by Silver James
NIGHT SHIFT
Nightriders MC #1
By
Silver James
NIGHT SHIFT is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
NIGHT SHIFT
COPYRIGHT © 2015 by Silver James
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact: [email protected]
Cover design © by Clary Carey, [email protected]
Images: www.depositphotos.com
Handsome Man Portrait©Subbotina
Motorcycle in flames ©3quarks
Wolf jump illustration ©I.Petrovic
Wheel illustration ©Aleksander1
Edited by Gregory Alan
Published digitally in the United States of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Dear Reader:
BOOKS
Acknowledgements
About the Author
BOOK LINKS:
Chapter 1
EASY
TROUBLE WALKED THROUGH the door lookin’ for me. This sorry excuse for a titty bar, nearly a hundred miles outside of Kansas City, straddled the very edge of the Nightriders’ home territory, but the old pervert who owned the place paid us protection and collection money. Or he had. The two fuckers struttin’ their stuff toward the bar were askin’ for a beat down, and I was ready to hand one out. The bartender flicked his eyes my way. He knew what was comin’. I could handle these boys with my eyes shut. They bellied up to the bar, and I got a good look at their colors.
Fuck. Hell Dogs. What the hell—no pun intended—were they doin’ in our territory? These fuckwads needed a geography lesson. We’d heard rumors about them movin’ north, but they’d have to be dumb-butt crazy to think they could take us on. As much as I wanted to prove that point, my duty was clear. I needed to get word back to my brothers. Everything in me wanted to beat the shit out of them and haul their stinking carcasses back to the Nightrider clubhouse for some fun and games before we dumped ’em back in their own territory with our patch carved in their skin.
The front door banged open, and five more of the motherfuckers walked in like they owned the place. Shit. I’d been assigned to the night shift—riding Nightrider territory checking out our properties, providing security, and collecting rents. There’d been no whiff of Hell Dog activity on our borders. The Nightriders were national with chapters in every fucking state but here in the Kansas City area? The territory was ours and had been for years. I was tougher than most, but even I couldn’t take out that many men.
Discretion was definitely the better part of valor at the moment. I needed to get the hell away so I could contact the MC. Luckily, I was sitting in the very back booth and had a straight shot to the bathrooms and back exit. I’d parked behind the building just in case the local cops cruised by. They fuckin’ loved bustin’ our asses.
I made it clear of the bar and the parking lot and was about a mile down the highway before I pulled out my cell to phone home. No reception. Figures. I was in Bumfuck, Nowhere. I kicked my Harley into high gear, headed toward the center of Nightriders’ territory.
I’d been cruisin’ about an hour and figured it was time to check for bars again. I looked at my cell and had a couple. Pulling to the side of the road so I could hear, I hit the button for the clubhouse and listened to the call go through. One of the prospects answered, and I asked for Hardass.
They say you never hear the bullet that kills you. Who the fuck are they, and how the hell would they know? They ever been shot? I heard the motherfucker about one second after it blasted a hole through my side. I managed to stay on my bike, and get the hell back on the road, but lost my cell. Running dark on the highway, I laid some fancy moves to lose those bastards trying to kill my ass. Back roads. Tight curves. Didn’t matter. They remained on my tail.
Evidently those pussies had pissed on all the road signs to mark their territory. Hardy, the Nightrider vice-president would not be a happy camper when I got back. Because I happened to be wearin’ a cut with the right colors, those gawddamned Hell Dogs figured to shoot my ass and ask questions over my dead body. Only I don’t die that easy. These bastards were moving into our territory, and I needed to get back to the clubhouse to let the brothers know.
I managed to keep my bike upright for another ten, maybe fifteen miles—not quite far enough to make it home. I was losin’ blood like a stuck pig and laid my bike down trying to take a curve. If I hadn’t been half unconscious already, it woulda hurt like a sumbitch.
The five fuckers chasin’ me passed by on the road. They wouldn’t know I’d crashed for awhile. This part of the road was all up, down, around and through the hills. I needed help but, with no cell phone, had no way to get it. I managed to sit up and look around. I saw lights through the trees and figured that had to be civilization. I dragged my sorry ass through the woods and found a farmhouse. I didn’t have much gas left, but I made it to the porch and knocked on the door. Nobody came. I kept hammerin’ away, until I passed out. Sort of.
Things went black for a bit, and then I smelled cinnamon rolls and antiseptic. Weird fuckin’ combo. A woman leaned over me, and I focused on her face. She looked worried. And scared.
“You’re hurt.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“I need to call 9-1-1.”
“No.”
“But—”
I grabbed her wrist and squeezed. I might be hurt, but I wasn’t down for the count yet. She squeaked and dropped something. It shattered next to my head. A cell phone. Dammit. I could have called the club.
“Get me inside.” I gave her arm a shake then let go.
