"I don't. Shield's directed that all nomads need a home base until otherwise ordered." Wrath's lips twisted. It wasn't a smile, but it wasn't a grimace either. "I'm here for the long term, kids."
Around the table, the brothers began to stir. Ghost swapped the lights back.
"Continue," Hazard ordered, his voice immediately silencing the gathering.
"Shield's sent Rizzo to head up Cunnamulla. "
"Rizzo's a loss for Shield," Chief remarked. The man had been Shield's Vice President since he'd taken carriage.
"Too much unrest around Cunnamulla. He needed a strong leader to bring them together." Wrath sighed. "Besides, Shield has bigger problems." Wrath rubbed a hand across his face. "My orders were to let the relevant chapters know and then notify you guys. The chapters were meant to arrive next week, giving you guys enough time to prepare, and them enough time to pack their shit and get here." His jaw clenched. "Only Canberra and Jindabyne are coming. The rest were already gone."
"Gone?" Pope asked.
Wrath glanced at Hazard who nodded, granting permission.
Wrath pulled out two notes from his pocket. "Two said they were headed to the Plantation. Winter and drought had hit them hard and their supplies were low. I didn't see them on the road but that doesn't mean anything these days." He swallowed. "Wollongong was a slaughter house. Two brothers remained; both had been out hunting when the club had been hit. There wasn't a man left alive. The kids and women were taken. Same thing in Nowra, only no survivors and all the women and children vanished."
The brothers snapped. Standing, punching walls, shouting.
Only Ghost, Hazard, Wrath, and I remained seated.
Wrath and Hazard likely because they'd already processed the news. While Ghost and I, we'd seen something like this before.
My eyes met his over the table. He jerked his head up, acknowledging my unspoken question.
"Quiet!" Hazard roared, hanging his gavel on the table. "There's more."
The brothers settled, faces like stone as Wrath continued. "We tracked them up to the outskirts of Sydney. Whatever was left of that city is gone, it's been taken over by slavers, cartel and bastard."
"Fuck," Pope bit out beside me. "Fucking fuck!"
"Boys in fatigues, men in militia all running the joint. Not sure if they were playing army or actually part of it at one point, either way we weren't getting in without an invitation."
"Found our women and kids, they were all in a pen together. Naked, shivering, hungry. Shit everywhere." Wrath ran a hand through his hair. "So, we blew up a bike as a distraction, stole a truck and drove it through the fence. Managed to get a few and get the fuck outta dodge. The brothers headed for the Plantation. I headed here."
"The rest?" Texas asked.
Wrath shrugged. "Maybe sold by now. Definitely moved. Either way, couldn't risk going back and getting captured. My duty was getting word to you."
Hazard cleared his throat. "I've read Shield's plan. He wants us to settle in, buckle down, fortify, make ourselves safe and do what we need to survive."
His lips twisted. "He also assumed we wouldn't have any more fuel."
"Yeah, met Whip on the road only a few hours outta town. He's gonna keep riding to the Plantation via Phoenix. Will inform Shield I made it, and relay the news about the massacres and meat market." Wrath shook his head. "No one will want to let this stand, but we're out gunned until we can get some of you up to Queensland."
"Get us up?" Chief asked.
"Guns," Hazard said, crossing his arms. "Shield's managed to get his hands on a cache of weapons that would make your mother cry."
Wrath nodded. "Got us a few contacts, men willing to exchange some information for food. The tips led us to a storehouse the local constabulary wasn't keeping too well staffed. Wasn't hard to persuade them to let us take a shopping trip."
There were grins around the table.
Wrath sobered. "We got shelter, we got weapons – though we'll need to move them down south. The real issues now are food and fuel. That's in Shield's plan as well."
Hazard leaned forward. "The Prez wants to turn us all into ranchers and truckers. Set up a pipeline, a sharing-bartering system."
No one moved but resignation crossed all their faces. We'd expected this. Had known it was coming for months. The life we'd lived before, whatever skills or shit we'd had, were useless. What mattered now was what skills could contribute to our survival. There was no going back.
