The time will come in your life when things will shift. It’s called change, and baby, we all have to go through it. Mary Alice will give this letter to your dad so that he can determine when the time is right for you to have this piece of me, this piece of our life, and this piece of advice for your future.
I hope that, as you read this, you have come to terms with the decisions your dad and I made many years ago about having a club life. Although exhilarating at times, the Hellions didn’t come to be because of some need for a thrill ride, Doll. No matter what direction life takes the club, please go back to the roots of it all and remember it’s family, loyalty, and love above all else.
Your father took a stand for what he believed in many years ago, and the Hellions formed out of necessity to keep those closest to him safe. Times weren’t always easy, and my precious, as much as I want your life to be simple and smooth, you, too, will have to ride through the rough patches as they come.
We could have walked away from the club many times, and maybe we should have—I don’t know. What I do know is, if you’re reading this, the club stands firm. Understand that no matter what the dangers, the risks, and the losses we faced, the club continues out of love and loyalty. Ride until we die.
Doll, the Hellions are your family, your safe place, and your father will stand strong until the time comes that he feels it’s right to pass along what it means to be a leader.
Blaine is a man of great pride. Doll, you have to know he’s proudest of you. In saying this, you will also need to know that, when the time comes, it will be out of pride that things come to a head, and your dad will make decisions, very hard decisions. And I can’t predict the future, my precious, but I know he does so with your best interest at heart.
I write you this letter so you understand you are a Hellion through and through. The love Blaine and I have for you, the club also has for you.
My time with you is all too short, my Delilah, but please know that I leave you my heart.
My heart is full of love for your dad, you, our club, and the future. My heart is full of loyalty to those who have never let me down.
My heart is full of hope for you, my daughter. I hope that you find the love of a man who is strong, a man who will not back down in the tough times yet love you tenderly each and every night. My hope for you is a future where you can watch your man take his place in something he believes in and ride until you die. Doll, you stand with him as he does so. It won’t be easy, but my girl, you have my strength; you can stand strong against every curve in life’s road.
My hope for you is to have children just as wonderful as you are who can give you back the love you gave to your dad and me.
My hope for you, my dearest Doll, is that no matter what, you know yourself inside and out. You know where you came from, what you believe in, and that, when life gives you choices on which path to take, you ride strong on the path least taken.
Be fearless, my Delilah, love hard, and remember where you came from.
I’m always with you, watching over you. Carry my heart with you, carry my love through you, and ride every curve with pride and loyalty.
Loving you through eternity,
Mom
Tears fall down my daughter’s face as she finishes the letter, and I fight back my own emotions.
“What does this mean?”
“You are so much like your mom, Doll.”
She gives me a fierce grin. “We all know that, Dad. What’s going on here?”
“Nothing yet, but times are changing, and I need you to know where you came from.” I look at Tripp. “I need you both to know the Hellions were born out of necessity, but we ride on out of love and loyalty. This is your family.”
“Are you stepping down?” Tripp gives me his honest thoughts like always.
“Talon, when the time comes for my final ride, you will know. Things are changing, and the future path isn’t always so clear, so when I know, you’ll know, son.”
Doll jumps up with tears coming down her face. She buries her head against my chest as she holds me close.
I look over her at her man. “Tripp, I respect you, and I believe in you. When the time comes, you will have my vote. That’s something the two of you need to consider. For now, let’s go for a ride as a family.”
“BW is with Rex and Lux, so let me grab my helmet,” Doll says, stepping away.
“You sure about this, Roundman?” Tripp asks out of earshot from Doll.
“Not yet, but a man’s gotta know when it’s time to take a different path.”
Less than five minutes later, I’m on my bike with my daughter holding on to her husband as he rides beside me. Slowing, I let Tripp take the lead in front of me.
I feel the memories of Claudia’s hands roaming my chest while we rode. I feel her body behind me, her legs against my own, and her hair whipping around, slapping me in the face. I feel the wind squeeze me as I look ahead to see my daughter in front of me, riding free.
“Love you for eternity, Blaine,” Claudia whispers in my mind.
Riding free, I press on, knowing Claudia will always have my heart, and the future we wished for is right in front of me.
I’ve loved, and I’ve lost. I’ve conquered, I’ve killed, and I’ve barely survived. Everything has been from one up to the next down, but I’ve never done it without my woman in my heart and my brothers at my side.
The Hellions will always ride together with life, love, and the freedom of the road to soothe everything that burdens the soul. Ride until I die, love with all I have until I have no more, and damn sure remember family is a never ending circle of love and loyalty that lasts a lifetime when you get it right.
~Roundman~
The gray stone is damp with morning dew. The flowers droop in the weight of the atmosphere.
