Crash: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 9)

by Chelsea Handcock

  “I take it we are just going to sit here for a while?” Braya cuddled into him, kissing his chin. C“Yep,” Crash laughed.

  Braya was quiet for about two seconds.

  “I thought you had to work or something today. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be home until late tonight?”

  He had said that, and the truth was he did have to work and would have to go back to the clubhouse later, but he had another, more important appointment today.

  He also had something he wanted to do. Shifting his body just enough so he could get his hand in his pocket, he pulled out the ring he had been carrying around for the last month. He didn’t ask her to marry him. He just put it on her finger as it laid over his chest. Braya looked up at him in shocked awe. When she moved her hand back to look at the ring he had placed there, then slammed it back on his chest, still speechless, he flinched.

  “Oh my god, what is wrong, did you get hurt today is that why you’re home so early?” Braya looked at him with concern moving back. “Shit, Crash, why didn’t you tell me?”

  Crash let Braya remove his shirt, none too gently, revealing the gauze across his chest. He knew it was kind of cruel to make her believe something had happened to him, but it would only last a couple of seconds more before he came clean. She was just about to peel the gauze away when he stopped her.

  “Do you remember me telling you I had a special tat in mind for my pec?

  “Crash, seriously,” she said, tears in her eyes, “this is not the time. You’re hurt, and you, oh my god how bad is it? You put a ring on my finger.” Braya slapped his shoulder, yelling, “What the hell happened!” causing him to smile wider.

  But this was them, nothing was ever the way it was supposed to be. Oil and water to peaches and cream, proposals or down and out drag out fights, what happened between them was never predictable. Taking her hand, he held it as he placed it over the bandage.

  “Princess, stop for a second, I’m not hurt, nothing is going on. I’m trying to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  “I love you with all of my heart and soul. You’re my Ol’ Lady, and I thought that would be good enough, but it’s not.”

  “What?” Damn it, now she looked really confused. He was going to fuck this up too.

  “Princess, stop. I just want your cute ass tied to me in every way possible.” Pulling back the gauze, Crash showed her the tat he had just gotten on his pec. It was another arrow, pointing straight to his heart, her name beautifully scrolling through the center.

  Braya eye’s filled will tears as she brushed her finger across the tat. “You were saving it for me?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “I knew what I was going to do back then. It just needed to be the right time,” Crash explained, kissing her.

  “And now is the right time?”

  “My heart knew it was yours from the moment we met, it just took my brain a little while to catch on. Princess, there is only one woman’s name that will ever be inked on my body. Do you know why I had them do it this way?” Braya shook her head but didn’t say anything. “Your name, pointing right to my heart where its meant to be because, woman, you hold it, right in the palm of your hands.”

  “I love you too Ryker “Crash” St. John with every part of me.”

  “Love you too, princess, now and forever.”

  The End! For now, but...

  Keep on turning those pages.

  Three sneak peeks including, Cinny’s story, Axel – First book in the BRMC

  And my very first Sci-Fi Romance, Annie’s Mate – Book 1 - Z'Lelyrian Mates

  Coming soon!!

  Cinnamon Spice and Nothing Nice

  “Come on, Maria, we’ve been here long enough,” Mickey chided.

  Cinny cringed at the mention of her given name. She much preferred one of her many nicknames, but Cinny had to be her favorite because it was presented in love. Her brother would never call her that. He considered the name demeaning, but Cin knew the truth, and that was all the mattered. Her given name was pretty common, and there wasn’t anything really wrong with it, but she hated it just the same because of the person responsible for naming her. There was no love in his heart, beaming over his little girl, naming her. No, he was a cruel and sadistic man who felt the only purpose of having children was to use them for his own gain or benefit. Since Cinny was the only girl, her sole and primary contribution to the Perez empire was to marry the man her father deemed fit. The same man who left her aching, bruised, and belittled just hours before. Damian Castronova and her father had a lot in common. She detested the both of them but was biding her time. None of this would last forever, and she would relish in their demise.

