by Lane Hart
“We’ll continue this when we get back. I’ll go get dressed and we can hit the road. Sound good?”
I give her bare breast a gentle squeeze, then smack her on the ass to get her moving. “Deal,” I agree and she struts away. I watch her disappear down the hall, then pull my phone out of my pocket to call and check in on my sister. I haven’t heard from her much since the hurricane, but I had chalked it up to her beginning her fall semester at school.
The first time I call, I get her voicemail. I know from her schedule that she doesn’t have class for another hour, but I figure if she’s asleep, I should try to wake her, so she won’t be late. I hang up and dial her number again. This time, after the fourth ring, she answers breathlessly.
“What’s up?” she gasps.
“Audrey?” I ask, barely recognizing her voice. “You okay over there? What’s going on?”
“Hey, Warren!” she pants, obviously trying to catch her breath. “Nothing much, just getting in a little morning workout. You know me, I’m all about that cardio.”
“The only time I’ve ever seen you run is after an ice cream truck.” I snort. “But good on you for trying. You know I’m a big fan of working out. Anything exciting happening on your end? I just wanted to call and check in, I haven’t heard from you much lately.”
“Nope, nothing happening over here, just same old, same old,” she replies, with a laugh that’s so unconvincing, it immediately raises my suspicions.
“You’re acting weird,” I tell her flat-out. “You don’t have to hide anything from me, you know that, right? If there is anything going on that you need help with, you just say the word. Anytime, for anything, you understand?”
“Yes, Warren, I understand,” she replies in her most sarcastic tone. “I’m thinking of going out with Becky tonight for some roller-skating and pizza, but I promise we’ll be home by nine, is that okay? Please?” she whines in a mocking voice.
“Ha-ha,” I say, without a hint of laughter. “I get it, you don’t need your big brother breathing down your neck right now. I may not be your legal guardian anymore, but I’ll always have your back. The only time you’ve ever pulled that ‘dad’ shit on me was when you were trying to sneak around with a boy. You don’t have to tell me what you’re up to, but if you are seeing someone, make sure you show them a picture of me. Let them know if they ever get out of bounds with you, I’ll be there to enforce some penalties.”
“Ugh, the sports analogy,” Audrey groans. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, big brother. Go ‘dad’ your son or go to work or something. I’ve got to get to class soon. Send Ren my love. Bye, Warren!”
“We love you too. Bye, Audrey,” I reply as I disconnect the call.
I let out a heavy sigh as I put the phone back into my pocket. Nova reappears down the hall, dressed in one of her pantsuits from work. “Why such a big sigh, big guy?” she asks as she click-clacks down the hallway in her heels.
“It’s nothing, just my sister being a little shady. She doesn’t date much, but whenever she does, she tries to tiptoe around me. I may have chased off her first boyfriend, back when she was in high school. Accidentally, of course.”
“Of course,” Nova agrees with a smile. “I can’t see how a teenage boy could possibly have been intimidated by such a sweet little puppy like you.”
“Careful, woman. You’re getting really close to another spanking,” I growl with mock fierceness.
Nova breaks into a laugh that warms my heart, then grabs my hand to lead me toward the garage. “In that case, come along, my little puppy. I’m going to take you for a walk, and if you’re a good boy, you’ll get a treat later.”
I swat her on the ass before I lock the door and we walk over to my truck. “That’s just a taste. When we get home, young lady, you are in big trouble. You’re going to walk right out into that yard and pick out a switch. Then, you’re going to march straight into our bedroom and bend over for your punishment.”
Nova climbs into the passenger side of the truck, then leans over to me as I crank up the engine and open the garage door. “Are you sure you should wait to discipline me? We’ve still got some time…”
“The anticipation is half of the fun,” I tell her as I lay a hand on her thigh and set the truck in motion. “Besides, I want to take my time with you. We won’t have to go back and pick up Ren for a couple of hours after the conference.”
The two of us tease each other on the short ride over to my son’s elementary school, then sit in my truck in the parking lot for a few minutes, while my throbbing cock settles down and the blush fades slightly from Nova’s cheeks. Once we’re both presentable, we walk hand-in-hand into the building and down to my son’s classroom.
Parents are circulating into the class in fifteen-minute intervals to see their children and speak with the teacher about their progress. When we enter the classroom, all of the children are gathered on a colorful mat, sitting cross-legged, while a teacher’s assistant reads them a story. Ren sees us and jumps up from his seat, running over with his arms spread wide.
“Hey, little buddy!” I greet him as he crashes into us, both Nova and I wrapping him in a hug.
“Mrs. Beeson, Mrs. Beeson, they’re here!” Ren tells his teacher excitedly as a short young woman stands from a desk and moves toward us, hand outstretched.
“I’m Warren O’Neil,” I introduce myself. “Senior, I mean,” I add, still forgetting I need to tack that on these days.
“He’s my dad, obviously,” Ren says, sounding twice his age before he grabs Nova’s hand and drags her forward. “And this is my mom, Nova!”
