Roman

by K. J. Dahlen

  “Flynn ruined so many lives…” She took a deep breath and let it out, “I can try to forgive Donny. I think my mother would have wanted me to. He needs to be at peace. She was all about family too and doing the right thing. If he will give me time, I would like to see him again.”

  Leon leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “That’s all we can hope for in the end is that we all find peace. I’ll let Donavan know of your decision.” He then turned and left as quietly as he arrived.

  Cassie reached up and turned the light off. Laying in the darkness, she prayed for Donny to have peace as well. She also prayed she would never see him again. That part of her life was over and she didn’t want it back.

  ~* * * *~

  Six months later

  Cassie winced as Peaches’ grip tightened on her hand.

  “Oh God, I can’t do this anymore!” Peaches groaned.

  “Yes, you can and you will,” Cassie admonished her softly. She wiped the sweat from her best friend’s brow and held on while the pain gripped her. The hand Peaches was holding was being crushed at the moment but neither of the women cared. One of them was in the pains of childbirth and the other was trying to get her through it. Right now, that’s all that mattered.

  “Where the hell is Iceman?” she screamed. “He said he would be here.”

  “Honey, he’s on his way. So are your dad and grandfather. They were at the shop looking at the renovations Iceman was making when I called him earlier,” Cassie reminded her. “You’re the one who didn’t want him to know until now that you were in labor.”

  “Yeah, I know but he should be here by now!” Peaches yelled as yet another pain gripped her belly. “I can’t have this baby until he’s here. Tell the baby to wait for his daddy. He has to be here for the birth, he just has to.”

  The door opened up and a frantic Iceman joined them. “I’m here baby.”

  Cassie got up and leaned over the bed. Cupping Peaches’ face between her hands she said, “I’ll leave you two alone. I love you baby girl. Make me proud.”

  Peaches shook her head. “Please don’t leave me. I need you both here for this.”

  Cassie turned her head and looked at Iceman.

  He smiled and nodded. “Please stay. She really wants you to.”

  Cassie sat back down. “Okay, but this is something you two should be doing together.”

  The door opened and the doctor walked in. “Okay, Mrs. Caulder, let’s see how close you are to being a mother. He went to stand between Peaches’ legs. When he lifted the sheet he smiled. “I do believe that time is right now. I can see the baby’s head crowning. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, let’s do this!” Peaches screamed as the pain overwhelmed her one more time. The pressure to push made her groan as she began to push. The next few minutes were busy as the pain rushed through her. With one hand in Iceman’s and the other holding on to the best friend she ever had, she let out one last scream and pushed. Soon, she felt her baby slip out. The first cry startled her and then tears flowed as she heard Iceman call out to her, “It’s a boy. We have a son.”

  Peaches laughed as she cried. The pain of the last few hours was gone as the doctor placed her son on her chest. She couldn’t believe it and her fingers shook as she outlined her son’s head and face. “Cassie, I have a son. Iceman, we have a son.”

  Cassie got to her feet. Her own tears blinded her and she leaned forward to kiss Peaches on the forehead. “We did it, now we both have families again, and this time, no one can take them away from us. We’re whole again.”

  “Oh Cassie, we both got our dream,” Peaches told her softly. She lifted her right thumb and showed Cassie her thumb. Cassie pressed her right thumb against the slight scar they both shared. Flashing back to when they were both just kids they remembered well the vow they had taken in that damn cave. Both had wanted more out of life than they had and the vow they took became their dream of a new life, a better life, a life they didn’t dare hope would be theirs one day. But now, that dream was very real for both of them.

  ~* * * *~

  Iceman watched as they both cried. Peaches had shared their dream with him in the darkness of a night not so long ago. When they had lived in the cave just outside of Boston, both girls had made a vow with one another. They vowed to both have a child one day, a child that would share their dreams of becoming a real family. Cassie had gotten her part six months ago when her babies were born but now the dream was real for both of them. Now, they both had babies of their own and men that loved them beyond all their dreams.

  He sat back and enjoyed sharing their moment. The new shop was doing great, the new club was doing even better. He and Peaches finally had a place they could call home, and they had gotten married three months ago.

  She had wanted to wait but he hadn’t. Her father and grandfather almost killed him but he wanted what Deke and Cassie had and he didn’t want to wait for a big wedding with flowers and a church. He convinced her to join him in a simple ceremony. The wedding had been a simple one conducted in the dooryard of the club but it was the one place where nothing else mattered but the two of them.

  Cassie had made it special by decorating the dooryard with ribbons of bright colors and hanging flowers. Deke and Deacon had built a simple arch and platform for them to stand on and later, there had been tables full of food laid out nearby waiting for them to feast on. The whole wedding took three days to plan and execute, but it had been the longest three days of his life. The whole club had come together to make this day one of the very best.

  Calderone and Leon hadn’t quite seen it that way as they had plans of a bigger wedding in mind for Peaches but she had agreed and the day they got married with friends and family surrounding them had been one of the best days in her life. He would never forget the look of awe in her face as they stood there after saying their vows. The sun had broken out from behind the clouds that day, just as he leaned in to seal their vows with the first kiss of their married life and had bathed them in rays of light so bright he was blinded for a moment.