Regret, bitterness, and resignation sat in my belly, a foul taste on my tongue. Perhaps I'd convinced myself that sometime in the future it would all come good again. But Shield's directive blew that fantasy away. This was our reality now.
"He expected us to need to use horses to transport it." Wrath laughed. "Turns out you got your own fuel station right here."
Yeah, we did. Thanks to Ellie.
"So, what now?" Pope asked.
All eyes went to Hazard. He leaned forward; his expression grim.
"In two weeks, we're sending a contingent up to Cunnamulla. They'll replenish fuel in the safe houses along the way. At the Bunker, they'll set up another refinery. Then they'll move to the Plantation and do the same."
My gut clenched, knowing what was coming.
"Ellie and Runner will be in the contingent. She'll train a team here on how to produce the fuel over the next two weeks to keep it running while she's gone. Then she'll do the same for the other chapters."
The protest hovered on the tip of my tongue, anger sizzling through my veins. This was my woman they were putting in danger. Mine.
Hazard looked around. "Ghost, Texas and Pope will accompany. And I don't doubt the she-devil will want to ride along."
The table chuckled; Ava had already earned herself a formidable nickname.
"Wrath will act as guide, and you'll take Kate as well."
"Kate?" Wrath asked, eyebrows raising.
"You said the other chapters were struggling. We need someone who can teach them how to plant a fucking seed without it dying."
The table chuckled again.
"Besides, she's known, she understands how clubs work. She'll be able to smooth over any issues; a bridge of sorts."
"So, Ice'll be coming too?" Wrath clarified.
"Nope, his leg puts him out of commission for at least two months." Hazard nodded at Wrath. "She'll ride with you."
His mouth tightened but he nodded, accepting the responsibility.
Good luck, brother.
"We good?"
Nods.
"Then dismissed."
Ghost opened the sound-proof door, screams immediately assaulting our ears.
We pushed through the doorway, hands finding weapons as we rushed through the club house and outside.
I stumbled to a halt, my weapon still in hand, heart in my motherfucking throat as I watched the women jump around, clutching each other, screeching like fucking banshees into the evening sky.
"Fuck, did someone feed them cocaine?" Pope asked, holstering his weapon.
Ellie spotted me, her grin splitting her face. "Audrey did it!" She squealed, racing over to grab my hand and pull me into the screeching mob.
In the middle sat the woman, her face flushed, her grin massive.
I crouched, Hazard and Pope doing the same as she held out a modified mobile phone to Hazard. Beside her, sat an open briefcase, electronics and a small collapsible antenna protruding from the inside.
"It's for you," she said, laughing.
Hazard hit loud speaker. "Who's this?"
"Only your worst nightmare motherfucker," Ava laughed, her voice clear and loud. A second later, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins blasted down the line.
Hazard stared down at the phone for a beat then looked at Audrey. "Where is she?"
"On the other side of your lake!" She laughed, pointing. The lake stretched for miles.
"You made a telephone line?" Pope asked.
"Baby, I designed my own network," Audrey crowed, her laugh joyful. "If my
calculations are correct, this thing could stretch as far as two hundred miles, give or take depending on mountains, cities and other interruptions."
I saw Hazard's expression shift. "If I wanted to communicate with someone in say, Queensland, what would I need."
Audrey laughed. "At least thirty of these little buggers planted between here and there to relay the signal." She pushed up to her feet, dusting off her butt. "You'd also need phones enabled with the A-Frequency, a bunch of solar panels to keep the equipment charged, and a shit ton of lip balm."
"A-frequency?" Hazard asked.
"Audrey, motherfucker!"
"Lip balm?" Pope repeated.
"For all the lips that are gonna have to kiss my ass to get me to make that many devices." She cackled, slapping her ass, and turning away from us, moving to let Lottie pull her into a hug.
"Don't even think it," Pope warned Hazard, waggling a finger in his face. "I know how your mind works."
"It'd be a shit ton safer than having men riding up and down." Hazard replied with a shrug, pushing to his feet, and pocketing the phone.