  Turning to her brother, she smiled. Mickey, deep down, was a good man, but he was also a hard man, thanks to their father. His age was starting to show on his face as well as the worry he constantly carried on his shoulders for her and their six brothers. Mickey had always been their protector, taking punishments, diverting their father’s attention, and hardening himself to the world they lived in so one day,they could all be free. There was no leaving their legacy, they all knew it and accepted it, but they didn’t have to live the way they had been.

  Cinny had been fortunate. She’d had many years when she wasn’t under her fathers’ thumb, and it was all thanks to the man she was currently watching, Caine Masters. If he saw her right now, he would charge in to save the day, putting himself and everyone else they cared about in danger, which was why she stayed in the shadows. From the moment she met Caine, he had tried to save her from the inevitable. He would never accept it was a losing battle as she had. Smiling, she thought about the first time they met, she a gawky fourteen-year-old, shy little book worm as he used to say, and he was everything a young girl could ever want or imagine—drop dead gorgeous, football star with that bad boy edge that got him more girls than she could count. But he was also kind and a little sweet, at least where she was concerned.

  She put her hand on Mickey’s forearm. “Just a few more minutes, please.”

  Mickey’s harsh features softened a little at her request. “Ria, he isn’t doing anything, and you know we need to get to the hospital.

  Cinny knew he wasn’t doing anything, but he was there, and she had needed to see him even if it was only for a few minutes. Caine had been her lifeline for so long, she didn’t know how to live without it. Just seeing him gave her the courage to do what needed to be done. Mickey didn’t understand their relationship, hell, she doubted anyone really understood, but Caine was her person. They had fought, made up, and moved on so many times, it was hard to keep up, but she would always seek him out, that Cinny knew for sure. Cinny had many, many friendships, family, and people she cherished, but Caine was more. Until this point in her life, Caine knew all her deepest and darkest secrets.

  Closing her eyes, she could still see him walking up to her, in all his seventeen-year-old cocky handsomeness one day outside of school. She had been crying over something stupid one of the mean girls had done, couldn’t even remember what it was. All she could remember was Caine. They’d been so young, and it seemed like a lifetime ago, but only just yesterday. How weird was that? Having Caine pay attention to her had been a dream come true. That was where their friendship started. Years later, it turned into something more, or so she thought, but Caine wasn’t, and she worried he would never be, the type of man to settle down. She had always wanted that for him—a love that couldn’t be denied, one that would make him grow roots and stick—even if it wasn’t her. It would hurt like hell, but she knew she would be happy for him.

  Caine had always been her knight in tarnished armor. She loved him with her whole heart, but she also knew they would never be. They had tried and failed miserably.

  Opening her eyes, she took one last look, knowing this would be the last time. Things were in play that couldn’t be stopped, and she didn’t’ want them to be. Unfortunately, to save them all, she needed to do things that Ca
ine wouldn’t approve of or even want her to consider, but that was her life. Cinny flinched when she felt Mickey’s hand on her shoulder, the pain from Damien’s rough handling still stark.

  “We have to go.”

  This time, Cin didn’t fight it. She gingerly walked back to the car with her brothers’ help. They made it, albeit slowly, but when he helped to lower her into the seat, tears burned her eyes due to the pain, and it pissed her off. Now was not the time to be weak and helpless; now, was the time to be strong. That was why she had needed to see Caine, even just for a second. He reminded her of what she was doing all of this for.

  Mickey cursed as he shut her door and went to the driver side. Cinny knew she as in for a lecture and, her brother didn’t disappoint, his ass barely touching his own seat.

  “I don’t know why you come here to see him. He isn’t good enough for you, never has been.”