  He never thought he would get married but he had never known a woman like Peaches before either. She was everything he needed to make his life whole and he loved the hell out of her. She had made his life complete and he had been happy with just the two of them. Then she’d given him a son. Iceman looked at his family and decided life couldn’t get any better than this.

  SIN’S BASTARDS

  VOLUME TWO

  Part One

  Satan’s Spawn MC Series

  SAMPLE 1

  KJ DAHLEN

  Prologue

  Melora blew the smoke out of her mouth and sighed. It was long after midnight and she was taking a short break. The noise from the bar was muted behind her but she could still hear the hum of people and music. The shadows of the night and the dumpster Melora was hiding behind hid her from the populace but she didn’t care. She gazed down at the dirty alley she was in and suppressed a grimace. She should be used to this sort of place but it didn’t mean she didn’t want something better.

  Sighing, she scratched an itch under her wig and pushed the hairpiece back into place. The long dark brown hairpiece hid her real hair and had since she’d gotten to town. She wore several wigs over the time she’d been here, all different colors. Some days, she was blonde and others she wore a red wig. For the last few weeks, she’d worn a dark wig. She hadn’t been seen in her own colored hair for a while now, except in the privacy of her own home but that was okay. She felt the need to hide at least a small part of herself from the rest of the world, for her own protection.

  She’d been in places like this most of her young life. Chicago wasn’t any different than Raleigh in a way. There were seedy bars and run down neighborhoods all over the world, or at least her part of the world. She’d been born in Chicago twenty four years ago to a single mother. Her mother Carla had done the best she could being a single woman with no skills. Carla always tried to give her what she could but it didn�
�t always work out the way either of them wanted.

  Her father wasn’t in the picture and never had been. Her mother always told her he left after only a week with her because he had a whole world yet to discover but as long as she had her mom, then everything seemed good. Carla told her once she tried to find him to tell him about the baby but she never could locate him.

  It was only after her mother died when she was ten that her life went to hell. She’d known what being loved and cherished felt like when her mother had been alive and in one fleeting moment, she’d lost that feeling. As hard as she tried, she never found it again. The foster system was severely broken and she became one of the many who slipped through the cracks. She’d gone through six years of pure hell and the day she turned sixteen, she walked away from all the bullshit her life had been and made her own way in the world. Keeping herself hidden for the first two years had been hard but it was better than going back into the system.

  Melora took a deep breath and blew it out. She didn’t waste time thinking about the past. It was over and done…she couldn’t change it. All she could do was pray and work for her future. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew deep down in her heart, she had turned those feelings of hope into something else. She’d become tired of hurting so she wouldn’t allow herself to feel at all. It was better that way. If she had no expectations, she never felt let down.

  The air around her had cooled after the sun set and now it chilled her overheated skin. The sweat beading on her skin just five minutes ago, already dried on her face and she could feel her body cooling down. Flicking the cigarette away from her, she closed her eyes and rested for a moment before she went back to work.

  When she heard the back door open, she groaned and ducked down behind the dumpster. She wasn’t quite ready to go back inside yet. She frowned when she heard sounds of a struggle and peeked over the top of the dumpster that partially hid her.

  Her eyes widened when she saw the five men move away from the doorway. Four of them belonged to the local MC, The Ghosts of Dixie while the fifth was Baily Walker. The four Ghosts of Dixie men were Whiskey, Micah, Jonesy and a man they called Lightning. They were four men she wouldn’t want to run into alone that’s for sure.

  Of the four Ghosts of Dixie men, her eyes widened as she saw the man they called Whiskey throw a punch hitting Baily in the stomach. When Baily doubled over Whiskey drew the big ass knife he always carried from the sheath under the back of his jacket. Whiskey was known around town for this knife, it was something he always carried, and unfortunately, he was known to use it. The knife looked huge and as he twirled it in his hand, Melora saw the light gleam off the wide steel blade. The handle was hand carved ebony bone with their club emblem carved on it.

  Melora watched as the four men circled Baily and Whiskey moved in. They were yelling at Baily telling him his uncle couldn’t help him now. Baily tried to fight back but one man against four didn’t stand a chance. He did connect one punch against Jonesy.

  Jonesy faltered a step but came right back. His fist hit Baily in the jaw and before he could drop to the ground, Whiskey grabbed his shirt and held him up.

  For a brief second, Melora thought the fight was over then she saw a certain look come over Whiskey. Crazy entered his eyes and Melora knew it wasn’t going to end well for Baily. A look of pure rage passed across his features, the kind of rage only death could calm. It seemed as if someone else took him over as Whiskey’s hand shot forward and the knife embedded itself in Baily’s chest. Shock then severe pain could be seen on Baily’s face as he crumbled to his knees. Whiskey shoved Baily away from him.

  Melora gasped softly as she saw Baily hit the street. Blood pooled under him as his shirt suddenly turned from blue to purple as blood poured from the wound on his chest.

  Ducking down behind the dumpster, she prayed none of the men had seen or heard her. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest and echoed loudly in her ears.

