Satan’s Fury MC - Memphis

by Wilder, L.

  I was still standing there listening to them play with the toy train when Gunner shouted, “Riggs!”

  Startled, I stepped out in the hall and listened as Jackson answered, “Yeah?”

  “What’s the Wi-Fi password?”

  “There is no password.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, seriously. Think about it. Out here, there’s nobody close enough to steal access.”

  “I guess I hadn’t thought about that.” He was silent for a few seconds, then he shouted again. “Yo, Riggs!”

  “Yeah?”

  “You about ready to head over to Jed’s?”

  “I think so,” he answered. “Let me check with Reece.”

  “I’m ready whenever you are.”

  “Well, then, let’s move it! I’m hungry enough to eat a horse,” T-Bone bellowed.

  Jackson chuckled as he told him, “We’ll be down in a sec.”

  As soon as I grabbed Tate’s diaper bag, I turned and started for the door. I’d just stepped into the hall when I spotted Jackson coming out of Tate’s room. He had Tate propped up on his hip, and they both smiled when they saw me. Jackson glanced over at the diaper bag and asked, “You got everything you need?”

  “I think so.”

  “All right then, let’s go grab us some grub.” Jackson looked down at Tate and asked him, “You ready for some grub?”

  Without skipping a beat, Tate replied, “I unt gub.”

  “You got it, buddy.”

  I followed them downstairs and out to the SUV. After we all piled in, Murphy drove us down to Jed’s, and just like earlier, Jed was waiting for us on the front steps. As soon as we got out, he waved us forward, rushing us inside so we could eat. We’d barely made it to the porch when the heavenly scent of fried chicken and fresh biscuits began to tease my senses, making me think of my grandmother as I entered the house. I wanted to take a moment to look around their beautiful living room, but Jed wasn’t having it. He’d waited as long as he could stand, and he let everyone know it. “Food’s on the table! Last one sittin’ is eating out in the barn!”

  Jackson and the others acted like a group of unruly children as they barreled into the dining room like a herd of bulls, and there was even a little pushing and shoving as they made their way to their seats. Once they were settled, they looked over to me standing in the doorway with my hands on my hips. I gave them a scolding look as I asked, “Really?”

  “Sorry, Reece. When it comes to Sue Ellen’s fried chicken, we can’t seem to help ourselves,” Murphy explained.

  “It’s all right, dear.” A woman’s voice called from behind me. When Sue Ellen walked by me and into the room, I was surprised to see that she was dressed quite differently than her husband. She was all dolled up with a floral-printed dress and pearls, and her short gray hair was styled with perfect little curls. She had on just enough makeup to add color to face and lips. As she placed the platter of fried chicken on the table, she smiled and said, “I raised a house full of boys. I’m used to it.”

  The guys were practically drooling as they all chimed in, “It’s looks great, Mrs. Sue. You’re the best.”

  “Well, I hope you boys enjoy it.”

  Once I’d gotten Tate situated in his highchair, I sat down next to Jackson. When the guys started passing the food around, Jackson reached for Tate’s little serving tray and asked, “What about the big guy? What should I get him?”

  “He won’t eat much. Maybe a biscuit … a few peas and a bit of mashed potatoes,” I suggested. “I’ll let him try a little of my chicken.”

  Like he’d done it a thousand times before, Jackson filled each of the little compartments with food and sat it in front of him. “Here you go, buddy. Here’s your grub.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Tate grabbed the baby spoon I’d brought him and started toying with his peas. They weren’t the easiest for a toddler to manage, but after several tries, he actually got several into his mouth. He continued to try several more times, but eventually moved on to the rest of the food on his plate. Once I saw that he was managing just fine on his own, I made myself a plate. As I sat there eating, I looked around the room and watched as the guys interacted with each other. It tickled me to see how they laughed and carried on, telling their tall tales and teasing one another about silly mistakes they’d made. As I continued watching them, it became clear to me that these men were truly family. They might not have been bound by blood, but they were brothers just the same.

