Finding Charity
By: Michelle Woods
Copyright©2014, Michelle Woods
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. All Rights Reserved
Cover Photo
Copyright©2014, Shutterstock/65160559/Donskaya Olga
All Rights Reserved
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Other books
Prologue
In the year 2075, the world was well on its way to being disease free, with the portents of also being a technologically advanced society. Only, Mother Nature had another plan, when the government discovered that the world would lose more than half its land mass to the ocean, they built the wall to keep it out.
Built to protect the rich and the privileged from the fallout of the catastrophic natural disaster that was likely destroying half the world, the city behind the wall was to be an elite society. The world outside the wall on the other hand, was left to the lawless. As the years passed, the city behind the wall created a class system that was only fair to those born in the upper districts. The Hillies, an elite class according to them, ruled the lower Slum class with fear of the being forced into the lawless world outside of the wall. Only the world outside had reset itself. It was no longer lawless, those who lived outside the city had created their own set of rules, ones that were made and enforced by outlaw bikers, who weren’t about to let anyone change the world they now ruled.
Chapter 1
Tick Copeland wanted to pull his hair out. He’d been following her trail for days, and he was no closer to bagging his quarry than he had been a week ago. It was really pissing him off. He had a son he needed to get back to. A son without a mother to care for him, he thought, his heart squeezing a bit in his chest. After two years he still missed Vivi. She’d been a comet he was lucky enough to hold onto. Only the universe had stolen her from him and their young son. The damage from the flood that had swept away his dreams of holding onto that woman for the rest of his life was repaired as if it had never happened. Yet, he and his six year old son, Max, felt the reminders every day. Every day that Vivi didn’t wake Max with kisses, every day she didn’t tickle him as she put him to bed, every day she didn’t whisper “Be Safe” to Tick as he went out on some club errand. Yeah, they remembered every fucking day.
He was finally able to realize that even if she was gone she would want him and Max to move on. Vivi had loved life, she’d been so alive she’d vibrated with it. He still wasn’t sure what the hell she’d seen in a busted up biker like him. Fuck, he thought, wanting to stop remembering the pain of his loss that still caused a twinge when he reminisced like he was today. Bone had sent him on this errand to retrieve a woman who needed to be spanked, running off was childish and kinda stupid. The world outside of the sheltered life she’d led with the Devils wasn’t friendly to women who were alone. Not that she was, or ever would be.
He’d been pissed when Bone had called him and told him to go chasing after some foolish girl who was acting like a five year old. He’d wanted to ask the man why the hell he had to go, he’d been sure that any prospect with half a brain could bring her back. Only after two days did he realize why Bone had called him. She was good, damned good. If he wasn’t better, she’d already be long gone without a trace.
That was why he was sitting in a rundown motel in Blue Bandit territory ready to pull his hair out. He was thirty years old, which was too fucking old to be chasing a woman. If he wasn’t worried that a woman sheltered all her life by her brother and the club would run into trouble she couldn’t handle, he’d call Bone and tell him she’d disappeared.
Sitting on the edge of the bed he pulled out his phone, calling Ratchet. He was keeping Max while he was chasing a foolish woman with a death wish.
“About damned time you called me back, asshole.” Ratchet growled, instead of a greeting.
“What did Max do now?” Tick demanded with a sinking feeling in his gut.
“What he hasn’t done would take less time, Tick. Little buggers a pain in the ass. You need to find that damned girl and get back here before I go batshit crazy.” Ratchet growled.
Over the last two years his son had turned into a hellion. It was likely all his fault too, Tick realized. When Vivi had died he’d given up for a while, and then when he’d finally woke up, Max’s misbehavior had been excused as grief over his mother’s death. Now, Tick thought, groaning internally, the little bugger needed discipline.
“Just tell me what he’s done, Ratchet.” Tick demanded, letting out a rough sigh.
“Maria was watching him today at the main house while I was out working the perimeter. She went out to feed the pigs, and when she opened the door coming back inside she was dowsed in milk from a bucket above the door. Then she hears laughter and the little shits are standing there laughing their little asses off.”
“I’m guessing that Connor or Alex were involved.” Tick ran his hand down his face, his frustration mounting. Connor was nine and Alex was seven, the three of those boys were thick as thieves, and his son was their ring leader.
“Both, and when are they not? After all every little mastermind needs his lackeys to do his bidding.” Ratchet practically roared into the phone.
“It could have been Connor or Alex’s idea you know, it’s not always Max’s fault.” Tick defended his son, although he knew that it was not very likely that it was true.
“Ha, you know as well as I do that it was Max. Besides Alex’s mom showed up and he sang like a canary. He’s actually afraid to get into trouble with his mother.” Ratchet told him.
Fuck, he really was a shitty dad, Tick thought self-deprecatingly. “That’s really a small prank for him…”
Ratchet interrupted. “Oh, I’m not done that was just this morning. Tick, you have got to discipline that boy better!”
