Satan’s Fury MC - Memphis

by Wilder, L.

  “Looking a little rough around the edges, Prospect. You all right?”

  “I’m good. Just had a long night.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He slapped me on the back and chuckled. “Get used to it.”

  When he headed over to his station, I turned my attention back to Riggs’s bike. I’d already checked the battery, but when I found that it wasn’t the issue, I drained the gas tank, checked all the fuel lines, and changed the oil. Just to be sure, I decided to check the voltage regulator and the alternator. Thankfully, they just needed some minor adjustments, so it didn’t take me long to get them sorted. I was just wrapping it up when Blaze came over and asked, “Whose bike?”

  “An old one of Riggs’s.” Blaze was in charge of the garage, and there was no doubt that he took his job seriously. He kept tabs on every project, making sure they were done to suit him, so I wasn’t surprised that he noticed a bike not on his inventory. “Broke down on him last night, so I brought it here. I came in early to get her going again.”

  “Having any luck?”

  “I was just about to find out.”

  I threw my leg over the side of the Harley Sportster, and to my relief, she started up the second I hit the ignition. Blaze leaned towards me and said, “Give her a little gas.”

  I nodded. As I revved the engine a couple of times, I remembered what Rider had told me about getting to know all the brothers. With that in mind, I tried to piece together everything I knew about Blaze. He was with Kenadee, a trauma nurse from Memphis Regional, and he had a son named Kevin from a previous marriage. Kevin had once been diagnosed with cancer, but at the moment, he was in remission. Blaze’s parents were still in the picture, and understanding how important it was to him, they were both actually pretty supportive of the club. I revved the engine once more, then killed it. Hoping he thought it sounded as good as I did. “What do you think?”

  “She sounds pretty damn good. Proud of you, brother.” He slapped me on the back as he headed back to his office. “Now, get your ass busy on the Ford. Needs an oil change and new wipers, and don’t let me forget … I’ve got some parts I need you to drop off at Riley’s after work.”

  “You got it.”

  I was feeling pretty damn good as I got off Riggs’s bike and headed over to the Ford. When I first started working at the garage, I didn’t know much. With my father always on the road, he wasn’t around to teach me the basics, but the guys didn’t give me a hard time about it. Instead, they put in a lot of hours teaching me everything I needed to know, especially Rider. Without even asking, he took me under his wing and made sure that I knew what I was doing. His efforts hadn’t gone unnoticed by Gus, and it was one of the many reasons he’d chosen him to be my sponsor. Normally, an older veteran brother would’ve taken on the role, but Gus believed he was the best fit and I didn’t disagree. In fact, I couldn’t have chosen better myself. Rider was a good guy, a brother through and through, and I felt better knowing he had my back. I was just finishing up the Ford’s oil change when he came over and asked, “How did things go last night?”

  “It went okay.” I closed the hood, then told him, “Went a little longer than I’d planned.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “On the way to the garage, I came up on a lady who’d hit a dog, and I stopped to help her out. Dog was hurt pretty bad, so we ended up taking it to the vet.”

  “Wait.” Rider seemed surprised when he asked, “You went with her to the vet?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. “She was pretty shaken up, so I figured she could use the hand.”

  “Mm-hmm.” A smirk crossed his face. “Sooo … was this chick hot?”

  “She was all right.”

  “Yeah, I bet she was.” With a chuckle, he continued, “Nothing like giving a hand to a beautiful woman in distress.”

  “Whatever,” I grumbled as I started to remove the windshield wiper blades. “I was just doing what I could to help.”

  As Rider started back to his station, he chuckled. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, brother.”

  I’d done good to stay focused on my work, but at just the mention of what’d happened the night before, my mind drifted to Landry and I was done. I couldn’t stop thinking about her blue eyes, her full lips, and those fucking curves. I tried to think of anything else, but as I finished installing the wipers and moved on to the next vehicle in line, I found myself thinking about the way she’d twist one of her curls around the tip of her finger when she spoke. It was clear that Landry Dawson had made an impression on me. I just didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t like I was at a place where I could start a new relationship. Between prospecting and managing my job at the garage, I barely had time to take a breath, much less date. Like it or not, I couldn’t get involved with her. I’d make good on my promise to pay the vet bill for Duchess, but after that, I’d have to put Landry behind me.

  With a newfound resolve, I pushed all thoughts of her from my head and put all my focus into my work. The next thing I knew, it was after five, and the guys were starting to clear out. I worked a few more minutes, then started cleaning up my station. I was just finishing up when T-Bone came over and asked, “Yo, Prospect! You calling it a day?”

  “Yeah. Just wrapping things up.”

  “Gauge and I are about to head over to Eight Ball for a burger and a beer. You in?”

  “Sure.” Remembering I needed to see about the dog, I told him, “But I’ve got a few things I need to take care of first.”

  “No problem. We’ll be there for a while, so just head on over when you can.”

  “Will do.”

