by Lane Hart
“I’m sorry!” Audrey exclaims when she runs up beside her brother. I can tell by the pleading look on her concerned face that she must have accidentally spilled the beans. I’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose, and I can’t be mad at her for telling him my secret that I should’ve brought up a long time ago.
Figuring War wouldn’t believe me if I simply tell him, I pull out my wallet from my pocket and then remove the tattered old piece of paper that’s been folded into a small square. “Here,” I say when I offer it to him. “See for yourself.”
“Maddox, you don’t have to do this!” Audrey says, reaching between us and swiping the paper out of my hand before War. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything, but I was angry at him and ranting, and when I was saying how much the Savage Kings meant to you, it just slipped out!”
“It’s okay, baby,” I tell her. Giving her a sad smile, I reach for her hand to pull her closer to my side. “Besides, it doesn’t matter now.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” She looks up at me with her big brown eyes.
“I’m sure,” I reply before I gently remove my birth certificate from her fingers and hold it out to War again. He’s so busy glaring at my other arm around his sister that it takes him a while before he finally snatches it from me.
Audrey and I watch silently as he unfolds the paper and then his eyes start to scan the words. When he gets to the important part, his golden eyes bulge before they lift to glance between the two of us again.
“Seriously?” he asks. “Deacon was your father?”
“According to my mother,” I respond. “By the time I found out, he was already dead, so I couldn’t ask him or get a DNA test. And while my mom lied to me about it for years, I don’t think she would’ve put his name on my birth certificate unless she was certain,” I explain. “She changed my last name from Fury to Holmes a few weeks later, when she married the asshole who raised me. My stepfather didn’t want the inconvenience of having to deal with another man in our life...”
“Jesus,” War mutters. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“Why do you think?” I ask. “You and everyone else would’ve gone easy on me. I wanted to earn my patch, not just be handed one because of a name I was born with.”
“So Torin and Chase don’t know yet?” War asks.
“Nope.”
“But Reece does?”
Nodding, I tell him, “Reece found my birth certificate and Change of Name documents when he was searching through my background. I asked him to keep it between us and told him that if I patched in, then I would tell everyone. So, he did.”
“Wow,” War mutters before he turns around and starts to walk back into the house. When he’s a few feet away, he stops, remembering he’s still holding my birth certificate. He comes back and hands it to me before disappearing inside.
Blowing out a breath, I tell Audrey, “It feels good to finally tell someone else.”
“I feel awful,” she says, burying her face against my chest.
“Don’t. It’s not a big deal,” I assure her. “I was going to tell them…so now is as good a time as any.”
Tilting her head back to look up at my face, she says, “My brother’s a dick.”
Smiling, I place a quick kiss on her lips. “He’s just trying to protect you. Maybe you should tell him that you stole my innocence, and see if that helps his opinion of us being together,” I tease.
“I will if you think it will help,” she replies.
“No,” I say, with a shake of my head. “Let’s keep that embarrassing detail between us. I would never hear the end of it if the guys found out that a sweet little girl like you popped my cherry.”
The smile slips from my face when I realize I won’t be seeing the guys again to even give them a chance to rag on me. That part of my life is over.
Brushing that depressing thought aside, I decide to change the subject. “So, I called my mom today.”
“You did?” Audrey asks excitedly. “How did it go? Was she happy to hear from you?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I respond. “And she wants us to come visit…”
“Us?” Audrey repeats with a broadening grin.
“Yeah. Us. I told her about you.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” she says, standing on her toes to kiss my lips. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I told her we would maybe visit when you finish up the semester.”
“That sounds perfect,” she replies. “Now, how about we go home and start our own Thanksgiving tradition?”
“That is a great idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Audrey
It’s a week after Thanksgiving, when Maddox’s phone rings while we’re getting ready for bed.
“Must be work,” he grumbles before he grabs it. His brow furrows seeing the screen. “It’s Torin,” he tells me before he answers. “Hello?”
I watch him as he listens, biting my lip because I already know what it’s about.
Maddox doesn’t know it yet, but my brother finally came through with what I consider an early Christmas present.
“Yeah, sure. Okay. See you then,” Maddox says into the phone before he hangs up.
“What’s up?” I ask innocently.
“Torin wants me to meet him at the salvage yard tomorrow afternoon,” he says, face still showing his confusion.
“Did he say why?”
“No,” Maddox answers. “And you don’t exactly question the president…not that he’s my president anymore.”
“Right,” I agree. “Well, come to bed. I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
“Yeah,” he agrees before he climbs under the sheets with me. “Mind if I borrow your car to drive up there?”
“Not at all,” I respond before I push his chest down to the mattress to climb on top of him. “Now sit back, relax, and let me make you feel good.”
A grin finally appears on his face. “You always make me feel good.”
“Then I’m about to make you feel fucking amazing,” I tell him as I start licking my way down his bare stomach. I glance up with a coy look. “Your birthday is coming up in twenty-two days, so do you want twenty-two spankings or twenty-two blowjobs?”
