Satan’s Fury MC - Memphis

by Wilder, L.

  As I sat there looking at her now, I wondered if I’d made the right choice. My mind was suddenly bombarded with questions, questions that demanded answers, but before I had the chance to go to her, Cyrus yelled, “Sorry, lady, we’re closed.”

  I watched in awe as a light blush crossed her delicate face. With an awkward smile and a quick shrug, she turned and walked away. Panic surged through me when I realized she was leaving, and I found myself racing towards the door. I rushed outside but stopped when I spotted her in the parking lot talking to some guy. They spoke for a few moments, and then Reece walked over and got inside the car with him. Damn. Even though I had no claim to her, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling jealous, and when I couldn’t stand it a moment longer, I went back inside the restaurant. As I made it back over to my seat, I couldn’t help but wonder if the asshole she was with was her boyfriend, or worse—her husband. The mere thought of her being tied to someone else gutted me. Picking up on my change of mood, Blaze leaned over to me and asked, “Everything all right, brother?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Just had to check on something.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “All right. If you say so.” He stood up and turned to others as he said, “Well, boys … I better head on home. Kenadee has to work the late shift, so I’ll need to be there to get Kevin sorted for the night.”

  He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Shadow stood up and said, “I’ve gotta get going, too. I’ll follow you out.”

  After they all said their farewells, Blaze looked over to Clutch and Stitch. “I’ll see y’all at the end of the week.”

  As soon as they were gone, the others started to disperse. Cotton followed Stitch and Clutch upstairs to the club’s apartments above the restaurant. They’d been staying there for the past week, and while the accommodations were decent enough, I had no doubt they were all looking forward to going home and seeing their families. Once they were gone, I followed Gus and Moose out to our bikes, and just as we were about to put on our helmets, Gus turned to us and said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this Navarro guy.”

  Moose shook his head. “You’re not the only one. Look, I’m not saying moving those bodies was a bad idea. I believe it will buy us some time, but at the end of the day, all roads with Navarro lead to Memphis.”

  “Yeah, he had to know his brother was planning to expand his distribution to include Memphis. Hell, he’s probably the one who sent him here to start it up.”

  “So, it’s only a matter of time before Josue follows the trail back here.”

  “Exactly.” Gus turned to me and said, “I’m gonna need you to do whatever it takes to find him. I know he’s gone underground, but there has to be a way you can track him down.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “I’m gonna need better than your best on this one, Riggs.”

  “Understood. I won’t let you down.”

  A daunting feeling washed over me as I watched Gus get on his motorcycle. He’d been my president long enough for me to know when he was worried, and there was no doubt that he was feeling troubled by this whole situation with Navarro. It was completely understandable. From the things I’d read about him, I knew he was a powerful man, more powerful than anyone we’d ever come up against, and it wouldn’t be easy to bring him down. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. Over the years, the club had faced many adversaries, each one thinking they had what it took to bring us to our knees, but none had even come close. We were still standing tall, and I would do everything in my power to keep it that way. When we got back to the clubhouse, I went straight to my room and started reading through all the intel Big and I had gathered on Navarro. I spent the entire night hunting for anything that would lead me to his whereabouts, and something had just caught my eye when Blaze came walking through the door.

  When he saw all the papers and files scattered across my desk, he asked, “What’s all this?”

  “I’ve been trying to hunt down Navarro.”

  “Having any luck?”

  “I think I’m getting close, but I won’t know until I check out this IP address. I’m thinking I might be able to use it to bypass his phone navigation.”

  “Got no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but good luck with that.”

  “Thanks,” I scoffed.

  “So, what was up with you last night?”

  I turned towards my computer screen as I answered, “I already told you. It was nothing.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that bullshit, Riggs. You and I both know it wasn’t nothing. I could see it on your face,” he fussed. “Hell, you looked like you’d seen a fucking ghost. So, just tell me. What went down last night?”

  I let out a deep breath as I admitted, “I saw her.”

