Consumed By Rage: A Stained Souls MC Novel - Book 1

by Zara Teleg

  I nodded and held my cup up to him. He poured his brew, lit his smoke, and joined me.

  “I’m glad you’re back. I missed having you as backup. Because Leo is such a pussy,” he said loud enough to be sure Leo could hear him as he rounded the corner.

  “Fuck off, you Jared Leto wannabe,” Leo grumbled. Leo’s comment had the rest of the boys laughing as they entered the room. It became a frenzy of quickly disappearing food and coffee as they all loaded their plates and filled their mugs.

  “Dude, you really think I look like Leto?” Kai asked Leo, a hopeful expression on his face. “No, you’re a tool!” Leo retorted as he poured his coffee.

  “Dick.” Kai hung his head and grabbed the bourbon from the end of the counter. “What goes better with coffee than a little bourbon?” He filled the shot glasses he had set out.

  Smiling, he held the bottle high in the air. “To Rage’s return home.” He passed out shots, and everyone raised their glasses in the air. The glasses slammed to the bar before Colt, our president, popped his head into the kitchen.

  “Ladies, you can gossip later. It’s time for church.”

  “Prez, you need to catch up.” Kai passed him a large shot and poured himself another. They clinked their glasses and threw back their shots.

  “I needed that,” Colt said and accepted a coffee from one of the prospects.

  Seconds later, we all shuffled into the boardroom, away from outsiders’ ears. We took our seats around the maple table. Colt banged the gavel, silencing everyone.

  “The first order of business,” he announced and then turned to me, “Welcome back, Rage.” Whistles and hollers sounded around the large table. “We’re glad you came back a few days early. We have some issues you may be able to help with.” He shuffled the papers in front of him. “Before we get into those, Hawk, Tiny, and Leo, you want to give me some updates on our numbers?” He turned to Ledger, who was pulling out his laptop. “Ledge, you ready?”

  Having a member with an accounting degree was more helpful than we thought. Ledge put on his nerdy glasses, nodding to proceed. The thick black frames took him from looking like Superman in leather to Clark Kent.

  After the boring numbers shit, Colt finally delved into why we were all called into this meeting. He ran his hands through his hair, the jet black now had glimmers of white appearing. He’s only in his early forties, but his hair was showing just how much stress running a club can age you. He became president in his thirties, just after he and Chyanne split—he took on a whole lot of responsibility.

  “You boys know how hard we have worked to be as legit as we can be around here.” He cracked his tattooed knuckles. “Other than a few fights a year, we have really turned things around with our businesses. However, we got problems. The troopers agree not to bother us if we help keep the area clean of drugs. Unfortunately, we have gotten word from several sources that there has been an influx of Ecstasy and other tainted batches of drugs that have sent a few college girls to the ER.”

  He took a long breath, “There have been a couple of anger-induced incidents that jailed a few students. Police said it was from a form of meth they haven’t seen before. Their intel said it’s coming from Florida, with matching incidents there. Bad drugs have become a fast-growing problem, and now it’s spreading into Sugar Maple, too. Two nights ago, The Ridge had a girl fall to the floor in a seizure. Trooper Jones said they are still waiting on test results to find out the drugs in her system, but the pressure is on to find out who is bringing in the drugs, probably because the girl was the Black Rock City Council President’s daughter.”

  “What the fuck do they want us to do?” Ledger asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

  Colt lit the cigarette he had been fiddling with and continued, “The girl’s boyfriend admitted in custody that he bought it from his cousin, who then claimed that it came from a biker. There are only two possibilities around here, The Banshees or Devil’s. My bet is on Devil’s. The mother chapter of Devil’s Damned is in North Florida where the intel indicated it is spreading from. They’re known to push bad shit.”

  “I think it’s time we have our annual meet and get this shit straightened out before it puts us out of business.” Colt looked around for agreement. “Since we have Rage’s welcome home party this weekend—” He was interrupted with hoots and hollers. Colt pounded the gavel hard. “I think we can have the club ready to host the boys from both chapters next weekend. I’ll clear it with Trooper Jones, keep the townies from getting anywhere near the chaos here next weekend.”

