Filthy Savage (Satan's Saints MC Book 3)

by Bella Love-Wins

  “Let me see if I’m hearing you right,” I say. “You’re telling me that our grandfathers killed someone to help their army boss, and now he’s big on the political scene? Are you saying the two things are connected?”

  “It’s a theory. It’s an explanation that makes sense.”

  “Do you have proof?”

  He shakes his head and his face goes solemn. “Natalie had those files. I don’t know what happened to them, but even so, there wasn’t anything definitive. There was no smoking gun to speak of.”

  “You’re not suggesting that…” I start, but have to take a long breath. The words won’t come off my tongue.

  “Were our parents killed because of some coded files that belonged to our grandfather?” Nancy asks abruptly, taking the words right out of my mouth.

  “It sounds preposterous, I know. But proof or not, that’s what I’ve come to believe.”

  “Did she say anything about Vincent Belmont?”

  “No. Nothing at all.” Mr. Jackson’s phone rings somewhere in his pocket. He pulls it out and checks the screen, then turns off the volume. “That’s your mother,” he says to Kade. “I’ll call her back in a minute.” His gaze returns to Nancy and me. “I never knew Vincent back then. I only met him through you, Nancy. Anyway, after we spoke, I moved the wife and Kade out of Nevada altogether. We settled down in Utah, which is why we never had a chance to spend time with you kids. Years later, some old neighbors phoned me about Natalie and Alain’s passing, but not in time for their funerals. I still regret not being there for you.”

  He shakes his head, agitated. “My wife and I tried to reach out and help you and your brother, but Child Welfare Services were being real hardasses. They wouldn’t even give us a contact number. I had no idea when Kade announced he was getting hitched to you, Nancy, that you were Nancy as in Natalie and Alain Voltaire’s daughter…not until I met you, dear. And even then, what was I supposed to tell you? That your ma and I saw some things we shouldn’t have, and some files she was holding onto might’ve gotten her killed? And please don’t blame Kade for any of this. This is the first he’s hearing of the full story too.”

  Kade’s phone rings. He ignores it, and a second later, Nancy’s phone buzzes.

  “It’s Tilly,” Nancy says after pulling the phone from her purse. “Tilly is Keith’s wife, Axe. It must be urgent if she’s calling all of our numbers back to back.” She swipes the call answer button and puts it on speakerphone. “Hi Tilly. Sorry we didn’t answer sooner. I’ve got you on speaker for Kade and Keith. Are the kids all right?”

  “Yes, dear. They’re fine. Perfectly safe. It’s just… I think you need to come over right away. Hurry.”

  Nancy’s eyes shoot up to Kade, then to Mr. Jackson. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  I’m not surprised that Nancy speeds the entire way to get to Kade’s folks’ house about three miles away from the residential development where Nancy and Kade live. She even beats the two SUVs over there. I follow her past Kade’s bodyguards into the front door of the older ranch-style home.

  “Tilly?” She shouts from the front door. “Asher, honey? Annalee?”

  “We’re out back,” says the voice I assume to be the kids’ grandmother.

  I follow Nancy through French doors that open onto a wooden porch. The backyard is a large, fenced, lawn-covered space, lined with massive old sequoia trees.

  “Tilly, this is my brother Alexander,” Nancy says quickly to the older woman sitting on the porch swing on the left of the French doors. “Alexander, Tilly. So, where are the kids? What happened?”

  “Nice to meet you, Alexander,” Mrs. Jackson greets me, taking her sweet time to get to her feet and shake my hand.

  “Hello,” I say briefly, aware that if Nancy does not catch sight of her kids stat, she’s liable to rip someone’s head off.

  “Asher and Annalee are upstairs playing in the guest room. They said they saw someone watching them from that corner of the property,” she explains, pointing to a spot about a couple hundred feet away. “There’s a remote possibility it can be a neighbor, but I doubt it. The other side of the property line is mostly desert. I’ve never seen anyone walking around there. I was going to call the cops, but when I looked, no one was there. I saw a van drive off, though. That’s why I called. Someone should go check it out.”

