Princes of Hell MC Set

by KJ Dahlen

  Stepping forward to the casket, Talon wrestled the ring off his finger and placed on the casket.

  All the guys left a ring with Hammer.

  They all stood around the casket.

  Eagle stood at the top of the casket as though he were a priest. “Brothers,” he said. “We don’t say goodbye. We say...”

  “Catch you the fuck around,” Condor said in a rough voice.

  “That’s right. This is all full circle for us. We’re all going to end up here. This is our fate. To be with Hammer. With Loki. With Hades. With Bullseye.” Eagle looked over at Talon.

  Talon kept a straight face. His father was buried not far from the exact spot he stood now.

  “Drink to Hammer. Live like Hammer. Never forget the open road. And know the road and the horizon do eventually meet.” Eagle turned and walked away.

  From there, anyone could stay as long as they wanted.

  For Talon, there was nothing left. Hammer had been good to him, but the cruel reality was that Hammer was dead and the rest of them weren’t. Yet.

  Because Talon knew there was no such thing as mournful peace... someone, somewhere wanted to put a bullet in the back of all their heads.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Fiona promised herself it was the day’s last cigarette, but that was a complete lie. Standing on the rooftop to the old apartment building, the sky was filled with stars and the ground filled with lights from houses and businesses.

  Her eyes moved to the scrambled screen of the monitor, biting her lip as she watched Bret sleep.

  He was too old for a baby monitor but Fiona kept it handy for nights like this. Being on the roof was technically too far from Bret, but if he were to wake up, she could see and hurry to get back into the building and down to him.

  Butting the cigarette against the old brick, Fiona dropped the twisted end to the ground where there was a healthy pile. Most were from her.

  She reached into her back pocket and took out the leftover money. A measly hundred bucks. That was barely enough for groceries for one week, let alone do anything actually fun with it. Her job working at a strip club had been lucrative until the owner pressured her into stripping instead of serving drinks. When she declined, he hired new girls and squeezed her out. It was either get naked or get the hell out. Fiona worked every shift she could grab at the diner now, finding ways to make ends meet. Through contacts and those who came to the strip club, she was able to get side work, mostly for illegal poker games. Her job was to dress slutty, flirt like hell, and make money. Even that was tricky because some of the guys would fall in love in one night and demand her company. Besides her cell phone and cigarettes, a can of pepper spray had become her best friend.

  Those jobs dried up for the most part after she kicked a guy in the balls for touching her breasts in front of everyone, causing a big issue with the guy who ran the games, Devin. He was young and cocky, an inheritance left him rich enough to live free, but in typical greedy fashion, he wanted more.

  Fiona bit her thumbnail even harder as she played it all out in her head.

  Bret ended up with a double earache, which was diagnosed after a sleepless night of him screaming in pain, begging to go to the doctor. When she took him the next day, the doctor said it was a double ear infection and the antibiotics were too much for her to buy. So what choice did she have? She had to find a way to get into Devin’s stack of cash and take a little.

  That was it though.

  Just a little.

  For her kid.

  It wasn’t like she was robbing him blind or something. She didn’t take a hundred grand and disappear on a vacation or something.

  The images flashed in her mind.

  Going to meet Devin. Knowing where he kept everything. Waiting for the right moment to open the drawer and take a few bills. Nothing he would notice, but enough to get Bret his medicine. And maybe a little extra for Fiona. She had missed three shifts at the diner and hadn’t worked for Devin in two weeks. That meant the bills were piled high and she only had a few more days until the locks on the apartment were going to be changed. But the most important thing was that Brett was okay. The medicine had already started to kick in and he was feeling better. Sleeping soundly.

  Plus, Fiona wasn’t just going to steal the money. She was going to grab extra shifts, save up, and then talk to Devin about it. He’d get fucking pissed. He’d probably try to hit... or maybe he would make her make it up to him between the sheets. Whatever it was, it was worth it.

