when they gave way unable to hold her upright anymore.
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t step in. Why I didn’t say something, anything to my daughter in defense of my wife. Honestly, I can’t answer that without sounding like an asshole, but I’ll give it my best shot.
At that moment, as I watched Gemma’s face while she delivered her parting and only blow, I saw the flash of remorse at how her mother was affected by her words. Gemma did well to shutter her expression quickly, but it was there. And it filled me with the hope that one day, once the dust settled and she had time to process it all, that Gemma would give Emily a chance to explain why she’d done what she did.
As for not stepping in, I figured that my daughter was due one chance to voice the shit that had been festering in her head for years. I’m not saying it was a good decision, but it’s done, and I can’t change it now. Not to mention, this is a first for me. I haven’t been faced with something like this before, so excuse the fuck out of me for not having the first clue how the hell to deal with. It’s not every day a man is put in the middle of what could be an explosive situation between the two women he loves. And yes, even after only having known her a few months, I love Gemma with my
whole heart.
One day, I fucking pray the three of us can move past this. We’re not there yet, none of us, but I pray that we will be soon because this resentment and distrust I feel toward my wife is eating away at my very soul like a cancer.
Tipping his head to the side, Boss studies my face and goes on to ask,
“I’m assuming the reason Em cut her stay short is all to do with Gemma, but I’ve got to ask; Em doesn’t have any issues with Shade, does she?”
It’s an almost laughable question, but I can see why he’s asking. Emily is for all intents and purposes the heart and soul of this club, so her skipping out on a brother’s long awaited patch party is a big fucking deal. Especially, since he’s right, and Em usually is the first one here to step up and the last one here when it’s all over to clean up.
“No, boy, nothing like that,” I reassure him. “For all
that kids’ intensity, Emmy likes him. He could do with settling down some, but Shade will make a damn fine brother, and she knows that. This is all to do with our Gemma, Son. Or as far as I’m aware it is.” And that’s the God’s honest truth.
“Then I’ve got to go ahead and ask, what the hell is going on, old man? Em hasn’t been herself latel
y, and I’m not just referring to the situation with Gemma. And while I’m on this topic, you haven’t either. You’ve been walking around like a man about to meet his maker, not one that’s
just been given a precious gift. If you need some time to work through whatever’s causing this rift between you two, take it. Same goes with if you want me to have a chat with Em and see if I can pull her out of this funk she’s in. All you’ve got to do is ask, and I’m there.”
Boss is too observant for his or my good sometimes. I knew he’d pick up on the tension between us, not that either of us has been overly good at hiding it. And fuck me if I didn’t know it was only a matter of time before our private business leaked out into the open. However, that doesn’t mean I want it to become the topic of conversation around the clubhouse, and I sure as shit know Emmy doesn’t want that. After all, we’ve fought too long and too hard to keep our skeletons hidden, and it goes without saying that I don’t intend on bringing them out for air now.
Except, it doesn’t look like I’ve got much of a choice. I’m going to have to give Boss something since he’s like a dog with a bone when he sets his sights on something he wants. And in this case, mine, he wants answers. Answers
that are going to tear open a lot of old wounds for a lot of good people. Answers, Emmy should be here to help field, instead of leaving me with having to clean up a mess she more than helped to create.
Sarge: Book 8 in the Vengeance MC series Page 1