  Nancy drops her purse on the porch and turns to go back inside to find her kids. Kade and I follow Keith to the property line, but there’s nothing and no one there anymore.

  I’ve heard more new information than I can process. All I know is I want to go home to my brothers. And if this entire ordeal has to do with my family history, the clubhouse will be safe.

  “Nancy, you and Kade need to take your kids far away from here,” I tell her when I’m back inside. “Probably Kade’s parents too.”

  I see the genuine fear in my sister’s eyes as she stares up at me. “What are you going to do?”

  “Angel and I will head back to the clubhouse, and I’ll make a stop at Vincent’s on the way. He may have some answers, and if he doesn’t, my brothers and I will go down the list until we know the truth. Oh…I’m gonna need to borrow your car.”

  “Not yet,” Kade says, striding up to us. “We still have that meeting. Let’s talk to some people…shake some trees first.”

  25

  Angel

  I stand with my robe tight around my body, looking out the window for a while, unsure what to do. I’ve enjoyed having almost the entire day to myself, but now that night has fallen, I wonder what’s going on. The men outside that Kade left to protect me have no answers. Nothing that they’re willing to share with me, anyway. As much as I try to convince myself that I’m frustrated, deep down, it’s the fear that grips me. I’m still in the middle of a dangerous situation, and our lives are on the line. No game of submission or night of fucking each other’s brains out will change that.

  I go still as men’s voices echo through the hallway. They’re quiet, but their rough mutterings and raspy tones reach me easily. Soon, I’m standing at the door with my ear pressed against it.

  “There’s no way this can be connected to what happened back then,” Axe says. “How the fuck did Giovanni’s people end up joining forces with someone so deep inside the government? And why did that commander think that some fifty-year-old encrypted document about giving our grandparents a kill order would be such a risky exposure for his political campaign? I remember that night. Those armed men didn’t storm our house to question anyone. They were on a mission. Shoot to kill. No one was there searching our rooms. Now we know it was probably because my mother knew too much. So what do they want with you, me and Nancy now?”

  “We still don’t know enough,” Kade answers.

  “Was anyone tailing Nancy before I showed up? Or you?”

  “I don’t know. I should assume they’ve been, as they were at my parents’ place. Look, we need to move everyone tonight. You, Nancy, my parents, the kids, and your girl. You’re going underground until we know more. Completely off the grid. Silas is on board, and Vincent’s already made all the arrangements.”

  Kade’s voice sounds uncertain for the first time since we arrived. What does completely off the grid look like? It sure doesn’t sound like time at the Ritz.

  “How long?” Axe asks, sounding exasperated. “Fuck. I can’t do this to Angel.”

  “I don’t have an answer for you. Don’t assume anything yet, though. Giovanni’s a slick son of a bitch. This rumor about his association to a government contact could be complete bullshit to scare us. We’re taking precautions to protect everyone, but I wouldn’t put too much thought into offing him, not yet.”

  “I’m not so sure I’m ready to fall off the grid,” Axe grunts out. “Silas may be agreeable, but he knows I’m better off at the clubhouse. I respect whatever you chose for your parents, and for Nancy and the kids. I’ll talk to Angel, but ultimately, where she and I are concerned, it’ll be my call.”


  “I can respect that,” Kade says. “Where are you going now?”

  The mention of someone leaving the room is my cue to close my door and make a dash for the bed, to at least try to act like I haven’t heard a thing.

  I sit there for a second, processing what I heard. Whatever happened to his parents as a child is on his doorstep again, possibly threatening to finish the job of ending it for Axe and Nancy. And for Kade too? The whole thing is confusing. And why? God, can I even handle the answer? And Axe has to be kicking himself for dragging me into the middle of this chaos. I suddenly want more than anything to give him some sort of reassurance that it isn’t his fault, even if he’s standing in the eye of a hurricane.

