Kade

by Knox, Elizabeth

  She cackles in my face and Hammer chooses this moment to position himself in between the two of us. “Oh, look at the new boy coming in to protect Kade’s bitch. Do you know how many times I fucked him? How he promised to make me his ol’ lady?”

  I roll my eyes at what she’s trying to accomplish. This is how all clubwhores are. They think that they can just swoop in and try to threaten a relationship between an ol’ lady and their man. Newsflash, that’s not going to happen here. “Sweetheart, you’re living in the past. Kade stopped fucking you the moment he met me. He told me so, ‘cause I asked him if he had anyone. He told me he had an easy booty call but he was looking for more than that. You need to stay in your lane. You’re not the one with his brand on your back or his child in his womb, so step back, bitch.”

  She gasps, balls her hand into a fist, and tries to get past Hammer and come toward me. “You cunt! You stole my man, you stole my fucking life!”

  “You don’t own him!” I roar out, allowing my voice to fill this entire house. I’m tired of being the bitch who’s walked all over and I refuse to be her anymore.

  Grinding her teeth, she looks like some sort of yippy dog that’s thinking about biting. “I’m gonna get you. I’ll make you pay for this!”

  “Whoa, let’s settle down. Shall we?” Hammer steps forward, pushing this woman away from me.

  “You don’t know me, prospect. I’ve been here a lot longer than you and my voice deserves to be heard.” Wow. Who the fuck does she think she is?

  Zorro snickers from where he’s glancing outside of the window. “Damn, Blossom. You’ve really done it now. Haven’t you?”

  “What do you mean?” she asks, narrowing her eyes in on him.

  “Really? You’re going to act like you don’t know what the fuck you’ve just done? Not only did you just disrespect Ivy, who’s not only Kade’s ol’ lady, but Fist’s daughter-in-law, and now you want to disrespect Hammer, who is part of our club. We might not have had an official ceremony yet, but he’s one of us. Ivy and Hammer aren’t going anywhere, but the thing is, you sure as fuck are. You’re replaceable, and I can find three other girls to suck cock better than you can. Get the fuck out of here. You’re no longer welcome.”

  “What? You can’t do that!” she shouts, looking from the rest of the clubwhores and back to Zorro. “You aren’t Fist or Cracker. They have to kick me out, not you.”

  “Who in the fuck told you that? I’m a full patch and if I decide you’re a low life piece of shit who shouldn’t be pestering the club anymore, your ass is gone. I already told you to get lost. So, go.”

  “But . . . the Bears are out there somewhere.”

  He nods, “Yeah, so you’d better move quickly before they grab ya.”

  “Fuck you, and fuck this entire club.” She sneers, walking out the door, slamming it behind her.

  “She was a cunt anyway. None of us liked her,” Shiloh, one of the other clubwhores says. A couple of the girls around her nod.

  “She’s been pushing buttons for far too long,” Zorro confirms, walking across the living room, into the kitchen.

  “Do any of the other guys know what’s happening?” I ask. We haven’t talked about it yet, and I don’t have my damn phone. I left it in my bedroom so it’s as good as gone now. I peer through the blinds and see the entire club is almost up in flames.

  “No, Shiloh, can you call Fist and let him know what’s happened? We’re gonna need them to get here as soon as possible.” Shiloh picks up the phone that’s sitting in front of her on the floor and does as Zorro asks of her.

  “What is going on? Where are Sydney and Saffron,” I ask, still looking out the window. I see a body, holding something in his arms, rushing up the small hill. “Wait. Who is that?”

  “Stay here!” Zorro grumbles out, rushing out the door and down the stairs. Soot covers whoever's face it is and the body he has in his arms is small and frail. Oh, fuck. This has to be Sydney.

  Coughing greets my ears. “I have to g-go back. Saffron is still i-inside,” Bull’s hoarse voice states, “Axel and Grim are s-still t-trying to get S-saf.”

  “What’s the problem?” Zorro is quick to ask the question that I’m also wondering.

