by E. C. Land
Hammer’s Pride
Devil’s Riot MC Southeast Book 1
E.C. Land
Contents
Acknowledgments
Devil’s Riot MC
DRMC Originals
DRMC Southeast
DRMC Tennessee
Trigger Warning
Playlist
Becoming His Pride
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Available Now
Available on Audible
Coming Soon
Social Media
Fuse’s Hold
Nora’s Outrage
Malice’s Soul
Blood & Torment
Entwined
Hammer’s Pride
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Hammer’s Pride. Copyright © 2021 by E.C. Land. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E.C. Land.
With there being characters mentioned from Elizabeth Knox’s series, I have her permission to use these characters.
Publisher: Knox Publishing
Cover Design by Charli Childs, Cosmic Letterz Cover Design
Editing by Kim Lubbers, Knox Publishing
Formatting by E.C. Land, Knox Publishing
Proofreading by Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing
Created with Vellum
For those who encourage me to keep it going.
Acknowledgments
My Husband and Kiddos – To my husband, who has always been the one to support our family. If he didn’t encourage me to follow my dreams and give them a chance, I wouldn’t be where I am now. He’s put up with my ramblings and throwing ideas around no matter how annoying I can be about it. Also, have to be thankful for him being there to send me inspirational music when I need it most. My kiddos, who find what I do, as they put it, cool and want to know how many words I was able to get in each day. They also like to try and help me come up with plot ideas. Some are just as wicked as my own. I also enjoy the fact they come to me when they need help with finding things wrong in their own work wanting to understand better how things are supposed to be done.
My Brothers – No matter how much we go through, they’re always there for me. One may not be here in body but is always around in spirit—my oldest brother for being proud of me and not having a problem saying it.
My Betas – You guys rock! Thank you all for being the first to read the stories as they come alive. It means the world to me. Especially when you all start to get mad. That’s when I know I’m doing something right. And in doing so, pushing me to keep going with all the different plots that form in my head. I’m thankful to you all for being ready and willing to read and give your input.
My Knox Publishing People – If it wasn’t for you all being helpful and encouraging when I need it, I don’t know what I’d do without you all. You’re all wonderful in your own right, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The biggest thing I’ve got to say I’m thankful for most is the fact I’m able to be around those who understand the way my mind works. Each and every one of you has earned a special place in my life, one way or another.
Liz – My sister from another mister, my best friend, and Publisher/Boss. You’re my go-to when I need it. If not for you, I don’t know if I’d ever be where I am today with my writing. Thank you for always pushing me and encouraging me.
Diane – Without you taking everything on for me, I wouldn’t be able to focus the way I do on my writing. Thank you for everything you do. You’re not just my PA, you’re my friend, and I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you.
Kim and Jackie – I know I’m a pain in the rear; however, you both put up with me. Thank you both for taking on all of my work. I love the fact I work with you both on each of them. Also, the fact when it comes to something I miss, you help me understand how to correct it so it doesn’t happen again.