  While my head is a riot of emotions, Axe returns to the room.

  “You heard us, didn’t you?” he asks.

  “Heard?” I ask, but I can’t lie anymore, so I nod. “Yes.”

  “How much of it?”

  “Enough,” I admit. “Where is everyone going?”

  “Get your things. I’m not sure. Neither of us should have that information at this point,” he says, looking away as he seems to contemplate the last few words.

  “Are we all leaving together?”

  “No. We’ll split up to improve our chances…” his voice drifts off, clearly unable to voice the risks.

  I can’t help but study his face. He’s different, troubled, genuinely worried. “Did something happen while you were gone?” I ask in a whisper.

  “Happened? Yes and no. It’s more… new facts came to light. Have you ever stood stock still in the middle of a city street when a Mack truck is headed right toward you at top speed? You know it’s coming, and you know it’s bigger than you. You know you need to do something…to get the hell out of the way. Yet it’s so ominous and intimidating that it freezes you in one spot?”

  I give him a slow shrug. “Sorry, Axe. I can’t say that I’ve ever done anything remotely like that.”

  He looks out the window, gazing out far into the distance. “Well, that’s how I feel right now. What I thought was a serious but manageable problem has just turned into something so big, spanning three generations in my family, and in Kade’s, we just learned. And now, it’s coming our way. Those lights on the horizon are way closer than they appear. They’re blinding us, threatening to demolish us, and no matter how fast we run, we might never get far enough to get out of the way.”

  I step closer to him and pull his arms around me as I crane my neck to look up into his eyes. “Will you be upset if I tell you that you’re kind of scaring me right now?”

  “I don’t know what to say, doll.” He clasps his hands at my back and kisses the top of my head. “I’m really sorry…for all of this, but most of all for being the reason you were pulled into the middle of it. Let’s pack our things and hit the road.”

  “If it’s as big as you’re saying, and relates to your families, are you sure they’ll care to come after me?” I ask, resting my chin on his chest as I look up at the grave expression on his face.

  “Pack up and get dressed. We’re leaving.” He pulls away and starts collecting his things. “Don’t ask me to take that chance.”

  His message couldn’t be any clearer.

  I’m in this with him until the bitter end.

  Taking a breath, I scoop up the clothes I bought during my shopping trip with Nancy. I pick out a flannel red-and-black, plaid lumberjack shirt and black tights.

  “Are we going to be okay?” I ask.

  “Hey,” he says, reaching for my hand. He steps up beside me and pulls my into his arms. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  26

  Axe

  I spend the first hour of our trip updating Angel on every detail I learned since my trek to Mom and Dad’s storage locker this morning. By the end of my run through, Angel is in tears and exhausted. She soon rests her head on my shoulder and dozes off. Although I have a splitting headache from the gravity of processing all the facts at once, it helps me to make up my mind about where I’ll go next.

  Vincent.

  His name can’t be on the list by coincidence. He must have a piece of this puzzle. Kade’s father laid out the scope of events, and sure, it’s logical for a longstanding state politician and an army Colonel to have played a part in a conspiracy of this magnitude. Vincent’s name just does not fit in with the rest. Not when he’s the one who turned up to save me and Nancy on the night of the murders. My eyes are tired from all the driving, but I don’t make a single stop until I’m outside the gates of Vincent’s mansion.

  I don’t have to use the buzzer to be let in. Some members of the perimeter security detail are my men from the clubhouse. One of them waves me in and radios a message to announce me at the main house.

  Victor is waiting at the front door when I roll up.

  We waste little time with pleasantries and introductions. Less than five minutes after arriving, I part ways with Angel so I can grill Vincent privately. A housecleaning staff leads her to get some sleep in one of the many bedrooms upstairs. Me and Vincent retreat into his study.

  “I imagine you must think I had some part in this,” Vincent says from his office chair, his usual spot in the room.