“I’m n—” Nova starts to say automatically, before her eyes suddenly tear up. She bends down to scoop Ren up in a hug, then whispers to him, “I want to be your mom, Ren, if you’re sure.”
“Of course I’m sure!” Ren chirps in his young sing-song voice. “You’re the best mother ever. You’re just what I wished for!”
“You’re what I wished for too, Ren,” Nova says as she quickly wipes a tear away from her cheek. “I love you so much. Thank you.”
I realize my eyes are about to overflow as well, so I crouch down on one knee and hold my arms out to my son. As I clasp him to me, he whispers, “Shouldn’t we be thanking her? She’s everything we wanted!”
I stand up with Ren perched in one arm, then wrap my other around Nova to pull her close. “You’re right. She’s everything we could have ever dreamed of, isn’t she, little buddy?”
“I’m really glad the big storm came and blew everything up.” Ren laughs.
“I am too,” Nova smiles. “It blew me right into your life, and nothing in this world is going to pull us apart.”
“You can count on it,” I tell Ren with a kiss, before setting him back down. “Now, let me talk to your teacher for a bit. Then, your mom and I have to get back to the house. She’s the best thing that ever happened to us, but there are still a few house rules we have to discuss.”
“Oooh, did Mom get into some trouble?” Ren teases. “Is she going to get grounded, or a spanking?”
“Exactly,” I confirm, as both Ren and Nova burst into giggles.
The End
Synopsis for Maddox
Who the hell is Deacon Fury?
That's the question I asked myself when I was fifteen and saw his name on my birth certificate for the first time.
Deacon Fury may be long gone from this world, but at least he left behind a legacy - the Savage
Kings MC.
Deep down, I knew that I was destined to become a King too. That's what brought me to Emerald Isle four years ago.
And after putting in the hard work, I'm a breath away from patching in, becoming a brother.
That is, until she took my breath away.
One of my final orders as a prospect was to find Audrey O'Neil and keep her safe during the hurricane that devastated the coast.
War is not only my sponsor, he's been like a father to me since I first came to town.
Now, I'm falling for his sister, and if War finds out, he'll kill me.
But how am I supposed to choose between following in my father's footsteps with the MC or being with the one woman who makes me feel like I'm already a Savage King?
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue were created from the authors’ imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual people or events is coincidental.
The authors acknowledge the copyrighted and trademarked status of various products within this work of fiction.
© 2019 Editor's Choice Publishing
All Rights Reserved.
Only Amazon has permission from the publisher to sell and distribute this title.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editor’s Choice Publishing
P.O. Box 10024
Greensboro, NC 27404
Edited by All About the Edits
Cover by Marianne Nowicki www.PremadeEbookCoverShop.com
Photo by Andrei Vishnyakov
https://www.instagram.com/vishstudio/
Model Anthony Maximoff
https://www.instagram.com/anthony_maximoff/
WARNING: THIS BOOK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ANYONE UNDER 18. PLEASE NOTE THAT IT CONTAINS VIOLENT SCENES THAT MAY BE A TRIGGER FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS.
Prologue
Maddox Holmes
Six years ago…
Most birthdays are the same old shit. They come and go without you feeling any differently than the day before, despite being an entire year older.
My fifteenth birthday on the other hand was a game changer, and not just because I was going to get my learner’s permit.
“Good luck. I’m sure you’ll do great,” my mother says with a quick hug before she shoves a manila folder toward my chest. “Everything you need is in here. Just hand the whole thing over to the officer.”
“Okay, Mom.” I take the folder from her and follow the DMV official down the hall to her small, messy office.
“Have a seat so we can finish up your paperwork, then get you started on your written exam.”
“Sure,” I happily agree before I plop my ass down in the chair across from her desk.
“Do you have your two proofs of identification and proof of residency?”
“Yep, got that all right here,” I say before I squeeze the metal clasp to open the folder and start pulling out the documents my mom put together for me. I grab the small white and blue piece of paper first. “Here’s my social security card.”
Then, I go for the thickest piece of paper, my birth certificate. Since I’ve never actually seen it before, I lower my eyes to look it over while the agent scans my social security card. It’s pretty cool seeing today’s date on there, just fifteen years ago…
“Who the fuck is Deacon Fury?” I exclaim when I see the unfamiliar and unusual name.
“Excuse me?” the DMV agent asks with an arched eyebrow.
“Sorry, nothing,” I tell her before reading the man’s name again, then the title underneath that says, “Child’s Father.”
I swear it feels like the tiny room starts to spin around me. My father’s name, the man who has raised me for the past fifteen years, even if he did a shitty job most of the time, is Todd Holmes.
“Do you have your birth certificate?” the agent asks, snapping me out of my vertigo.
“Ah, yeah. Here.” I hold the paper out to her.
“Hmm,” she says when she reads it. “These have two different names.”
“What?” I ask.
“Do you have any other paperwork?”
“I…I dunno,” I state, while staring at her in confusion. “Here.” I offer her the entire folder, since I can’t seem to do much more than blink at the moment.
