No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology

by Elizabeth Knox

  “Get out of the house. You’ve been cooped up here for too long. Take a night off, dear. As a matter of fact, go run to Kaden’s club . . . what do they call that place they stay, Esther?” Mom looks to her friend.

  “A clubhouse I believe,” Esther replies.

  “Yes, go over to his clubhouse and take him some cookies from the store. Give him my apologies that I didn’t make them myself, but being in the shape I’m in, I can’t do much.”

  Cocking a brow, I sit up in my chair and stare sternly at her. “You can’t be serious. You don’t want me to go over there after today.” I make statements, not asking her questions, but she’d tell everyone otherwise.

  “Yes, I do want you to go over there. Kaden helps me all the time! Who do you think cut down that dead tree before you came back, huh? Kaden did, so go take the man some cookies.”

  “Maybe give him a special cookie,” Esther suggests, giggling afterward. My mom cackles along with her.

  Heat rushes to my cheeks before I can come up with a reply. Never in the world did I think they’d be talking like this. “Esther! Goodness. You’re as bad as Mom is! And allow me to tell both of you this. The only cookies I’m giving Kaden are going to be the ones I buy from the store. I’m not barking up that tree again. It didn’t work out once, and I’m not looking to repeat history.”

  “Kids these days don’t want to fight for anything good.” Esther shakes her head, shooting me a judgmental look.

  Standing up with my phone, I head for the door, deciding I don’t need to keep hearing this crap. “Where are you going!?” my mom asks.

  I look back to her, sure to be snarky in my reply, “To take your precious Kaden some cookies from the store!”

  I take my purse off the coatrack hook and slide it over my shoulder, grab the keys to my mom’s SUV, and head out the door. I’ll go over to the nice supermarket across town and get the gourmet cookies. At least this way I can swipe a few too. I’ve been craving some good sweets lately.

  Now I just need to figure out wherever the hell this clubhouse of his is, but knowing the people who live in this town, everyone will know. I’ll just ask the clerk at the grocery store and I’m sure they’ll be able to point me in the right direction.

  Chapter Six

  Kinetic

  After the whole ordeal with Charlee earlier, when I got back to the clubhouse I grabbed a bottle of Jack and stormed off to my room. I’ve been sitting in here ever since, slowly sipping on the dark liquor with Koda’s head in my lap.

  With my free hand I run my fingers through Koda’s fur, letting him calm the fury swirling through me. I have a daughter named Viviana. A beautiful girl. The perfect mixture of her mother and myself. In the few minutes I was around her, I memorized the features of her face. Long hair like her mother’s, eyes like mine, fuck if she wasn’t the perfect combination of the two of us together. Like a damn angel. She’s that perfect.

  Pissed that I didn’t know anything about her, a small part of me is thrilled to know she at least had my last name in hers. However, it doesn’t stop the pain at the fact she calls another man her dad. I’d been denied that small gift.

  My ol’ man always told me growing up that being my dad was a gift. He said it was a gift he’d hold onto since my mom wasn’t able to have more kids after me. Her body strained throughout her pregnancy with me and the doctors advised her not to have any more children. They said it could kill her, so they were one and done. Sucked for my parents since they wanted a large family and ended up with one biological child.

  I remember nights where Charlee and I would lay curled against one another in the back of my old truck, in the middle of a field, talking about our dreams. How I wanted to be able to one day give my mom the grandkids to help ease the pain of not being able to have anymore of her own. Shit, this just means there’s another reason Charlee’s deception’s a hit to the gut.

  Koda lifts his head, looks at me then to the door and releases a disgruntled woof.

  “What’s up, Koda?” I ask as someone knocks on the door. “Yeah,” I call out, not wanting to move and lift the bottle of Jack to my mouth.

  The door opens and Snowden fills the doorway. “What’s up, prospect?” I mutter, not wanting to be bothered right now.

  “Some chick is in the main room looking for you,” he states, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Who is it?” Stupid question to ask but I ask it all the same.