  “He saved me, and whether you like it or not, I love him, I always have, and I always will. If it weren’t for him, I would have never gotten a chance to experience anything other than the backside of our fathers’ hand. That is until he pawned me off on one of the many men he deemed worthy. Don’t forget that, Michael.” Cinny hated using her brother’s given name, but she needed to make a point, and he needed to hear it. “You don’t have to understand it,” Cinny said, looking out the window. She couldn't see Caine anymore, but knowing he was close helped, somewhat.

  “Understand it? Are you fucking kidding me? That man and his bastard brother turned you into a whore, then threw you away, Maria. Pinning after the man does you no good,” Mickey barked.

  “Listen to me and listen well. brother dear. Caine Masters and Tucker Masterson did not make me into a whore, I did that all by myself. Neither of them wanted me in that club, but it was the safest place to be, and you know it.”

  Mickey started the car and pulled out. “There were other ways, you just chose not to use them.”

  “If you say so,” Cinny laughed. This wasn’t the first time she had heard this argument, and she was pretty sure, it wouldn’t be the last.

  “Damn it, Maria.” Mickey slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. “Do you honestly think our father will ever let those men live? They bested him when they were barely out of high school. His ego can’t take that, and you fucking know it. You need to let them go, all of them.”

  “No, they saved me, and I will in return.”

  “They didn’t save you, Maria. It was a fucking illusion, don’t you get it? They never had the power, only a little bit of leverage to keep the wolf at bay, that’s fucking it. Every day our father sits and thinks about how and what he will do to take them out, and every day, he adds to the people he will hurt in the process. You need to let them go because this isn’t going to end well. There’s no way it will ever end the way you want, even if our plans work out.”

  Cinny didn’t doubt her brothers’ words, as a matter of fact, she knew them to be true, but she was determined to protect them the best way she could.

  “I already let them go, Mickey, the day I made a deal with the devil for Creed’s and Tessa’s lives.”

  “You haven’t. Your heart is still involved, and trust me, that doesn’t do anyone any good.”

  “Like yours, Mickey? Noelle is in labor, and that baby could be yours. Don’t you want it, don’t you want the chance to just be normal, to not worry about father or the cartel? It could happen, you could just take them and go.”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, no? Has he really hardened you that much, you would deny your own child?”

  “That baby isn’t mine.”

  “That baby could be yours. You fucked her before our father got his hands on her.”

  “I can tell you, for a fact, that baby isn’t mine, Maria. I’m never having children. I will never give our father a chance to corrupt another generation, be it by DNA or influence. No child of mine will ever come into this world.”

  “Birth control fails all the time,” Cinny said, slumping back in her seat, too tired for this conversation.

  “I took measures to make sure I would never have children; you should consider doing the same. If this plan doesn’t work out…”

  “What are you telling me?”

  “Just what I said, I made sure I will never add to the Perez line, and I think you should do the same.”

  “I’m on birth control, Mickey and condoms are not a hundred percent effective. If that child is yours, can you honestly tell me you could hand it over to strangers to raise?”

  “I’m not going to say it again, Maria, that baby is not mine. I had a vasectomy four years ago when our father, in all his wisdom, thought pairing me with a rival’s daughter would benefit the business. I also made sure the woman knew it, so she would deny the arrangement.”

  Holy crap, Cinny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It saddened and infuriated her, at the same time, but a tiny part of her got it. She was, after all, only considered a breeder in her father's’ eyes. Marriages broke apart all the time, but children connected families. Children were Miguel Perez’s legacy.

  “How can you watch what he does to her?” she asked, changing the subject slightly. “You loved Noelle once, I know you did.”

  “Noelle made her choice, she didn’t go into this with her eyes closed, Ria.” Mickey’s voice softened, but she still heard him and the underlying hurt. “She knew what would happen and knew the consequences for accepting our father into her bed; she did it willingly.”

  “I doubt that Mickey,” Cinny said, turning her head toward the window. “Noelle is a victim, just like the rest of us, to our father’s madness, and just like us, she’s protecting the people that she loves. We owe her. She wouldn’t have even been in his sights, to begin with, if it wasn’t for us.”

