Reclaimed (Skulls Renegade MC Book 6)

by Elizabeth Knox

  Maria’s eyes dart from me to Kyle and then to Reed who has just burst out of Church. “What’s going on?” she asks him, but I think Kyle just blasted what the hell is going on in simpler terms.

  “Rafael wants you back and Reed won’t give you up, now he’s threatening to kill us all, because of you – one damn person. Shooting Enzo was a warning kid, and it’s just going to get worse. No one is gonna fuckin’ help us and we have to get out of this big mess on our own. I don’t want you to go back with them, but it’d be a hell of a lot simpler if you did. He’s wanted you back for fucking months!” He snaps.

  For the life of me…I don’t know the man I’m staring at. We all care about Maria, even him…so why is he acting so cold? What has him so riled up?

  “Enough!” Reed hollers, silencing the hushed whispers amongst the brothers.

  “Max will get his judgement day,” I interrupt, not letting anyone say a damn thing. It seems to me that Kyle is dead set on a quest for vengeance, and while he’ll get it, it won’t be right now.

  “I’ve been telling him that for days,” Reed grumbles, giving his brother an irate look.

  “We all know that Rafael is still a threat,” I say, “we weren’t actually working with that monster. He has been for years – even when we were working with him.”

  What we were doing was helping the FBI nail him as a sex trafficker, but nothing has stuck. It’s not that we didn’t do a good job, we did a hell of a job purchasing the women, and then Rafael got word what we were doing. That didn’t stop the club though, we just changed targets and started buying from Sergei Kolosov. I never really focused much on all of that though, Bubba’s has always been my job, working the bar and making sure everything is in order there.

  I can’t help but wonder if that’s going to change soon though with the musketeers coming in a while. “Max is nothing but a worm who won’t get far. You’ll have your chance to kill him later, and I know how bad you want to.” I shoot up from my seat on the couch and walk over to Kyle, grabbing ahold of forearm with a strong grip. “I want you to, for every horrible thing that he is done he deserves to suffer. But what happens if we all die and you never get that chance? If we aren’t smart then that’s going to be what happens. I know you’re frustrated and I understand it, oh how you know how much I understand it. He tried to take everything from you, but Kyle…you will have your day where he pays for it all. Go cool off, do what you have to do but don’t take this out on Maria. It’s not her fault….this is just life fucking us.”

  He clenches his jaw and nods, pulling me in his arms and gives me a tight hug before he envelops his lips over mine.

  “You said he’s wanted me back for months…” Maria spits out, looking directly at Reed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We didn’t think it was a good idea,” Pain interjects.

  With this, I see my friend’s heart break. We all know something is going on between her, Pain and Chaos…but him admitting that he knew about it, and from the looks of it, he didn’t tell her. I’d be so hurt if Kyle had done the same to me.

  Maria’s eyes shift from Pain to Chaos. “Did you know too?”

  Chaos shifts in his stance, brushing off the fact that he did.

  Maria stands there, still as can be until she bolts right out the door.

  Pain starts to head after her.

  “No. Neither of you need to talk to her right now, but you do,” I tell Reed firmly. Pain and Chaos are just going to make her even more upset and none of us want that. If Reed goes and tells her his stance on everything then it will help the situation.

  “I’m gonna go out for a ride. Wanna come with?” Kyle asks me as we disappear into our own little world for a minute.

  “No.” I shake my head. “These kids want me to eat something soon, or else I’m gonna get really angry.”

  Kyle chuckles, kissing me on the forehead before he leaves to go decompress.

  I just hope when he comes back, he gives Maria the apology that she deserves. It’s Kyle though, so who knows if she’ll actually get it. My man has a habit of being a selfish bastard sometimes.

  Chapter 38

  Don’t let the fear of what could happen, let nothing happen.

  Anonymous

  Michelle

  I’m woken up by the rough banging of a fist on my door. I jolt up from bed and grab my phone, seeing that it’s just past one in the morning. For fucks sake, who is banging on the door? I toss my comforter off my legs and jump off the bed rushing over,

  “Who is it?” I yell through.

