Inferno Glory MC

by Jennifer Ann

  I guess it’s easier to say such things when you’re looking from the outside in at a situation, like through a window. The fact that Shawna married a wealthy older man and had his child somewhat made up for her shitty life, though I’d still like her to pay for taking such a large chunk of mine.

  Once she’s gone from the hotel room with one last apology that I refuse to acknowledge, Colt sits silently at my side, giving me time to process the fact that one of the member’s old ladies was the one calling the shots in the set-up that sent me away. Cheyenne must’ve been the one Axel was talking to the day I overheard him scheming my fate. But how do they know each other?

  Cheyenne only started dating Thunder recently. It doesn’t explain how she was involved in my business three years earlier—even mentioning the MC several times according to Shawna. And Shawna said Cheyenne had mentioned the MC several times. As hard as I try to make a connection between myself and Cheyenne, however, nothing fits. There must be something pretty big that I’m missing. It’s clear the only way I’m going to get the answers I’m looking for is to find the devious little bitch.

  “We have to go about this real careful, darlin’,” Colt says softly after awhile, running his fingers along the length of my arm. “You can’t go spookin’ Cheyenne, or she could go completely off the grid. I’ll have a tap put on her phone and spend the next couple of days followin’ her. In the meantime, we better keep it on the down-low until we know more.”

  So much for going on a bitch hunt. How does he expect me to sit still when I’m so much closer to seeking revenge? I sink against him. “What about Remmy… and the funeral?” I choke out the last word, still unable to believe that any of this is real. When I came back to the club to be with my family, I most certainly didn’t have my brother in mind. I wanted to be close to Remmy again—the man my father considered as special as any flesh and blood relatives he’d ever had. My second father and second chance at having a family are gone.

  Soft lips press to the side of my head. “Remmy was a good friend of the sheriff’s. He’ll be all over this investigation. I’ll do more diggin’ on your brother while I’m lookin’ for Cheyenne. And there’s nothin’ that can keep me from bein’ at your side for the funeral.” Locking his arms around me, he takes a deep breath and blows it out through his nose against my head. “Plannin’ on doin’ whatever it takes to make things right for you.”

  “I can’t believe he’s really gone,” I whisper as fresh tears roll down my cheeks. “I keep thinking this is just a bad dream and he’s sitting at his desk in the clubhouse.”

  “Losin’ people you love is never easy. But you know that. It’ll take time, darlin’. Your heart will never fully heal, but eventually you’ll accept that he’s gone, and hold tight to the memories. They’re sometimes all a person has to get through the day.”

  I shift in his arms to face him, brushing my fingertip against his wide bottom lip. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to lose both your parents at the same time in that car crash. At least I had a warning when Jawa was diagnosed with cancer.”

  The wounded look he gives me is heartbreaking, cutting through my heart like a knife. For a brief moment, I feel as if I can see the teenage boy who lost everything in one day. There are times when it seems nothing phases Colt Sawyer, but it’s beginning to look as if the tough guy act is cracking.

  “What about your mom?” he asks.

  Gut wrenching, I turn away. “It was sudden too, but I don’t like to talk about it.”

  His warm hand touches my jaw. “Tell me what I can do. Tell me how I can help make it better.”

  “You can take me to see my parents in the morning,” I answer quietly. “It’s time I visit their graves.”

  As one of the longest days of my life comes to a close, I fall asleep in Colt’s arms in the king sized hotel bed overlooking the city. Snuggled in the warm embrace of the man I love, I feel protected and at peace for the first time since Remmy died even if it’s just for a fleeing moment.

  In the morning, after a visit to the headstones on the edge of the city where my parents were buried side-by-side at Jawa’s request, I’m somehow calmed by the time we pull up to the clubhouse to retrieve our bikes. Still, I try to imagine what went down when Remmy died as I sit in Ranger’s pickup, staring at the building.

  Colt gives my hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to go in.”

  “Gonna have to at some point,” I answer, shrugging. “Kandi said they cleaned everything up.”