  Cinny had a ton of regrets in her life, and a big one was ever bringing Noelle to meet her family. Noelle had been so naïve, but she fell head over heels in love with Mickey, and nothing Cinny ever said would change her mind. Unfortunately, that love also brought her father’s attention and jealousy. Beautiful, tiny, blonde-haired, wide blue-eyed Noelle never saw the devil coming for her. Just thinking about it made Cinny sick. Never looking away from the window, Cinny reached her hand out and put it on top of her brothers squeezing it tightly.

  “We’re going to make it right, aren’t we?”

  “I don’t think we can ever make it right, but we’re going to try to make it better.”

  Coming Soon!

  Axel

  Blacktop Renegades MC – BRMC Book 1

  Eight years ago, Afghanistan

  He was fucking hot, sweating like a bitch and itched like a mother fucker, but Axel just couldn’t keep the smile off his face. They were going home, finally, after two tours. His entire team was being sent stateside, and he was going to fucking bow out. There would be no reupping for him, he was done.

  The slap on his back pushed him forward, but it didn’t diminish his mood. When Caine stepped around him, he was still smiling. Tiny, who had walked up with Caine, stopped and looked at him oddly.

  “That’s just fucking creepy. Knock it off, Axel.”

  “What because I’m smiling, asshole?”

  “Hell, yeah, you’re going to fucking jinx us or some shit. Twenty-four hours and we’re out of this hell hole. Be the same moody fucker you’ve been for the last eighteen months; you change it up, and bad shit happens.”

  Tiny was their sniper and point man. He was fucking good at his job, but he was also blunt as hell, in your face, over the top, and superstitious as hell. His gut feelings were also right on most of the time.

  “You're just jealous because I have warm, wet, tight pussy waiting on me to get off that fucking plane, and all you got waiting for you is your hand and some government-issued lotion.”

  “Asshole, warm and wet is all I need, and I can find that any fucking bar in the good old US of A.”

  “I think Axe is right, dude, one look at yo
ur ugly ass mug and the chicks in the states are going to run screaming for the hills. Nope,” Brick said putting his fingers to his forehead and closing his eyes, like he could actually see the future. “Sorry, dude, only your hand, and sorry, but Uncle Sam isn’t going to spring for the lotion. Short timers don’t get perks, you’re going to have to buy your own, and we all know your tight ass won’t spring for the luxury.”

  They all laughed because that shit was the truth. Tiny wouldn’t spend a fucking dime if he didn’t have to. He stashed that shit for a rainy day. He still lived in the barracks when they were stateside, went to mess like clockwork, and was rumored to have taken a chick to Taco Bell on a date for one of their five dollar boxes. He said it was because the chick couldn’t suck dick for shit, but the fucker was just cheap.

  This was one thing Axe was going to miss, probably the only thing. These guys, his team, all brothers by a different mother but tight as hell and loyal to the core. They had all saved each other’s asses too many times to count. They had talked about it, and none of them were going to reup. Brick and Tiny had another six months to go, but he, Caine, and Roo were all out in thirty days. Axe loved the guys, they had been together virtually since boot camp, and the team was tight.

  “What are your plans, Caine?” Axe asked, looking at their de facto leader. “Going to hit up that sweet little piece you visit every time we’re stateside?”

  “Never know, brother, but I’m thinking more along the lines of just being free for a while, seeing where the road takes me, and figuring out the rest. Pussy can be found everywhere and anywhere.”

  “Thinking of joining up with your brother and his club?” Axel asked.

  “Nah, man, thinking of maybe starting my own. We’ve been stuck in this shit hole for so long, I like the idea of roaming for a while, and Tuck and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on some of Uncle’s rules and regs. I say fuck it, served my time, bent over and took it, not going to happen anymore.”