Claiming His Forever (Battle Born MC Book 8)

by Scarlett Black

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I huff before pointing my spatula at his face, “Watch your mouth in front of the kids, asshole.”

  Cowboy spits coffee across the table. “What kids?” He grins before digging back into his meal. I take my plate and sit next to my man. His hand comes down on mine and his thumb rubs across my ring finger. I bite the inside of my cheek painfully to stop the smile. If this is what the first twenty-four hours of being married to this man is like, I pray it lasts for a lifetime.

  After many hugs and promises to return we hit the road. I drive again but this time while Spider takes a nap. I pictured this circumstance to be a little different, as in me sleeping and him driving. Unless I take a nap on the way home. Yeah, this could work. We just have to work around or manipulate the situations to get along.

  The drive to my mom’s house is a thing of beauty. The water has always been her place to find her center. The area is beautiful and perfect for her. People walk casually down the quiet street. For California it’s very small and not overpopulated with old brick buildings that are well kept.

  Pulling into my mom’s driveway I hit the brakes harder than normal and hit the horn. The birds fly out of the tree and Spider jolts up awake. His hands fly to the dashboard and immediately scowls at me.

  I raise my hands in surrender, laughing, “Oopsie.”

  My mom comes running outside waving. “Jazmine, what are you doing here?” Then she spots Spider’s lumbering sexy body getting out of the car. Her excitement stills before it ignites, “Is this your Spider?”

  “Yep, this is my lover, almost baby daddy — maybe one day — after we get married, Ol’ man.”

  She, being the hippy free loving artist she is, pulls him into her. Her tiny arms hold him as hard as she can. “It is so nice to meet you,” she says, trapping his arms at his sides. The scowl is even worse than a few seconds ago. Yep, that’s right, you asked for payback and this is what you get. At least, that’s the look I’m going for.

  “Are you planning on marrying my little princess?” Mom squeals and holds him, waiting for him to answer.

  “Yeah, Spider,” I goad. “Are you?”

  “First Mrs...”

  “Oh please, call me Kelly”

  “It’s nice to meet you Kelly, would you have a bathroom I could use?” My mom blushes and herds us inside. “Jazmine can show me the rest of the way, thank you.”

  “I’ll get us some drinks,” She yells to us.

  Spider grabs my arm and hauls me down the hallway to the bathroom he finds fairly easily. “Cut the shit, you and I both know we got married last night. Quit making a fucking joke about it to your mom. Jokes are all well and fun but do not play around with your mom. That shit is over the line. And really Jazz, after what I said to you in the car last night, what is this shit? You throwin’ my love for you in my face?”

  In my haste, I did not think about that piece. I drop my head, “Shit, Spider, I’m sorry. I went too far. I love you, please don’t be upset. I won’t fuck around anymore." He stands firm and doesn’t give me an inch. “I’ll tell her when I walk out there.” I slide myself under his arms needing to apologize and to heal the hurt I caused.

  His nose runs over my ear and whispers, “Got you. I win. Kiss your master.” He tugs my head back by my hair. His mouth slams against mine. He renders me speechless. The bathroom door opens, and I’m tossed out. Just before the door is shut, he confirms, “Settle it.” Meaning go talk to my mom. Growling and clenching my teeth, rage consumes my body, and my fists shake at my sides.

  “Love you,” he hollers from inside the bathroom, then he proceeds to piss. “Go, Jazz.”

  “Fuck you,” I whisper shout and he chuckles. I kick the door for good measure, then haul ass to the kitchen.

  My mom stands there with a raised brow. “Sounds like there is something you want to tell me?” I spill it all out. And the cool thing about my mom is she loves the entire story. Spider joins us at some point and lays his arm across the chair and lets us air the truth out in the open.

  “Man, I bet your daddy has a hell of a time keeping up with you. You know he’s there Jazz, and I’m so happy he could be. Don’t you ever doubt that. Hey, you know what? Hang tight.” She is gone one second and back the next. In her hand she holds the first ring my dad ever gave her. “Sorry, I know it’s not big. I would be honored if you wore this ring. It’s not a traditional diamond, it’s actually a rare gem. You can have it, as your wedding ring.”

