Hunter (Black Angels MC Book 1)

by A. E. Fisher

“What are you doing?” I turned to Jax, who breathed a sigh of relief.

  “The only reason I let you stay was because you would have caused a fuss if I tried to drag you back in during the fight,” Jax explained. “If Hunter knew you were out there, he’d be pissed.”

  “I don’t care. I want to see him,” I demanded, moving back toward the door, but Jax stepped in my way.

  “Pretend you didn’t see it. Please? For me?” Jax looked down at me with his big puppy eyes that looked misplaced, considering he was about six feet tall. I was tempted to ignore him, but then he added, “If he finds out I let you out there, he won’t let me be his best man.”

  “You sound like a girl.” I sighed, knowing Hunter and Jax were best friends, but jeez, Jax sounded like I was threatening to kill his puppy.

  “Does that mean you won’t tell him?” he asked, his eyes brightening.

  “Fine,” I grumbled, not looking at him.

  As Jax went to hug me, I dodged out of his way as the door swung open. Hunter and Wolf staggered in with the crowd following in behind them.

  Wolf headed straight to the bar with Anna on his tail, giving him an earful about something or the other, while Hunter came straight over to me.

  He paused when he saw Jax with his arms still mid-swing and me out of reach. He frowned, and Jax quickly grabbed the closest girl he could find. It happened to be Kay, and she pinched his ribs so hard I heard him yelp before jumping back.

  “You women are so cruel,” he whined, rubbing his ribs.

  Pretty turned up at that point and hauled Jax off to the bar to console his hurt feelings as Hunter came over to me.

  He bent down to give me a kiss, but winced halfway down.

  “Come on; give a guy a hand?”

  “I’m not happy,” I stated, not moving

  Hunter sighed, followed by another wince. “I can see that.” He looked at my crossed arms and narrowed eyes. “Kiss me anyway.”

  “No.”

  “Mallory …” Hunter growled. “Kiss me now.”

  “I—”

  “I don’t give a shit what you think about it. This is how we do things in the club, and that isn’t going to change. You love the man. You love the club. Now, get over it and come here.”

  I opened my mouth, wanting to argue, but Hunter was right and so were the girls. I hated the fact they needed to beat the crap out of each other to deal with their shit, but that was the club’s way. So, even though I was angry and wanted to give him the cold shoulder, I stepped close and tilted my head up, keeping my feet planted flat on the ground.

  Hunter looked at the ceiling for calm. Then, with a heavy grunt, he leaned all the way down and gave me a long, hard kiss. Despite how mad I was, I couldn’t help melting against him.

  “Are you done?”

  Hunter stood straight and looked over at Georgia, who stood tapping her feet with a tube of nail glue in her hands. Hunter glared at her, and she glared right back.

  I laughed, grabbed him by the shirt, and dragged him in for one last kiss. Hunter groaned in pain when I let him go, and then I followed Georgia back to the couches, while he lugged his sorry ass over to the bar.

  After an hour, the boys were getting rowdy and drunk, and I had been dressed up in a luminous pink sash, heavy makeup, and a very short dress that left little to the imagination.

  Anna stood beside me in a red and black corset and black skinny jeans. Kay was in a knee-length black dress that showed off a figure that was amazing, considering her age. The rest of the girls, both the club girls and the old ladies, were dressed up for a night out.

  Baby and Georgia had insisted on making the girls look more presentable tonight, and while not dressed in sex-hair, yesterday’s makeup, and only underwear, they were stunning. They didn’t look like club whores tonight; just normal girls looking for a bit of fun.

  We all gathered by the front door, waiting for the limousines to pull up to take us out to the clubs in Fellpeak for my bachelorette party when Lamb came through the door. He slid his phone into his pocket as he walked over to Wolf, his face a mask of nothing, which, of course, meant everything. Something was up.

  Wolf sobered at whatever Lamb had told him then whispered something to Hunter. Hunter’s eyes, which had done nothing but appraise me from afar and make me rethink my plans to go out, turned away from me to look at Wolf then back at me again. He nodded at Wolf then headed in my direction.

