Ember's Burn: A Steel Demons MC Novel

by Annelise Reynolds

  “What?”

  The tone in Hack’s voice told me it was bad. “Price had two safes, one more hidden than the other. I found a flash drive hidden in the lining of the more hidden safe. The only thing I can figure is the wife had access to one and not the other.”

  “What was in the second safe?”

  “Notes on Richards. We have enough to crucify him.”

  “What aren't you telling me, Hack?”

  “They recorded it. All of it. Titan, they beat and raped her, repeatedly. All three of them. They probably all have copies to ensure one doesn't turn on the others.”

  I slammed my fist on the countertop. I felt the wood structure give way beneath the laminate. My hand would be swollen and bruised tomorrow, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the pain inside that the image of them taking my woman against her will and beating her evoked.

  “The kid? Is the kid safe?”

  “As far as I can tell, yes.”

  “I want you on them. If Richards orchestrated McKenzie’s career path, he can orchestrate an adoption. Get eyes on that kid. Do I need to send backup?”

  “No, Gavel and I can handle it. If we need to step in for the kid, we’ll get his friends from Philly to assist.”

  “Do you still have that information on Philip Worthington?”

  “Yes.”

  “He can help if needed.”

  “He’s a suit.”

  “I know, but he wants what's best for Phoenix and McKenzie and he has connections we might need. Send me copies of everything you've found, then send the originals to Stone.”

  “Do you want everything?” Hack asked, stressing the word everything. Did I want the video of them hurting McKenzie, no, but I was going to see what those bastards had done for myself.

  “Yes.”

  “Titan, it's bad. I threw up after watching just a few minutes of it. You shouldn’t watch it.”

  “Probably not, but I'm going to. Send it, Hack, send it all.”

  I hung up with Hack and headed back upstairs to McKenzie. Not for the first time, I wondered how she survived, and even more, how the hell she ever allowed me to touch her.

  She was in the same place I'd left her, but where I had been, she was now hugging a pillow to her body. I shut the door behind me and moved back toward the bed, sliding back in and wrapping her back around me. Like a kitten, she purred as she scooted closer and curled into me. The fight was finally over. She was now, and would always be, mine. I drifted off to sleep with those thoughts on my mind.

  I should have fucking known better. When I woke up the next morning, the bed beside me was empty and had been for some time. I went downstairs and everybody was there eating, except McKenzie. “You’re here?” Mom’s eyes were wide with shock at seeing me.

  “Yes, where is McKenzie?”

  “Oh dear. The truck is gone. I thought maybe you had left early this morning and instead of waking everybody with the bike you took the truck.”

  “F-”

  “JASON!” Ma cut me off and pointedly looked at the table where Declan was watching with wide eyes. He must have been aware of the tension that seeped into the room because he was no longer eating his sugary cereal that most mornings he inhaled.

  “What can I do?” Piper asked.

  “Call Legend, tell him McKenzie took off.” I left the house and hopped on my bike, heading for Grit’s house. I knew she wouldn’t be there, and my gut said she wouldn’t be at the restaurant either. The bike was barely stopped when I hopped off.

  “GRIT!” I yelled out, as I pounded the door so hard the pane of glass rattled in its place.

  “WHAT THE FUCK, TITAN?” he yelled back, opening the door, not caring he was naked or who the fuck saw him.

  “She's gone.”

  “Who?”

  “McKenzie took off sometime between three and six this morning.”

  Phoenix’s gasp took my eyes to her. She was in the bedroom doorway wrapped in nothing but a sheet. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry and quickly filling up with tears. “No,” she said shaking her head. “Not again.”

  I pushed my way inside and headed toward Phoenix. “She went on her own, Abs. I think she's going to try and force Richards to make a move. How would she get to him? You've known her longer, how would she destroy him?”

  “I don't-” she kept shaking her head in disbelief, “I don't know. What makes you think she's going after them?”

