by Wilder, L.
After removing my prospect cut, I pulled it on, and pride washed over me as I ran my fingers across the brightly colored embroidery. I’d spent months thinking about this very moment, and now that it was actually here, I was in complete fucking awe. I remembered the looks on Dane and Gash’s faces the night they’d received their cuts. I’d seen how proud they were. I could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices, but I never could’ve imagined those feelings ran so deep. Hell, they ran all the way to my very core. Trying my best to collect myself, I glanced over and spotted Landry at the bar with Viper and Hawk. They were all sitting with my mother and sister, smiling proudly as they watched Gus say, “Open the box.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see. Open it,” Gus pushed. Quickly, I tore the small box apart and was surprised to find a Guardian Bell attached to a small keychain. Gus smiled as he said, “I know your dad is already up there keeping an eye on you, but we can all use a little extra protection.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Gus reached over and gave me bear hug. Once Moose had done the same, Rider stepped up and grabbed me, then slapped me on the back. “Never doubted you for a second.”
“Thanks, brother. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
My brothers had started to line up, so Rider quickly stepped out of the way, giving each of them their chance to welcome me into the brotherhood. With each congratulatory hug, they offered me a shot of tequila. I gladly accepted each and every one. At the time, I was too caught up in the moment to remember that I hadn’t eaten a damn thing, but I didn’t care. I just kept downing shot after shot until I’d spoken to each and every brother. By the time Viper made his way over with my mother and sister, I was feeling pretty fucking good. Viper couldn’t have looked prouder as he wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug. He still had a hold on me when he asked, “Well, you gonna say it?”
Even though I knew exactly what he was talking about, I asked him anyway, “Say what?”
“You know damn well what.” He stepped back and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Come on. You know I’m not gonna let it go until you say it.”
“Fine.” I chuckled as I told him, “You were right.”
“Damn right,” he boasted. “Always am.”
“I don’t know about that,” my mother scoffed before turning her attention to me. By the way she was studying me, I half expected her to fuss that I hadn’t been eating enough or needed to get more rest, so I was surprised when she smiled and said, “You look good, Clay. I wish your father was here. He would’ve been so proud.”
Lyssa could sense Mom was about to cry and slipped her arm around her, giving her a comforting hug as she replied, “He is here, Mom. There’s no way he’d miss this.”
“She’s right.” Hoping to take her mind off Dad, I stepped towards them and hugged them both. “I’m glad you both made it.”
“You know we wouldn’t have missed it.” Lyssa took a step back, quickly glancing over her shoulder before asking, “Who’s he?”
“Who?”
Her eyes rolled as she stepped towards me and whispered, “The bald guy in the corner?”
I turned my head and when I realized she was talking about T-Bone, I shook my head and snickered to myself. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.”
“What?” she pushed. “He’s hot—”
“Lyssa, no,” I warned.
“Well, I happen to think he—”
“Nope! Not gonna happen, Lyssa.”
I hadn’t realized that T-Bone had come up behind me until I heard him ask, “What’s not gonna happen?”
My normally confident sister inhaled a quick, nervous breath and turned to look at the floor, seeming almost bashful as she replied, “Nothing. Clay is just being Clay.”
“Oh, really.”
T-Bone gave her a goofy smirk as he motioned his head towards the bar. “Why don’t you let me get you a drink, and you can tell me all about it.”
“Okay.”
Lyssa gave me a quick shrug, then followed T-Bone. Before I could protest, Landry came rushing over with Hawk. She waited patiently as Hawk leaned towards me, hugging me briefly before saying, “You did good, brother.”
“Thanks, man.”
“You know, there’s not many who can say that they have it all … a loyal group of men you can call your brothers … and a good woman.” Hawk glanced over at Landry with his eyebrow cocked high. “But you most certainly can.”
“You’re right about that.” I stepped towards her, slipping my arms around her waist as I told him, “Might be time for you to consider doing the same.”
His eyes never left Landry’s as he replied, “If I found a woman like her, I just might.”
Hawk gave us both a wink, and then strolled over to sit down with the rest of the Sinners. His words were still hanging in the air when Landry reached up and gave me a hug. “Congratulations, babe. I knew you could do it.”
As I held her in my arms, I knew Hawk was right. I truly had it all. I lowered my mouth to that sensitive spot just below her ear, softly kissing her as I whispered, “You know what this means, right?”
“What?”
I looked down at her and smiled as I told her, “You’re officially one of Satan’s Fury’s ol’ ladies.”
“I don’t care what my title is as long as I’m yours.”
“Now and forever, baby. Now and forever.”
The End
T-BONE
Satan’s Fury MC – Memphis
L Wilder
PROLOGUE
Not everyone finds that one thing that drives you to get up in the morning, makes your life worth living, but I’d been one of the lucky ones. I’d found that and more when I became a brother of Satan’s Fury. I’d only been a member of the Washington chapter for a couple of months when my president, Saul, came to me with the opportunity to help Gus, a fellow brother, start up a new charter in Memphis, Tennessee. I was just a kid, didn’t have a clue about much of anything. I certainly didn’t know how to get a club off the ground, but even back then, I knew there was something extraordinary about my future president. As our sergeant at arms, Gus had shown that he was a natural leader, so I agreed to tag along, doing everything I could to help him make Satan’s Fury what it is today.