  “It’s me. Open up Meech, we gotta talk,” Reed responds.

  “Seriously? Do you know what time it is? I’ll talk to you after breakfast,” I huff loudly, making sure he can hear me very clearly.

  “Meech. No! We have to talk now. It’s Kyle.”

  The way he says it does nothing but terrify me, and then I look over at our bed and realize he’s not there…he should’ve been back by now. In my gut, I know something is wrong, something is so terribly wrong. It takes every ounce of courage that I have inside me to open the door and face Reed, and when I do, every scared cell in my body is proven right.

  He’s wearing the look of someone who has seen tragedy, his lips are pursed together, eyes are flamed red and brows furrow together in a way that only makes me worry even more.

  “What’s happened?”

  Before he’s even answered, I’ve prepared myself to hear that Kyle’s dead. I need to prepare myself for the worst case scenario so that in the slim chance that he isn’t dead, it won’t be so bad. And if he is dead…then I’m prepared. Then I won’t crumble into a million shattered pieces, or so I’d like to think.

  “There’s been an accident, and it’s not good. Kyle’s in the hospital. He’s alive but…”

  I take in a deep breath as my heart starts to pound in my chest. “But what?”

  “He hit the ground hard and his head sustained…it’s just not good Michelle. They’re doing everything they can but he’s got swelling in his brain and they don’t think surgery is a good idea at this stage. They’ve given him medication and are watching him closely. Elena is there now, but I needed to come and tell you…” Reed trails off about the medical shit, stuff that I wouldn’t know a thing about.

  I just want him to tell me what happened. He hasn’t told me what happened. “Y-you said he was in an accident. What kind?” I interrupt.

  Reed stops dead in his tracks. He doesn’t break eye contact with me as he starts to speak, telling me every detail I need to know, “Police found the bike on the side of the road, I don’t know how the deputy knew something was wrong, but he did. He went down and found Kyle over the side. The brakes weren’t working, and he was smart about what he did…deputy thinks he was going at least forty or fifty to be thrown off where he was.”

  “Reed, you aren’t telling me what happened, you’re just giving me bits of information. Think about what you’re saying before you say it and tell me what happened!” I don’t mean to yell at him but I do, but not before wetness starts coating my cheeks. My fear is coming out whether I want it to or not.

  Reed grabs my shoulders and holds on tight, “Meech, Kyle was in an accident. He never made it back after he went out a few hours ago. I didn’t think anything was wrong until I got a call from the hospital that he was brought in. A deputy found his bike on the side of the road and looked into it further instead of just driving off, that’s where they found him over the side. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and hit his head pretty bad, he’s banged up with scratches and bruises but his head is what we’re worried about right now. He hit it so hard that his brain is swelling and they need to get the swelling down.”

  “W-what happens if they d-don’t?”

  “We both know what’s gonna happen if that swelling doesn’t go down Meech, and I can’t say it.”

  “His brakes didn’t just stop working…” I say, trying to find some sort of answer to what’s happened.

&nb
sp; “No, the fucking Cartel did this and they’re going to pay Meech. They’re going to fucking pay!”

  I don’t have the courage to respond to Reed, not when things are running wild in my mind and I don’t know what to make of what’s happened. I go to grab my keys and drive to the hospital but Reed doesn’t let me drive, instead taking them in his own hands, and chauffeuring me there.

  When we arrive at the hospital, Reed informs me that Kyle is in a room, and takes me straight there.

  Elena rises from beside Kyle, who is taped up and hooked up to every machine imaginable on this planet and the only thing I can do is worry.

  “Can I have a minute alone with him?” I look to Reed, but he’s not the one who responds. Instead it’s Elena, and even though they walk away to give me my space, I’m frozen in my feet, staring at the man I love fighting for his life.