  Bringing my fingers to his mouth, he presses his lips over my knuckles. “Sure you don’t want me to stay here with you?”

  “I’ll be okay as long as I know you’re out looking for that conniving bitch,” I promise before taking his face in my hands and kissing him deeply.

  Humming, Colt gently pulls me in closer so as not to hurt my tender hip. One of his hands cups the small of my back and the other tangles in my hair as his tongue surges through my mouth. His kisses never fail to set a fire in my belly and leave me aching for more, so I’m a bit disappointed when he leans back.

  “Damn it, woman.” Pressing his forehead to mine, he takes a strand of my hair through his fingers. “The things you do to me.”

  As much as I’d love to strip down and fuck him in the middle of the parking lot, I move toward the door instead, flashing him my biggest smile. “Love you, baby.”

  His lips spread wide with the boyish smile that sets my insides ablaze every single time. “I know, darlin’. See you tonight at home.”

  Stepping out of the pickup and watching him drive away, I shiver with his words. Home, as in the place we will live together. It’s all suddenly becoming very real. I agreed to marry Colt Sawyer.

  At the time, I was emotional—gutted and freshly grieving—with the news of Remmy’s death and stunned at Axel’s announcement that he’s the new club president. Now that I have a moment to myself to digest it all, the truth settles in my bones. Holy shit. I’m about to become a club member’s old lady.

  But how much longer will Colt be a member before his cover is blown and how often will I want to come around if Colt doesn’t find a way to put Axel away? The MC won’t be the same without my father or Remmy and I only know a handful of the remaining members, so maybe it wouldn’t be as hard to leave it behind as I’ve feared. Maybe Colt and I could start our own club, one that allows men and women.

  Plagued with my nagging thoughts, I start toward the clubhouse and find Kandi and Lacey inside among the stench of bleach. They’re both eager to greet me with hugs, twin looks of concern pinching their expressions. Thankfully, they seem to be the only ones around.

  “What are you doing up and about?” Kandi asks in typical mother-hen fashion, setting her hands on her hips. “You should go home and rest.”

  “Came to get my bike and see if there’s anything I can do,” I say, trying to avert my gaze from Remmy’s office. A rock settles in my stomach when I realize I’ll never see the man who loved me like his daughter sitting behind his desk ever again.

  “Ingrid has everything taken care of,” Kandi answers with her lips drawn tight. “Funeral’s on Monday.” She reaches out to touch my arm. “Can I give you a lift? Your bike can stay here another day or two until you’re healed.”

  “I’m good,” I insist, shaking my head and turning from them. “Need the time to myself to think. See ya later.”

  “We all know Colt didn’t do it!” Lacey blurts behind me.

  Eyebrows raised, I turn back to her. “Who exactly are you including in this ‘we’ statement?”

  She pulls on a strand of her bright red hair, nervously twirling it through her fingers. “Everyone except Lucky. Don’t know how he became president, but most of the others aren’t too happy about it. They’re having another meeting this afternoon.”

  All at once Kandi’s shoulders slump and she gives me a guilt-ridden look. “I have no idea what’s going through Buzz’s head. Pretty much everyone knew Remmy wasn’t a fan of Lucky.
Why he thought Lucky should be president, I just don’t understand.”

  “This has nothing to do with you and Buzz,” I assure her with a gentle look. “Things will sort themselves out over time.” More like Colt will nail Axel’s ass before long, and this nightmare will be over.

  “I hope you’re right,” Kandi growls. “Havin’ that arrogant son of a bitch as the club president will drive this place into the ground.”

  And I’m sure that’s exactly what Axel wants. If Jawa wasn’t already dead, it would’ve killed him to see his so-called son dividing and then destroying our MC family.

  I head back to the apartment and nap on the couch. Colt returns around dinner with very little to report. He discovered Cheyenne has been staying in the trailer park with an old friend and she’s taken a job waitressing at a truck stop diner. After a hot night of Colt worshipping my body with sweet lovemaking, I crash hard and wake early the next morning to an empty bed.