  Having this ring means the world to me. The light dances through the almost clear stone, soft colors of blue and pink reflect off it. A perfect shape of a teardrop. “You remember when I was little, and I would sneak into your room and put it on my finger. Dad would laugh and you would remind me not to take things that weren’t mine. I adored this ring because dad would tell me how he gave it to you. It felt so precious, still does.”

  Spider rubs my back and I look up at him, “You should wear it. It is priceless like you are, Jazmine.”

  My mom holds my hand. “It’s settled then. Something old for good luck.”

  We spend the day chatting while showing Spider around town. He is so taken with her kind heart and soft touches. It’s adorable to see them and their budding little friendship. I think my ovaries explode when Spider opens a door for a little girl, then helps her get candy out of a vending machine. I feel really special and fall more in love. He hasn’t given many a chance to see this side of him and to be this open in his life. After his brother died, he clammed up and worked hard at protecting himself. He just never came out of it. Finding the security in being quiet. At least, that is how I see him. We pick up food and Spider grills chicken for us for dinner while mom and I make salad and potatoes. She picks fresh herbs from her garden and adds them to our dinner.

  Spider and I are so tired from the night before we excuse ourselves early to sleep. In all honesty, we needed time alone. I planned on bringing him here all along to meet the most special person in my life, my mom. I opened up my heart to the real parts of me, and in turn so did he. The people we are together when no one is watching. Spider gives me glimpses of the man under the cut. My heart and life are full with him. I spend the rest of the evening giving Spider my thanks. And praise him with my mouth and body to my husband, before I fall into a deep peaceful sleep.

  Spider

  The phone sounds and is blaring in the silence of the room. Gone is the one-day honeymoon I had with my wife. I planned on coasting down the beach for a week. It’s the early morning, and the sun hasn’t even come up yet. I wanted more and I groaned before answering, leaving the room. More bad news is spoken, and I’m too pissed off with the news to answer like I should.

  “Did you hear me?” Snake snarls into the phone.

  I’m outside the backdoor with a smoke lit, trying to calm my nerves. “Yea brother, I heard you. Jazzy’s shop is burnt down to the ground. Where is he?”

  “I haven’t had time to look and you know I can’t ask too many questions. What the fuck is going on that that would make him do this?”

  “He probably caught wind that Jazzy and I got married, I made her my ol’ lady. Made her mine in all ways possible.”

  “Yeah, the Prez made a toast last night for you two. He’s planning a big reception.”

  “Once day breaks, I’ll be coming home to deal with this shit once and for all. Snake, watch your dad’s back.”

  If Kilo thinks he can get away with fucking with my family and especially my woman, he has another thing coming. It’s time to hunt the animal he has become and take him out cold. Fuck with Battle Born, and you’ll pay.

  Chapter 40

  Spider

  Our stuff is packed, and Jazz looks worried from the passenger seat. I haven’t told her yet because I don’t want her mom to worry and head to Sacramento. That would only complicate shit. They knew enough club business. I hit the accelerator and the engine of the car roars in excitement to speed toward my destination. I roll around ideas h
ow best to keep her safe. I don’t need her to flip her temper and go after him. That means I have twenty-four hours to bring this asshole down.

  I hit the call on my phone and Fuego picks up. “Spider,” he answers in greeting, rolling the R at the end.

  “Jazzy is coming to stay until it’s over.”

  “Sí.” He is gone and just like that he knows it’s going to be done. My word is my bond as a man, as a brother. Failing is not an option for me, not ever. There is nothing that can be said to lessen the pressure on my shoulders or take away the fury pumping through my blood. Jazzy rests her hand on my leg and strokes it gently. I reach for her and rub her shoulder. Giving her the reassurance that her man is here.

  The hour drive feels like an entire day by the time I drop her off at Fuego’s house. His wife waits for us inside and takes her for me. Fuego is gone but in his place is Hawk to watch over the women, and I wonder what our Prez is up to. I give her a hard embrace and kiss, leaving her with, “Don’t leave this house until I come for you.” The look on her face says it all, she could never see me again, and it could be days before she does. Jazzy is getting a front row seat and crash course to being an Ol’ Lady. I need her strength to push forward and she must feel it radiating off me.