  “Didn’t catch her name but she’s fuckin’ hot and holding a bag of gourmet cookies in her hands talking to Bones.” Snowden shrugs.

  Fuckin’ hell. There’s only one woman who’d bring me gourmet anything.

  “I’ll be right out,” I growl, the anger coming back up full force.

  Nodding, Snowden drops his hands from his chest, grips the doorknob, and pulls my door closed leaving me secluded in my room with Koda once again.

  “Koda, what am I gonna do?” I grumble to my dog looking for answers. Koda simply tilts his head to the side and gives me a bark as if to say, ‘how the hell do I know’.

  Sighing, I put the bottle of Jack on my nightstand, climb out of bed, and put my boots back on.

  “Come on, Koda, let’s go see what the fuck Charlee’s doing here,” I mutter, making my way to the door. “Might as well take you outside while I’m at it, kill two birds with one stone.”

  As I step into the main room of the clubhouse Koda barks to make it known he’s in the room, drawing Charlee’s attention in our direction.

  Fuck, seeing her in the clubhouse pisses me off even more, knowing she threw what we had away. Took the life we could’ve had and put it in the garbage.

  “Outside,” I bite out through clenched teeth, nodding to the door.

  “Um, okay,” she murmurs, licking her lips nervously.

  My dick twitches at the sight, remembering the many times those velvet lips have been wrapped around it.

  “Koda, come,” I command, heading for the door without looking back, knowing not only my dog was behind me but Charlee. I can feel her eyes burning into my back and I wish I had let her go ahead of me since I didn’t take the time to put a shirt on. I don’t need or want her questions about the scars covering my back.

  Soon as the door slams shut behind Charlee, I round on her to find tears welling in her eyes.

  Ignoring the pang her tears cause, I curl a lip. “What are you doing here?”

  Clearing her throat, Charlee shakes her head as she holds the bag up for me to take. “Mom wanted me to bring you these. She was sorry she missed you earlier and asked me to go get you some cookies since she was unable to make you her homemade ones like she normally does,” she blurts without meeting my gaze.

  “That the only reason you came here, or did you come here to make excuses as to why I knew nothing about my fuckin’ daughter?” I snap, crossing my arms. I don’t bother taking the bag from her.

  Charlee drops the bag to the ground, and finally meets my gaze, with a glare of her own. “Don’t go there, Kaden,” she mutters.

  “Kinetic.”

  “What?” she asks baffled.

  “You don’t have a right to call me Kaden anymore. Only those I give permission to are allowed. To you, I’m Kinetic,” I snarl, leaning in her space so she gets my point.

  Koda woofs from next to me, demanding my attention.

  Glancing to him, I point to the yard. “Go do your business,” I command otherwise he’ll stay at my side unless I give him the order.

  “Yeah, I should’ve known. It’s obvious you’re no longer Kaden. He wasn’t an asshole like you are. And don’t you dare think you can tell me what to do. We broke up a long time ago—”

  The nerve she has. I can’t do anything but interrupt her. “This asshole is who I’ve always been, you just never experienced it because I loved you, but you ended us. Now are you going to explain to me why you never told me about Vivi?” I growl, interrupting her before she could spew anymore shit out of her mouth.

&nbs
p; “I kept her away from you to protect her,” Charlee snaps.

  “Bullshit, you kept her from me because you’re selfish and you knew you fucked up. And, baby, when I say you fucked up, you did it royally.” My body is taut as I stand with her directly in front of me, her head craned back to look up at me.

  “I’m not selfish,” Charlee protests. “I’ve protected her every damn day of my life. How was I supposed to introduce her to you knowing you could’ve been blown to bits at any moment? And don’t you dare bullshit me. I got a glance of your back, Kaden. What if it ended up being far worse, like for instance you actually dying? I wasn’t about to let her feel that pain.”