  “I’m sorry, brother. You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”

  “Reece.” I turned to face him as I repeated, “I saw Reece.

  “Who the hell is Reece?”

  I couldn’t blame him for not remembering. While I’d told him all about her—more than he’d ever wanted to know, it had been a couple of years since I’d mentioned her name. Once she’d left for Vanderbilt, I did what I could to put her and that weekend we’d spent together out of my mind, but it wasn’t easy. Every time I hooked up with some chick, I ended up comparing her to Reece, which only led to a long line of disappointments. Hoping that it wouldn’t take much for Blaze to remember her, I simply answered, “The chick I met on your birthday.”

  “Oh, damn.”

  Yeah. He remembered.

  “Yeah.”

  His eyebrows furrowed when he asked, “I thought she was at Vanderbilt or something.”

  “Yeah, I thought the same thing, but apparently she’s back in town.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “Nothing,” I answered, flatly.

  “What do you mean nothing? This girl meant something to you, and when she left town, it had you all kinds of twisted up. I know you fucked things up, but now you’ve got your chance to set things straight,” he scolded. “You’ve gotta find her and tell her what’s what.”

  As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t. With everything that was going on with the club, I didn’t have time for distractions, especially a distraction like Reece. For the time being, I needed to keep my focus on finding Navarro and nothing else. “I don’t have time for that shit right now. Besides, I don’t know if she’d even want to see me, and on top of that, she was with some guy last night.”

  “Didn’t take you as one who’d be scared off by a little competition, he goaded.

  “Never said I was, dickhead. I just don’t see the point in chasing after some chick who’s already tied to some other guy.”

  “I guess you gotta ask yourself … is she just some chick or is she more than that? If you really think she’s the one, you’ve gotta fight for her, otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.”

  “I’ll figure something out, but for now, I’ve gotta find Navarro.”

  “Do what you gotta do, but just remember,” he stood up and added, “the last time you put off seeing her, it cost you over two years without her. You wait this time, you might lose her for good.”

  With that, he turned and walked out the door, leaving me to contend with a raging storm of doubts inside my head. I had no idea where I truly stood with Reece. For all I knew, she hadn’t given me a second thought, and I was wasting my time even thinking about her. That wasn’t enough to stop the burning need I felt to see her again. For reasons I didn’t understand, this woman had made a mark on me, and I couldn’t get her out of my head. I still wanted her, and even though I knew Blaze was right about going after her, it didn’t change the fact that I had a job to do. No matter what the circumstance, the club came first. It was a motto we all lived by, because when it came down to it, the brothers of Satan’s Fury weren’t just the members of some club. We were family, and we
’d stop at nothing to keep our loved ones safe. I knew I could be sacrificing whatever chance I might have with Reece, but there was no other choice. I was stuck.

  CHAPTER 4

  Reece

  I was just about to turn sixteen when my mother received news of her sister’s death. Until then, I had never known just how much my mother despised my Uncle Rodrigo. I knew she wasn’t crazy about him. I’d heard the way she spoke about him. Her tone was always filled with animosity whenever she mentioned his name, especially when she was talking to my Aunt Camilla. No matter what was going on, my aunt always defended my uncle, blaming the negative things that were going on in their marriage on their cultural differences. Mom never bought into her excuses. She hated how controlling he was, especially where my aunt and cousin, Alejandra, were concerned, and she was quick to let my aunt know that his behavior was simply unacceptable. My mother worried that her brutal honesty would put a strain on their relationship, but thankfully, it never did. While she never said the words, Aunt Camilla knew she was right but never did anything about it. Instead, she tried her hardest to make the best of the situation. They spoke on the phone several times a week, sharing all aspects of their lives with one another, and Camilla would come to visit whenever Uncle Rodrigo would allow it. Mom knew something was wrong when my aunt’s calls stopped coming, but she couldn’t get anything out of Uncle Rodrigo. It wasn’t until weeks later that he finally told her that Aunt Camilla had been killed in an accident.