  “She can’t g-get out of the c-club, and the w-window is too small to p-pull her through,” Bull says, handing Sydney off to Zorro, before he turns around quickly he heads back down.

  “Fuck,” Zorro hollers out, heading back into the house. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

  I give him a disturbed look while my heart pumps heavily in my chest. I feel a bit of guilt, thinking that maybe Blossom is right and the only reason the Bears are here is because of me. “How much of that did you hear?” he asks.

  “Every single word,” I confess, meeting his eyes with my own. “Can we do anything?”

  “I don’t know. Grim, Axel, and Bull will try whatever they can. The rest of the brothers are with Fist and I need to stay up here with y’all and Hammer, makin’ sure nothing happens to you.” Zorro places Sydney down on the couch and darts over into the kitchen, turning on the water.

  “I . . . I don’t know, Fist,” Shiloh says into the phone, looking like she’s about to cry. “Zorro just brought Sydney in. She’s a black color now from the smoke,” A few moments pass and Shiloh continues to speak, “She’s breathing but she doesn’t look good. I’m sorry, I don’t know where Saf is.”

  Shiloh looks like she’s about to break down, stressing out beyond belief. I don’t know why she looks so distressed, but I have to be missing something here. Are Saffron and Fist in some sort of relationship?

  Zorro heads back over pressing a washcloth to Sydney’s face. He clears away the soot on her lips and nose, and tries to clean her off. “C’mon, kid, wake up. Show me you’re gonna be alright.”

  “O-okay,” Shiloh puts the phone down on the ground, covering her hands over her face. “He’s so upset. He’s freaking out thinking that Saf is gonna die and he’s not even here. He’s over twenty minutes away!”

  “What am I missing?” I ask everyone in the room and the answer that my gut was telling me comes out.

  “Fist and Saffron have been seeing each other for a bit. He fuckin’ loves her more than anything on this planet. He told me something else . . . Cracker is dead.”

  23

  “It’s the ones who are against you who believe in you the most.”

  ~NotSalmon.com

  Kade

  Before we even make it a quarter mile out, the flames are lighting up the early morning sky. It’s a blood orange color, but as we venture closer and turn down the lane, bits of red appear. Smoke can be seen from here seeping up into the air. “Why isn’t the fire department here yet?” I ask Machk, cursing under my breath as I step on the gas.

  “We’re just outside of Billings and with the snow, you know they won’t be able to stick to their normal response times. We’ll be lucky if they get here before the entire place is burned to a crisp.” As much as I hate what he’s said, I know he isn’t wrong. It’s going to be a bitch to even get the fire trucks down our lane and onto the gravel parking lot we have.

  “Motherfucker, we’re just gonna have to do what we can,” I mutter lowly, slamming my foot down on the gas to get us there as soon as possible.

  “There’s no point when the club is probably already too far gone. We need to see if there are any threats and take them down before anyone else dies today.” I nod in agreement with him and park a little ways off from the club. Machk and I both get out of the truck and head off, “The Bear told us that Austin is in a shed. See that building over there?” I point off in the distance, to a shed that’s almost in the middle of the field. “Take someone with you and go over, I just saw Dad run around the back of the club and I’m gonna follow him.”

  The two of us split up, heading off in different directions to do what we need to. The snow is heavy as I try to run through it, picking up my feet quicker than I ever have. Of course, we’ve never had a situation like th
is before. The club is burning and every single moment counts right now. “Dad?” I call out over the rumbling of the fire. It sounds like wood is crackling, making popping noises like you would normally hear in a fireplace, only this time our club is the fireplace.

  “Saf!” His voice sounds hoarse, even more broken than it did back at the farm where Austin was supposed to be.

  Saffron and Sydney share a room on the back end of the club. Last year, we opted to put smaller rectangle like windows near the tops because air was slipping through. It’s ‘cause the windows were old as fuck and needed to be updated. Saffron wanted the smaller windows at a higher point because she has insomnia and if she’s trying to sleep during the day, she couldn’t with massive amounts of light coming through.

  I’m looking through her windows right now and while I see they’re all broken, the only thing behind the wood is flames. I can’t see a thing in her room beside them, the fire has taken over the entire club, traveling like a relentless disease ready to kill.

