by E. C. Land
Dex’s Devotion
A Stonewall Dynasty Book One
E.C. Land
Elizabeth Knox
Contents
Trigger Warning
Prologue
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
Bonus Content
Available Now
Trigger Warning
This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, and extreme violence.
Proceed with caution. This book does entail several scenes that may very well be a trigger to some.
Also, tissues are a must with other scenes.
Not for the faint at heart.
If you don’t like violence and cannot handle certain subjects, then this is not a book you’ll want to read.
Prologue
Dex
Weeks Ago . . .
“What do you think?” Ashley, my stepmom, asks. Though, she’s more than a stepmom if you ask me. She’s the only mother I’ve ever had, and I’m damn lucky.
In my arms is my newest sibling, Rory, with her dark chocolate hair the same shade as mine and our father’s. Her eyes are a dark blue, and Ashley tells me the doctor thinks they’ll turn brown. She muttered something about how a baby’s eye color can change, but I wasn’t paying too much attention. Instead, I was focused on the little one blinking her big eyes up at me while she’s holding onto my index finger.
“She’s gorgeous,” I say with a smile, looking up at Ashley.
“Yeah. I’ve told your father we’re done after this. I’m exhausted.” She giggles, sitting down beside me on the couch. My parents’ house overlooks a small lake in their backyard. The sun is just beginning to set and they just came home this afternoon from the hospital. I was on baby duty, watching my sister, Noelle, who’s about eight now, and our brother, Fist, who’s one and a half.
“What’s one more?” Dad chuckles from behind us.
“You try pushing one more of these out and then ask me that,” she grumbles, turning to glare at him.
“But our eldest is leaving the nest, and we’re gonna get even lonelier.” Dad tries to plead his case, but Ashley isn’t having any bit of it.
“Robert, we’re not having another baby. The baby-making factory is closed for business. The going out of business sale has already happened. We’re done.” Shit, she never calls him by his real name, only by his road name.
“Ash, you can’t seriously mean that. The second Dex leaves, you’re gonna be a damn mess and we both know it,” Dad tells her.
I watch as she cocks a brow. “We have three other kids under the age of nine. You can’t be serious.”
“I like a full house. What can I say?” Dad goes on, and as he continues rambling, Rory starts to fuss.
“Shh, little one. I’ve got you.” I rock her slowly back and forth in my arms, but her screams grow louder by the minute.
“I’ll take her and give you some time with Ash. You leave tomorrow around six in the morning, right?” Dad asks while he scoops Rory from my arms.
I nod, trying to speak to Ashley and Dad. “Yeah, I’m gonna get an early start on the drive. Figure it’ll probably take me two days to get over there.”
“Are you sure you want to take your bike that far? I mean, Dex, it’s New York. You know it’ll be snowing in a few months. It would make more sense for you to take the truck.” Ashley only wants me to be safe, and while I understand that, being without my bike would cripple me.
“I promise I’ll be safe, and I know what I’m doing. I learned from the best.” I glance over to my dad, who smiles at the small compliment I’ve given him while he shuffles down the hallway to Rory’s nursery.
Ashley’s smile fades away and she gnaws on the corner of her lip. “I suppose I might be having a bit of a hard time. I never thought this day would actually get here. You know?” Before I know it, she’s wiping the back of her hand under her eyes. Shit. She’s already crying.
I shut my eyes for a moment and instinctively wrap my arms around her, pulling her into the tightest hug I think I’ve ever given her. “I’m gonna fuckin’ miss you. I know I don’t say it enough, Ash, but you’re my mom and I love you. When you and Dad got together, my whole life changed for the better.” I pull her in closer, and she settles her chin on my shoulder, hanging on tight.
“I know you’re only going off to college, but it feels so terrifying to be losing my sidekick. It was you and me against the world, always.” She chuckles, crying through it.
Snaking my hand up her back, I hold the back of her head. “Nothing will be any different. We’re still the best duo. I’ll just be in Albany, and you’ll be here in Billings. You know I’ll come back here for winter break and anytime I can.”
Ashley pulls away and I release her, but she grazes her hands over my shoulders and grabs me by the collar of my t-shirt. “You’d better, ‘cause I pack a mean punch. Your dad can attest to that.” She snickers, still with tears flowing down her cheeks.
“I’m only going because I got a free ride, and you know it. Probably the only fucking thing my birth mother did for me.”
“Yeah.” Ashley sighs as she speaks to me, and I know she’s nervous. This whole situation is nerve-wracking for us all. I haven’t seen my uncle Jonathan since I was three, and out of nowhere, he offers me this scholarship. When it happened, I wondered if my birth mother had anything to do with it, but I highly doubt it. She’s probably too busy being hooked on whatever drug is her vice these days.
Ashley pats my shoulders. “You’d better get over to the club. I think they might be doing something special for you.”
I cock a brow. “Really?”
Ashley rolls her eyes. “I know how much you hate surprises, so I’m giving you a tiny heads up, and let’s be honest, you know deep down we wouldn’t let you go off without some grand gesture.”