  “Last night, she told me she wanted revenge. When I asked why she'd never gone after it before, she said, ‘Because I never knew how to take my revenge without getting caught or dying in the process.’ She's giving up. She's going to take revenge and damn the consequences. I need to know how. How would she go about taking them down?”

  “She can't.” Phoenix looked to Grit and he took her in his arms. For the first time in my life I found myself jealous of my best friend.

  “Come on, Phoenix, think. Anything… Think like McKenzie.”

  “Titan, I had no clue of anything she'd been through until a few weeks ago. I had no clue my best friend had been raped by not only my dad but her stepfather and stepbrother. I had no clue she’d given birth to a baby that could be my half sibling.” Her voice was cracking with raw emotion as she voiced the hell her friend had been through. “I can't think like her because I have no idea what I would do in that situation. I wouldn't have survived the first time, let alone the second time and who knows how many other times they did it to her.” She was in tears and clinging to Grit. “I can’t tell you how she would think because I don’t know my own best friend anymore.” She put her hand to her chest like she was having a hard time breathing. She doubled over like she was in physical pain.

  “I'll find her, Phoenix. I have to.” I tried to comfort her, but it wasn’t my place. Grit took Phoenix back into their bedroom, shutting the door. While Grit and Phoenix got dressed, I called Hack.

  “Hello,” Hack’s voice was groggy and slurred on the other end of the line.

  “Hack.”

  “Titan, it's seven in the morning here.”

  “McKenzie is gone. I need you to track her bank cards, cell phone, anything. I have to find her.”

  “Fuck. Any ideas where she's headed? That will give me a direction to start looking.”

  “I think she's going after Richards.”

  “Is she fucking crazy? Doesn't she know we’re taking care of it?”

  “She doesn't get club life, Hack. She's not like us, she wasn't raised in it.”

  “Dammit, your girls are causing one shit storm after another. First Grit and Phoenix, now you and McKenzie. Can one of you find a girl that doesn't have a past from hell?”

  I couldn't help but laugh. “Legend’s next.”

  Hack burst out laughing. “The hell you say. Legend fucks anything that moves. He's not about to be tied down to one woman.”

  “Just you wait. In the meantime, get your ass up and help me find my woman.”

  “I’m already up and logging on, asshole. I'll call you when and if I find anything.”

  I hung up with Hack and headed back to my bike. Grit and Phoenix weren't far behind. We rode back to the club. Legend had already gathered everybody there. To my surprise, Piper was there as well. Her face was flushed red with anger, and she was glaring daggers at Legend.

  “Great room, now!” I said, and every member moved toward the couches. Phoenix and Piper sat huddled together, their fear and worry evident. The other girls sat curious and unaware of what was going on. Dozer, Chink, Ink, and Brick stood behind the club girls. Legend and Grit stood by Phoenix and Piper.

  “Gavel and Hack have been in New York. They've got enough information on Richards and his son to bring them down. The original documents and evidence are on their way to Stone. Copies should be here today, but right now, our main concern is McKenzie. She took off sometime between three and six this morning. I believe she's going to try to take t
hem down herself.”

  “How?” Becky spoke the question I'd been asking myself.

  “The truth,” Ink said, drawing attention to himself. “She'll use the truth to destroy them.”

  It had to end. If I was ever going to move on with my life and really live, I had to end this. My night in Titan’s arms was the best night I’ve ever had. I didn’t wake up with nightmares, sweating and panting to catch my breath. If I lived through this, and if he would still have me, I’d try. For him, I would try.

  I watched as the miles of road passed behind me, instead of heading toward Amarillo to catch a flight, I headed toward Dallas. I figured it would buy me some time to figure out what I was going to do, as well as being unexpected, so Titan wouldn’t know to follow me here. He’d expect me to head to the nearest major airport, not drive five hours to take a flight east.

  I grew more and more uncertain of my actions the further away from Belle I got. The small town and the people in it had become my safe haven. Leaving my haven sent me into a tail spin. Panic gripped my chest, I pulled over in the middle of nowhere and waited for my breathing to level off.