  The next few days pass in a fuzzy haze of dropped charges against Colt, aimless rides by myself, a forged strain between me and my father’s old friends, and more dead ends for Colt as he looks for something to pin the person responsible for orchestrating my fate three years ago. It’s hard to say who Cheyenne should be more afraid of—me or Colt. While I’m starving for answers, Colt is intent on revenge. Though I do have to admit, the thought of knocking that little bitch on her ass is one of the few things that makes me want to get up every morning.

  In the blink of an eye, it’s the morning of Remmy’s service.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I see a procession of motorcycles stretching as far as the eye can see across the California highway. Nearly every MC in SoCal is represented, including the women's clubs and a few national chapters. My heart’s torn from my chest when I wonder if Jawa had this kind of a showing at his funeral. Now, more than ever before, I realize that I made a mistake by not being there for my father, but there’s nothing I can do to change the past. From this point on, the road can only take me forward—to a better and brighter future after what’s been a perilous and painful past.

  Colt rides a stone’s throw away on his brand new Heritage, square jaw clenched tightly, short locks blowing in the wind, sunglasses hiding the growing worry I see whenever he has looked my way since Remmy’s death. It continues to amaze me that the beautiful man belongs to me, even after he asked me to marry him. I still feel like I’m living out some kind of dream—like a fucked-up princess driving into the sunset with her drop-dead gorgeous prince dressed in leather.

  Whenever I look up ahead and see Buzz pulling the wheeled cart with Remmy’s casket inside and Axel—the club’s new president—riding at his side, I’m overcome with a blinding need to throw up. I’m so sure Axel was behind Remmy’s murder that I’d bet my life on it. Colt has been doing everything to try to prove it, including arranging for Axel to go into the sheriff’s office for questioning. But they couldn’t find anything to hold the devious little bastard on, so he wasn’t there long. It’s blasphemous that my brother rides beside the man he killed and has been given the power to control the MC he once hated and probably still detests. The traitorous asshole.

  There’s already a small gathering of mourners waiting at the gravesite when we pull into the cemetery and I’m pleased to see Mac among them. While we haven’t known each other long, we formed a deep connection after she directed Colt and me during our therapeutic session of sex and I knew from the start we’d be fast friends.

  By the time I dismount my bike and take Colt’s hand, they’ve begun carrying Remmy’s casket over to the waiting vault. A band in my chest becomes even tighter as we near the body of the man who was like a second father to me and I completely lose my shit. I just hope Colt is around to catch me when I fall.

  37

  COLT

  Seein’ the beautiful woman I’d move heaven and earth for collapse at the cemetery when she touched Remmy’s casket broke somethin’ inside of me that I didn’t know could be broken. Trainin’ for the SEALs made me resilient, but not equipped with what it takes to stand by as Harley’s heart gets stomped on time and time again. I wish I could take her pain away and absorb it as my own, but I know the damage has been done and left behind a path of destruction in its wake.

  I promised I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again and I fuckin’ failed. If I don’t lock this shit down with her brother and reward her with the kind of revenge she deserves, it’ll kill me. There’s nothin’ that can stop me from nailin’ that son of a bitch, even if I have to take things one step too far and cross the line on a job I’m ready to give up for her anyway.

  No fuckin’ way I’ll let him get away with hurtin’ her. That traitor is my problem now, one that is going to be gone real soon.

  From the day I found her sittin’ on her Sportster outside the MC, I knew she was tough as nails and unwillin’ to let anyone hurt her even though it’s happened time and time again. I had heard her story through the agency and was prepared for the possibility that she’d come back to the club, but I was caught off guard when I laid eyes on her. I swear I knew then and there that she’d one day make a mess of my heart. I just had no fuckin’ clue it would happen the moment I first kissed her.

