Jace (The Black Hornets MC Book 1)

by Savannah Rylan

  Fresh tears started to form in her eyes. I quickly put my fork down and walked over to her on the other side of the table.

  “Leti, that wasn’t supposed to make you upset,” I said.

  “No,” she said as she quickly brushed the tears from her eyes. “I’m not upset. I’m happy. I think those names are perfect.”

  Leti quickly stood up, and I brought her protectively into my arms. At that moment, all was right with the word. The threat from the cartel faded into the background. All that mattered was Leti and our future child.

  And I would do whatever I had to in order to keep them both safe.

  “Come on, your breakfast is going to get cold,” I let out a laugh. Leti giggled and pulled from my embrace and sat back down.

  Just as we sat back down, there was a loud crash in the living room. I was immediately on high alert.

  “Go upstairs to the bedroom,” I whispered to Leti. She didn’t budge, she just sat there in shock.

  “Leti!” I whispered louder and gaze finally focused on me. She jumped up from the table and sprinted upstairs. I grabbed the gun that I always had under the kitchen table and cocked it. I walked quietly from the kitchen, and as I reached the wall that led into the living room, I paused. There was nothing but silence, which hopefully meant, no one was actually inside the house. I held out my gun in front of me as I turned the corner, ready to take out anyone that would be there. But as I walked in, I realized there was nothing but broken glass. Once I was sure there was no one inside, I looked down at the floor and saw amongst the shattered pieces was a large brick. I picked it up and noticed that it had a piece of paper tied to it.

  Shit.

  I unwrapped the note and clenched my jaw.

  We know more than you think. We’ll take back what is ours, and your club will pay for getting involved in our business.

  A rush of panic filled my chest.

  The Rojas Diablos cartel was coming for all of us.

  THE END

  Thank you so much for reading the Dead Souls MC! Want to find out more about the Black Hornets MC? You can pre-order the next book Maverick here! You can also pre-order Duke and Colt!

  For a sneak peak at Maverick, turn the page!

  Chapter 1

  Maverick

  Every single one of us had been on high alert since the brick came through Jace’s window. Since Leti killed Sebastian. And the second fucking part of that phrase was one I still had issues digesting. Despite the fact that it had been a little over three months since that occurrence, I still couldn’t get that moment out of my head. Leti’s dull stare. The anger that flowed through her movements. I’d never seen a woman do that before. I earned a ton of fucking respect for her that night. With how she aimed that gun right at that bastard and pulled the trigger without even thinking. And in the grand scheme of things, it was probably good she didn’t think about that shit.

  It was really bad when someone thought about that shit.

  That night me, Duke, Colt, and Thor, took care of the bodies. We cleaned that damn house down, top to bottom. After dealing with the cronies Sebastian had, pulling bits and pieces of information from them all night, we had more than one body to bury. After all the information was gathered, we went back to that house in the middle of the night and cleaned it down. Bleached it. Scrubbed that fucking kitchen counter and practically burned the chair. We disposed of bodies the way we disposed of guns. We took it apart and cast it all over the damn town. We didn’t have to do it often. Like with the gun. But when we did, we did it right.

  And none of it required sinking that shit into any sort of water.

  Honestly, that was the worst way to dispose of a body. A very high risk of the current dragging it along and washing it onto a shoreline somewhere. But burying it deep into the ground? Or getting in good with the town cremator? That was where the real shit took place. I knew I’d be disposing of a body that night. I was honestly shocked we didn’t dispose of more bodies than we did. But I didn’t think it would be Jace’s girl that got us that body.

  Fucking hell, I’d never mess with Leti.

  I couldn't blame her though. The more we all got to know her and the more of her story we figured out, the more respect I gained for her. She’d been under the cartel’s thumb for damn near longer than anyone I’d ever known. She was lucky as hell, too. Most people being owned by the cartel like that didn’t last more than a few weeks. And she had managed to do so well that she lasted two months. They kept her under their thumb. Manipulated her and threatened her with the life of her brother after they’d already killed him.

  Honestly? Had she not put a fucking bullet in Sebastian’s head, I would have.