  I thought of Titan and the night before. His hands and lips on me. His body over mine, surrounding me. Desire flooded my veins and replaced the panic I was feeling. One night with Titan had done what nothing else had been able to do, he gave me a reason to want to live. For so long, I had just been surviving. Since meeting Titan, I looked forward to seeing him. Even when we were arguing, it was like our form of foreplay.

  How the aggravating giant of a man had worked his way under my skin so completely was a mystery, but with every mile I drove away from him, I wanted nothing more than to be back with him. I grabbed my cell out of the glove box and replaced the battery. Once I turned it on, my missed calls and messages started pinging, alerting me to their presence. I went through the text from Phoenix first. Come back! Where are you? Mac please, come home.

  Tears filled my eyes as I knew what I was doing to my best friend. She's always been there, and I was causing her more worry and fear.

  I went through Titan’s messages next.

  Baby, come back. Trust me to take care of this. Don't do this. The tears that threatened with Phoenix’s messages, spilled over with Titan’s.

  I was about to check the voicemails when the phone rang. The number that flashed across the screen was one I didn't recognize, but I answered anyway.

  “Hello.”

  “It's about time you turned on your phone.” The voice on the other end was one I didn't recognize.

  “Who is this?” I sniffled and wiped the tears from under my eyes.

  “Hack.”

  I laughed, surprised at the voice on the other end of the phone. “Titan’s had you looking for me.”

  “No big surprise. He's gone off the deep end with you, though I can't imagine why.”

  The rude comment took me by surprise. “Well, you and I have at least one thing in common then. I don't know why either.”

  “Not what I meant, babe. I meant that he is crazy about you, even though you refuse to trust him. I get it. Not many people would survive what they did to you.”

  “What do you know about it?”

  “I saw the tapes.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “They taped it?” My chest started heaving again as I took in gulping breaths of air. They taped what they had done to me? I opened the door and retched out onto the side of the road.

  “That was pretty much my reaction when I saw it. I couldn't watch long.” I barely heard a word Hack said as bile continued to work its way up.

  “Go back, McKenzie. Let Titan take care of this. We have enough to bury Richards and his son without bringing you into it.”

  “I can't let Titan get hurt or killed because of a fight he never had anything to do with in the first place.”

  “That's horseshit, honey. You and I both know it. You're scared, and for good reason, but I guarantee you, after he watches those recordings, Richards and his son will be pushing up daisies.”

  “HE HAS THE RECORDINGS?” I screeched into the phone. If he saw them, he wouldn't want me. He'd know everything!

  “He's President of Belle chapter, he requested them and, against my suggestion otherwise, he wants to see them. They were sent out last night and should be there this afternoon. Turn around now, and you may be able to beat the delivery to Belle and stop him from seeing them.”

  “I was already going to turn around, that’s why I turned on my phone.”

  “I know.” Hack hung up without another word.

  The drive back felt lighter. My stomach wasn't full of knots, and I felt at peace. That said everything to me. Peace wasn't something I've had since before mom died. Titan gave it back to me.

  I pushed my foot down harder on the gas because I wanted to get those recordings before he got them, but mostly, I just wanted to get back to him. As the scenery around me turned familiar, an ache settled inside me, an ache that only he could fill. When I left, the ache I felt was fear and hurt, and coming back, it was one of need and coming home. It was then that something inside me broke and tears that I'd never let fall before, fell freely.

  I cried for my mother, and the path her death led me down. Tears for the hurt and pain Abby went through because of her connection to me. I cried for the girl I once was, the one whose innocence had been ripped away from her in the worst way. Finally, I cried for Titan and me, all the time we lost because my heart and body fought a war against my mind, my insecurities, and my fears.