I’ve never once regretted that choice. In fact, it had been the best decision I ever could’ve made.
For the past twenty-five years, I’d had everything a man could want: money, women, adventure, and peril, all while having my brothers at my side. There was just one thing I was missing—an ol’ lady. Sure, I’d had plenty of women over the years. Hell, there’s been more than I could count, but the flames that once burned bright quickly died out, leaving me with nothing more than a pile of ashes and broken dreams.
That didn’t mean I’d given up hope. Fuck. I’d held on to the hope of finding someone for years, even as I watched each of my brothers found and claimed women of their own. Deep down, I knew my chance would come along, but I never dreamed she would be a brother’s little sister and that she’d be broken in ways I could’ve never imagined.
CHAPTER 1
T-Bone
The brothers of Fury knew how to throw a hell of a party. It didn’t matter what we were celebrating. There was always plenty of booze, loud music, and hot women, but there was nothing like the parties we had whenever a new brother was being patched into the club. Those parties were always the best—not just for our new brother, but for all the members in the club. For us, it meant the club was growing, prospering the way Gus and the rest of us always hoped it would, and for a prospect, it meant all his hard work had finally paid off. Being a prospect was never easy. It’s a year or more of busting your ass, doing whatever it takes from a late night rescue to cleaning up after a club party—just to prove that you’re worthy of wearing the club’s colors on your back. It’s not for the faint of hearts, especially when you’re prospecting for the brothers of Satan’s Fury, but just as G
us knew he would, Hyde had proven time and time again that he could handle whatever we threw his way.
I’ll admit that I had my doubts that he’d actually be able to pull it off. The kid was all kinds of green when he first showed up on the clubhouse’s doorstep. Even though his uncle, Viper, was the president of the Ruthless Sinners in Nashville, he didn’t know much about went into prospecting or working in a garage, but I had to give it to him, he was determined. He never once gave up, and even managed to complete his final task as a prospect without such much of a snag. We had no doubt that he’d get the job done, so we called everyone to the clubhouse to celebrate his success. I was sitting at the bar with Blaze and Riggs, two of my fellow brothers, and we were all watching in silence as Gus presented Hyde with his Satan’s Fury cut. As Hyde slipped it on, a proud smile crossed Blaze’s face as he looked over to me and asked, “You remember the day you were patched in?”
“Hell, yeah. Might’ve been twenty-five years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. You?”
“The same. No better feeling than putting on that cut for the first time.”
“No doubt.”
Blaze glanced over at Hyde. “I would’ve given anything to see his face when he walked into his garage and found his bike like that.”
“Had to be one hell of a surprise,” Riggs snickered. “Don’t know what I’d think if I found my Harley completely disassembled like that.”
“Still don’t know how they didn’t hear us, especially with Duchess around.”
Hyde’s dog, Duchess, was a Rottweiler-Great Dane mix that his ol’ lady, Landry, accidently hit with her car on the way home from work. He and Landry had actually met when Hyde had stopped to help her get the dog to vet. Even though she was normally a well-behaved, easy going dog, I’d worried about her barking while we were working on Hyde’s bike, so I brought along some preventative measures. I turned to Blaze and smiled. “Like all women, she just needed the right distraction.”
“Yeah.” Blaze chuckled. “Guess you were right about bringing those rib bones along.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I know how to please the ladies.”
“You know how to please a mutt. Not sure I’d say the same for the rest of the female population,” Blaze poked. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here without a ol’ lady by your side.”
“Fuck you, man.” I glanced around the room at the crowd. The place was fucking packed with all the brothers and their ol’ ladies. Even Hyde’s uncle, Viper, and several of his Ruthless Sinners brothers were there to join the celebration. “I can get a chick anytime I want.”
“Oh, yeah?” Blaze cocked his eyebrow with skepticism. “Prove it.”
“Alright, then. I will, and when I do, I won’t be hooking up with some skank twat that’s been passed around more than a bottle of fucking crown. I’m gonna find me a real, classy chick that knows a good man when she sees him.” He didn’t reply. Instead, he just sat there staring at me with that fucking cocked highbrow. “What?”
“Just wondering what the fuck you’re waiting for.” He motioned his hand out to the crowd. “You know what they say…there’s no time like the present.”
I knew he was just fucking around, but he’d laid down a challenge and there was no way I could pass it up. I picked up my beer and quickly finished it off before I stood up and said, “Fine. I’ll show your ass what’s what.”
“Um-hmm. I’m sure you will.”
Ignoring his last jab, I started walking towards the thick of people. I hadn’t gotten far when I noticed Hyde talking to his mom and younger sister, Alyssa. They were both busy congratulating him on getting his cut when I noticed Alyssa looking in my direction. When Hyde noticed that she was looking at me, a disapproving look crossed his face. His reaction gave me a thought, and I found myself smiling as I continued walking towards them. Hyde was a good guy, too good at times, and that made way too easy to fuck with him. I figured there was no better way to screw with him than to make him think I was making a play for his sister.