  CHAPTER 17

  Riggs

  The sun was just starting to filter through the window when I rolled over and found Tate wedged in between me and Reece. He was sleeping soundly with his arm over his head and his leg draped over Reece’s waist. It wasn’t the first time he’d found his way into our bed, and something told me it wouldn’t be the last. He had us both wrapped around his little finger, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d loved every moment that I’d shared with him, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I felt the same way about his mother. As I lay there staring at them both, I found myself wondering what things would be like for us once we’d left the cabin. Reece and I both had places of our own, but neither of them was suitable for raising a family and I wanted that. I wanted a place where we could be happy—a place where we could share our lives together and expand our family. I wanted to put a ring on Reece’s finger and to give Tate a brother or sister to grow up with. I wanted it all, and I wanted it sooner than later.

  I was still laying there next to them when Crow came in from doing his night watch. As soon as he walked through the door, I heard T-Bone ask him, “Did you check the perimeter?”

  “Yep. All the way to the East bank like I always do.” With the open floor plan of the house, I could hear every word echoing up the stairwell as he continued, “Everything looked good.”

  Over the past few weeks, we’d established a meticulous surveillance routine. Every twelve hours, we would rotate to our assigned area where we would stand guard until it was time for the next person to take over. At times, the perimeter checks and hourly check-ins seemed tedious, but we had to stay vigilant. It was the only way we could ensure Reece’s safety, so I was pleased to hear that Crow hadn’t come across anything suspicious. I was about to pull myself out of bed when I heard T-Bone reply, “Good. Grab a bite to eat and then get you some shut eye.”

  “Hey … is there any of that apple pie left?”

  He laughed as he answered, “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Dammit, man. She made two this time! You couldn’t save one piece for me?”

  “Oh, quit your damn belly aching. It’s not my fault that Mrs. Sue made them taste so damn good.”

  “What about the meat loaf? Did you eat all that, too?”

  “Maybe.”

  “And the chicken spaghetti?”

  “Why don’t you just go in the kitchen and find you something to eat?” T-Bone fussed.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Crow grumbled. “I’ll find me something later. I’m going to bed.”

  With that, he went into his room and shut the door. As I got out of bed and put my clothes on, I could hear T-Bone stirring around in the kitchen. Before I headed downstairs, I pulled the quilt over Tate and Reece, and they were both still sleeping when I left the room. As soon as I made it downstairs, I went over to my computer and logged on. I’d installed a firewall on my laptop, much like the one I’d put on Reece’s laptop and all of our burners, so no one could track my activity whenever I was online. It was the only way I could be certain that our location wouldn’t be compromised as I checked to see if there had been any new developments with Navarro’s case. I had just started to look through the police data base when T-Bone walked up behind me and asked, “Whatcha doing, brother?”

  “Just checking in with things back at home.”

  “Everything good?”

  “From what I can tell, it looks like things are pretty quiet.”

  “T
hat’s good,” he answered with his mouth full.

  When I turned around, I saw that he was chowing down on a piece of Sue Ellen’s apple pie. “I thought the pie was all gone.”

  “Nope. There’s still some left in the kitchen.” T-Bone snickered as he said, “I hid it in the oven.”

  “That’s just wrong, man.”

  “I know, but I couldn’t help myself. Crow is too easy to fuck with.”

  Changing the subject, I asked, “Is Gunner out front?”

  “Yeah, he took over for Rider about a half an hour ago.”

  “And Murphy?”

  “He’s out back.” After he ate his last bite of pie, he put his plate down and said, “I’m about to go do a perimeter check, and then I’m gonna go help Jed in the barn. He’s got a mare about to deliver. I thought I’d see if he needed a hand.”

  “Sounds good. Just give me a shout if you two need any help.”

  “Will do, brother.” Before he walked out of the door, he glanced back over to me and said, “Hey, tell Reece not to worry with the dishes. Rider’s gonna take care of them when he gets up.”

  Reece had a habit of going behind the brothers picking up after them. She’d also taken it upon herself to keep things cleaned up around the cabin. While we all appreciated it, it wasn’t her job to take care of us. “I’ll let her know.”