“What else did he do?” Tick asked, falling back onto the bed in exhaustion. Fuck, he was tired.
“Let’s see, he let the dogs into the coops again. We lost three chickens this time. While I was helping the men deal with that, the little bugger decided that the pigs needed more exercise, and he herded them into the meadow with the cows. It took four hours and ten men to get them rounded back up again. I made him help with that as part of his punishment then sent him for a timeout in his room. So what does the little shit do? He sneaks out and heads over to the main house, where he steals two of the three pies that Maria made for the bon-fire tonight, and took them over to their treehouse where he shared them with Connor and Alex.” Ratchet finally stopped listing things, thank goodness. Fuck, his kid was out of control. “You need to get back here and reign that boy in before one of us kills him.” Ratchet finally finished.
Tick didn’t worry about his son’s safety. He knew that Ratchet and the other men in the club wouldn’t hurt him no matter what the little monster decided to do. They loved him as much as Tick did.
“I’m working on it. I still haven’t found her.” Tick told his friend, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“How is that even possible? I’ve seen you t
ake less time finding a Jackal with years of experience. You’ve been searching for nearly a week.” Ratchet grumbled angrily.
“The girl is good.” Tick told him, not sure what else to say. After chasing her for a solid week the closest he’d come was a day behind her. It was really annoying.
“Not better than you. Now, quit dicking around avoiding your responsibilities, and get your ass back here.” Ratchet sounded as frustrated as Tick felt. Damn the man, didn’t he know that he was doing the best he could.
“No, Ratchet, I am not dicking around! The girls damned good at running. If they’d sent anyone else the trail would already be lost, days ago. She’d just a day or so ahead of me, and its making me nuts! I want this job done, so I can get back home too, asshole. Do you think I want to be chasing a grown assed woman half way across the Bandits territory?” Tick growled, sitting up on the bed, pissed off that his friend thought he was not really trying to find Trick’s little sister.
“Shit, calm down, Tick.” Ratchet said, realizing that Tick was about to blow his top. Ratchet knew that since Vivi had died he became really fucking crazy when he got either drunk or mad. He was getting better, but he was still not quite right when it came right down to it. He stood pacing the room in front of the bed.
“She’s that good, huh?” Ratchet asked after a moment.
“Yeah, she is, and it’s really fucking annoying that I can’t seem to pin her down. I am closing in though. It won’t be long now, and when I find her, I will do my best not to wring the girl’s neck.” Tick grumbled, sitting again on the edge of the bed.
“Shit, now I get how she and Katie used to get into so much trouble. I never understood how Katie, who is not a planner, could get into so many scrapes. She was always finding a way around the club to do whatever it was she wanted. She always dragged Charity with her, and I never knew how she managed it, but Charity being the one to work it out makes a hell of a lot more sense.” Ratchet let out a humorless laugh that made Tick’s fists clench. Yeah, the girl was a pain in the ass, he thought, grimly.
“Yep, the woman’s been slipping through my fingers every damned time I get close. It maddening.” Tick sighed. “But I need to catch some z’s so go get Max so I can tell him good night. I want to be on the road in about three hours. If I’m going to catch her I need to get a move on it.”
There was shuffling and then he heard Max’s voice crackle through the line making him miss his son even more than he had a moment ago.
“Hi, Dad.” He sounded hesitant, and Tick knew that was because he was afraid he would yell at him, which made his heart squeeze. He cleared his throat to buy himself time to get his own emotions under control, so that he didn’t take his frustration out on his son.
“Son, what were you thinking with the milk? And taking the pies was wrong and you know it.” Tick finally managed to say in a firm, but calm voice.
“I know. I’m sorry Dad.” Max said.
“Okay, but no more pranks. You know better.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Max replied in a defeated voice.
Tick sighed. “No, you will do it son. Not one prank, or I will punish you this time.” Tick grumbled into the phone. His head hurt, and he hated being this far away from his son.
“I just miss mom.” He whispered.
“I do too, buddy. That is not an excuse to act out and you know it.”
“Yes, Sir. I love you.”
“I love you too, Max. Give the phone back to Uncle Ratchet. Remember what I said, I mean it. No more pranks.” Tick waited while Max muttered a solemn goodbye and put Ratchet back on.
“Hey, when do you think you’ll be back?” Ratchet asked.
“I don’t know. Hopefully soon. This chase is wearing on me.”
“I bet. It’s kinda funny though. I never thought I’d find someone better at this shit than you are.” Ratchet laughed.
“Shut up asshole, she isn’t better. She’s just better than most of the shit heads I hunt down. Go do something useful and put Max to bed. I’ll be home as soon as I can be.”