  He pulled me aside, travelling his hands around my waist and ignoring the pain as he leaned down to kiss me. “Enjoy your night,” he said, brushing the few strands of my up-do out of my face. He almost knocked the tiara off my head while doing it, but I didn’t care.

  I looked over his shoulder to where Wolf was beckoning Anna over. She scowled at him at first, stubbornly refusing to move, until Lamb also called her over. Her expression changed then from teasing to a frown as she strutted over in her bright red boots.

  I turned back toward Hunter, who was still looking down at me. He didn’t seem tense, maybe a little relieved, but I still knew what was said must not have been entirely good news since the guys began to head to Wolf’s office, which led to the room where they held Church.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, switching between watching the men leave and Hunter.

  Anna came back over and re-joined our group, who were also eyeing what was going on. Kay went to talk to Anna, who whispered something in her ear.

  “Nothing for you to worry about,” Hunter promised, brushing his finger down the side of my neck.

  I grabbed his hand. “Hunter, if you don’t tell me, I can’t enjoy my night.”

  Hunter searched my eyes then sighed. He leaned down again, despite the pain, and pressed a kiss to my cheek before moving his lips to my ear and whispering, “Spider’s dead.”

  I felt a ripple of adrenaline shoot through my body, followed by relief. I hadn’t heard much about what had happened after I had passed out, other than Spider escaping and something to do with another club showing up—the Grim Reapers or whatever. I hadn’t been told about how Spider had escaped or what had gone down. I figured whatever had happened, the Black Angels had won, and that was all I needed to know … according to the men, that was. I wanted to know more, but none of them would tell me. I even tried to squeeze the information out of Anna, but she proved even more difficult.

  Even so, I felt relieved now that Spider was gone. Mint had gone to keep an eye out at my mother’s while she looked after Adair, unfortunately making him miss Hunter’s bachelor party. At least now I could be rest assured that Mint wouldn’t dive in front of anymore bullets anytime soon.

  Even the issue with Hell’s Runners had been settled since Chains had become president under the Grim Reaper’s rule, despite his reluctance. The information Hunter had found resulted in locking up the bad … Or rather, the worst guys in the Hell’s Runners club. They were imprisoned with charges from extortion all the way to multiple murders. That was only for the ones who were still alive.

  All the men who had been brought to the warehouse had gone missing. Not even bodies had been left behind. That had helped Jax’s case when he had been arrested for possible assault and battery charges when he had been found beside the unconscious, bloody, and drugged-up me. I would hate to think what would have happened if the Grim Reapers had left the bodies behind, too.

  “You good?” Hunter interrupted my thoughts.

  I looked up at him as he cupped my face, concern woven into those sharp features of his, and I gave him a gentle smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  I heard a beep outside, and the girls began to flutter with noise toward the doorway.

  “That’s my ride.”

  Hunter leaned down and gave me a long, deep kiss. “Have fun. But not too much fun,” he whispered against my lips, and then I kissed him back.

  “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  I escaped out the door and turned back to see his face before I left.

  He was smiling.


  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Hunter

  Walking into Church after sending off my girl, I felt a little more at ease.

  “Personally, I’m glad the bastard’s gone,” Pretty announced, leaning back in his chair.

  Polo ran his hand through his long, gray beard, giving Pretty a look that reminded me of the large age gap between the oldest and youngest members.

  Polo was fifty-eight, making him the oldest active member, while Pretty was only twenty-three, and Mint, although our newest recruit, was already twenty-five. So, when Polo gave Pretty that look Hunter had often seen as a prospect and recruit, he recognized it.

  Brat.

  “The bastard’s not the problem,” Polo wisely said. “It’s who took him out.”

  “Polo’s right,” Wolf stated. “My guess is that it was the men in black who managed to save his ass from Charon.”