  Anything to keep Bret’s innocence intact.

  “I love you, baby,” Fiona whispered to the small screen.

  She felt like crying but decided on a cigarette instead.

  Before she could light it, the door behind her exploded open.

  The moment she saw Devin come through the doors, her eyes went to the monitor. Bret was still asleep. But it wouldn’t be for long.

  Whatever was about to happen, it would need to be carefully planned and carefully executed.

  “Whore,” Devin growled.

  He rushed toward Fiona so fast she was certain he was going to push her right off the roof of the building. The fall would most certainly kill her. And then what would happen to Bret?

  At the last moment, Fiona moved to the side and Devin crashed against the small brick wall that kept him from going over the edge. His fancy right shoe stepped and squished all the cigarette butts on the ground.

  “Devin,” Fiona said. “What are you doing here?”

  “You know why I’m here. You little bitch.”

  “Devin, you need to hear me out. Please.”

  “There’s something much better you can do with your mouth right now other than spit excuses at me.”

  “There’s no excuse. And what you want... just please listen to me.”

  He moved at her and she jumped back. The only thing close to a weapon in her hand was a lighter. Her bag and everything was in the apartment. “Bret was sick.”

  “What?” Devin asked as he stopped moving toward her.

  “Bret was sick. Okay? Just listen. I couldn’t afford the medicine for him. I had no choice. I was out of work from the diner. You haven’t given me work in a while either.”

  “A sick kid?” Devin asked.

  “Yes. I swear on it. And I planned on grabbing extra shifts once he felt better. I was going to pay it all back and talk to you about it.”

  Devin sneered. “And you didn’t think to talk to me first?”

  “I couldn’t risk you saying no. Then you’d expect me to do things for you.”

  “Smart bitch,” Devin said.

  “I didn’t mean to cause any harm.”

  “I underpaid someone because of what you fucking did,” Devin said. “I looked like a goddamn fool. I almost took a fucking bullet to the head.”

  Fiona’s heart raced. Her mouth went dry. Her only move was to inch away from the edge of the roof and toward the door. “Okay, I’m so sorry. I should have come to you about it. Just look at it through my eyes for a second.... I’ll do anything for my son.”

  “Yeah, of course, who wouldn’t?” Devin turned his head. “Nice night out here. Good place to come and think. Maybe meet with someone, huh?”

  “I didn’t meet with anyone, Devin. I stood over there and had a cigarette. I’m tired. I’m broke. I’m behind on all my bills. Believe me, if I wanted to rip you off, I would have taken more.” The words made sense in her mind, but as she spoke them, she realized what she had done. Implying that scamming Devin was easy. Implying that it could happen again. Or worst yet, maybe she had done it in the past.

  He stepped toward Fiona, seething, his face red. “You think I’m fucking weak? I’ll walk into that kid’s bedroom right now and put a bullet in his chest. And I’ll make you watch me do it.”

  “Devin, no. I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m telling you the truth. Here... look...” She reached into her pocket and took out the leftover money. “This is what was left. I grabbed wha
t I could and used what I needed for the medicine. Take this. It proves I—”

  Devin grabbed her wrist and twisted.

  Hot pain shot up her arm. She wanted to scream but Devin made an even faster move by put himself behind Fiona with his hand over her mouth. His mouth was against her ear. She felt his fast, hot, angry breath against her ear, cheek, and neck.

  “You bitch,” he said. “You think you can make a fool of me? Take my money and try to give some back? You stole from me. The one fucking rule I have for everyone. You never touch what isn’t yours.”

  Fiona moved her mouth to talk.

  Devin opened his fingers a little.

  “It was for my son,” Fiona gasped out. “For Bret. I didn’t spend a dime on myself.”

  “Yet, you had money in your pocket,” Devin said.

  “To give back.”

  “Liar!” Devin growled as he threw Fiona forward.