“Will you stop by later?” I ask, hoping to see her one last time before I go.
Ashley smiles sweetly. “My sweet Dex,” she brushes her hand against my cheek, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I just have to wait for your sister to get settled in. Your father and I will trade places, so we can both say our goodbyes.”
“Whoa. What’s with the goodbye shit? Ain’t it see you later?” Dad says, sounding a bit upset.
“Yeah, Pops. That’s it,” I tell him, easing his heart. I rise from the couch and head for the door. “I’m gonna go over to the club and see what’s shakin’. See you both later?”
“Damn straight,” Dad replies while Ashley nods.
The club is fuckin’ packed. Even more than I’ve ever witnessed before, and we’ve had some intense parties here. An arm wraps around my shoulders the second I’ve dismounted my bike, and then rough knuckles rub against my hair harshly.
“Yo, what the fuck?” I hiss, pushing whoever it is off of me.
I look to find it’s the Prez, Zane, who’s also Ashley’s brother. He’s standing here shaking his head in disbelief. “This is hard to believe, kid. I remember like it was yesterday. You were still shittin’ your pants.”
“Yeah, if you’re not careful, Neo’s gonna grow up that quick too.” Neo’s his son, er, okay, maybe not. It’s a complicated situation. Zane might be the Prez of the club, but he’s into men and women. He’s married to
Octavia, but he and Octavia apparently had a night of pleasure with her ex-boyfriend. Neo was born roughly around nine months later. I remember the way there was some chatter amongst the club for a bit, then Zane came out and told everyone that Neo is his son, regardless of who his biological father is. He’s a damn good man and an even better leader.
“I sure hope not. C’mon, I have something for you,” Zane tells me while he waves his hand. He heads toward the clubhouse doors, and I follow behind him. We walk through the club, seeing people packed in here. Our friends from the Skulls Renegade MC, Devil’s Riot MCs, Inferno’s Clutch MC, Knights of Retribution MC, Sons of Gods MC, Raiders of Valhalla MC, and Iron Vex MC are here, which causes me to narrow my eyes a bit.
“Is that Venom and Ricochet?” I question.
“Yeah. They came out here together to celebrate. So did Enzo, Dmitri, and Seamus. They’re over in the kitchen gettin’ one of the prospects to fill up their cups.”
Shit. I didn’t realize I was so important for all these people to come across the country, but Dad is the VP.
Zane goes up to the room where we hold church, inserts the key and turns the knob, then pushes it open. Once we’re both inside, he shuts it and goes over to the table where a cardboard box sits.
I stare blankly at the box while my heart begins to thump faster than a rabbit trying to outrun a fox. I know what the box means, and more than that, I know what’s inside of it.
“You may be leaving, Dex, but you’re one of us. I know you’re going off to college and shit, but you’re a man now and I won’t have you out there without protection. Plus, not gonna have you out there wonderin’ if this day would ever come.” Zane takes off the lid to the box, peels back the tissue paper, and holds up a black leather cut.
It’s sicker than I ever could’ve imagined. Looks just like everyone else’s, but I notice one thing. It doesn’t say prospect. It has my fuckin’ name on it. I stare in disbelief. “I think you know I’m a lil’ caught off guard by this.”
Zane chuckles, flashin’ the smile that no doubt gets him laid by anyone he’s interested in. “Yeah, well, I had a vote two weeks ago. Everyone here wants you in the club, brother, and you’ve been here your entire life. You’ve grown up with the Reapers Rejects, and I damn hope you die a Reaper too. The cut is yours. If you want it, that is.”
“You seriously think I’d ever turn this down?” I question, holding back the frog stuck in my throat.
Zane smirks, walks over to me, and slides the cut through my arms. “Welcome to the club, brother.” He brings me in for a hug, and I hold onto him for a minute longer than I would if I was any other man.
“Thank you, Zane. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Yes, I do, and I know my dad would’ve loved to be here to see this day.”
I nod, missing Fist, Ashley’s dad, more than anything. He’s the man she named my little brother after. He was . . . a man to be reckoned with. He was given the name Fist for his savage brutality back in the day. However, I feel like Heart would’ve been a better name. His anger balanced out his compassion, and I was damn lucky to grow up around such a person.
I only hope I can be half the man he ever was as I venture off across the country to college. Even more than that, I hope I’m ready for whatever I’m walking into.
“You’ll give us updates as soon as you find anything out, right?” Zane asks.
I nod. “Yeah, the second I know anything, I’ll call you.”
Someone at Stonewall University fucked with the wrong girl, assaulting her in the middle of the park, and I’m going to be damn sure to catch whoever it was. Being a student at Stonewall should give me an advantage, one that my club brothers don’t have, and I plan on getting to the bottom of this.
Chapter One
Ember
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Bethany asks. I hadn’t realized how much meeting her would mean to me when she’d popped into my life. Barely a senior in high school, hating the world, Bethany entered my life. In doing so, she’d helped me understand what I was feeling.