Claudia Reklinger
Devoted wife and mother
I trace the letters as I talk to the air around me. “My best friend, my life, my wife, my love, ride until I die. Baby, it’s you.”
Squatting in front of the tombstone, I pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting back emotions. I’m a motherfucking Hellion, yet the minute I let my mind go back to what I once had, I turn to mush.
“Doll, she’s bringing BW to visit. God, he’s a handful. Fearless, baby, fucking fearless. He has your hair and Tripp’s eyes. Doll hasn’t gotten it cut yet, so it frames his chubby face with your blonde curls. He runs our girl ragged. Makes me think of you when Doll was little.”
I smile, thinking back to our tiny girl coming home, all bundled in red because Dia hated pink. My two girls were inseparable. Dia was an amazing mother.
Then the cancer came. Then the cancer won.
“Our time together was cut too short.” Over twenty years later, I want to break shit just thinking about it.
It took time—years to be honest—for me to get the shop and give my girl my last name. We were young and thought we could rule the world. And in the end, I did my best to give that to her. We may not have conquered cancer, but we had the Hellions, and Haywood’s Landing was ours.
“Family isn’t always blood. We taught our daughter that. With Tripp having his club, being with Shooter and his family, along with Rex and his ol’ lady, our girl understands family isn’t always blood.”
I blow out a breath. “Damn, Dia, she’s beautiful. Our Doll is all grown up. She’s as fierce as you and loyal. We should have made it her middle name. It’s a part of who she is.”
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. “You once told me it takes a club. You were right. It has taken a club to get us all this far. I wish you were here to see it, baby. Time’s comin’, Dia. The time for change is here. The legacy of the Hellions needs to be passed on.”
I lay the flowers against the cement tombstone. “I need you to guide me. Is our baby girl ready to be an ol’ lady to the entire club, not just one charter? Tripp can handle it, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. Danza even said so. Getting old isn’t an easy thin
g to face.”
On a sigh, I touch my fingers to my lips then press them to the D on the stone. “Love you, Dia.” In my mind, I can still hear her voice, “Love you always, Blaine.”
Climbing on my bike, I ride out. I hit the open road and don’t look back.
After I stop for gas, I keep riding until I find myself at the shack in Deals Gap, North Carolina.
As the sun sets, I make the start of the Dragon’s Tail ride. For a moment, I swear I can feel her arms around me and her hair whipping against my face. I take each curve leisurely as I allow my mind to go back in time. All the years I took this ride with my wife behind me flash through like a movie playing on repeat. The many times I took this ride to patch another man into the club I created.
One by one, each of us has made this same ride before calling ourselves a true brother to the Hellions MC. Today, I take this ride before I go see my daughter and her man to pass on the legacy to the next generation.
From beginning to end, this is how the Hellions ride, and this is how the legacy will survive. With a twist of my throttle, I ride on, knowing what’s to come with complete clarity for the first time in a long time.
The End…
Until the next ride.
Final Ride will be the last book in the Hellions Ride series, coming November 22, 2016.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Chelsea Camaron is a small town Carolina girl with a big imagination. She’s a wife and mom, chasing her dreams. She writes contemporary romance, erotic suspense, and psychological thrillers. She loves to write about blue-collar men who have real problems with a fictional twist. From mechanics to bikers to oil riggers to smokejumpers, bar owners, and beyond she loves a strong hero who works hard and plays harder.
Chelsea can be found on social media at
www.facebook.com/authorchelseacamaron
Twitter @chelseacamaron
Email [email protected]
Other works by Chelsea Camaron
Love and Repair Series:
Crash and Burn
Restore My Heart
Salvaged
Full Throttle
Beyond Repair
Stalled
Box Set Available
Hellions Ride Series:
One Ride
Forever Ride
Merciless Ride
Eternal Ride
Innocent Ride
Simple Ride
Heated Ride
Ride with Me (Hellions MC and Ravage MC Duel with Ryan Michele)
Originals Ride
Final Ride (coming late 2016)
Roughneck Series:
Maverick
Heath
Lance
Box Set Available
Stand Alone Thriller – Stay
Devil’s Due MC Series:
In The Red
Below The Line (coming 2016)
The following series are co-written
The Fire Inside Series:
(co-written by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt)
Kale
Regulators MC Series:
(co-written by Jessie Lane)
Ice
Hammer
Coal (coming late 2016)
Caldwell Brothers Series
(co-written by USA Today Bestselling Author MJ Fields)
Hendrix
Morrison
Jagger
Stand Alone Romance – (co-written by USA Today Bestselling Author MJ Fields)
Visibly Broken (coming September 20, 2016)
Everything I have never had is right in front of me. Family, it’s mine for the taking. For the first time in my life, I found stability in the Hellions MC. From the ground up, I’ve been loyal to my brothers.