Devil’s Riot MC
O – Ol’ Lady, C – Child
Twister – Prez – Izzy – O
Leanna Mercy– C
Horse – VP – Kenny – O
Jace Cole (JC) – C
Kayla – C
Caden – C
Thorn – Sergeant at Arms – Lynsdey – O
William Michael (Bud) – C
Anna-leigh Cleo – C
Rage – Road Captain – Cleo – O
Reagan – C (deceased)
Rosaline – C
Devin – C
Dragon – Medic – Connors – O
Gadget – Tech – Connors – O
Logan – C
Kagan – C
Keegan – C
Hades – Enforcer – Emerson – O
Alec – C
Burner – Treasurer – Ally – O
Lincoln –C
Badger – Member – Jordan – O
Nico – C
K-9 – Member
Red – Member
Striker – Member
Brass – Member
Wolf – Member
Sabor – Member
Mace – Member
Mac – Prospect (Deceased)
DRMC Originals
O – Ol’ Lady, C – Child
Stoney – Prez – Rachel – O
Horse (Scotty) – Stoney’s C
Luca – C
Corinne – C
Sebastian – C
Talon – C
Tracker – VP – Victoria – O
Jamie – C
Jason – C (adopted)
Blaze – Sergeant at Arms – Raven – O
Matthew – C
Mark – C
Coyote – Road Captain – Tinsley – O
Cody – C
Chase – C
Bear – Former Road Captain – Momma B – O (deceased)
Rage (Travis) – C
Jane – C (deceased)
Nerd – Tech – Cara – O
Shadow – Enforcer – Luna – O
Daniel – C
Ranger – Medic – Harlow – O
Venom – Secretary – Amaya – O
Lincoln – C
Whip – Chaplain
Viper – Treasurer
Neo – Member – Harley – O
Cane – Member – Parker – O
Piper – C
Cyprus – Member
Fist – Member
Aries – Member
DRMC Southeast
O – Ol’ Lady, C – Child
Hammer – Prez – Avery – O
Malice – VP
Axe – Sergeant at Arms
Savage – Road Captain
Gunner – Enforcer
Cy – Tech
Bruiser – Treasurer
Dagger – Medic
Rogue – Secretary
Brass – Chaplain
Glock – Member
Rugger – Member
Blade – Member
Colt –
Member
Carbine – Member
DRMC Tennessee
O – Ol’ Lady, C – Child
Blow – Prez
Nines –VP
Keys – Tech
Lucky – Sergeant at Arms
Shiner – Enforcer
Griz – Road Captain
Surge – Treasurer
Scorn – Chaplain
Sniper – Member – Rain – O
Nerd (Nick) – C
Storm – C
Flash – Member
Switchblade – Member
Torch – Member
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.
PLAYLIST
By The Fire – DurtE/Hard Target
I Don’t Open Up – Savannah Dexter
Trust Issues – Wess Nyle & Hard Target
Throw Another Stone – Savannah Dexter
Shootout – Young Gunner & Alston Webb
To The Max – Hosier feat. Big Smo & Austin Michael
One More Shot – Brabo Gator
Savage – Savannah Dexter
Here I Am – Renee Blair
Comfortably Lonely – Struggle Jennings & Jelly Roll
Becoming His Pride
Pride in life
Pride in worth
When shattered, it is no more
Hearts within come undone
There’s a depth to what the soul can take
A broken pride is all the same
You take someone’s pride
You damage it in some way
This cracks through the soul
Hardening the heart to ice
A man’s pride is his life
They say ego, but it’s not
We combined the heart and soul
It shows who they are
Shatter the soul and break the heart
You end it with a broken pride
Hold your head high
Find the one within
They can mend the pieces
But the scars will remain
A memory is worth it all
Though in the end, it’s you and him
And you become that man’s heart and soul
In return, becoming his pride
~ E.C. Land
Prologue
Hammer
18 Years Ago
Nausea churns in my stomach. I swallow the bile back down as I take in the room soaked in blood. My big brother and sister-in-law’s blood coated the floor. Hayden, my nephew, their son is the only one left here. The men who did this took my niece. I know who is responsible for this carnage. The police tried to keep me from seeing, but there was no stopping me from entering the house.
Closing my eyes, I lower my head and try to control the anger flaring up withinside me. My nephew doesn’t need to see that right now. Not after the nightmare he’s survived. I need to think of him at the moment and of trying to find my niece. They’re all I have left now: that and a grandmother who lives in Virginia that I barely speak to.
Fuck.
How am I gonna raise Hayden?
My brother had taken the President patch naming me his VP after our father decided to step down due to him having lung cancer and its progression. Now shit’s changing, and I don’t know what the fuck to do.
I open my eyes and take one last look around and then turn to leave. I step outside, and my gaze immediately lands on Hayden. His clothes are coated in his mother’s blood. I need to get him out of here and clean him up. At seven, he shouldn’t have had to worry about something this horrific. It kills me he has had too.
Making my way to him, I guide him over to my truck. When I got the call asking me to come to my brother’s after one of the cops we have in our pocket told me of their deaths, I didn’t worry about my bike, figuring I’d have both kids with me. Instead, I learned the news of Ally being taken.