  I finished putting my shit away, then grabbed the parts that Blaze needed me to return and headed out to the truck. After I’d put the boxes in the back, I got inside and started towards Riley’s. Once I’d returned the parts for Blaze, I drove over to the animal clinic to pay the bill. When I pulled up, I was surprised to see Landry’s old Volkswagen parked up front. I’d meant to touch base with her after the clinic called, but with everything that was going on at the garage, I never got the chance—at least that’s what I told myself while I headed towards the front door. As soon as I walked in, I spotted Landry sitting in the waiting room. Unlike the night before, her long, curly hair was down, flowing softly around her shoulders, and she was wearing a navy pantsuit with a pale pink dress shirt. She looked absolutely stunning. As I started towards her, her lips curled into a bright smile. “Hey! I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

  “Figured I’d come by and see how Duchess is doing.”

  “Same here.” She motioned her hand over to the receptionist as she explained, “I’m just waiting on one of the nurses to take me back.”

  “You been waiting long?”

  “No, I just got here a few minutes ago.”

  I walked over and sat down next to her. Lost in our own thoughts, neither of us spoke, and it wasn’t long before a feeling of awkwardness fell upon us. I wanted to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence, but the words didn’t come. Thankfully, the nurse came into the waiting room and announced, “I’ll take you back to see Duchess now.”

  “You want to come along?” Landry offered.

  “Sure.”

  I stood up and followed them both to the back of the clinic. As we started down the hall, I could hear the different dogs barking and howling, and it only got louder as we got closer to the kennels. When we stepped inside, I was surprised to see that Duchess wasn’t barking like the rest of the dogs. Instead, she was sitting quietly in her cage. The second she spotted us walking in her direction, she lifted her head and started wagging her tail. The nurse opened the door to her kennel and said, “She’s still pretty sore, so it’ll be a few days before she’s up and walking like normal.”

  “Okay.” Landry knelt down and reached inside the cage, gently petting Duchess on the head. “Hey there, sweetheart. You look so much better than you did last night.”

  From what I could see, Duchess seemed
to be doing pretty well. In fact, it was hard to tell that she’d even been hit. The thought made me curious about when she might be released, so I turned to the nurse and asked, “Any idea how much longer she’ll need to stay here?”

  “I’m not exactly sure.” She started towards the door and said, “Let me go and check with the vet.”

  As I stood there waiting for the nurse to return, I watched Landry with Duchess. She was smiling and whispering softly in her ear as she continued to pet her, and it was obvious from the look on her face, Duchess was enjoying the attention. Poor thing hadn’t had anyone to tend to her, and now that she did, she was eating that shit up. I was still watching them both when a tall man with dark hair and thick glasses entered the holding room. If he wasn’t wearing one of those white lab coats, I wouldn’t ever have guessed he was the vet on duty because he simply looked too fucking young. I waited patiently as he came over to us and said, “Hi, I’m Doctor Tanner, the vet on duty for the day. My nurse said you had some questions about Duchess.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Clay.” I extended my hand, and as he shook it, I asked, “We were just wondering, any idea when she’ll be released?”

  He lifted her chart and looked it over for a moment, then said, “Looks like she’s doing well—moving slow, but she’s getting there. If you’re ready to take her now, she’s welcome to go.”

  “Well, that’s good news.” I glanced down at Landry as I asked, “Are you up for taking her on home tonight?”

  “About that …” A grimace crossed her face as she explained, “As much as I want to keep her, I can’t have pets in my apartment. I really don’t know what to do with her.”

  That was not the response I was expecting. After the way she’d taken to Duchess, named her and saw that she was cared for, I’d just assumed that Landry was going to keep her. Apparently, that wasn’t an option, so we’d have to figure out something else to do with her. I was trying to think of some options when the vet suggested, “You could always take her over to the pound. She’s an unusual breed. I’m sure it wouldn’t take long for someone to adopt her.”

  “An unusual breed?”

  “She’s a Weiler Dane—half Great Dane, half Rottweiler.”

  “I knew she was a big dog, but I had no idea she was a Dane mix.”

  “If you think she’s big now, just wait until she’s full grown,” he scoffed. “Right now, I’d say she’s only eight months old or so. This girl still has plenty of growing to do.”

  “Damn.”

  “A dog like this is a lot to take on, but trust me, there’s someone out there who will want her,” he told us with confidence. “People pay a lot of money for this particular breed. Heck, I’d take her myself, but my wife would have my ass.”

  “I really hate the idea of leaving her at the pound.” Landry thought for a minute, then said, “Maybe I could find someone who’ll be able to take her.”

  “You’re welcome to let her stay here for a couple of days,” the vet offered.

  “You’d be willing to do that?”

  “I don’t mind.” He shrugged. “You’ll have to cover the kenneling costs, though.”

  A concerned look washed over Landry’s face. “And how much will that be?”