  My tears dried as I drove closer to home, closer to him. I passed the turnoff to the house and headed through town. The restaurant was busy, but the bar was closed. A surge of guilt hit me as I drove past. I’d need to make it up to Piper, Hannah, and most of all, Abby. I had left them to run everything. Somehow, I'd set things right.

  I followed the road toward the clubhouse, hoping he would be there and scared that he wouldn't be or, worse, he'd be there with someone else. I prayed like I've never prayed before that I hadn't pushed him away for the last time.

  The parking lot was mostly empty. There were a few bikes, but none belonged to Titan. My nerves were strung tight as I got out of the truck and approached the club. The main room was empty, but I heard low voices coming from the kitchen, so I headed that way.

  Anita and Gavel were in the kitchen. She was wrapped tightly in his arms as she cried. “Where is he?” Anita’s head popped up at my voice then she moved from Gavel’s arms to wrap me in a hug.

  “Thank God.” She hugged me in the way a mother would hug her daughter. I hugged her back, relishing the feel of care and love I felt from her.

  “Please Anita,” I choked out around all the emotions I'd been feeling for the past several hours. “Please, where is he?”

  “At the house. I told him not to go there, but he's angry and, though he won't admit it, he's hurt.”

  “Are Piper and Declan there?”

  “Honey, he's not at that house. He's at the house he was building for you.”

  I needed to get to him, to make things right. Anita told me the house was off the main road, one driveway up. I headed back through the main room.

  “You don't deserve him.” The voice was familiar and matter of fact. I turned to see the girls of the club sitting on the couches. I recognized the two from that night, the one standing who spoke to me.

  “No, I don't. He deserves better than me but, for whatever reason, he has claimed me, and now I'm going to claim him.”

  She nodded and walked toward me. “You and Phoenix avoid us.” She nodded her head toward the other girls on the couches. “Why?”

  Even in my heels, this woman towered over me. She was beautiful, built like a damn Barbie. “We don't share, and Titan and Grit have been with you all.”

  She smiled and laughed. “Oh, but sharing can be so much fun.” She winked. “Yes, they have, but we know our place. They both made it clear that they wan
t nothing to do with us in that way anymore.” She took a deep breath and looked away, before looking back at me. I saw vulnerability and sadness flash in her eyes before she buried it. “We aren't a threat to y'all, and while we will miss them both sexually, we aren't into husband stealing. If a man steps out on his wife, that's on him. We won't try to seduce Grit or Titan, but we wouldn't turn them away if they came to us.”

  “Are you supposed to be making me feel better?” I couldn't hide my impatience and sarcasm.

  “Yes, because Titan would never come to us as long as he has you.”

  Grudgingly, Barbie was making me feel better. “Are you sure about that? I left him. I pushed him away again.”

  She nodded her agreement before she leaned down and whispered in my ear. “You did, but it's up to you if you let him go without a fight.”

  Hack was right, I shouldn't have watched the videos. The flash drive was on the counter, but my computer would need to be replaced. I made myself watch it all. She was forced to live it, I forced myself to watch so I could know every goddamned thing those bastards had done.

  After a few minutes in, I had to silence the volume because the sound of her screams and cries for help turned my stomach. The memories she carried in her head were now forever etched into mine. For the first time, I really knew a little about the demons she faced. Now, I just needed to find her so we could face them together.

  I grabbed my phone and was scrolling for Hack’s number when I heard the front door open. McKenzie stood there, her look of uncertainty showed her vulnerability. It took everything in me to stand still and not go to her. I clenched my jaw tight to keep from speaking to her first. This time, she needed to come to me.

  She started forward, taking in her surroundings. The house was in no way where I wanted it to be the first time she saw it. I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms, watching as she took in our home.

  McKenzie came to a stop in the archway between the kitchen and living room. Her eyes fell on the computer that lay in pieces on the floor. “I didn't make it back in time,” she whispered, more of a statement than a question. Her eyes met mine. They were wide, clouded with tears, fear, and shame. As much as I wanted to go to her and take her in my arms, her coming to me was too damn important.