  Once he was gone, I pulled up the previous night’s security footage. After I scanned through the entire night’s activity, I grabbed my burner and called Gus to let him know how things were going. He was pleased to hear that things were going well, especially since we had another four weeks to go before the trail. Before he hung up, he mentioned that he and Moose might come up for a few days. I was quick to inform him that there was a big cold front coming in, and over the next few days, we were expecting well over a foot of snow. As soon as he heard the word snow, he canceled his travel plans, then reminded me to make sure we were stocked up on supplies. Before we ended the call, I assured him we would. So, I grabbed my boots by the front door and pulled them on. I was on my way out to the wood pile when Murphy called out to me, “Yo, Riggs! Where you headed?”

  “I was gonna check the firewood situation. With that storm coming in, I wanted to make sure we had enough to see us through the week.”

  “Jed already took care of it. There’s enough over there to last us the rest of the month.”

  “I shouldn’t be surprised. Jed always seems to be one step ahead.”

  Murphy snickered as he agreed, “No more than Sue Ellen. Hell, she keeps everybody on their toes.”

  “Yes, she does, but I figure that’s a good thing when you’re living up here.” When I spotted T-Bone walking down to Jed’s place, it reminded me that we needed to go food shopping. “We’re running low on supplies. I was thinking I’d take Reece and Tate into town and grab a few things.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Call if you think of anything you want us to pick up.”

  “Will do.” When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, you might wanna run by Jed’s and see if they need anything.”

  “Already planning on it.” As I headed back up to the house, I told him, “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  When I went inside and found Reece at the kitchen sink washing dishes while Tate sat in his highchair eating cereal. She was already fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, and she had her hair pulled up in a ponytail. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “You know you don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “That’s not the point. The guys can clean up their own damn mess.”

  “I’m just trying to help out a little.” I could hear the guilt in her voice as she said, “They’re up here because of me. Washing a few dishes is the least I could do for putting them out like this.”

  “Reece, they are up here because they want to be.”

  “Well, I’m sure they all have plenty of other places they’d rather be than here, so if it’s all right with you, I’m going to do the dishes and whatever else I can to make things easier for them while we’re here.”

  “Suit yourself.” I kissed her on the neck, then turned to Tate. “Hey, buddy. You got any of that cereal left for me?”

  He grabbed a handful and offered it to me as he babbled, “Umm.”

  “Thanks, buddy.” I took the cereal from his hand and tossed it in my mouth. “That’s some good stuff right there.”

  Reece looked over her shoulder and said, “He’s about to finish off the last box.”

  “We can get some more when we go into town.”

  “We?”

  “Yeah. If you’re up for it. We need to get some supplies before that snow rolls in.”

  “I’m definitely up for it. It would be nice to get out for a bit.” While she dried off her hands, she said, “Just give me a minute to grab Tate’s diaper bag.”

  While Reece gathered their things, I let T-Bone and the others know we were leaving, and as I expected, they each had their own list of stuff for us to pick up. As soon as Reece and Tate were ready, we got in the SUV and drove over to Jed’s to see if they needed anything. It didn’t come as a surprise that Jed had already been to town, but he’d forgotten to get Mrs. Sue’s medicine from the pharmacy and was planning to drive back for it later. I told her we’d take care of it, and just as we were leaving, she reminded us that it was an hour’s drive into town and offered to keep Tate while we were gone. He could be a handful, so we were both a little reluctant, but she reminded us that she’d gotten plenty of experience with her boys and could handle him for a few hours. Knowing he’d have a much better time with her, we both agreed to let him stay.

  We hadn’t been on the road long when Reece looked over to me and asked, “Why do the guys call you Riggs?”

  “It’s just my road name. We’ve all got one.”

  “Yeah. I realize that, and I get most of them. I mean, T-Bone is easy. He’s a big, bald-headed guy who actually looks like a T-Bone, and then there’s Rider. He’s been on a motorcycle since he was seven, so that makes sense. Crow has that jet-black hair and all those tattoos, and Gunner was in the military. I understand the names where they’re concerned, but you and Murphy? I just don’t see where they came from.”