The day my uncle Tombstone introduced Bethany to me at the clubhouse, I didn’t know who she was and made a complete ass of myself. See, I grew up in the club from the time I was twelve and have held a grudge against the very men I love dearly. My uncles, Reaper, is the President, and Angel, is the Vice President of the club. They were my mom’s brothers. My other uncle, Bethany’s dad, was my dad’s brother.
My family tree is confusing to everyone, including myself, most of the time. Having to explain it isn’t always easy and people ask me if I’m from some backwoods West Virginia bullshit. I can’t stand it, and it’s probably why I’ve been so rebellious.
Well, maybe not. I know why I have. I just hate thinking about it. My parents died in a house fire when I was twelve and for the past six years, I’ve felt the pain as if it were yesterday. I know I shouldn’t, but when you live through a traumatic experience like I have, it’s kinda hard not to.
Glancing at my cousin, I give her a weak smile and nod. “Yeah, it’s the right thing for me to do, Bethy,” I tell her as I pack up the rest of my things. I’d come to stay with her a week ago, wanting to spend some time with her before heading to Stonewall University. I had worked my ass off in order to get away from everyone and everything that hurts in Texas.
My uncles and the rest of the members of the club didn’t like it; however, they understood why I was doing this. To find myself as well as my freedom from the past. Texas hasn’t held anything but pain for me, so hopefully, going to Stonewall will be the fresh start I need.
“Okay, but I wish you were going to one of the schools around here at least, and not five-plus hours away from me,” she says, sitting on the bed in the guest room of the house she shares with her man and his band. Though, I say house. It’s not just a house. It’s a freaking mansion where each member of the band has their own wing.
“I know, but unlike the other schools I applied to and got in, I have a full-ride scholarship to Stonewall.” I shrug.
“I get it and understand where you’re coming from. I expect you to call me when you get there and daily calls after that.” God knows I love her, but since Bethany became pregnant, she’s been a total mother hen, even before I got to her house.
I’d driven up from Texas to spend time with her and so she could take me to the train station. I didn’t think I would need my car up there. Living in a dorm, I figured I’d be able to walk wherever I needed to go. If there was somewhere off campus, I could always grab a taxi or an Uber.
“I’ll be back. It’s not like I’m going off to join the Peace Corps, Bethy. I’m just going to college,” I murmur, hefting my duffle bag on my shoulders. My suitcase was already downstairs, ready to go.
“Alright, well then, let’s get on the road before I change my mind and demand you stay here.” And there go the hormones again. She’d tried all week to get me to change my mind. However, nothing was gonna work. I wanted to go somewhere where no one knew about me or my relationship to the MC world.
Sighing, I throw my duffle bag on the floor and flop down on my bed. It’s been an exhausting day of traveling. After Bethany left me at the train station, it’d taken a while to get here. Then, of course, dealing with a talkative yet creepy Uber driver, I finally made it to the dorms.
“You must be Ember.” I lift my head from the bed to see a girl my age sitting on the other side of the room. I’d been so exhausted when I stepped into the room, I just went straight to the first bed and flopped down on it.
“Um, yeah. Hi.” I don’t know what else to say due to exhaustion.
“I’m Cara,” she says, smiling.
“Sorry to have just come in here like this. It’s been a long day and I mean long day,” I mutter.
“Ha, I know what you mean. My brother refused to leave. He and his brothers kept staring every guy down who so much as looked at me.” She laughs.
“Brothers?” I ask, quirking
an eyebrow at her.
“My brother’s in a motorcycle club. It’s what they call each other.” She shrugs.
“Yeah, I know. How weird is this? I leave one motorcycle club behind only to become roommates with the sister of another one.” I half laugh, half groan.
“You’re kidding!” she squeals, jumping off the bed and joining me on mine.
Sitting up, I kick my flip-flops off and move back some to sit on the bed with my legs crossed Indian style. “Nope.”
“This is so cool! Here I thought my roommate would be a total bore and we wouldn’t have anything in common.” The excitement that pours off of Cara is unavoidable, and I begin to laugh outright.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Having a roommate who knows what it’s like being surrounded by overprotective cavemen isn’t a bad thing at all.” I giggle.
“You got that right. I can tell we’re going to be best friends already,” Cara declares, and I can’t help but agree with her.
Chapter Two
Dex
Two days have gone by since I’ve been here and it’s a totally different pace of life. No longer do I see rugged, roughed-up dudes with their girlfriends, wives, or ol’ ladies. Instead, there are preppy-ass New England guys, with women in old band t-shirts, some dressed to the nines, and others who barely put on pajamas to walk outside their dorms.
I haven’t ventured too far, but I have met my roommate, Josh. He’s a pretty nice dude. From what he’s told me so far, his father is a big-time real estate broker in New York City and his mother is an immigration attorney at a law firm in the city as well. It’s no wonder why he’s here. He’s the definition of prestigious, and then there’s me, only here because my mother is the dean’s half-sister. At least, that’s why I think I’m here.