  I walk slowly beside him, taking a seat in a chair that I imagine is as uncomfortable as it looks. I take ahold of his hand in mine, feeling the rough callouses of his skin and squeeze. Seeing him here like this only hurts with every moment that I stay, but I will stay, until he wakes up…or until…

  “I know this isn’t fair of me to ask but I have to cause I need you to fight. I need you to fight whatever your body is doing because I can’t do this alone Kyle…we’re having three kids…and they need you. Never mind what I need, they need you more than me. They need you to show them how to play baseball, and you have to teach them about bikes, and warn them to stay away from the bad boys, or girls depending their sexual orientation. I just can’t do this alone…so I need you to fight and be here. We’ve waited for too long to be together, and this doesn’t get to happen. You don’t just get to die, I forbid it…so you have to stay here and help me raise our musketeers.”

  I hear a sobbing noise coming from behind me and look to see Elena with tears flowing down her face as bad as mine are. “I hope you realize that no matter what happens you will never be alone. Not in this, not in anything, and most certainly not with those babies.”

  I know this may sound fucked up because Elena just said something beautiful to me, but no matter what… I will always feel alone if Kyle isn’t here.

  He has to be okay.

  Don’t be alarmed babes, Reckless (Skulls Renegade MC #7) is on the way! In the meantime, dive into the first couple chapters here!

  Prologue

  It’s hard to wake up from a nightmare if you aren’t even asleep.

  J. S.

  Maria

  I should have foreseen this at some point, that Rafael would never truly be rid of me. A million thoughts run through my mind at what Kyle had said to me tonight, and now we find out he is fighting for his life – an act of harm only done by one common enemy, the cartel that wants me back so badly. I don’t understand why, though. I’m nothing but a girl, the daughter of someone who used to work for Rafael. I didn’t know much of my father’s work, but I wasn’t a dumb little girl either.

  My friends would quietly whisper when they didn’t think I was around, and I would hear them say that my father works for the snake. That is what we call Rafael in Mexico, the snake. I’ve heard stories that the cartel didn’t always used to be so bad, but when Rafael’s father died and he took over, things had changed for the worst. I wonder now if I even want to know what it was that my father did, or if it would make a difference. It wouldn’t, make a difference that is. Things happened in the way that they were supposed to, or so I like to believe. I like to believe that there is a higher meaning for the horrible things I was put through, but at the end of the day, there is absolutely no meaning behind it. There is only one thing, bloodthirsty hunger and the man who holds it all.

  Rafael Ramirez.

  I open my eyes, pulling my blanket closer to me as I stare at the purple painting of a mustang that hangs across from my bed. I’m not a big fan of horses, never really have been but the symbolic meaning of the mustang fighting for her freedom resonates with me. In a way, I guess we are the same. It’s ironic though, that I found my freedom as I was sold like a toy. I was terrified that day that Reed purchased me, coming from Rafael I had assumed the worst. If only I had known back then what I know now, that I’d never feel more protected in my entire life. Not only by the club, but by Pain and Chaos too.

  I care for the two of them deeply, however they lied to me. They didn’t tell me something that I should have been made aware of. It’s odd that I’m not angry with Reed, I’m angrier with them over it. They should have told me, and it was wrong of them to hide it from me, especially considering this has everything to do with me. Kyle flat out said that I’m the problem, that the cartel is coming after us because of me. Why did no one take a moment to consider I needed to be told about it?

  I close my eyes, and every time that I do tonight I only see one thing. The night that everything changed replays in my mind. I jolt myself off the bed and pace back and forth in the small confines of my room. Never do I want to see that night again, no matter what I do…I never want to see it. It’s the worst nightmare I could have ever imagined but the thing is that it isn’t a dream, it was my life.

  It still is my life.

  I walk out of my bedroom, careful as I can be to remain unseen as I make my way to the small bar we have in the main area. Luckily, Trick seems to be passed out on the couch and Enzo is snoozing away in the big chair a few feet away. They don’t matter to me though, I’ve only come here for one thing, and as I kneel behind the bar and open the cabinet, I breathe a little easier when my eyes land on the bottle of tequila.