  Stiffening as she throws the scars in my face. “We’re done,” I grind out, taking a step back, turning on my heel and storming away from her, heading for my truck. Whistling for Koda, I open the door, wait for him to jump in, and climb in behind him.

  Fuck staying here right now.

  Fuck all of this.

  Fuck it all.

  She doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about and I’m not about to stand here and explain it to her.

  Starting the truck, I back up and switch gears, throwing rocks as I hit the gas, flying out of the parking lot without a backwards glance. At least I wasn’t too fucked up to drive. I’ll finish getting trashed at my house.

  Chapter Seven

  Charlee

  Rubbing my fingers against my temple as I sit in this shitty bar on the edge of town, I curse myself for ever letting my mom guilt me into driving down to Kaden’s clubhouse. I mean really, what was I thinking? Of course, it wasn’t going to go well.

  “Want another one darlin’?” the bartender asks. He’s got a smile that would make many girls lose their minds around here, but on the East Coast that’s every other guy. With medium brown hair and grassy green eyes, I can tell with one glance he shouldn’t be stuck in a bar like this. He looks like the type of guy who’d look great as a model for a marketing campaign. Not overly bulky, but not too average. He’s the perfect mixture of charm and good manners, like that famous TikTok guy, Cody Smith. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him on a few book covers over the years. I might’ve even read one. One of the guys over at Kaden’s club looked so much like the dude, I swore I was doing a double take, but then he walked off and disappeared out of my sight at the club. If I see him again, I’ll have to pay more attention. Who knows, I could be losing my mind a bit.

  Nodding, “Yes, please.”

  “Sure thing. Another mint mojito, or are you cravin’ something a bit different?”

  “A mint mojito would be great,” I answer coolly, finishing off the last bit of my drink and hand him the glass. He takes it from me, sets it down in the wash basin, and goes over to where the glasses are and begins making me a new one.

  “You from around here? I haven’t seen you before and well, I’d recognize a lady like you.” He cackles, surely realizing how cheesy he just sounded. “I mean, I’d . . . it’s not often pretty women like you come walking in this little bar. Most go to the ones in the inner city, you know?”

  “You mean the ones filled with overbearing assholes who won’t let a woman drink in peace? Yeah, I don’t think so. I came here to clear my mind, not make my headache worse.” I laugh and he nods his head in agreement. While I might’ve been out of town for a few years, I know things haven’t changed that much since I’ve been gone.

  “I’m Noah.” He extends his hand and I take it.

  “Charlee.”

  “Nice to meet you, Charlee.” Noah takes his hand away from mine and finishes making my drink, setting the glass on the bar before me.

  “Likewise. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place this . . .”

  “Empty. Yeah, the owner died last year and his idiot grandson inherited the joint. The asshole doesn’t know what common courtesy or quality customer service is. And yeah, the fuckwit is my boss, but I’ll call it like I see it.”

  I fail at holding back my laughter and take a sip of my new mojito. “Hey, honesty is rare these days.”

  “You can say that again,” I murmur.

  “So, what brings you to town?” Noah questions while wiping a rag over the top of the bar.

  “My mother. She had surgery not long ago so my daughter and I moved back to Portland to help her out. It was going to be a temporary thing, but I don’t think we’re going back to where we were living.”

  “Oh, well, I hope everything’s okay.”

  I nod, figuring I don’t need to go around and tell everyone how my husband is a cheating douchebag. “Yeah, it was just time for us to come home.”

  “Man, I get that. I was living in Florida for a couple years. I wanted to be on the beach every day, soak up the sun, and all that. I lasted three years before I missed the smell of warm apple cider and campfires. Sometimes we just need to come back to the place we know the best.”

  He isn’t wrong. Even though my circumstances were different than I thought, maybe the world was trying to force me back here to Portland for some reason. The bell on the door rings, signifying someone else is entering the bar so Noah stands up a little straighter. “Hey, guys, how’re you doin’ tonight?”