  “The Grim Reaper’s are gonna be pissed,” Lamb added. “Charon looked like he really wanted to be the one to end the bastard.”

  “He’s got his hands full with the Hell’s Runners,” Wolf responded. “He’ll be pissed, but since he’s unofficially taking them over, he’s gonna be busy straightening them out.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel with our neighboring club being taken over by the silent killers of the West Coast,” Jax said as he leaned back, looking completely at ease. However, his hands gave him away as he cracked each knuckle one by one.

  “Know thy enemy,” I said. “We know the Grim Reapers, and since they have no beef with us and we don’t have anything they want, they won’t pay us any interest. What we don’t know is who this guy is with the hired mercenaries.”

  “Well, we need to find out who the bastard is, and as soon as possible,” Wolf growled. “I don’t want him getting involved with our club, because a man with enough money to hire so many mercenaries and firepower probably only rescued Spider so we wouldn’t get to him first. Whoever owned the mercenaries probably doesn’t want his identity getting out.”

  “It explains why the guy we caught at the house was so loose-lipped about being hired by the Hell’s Runners.” Jax added, casting his gaze to Wolf. “Shame Prez put a bullet in him before we knew otherwise.”

  After Wolf had made the guy confess to being hired by the Hell’s Runner, telling us he was there to kidnap Mallory on the Spider’s orders, we’d figured Spider hadn’t told him anything more than what he needed to know, and Wolf had put a bullet in him once his use had ended. We hadn’t even questioned the information.

  “What’s done is done.” Wolf growled, looking irritated at Jax before turning to his vice president. “What we need to do now is get as much information as possible. Lamb—”

  “I’m already looking into it,” Lamb replied.

  People talked about Anna being connected, but Lamb was on another level. No doubt he would have everything on the guy by tomorrow morning.

  “So, what are we thinking? Mafia?” Jasper asked. “Those are mean sons of bitches.”

  “We’re not thinking anything until we know more,” Wolf said, slamming the gavel down with good measure to show that the meeting was adjourned for now. “Now,” he said, setting it aside and rising from his seat at the end of the table. “Hunter’s getting hitched tomorrow, the women are gone, and I’ve got some ladies from the new strip club we’ve taken over in town to come give us a little show. Let’s forget about business tonight and give our brother a night to remember on his last night of freedom!”

  I looked at my brothers with caution as we all rose from our chairs, feeling a slither of fear.

  Lamb and Pretty clamped me on either shoulder and gave a wicked grin.

  “Let’s get this party started!” Jax hooted.

  “What? She’s not here?” I hissed.

  Jax stood next to me at the end of the aisle as the pews filled. The whole club had turned up, even some old retirees I hadn’t seen in years, as well as Mallory’s relatives. I recognized a few from Janine, Mallory’s mother, who had introduced them to me. There were some cousins, uncles, and aunts. Mallory had been an only child, so there were no siblings, and her father had passed away.

  They were all looking at the rest of the brothers with slight fear and speculation, but they didn’t openly show any dislike. They had all had the same reactions when they had met me. Then again, they were all highly religious, and bikers were against nearly everything they believed in.

  Seeing me and Jax whispering furiously back and forth, Pretty came up the steps.

  “Are the girls still not here?”

  “The girls are here,” Jax whispered. “But Mallory isn’t.”

  “What?” Pretty exclaimed before Jax shushed him. “You don’t think she ran away, do you?”

  “Don’t be fucking stupid,” I growled.

  Mallory wouldn’t get cold feet. She had been so eager to tie the knot that she had set the date for two weeks earlier than I had asked. I wanted her bound to me as soon as possible, but I had figured she would want to wait a while. However, the day after I had brought her home from the airport, she had dragged me to her mother’s house and announced she had already asked the pastor at the local church for the next Sunday.

  I had tried to persuade her to have the wedding at the compound, but she had dug her heels in. It was the church where her father had been the pastor, and she had always dreamed of having her wedding there. I had managed to convince her to have the after party at the compound, but after that, the rest of the girls had immersed themselves in planning the wedding and I hadn’t managed to get my say in anything else.