  Had anyone done shit like that to my sister, I would have fucking flipped. No one messed with my family. No one. And I was guilty of killing for my family. Hell, my sister still didn’t know her abusive ex was six-feet underground on the outskirts of town. And she didn’t need to know, either.

  All she needed to know was that I’d made sure no one would harm her again. With the help of Jace, of course.

  That was why the two of us were so close. That was why I had Jace’s back in all this shit. With him screwing around with a client and taking her home and shit like that. Because when I’d needed it the most, he’d been there for me. When my sister came running to me that night with a black eye and a bloodied nose, Jace picked up the fucking phone and rode with me that night.

  And when I beat that motherfucker in his face until he stopped breathing, he handed me a baby wipe to clean myself up before helping me dispose of that body, too.

  No one messed with my family. Especially the women in it. And now? Leti was part of our family.

  Which meant no one messed with her, either.

  “Thanks for coming, guys. Time for us to pool information,” Dean said. “Jace, you and Leti are all set at the safe house, right?”

  “Yup, we are all settled.”

  “Good, find anything by your digging?”

  “Rock helped me rig up my place with cameras. Since the brick, no one has tried anything there. So, my guess is that was just a scare tactic. Something to rattle Leti.”

  “No other chatter online?” Dean asked.

  “Not from what I can find. And I’m logged into just about everything. My laptops and my desktop are running day and night. Nothing’s coming up. And if it is, it’s very buried,” Jace said.

  “Well, keep digging. The brick may have been a scare tactic, but my guess is that they aren’t just going to leave it at that,” Dean said.

  “Colt, I know you’re keeping an eye on the roads. Anything suspicious?” I asked.

  “Not a thing, Mav. No odd license plates, except your average volume of people passing through to get to the national forest, or Oregon or some shit. I’ve even got some cameras Rock helped me set up on some back roads so Duke can do some surveillance shit when it’s got time. And I’ve got nada,” Colt said.

  “Well, no one’s fucking with the money. Though I did manage to get, that account cashed out and cleared in Leti’s name. Both of them, actually,” I said.

  “Holy shit, that was quick,” Dean said.

  “Yeah. Jace and I make a good team with shit like that. I’m having the money washed now, but once it’s clean I figured it’d be a nice little payday for those of us who had to clean up that night,” I said.

  “How’s Leti doing with that, by the way?” Dean asked.

  Jace shrugged. “About as good as we all did after our first kill.”

  “What stage is she at now?” Duke asked.

  “She’s regretful, but acknowledging the fact that she doesn't feel as bad for it as she feels she should,” Jace said.

  “Shit. After only a few months? Took me two just to admit I’d killed the fucker,” I said.

  “That’s what I keep telling her. But you know she’s been through a lot. She’ll hold onto that for the rest of her life,” Jace said.

  “We all do,” Duke said.


  “You two need anything?” Dean asked.

  I watched a grin crawl across Jace’s face, and I knew exactly what the hell he was about to say.

  “No fucking way,” I said.

  “What?” Duke asked.

  “You didn’t!” I exclaimed.

  “He didn’t what?” Colt asked.

  “I did,” Jace said, grinning.

  “You did what?” Dean asked.

  I threw my arms around the man I considered my best friend. I clapped his back as a massive smile tore across my face. Holy fuck, I knew he’d be the first one. With his playboy attitude and his boyish smile. I knew he’d be the first one to be a dad out of all of us.

  “When you two are done with your bro-fest, can you fill the rest of us in on the secret?” Colt asked.

  I released Jace and watched a massive smile crawl across his face.

  “Dude, how’s she feeling?” I asked.

  “What the fuck’s going on!?” Dean exclaimed.

  Jace turned towards the guys. “Leti and I are pregnant.”

  “No shit!” Duke exclaimed.

  “Well, that was fuckin’ quick,” Dean said.

  “Why does that not shock me at all?” Colt asked.

  “Because it’s Playboy Jace. I mean, really. Does this shock anyone?” I asked.

  “Not a damn one of us,” Dean said.

  The guys shook his hand and clapped him on the back before we all settled back into a professional mode. With Leti pregnant, it brought a whole new dynamic to what we were doing. A whole new urgency to our situation. And I watched that reality dawn on every single member of my crew.