  Everyone appeared agreeable. “I’m going to need you all to help make it happen next weekend, so make sure you are ready, willing, and able with your free time.” All of us nodded our heads.

  “Anyone else have any other business?” Colt tapped his cigarette out. He pounded the gavel, the last of his smoke streaming from his lips. He grinned wide and hit my shoulder, “Then, I guess I’ll see you all Saturday night.” Loud hoots and hollers came from my bothers as we stood and left the room.

  “Rage,” Leo hollered after me. “You still good to close for Shelly and me tonight? She’s been bugging me for a date night for weeks.” He shook his head and put it in his hands. “She wants me to take her Salsa dancing.”

  I tried hard not to laugh at the poor guy. “Yeah, I got you covered, and yes, before you remind me, I will check in on the classes, and yes, I know how to lock up and turn on the alarm.”

  “Good man. I will see you tonight.” His hand landed heavy on my shoulder.

  Before I could go on any farther, it was Hawk’s turn. Geez.

  “Oh, Rage,” he said in a sing-song voice. That could only mean trouble. I was afraid to look. I slowly turned to face Hawk and Ledge, both of whom had shit-eating grins plastered to their up-to-no-good faces.

  “Yes?”

  “We wanted to introduce you to someone.” Hawk smiled.

  Behind them stood a tall, leggy redhead. Her shorts and tank top looked two sizes too small, showing off her curves. She gave me a flirtatious smile. Bright red lipstick stained her lips. Many men would find her sexy with her huge breasts and tiny waist. She stalked toward me swinging her hips.

  “Hi, I’m Leann,” she purred, pushing her breasts out. She looked at me through thick bangs. “The guys said you’ve just come back to town.” She bit her lip as she looked me over. “I’d be happy to show you around your room again.”

  Behind her, Hawk and Ledge were nodding their heads and making lewd gestures.

  Ah, fuck it. I could use a good time. “Sure, babe, lead the way.” I looped my arm around her neck and pulled her in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two clowns give each other a silent high five.

  It was 7:50 pm. I leaned against the doorway looking in through the glass pane as I observed the final ten minutes of the class. I was mesmerized as I watched the woman who was teaching yoga, or Dynamic Expansion, according to Leo.

  She was stunning. The way she bent, twisted, and contorted, raising her leg high above her head while keeping perfect balance. How she was teaching these big Neanderthals how to do this was beyond me. They all seemed in sync following her instruction. It was quite a sight watching them on their colorful mats.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She seemed so strangely familiar. Had I met her before? I was only a few feet from her, but with her attention focused on the class, she didn’t even notice I was there.

  She had the body of a trained athlete, tight in all the right places, with a tan and toned six-pack. She had a nice rack on her, too, a good size but not overdone like the fake girls at the club.

  Her sports bra covered her cleavage and had all these sexy strings attaching the pale pink fabric. Her hair was twisted up; the golden locks had blue, pink, and purple streaks wound through the shiny waves that fell from the top.

  Her hair exposed a tattoo on the back of her neck. A hand of some sort, with a heart at its center. I’d seen that before. The hand was colorful, yet
the heart was black. It was a stark contrast to the bright colors surrounding it.

  My focus moved to her muscular back, the curve of her spine down to her perfectly sculpted ass and legs, which were outlined a little too well in her pink sparkle yoga pants. She had a sexy-as-hell belly ring that had a purple stone on top and the same hand as on her neck, dangling through the piercing. The woman was perfection down to her bare feet, with sparkly pink toes adorned by tiny rings.

  As much as I was admiring the view, something made me not too happy to see her here looking sexy as sin in front of all these men. An inexplicable, almost possessive feeling washed over me.

  I let out a breath when she finished the class in a split, holding her foot to the back of her head. My jaw dropped. The men around her stretched their best and did not appear phased by the impressive pose.