  “Go kill ‘em, baby.” Jazzy steels her nerves, straightens her spine, and gives me a sassy look of determination.

  I pull my sunglasses over my face and head out. I worry what Fuego told Hawk. He waits out on the front porch when I step outside. “My Prez hardly ever leaves me in the dark. What he said was bullshit. Just know, you are a brother. If you need me, I’ll back you. If I’m needed to stay here and keep the Ol’ Ladies safe, I consider that an honor.”

  I nod and take in his vow. Trust is earned, club or not. Time will tell how true his blood runs. I’ll bury his ass along with Kilo if he betrays me, but my gut tells me he’s telling the truth. I hold out my fist and he hits mine with his. “I’m good.” I’m not giving anything away.

  Back at my house, I have my systems up and running. I read through the report of where Kilo has been in the last forty-eight hours. I knew he lit that fuckin’ fire at her place. Ideas from the devil swirl around about how I will send him to hell. It’s a fantasy yet to come true. The most surprising part is he hasn’t been home. He’s been camped out at Fuego’s neighborhood or Snake’s. Fucker is hunting them next; he wants to go down in a blaze of fucking glory, starting with the top. An animal knows when his life is in danger and about to die, he’s gone feral and rabid. I would bet he’s so coked or drugged up that he’s no longer present, just the demon front and center.

  I call Snake, “Brother, you with your dad?” My heart beats faster than the tracker blinking on the screen. With each update it gets closer and closer to Jazzy’s tattoo shop.

  “Yeah, we came down here to see if there was anything left of her shop. Kilo made it look like an accident. He tampered with the alarm system. The sprinklers never went off. The fire marshal and investigators were paid off and said it was an accident.”

  “That’s the least of our problems. Kilo is heading straight your way. He wants to draw me or Jazzy out; probably both of us there. Don’t look for him but keep your backs covered, yeah? Get the fuck out of there as soon as you can. He’s been watching you two all night. Snake, he is hunting you.” I can hear the hiss leave his mouth through the phone.

  “I gotta go.” He disconnects the call.

  From my bedroom closet I open the safe and grab two more guns to strap onto my body. A small tablet, knives, zip ties, and a syringe with a potent cocktail to put him to sleep. Sliding my cut back on, I lock up my house and jump on my Harley; it’s time to battle, bitches.

  Taking the same route as Kilo, I chase the asshole down on my bike. Evil laces my veins and pumps furiously through my body. His day of reckoning is here and I for one am more than ready to seal the deal with his blood. He’s taken too much, and I get my paybacks. No motherfucker lays a hand on my woman and lives. With the devil as my witness, he will no longer walk this Earth.

  Snake

  The feeling of death bares down on us. Danger saturates the air around us like a beating pulse. “He burnt it all, todos a loss, pinche cab cabrón puta madre.” Fuego growls. Mi padre sees and feels the change in my stiff posture. “Que es mijo?”

  “He’s here,” I whisper. His pupils dilate and lip snarls. “Cálmate, Papa. Keep looking for something to take back to Jazz. We will leave in a few moments.” His enraged eyes glower as he understands we cannot tip off the beast.

  My senses heighten and I listen to the dripping water that splatters from the burnt wood. The beams that have fallen creek from the strain in quiet. Cars drive past but no sounds of a bike. He wouldn’t be so dumb to drive up.

  Pops looks toward the front. He hears him. “No hay nada mijo, vamanos.” He tells me there is nothing and to leave. Together, we pull our guns as we walk steadily like a tiger moving in for the kill. As we inch closer and closer the sun spears through the open ceiling, temporarily blinding us. That’s when Kilo steps out from the wreckage. With two guns in his hands and backup. Fuck, he has some drugged-up street kid standing in front of him. Using him as a human shield. The kid’s jittery hands shake in fear. I wonder if he realizes he’s going to die.

  Pulling in a steady breath, I aim swift and true, sending one bullet through the kids’ skull, right between the eyes. Fucking Kilo creating collateral damage. I pull the trigger again, now aiming for Kilo and duck to the left. Bullets are flying all around as the moment passes like in slow motion. Instantly, everything quiets until the silence is broken with the sound of a body falling.