"It'd delay us," I pointed out.
"Not if she only built enough for Cunnamulla, then assembled the rest when there and so on." Hazard shrugged. "Guess you better add one to your number boys, she's going with you."
Pope swore. "Why couldn't it have been the young one."
"Because you're not interested in Beth," I responded, rolling my eyes. "You just like how she sings."
Pope shrugged, "and how she blushes when I tease her. Reminds me of—" he snapped off, his lips pressing together, his body rigid. Grief flashed in his eyes before he smothered it, turning away.
I know brother. I'm sorry.
I clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, looks like she's riding with you."
"Over my fucking dead body!" He shoved me; the grief hidden once more.
"It's either her or the she-devil."
Pope eyed Ava. "I'd take her for a—"
Ghost slapped him over the head. "Ava rides with me."
"Well, fuck."
I chuckled, moving through the crowd, finding my girl. She chatted excitedly with Lottie and Zero. Lottie and her gesturing wildly and laughing freely, Zero simply watching Lottie.
I hid a smile, coming up to pull Ellie back into my chest.
"You good, baby?"
She nodded; her grin huge. "Isn't this wonderful? Audrey's a genius."
I nodded, my head dipping to nuzzle into her hair, my lips finding the shell of her ear. "Need to taste you, Baby Girl."
She immediately turned, raising up to kiss me, her lips parting sweetly as I tasted her. She tasted like perfection.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ellie
"Are you sure?" I asked, twisting the strap to the bike helmet in my hands as I watched Runner lift the petrol can and start to pour the fuel into his tank.
"I'm sure," he shot me a smile over his shoulder. "I told you Baby Girl, you got this."
He finished pouring, the club watching as he settled on his bike.
Please god make this work.
He turned it on, revving it once, twice, then grinning as she caught, purring to life.
"Come on," he jerked his head at me. "Climb on."
I pulled the helmet on, sliding behind him and settling in.
"Ready?" He asked, giving her a slight rev.
I nodded.
He took off, cruising us around the compound and out to the gravel road. Two prospects using bikes running on old fuel followed, ready in case they needed to haul us home. And for protection.
We rode along the dirt track, following it through to the main road. At the road, as we hit the bitumen, Runner twisted, yelling at me over his shoulder.
"Hang on!"
I tightened my grip around his stomach, squealing with delight as he opened her up, taking off.
"It works!" I yelled, fighting to be heard over the wind.
I doubted he could hear me, but either way I could feel his body moving as he laughed.
I glanced to the sides, catching one of the prospects as he shot me a thumbs up. The other grinning massively as we cruised over the crest of the mountain, following backroads, and leaning into the curves. Laughing and howling with joy.
We made it to the top, a look out, cruising to a stop.
I got off, Runner following to wrap me in his arms as we watched the sun begin to sink low on the horizon. The prospects stood a bit off, watching our backs but still grinning and talking shit to each other.
"You did it, Ellie." Runner murmured, holding me tight against him. "You've changed our future."
I looked up at him, tilting my head back until it hit his chest, smiling as he looked down at me.
"I was really afraid it wasn't gonna work."
He laughed, "I never had a doubt. You're wonderful, Ellie. Amazing."
He beamed at me, looking happier and more relaxed than any time I'd seen since meeting him.
"You love it," I whispered.
"Yeah," he swept a hand out, looking at the roads around us, the mountains, and valleys. "We're free again, Baby Girl. Free to cruise, free to ride."
He pulled me close. "All thanks to you."
"Shall we ride home?" I asked, needing him but not wanting to take his cock in front of the prospects.
"Give me your mouth," he ordered, cupping my jaw. "Need that taste to tide me over before we get home."
I lifted to give him my mouth, sinking into him as he hungered for me, driving us both higher as we tasted.
"Home." He whispered, pressing his head to mine.
"Home." I agreed.
With the wind in my hair, and Runner's body tight under my hands, we rode home.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Runner
"So, we're going?" Ellie asked, her fingers tracing the tattoos on my chest.