With effort, she helped me to my feet and inside, no easy feat given my size. Or hers. She laid me out face down on a damn table in the kitchen. She went dead still but for her eyes. Damn if they didn’t look like she’d been tokin’ for a week. She saw my club patch. And recognized it. With a lot of effort, she turned me over and checked my wound.
“Y-you’ve been shot.” She finally blinked a couple of times, inhaled and then looked over her shoulder. “Jonah, go get my kit.”
There was a dude here? I pushed up. She pushed down.
“Got it, Mom.”
A kid. I relaxed.
I could feel him hovering so I turned my head. He was standing against the wall, big-eyed, and pale. Another kid—a little girl in pigtails—peeked out from behind him.
“This is going to hurt.”
“It already fuckin’ hurts
, babe.”
She pressed her lips together and tsked. She fucking tsked. Who does that besides an old maid school teacher?
Ms. Prim and Proper was wearin’ scrubs. Like a nurse. And she had a hellava first aid kit.
“I’m Easy.” My real name is Elijah. Elijah Cross. Some asshole decided usin’ my initials for my road name would be funny. Since he was the prez of the MC, I damn sure wasn’t gonna get in a pissin’ match over it. Arguing with the Russian just gets you dead.
“You’re a Nightrider.” She pointed in the general direction of my 1% patch. That diamond meant the Nightriders were not the good guys. We were outlaws all the way. Her hand fell away and her throat did something funny. Huh. I’d never seen a woman gulp in fear before.
“Yeah. That a problem?”
She gulped again. I watched her throat work, and my damn dick went all stupid. Like the fucker had any chance in hell of getting between those sweet lips.
“Who shot you?”
“Hell Dogs.”
The color drained from her face. I’d never seen that either, but damn if that wasn’t exactly the way it worked. She was all red-faced one second and completely white the next.
“They can’t find you here.”
“No shit.” I was hangin’ on to consciousness by my fingernails. “Call my club. Somebody’ll come get me.”
She glanced at the front door. The kid darted that way, squatted down where I couldn’t see him. When he came back he held a cell phone—the one that had shattered on the concrete when I made her drop it. “I-I can’t. I don’t have a land line, only my cell.”
“Hip pocket.” She’d need my phone for the number.
She eased me over and patted my hip pockets before she tried the front ones. Nothing. Fuck. Now I remembered dropping the thing when I got shot. Could this night get any worse?
“I need to get the bullet out. I-I don’t have anything to…I don’t have any anesthetic.”
Yeah, it could get worse. I’d dumped my bike, lost my phone, and I was bleeding. No fuckin’ way was I going to a hospital or back into Hell Dog territory. That still pissed me off. The Russian was not gonna be a happy camper. He, Hardass, and Gravedigger—the inner council—needed to know what was goin’ on.
“Just do it.”
She did. Watching her face all crinkled up in concentration, I realized she was a pretty woman. She didn’t like looking me in the eye, but under the circumstances, not sure I blamed her. I mean, a fuckin’ one-percenter shows up on her porch bleedin’ like there’s no tomorrow, and she has to do surgery on her kitchen table.
Her kid—Jonah—helped. Surprised the hell out of me. Stoic little shit. He fetched and carried without a word. Even brought me a bottle of tequila. She wouldn’t let me drink much, said it’d thin my blood and keep it from clotting, but a little would be okay. I ate the damn worm.
Somehow, she got me patched up, back on my feet and climbing stairs to a bedroom on the second floor. Hers from the look of it. She laid me down, and Jonah went to work on my boots. He found both my knife and my hide-out pistol before I remembered they were there. His mom took ’em from him and set them on the table beside the bed.
“Don’t touch those, Jojo.”
“Is the gun loaded, Mom?”
I managed to mumble, “Yes.”
“Okay.” He stared at me, blinking like one of those fuckin’ owls in that movie about the wizard kid. “I’ll make sure Noni doesn’t touch it either.”
Noni must be the little girl. She was a creeper, staying just out of sight but peeking around corners or her brother.
“It’s way past bedtime, sweetie. You and Noni go get ready, and I’ll come tuck y’all in.”
Pretty Woman had a touch of southern. Reminded me of honeysuckle and sweet tea whenever she talked.
“Do I hav’ta take a bath tonight?”
Her shoulders sort of caved in around her chest as she shook her head. “It’s late. You can skip tonight.”
“Cool.” He peeked around her, grinning at me. “G’night, mister.”
Huh. You’d think bloody bikers showed up every night, the way the kid acted. I watched the woman, wondering if maybe that was the case. She’d recognized my colors and the name of the Hell Dogs.
“Uhm…where’s your motorcycle? I didn’t hear you ride up.” She fidgeted and smoothed her hands down her pant legs like her palms were sweatin’.
“Dumped it, back out on the road.”
“That explains the road rash. I’ll need to debride that soon.”
