Outlaw Souls MC Box Set: Books 1-6

by Hope Stone

  I stripped as I walked into the bedroom, tossing clothes around carelessly, and fell across the bed with no grace whatsoever. Pulling my phone out of my discarded pants at the foot of the bed, I fired off a quick text to her. I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her even though I wouldn’t be available to see her tomorrow.

  Just before I passed out for the night, I thought about this being the first time I ever wanted to share good news with a woman. Kat was definitely going to be the first person to ride on the back of my bike now that I was an Outlaw Soul.

  Kat

  I woke up late on Sunday, past noon. I had slept like a rock, practically passing out as soon as I got out of the shower. Now, my hair was a matted mess from being wet when I fell asleep, and my body was achy from running around the crowded bar. I stretched and yawned as I got out of bed, snatching up my jeans where I’d shoved my tips into my pockets the night before. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I counted out the bills, finding that I’d earned about six hundred dollars.

  Not too bad for one night’s work.

  I pulled a shoebox off the top shelf in my closet and added the tip money to the cash already in there. I had over four-thousand dollars now, probably enough to buy a nice used bike. I smiled to myself. I would start shopping around for one this week.

  I’d slept in a t-shirt and pair of panties, but now I pulled on a pair of pajama pants. I was sticking around the house today, so it didn’t really matter what I wore. I might as well be comfortable. Going to the kitchen, I saw grey clouds through the window and thought of Blade. If it rained, his ride would be miserable. Even with a helmet and jacket, he’d be soaked.

  I brewed myself a cup of coffee while grabbing a container of leftover Chinese food from the fridge. I ate the chow mein cold while leaning against the kitchen counter, thinking about the way my mother and I would spend our Sundays when she was alive.

  She’d found religion in the last five years of her life and always insisted on going to the church’s early service. I knew she wanted me to go with her, but I’d never been interested, usually sleeping in until she got home. I regretted that now. Whether or not I wanted to listen to a sermon and sing songs, or whatever they did at her church, I should’ve gone just to spend that time with her. Because it was important to her.

  I threw my empty takeout container into the trash, thinking about the big meals she always made after getting home from church. I’d help her with that, at least. She insisted that Sunday afternoons were a time for family, and home cooking was a big part of that. Jason and Lexie always came over, and the four of us would spend hours at the kitchen table. My mom would playfully tease Jason about giving her grandchildren, and I’d always promise to bring home a man with a big appetite sometime, even though we all knew I didn’t do serious relationships often. It was just a part of our routine.

  After my mom had died, Jason and Lexie tried to keep the tradition going, even offering to come over and cook the food with me, despite that Jason was terrible at it. But I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t the same without her, and it felt like a mockery.

  I drank two cups of coffee while I was lost in my memories. I told myself that the weather was making me melancholy, but I knew better. Something needed to change.

  Sundays are for family. Okay, Mom.

  I walked to her room, my bare feet making the floor creak in the hall. When I went into her room this time, I forced myself to do something, anything productive. Grabbing the comforter in both hands, I yanked it off the bed, followed by the sheets. When the mattress was bare, I went to the window and took down the curtains, adding them to the pile on the floor.

  It was crazy the way that these simple acts loosened a knot in the center of my chest that I hadn’t even realized was there. It felt like a purge, and I was shocked that I wanted to keep going. Whipping open the closet, I pulled all the clothes off the hangers, not stopping until they were all bare. It wasn’t until I turned and saw all the fabric piled up on the floor that I realized I was crying.

  I hated that. Crying made me feel stupid and weak, but there was nothing to be done about it. This was long-overdue, and I had a feeling that I would never be able to get through it without tears. In the end, it might make me feel better to finally cry. I had refused to allow myself to do it before now.

  I spent all afternoon in that room, emptying the dresser and pulling everything out from under the bed. I got rid of almost everything, bagging up the clothes to be donated and throwing away anything else that I didn’t want to keep. By the end of the day, I was standing in the middle of a room with a bare bed and an empty dresser.

  Nothing in here reminded me of my mom anymore, and I felt a twinge of guilt at the relief that gave me. I didn’t want to forget her, which would be impossible, anyway, but I couldn’t stand living in a house haunted by my memories of her anymore. It was making me miserable.

  There was a knock on my front door, and I grabbed two of the bags for donation, dragging them with me down the hall. I was sweaty, and my messy hair was pulled into a bun at the top of my head, but I didn’t care. I knew who was on the other side of the door, and I wasn’t looking to impress him.

  “What’s this stuff?” Jason asked as I pulled open the door.

  “It’s why I texted you to come over. It’s for Goodwill.”

  He reached down and took a bag, grunting with surprise at the weight.

  “What the hell do you have in here?” he asked, heaving it over to Lexie’s car, which I’d asked him to bring instead of his bike.

  “Clothes, mostly.”

  “You mean…”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “I cleaned out Mom’s room.”

  When Jason came back up the porch steps, he threw an arm over my shoulders. “Good for you, sis.”

  “I’ll admit, it feels better.”

  “Yeah, you can’t keep a shrine to her in this house and still expect to be comfortable living here.”

  “I miss her.”