  “Good, Noah. You see any Deathstalkers around here?” the guy questions, and at the mention of Kaden’s club I find myself narrowing my eyes in on him. He’s wearing a cut just like Kaden and his boys do, but instead of it saying ‘Deathstalkers MC’, it reads ‘Toxic Warriors MC’. The guy speaking to Noah is about six-four, has a stocky build but I’m sure if he was wearing a fitted tee you’d be able to see every vein in his arms. The guy struts up at the sight of me with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Who’s your friend here?”

  “This is Charlee, she came in for a drink, Rocky. Not for anything else.”

  I don’t mistake the seriousness laced through Noah’s tone. He’s trying to get this guy to leave me alone, but who knows if it’ll work. This Rocky guy has a patch like Kaden, but instead of it reading ‘Enforcer’, it reads ‘President’.

  Rocky runs his hands back through his hair and still comes closer to me, stepping directly next to my barstool he looks down at me like I’m a bloody steak. “I don’t know, man. She might change her mind about what she’s lookin’ for.”

  “You asked about Deathstalkers? I haven’t seen any of ‘em, not even my brother,” Noah speaks up, somehow managing to continue working while speaking to this guy. But, I don’t miss the fact he just alluded he has a brother.

  “Mmm, interesting. They have Snowden being their lil’ messenger boy, said we’d meet here tonight with Vader and Kinetic.”

  Fuck.

  I down the rest of my drink without warning, causing two curious glances to come at me. Cocking a brow, I look at both the men. “What? Never seen a lady down a drink before?” Rolling my eyes, I lift up my glass and motion Noah for another. I won’t drive myself home tonight, but I’ll make sure to get a taxi and come grab my car in the morning.

  Rocky wiggles his way a bit closer to me, reaches his hand out and grazes it gently against my shoulder. He takes his fingers and loops them through my chocolate brown hair, touching me like some sort of plaything. “I’m hopin’ by the time I’m done with club business you might be lookin’ for something a bit different. It’s a shame a pretty woman like you is out here in a bar all alone.”

  The bell rings on the front door, signaling there are more people coming in the bar, and I immediately look behind me. But as I do, I see eyes filled with shock and then fury.

  Chapter Eight

  Kinetic

  Several hours after speeding out of the clubhouse parking lot, I’m pulling back in due to my Prez’s orders.

  Falcon needs Vader and I to go handle some club business with the Toxic Warriors MC over at a bar on the edge of Portland called The Waterhole. It’s a little bar that is known around here as neutral territory. It’s the only place around these parts that we have sit downs with rivals, and the Toxic Warriors t
hough aren’t completely our rivals . . . we’re not on the best terms with them. They’re still into some bad shit, at least their charter out here is.

  Rocky, the president of the Oregon charter, is a pain in my side considering I’m the one who always deals with him. Falcon gave me that job since I have a connection to the Toxic Warriors MC. Viking, the national Prez, is my cousin. Growing up we’d been tight. After he joined his club and started rising in rank, I stopped talking to him too much. The only time we speak now is if we gotta. Blood may be thick but he chose his path, and I did the same.

  Several months ago, he’d contacted Falcon to help run protection detail with them. The club agreed to this as long as we got thirty percent for our part. Evidently Viking’s business was growing and some of the product he pushed, more or less the pussy he pushed, needed protection getting where it was going. I don’t know much else of their business but what I did know was that none of the pussy was going anywhere involuntarily. They all signed up for this life, and Viking made sure to take care of them.

  Pulling into the parking lot, I put the truck in park, open my door, climb out, and let Koda jump to the ground. Slamming the door shut, I stalk to the clubhouse to put Koda up then find Vader so we can get this shit done. I want to get this business done with Rocky so I might be able to figure out why the fuck seeing Charlee again has me this high-strung.

  It’s not just about seeing her again. It’s the fact my heart is beating again, and that shit is fuckin’ with me. I swore I’d never go there with any bitch. I’m not about to let Charlee back in my heart to fuck it up again either. Not after what she did.