  “Where the fuck is she?” I growled. No way in hell was I getting left at the altar.

  The door to the side room open, and I looked up as Janine rushed into the church. She caught my eye and gestured me over.

  “Stay here,” I told Jax and Pretty as I jogged down the aisle toward her.

  Aside from Mallory’s bright red hair, she was the spitting image of her mother. They both had the same brown eyes, soft jawline, and figure.

  Janine was dressed in a silver dress and one of those hats with all the mesh on the side and a flower. Her long, dark hair fell in silky strips down her back.

  She grabbed me by the arm and subtly dragged me into the back room where all the girls were gathered. They were all in the middle of settling Adair, who looked confused at the absence of his mother with all the people surrounding him.

  The girls all stared as Janine pulled me straight through and out another door that led to the graveyard out back.

  And that was where I saw her.

  Mallory stood at the near end of the graveyard, her head bowed and her shoulder’s shaking. She was crying, and I felt my heart cave at the sight of her.

  Janine pushed me forward, and I gave her a grateful look before she went back inside the church.

  I headed toward Mallory, and when she heard me coming, she whirled around in surprise.

  My eyes hit hers, and I was stunned.

  She was dressed in a long white dress, endless silver embroidery running down the bodice and the skirt in swirls and loops, and heels that made her come up to my chin. Her red hair fell in long curls down over her back and shoulders, her simple makeup making her brown eyes bigger, and her soft lips pink and glossed. Soft trails of tears glistened from her cheeks in the afternoon sunlight.

  She was beautiful.

  I had heard about guys being breathless at the sight of their bride, but I had thought it only happened to sappy, weak men. I was wrong.

  Mallory choked at the sight of me and turned away before I could reach her. “Don’t look at me.” She sniffled.

  “Like fuck,” I growled, turning her to face me.

  “Hunter!” she hissed. “You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!”

  “Even if my bride is crying?” I asked, my voice soft and low.

  Mallory stilled, the fight fading from her body. She looked down at her hands and the blue hair pin in he
r grasp.

  Meanwhile, I looked over her shoulder and saw the gravestone she had been weeping over.

  Father Michael Joseph Ward was engraved into the silver plaque.

  I looked down at her again, seeing her holding a pin with such care it was as if it would break if she held it too tightly. She ran her finger along the inside of the silver slide, where a pattern was engraved in the metal.

  “‘You are strong. You are kind’,” Mallory whispered then turned the pin over. “‘You are brave. And you are loved’.” She laughed softly, pulling the pin close to her heart. “It was the only thing he used to say to me that wasn’t from the Bible.” Her tears began again, her shoulders racking with sobs.

  I wrapped my arms around her, ignoring the ache of my bruises as I pressed her tightly into my chest.

  “I thought he’d be here,” Mallory cried out onto my chest. “When I walked down the aisle, I always imagined him being here, and when he died, I couldn’t picture it anymore. But now you’re here and my mom and the club and Adair … We’re all here, but—” Mallory choked, burying her head closer to my neck.

  From what I had seen, Mallory’s father had been an idol to her, even during her waywardness as a teenager. And even though it had been years since he had died, it was still the day every daughter needed her father, especially someone like Mallory. Someone who had gone through so much and had now reached her happiness at last.

  “I was a good girl, you know.” Mallory’s shoulders fell still. She sniffed into my shirt, her sobs having slowed to soft hiccups. “I went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir, donated to charity. I even had a chastity ring.” She laughed. “But when he was diagnosed with cancer, I couldn’t help blaming God. I wanted to know why He had given my father a death sentence when all he had ever done was dedicate his life to Him. All my father kept saying was that God works in mysterious ways, but I didn’t care. I hated God. I hated Him even more when my dad died. I was eighteen; I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I needed him. But God didn’t care and took my father anyway.” She stepped back enough to bring her hands up between us.