"Mmhmm," I murmured, eyes closed enjoying the quiet. "As soon as Audrey has enough of her devices built."
"She said two weeks."
"Then that's when we leave." I opened one eye. "You worried?"
"No, just going to miss this." She waved a hand at the room. "And Blair."
I closed my eye, settling back. "Your sister will be safe here. And she's needed." "I know." Ellie's hands continued to trace my tattoos, swirling and grazing, soft and sweet. "Are you looking forward to the ride?"
"Mm. Looking forward to hitting Cunnamulla."
"Oh?"
"Good club up there. Also, where I'm gonna ink your name on me."
Ellie's fingers stuttered to a halt. "What?"
I tapped my chest, above my heart. "Right here, Baby Girl. Hummer's the best tattooist in the club. He'll be doing it for me."
Water dotted my chest and I sighed, sitting up rolling over until Ellie was in my arms. "Baby Girl, you can't keep crying like this."
"I just love you so much," she twisted, hungrily kissing me, her hands fisting in my hair, pressing herself into me.
"Need you," she panted against my lips. "Please Runner."
I was never gonna deny her a thing. If she'd ask, I'd cut out my fucking heart for her.
"On your back," I ordered. She rolled giving me a naughty grin as I loomed over her.
"You gonna suck my cock before I make you cum?" I asked, lazily stroking my cock. Her gaze dropped, her eyes flaring with hunger as she licked her lips and nodded.
Fuck.
I fed it to her, groaning as she sucked me deep. She gagged as I hit the back of her throat but whimpered, needing me so much that she pulls back. Thrusting herself forward, her throat closing around me, hot, wet and oh so fucking perfect.
"Suck it," I barked, letting her work me. "Milk my cock, Baby Girl. You want my cum, baby? Fucking take it."
She groaned around my cock, her head and hands moving in tandem as she drove me higher, fucking my cock. I let her, knowing it worked her up, knowing she was getting off on my taste, on my words, on the way I couldn't stop the precum decorat
ing her tongue.
"Fuck," I grunted, ripping myself back, dropping down and throwing her legs over her head. I held them with my shoulders, glaring down at her.
"Brace."
I thrust in, Ellie's scream breaking as I pulled back and lunged again, fucking her, brutally rough.
She loved it. Ellie broke under me, sobbing as she came, her tight snatch milking me violently as she found her release.
I thrust once, twice, then detonated, roaring my release, emptying myself into her, burying myself deep and finding heaven in her body.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
The chant continued long after our bodies had cooled and Ellie had drifted to sleep.
Mine. Mine Mine.
When we returned from our mission, I'd bring her back here. To this cabin on the lake, where we'd be safe from threats while I fucked her until her body pliant and ready to accept my seed.
I'd fuck a baby into her.
Satisfaction warmed my chest. I couldn't give her a ring, but I could give her the kutte that I'd ordered the club's seamstress make.
I rolled, pulling my woman closer, knowing we needed to return to the compound. Eventually, we'd be missed and someone would come out to bring us home or Ellie's guilt would soon force us back and into work shifts.
But until then we'd stay here. In the honeymoon cabin, in this bed, wrapped in each other.
The before may have given me conveniences that made my life easier, but the after gave me Ellie. And I wouldn't trade her for the world.
"Runner?"
"Mm?"
"I know what I want."
"What?"
She grinned. "The favour you owe me. After I let you drug me."
"Ah," I pulled her in pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Hit me."
She closed her eyes, giving me a sleepy smile, relaxing back into me. "Promise me that we'll always come here. Just the two of us."
Perfect for me.
I leaned down, pressing a kiss to her gorgeous lips, watching her smile sleepily, her eyes still closed.
"I promise, Baby Girl." I kissed her again. "Love you, Ellie."
Epilogue
Runner
The music vibrated through my chest, the beer in my hand was ice cold, and the food in my belly had tasted fucking ace. Ellie wore a dress she'd found somewhere, and my patch on her back. Every time I caught a glimpse of Property of Runner and her sexy ass in that fucking dress I got hard.
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