  It wasn’t just the kiss that sealed the deal. It was the way her soft body moved against mine, the desperate way she looked at me when I touched her, the pleadin’ in her voice the first time I shared her with Ranger, the way she said my name when I stuck my tongue inside her pussy. She’s at her most vulnerable when I’m touchin’ her, whether she knows it or not. Everything about her drives me wild, making it hard to keep my hands off her when we’re in public.

  I’m not one to believe in karma, or love at first sight, or any of that new age shit, but there was definitely some kind of force that drew us together the day she was released from prison. I was so afraid of what she’d do when she learned that I work for the government, but even that didn’t send her runnin’, though maybe it should’ve. I never thought I could get so lucky in life and ever find a gal who is the woman of my dreams like Harley. She is my other half. My soulmate. My everything.

  Some days I worry that she’ll be forced to choose between me and the club once the truth comes out. I don’t know if I can stand to watch her struggle with the choice. Guess if I really love her, I won’t put her in the position to begin with. I’ll cross that bridge if and when it comes into sight.

  After the service at the cemetery, the clubhouse was packed full of members from surrounding charters. Eventually they scattered until it was just the guys in the club and our old ladies. Givin’ Harley space has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, especially when all I wanna do is hold her until the pain disappears, but it’d only smother her and she’d hate it. Best she’s left to feel the raw emotions of losin’ someone who meant so much to her, so I casually watch her from a distance.

  Ranger approaches when he sees me standin’ alone in the corner. He grips my hand in his before slappin’ my back. “Been a shitty day, hoss.”

  “Got that right,” I say, taking a swig of my beer when he steps back.

  I’ve been dreadin’ the day when my closest buddy discovers that I work for the government. I’ve never had a friend like Ranger, though I was pretty tight with some of the guys I served with in the SEALs. I’d do anything for him and I know it goes both ways. Times like this, when I’m reminded of how deep it’s become, I’m completely gutted—though it’s still not as terrifyin’ as the fact that Harley could still decide to leave me at any moment when either promises are broken or more lies are told.

  Ranger tips his head in Harley’s direction. “How’s she holdin’ up?”

  “Between Remmy’s death and Axel takin’ over, I don’t know how much more she can take. We both know she’s tough as hell, but the way her luck’s goin’, I’m gettin’ real worried.”

  I glance over to where she sits at the bar between Kandi and Ingrid, sippin’ from a plastic cup like a damn robot. Her stubbor
n ass won’t admit she’s in pain around everyone else, though I’m sure by now they can all sense it. What I wouldn’t give to pull her outta here right this minute and make love to her until we both pass out.

  “She keeps drinkin’ like that and she’s gonna feel ten times worse in the mornin’,” Ranger comments with a growl. “Time to pull the plug.”

  I hum in agreement. “Suppose I should see if she’s ready to head home.”

  Hands stuffed in his pockets, Ranger tips his chin at my beer. “You’ve both had more than enough to drink. I can give you a ride and bring you back to get your bikes in the mornin’.”

  Slappin’ Ranger’s hand and tapping his knuckles in the way we have reserved for only each other, I nod. “Good plan. Thanks, brother.”

  I make my way over to Harley and set my hand on the small curve of her back. As always, she shivers with my touch when I lean in to push my face inside her hair. I’ll never get enough of her womanly scent that stirs a combination of need and a feelin’ of heaven and home. Can’t remember the last time I felt that way, though it was probably before my grandma and parents passed. “Ready to call it a night, darlin’?”

  When her soulful brown eyes turn to me, I rub a circle against her back while tryin’ to fight back a sudden hard-on. It’s enough that she’s got a killer body with serious muscle tone and long, beautiful dark hair that feels like milkweed inside my hand. But when those beautiful eyes catch mine, releasin’ all the pain and love she tries to hide from the rest of the world, I’m reminded how lucky I am to have her in my life, as my girl. My future wife.

  I know she’s in mourning, but Jesus Christ, if she only knew what that single look can do to me. That single look unravels me—tearing at my heart and making me come alive with emotions I never thought I had.

  “It’s early,” she answers in a monotone voice.