“Ah, here’s your Change of Name form.”
“My what?” I ask.
“Change of name,” she says, holding up the documents in her hand. “Your parents changed your name from Maddox Fury to Maddox Holmes when you were just a few weeks old.”
When my jaw falls open, she adds, “You didn’t know that?”
I shake my head because the ability to speak has left me.
My parents changed my name?
And my father is…not my father?
What kind of alternate universe did I step into? Is she pranking me right now?
“Could I…could I see those again?” I ask, snatching the paperwork from her hand instead of waiting for her response.
“Are you okay?” the officer asks while I read over the official Change of Name form that has everything she just said written out. I’m not Maddox Holmes. I was born Maddox fucking Fury.
“Should we do this another day?” she asks, while I continue staring at the words as if expecting them to suddenly shift around on the page and make more sense.
“Ah, yeah. I’ll, um, I’ll come back,” I tell her as I get up from my chair, still holding the form, and start toward the door.
“Wait! Here are your other documents,” she says.
I take them from her, then sit down in the hallway outside of her door and reread them a hundred times. My emotions switch from confusion, to anger at my mother for not telling me, to…relief. I’m relieved that Todd is not my dad, he’s just asshole Todd. We’re not related, which is sort of a miracle, because deep down, I’ve never liked him. As for Todd, well, even when I was just a kid, I thought he hated me. I’m starting to realize that he really did. He hates me because I’m not his son, but he’s had to pretend to give a shit about me for fifteen fucking years.
Being free of him feels great. Only now, there’s this gaping hole inside me where that asshole used to be, and I don’t have any clue who belongs in it other than his name—Deacon Fury.
Deacon. He sounds like a badass, much more so than Todd. Fucking Todd. I never met anyone with that name that I liked. My father—no, my stepfather—completely ruined the name.
“You can’t sit here,” a guy in a wrinkled suit and combover says to me.
“Okay, I’m going,” I reply before I shove all the documents inside the envelope and get to my feet, ready to finally face my mother and get some damn answers.
“How did it go?” she asks with a smile when she stands up in the chair and comes over to meet me.
“I didn’t take the test,” I tell her.
“Well, why not?”
“Because there was some confusion over who the hell I am!” I yell at her.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” she asks, her eyes cutting around the crowded waiting room, probably searching for any of her uppity friends who may have overheard my outburst.
“Who the fuck is Deacon? And why didn’t you tell me he’s my father?” I shout at her, not caring who hears.
“Maddox!” my mother hisses at me before she grabs me by my elbow and leads me out of the office. On the sidewalk out front, she stops and then has the nerve to tell me, “It doesn’t matter.”
I blink at her in disbelief at her brush-off before I repeat those same words aloud. “It doesn’t matter? It doesn’t matter who my father is? Maybe not to you, but it matters a whole fucking lot to me, Mom!”
“Maddox, calm down and watch your language! This is not the time nor the place—”
“It’s not?” I interrupt to ask. “Then when is a good time and place? You’ve had fifteen fucking years to tell me, and you haven’t found your moment yet?”
“I’m sorry, okay?” she says as her prim and proper posture starts to deflate.
“Who is Deacon? Does he even know that I exist?” I ask, since it’s the first I’ve heard of him.
My mother shakes her head and then crosses her arms over her chest. “I never told him because we knew it would only cause problems…”
“We?” I
ask. “You mean you and Todd?”
“Yes. You have to put yourself in his shoes. Your father and I met while I was pregnant. Todd married me right after you were born. He agreed to raise you as his son but didn’t want to deal with having another man in our life…”
“He’s not my father!” I shout at her. “And you kept my real father from me to make Todd happy? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you even know where this other man is so that I can find him and tell him that I’m his son?”
She looks away before she answers so softly I almost miss it. “He’s dead.”
“What?” I ask as a heavy boulder settles into my gut.
“If I knew he was sick, I would’ve told you. He died of lung cancer.”
“Would you have really told me, Mom? Or would you have kept on lying to me every fucking day?” I bark at her, still not entirely sure if I believe her when she says he’s dead. “When? When did he die? Before I was born?” I ask, wanting more details. Deserving more details. I deserve to know every fucking thing about the man who makes up half of me.
“A year or so ago,” she responds, which only floors me even more
“So, I missed meeting my father by a year? Fourteen years, you could’ve told us both and you didn’t, so now I’ll never meet him! How could you do this to me?”
“I’m sorry, Maddox. We did what we thought was best…”
“No,” I say, cutting her off. “You did what Todd thought was best for him, not me! He’s always hated my guts and I guess now I know why. He made me think I wasn’t ever good enough for him because I’m nothing but a reminder of another man you were with before him! I’ve never been his son and I never will be!”
The anger I’ve made myself keep bottled up inside me for years chooses that moment to burst free. No, it’s more than anger, it’s pure rage. Fucking Todd is about to get a shitload of payback by way of my fists pounding into his face.