I’d just made my way over to them when I overheard Clay growling at Alyssa, “That’s not going to happen.”
Throwing his words back at him, I asked, “What’s not gonna happen?”
There was something about the surprised look on my brother’s face that made me wonder if he’d been talking about me when he said those words to his sister. Feeling the tension radiating off her brother, Alyssa’s eyes dropped to the floor. In almost a whisper, she replied, “Nothing. Clay is just being Clay.”
Hyde gave her a disapproving look. “Oh, really?”
I could tell by his expression that my suspicions were correct. I knew he’d never admit it, but there was no doubt he’d been talking about me. Alyssa was a petite, little thing with delicious curves and long blonde hair. She had these dark soulful eyes that made me wonder what secrets she was hiding beneath them. It didn’t matter. I could tell that by just looking at her the girl was out of my league. She was young and beautiful with the world at her fingertips, and I found it doubtful that she’d give me—a bald biker, twice her age and three times her size, a second thought. That was fine with me. I had no intention of actually making a play for her, but Hyde didn’t know that. “Why don’t you let me get you a drink, and you can tell me all about it?”
Her eyes skirted over to me, and with a bashful smile, she simply answered, “Okay.”
She gave Hyde a quick shrug, then followed me back over to the bar. We sat down on two empty stools at the end of the counter, and I motioned over to Jasmine, the bartender of the night, to tell her to bring us both a couple of beers. Once she’d brought them over, I offered one to Alyssa and asked, “You having a good time?”
“I am… much better than I expected.”
“You weren’t expecting to have a good time?”
“Not really.” Concern crossed her face as she said, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Clay is happy and I wanted to be here for him, but parties really aren’t my thing?”
“Oh, really? Why’s that?”
Her took a long drink of her beer before answering, “I just have my reasons.”
“Maybe you can share those reasons with me someday.”
“Maybe?” A half-smile slowly crept over her face as she looked at me for a moment, then quickly glanced over her shoulder at a couple of the brothers playing pool. “You been a member for long?”
“Yeah. You could say that.”
I watched as the tiny freckles across her nose crinkle as she studied her brother. After several moments, she turned her attention back to me. “You like it here?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” Her dark eyes met mine as I told her, “Becoming a brother was the best decision I ever made, and if I had to guess, I’d bet your brother would say the same.”
“I think you’re right. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him look so happy.”
“He’s found his place. There’s not many out there who can say that.” Her dark eyes met mine when I asked, “What about you?”
“I’m working on it.” She gave me a half-shrug. “I’m actually moving here in a couple of weeks.”
“Here… as in Memphis?”
“Yeah. I got applied for a culinary internship at Chez Philippe at the Peabody. I never dreamed that they’d actually consider taking me on, but I got accepted into their program.”
“Culinary? You a chef or something?”
“Hope to be… someday, anyway.” I could hear the hope in her voice as she said, “If this internship goes well, they might offer me a permanent position.”
“That’s awesome. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“I hope so… I’ve dreamed of being a chef since I was a little kid.” Her face lit up as she told me, “Growing up, I was always making up all these wild concoctions for Mom and Clay to try.”
“That would be awesome. I’m sure they loved seeing what you’d come up with.”
“I don’t kn
ow about that. Some of them were pretty awful, but others weren’t so bad.”
“Maybe once you’re here and settled, you could let me try out one of your concoctions. I could be your test critic for new recipes or something.”
“I’d like that.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve just got to get moved first. I’m supposed to start working in two weeks, and I haven’t even found an apartment yet.”
“What kind of place are you looking for?”
“I’m not really picky.” She shrugged. “Maybe an apartment or a small house that’s in a safe neighborhood.”
“I might be able to help you out with that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can come up with.”
“That would be incredible. Thank you so much.”
“No problem.”
We continued on with our small talk, and I found I was surprised by the fact that Alyssa was so easy to talk to. It was like we were old friends, sharing stories about this and that, and I enjoyed getting to know her better. That was the very reason why I suggested that we go outside where we could continue our conversation without having to talk over the loud music. When she agreed, I grabbed us another round of drinks, and she followed me outside to one of the picnic tables next to the bonfire. We’d been talking for a while, when a smile crossed Alyssa face. “So, tell me. What’s your story, T-Bone?”
“My story?” I scoffed. “I don’t know. Not much to tell, besides I doubt you’d be interested.”
“I’m sure there’s plenty to tell.” Even from a distance, I could tell that Alyssa was a beauty, but up close, she nearly took my breath away. She had blonde hair like her brother, but hers was much lighter, almost white, and it was long and flowing down her delicate shoulders. One minute her hazel eyes looked brown with a hint of green, and a blink later, they almost crystal blue. When she smiled, it got me right in the gut, and I found myself hoping I’d get to see it again—just like now. Her full, pink lips curled into a bashful smile as she looked me right in the eye. “Besides…I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested in hearing it.”