  Axel and Grim are standing a few feet away, both covered in a mixture of ash and smoke residue. The two of them look like they’re not quite sure what to do right now and to be honest, I’m in the same predicament they are. I’m still having a hard time processing what the fuck is happening right now.

  Grizzly set us up and in my opinion, he was trying to take away the things that were the most important to us— our women.

  “Is Saffron . . .” I look to Axel, not able to finish my question, who gives me a firm nod.

  Right about now, it looks like he was successful and the only thing I feel right now is worry. I worry because I wonder how this day will impact my father’s life and what’s left of it. He hasn’t just lost his brother, but the woman he planned on spending the rest of his life with. Before this shit with Ivy went down, he confessed how he wanted to lock Saffron down and put a ring on her finger. He hadn’t spoken like that since Mom died, but he told Ashley, Zane, and I.

  I’m trying to understand what Grizzly’s plan was. If it was to hurt all the women in our club or if he was trying to hurt certain individuals, those incredibly close to my father. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll know until we find him.

  A series of gunshots go off in the distance causing the rest of us to be on high alert. It’s all coming from the shed and I run off in that direction, ready to fuck with whoever chose to be here this day. It takes me a couple of minutes longer than I want it to, but I make it to the shed and see Machk, Austin, and two dead bodies.

  “Anyone else in here?” I ask, looking to the two of them.

  “No, only two men brought me out here. They shoved me in this shed and came back about fifteen minutes later. From the looks of it, I know what they were up to.”

  “Motherfuckers,” I curse under my breath, getting more heated with every moment. “Grizzly planned this shit. He wanted my dad to suffer like this. Hell, he wanted us to all suffer like this.”

  “He destroyed my family,” Austin seethes, looking to Machk. “I don’t know who this man is, but I want him to pay for everything he has done. I don’t care what needs to be done but know, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever is fucking needed of me.”

  Just as Austin finishes speaking, the red and white lights from a fire truck come barreling down the lane. Another comes into view shortly after it arrives, and then another. Finally, we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing at least this fire will be put out. We’ll have to do a lot of rebuilding, and bury two bodies, but we’re Reapers and we’re always going to be okay. Life hasn’t knocked us down yet, and it sure as fuck won’t.

  24

  You’re always one decision away from a totally different life.

  ~Unknown

  Kade

  It’s been a week since our entire life turned to ash— literally. And what a week it’s been. Today is Ivy’s birthday and in a few days, it’ll be Thanksgiving. For the most part, spirits aren’t high around here. After everything that’s happened, there’s not much to be thankful for depending who you are in the club.

  My uncle is dead, leaving an empty VP seat at the table, and my father lost the love of his life. He’s barely speaking to anyone, and I doubt he’ll return back to normal anytime soon. I sense that anger, depression, and misery are plaguing his mind. We buried my uncle yesterday and he didn’t say a thing, not one word. Zane, Ashley, and I wrote eulogies while a few of the brothers chose to speak on his behalf.

  “What do you think will happen to me?” Sydney asks, taking a seat beside me on my Dad’s living room couch. “Will I go up for adoption?”

  I shake my head. “Hell no, kid. You’re family and we don’t abandon our family.”

  “I . . . it’s just my Dad and Mom are dead now. I don’t know how I should feel. I’m really sad.”

  “Of course you’re sad. Your twelve and you’ve experienced more tragedy than anyone else should at your age,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around the kid. “You just have to remember to cherish those memories that you had with one another and let those memories push you through life.”

  “Fist doesn’t look . . . okay.” Sydney isn’t wrong and the fact she’s picking up on Dad’s attitude isn’t sitting well with me. I understand he’s dealing with a world of grief right now but he needs to process this shit and put his best foot forward for the club. It’s not that I’m unempathetic, but Sydney’s next of kin reverts to my Dad.

  It’s no shock Saffron had a rough relationship with her parents. They immigrated from China when she was ten and moved out to White Fish. Saffron came to Billings and fell in love with a biker named Tank, which wasn’t exactly in their plans for her. They haven’t spoken ever since, and Sydney’s only known us to be her extended family.