  Mom knew in her heart he wasn’t telling her the truth, especially when she learned that the police were investigating him. When they finally filed charges against him, we were all hopeful that justice would be carried out, but sadly, the charges were quickly dropped for lack of evidence. My mom knew he was involved and was determined to prove it, but the second she started asking questions, she was warned to back off. She was informed that my uncle was involved with a dangerous cartel in Mexico, and if she didn’t stop digging for answers, she and her family would suffer the consequences. Fearing for her life and ours, she did the only thing she could—she backed off. As difficult as it was, she had to accept that there was nothing she could do to bring her sister back. It wasn’t easy, especially when my uncle completely cut ties with my family and wouldn’t let any of us speak to Alejandra, much less see her. My mother was heartbroken. Even though there was nothing she could’ve done to save Camilla or her daughter, the guilt of not being there for them weighed on her, and she was never the same—and neither was I.

  I hated seeing the pain in my mother’s eyes, and I wanted to make my uncle pay for putting it there. I’d heard her say that he was a member of the Mexican cartel, so I started there. I researched how they worked, who’d they killed, where they were located, and everything in between. I’d hoped it would be useful when I became a big, tough lawyer, but just as I was about to start my second semester, my entire world was turned upside down. Having no other choice, I dropped out of law school and got a job at our local newspaper. While I was disappointed that things in my life hadn’t gone as planned, I hadn’t forgotten about my uncle, so I decided to use my writing as my way of exposing all the horrible things he’d done. I had already done a great deal of research and had a good foundation for my article, but I needed something more—something that would make everyone see them for the monsters they really were. I thought I’d finally gotten the break I was looking for, but after talking to Myles, I was beginning to have my doubts.

  Since he was in the area, he offered to pick me up from the office, so we could discuss things on the way to the diner. I was eager to get his take on things, that as soon as we got in his car, I turned to him and said, “So … like I told you on the phone earlier, I’ve been working on this article about the Cartel.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, my source came through for me today.”

  His eyes narrowed as he turned to me and asked, “And what does that have to do with me?”

  “He gave me an address to check out,” I could feel the heat of my humiliation creeping over my face as I continued, “and Graves won’t give me his approval to move forward with it unless you agreed to go with me.”

  “So, why is this address so important?”

  “Rodrigo Navarro was spotted there less than a week ago, and I thought—”

  “Hold up.” My heart literally stopped beating in my chest when he said, “Are you talking about the Rodrigo Navarro who died a few days back?”

  I could barely manage to ask, “Died? What are you talking about?”

  “The cops found his body, or what was left of it, in an old warehouse in Little Rock, Arkansas. There were several other bodies there along with his and a shit-ton of weapons, so they think it was some kind of drug deal gone bad. Since it was in Little Rock, I’d say it was probably gang related.” After a brief pause, he looked over to me and his voice was dripping with sarcasm when he said, “It was just a couple of days ago. I thought you’d been keeping track of what was going on with these guys.”

  “I have, but this week has been … “I started to explain but stopped. Even though things had been crazy at home and I’d been working nonstop on that stupid round-about article, I knew there was no excuse for me not to know that my own uncle had been murdered. I was embarrassed beyond belief as I continued, “It doesn’t matter. You’re right. I should’ve known all about it.”

  Myles pulled up into the diner parking lot, and once he’d turned off the car, he looked over to me and said, “We all have our days, Reece. Don’t let this stop you from going after your lead.”

  “What’s the point? It’s not like it’s going to help me now. He’s dead.”

  “Don’t give up just yet.” He sounded hopeful as he suggested, “We can still look into the lead with the apartment. Maybe someone there knows something or saw something that might be useful. If the trail dies there, we can head over to Little Rock. Check things out there. The story only dies if you let it.”

  “You’d be willing to help me do that?” I asked, sounding a bit more surprised than I’d intended.

  “Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I know you’re busy with your own work. I hate for you to have to waste your time with mine.”