  She put her hands out to block from smashing her head against piece of metal. Her hands smacked it, sending more pain up her arms. Logic kicked in and she quickly turned, knowing she needed to keep her eyes on Devin. It was her only chance of survival.

  Devin was right there, a fist cocked back, ready to hit her.

  If he knocked her out, he would kidnap Bret. Fiona could already see it in her mind. How it would happen. Waking up and finding his bed empty. Forever chasing a ghost, never knowing what Devin did to Bret. He would do this, she just knew it.

  With a last ditch effort, Fiona swung her foot up.

  The tip of her shoe smashed right between Devin’s legs, instantly stopping him, bringing him to his knees.

  The hit was so hard that when Fiona turned to get away, putting pressure on her foot actually hurt. “No,” she whispered. She turned and dropped down, bringing her knee to Devin’s jaw, slamming his head to the hard rooftop.

  She reached for his gun, hoping like hell that Devin hadn’t just come out with his gun firing. Fiona stood up and pointed the gun at Devin.

  “Bitch,” he growled. “You’re going to die! So is your son. You’re going to watch him die.”

  “I told the truth,” Fiona said. “I told you the fucking truth.” From the corner of her eye, she saw the money she tried to give Devin. Just sitting there on the rooftop. She inched toward the money and crouched to pick it up. “I’m taking this now.”

  “You won’t get far,” Devin said. He was on his hands and knees.

  Fiona got to the door and knew the second she was inside, it was time to move. She pulled the door shut, making sure it was closed tight. Devin would be following her soon. In minutes even. But she had the gun. That’s all that mattered.

  She had the gun.

  Now she needed to get Bret and get to safety.

  Cash covered the motel room an hour away from the apartment building. Fiona hated the way she had to rush into the apartment and wake up Bret. Her first instinct was to tell him there was a problem with the building and they had to go right now. Living the life she lived, Fiona always had a couple bags back in the trunk of her car. She scooped Bret right up off the bed with a blanket still on him.

  She rushed out of the apartment and got into her car before Devin came after her. The entire time she drove, her eyes wouldn’t leave the mirror. She waited for the moment to come when Devin and his goons would find her. Waiting for them to appear in her rea view mirror and box her in. Or cause an accident that would kill her and Bret then make it look like an accident.

  But Fiona made it out of there.

  Now she sat on the floor at the crappy motel with her back against the bed. The TV glowed with some infomercial while Bret was back asleep again. He was used to life being this way. It broke Fiona’s heart that Bret had figured this was just part of his life.

  One thing Fiona tried to do was live in the moment. And that moment told her she had just escaped her own death. And Bret’s death. Devin would have killed them both. All over a little bit of money. Money that Fiona needed for medicine for Bret.

  Pulling herself to her feet, Fiona saw her cigarettes on the nightstand. There was no way in hell she would leave this room so she put a chair at the front window and cracked it open enough to let smoke out. She sat there and smoked, not enjoying it one bit. It calmed her a little, but she knew better than to let this go. Devin would come for her. Not only had she stolen money from him, she attacked him. She embarrassed him by kicking him in the balls. The entire situation had exploded threefold.

  Why wouldn’t he just fucking listen to me for a second?

  The question had no answer, but the end result was her eyes filling with tears.

  She finished her cigarette then walked the butt to the toilet and dropped it. It sizzled, bleeding out a golden brown color into the water before she flushed it. She stood at the bathroom mirror, wiping her eyes, realizing that the moment no longer mattered.

  The only way to escape Devin would be to stay ahead of him. Which meant settling down would be impossible. Which meant making money and surviving would be totally impossible.

  Fiona lowered her head and began to cry. Her hands gripped the edge of the bathroom sink. She gritted her teeth to keep from crying too loudly and waking Bret.

  There was only one other option.

  When it came to her, she turned her head and looked from the bathroom to the bed. She bit at her bottom lip, realizing what this meant. She walked to the side of the bed and watched the dinosaur blanket lift and lower with Bret’s breathing.