  “Now, the stakes are higher,” Dean said.

  “That means we gotta keep our eyes peeled,” I said.

  “Jace, you keep your eye on the dark web. Get with Rock and hack into everything you can possibly get into. We need to start focusing on what’s going on around us. Every little thing that might seem out of place,” Dean said.

  “I’ve got my ties to the police department in town. And Brewer does as well. I’ll get us to start doing a little bit of poking. Not a lot, but just to see if any of them start acting funny after mentioning a few tidbits of information,” I said.

  “Perfect, Maverick. Colt,” Dean said.

  “Yep?” Colt asked.

  “Keep your eyes on the road. I want those back roads traveled twice a day. I want those cameras you set up with Jace and Rock recording everything,” Dean said.

  “You got it, boss,” Colt said.

  “Duke. I need you keeping your ears peeled. You’re like the damn gossip of the group. I don’t know where you get your theories and shit, but we need you in overdrive right now,” Dean said.

  “Already done and done. But, I’ll ramp it up a notch. You know, for Leti’s sake,” Duke said.

  “I appreciate it,” Jace said.

  “Bringing women into our midst is one thing. But bringing children into it is another. You all know that Brynn is pregnant as well. If the cartel never really left, then we gotta figure out who the hell is involved and deal with them. Quickly. Dip into all of your contacts. Especially you two, Maverick and Duke. The two of you are tapped into this town like the electricity that runs through this damn place. You dig, and you tug, and you listen until you come up with something,” Dean said.

  “You got it,” I said.

  “On it like butter on bread,” Duke said.

  “I actually got a couple places I could hit up right now, if you call church done, Dean,” I said.

  “I second that idea. Maverick and I could get started on it now if you wanted us to,” Duke said.

  “The sooner, the better. You all have your tasks. And Jace?” Dean asked.

  “Yep?”

  “You spend time taking care of Leti. She's gonna need you, now more than ever,” Dean said.

  “Trust me, I’m not leaving her side unless I have to,” Jace said. “She’s hanging out in the next room right now.”

  “Congratulations, man. I’m really happy for you,” I said.

  Jace smiled at me as Dean clapped his hands. “Church is over. Get to it. And the second you’ve got information, call me.”

  Then, Duke and I were off.

  Like it? You can pre-order Maverick here!

  More Books by Savannah Rylan

  Series

  Knox (Dead Souls MC #1)

  Grave (Dead Souls MC #2)

  Brewer (Dead Souls MC #3)

  Rock (Dead Souls MC #4)

  Diesel (Deal Souls MC #5)

  Girth (Marked Skulls MC #1)

  Rodeo (Marked Skulls MC #2)

  Abe (Marked Skulls MC #3)

  Oz (Marked Skulls MC #4)

  Dash (Marked Sulls MC #5)

  Hawk (The Road Rebels MC #1)

  Talon (The Road Rebels MC #2)

  Snake (The Road Rebels MC #3)

  Fox (The Road Rebels MC #4)

  The Road Rebels MC Box Set

  Gunner (The Bad Disciples MC #1)

  Hunter (The Bad Disciples MC #2)

  Tank (The Bad Disciples MC #3)

  Glock (The Bad Disciples MC #4)

  The Bad Disciples MC Box Set

  Warrant (A Righteous Outlaws Novel #1)

  Bulletproof (A Righteous Outlaws Novel #2)

  Dice (A Righteous Outlaws Novel #3)

  Beast (A Righteous Outlaws Novel #4)

  Bending All The Rules

  Breaking All The Rules

  Banishing All The Rules

  Shattering All The Rules

  The A List Complete Series

  Standalones

  Protected by the Biker

  Taken by the Mob Boss

  Nico (The Rossi Mafia)

  Baby and the Biker

  Bought by the Biker

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  Savannah Rylan is a romance writer that spends most of her time writing and reading with her cat, Gris. When not penning the next great American novel, (HA), you can find her on the beach with a drink in her hand or at the gym testing out some strange new position. Yoga, obviously. She lives in Southern California with her husband and Gris, the true love of her life.

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