  I laughed, then said, “Wait a minute. You’re just a hair off-base with some of those. Daren has a dark look about him, and I guess that’s partly why we named him Crow, but it’s not the only reason. Crows are known to be tricksters just like him. The guy is always up to something.”

  “Okay. What about the others?”

  “Rider is kind of our tag along. He’s always willing to ride anywhere at any time, and you were kind of right about Gunner. He was in the military, and he’s one of the best shots around, but he has this bad habit of getting shot … a lot. It’s like he’s got a target on his back or something.”

  “How many times has he been shot?”

  “More times than I can count.” I teased. “But he’s always managed to get back on his feet.”

  “Well, I guess there’s that.” She laughed with a playful shrug. “I might not have been exactly right about their names, but you have to admit I was close.”

  “You were very close. I’m actually kind of surprised that you haven’t figured out how Murphy got his. Over these past few weeks, haven’t you noticed that he has this thing where he always planning for the worst to happen … like if something could go wrong, it will go wrong?”

  “Oh, my God. Murphy’s Law. I can’t believe I missed that.”

  “He’s been like that since I met him. Always planning. Always thinking one step ahead. That’s what makes him such a great sergeant-at-arms. He’s always prepared for anything.” I chuckled under my breath as I told her, “I’m not sure who came up with the name, but it sure as hell fits.”

  She turned and looked at me with a curious expression. “And yours?”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but unlike the
other guys, there’s no great story behind mine.” I let out a deep breath as I continued, “My brothers started calling me Riggs when they saw all the different hard drives, network boards, and other gadgets I used for hacking. At first, they wanted to know how it all worked, but none of them really understood what I was talking about, much less what I was doing with them. Eventually, they’d just tell me to ‘rig’ up something to get us out of a bind, and when I did, they started calling me Riggs.”

  “If you ask me, I think it’s a great name and a great story behind it … but if it’s all the same to you, I’m just going to keep calling you Jackson.”

  “Baby, you can call me anything you want.”

  She giggled as she asked, “What about pumpkin or sweet cheeks?”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of stud or sexy beast.”

  “Oh, I could definitely get behind stud muffin.” She giggled.

  “Stud muffin?”

  “Or we could just stick with Jackson. Whatever you think.”

  “I’ll tell you what, you can call me whatever you want, but be prepared for me to do the same for you, sugarplum.”

  She cringed as she said, “Oh God no! Sugarplum is just bad. Really, really bad.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Give me some time. I’ll come up with something.”

  “Um-hmm, I’m sure you will.” She laughed. “Just try to steer away from anything that starts with sugar.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  When I glanced over at her and saw the smile on her face, I couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful. Reece was my kind of perfect, and I’d known it from the first moment I laid eyes on her. I could search the world over and I’d never find anyone who could compare to Reece, who could make my life so utterly complete, and I had every intention of holding on to her. If ever I’d done anything right in my life, it was giving my heart to Reece Winters.

  CHAPTER 18

  Reece

  After driving for over an hour, Jackson and I finally made it into town—if you could call it that. Other than a few small, dilapidated houses, there was only a single four-way stop with a post office on one side of the street and a family grocery store and a small general store on the other. As soon as we got out of the truck, I caught a glimpse of Jackson’s gun in his back holster. It was something I’d gotten used to over the past month or so. I knew why he had it. It was the same reason all the guys carried weapons—to keep me and Tate safe—so I didn’t give it a second thought as we made our way into the grocery store. When we walked in, I was pleased to see that people seemed a little friendlier than when we first arrived. We even got a smile or two before we grabbed our cart and started down the aisle. Jackson, on the other hand, was too focused on the long list of food and supplies to notice the change in their demeanor. We were making our way down the list when he stopped in front of the cereal section. He stood there for several moments, studying all the different options, and it was clear by the expression on his face that he was struggling with what to buy. While I found it adorable that he was putting so much thought into it, I could see that he needed some help.