Now the time has come when I may have to choose between the family I’ve never known or the club I’ve built and given my all to.
Richard ‘Frisco’ Billings is the California kid who rode into Haywood’s Landing when the Hellions were needing an extra man. As an original, he’s been with the club from day one. After growing up with no real place to call home, he’s found solid ground.
All of it crashed around him when secrets were revealed, and he found out he missed all the formative years with his daughter being raised in an enemy’s club.
Amy Mitchell was lost her whole life until she was found by the Hellions MC in a bad situation with Felix Delatorre. She spent years with the club, rebuilding her life and finding a place where she could belong.
When a new young woman comes into the home she has with Frisco, will she still fit into his world? Will Frisco find a way to make everything fit together? Will this be his final ride with the Hellions as life takes him down a different road?
Catch up with all your favorite couples as every secret finds its way out of the dark and new things are revealed, changing the club forever. This is the final ride for the Hellions MC as we know it.
©2016 Chelsea Camaron
The event that shook one small town to its core was never solved. The domino effect of one person’s crime going unpunished is beyond measure.
He’s no saint.
Dover ‘Collector’ Ragnes rides with only five brothers at his back. Nomads with no place to call home, they never stay in one place too long. Together, they are the Devil’s Due MC, and their only purpose is to serve justice their way for unsolved crimes everywhere they go.
She’s not afraid to call herself a sinner.
Emerson Flint still remembers the loss of her elementary school best friend. She is all grown up, but the memories still haunt her of the missing girl. Surrounding herself with men at the tattoo shop, she never questions her safety. Her life is her art. Her canvas is the skin of others.
However, danger is at her door.
Will Dover overcome the history he shares with Emerson in time? Will Emerson lead him to the retribution he has always sought?
Love, hate, anger, and passion collide as the time comes, and the devil demands his due.
Prologue
I hang my head and sit in silence. The television blares as strangers move about our house. Some of them are trying to put together a search party, and others are here with food and attempts to comfort. I want them all to go away. I want to scream or break something. I want them all to stop looking at me like I should be beaten within an inch of my life then allowed to heal, only to get beaten again. Do I deserve that?
Hell yes, I do, and more.
There is no reprieve from the hell we are in. I would sell my soul to the Devil himself if I could turn back time. Only, I can’t.
The reporter’s voice breaks through all of the clamor.
“In local news tonight, a nine-year-old girl is missing, and authorities are asking for your help. Raleigh Ragnes was last seen by her seventeen-year-old brother. According to her parents, her brother was watching her afterschool when the child wandered outside and down the street on her pink and white bicycle with streamers on the handlebars.
“She was last known to have her brown hair braided with a yellow ribbon tied at the bottom. She was in a yellow shirt and a black denim dress that went to her knees. She wore white Keds with two different color laces; one is pink, and one is purple.
“There is a reward offered for any information leading to the successful return of Raleigh to her home. Any information is appreciated and can be given by calling the local sheriff’s department.”
The television seems to screech on and on with other reports as if our world hasn’t just crumbled. My mom’s sobs only grow louder.
God, I’m an ass. Raleigh was whining all afternoon about going to Emerson’s house. Those two are practically inseparable. She had made the trip numerous times to the Flint’s home at the end of the cul-de-sac, so I didn’t think twice about her leaving.
Gretchen was here, locked in my room with me. My hand was just making it down her pants when I yelled at Raleigh through the door to just go, not wanting the distraction. My mind was on
ly occupied with getting into Gretchen’s pants.
Only, while I was making my way to home base, my little sister never made it to her friend’s house. None of us knew until dinner time arrived and my sister never came home. The phone call to Emerson’s sent us all into a tailspin.
While other families watch the eleven o’clock news to simply be informed, for my family, my little sister is the news.
~Three weeks later ~
The television screeches once again. I thought the world had crumbled before, but now it’s crushed and beyond repair. The reporter’s tone is not any different than if they were giving the local weather as the words they speak crash through my ears.
“In local news tonight, the body of nine-year-old Raleigh Ragnes was found in a culvert pipe under Old Mill Road. Police are asking for anyone with any information to please come forward. The case is being treated as an open homicide.”
In the matter of a month, my sister went from an innocent little girl to a case number, and in time, she will be nothing more than a file in a box. Everyone else may have called it cold and left it unsolved, but that’s not who I am.
The domino effect of one person’s crime going unpunished is beyond measure.
Chapter One
~Dover~
Originals Ride: Hellions Motorcycle Club (Hellions Ride Book 8) Page 11