  “I’ve got it covered.” Before she could argue, I pulled one of my cards from the garage out of my pocket and offered it to the vet. “Just plan on the dog staying here for the rest of the week. If something comes up, give me a call.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He gave us both a quick wave on his way out the door. “You two have a good night.”

  Once he was gone, Landry stood up and took a step towards me. “I don’t know why you’re doing all this, but I really do—” Before she could finish the sentence, her cell phone started to vibrate in her purse. For a second, I thought she was going to ignore it, but when it vibrated a second, and then a third time, she said, “I guess I better see what that’s all about.”

  I waited as she reached into her purse and grabbed her phone. When she saw the messages, she let out a defeated sigh. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s just work and … my mother.”

  From the sound of her voice, she was more upset about hearing from her mother than whatever was going on with her work. I knew I shouldn’t start something I couldn’t finish, but it seemed like she was having a rough day all around. Hoping to make it better, I said, “Looks like you could use a break. You wanna go grab a bite to eat and maybe a beer?”

  “You know, that actually sounds like a wonderful idea.” She shoved her phone back into her purse and smiled. “I’d love to.”

  “Great.”

  After we both said our goodbyes to Duchess, I closed the door to her kennel, and we headed out to the parking lot. I was trying to think of a place for us to go that was relatively close, but since I’d only been living in the city for just a couple of months, I only knew about the places that were close to the garage or the clubhouse. As I thought about it, it crossed my mind that I was supposed to meet up with T-Bone and Gauge. I didn’t think the Eight Ball was the right place to take Landry, so I pulled out my cell and sent them a text, letting them know I wasn’t going to make it. I’d just shoved my phone back into my pocket when we reached my truck. Landry was about to continue towards her car, but she stopped and turned to me. “Should I follow you over to the restaurant?”

  “You can.” Even though it would’ve been nice to have her ride with me, I didn’t want her to feel pressured to do so, especially since she didn’t know me all that well. When she hesitated, I added, “Or you could hop in with me, and I’ll drop you off at your car when we’re done.”

  “Okay, I’ll ride with you.”

  I nodded and walked over to open the door for her. Then, I climbed in and started the engine, still having no idea of where we were headed as I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. When I started towards downtown, Landry asked, “So, where’re we going?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I’m still not all that familiar with the area,” I confessed.

  “Wait … You’re not from here?”

  “Nope.” I glanced over in her direction as I continued, “I moved here from Nashville a couple of months ago.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize.”

  “I’ll tell you about it sometime, but for now, we need to decide on a place to eat. Any ideas?”

  “There’s a Huey’s a few blocks down on the right. It’s really good.”

  “Huey’s it is, then.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Landry

  It wasn’t like me to agree to go to dinner with someone I barely knew, but there was something about Clay that made me want to get to know him better. At first, I thought my attraction to him was because he was so devastatingly handsome, but it was so much more than that. Clay was different from most of the guys I knew. I certainly hadn’t known many who’d not only help take a stray dog to the vet in the middle of the night, but also offer to pay the bill when I couldn’t. It meant so much to me that he was willing to help me like that, and Duchess too. I also couldn’t ignore the fact that being close to him made my heart race.

  When we got to Huey’s, I followed him to one of the booths in the back of the restaurant. We’d sat down and placed our orders, and the waitress had just brought over our drinks when Clay said, “I noticed on your business card that you work for the Department of Child Services. That’s a tough job.”

  “It can be, but it’s not all bad. There’re actually times when I really enjoy it.”

  “I don’t think I could do it.” He ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. “If I heard somebody had hurt a kid, I’d probably end up breaking their neck.”

  My mind drifted to my latest case, and when I thought about Katie being forced to blow into that breathalyzer for her father, I replied, “It’s definitely tempting at times, but I try to hold on to the thought that I’m helping these families, especially the kids.”

  “The
y’re lucky to have you.”

  “I don’t know about that, but thanks for saying so.” He was wearing the same leather vest that he had on the night before. I remembered seeing a motorcycle in the back of his truck, but I had no idea if it was his or not. As I sat there awkwardly studying him, I noticed a small white patch on the upper side pocket that said Prospect. Curious, I asked, “Does that mean something?”

  “What?”

  “The patch on your vest. Does it mean something?”

  He glanced down at his chest, and a look of uncertainty crossed his face as he answered, “I’m a prospect for a motorcycle club here in town.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.” I didn’t know much about bikers or the world they lived in—only that some MCs were good and some were bad—really bad. An uneasy feeling washed over me as I asked, “Which one?”

  “Satan’s Fury.”

  His green eyes locked on mine as he tried to read my reaction. I didn’t want him to think I was horrified by the declaration, but in truth, I was. I’d heard about their club. I knew they were involved in some pretty bad stuff, and like everyone else in the city, I’d always done my best to keep my distance. It was hard to believe that a sweet, handsome guy like Clay would be involved with men like them, but then again, I’d learned a long time ago that people aren’t always what they seem. He was still watching me as I swallowed and tried to feign a smile. “What made you decide to join their club?”