Watching her, I could almost see the thoughts tumbling around in her brain. She finally came to a decision. “The Hell Dogs…will they come looking for you?”
I shrugged, which set off another chain reaction of her thoughts. “Not sure. They’ll probably back track, though. My bike’s off the road but come daylight, they might see the skid marks.”
“I’ll go look for it. Try to move it here to the barn or at least hide it out of sight so no one can see it. In case…well, just in case.”
“What’s your name?”
Her brow crinkled, and her lips did this little pooch thing. Purse. That was the word. Her lips pursed, and damn if my dick didn’t sit up take notice. Again. Even looking exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, she was a pretty woman. Blue eyes. Thick lashes. Full lips. And pale blonde hair, sorta silver and gold combined, pulled back in a tail.
“Uhm…you should sleep.”
Smart woman, too. Pretty Woman. That’s what I called her in my head. PW. I snorted. Yeah, I bet she could pussy whip a man, too.
“So…uhm…I better get going. You know, in case…”
My life was in her hands. She could grab her kids, take off, leave me here. Wouldn’t blame her. Frankly? I was too damn tired and hurt to care. “Yeah.”
I never heard her leave the house.
Chapter 2
EASY
NEAR AS I COULD FIGURE, I was in and out of consciousness for about two days. Sometimes, Pretty Woman was there changing the bandage. Once, the boy was there, offering me water. Everything was sort of hazy—like I was watching the world through a dream. I had the chills. Then I was burning up. I slept. When I woke up, I felt almost human. Well, as human as someone like me can. Because I am almost human. But not quite. I’m a Wolf. We have this crazy-ass gene that lets us shift into wolf form.
I sat up without dying and inhaled. Little kid sweat. Lemon oil. Dryer sheets that pretended to smell like lavender. I ate the soup Jonah brought me. Chicken noodle. From a can. But it was hot and tasted okay. What I really wanted was red meat. Rare.
When the boy came back to get the bowl, he stood there staring.
“What?”
“You gonna stay here long?”
“Just until I can get on my bike and get out of here.”
“Oh.” Jonah looked nervous, and he dug the toe of his sneaker against the floor.
“Why? You want me to stay?”
His eyes flicked over my face before he lowered them. “Do you think my mom is pretty?”
What the fuck? I had no clue where this conversation was headed but I’d play along. “Sure. Why?”
“Might you wanna stay and maybe take care of her?”
“Seems like your mom can take care of herself.”
He shook his head. “Not really.” Jonah darted to the door and looked out before creeping back to stand next to the bed. “Some of the men she gets messed up with? They aren’t very nice.”
Heh. If the kid thought I was a better alternative, those other men must have been real bastards. “I’m not very nice, kid.”
He stared at me long enough that I wanted to bite him or something. “No, you aren’t. But you haven’t tried to hurt her. Or us.”
I heard the front door open and close and so did the kid. He reeked of guilt as he backed out of the room, and I wanted to sneeze to clear my nose of the rotten egg smell. I figured I needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. I was in
way over my head, and I didn’t want to bring trouble to this family. I wasn’t a nice guy but I wasn’t an asshole. At least not to folks who’d been good to me. I tried to hear the conversation goin’ on downstairs but only picked up murmurs. I drifted off before I could figure out what they were talking about.
I woke up and jerked backwards. That creepy little girl was standing next to the bed, staring at me. Noni. The kid never talked—just creeped around and sucked her thumb. She’d never been alone with me, and I wasn’t sure what to do. She blinked a couple of times. Her eyes were blue, but a blue so deep it was almost purple. She reached out and I held my breath. A cookie appeared on my bare chest. A vanilla wafer. Shit. I hadn’t eaten one of those since I was a kid about her age.
“For me?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. I picked it up and put it in my mouth. She reached out again but this time she poked my cheek with one finger. I stopped chewing and watched. She stuck her finger in her mouth, almost like she was tasting me. It was weird as hell. Then she puckered, kissed her fingertips and laid them on my cheek. My eyes burned for no reason I could figure out and damn if they didn’t go all wet when she smiled at me.
When I blinked, Noni turned and slipped out the door. I don’t know what the hell had just happened, but it felt like I’d passed some sort of little kid test. It was fuckin’ strange but kinda cool at the same time.
I fell asleep—or passed out—still thinking about it. I could have been out five minutes or five hours. I was damn tired of losing tine. Then Pretty Woman appeared in the doorway. One eye was black and her lip was split. What the hell?
“You need to leave.”
Well, her message was fuckin’ plain enough. I’d obviously outstayed my welcome. “Sure.” I pushed up and only grimaced a little. I was a lot better. The stitches pulled and itched, but I could breath and sit and the same time. Progress. “Where are my pants?”
Jonah pushed past her, a pair of jeans in his hands. “These’ll fit enough to get you to the car.”