  “I wouldn’t be wasting my time, Reece. In fact, I’d be honored to help out a reporter with your kind of potential.”

  “Well, thank you. That means a great deal coming from you.”

  I was about to ask him if he’d read any of my work when he glanced over at Daisy’s. “Let’s go in, and we can forge a plan while we eat.”

  I couldn’t have been more excited. “That would be awesome.”

  We got out of the car, and I was walking on cloud nine as we approached the diner. That feeling quickly faded when I tried to open the front door only to find that it was locked. While I’d never actually eaten at Daisy’s, I was surprised that such a popular restaurant was closed so early on a week night. I had just passed some motorcycles and SUVs parked out front, so I stepped closer to the glass and glanced inside. When I saw several bikers sitting up at the counter, I thought I must’ve done something wrong and pulled at the door handle again, causing a few of the bikers to turn their attention to the door. I was about to turn and leave when I saw him—Jackson Reed, the man who’d broken my heart, shattered my dreams, and given me my greatest treasure. I thought I would never come face to face with him again, or maybe a part of me simply hoped that I wouldn’t. Either way, I wasn’t ready to see him, and I certainly wasn’t ready for him to see me. When I heard someone shout that the restaurant was closed, I quickly waved and rushed away from the door.

  “Whoa. What’s wrong?” Myles asked as I hurried towards his car.

  “The diner is closed,” I answered as I continued towards the parking lot.

  “Okay. No big deal. We can find somewhere else to go,” he offered as he followed behind me. “There are a few places just around the corner.”

  I shook my head. “I’m terribly sorry
, but I need to get back to the office. I just remembered there’s some work that Graves wants me to do on my piece for tomorrow’s paper.”

  “Umm … okay.”

  “I really wanted to go over all this with you, but tonight just isn’t a good time.” I could barely think as I glanced back over at the diner, and I nearly lost it when I noticed someone standing at the door. Even though I desperately wanted to talk to Myles about my article, I needed to get the hell out of there. “Could we possibly meet sometime tomorrow?”

  “Sure. That will be fine. I’m open all morning.”

  “Tomorrow morning would be great.”

  He paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s fine. I just need to get this piece turned in.” I lied as I scurried over to the passenger side of the car and closed the door. Once he’d started the car, I turned to him and said, “Again, I’m so sorry about this.”

  “Don’t be. Things happen.” He gave me a reassuring smile as he pulled out of the parking lot. “But there is a way you could make it up to me.”

  “Oh, really? How’s that?”

  “Bring coffee when you come.”

  “I can do that.” He pulled up to the front door of my office and watched as I grabbed my three files of research I’d gathered on the cartel. Before I opened the car door, he asked, “What’s all that?”

  “It’s just a few things I’ve found about the cartel.”

  “You mind if I take a look at it. It might give me a better idea of what’s ahead of us.”

  “Sure. I’d love to get your input.”

  “I’ll have it all read by morning.”

  “Great.” As I got out of his car, I left the files on the seat and asked, “Is seven thirty okay with you?”

  “Seven thirty would be perfect. I’ll see you then.” Before he drove away, he rolled down his window and shouted, “I take my coffee black with two sugars!”

  “You got it!”

  I waited a few minutes, and once I was sure he was gone, I got in my car and started home. On the way there, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d reacted over seeing Jackson in that diner. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him in years, but with just one look at him, I stepped back in time and all those feelings of heartbreak and anguish came rushing back. I hated that he still had such an effect on me, especially after the way things ended between us. I wanted to erase him from my memory and forget everything about him, including the way I felt when I was in his arms. But as I stepped into my apartment and saw my adorable son, I knew that was never going to happen. He looked exactly like his father, making him a constant reminder of the weekend we’d spent together. While things didn’t turn out like I’d hoped, Jackson had given me a precious gift, and I would always love him for that. I closed the door, and my heart swelled in my chest when I heard him shout, “Mama! Mama!”