  I wrap my hand around the nose of the bottle and open it, hopping up on the counter and taking a heavy swig. At this rate, I don’t care who sees me, it’s not going to change how I feel or stop me from finishing off this entire thing.

  “You’re nothing but a piece of trash. You only matter because I decide when you do.” His voice is heavy in my mind. I take another drink, drowning out the pain of the memories that have decided to resurface at the worst time ever. In my heart, I know that no matter how much tequila I drink, nothing will ever drown out the pain that I experienced that night. There is no time for living in the past, only the future. My mother used to tell me that so much as a small child, I just wish that she was here now to tell me whatever it is that I need to hear. She always had a way of knowing just what to say to make me feel better about whatever it was that I was going through. If she were still alive, she’d know what to say. I have no doubt about it.

  “Tequila won’t make it feel better.” Chaos suddenly comes into view.

  I don’t know how long he’s been here but I don’t really care, and I’m really not in the mood to talk to him right now. “You are a preacher now, hmm? One who gives advice that he can’t even follow?” I snip out, rolling my eyes at his hypocrisy, taking another long swig I revel in the way the tequila burns as it settles in my stomach. “We all have our vices, Chaos. Tequila is just mine.”

  “And heroin is ours.”

  I stop what I’m doing and look at him, immediately looking at his hands and arms, but when I don’t see the track lines I only wonder where else they could be.

  “Relax, Mar. I haven’t used and neither has Pain. I think he’s just sleeping or some shit.”

  “Now is not the time to joke,” I tell him, my body feeling warm and fuzzy all over. This tequila always kicks in fast which is why I drink it. For a little bit of time it allows me to escape my own reality and forget about whatever it is that hurts me.

  “You should know better, I don’t joke.” He’s right. Chaos doesn’t joke at all. He actually has no sense of humor, which might be a bit odd to some people but for as long as I’ve known him he has been as dry as a tumbleweed. It is just part of who he is.

  “We couldn’t tell you, Mar, as much as we wanted to Reed wouldn’t give us the okay. Now I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you but that’s that. I’m not gonna be standing here begging for your forgiveness or some shit. You gotta accept that.”

&nb
sp; When I first came here, I never understood the way that they do things, how one man determines the fate of the club, makes all of the decisions and hopefully they’re the right ones. Now after being here for years, I understand far greater than I ever expected. I bring the bottle back to my lips and take a few big, burning gulps before setting the bottle on the counter. I survey around the club, seeing Trick and Enzo still passed out before I look back to Chaos.

  “He haunts me when I’m awake now. All I hear is him,” I admit, wetness welling behind my eyes. I don’t want to cry, but I never have much choice in the matter.

  Chaos takes a few steps closer until he’s between my legs and his hands are on my face. “He’s not the one haunting you, your fear is, and one way or another your fear is gonna lose, Taquita.”

  I nod, placing my forehead against his chin, letting out a soft laugh. “You know how much I hate it when you call me that.”

  “So? I love those things, they’re small and spicy just like you, so you’re my little Taquita. Get used to it.” Chaos lowers his hands to my neck and tilts my face up to look at him.

  This stern man may be just that, but I see so much more when I am with him. I don’t see the mask that he puts up in front of anyone else. I see him for the big heart he has behind his concrete armor. I push myself up on the counter until my lips hit his, kissing him with a tenderness that we both need. His lips flutter over mine, tongue darting in my mouth, owning my body in the way that he only knows how. He’s always so rough and closed off, something that I understand greatly, but even the guarded ones need to be sweet sometimes.

  I am just thankful that we can rely on each other when we do.

  Chapter 1

  She’s a mess of gorgeous chaos, and you can see it in her eyes.

  @InspiredByTheFeeling

  Pain

  I went to check in on Maria early this morning and found her in bed with Chaos. I guess they did some making up last night, not that it bothers me much since she’s ours. He misspoke yesterday in front of the brothers. Maria doesn’t belong to one of us, she belongs with both of us. If he truly felt that way then he would’ve said it straight to me. That’s what I’d like to hope anyway.