  “What the fuck did you do, man?’ Micah called out. Running his fingers through his hair as he stared at the body lying in front of him. “You weren’t supposed to kill him! Raven isn’t gonna like this. He warned us to beat some sense into him but not kill him. This little piece of shit owed him big money.”

  “Shut up you moron.” Whiskey seethed. “Raven isn’t gonna know shit. As long as nobody here tells him, he won’t know the little shit is dead. We’ll take the body out of town and dump him in the woods. He won’t be found for months, if he’s found at all. Wild hogs have been known to visit those woods.”

  “What are we gonna tell the boss?” Jonesy asked.

  “We tell him we found him and passed along his message. He was alive and well the last we saw him,” Whiskey told them. He looked over at Micah. “Go get the truck. We’ll load him up and get the fuck out of here before anyone is the wiser.”

  Melora slid down until she was crouching behind the dumpster. She didn’t want anyone to know she was there. Waiting until Micah backed the truck up to where Baily could be loaded into the truck bed, she watched as they got back in and took off.

  She didn’t wait any longer. She opened the back door of the bar then headed into the break room, she took her bag and jacket and left. She wasn’t taking the chance of being discovered. She knew Whiskey wouldn’t hesitate to silence her if he was aware of what she’d just witnessed.

  Melora then ducked into the bar and grabbed her tip bucket.

  Gloria glared at her as she poured another beer from the tap but Melora didn’t care. She grabbed the bills in the bucket, stuffing them in her pocket she put the bucket back and left out the back door.

  Running to her car, she got in and started the engine. Driving away, she sped through the near empty streets of Raleigh and made good time to her apartment.

  The two bedroom apartment wasn’t in a very good part of town but that never bothered her before tonight. Hurriedly, she unlocked the door and rushed inside. Entering her room, she got her duffel bag and began throwing her clothes inside. Opening her closet, she grabbed a couple of wigs she had there and stuffed them in as well. Then she went to her bathroom, lifted the cover for the toilet tank and reached inside, grabbing the baggie she’d hidden there.

  Then she went to the kitchen and opened her freezer. Moving a few items, she grabbed the black pouch under the ice cream and slammed the door shut. Then she went to the coffee table in the middle of her living room. Reaching underneath she pulled out the drawer and carefully pealed off the envelope she taped there. One thing life had taught her was to always be prepared. She’d learned this lesson well enough to survive. She didn’t dare even leave her roommate a note, the less she knew the better.

  Pulling the duffel bag over her shoulder, she paused by the closet long enough to grab the smaller bag she’d packed already. Then without looking back, she left the place she called home for the last eighteen months.

  She hoped her friend Izzy would understand her leaving but right now, she had no choice. Then it occurred to her she needed to make one more stop before she got the hell outta dodge.

  ~* * * *~

  Two years later found her in the town of Troy, New York. She’d become so tired of the mess her life had become. When she left Raleigh, she thought she was getting away safely but that hadn’t been the case.

  When Whiskey and the others came back to the bar Gloria asked them what happened in the alley. Everything went to hell after that.

  When Melora called her a few days later, Gloria admitted the conversation with Whiskey. Gloria told her Whiskey was seriously pissed when he left. Gloria said she’d quit her job and was laying low until it blew over, whatever it was.

  So, for the past two years Melora had been dodging Whiskey and his friends. Living in fear day after day, city after city. They’d almost found her in Charlotte and again, in Newport News. She’d barely gotten away from them in Dover and in Trenton. The last time they found her was six days ago in Boston.

  She’d been working at a diner and was comin
g back from a bank run one afternoon. She’d parked her car in the back of the diner and walked through the back door when she heard Whiskey at the front counter asking about her. Keeping out of the hallway, she left the bank receipts on Herman’s desk and slipped out the back door. She drove away like the devil had been after her. In truth, he was. An hour later, she called her old boss from a pay phone at a truck stop along the highway and quit her job.

  Now she was in Troy, New York. She’d been here ever since, moving from place to place trying to keep out of trouble and still stay hidden.

  Under the cover of darkness, she’d driven all over the city, searching for a place she could call home. She found an abandoned warehouse in the old part of town. Next door was a garage called Sin’s Bastards Custom Motorcycles and she watched all day as members of the local MC came and went.

  Keeping out of sight during the day wasn’t a problem for her as she often left before the sun came up and stayed away until way after dark. She’d found several safe places to hang out during the daylight hours. One of them was a place called Redemption House. People came and went from there all day long. It was nothing for her to slip inside and watch the day to day comings and goings from there. At least there, she was out of the weather and could get something hot to eat. She’d been real careful not to be remembered and tried not to bring any attention to herself.

  Then two days ago, something changed. She thought she heard the whine of Whiskey’s cycle. She didn’t know why but she could pick out the whine of his cycle over all the others she heard on a daily basis. It was almost as if it had its own sound that screamed, evil is here…Look out.

  She looked around but couldn’t find it. Just to be safe she stayed in the warehouse, out of sight until she could determine if Whiskey had indeed found her yet again. She hadn’t heard his bike in a couple of days but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here.