“Ooh, that’s a tough one,” he says, and then pauses as if he’s actually considering his choice. “I think I’ll go with…the blowjobs.”
“I thought that’s what you would say,” I tell him as I reach down to wrap my hand around his hardening shaft and give him a squeeze before leaning forward to give the crown a thorough lick.
“Oh, yeah,” Maddox groans, his eyes closing and hips rolling as his fingers thread through my hair. “Twenty-two days of this right here? You’re too good to be true, baby.”
“I’m gonna treat you better than a king,” I promise him, before my lips wrap around his shaft and the time for talking is over.
…
Maddox
I honestly have no idea why Torin wanted me to meet him at the salvage yard. His voice didn’t sound angry on the phone last night, and I can’t think of anything I did wrong, so I’m thinking maybe he just wants me to return my key to the Savage Asylum and my apartment. He probably wanted me to do it in the salvage yard instead of the clubhouse to avoid War.
“Nice ride,” Torin says from where he’s casually leaning a shoulder against one of the open garage doors, when I climb out of Audrey’s car.
“Haven’t had a chance to come back and make the repairs on my old bike,” I tell him as I approach. “Is that what this is about? You want me to get my shit out of the apartment and move my bike?”
“No,” he responds. “We just wanted to talk to you.”
“We?”
Jabbing his thumb over his shoulder, he says, “Chase is here too.”
“Oh,” I mutter as the other Fury brother comes out to join him. “I guess War told you?”
“He didn’t come right out and say it, but we’ve put the pieces toget
her enough to make a guess,” Chase responds. “So, our Uncle Deacon was your father?”
“According to my mom,” I answer, as I pull out my birth certificate and offer it to Torin. “They went to school together.”
“And he didn’t know?” Torin asks as he reads the paper and passes it to Chase.
“Nope. I didn’t even know until six years ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Chase questions.
“Do either of you ever wonder if you got special treatment with the MC because of your uncle?” I ask.
“Deacon didn’t go easy on us, that’s for sure,” Torin replies with a grin. “But yeah, it probably took Chase and me a little longer to actually earn the respect of the other brothers who thought we were given a free pass.”
“That’s what I thought,” I say. “And I didn’t want to have to wonder if I got my patch because of the name I was born with. I wanted to earn it.”
Chase and Torin exchange a look. “Makes sense,” Chase says. “A weaker man would’ve walked into the Savage Asylum on day one and posted this on the wall to try and take the easy way.” He waves my birth certificate in the air before handing it back to me.
“Thought never crossed my mind,” I admit. “Honestly, after meeting the two of you, I wanted to bury the damn thing or burn it because I was worried that if either of you found out, you would think I was trying to steal your MC or some shit.”
“It’s not our MC,” Torin says. “And it’s not War’s either. We’re all just one piece of a bigger brotherhood, and we voted you in unanimously.”
“I know,” I agree. “But War was there first, and I don’t want to cause more problems for the club.”
“You think you and War are the first brothers to have an argument?” Chase asks with a chuckle, then turns to his brother. “How many times have you and I fought?”
“Too many times to count,” Torin remarks with a grin. “But we settle our shit and do what’s best for the club. You willing to squash this shit with War?”
“Not if it means giving up Audrey,” I say without hesitation.
“She’s not a kid anymore, so War doesn’t get a say in who she dates,” Torin tells me. “It’s been months, so I think he’s willing to admit that now and move on.”
“That’s not what he said at Thanksgiving,” I mutter.
“Your legacy was the slap in the face War needed to get his head out of his ass and remember what this club is about,” Chase says. “So now it’s your turn to decide if you’re a Savage fucking King or not.”
“I’m a King,” I tell them with a grin.
“Good,” Torin responds. Sweeping his hand inside the garage, he walks in further and says, “Your chariot awaits.”
“I can’t accept that bike from War,” I say as I follow him, Chase right behind me.
“Understood,” Chase agrees. “But you will take these bikes because they’re classics, and Torin and I have enough Harleys to start another dealership.”
“Wow,” I say as my gaze lands on the restored beauties.
“These were Deacon’s, so we couldn’t get rid of them,” Torin tells me with a slap on the back. “And it’s a good thing too, because if he had known that he had a son, he would’ve wanted you to have them.”
“Seriously?” I ask. “They were—”
“Your father’s,” Torin answers. “And you’re probably going to get tired of us talking about him now…”
“Never,” I assure him. “I want to know everything.”
“We’ll go all the way back to the beginning and my journey down the King’s Road, when I first started prospecting,” Chase says. “Deacon gave me my cut right after my eighteenth birthday, when Torin was still in the Army.”
“So, you patched in before Torin?” I ask in surprise. “Why didn’t you become president? No offense to you, Torin.”
Chuckling, he says, “None taken. Chase was offered the gavel and he turned it down.”
“Hell, I’m not president material and everyone has always known it,” Chase responds. “But who knows, maybe you are.”
“Me?” I repeat.