  “Me too,” he said, giving my shoulders a squeeze. Jason let go and grabbed the second bag to put in his car. We weren’t exactly the lovey-dovey type, so I wasn’t expecting much more than his help. The hug was a bonus.

  “Hey, do you want to get together next week for dinner?” I asked.

  “On Sunday?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Absolutely.”

  I had the feeling that he was waiting for me to extend this invitation. This whole time, I had assumed that he was okay because he had Lexie, that she was all support he needed, but now I wasn’t so sure. Maybe I wasn’t the only one feeling alone since our mom died.

  I was in a good mood when I walked into work on Monday morning. I’d had a hell of a weekend, starting with great sex and ending with a big dose of personal growth. I walked into Ink Envy while holding a drink carrier with four coffees made to everyone’s specifications. I enjoyed working closely with a small group of people like this. I’d been employed by large companies in the past while working in housekeeping or for restaurant franchises. Employees didn’t matter to those businesses. Everyone was easily replaceable. We were just numbers on a page. I knew that Brie cared about us and that she saw us as talented individuals and friends.

  “Good morning,” I said as I sat her cappuccino on the counter in front of her.

  “I just cleaned that glass, you know,” she said, picking up the cup and taking a sip.

  “You’re welcome,” I replied, and she smiled.

  “You’re chipper for a Monday morning,” she commented. “Have a good weekend?”

  There was a twinkle in her eye, and I wondered what she knew about it.

  “Sure.”

  “Funny, Blade seems to be in a good mood, too. Makes me think it might be related.”

  “You ever hear of a coincidence?”

  “Okay.” She raised her hands in defense. “I get it. None of my business.”

  When I walked into the back of the shop, Blade was already there, but Piper hadn’t
arrived yet. I watched him for a long moment as he stood with his back to me, a combination of confusion and denial keeping my feet rooted to the floor.

  “What the hell is that?” I asked, my voice sharp.

  Blade turned with his brow furrowed. “What? What’s wrong?”

  I’d seen Blade wear his leather jacket before, and I’d even ridden on the back of his bike, but there was no way he’d been wearing an Outlaw Souls patch before today.

  “You can’t seriously be an Outlaw Soul.” It wasn’t a question, because I didn’t want him to confirm it.

  “You have a problem with motorcycle clubs?”

  “I have a problem with that one,” I said, sitting the remaining three coffees down on the counter and crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Why?”

  He seemed genuinely curious, but beneath that, I could sense his loyalty to Outlaw Souls. I’d seen it in my father long enough to recognize it. I lifted my chin and met his gaze head-on.

  “I’m connected to Las Balas,” I said, not sure how else to phrase it. Mad Dog had said I was family, but I wasn’t so sure about that. My dad and my brother, sure, but I was more like a close family friend. My dad and brother were definitely family.

  Understanding seemed to dawn on Blade’s face. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Be serious,” I snapped angrily. I knew that Blade didn’t know about my ties to a rival club, but I couldn’t help feeling betrayed. I thought he was a good guy, but how could I believe that after being told my whole life that Outlaw Souls were the enemy?

  I wasn’t naive enough to think Las Balas were all stand-up guys. I knew that they got up to trouble sometimes. So if they claimed that Outlaw Souls were bad people, the rival club must get up to some bad shit.

  “How can you align yourself with those people?” Blade asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Me? Look who’s talking. And I’ll have you know that my father is a member and my brother’s a prospect of Las Balas.”

  “So, is everyone in your family a piece of shit?”

  “Whoa,” Piper’s voice distracted me from the tirade I was prepared to throw at Blade. “What’s going on here?”

  She’d just walked in, and I saw Brie lingering behind her, watching us with concerned eyes.

  “You won’t believe this,” I told my best friend. “Blade’s an Outlaw Soul now.”

  “What?” she looked to Blade, who nodded with a stubborn glint in his eye.

  “I was initiated on Saturday.” He shrugged out of his jacket and showed them both the patch on the back. I forced myself not to ogle his thick arm muscles that were easy to see through his tight shirt.

  “Oh,” Piper’s eyes flitted to me for a second before widening. “Wow. That’s…unfortunate.”

  That was one way to put it.

  “I can’t believe this,” I sighed. “I slept with the enemy.”

  At this, a dark anger flashed in Blade’s eyes, and there was a rough edge to his voice when he spoke. “You didn’t complain at the time.”

  “Okay, maybe it’s time to calm down,” Piper said.

  “At the time, I thought I knew who I was sleeping with,” I bit out, ignoring her. “You guys go out of your way to harass Las Balas, declaring war, and for what? To make yourselves feel like big men by pushing out the only other motorcycle club in La Playa?”

  “Are you really this naive? You think that Las Balas are the good guys in this fight?”

  “You know what? You’re new to Outlaw Souls, so I’ll give you some advice. Don’t piss off your president. I’ve heard that he’s got a violent history, and I’d hate for you to learn the hard way that you’ve misplaced your loyalty.”

  I crossed into my workspace and pulled the curtain shut around me before he could reply. I didn’t want to see his face right now, I was too worked up. Taking a seat on my stool, I dug around in my purse until I found my last piece of gum. I popped it into my mouth as I heard Blade mumble something about crazy women before the telltale sound of metal against metal that was the track of the curtain signaled he’d closed the one around his station, as well.