  “I’m not thinking anything. I’m asking, because I don’t trust anyone as much as I do you, Nancy and Silas. Maybe Angel too, but that’s beside the point. Your name was on that list, Vincent. I would really like to understand why my mother would group you in with a fellow victim and two powerful men who could have orchestrated a the hit our parents overheard, then later, so many years later, returned to make sure their dirty secrets were buried with Mom and Dad.”

  “I need to update you on what’s happened since you left your sister’s.” Vincent must register the immediate alarm on my face, because he quickly adds. “Nancy’s fine. They all are. Nothing’s happened to them.”

  I press my hands to my temples. “Jeez. Try not to scare the fuck out of me like that, brother. It wasn’t easy ditching that burner phone and being completely out of communication with everyone for all that time. So what’s the update?”

  Vincent leans back in his chair. “Simply put, it’s over.”

  “What’s over? What are you talking about?”

  “Everything to do with the names on that piece of paper, you and Nancy, and Kade’s family. It’s done. No more Los Diablos will be after you, no armed men from secret government agencies are going to swoop in from nowhere in the middle of the night. It’s over.”

  I shake my head and start pacing back and forth in front of the armchair I’ve been sitting in. “Are you shitting me right now? It can’t be that simple. First of all, how did all of this go down? Who arranged what, when, where and why? And how are you certain there’s no wild card waiting in the wings for us to put our guards down so Angel or Nancy or the kids can end up in a bad situation?”

  “You said you trust me. Do you really? And while you’re thinking about that, consider a few things. How well connected am I?”

  “Connected as fuck, last time I checked.”

  “Do you think I might know a few people who know a few people who can get out front of this problem and take care of it for us?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Okay. See where I’m going with that?”

  I nod, and then I shake my head. “No, you lost me there.”

  “I’m telling you that I’ll take care of it.”

  “Sorry if I’m a little skeptical, but my parents have been dead for close to two decades and somehow, their killers are now after me, Nance, her kids, and the people we care about. I know you kept Nance and me safe all those years ago, but your promise to take care of it isn’t good enough for me.”

  “What I’ll say is that we go way back. I’ll also tell you that back then, the line between patriotism and political self-interest was very blurry. My associates and I were able to remind some of these parties that it was in their best interest not to push too hard, so to
speak. You’re still with me, right?”

  “No, because you’re talking in innuendo and code. It ain’t helping. And really, what I want to know is who were our grandparents ordered to kill, and why?”

  “The shortest answer is, do you want to be up all night? Because that is about how long it would take to tell you everything.”

  “Fuck. Is there’s an abridged version?”

  “No.”

  “Come on, man. Give me something.”

  “Organized crime intersects with the political landscape. Just leave it at that.”

  “Are you talking about anything to do with Giovanni?” I demand.

  Victor doesn’t nod, but he doesn’t shake his head either. Only his eyebrows raise. The hairs raise on my neck and a whole new wave of rage comes over me. But it’s nothing compared to the hell Silas will raise when he finds out that the bastard who had Sabrina under lock and key, the fucker who was responsible for burning down half of our clubhouse, he happens to be the guy whose family is behind all this?

  “Giovanni? What the fuck does that motherfucker have to do with it? Look, I don’t care if it takes all night or all week. Tell me everything.”

  “It’s not just him. It’s his family. And look at you, you’re tired as hell. There’s really no short version I can give you that’d make any sense.”

  “Come on. Just try.”

  “Let’s just say that a certain European head of state who passed away on US soil in the late sixties… didn’t die of natural causes. You’re going to have to trust me on the rest of the minutia. Just know that the front lines aren’t what you see during primetime news. Wars are being waged right this moment, and the world knows nothing about it. Battles are won and lost behind closed doors and in the dark of night, and maybe sometimes there are the odd soundbites that make it to headline news. Those aren’t usually the whole truth. You should know that, but let’s get back to the point about Giovanni.”