  My thoughts and stare broke when the group of men started to file out from the room. “Good to see you back, man,” Valentino, an old sparring partner, greeted me with a fist bump as he pushed his way past the others to the locker room. I smiled back, but my eyes never left her.

  Juliet

  It was Wednesday night, 8 pm, and I’d just finished my Dynamic Expansion class. Ivy came to “assist” that night. You know, making sure the boys were doing their stretches properly, at least that was what she said she was doing. As the class wrapped up, I told the boys what a great job they did and I couldn’t wait to see them again next week.

  Ivy and I cleaned up the mats, and as I turned off the music, I heard the door slamming from behind me. I thought someone forgot something.

  “Holy shit,” Ivy said under her breath, long and drawn out.

  I turned around and caught my first glimpse of him. Dressed in loose black sweatpants and a tight white tank that made his tan skin stand out. A large tattoo on one shoulder. He was probably six and a half feet tall, walking toward me with authority. When I got to his face, I nearly couldn’t believe my eyes. It was like Alcide, the sexy hot werewolf in my favorite show, True Blood, had come to life. I took in the dark curly hair on his head with shaved sides, a day-old scruff, his chiseled features, and sweet mother of God, the chocolate brown eyes that felt like they looked straight into my soul. He had to be the most attractive man I’d ever seen.

  As I opened my mouth, nothing seemed to come out. I just blinked my eyes. Ivy, the eternal flirt, quickly jumped in, “Hi, handsome. Haven’t seen you here before. You just missed class, but I’d be happy to help you with a private lesson,” she offered, wiggling her eyebrows as she moved in front of me. I let out a low groan and covered my face with my hand, shaking my head in embarrassment.

  Ivy extended her hand, “I’m Ivy.” To break my obvious stare, she gave me a gentle push, “This is Juliet…”

  How embarrassing. I peeked through my lashes to meet those dark eyes. I began to extend my hand and open my mouth to say something but nothing came out. What was happing to me?

  “Juliet teaches the Dynamic Expansion class that you just missed,” Ivy continued.

  In a sexy gruff voice, he said, “Yes, Leo told me. I’m not here for the class. I just wanted to introduce myself.”

  A large heavily muscled arm reached out to meet mine. “I’m Rage,” his voice went straight to my core. “I’m Leo’s partner. I’ve been out of town these past few years.”

  I’d noticed good looking men, but no man had affected me like this with just his voice. A shudder ran through me, heat pooled in my core.

  Ivy suddenly squealed, “Wait a minute! I recognize you. You’re on the decal on the front windows.” She pointed, waving her finger. “You’re Rage Erikson!”

  In that sexy-as-hell voice, he said, “Yes, I am. I’m ready to get back at helping run things here again. Leo has been telling me about some of the addition he’s made and raving about your class, so I thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.”

  “Great to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you from Leo. He’s been looking forward to you coming back. I think he and Shelly can use a break from the place. He said you were going to take over some of the training again.”

  Those two muscled arms crossed his chest as he took in the room. And as if Ivy wasn’t even standing there, he studied my body for a moment, then looked directly in my eyes.

  “Do you train here?”

  “Uhhh…yeah…two or three times a week with Leo.”

  He raked over my body with his eyes, sending a thrill and heat through me. My mouth went completely dry. I shuffled my feet as I gathered the items I was packing up.

  “W-We gotta p-pack up and get going,” a small stutter was in my voice. “Thanks for…for stopping in to meet us.” My eyes went to the floor, trying to resist looking into his, but they were like magnets drawing me in.

  “Anything I can help you ladies with?”

  “Nah, we got this,” I waved my hand.

  “Okay, well, I guess I’ll leave you to it. See you around the gym.” As he turned to walk away, a blond head popped into the door.

  “Hey, ladies! A few of us are going to get some drinks at The Ridge. Want to come along?” It was Joey The Weapon, smiling brightly.

  The look on Rage’s face changed. He seemed to be sizing Joey up as he stared at him. He almost looked annoyed. Why the hell would he be annoyed?