  “Shit,” she whispered.

  There was no choice here.

  Running from Devin would never work.

  Her only choice was to plant her feet and face him.

  But she couldn’t do it alone.

  The thought of making this phone call would have made her nervous and excited at any other time. Hell, she was about to call a man who was once a boy when he stole her heart. They lived on the edge of life together until it got too dangerous for Fiona. Which now seemed ironic considering she was holed up in a motel waiting for someone to come and kill her and her son. Making the phone call was one thing... but doing so with a son was another...

  They broke each other’s hearts. They broke all their promises to each other.

  But now, she needed Talon more than ever in her life.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Hey, brother, come check this shit out.”

  Talon turned from the old kitchen littered with empty beer bottles and walked through the apartment, following Rogue’s voice. Hammer’s house was in horrible condition. The man lived like a pig. Talon wouldn’t voice this aloud though...Not speak ill of the dead and all.

  “If you show me more porn again, I’m going to shoot you, man,” Talon called out.

  The amount of magazines, pictures, and videos found scattered throughout Hammer’s apartment was almost uncomfortable, even for a guy like Talon. And hell, who still used VHS tapes and had a VCR to watch that shit? A part of Talon’s outlaw heart broke that Hammer had never been introduced to the world of digital and HD porn.

  Then again, anything Talon had a wish for was waiting right inside the clubhouse. No need to self care when all it took was the snap of his fingers to have plenty of kitties at his command. However, he rarely did it. Just when he was full of pressure, that nothing else would release. He only craved one woman and he’d lost that. So all these others weren’t even a one nighter as he never stayed with them even that long.

  Talon checked the bedroom and found on sign of Rogue.

  “Down here, brother.”

  Talon raised an eyebrow when he realized Rogue was in the bathroom. “I’m not going in there after you.”

  “Jesus Christ, I’m not like Cobra.”

  “Oh, fuck that,” Talon said. “If Cobra was in there, Chief Werley would need a fucking hazmat team to clean the toilet.” He laughed.

  “We done talking shit?” Rogue asked with impatience on his voice. “This could be a problem in here.”

  Talon rolled his
eyes and walked down the narrow hallway toward the bathroom.

  For all the years Hammer served with the MC and all the deals he helped to cultivate and seal up, plus his interests with the badges and local business, not to mention some sketchy shit that ran out to Reno and down to Tijuana, this place was definitely a shithole of an apartment.

  Talon found Rogue crouched at the toilet. “You sick?” he asked.

  “Look...” Rogue lifted a baggie from behind the toilet and inside was a piece of paper.

  “Is it clean?” Talon asked.

  Rogue put his nose to the baggie.

  Talon’s stomach turned a little.

  “Smells clean,” Rogue replied.

  “Give me it,” Talon said. He held the baggie up and realized it wasn’t a piece of paper inside. It was an envelope. “What the fuck were you hiding, you old son of a bitch?” he whispered. He dropped the baggie into the sink, opened it, and took out envelope. It was fat and squishy. “Shit,” Talon said. “This was his retirement account.”

  “Behind a goddamn toilet?” Rogue asked. “You don’t hide retirement money behind a toilet.”

  “What else could it be for then?” Talon asked. He opened the envelope and sure as hell, it was a giant wad of cash. There were more than enough hundred dollar bills to make Talon open his eyes wide.

  “Wait a second, brother. Look at this...” Rogue ripped open the envelope and out fell a piece of paper. He unfolded it and read it out loud, “Dmitri Grigori,” he said. “Who the fuck is that?”

  Talon frowned and shook his head with disgust.

  He had an idea of who that was... and it wasn’t good news for the MC.

  The apartment door opened and Eagle stepped through the door with Cobra and Condor behind him.

  “Smells like old booze and pussy in here,” Eagle said.