  Mi padre’s eyes find me from the cold wet floor before they close. I roar, he holds his shoulder and blood trickles out of the corner of his mouth. Boards fall and clatter to the ground as I chase after the motherfucker that shot him. Guns a blazing, I run seeing red. Fury consumes me and my lungs burn with such an intense pain, but I don’t stop.

  Another kid shoots from the corner and my leg burns like hell, but I shake it off. One shot, and he drops. I’m slowing down; I need to get this fucker. Kilo slips through the back of the brick building, door banging shut in his wake. My fist slams on the solid closed door. There is no opening it, it won’t even budge, the asshole is gone.

  Trading my guns for my cell, I make a call for someone to come and get mi padre. Tears threaten to well up in my eyes. It can’t happen, I can’t fall apart; I’m a brother of Battle Born and I will keep fighting. I’ll stay strong for him.

  “Aye, Fuego has been shot.”

  Spider

  My phone pings with an alert all brothers are called in. I trust Snake will reach out to me himself if he needs me and he does.

  Snake: Get him alive. He shot Fuego.

  “Fuck!” I shout. The pain threatens to pull me under. Another one lost. A man that was so much more than a Prez, he was a father and friend; he was family. He is a man that I have great respect for. It’s a burn that will be felt by many. If Kilo knows what’s good for him, he better be long gone. Trust, as soon as I catch him, he will wish and pray to whatever God he chooses for a thousand deaths. I vow to bring him back alive for the brothers to make an example of him.

  Changing the screen on my phone, I look at his location and miles away from the shop now. He’s heading south. He made his hit and now is possibly heading for the border. My mind is running so fast, faster than the bike can get me to where I need to be. From the Bluetooth in my helmet, I call Kat.

  “Track Kilo, I need his location updates.”

  “You bringing him down?”

  “Yes, and I want him on this side. Get to work, we only have hours. I’m about twenty minutes behind. Get me a better route.” I drive like I’m on a one-way trip to hell, and I suppose I am.

  “Cuervo drove down south yesterday. After he heard that Kilo was from Mexico, he’s been stationed right before the border. No worries Spider, we won’t lose him.” I’m thankful for Kat and my
brothers, they’re smart as hell and got right on it.

  I play with the ideas of where he’s going. My gut tells me he wants me to believe that he is hopping the border. He won’t leave though. Not until Jazzy is cold and dead. No, he’s meeting up with his contacts. He’s gearing up for round two, planning to strike while he’s hot and the club is disorganized.

  “Kat, pull up the addresses of his affiliates in jail, get me the closest address. It’s a wild guess, and I could lose this one.” She gives me the address and route it through my phone and I break my speeding record to get there. There is an overpass of the turn just miles away of where he is probably going. I sit and park above it. Kat gives me updates and lets me know he is on the move.

  Parking my bike on the hill, I take my gun from my boot and I sit and wait. Cars pass by until the sound of the bike alerts me that the dick is coming. A few easy breaths and I start to count to relax my muscles. He passes by and I stalk him on foot. Kilo pulls into an empty looking house and parks in the garages. Walking up the opposite street, I take in the angles of the house and neighborhood from the back.

  I send Snake a text to give him an update. He responds that he’s in route with a van. Like a stalker, I lay and wait until he confirms he is here just in case he gets out of the house. Through the congested buildings and busy street, I blend in and stay on target. Snake stays a couple of blocks over when he arrives. The house seems eerily still with all the window blinds drawn. From the back of the house, I step on the welted flower bed to jump up and grab the balcony above. It takes all my strength to pull myself up. The door is locked with an older key set. Easily, I pick my way in. With great practice, I turn the knob and push forward with the tiniest of cracks.

  The smell is what assaults me first and I gag. Drugged out corpses lay in bed. He killed the man and his woman that lived here. Her body is bloody and naked. Several cut marks across her skin and bruising so deep and large it looks as if she was in a major accident. Bile raises in my throat. The smell is so rancid of piss, death, and blood. The man is tied up and his throat is slit. This house has seen horrors not of this world. With my sleeve, I cover my nose and creep out of the room that makes the hairs stand on the back of my neck.