  Before I had a chance to say no, Ivy chimed in, “Hell, yeah. Let us catch a shower and we’ll meet you guys there in an hour.”

  “Will do!” His smile was wide. “See you two there, then.” Ivy had a dumb grin on her face.

  “Why did you say yes?” I asked her.

  “Because I knew you’d say no. Juliet, you’re twenty-seven, not seventy-two. You need to get out and have some fun. You’re either working, gardening, reading, or beating the shit out of the heavy bag. It’s not healthy, girl. You’re not getting any younger, honey.” She smacked my butt lightly.

  Like I was offended, I gave her a pointed look and crossed my arms, even though I couldn’t care less about what people thought of my routine and reclusive lifestyle, “I like working, gardening, reading, and beating the shit out of the bag. Besides, Lord needs me at home.”

  “I’m sure your dog can live without you for another few hours. Come on, just for a little while, have a little fun,” she urged, giving her best pouty lip.

  “Well, I guess I’m getting dragged out against my will,” I huffed, eyes rolling. I looked at Rage, who was still there, watching us banter. “Rage, you’re welcome to come, too.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck like he was considering it. “Nah, I got shit to do here. I’m closing up for Leo tonight, but thanks.”

  I twisted my hands together nervously. “Well, it was so nice meeting you, I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

  With his face furrowed, he grunted, “Yeah, you, too. See you around.” He turned to walk out, and I couldn’t help but look at the perfect outline of his butt in those gym pants. I watched him leave the room, almost fanning myself, shaking my head. This was not good, the last thing I needed was to be attracted to my new boss.

  Rage

  I’d been in this woman’s presence for only ten minutes, so why was I feeling pissed at the idea that she was going out to meet some of our boys at a bar? I usually couldn’t give two shits.

  I decided at nine years old never to fall in love—love made you weak, and it could be easily taken away in an instant. The wall I’d built around myself was high and impenetrable. I had sex—I did not date. Women were just distractions and caused you trouble. I wouldn’t turn my life upside down for a hot piece of ass. I got the club to fill my needs. I was not getting whipped like Leo and Shelly. All they did was fight and fuck. But I guessed they were happy—it had been more than five years.

  It was about twenty-five minutes later when laughter emerged from the women’s locker room. Ivy and Juliet were dressed and heading out. I couldn’t take my eyes off the pair. Ivy was long and lean, reminding me of a ballerina. She had chin-length bright blond hair, and sh
e was fully made up. She was in a dressy tank top, her black jeans were so tight they looked painted on, and she had very high heels. Who brought heels to the gym?

  My eyes moved to Juliet, who was trailing behind her friend. Wow. She looked unbelievable. Glowing tan, not a stitch of makeup other than her full lips being glossy. She wore a flowing white shirt that just came to the top of her jeans. It was modest but made her tits look even bigger. Her tight and ripped pale blue jeans showed off her perfect ass. Sparkling flip-flops were on her feet. On any other girl, it would have looked dull, but not on her. She looked sexy as fuck.

  Juliet’s hair was now down. It flowed long down her back in waves of color. Golden with pink, blue, and purple shades running through it. She had sunglasses holding it out of her face, with just a few strands falling forward. She had her bag tossed over her shoulder. The two said goodbye to just about everybody they came across, and all eyes were on them as they walked out the gym doors.

  I watched through the window as Juliet threw her bag over the door and jumped into a pink and black tricked-out Jeep with the top down. As she started it, loud music blared out of the open vehicle. The June sky was beginning to darken, the pink and orange reflected off the black surface. The big spare wheel cover had the same hand that matched her tattoo, colorfully painted with the word Namaste and a peace sign.

  Then it hit me. I remembered where I’d first seen that Jeep. Wait, is she…yoga girl? The woman I saw flying through the air to Disturbed’s Sound of Silence? Could it be? I was dumbfounded. How could I have missed it? With my mouth gaping open, I watched her Jeep drive away to the music of Radiohead’s Creep. Well, hot damn.

  Chapter Four