  “Hey,” Dex walks up to us, lookin’ smack dab at Sydney. I swear this kid has a massive crush on her and I predict they’ll be together by the time one of them is twenty.

  “Hi,” she greets lowly, rising to give her friend a hug.

  “You two chill out down here and watch TV or some shit. I’m gonna go check on Dad.” I get off the couch and head up the stairwell, walking straight toward his room. I don’t bother knocking or giving him any sort of warning that I’m headed his way. Placing my hand on the door, I open it, revealing a pitch black room.

  The light from the hallway reveals that he’s still in bed. I have to look at the old, rickety clock on his nightstand to see that I’m not going crazy and it’s really almost four in the evening. “Dad, shit. Get up!” I growl, walking in the room and shutting the door behind me. I turn the light switch on and at this point is when I see his anger come out of him.

  “Shut that damn light off and get the fuck out of here,” he hisses, growling.

  “No, get your ass out of bed. Do you even know what time it is?”

  “No, and I don’t fuckin’ care. Leave me alone.”

  “You’re being ridiculous. We all lost Uncle Cracker and Saffron, not just you. You don’t just get to stay up in your bedroom and hide from the fuckin’ world. Jesus, Dad. Sydney needs you right now. She needs all of us. Both of her parents are dead and the only people left in this world are us. We are her family and she needs us to support her. Most of all, she needs her damn step-dad.”

  He glares at me with cold, emotionless eyes. “I will never be her stepdad because I’ll never get to marry her mom. We’ll never get that opportunity now.”

  “Fuck you, you’re her stepdad. I understand the type of grief you’re feeling right now but you don’t get to just fall in the pit and not take on your responsibilities. You’re the Prez. Everyone looks to you in times like this and Zane has been doing his best to hold down the fort, but they don’t want to hear from Zane. They want to hear from you.”

  “Let Zane speak, he’ll be getting the gavel soon anyway,” Dad hisses out, spiting me.

  I walk up to the bed and grab my father by the throat. “You need to pull your fuckin’ shit together. I can’t leave you here like this and I’m sure as f
uck not going to stay in Montana, not when Grizzly is god knows where and Ivy’s having a baby. I want her as far away from him as possible. Why aren’t you angry? Why don’t you want any fuckin’ revenge?”

  “I am angry, you idiot. I’m so angry that the two closest people in my life are dead and it’s all my fault. I’m the reason they’re dead, the reason they’ll never come home. The guilt of their deaths weighs heavy on my mind and it’ll only continue to do so until it’s my time to be with them.”

  I’m trying to understand his point of view, but this man is spilling me a load of bullshit when he’s the guy who taught me to call people out on it.

  I glance over to the dresser that my mom bought when I was seven. I remember the way Dad lost his shit at the gaudy purple thing and the memory causes me to smile. “They’d want you to avenge them, not to stay in bed tucked under the covers agonizing yourself over what happened. They’d want you to fight for them now because we didn’t fight enough when it counted. They’d want all of this to end, and it hasn’t ended. It keeps going on even though we’re trying so hard to achieve that goal— to destroy them. Dad, there’s a time and a place to lounge around and wallow in our self-pity, but now is not that time. Right now, we have to act. You have to make decisions that matter and you can’t do that from your fuckin’ bed.”

  “He’s in the wind, Kade. I’ve had my spies out for the last week and no one has seen anything. Sent word up to Canada and as low as Alabama, no one has spotted ‘em or heard a peep. I doubt we will. They’re too far gone for us to make any headway.”

  “Since when have you ever given up?” I yank my hands from his throat, throwing them in the air from pure frustration. “Jesus, you are Fist. You’re a fuckin’ legend and you don’t ever give up on shit like this. You’re the man everyone turns to when times are rough, the one who always gives us hope. Dad, for the love of God, I just need you to get your shit together. We need to make these people pay, and I won’t be stickin’ around waitin’ for shit to blow up. I have to protect my family.”