“Someone has to fill Torin’s shoes one of these days,” Chase points out.
“And you think that could be me?”
“You’re smart, and you keep your anger in check, even though I’m guessing you probably inherited the Fury temper,” Torin says.
“I’ve let it out a few times,” I admit.
“Did they deserve it?” Chase asks with an arched eyebrow.
“Hell yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“Then that’s all that matters,” he replies with a grin. “A leader has to keep a cool head when it counts. Not many of our brothers have that ability. Deacon always seemed so calm and in control. But one look at him and you knew that if he wanted, he could flip a switch and take on a giant if he needed to.”
“He was a big guy?” I ask.
“And tough as nails,” Torin responds. “He smoked a pack a day but could deadlift a truck.”
“That’s what killed him, right? He died from lung cancer?”
“Yep, right after I got out of prison,” Chase says grimly. “He promised me he would hold on until I got out and he did, barely.”
“That was one of the best things about him,” Torin says. “Deacon was a man of his word. And too generous. If he told you he was going to do something, he did it. When I took over for him, the club’s books were in the negative. He had overextended himself, and had to use his own money to pay all the charities and veterans he helped year after year.”
“Sorry, but there’s no inheritance, except for these bikes,” Chase tells me.
“I don’t care about that. I never came here for money,” I explain. “I just wanted to know more about the man who was a missing piece of my life.”
“We’ll share as many pictures and stories as you can handle,” Torin offers. “How about we head over to the bar and raise a beer to your old man?”
“Sounds good,” I agree with a smile, anxious to try out one of my new bikes. These classics, I will graciously accept because they were my father’s. I hope Deacon would’ve been proud of me, the man I’ve become, and the King I’m going to be.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Audrey
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” my brother shouts over the noise of the crowd and the thumping music. “I want you to all meet…my sister, Audrey.”
Someone whistles and Warren glares in their direction. “She’s with Maddox, so all of you need to keep your hands off of her!” he yells. “Oh, and girls, you better leave Maddox alone too. Messing with him is messing with my sister.”
“Yes, Daddy!” one of the guys calls out in a falsetto, and I get to see one of the rare times my brother flips someone the finger in front of me. Maybe he really is ready to admit I’ve grown up.
“Thank you for inviting me,” I tell Warren.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he huffs before slipping an arm around Nova’s shoulders. “You’re not a child. Blah, blah, blah. I get it, okay?”
“I pity you, woman,” I say to Nova. “How do you put up with my brother’s constant need for control?”
Her cheeks turn rosy red before she says, “Oh, we’ve found a few…creative ways to help him let out his dominating side.”
Nose wrinkling with disgust, I grumble, “Eww, now I wish I hadn’t asked,” right before the door to the bar opens. I turn around just in time to see two tall, tough-looking bearded men walk in…followed by Maddox.
Instead of yelling “Surprise!” there’s a chorus of deep masculine whoops in celebration as my man stares in shock at the large gathering of people. Most are Savage Kings interspersed with scantily-clad women.
Elbowing my brother in his side, I hiss, “Go! Take him his cut.”
“Fine,” Warren grumbles before he removes his arm from Nova. He then reaches for the leather cut that’s draped on one of the empty barstools. I follow him throug
h the crowd that’s gathered around to greet Maddox, most of the men offering him handshakes and backslapping hugs.
“Here,” I hear Warren say when he holds out the leather to Maddox. “Don’t step into this clubhouse again without it.”
“Yes, sir.” Maddox starts to take the cut with a grin before his gaze drifts over Warren’s shoulder and he spots me.
“Hey,” I say, with a little wave of my fingers.
“Audrey!” Maddox looks from Warren to me several times with his jaw gaping. “What are you doing here?”
“I made my brother give me a ride on his Harley.” I shoulder through to throw my arms around his neck. “Congratulations!” I tell him, placing a kiss to his cheek.
“You knew about all this?” he asks.
“I did,” I agree with a broad smile.
I take the cut from my brother’s hands, holding it up for Maddox to slip on.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he says as he puts one arm in and then the other.
When the leather is finally where it belongs, I run both of my palms over his chest that’s now decorated with additional patches proclaiming him as a member. Seeing him wearing the cut again also reminds me of the first day we met. “This is a good look on you. I’ve missed it the last few months.”
“Me too,” Maddox agrees, covering my hands with his. “Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?”
“She is,” Warren speaks up before I can. “Trust me, I’ve tried my best to talk her out of it.”
“You won’t regret it,” Maddox says with a kiss to my lips, even though I’m pretty sure he was talking to my brother as much as he was to me.
“I know I won’t,” I reply before I kiss him back, harder this time, and with enough tongue that I hear Warren mutter a curse.
He calls out, “Hurt her, and I’ll kill you,” then leaves us alone.
“You must be Audrey,” a rumbly, authoritative voice says from beside us, followed by a chuckle. When I glance over at him, the bearded guy says, “And you may want that key back for a little longer.”
He holds up a keychain dangling from his finger that Maddox snatches from him with a word of thanks.