  “Well, today’s going to be fun,” Piper said, and I hated that she was in an awkward situation, but it wasn’t my fault. Blade was the bad guy here, and it was a shame because I really liked him.

  Blade

  I’d never known a more infuriatingly unreasonable woman in my whole life.

  To say that Kat’s reaction was unexpected would be an understatement. It had never occurred to me to mention that I was a prospect for Outlaw Souls, and her attitude toward the club was baffling.

  Clearly, she’d been fed a line of bullshit about us and wasn’t willing to listen to reason.

  Fine, I told myself. Her loss.

  I spent the day stewing over the argument we’d had this morning and trying to ignore the tension in the air. I kept my curtain pulled around my work station all day, and she did the same. The atmosphere of the shop had changed so quickly.

  I skipped lunch since I was in the middle of a tattoo on a woman’s lower back around noon, so I was starving by the time I left the shop at the end of the night. I hopped on my bike while Kat and Piper walked across the parking lot to their cars and Brie locked up the building. I was the first one out of the parking lot, and I headed straight to Tiny’s diner. It was caddy-corner to the Blue Dog, so it was no surprise to walk in and see other Outlaw Souls there. I nodded at Yoda and Ryder, who were sitting across from each other in a booth, but I sat alone at a table in the back. I didn’t feel much like socializing tonight.

  I knew that it was pointless to think about Kat. I barely knew her, but it was a bitter disappointment that things were over so quickly. If nothing else, she was good in bed, and I would have liked to go another couple rounds.

  Fuck it.

  I was just going around in circles here. The fact was that we had discovered an insurmountable difference between us; Kat had even called us enemies.

  I was facing the door, so I saw when a group of women entered the restaurant. One of them had long dark hair, and it reminded me of Kat so much that I made myself look away. God, I was acting like a lovesick teenager. It was ridiculous. Kat was just a good lay, I told myself firmly, still avoiding looking at the woman that could have been her sister with all their similarities. I felt a presence approaching and looked up, expecting the waitress. Instead, I saw Ryder there.

  “Got a minute?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I said unenthusiastically.

  Ryder sat across from me. “You all right?”

  No. “Yeah, I’m tight. What’s up?”

  “Swole talked to Cecilia Groves.”

  “Already? That was fast.”

  “I guess Cecilia attends a weekly yoga class at the fitness center, so Swole conveniently ran into her today. Anyway, she has given us permission to search the property.”

  “She must have been pretty upset about the death of her husband at the hands of the mob.”

  “She was, but you know how strong women can be. They compartmentalize that shit. Right now, she wants the stash off the land for the safety of her and her kid.”

  “When do we start?”

  “Two days. Hawk will have his hands on a few metal detectors by then.”

  “Count me in.”

  “Good.” He racked his knuckles on the table twice and stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “My tattoo?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I nodded. “Right. See you tomorrow.”

  I had forgotten all about that. Now Ryder was going to be in the shop with Kat, who apparently hated us.

  This was going to be interesting.

  “What’s that?” Kat asked with an annoyed look on her face for no good reason. It was first thing in the morning, and I had just walked into the tattoo shop carrying a flat white box.

  “Donuts,” I said with a big grin. I knew that she had a sweet tooth but wouldn’t wa
nt to eat something that I’d brought in. Basically, I was fucking with her. “Want one?”

  “I do,” Piper chimed in. I held the box out to her, and she selected a jelly-filled one.

  “Brie, do you want a donut?” I called out to her at the front counter.

  “Always,” she said, coming in to grab a classic glazed one.

  I turned back to Kat to see her glowering at me. “See, I didn’t poison them, no matter what you think of me. Do you want one, Kitten?”

  “Don’t call me that,” she hissed.

  She looked pissed now. I had been trying to get under her skin, to get a rise out of her because I was angry about yesterday, but I had a feeling that using my nickname for her had been a step too far. I hadn’t even meant to say it, it just slipped out. Grabbing a maple bar out of the box, I shoved half of it into my mouth before tossing the box onto the counter in her workspace.

  “Help yourself,” I said through a mouthful of pastry.

  I went into my section and sat on the stool, but I didn’t close the curtains, not today. I wasn’t going to let her anger at me keep me hidden while I was here. Apparently, she had the same idea because her curtains stayed open as well, and we were both forced to act like the other person didn’t exist. It was awkward, but I blamed Kat for it. She was the one that was angry just because I was an Outlaw Soul. I didn’t like her connection to Las Balas, and it probably wasn’t a good idea to keep seeing each other, but I wasn’t the one being an asshole here.

  Kat didn’t touch the damn donuts, which drove me crazy. I knew she wanted one. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

  I had a client come in not long after that, and I gave him my full attention, hoping that a good distraction would make this situation better. His tattoo was a cross on his shoulder with angel wings behind it stretching out on either side. As I worked, we made small talk, and I discovered that he was a rider, as well. It made the time go quicker as we found that common ground, and I told him all about my Sporster and the work that Trainer had done on it.