Chapter 2
Charity Tannon breathed a sigh of relief when passing the sign that said now leaving Grandville. She was lucky that she had a craving for something besides the granola bars she had been eating every morning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen the man her brother had sent after her, and she would most likely be on her way back to Devils Falls now, instead of hightailing it out of Grandville. She was standing in the line at the small bakery when she happened to look out the window. She had seen a large dark haired man getting on a bike in front of the boarding house next door. That had not been what had sent her into a rushed panic to leave Grandville. No that had been the Red Devils cut she had seen plastered on his back.
She had left the bakery and run to her car. Climbing in she had rushed to the hotel and grabbed her stuff and within minutes she was back on the road. She was pissed that Trick had sent someone after her like she was an errant child. It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected him to, she had just hoped he wouldn’t. She was a twenty four year old woman and she was capable of taking care of herself no matter what her brother thought. Her brother still treated her like she was a freaking twelve year old.
She was far from helpless. She’d been raised by bikers for fucks sake. He needed to realize that she wasn’t going to put up with him acting like her father anymore. She was a woman and the man needed to realize this. She sighed, shit she was tired. She had been driving for three days only stopping to sleep for a few hours. She had known that her brother had sent someone to look for her. She just hadn’t thought they could find her, it must be Tick. He was the only one that would be able to find the trail.
She wanted to scream. She had been sure that they wouldn’t send him after her. He was still half mad from the loss of his wife two years ago. She knew that since her death he had not been the same. She could understand, she had loved Vivi. She was always the life of every event, and every one of them felt her loss. Looking out the windshield she decided to drive to Fayetteville which was about a two day drive. There she would get a hotel. Turning down the road, she was sure that he wouldn’t think to look for her there. After all it would put her three days behind on her journey.
Tick felt the tumblers click into place. He almost crowed in triumph. Only the thought that it would warn her he was coming kept him from doing it. He swung the door open looking into the room. The full moon and the two lights in the parking lot illuminated the room. Casting an almost angelic glow over the woman on the bed. Her blonde hair was spread out across the pillows with her hands resting under her cheek. She looked so peaceful, his cock jumped in his pants. Throbbing with need, damn he must need to get laid badly if the sight of a woman’s hair across the pillows made him this hard, he thought.
It was too bad the little brat was off limits, she was pretty enough that he might enjoy fucking her if she wasn’t Trick’s little sister. Hell he was not going down that road. The only way fucking her would end was with Trick’s pistol in his face while Preach married them. That was not anything he wanted a part of.
He stepped into the room letting go of the door not realizing it was on a spring. It snapped closed with a loud bang. Shit he should have checked before he let it go, he thought, seeing Charity blink and sit up. Her golden hair fell around her shoulders, one side of the oversized shirt she wore slid off her creamy shoulder. Her lips were puffy from sleep, her breasts were pressed against the thin material, her nipples clearly outlined and her eyes were slightly closed. Giving her the appearance of a woman who had just been well fucked. His unruly cock let him know that it had been too long since he had sought out a sweetbutt with another hard throb of need.
Smiling, he whispered, “Gotcha, baby girl.”
He almost laughed at the expression that overtook her face then. Yeah, now she was fucking pissed. The sour look on her face took away some of the sexiness that had made his hard cock stand at attention, which was damned good, seeing as it was
n’t getting any pussy tonight.
Charity had arrived at the hotel in Fayetteville exhausted. She had driven for two days straight without stopping. She had planned to sleep for about two hours, but could tell from the darkness in the room that she had slept much longer than she had meant to. She certainly had not expected him to find her so quickly. How had the man managed that? She wondered, sitting up. She stared at the man who stood in the rays of the moon, which fell across his face. Her heart pounding.
She had not expected to think he was hot, but damn was Tick hot. His dark hair and his heavy build did not match his almost angelic face. His lips made her think of passionate kisses and hot summer nights filled with lustful cries of pleasure. Only she knew that he would never even get near her because of her brother. Which was the story of her life. She heard his snide ‘gotcha’ then the light was snapped on.
“Fuck” Charity muttered, her hand moved under the pillow next to her seeking the stun gun. She almost sighed in relief when her hand closed over the cold metal of the taser.
“Who the hell are you?” She demanded, although she already knew.
“Your brother sent me.” He grinned, then took a step towards the bed. That snide grin made her feel better about what she was about to do to him. She watched the asshat leaned back against the dresser, smirking. Yeah, she hated her brothers club. It was filled with a bunch of arrogant dickheads. They thought that a women couldn’t take care of themselves without their help. Ha, she was willing to take the dickhead down a peg or two, she thought. Too bad she couldn’t be here to see his face when he finally woke up.
He stood up taking a step towards her. She grabbed the pillow, throwing it at his smug face. She raised the taser, aiming for his stomach. Annie had warned her not to shoot too close to anyone’s heart. The modified shock could stop his heart if it was too close. She was trying to get away from him, not kill him. She pulled the trigger, wincing in sympathy when it landed near his groin.
Finding Charity: Red Devils M.C. Page 1