“I’m sorry, son, we’ll make things right,” I mutter, lifting Hayden into the passenger seat.
“Can’t make it right when they’re no longer here,” Hayden mumbles. For seven, he’s a smart kid and will tell it like it is.
“You’re right, Hayden. But I swear to you now, I won’t stop until we find your sister and I kill those motherfuckers for taken your parents from you,” I declare, not holding anything back from my nephew. He’s been to the club plenty of times to know we’re not choir boys.
Nodding his head, Hayden closes his eyes. “If you don’t find them before I grow up and join the club, it’ll be my hands they die from.”
His words sear into my brain, and I know without a doubt right then and there my nephew’s heart has solidified. He’s lost everything in one night, leaving him with a feeling of burning rage. And in this very moment, he earns his name, Hades.
At the clubhouse, I call an emergency church meeting. Telling my brothers, the men I’ve been with since I patched in at nineteen, isn’t easy.
It sucked the order of business that we had no choice but to handle, and each of them all voted me into the President’s seat. They said it’s what my brother would have wanted. Fuck, at twenty-five, I didn’t expect to get voted into this seat, but I’m gonna make damn sure I don’t fail my brothers.
Once we finished church, I did the only thing I could do. I make arrangements to send Hayden to my grandmother’s up in Virginia after the funeral and ask Stoney, the Prez of the national charter, watch over him.
Until I get rid of the ‘The Delivers’, I can’t have him here. It’s for his own safety that I do this. If not for his sanity. I keep him here with me; he’ll only harden even more. I say this as I lock down my own emotions. I won’t do as my brother did. He had a weakness, and that was his ol’ lady, the woman he fell in love with and did what he had to do to get her out of the life she’d endured. By being with her, he knew what could possibly happen and that left my nephew and me both now without our family.
I won’t allow the same thing to happen to me. Closing my heart to anything and anyone is for the best. Emotions get in the way, and I’d prefer to be a coldhearted bastard than a man who has a weakness.
From here on out, I’ll live and breathe for this club. Taking care of my brothers is my number one priority now, and I’ll be damned if I lose anyone else.
Chapter One
Avery
Present Day
The alarm goes off, and I hit the snooze button while groaning. I sometimes hate having to get up at such an ungodly hour in the morning. But it’s a must. I don’t have but two people who work for me, and both of them don’t come in until later in the day.
Quinn has a kid to take care of and put on the bus and also works nights. There’s no way I could ask her to get off work at two in the morning and be at the coffee shop at four-thirty to prepare for when we open at five. She needs to be able to get some rest for herself; this is why I have her come in at eleven and work until closing.
Willow, she’s my other girl and is in school working on getting her degree. I have her come in at seven right before the mad rush of people coming in. And she works until two when she has to head to her classes. Then she spends the rest of her evenings studying.
So yeah, there’s no way I could ever ask either of them to open for me. They have their own priorities to take care of, and I won’t hold them back from doing what they have to to get them done.
No way.
I’ve been in their shoes, struggling to manage everything. It’s why I moved away from the toxic environment I’d been living in a
nd started fresh here in this small yet not so small town in South Carolina. I opened Rise-N-Shine Coffee almost a year ago and learned quickly it is a profitable location due to the traffic that flows through here.
Some are farmers who come in wanting to grab a cup while heading to the feed and seed store down the street from me. Women come in before going to the hairstylist across the way from me. Then there’re the people that come in for the mad rush looking for their brew of the day. I supply anything from, I need a jolt to wake up all the way to the strongest you can get that will literally keep you up for days.
Oh, and I can’t forget about the couple of bikers that come in every so often. A lot of people shy away from them, sure they scare the hell out of me, but I’m not about to show my fear. I learned a long time ago to show no fear. That and to keep your head down. But when it comes to customer service, I make sure they leave satisfied with their order and want to come back for more. To me, it’s about the profit of each cup I sell, along with the pastries.
It’s why I have to be up at four to get to the coffee shop by four-thirty. I have everything ready to go the evening before; I simply have to get there and put them in the oven to bake them.