Princes of Hell MC Set

by KJ Dahlen

  “Could she have ripped him off?” Talon asked.

  Fiona shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then she paused and nodded. “I suppose she could have, but I don’t know. There were bad feelings on her side. She never forgave him for the scene with her in front of the other dancers. I felt guilty about taking the hundred bucks so I didn’t stick round any longer than I had to.” Then she paused again and looked at him. “What are you thinking she did?”

  Talon narrowed his lips. “I’m thinking she took more than just a hundred and Devin has no way of making his payment to the mob because of her. Only he doesn’t know she ripped him off. She probably told him she saw you coming out of his office and he put two and two together and got twelve instead of four.

  Fiona gasped. “Oh, my god...” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Why would she do that to me?”

  Talon shook his head. “She didn’t do it to you, she did it to him. Only I don’t think she thought it all the way through. If Devin can’t make his payment then the mob is coming after him for it and right now, all he’s got is you to blame. He doesn’t know it was her that took the money.”

  “Fuck a duck,” Fiona swore under her breath.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Fuck indeed.” Talon nodded. He began to pace as he thought about how this might change his plans.

  “Talon, what if he names me as the thief to the mob?” Fiona whispered with dread. “Won’t they come after me as well? How the hell can I protect Bret from that?” Raising her hand to cover her mouth she asked, “What if something happens to me? What will become of Bret then?”

  “Don’t worry baby,” Talon whispered as he pulled her into his arms. “Nothing is going to happen to you and Bret is safe here with the club.”

  Fiona wiped her tears away and reminded him, “Devin said he was coming back to get him and once he had him, I would never see my son again. Oh, god Talon, I couldn’t live if that happened! Not to my baby.” She sobbed in his arms.

  Talon felt the rage inside him grow. What was it about this woman that made him want to protect her and her son? He could feel her shaking in fear at the thought of losing her son. “Devin won’t get near you or the boy again. I can promise you that.”

  Fiona was shaking her head, she begged him as she stepped out of his embrace, “Please don’t promise me that. People are always shooting at you and this club. How can you protect me when you are ducking the MC’s messes all the time?”

  Talon growled and grabbed for her again but Fiona sidestepped him. Wiping her tears away from her cheeks, she looked at him. “I will take a promise though... that if something happens to me that you’ll take care of him. You promise me.”

  Talon stared at her for a moment then nodded. “Alright. I can promise you that much, but baby nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it and now you have the protection of the club. They will lay down their life to protect you and the boy.”

  Fiona shook her head. “I don’t want anyone to die for me, dammit. Especially you. I just need to know Bret will be safe here.”

  Talon noticed Eagle standing in the doorway. He saw the other man jerk for him to come inside and Talon acknowledged the order. He cupped Fiona’s arm and said, “Come on baby, we got things to do inside.”

  Fiona wiped the remaining tears away and slowly followed him in. She went to find Bret while Talon joined his president. “What’s up?”

  “I called for church. We need to figure out what’s going down with Jethro and how we’re gonna get the info we need. Your dad died a long time ago and if that ambush was set up by Hammer, Digger or anyone else in the club, we need to know. Four men died that day and now after all these years we need to know why.”

  Talon nodded. “I’ll be ready.” His eyes sought out Fiona so he missed Cat walking up to him. When she put her arms around his waist, Talon stepped aside. He didn’t want her to touch him.

  “Oh baby, I know how you get after a battle, and I heard about the trouble this morning. I just want to make you feel good,” she cooed in his ear.

  “I don’t want you to make me feel better. I’m ok.” Talon gritted.

  “But baby, I can make you feel really good,” she promised.

  “I said I don’t want it.” Talon growled. “I don’t want you.”

  Cat’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him for a moment then she turned to glare at Fiona. Curling her lip she spat, “I suppose she’s the one who will make you feel better now, right? That whore?”

  Talon reached out and grabbed her chin bringing her face around to his. His eyes blazed with fury. “You don’t get to talk about her that way. She’s not a whore and it’s no business of yours who I fucking sleep with. It never was and never will be. Do you understand me?”

  Cat’s eyes widened as she slowly nodded.

  Fiona watched as she listened to their encounter. She’d been fully prepared for Talon to walk away with Cat, he had done it before. She could feel her heart beginning to break but then her heart calmed when she heard him tell her to leave him alone.

  She caught his eye a moment later and she tentatively smiled at the look he gave her. Then she buried her face in her son’s hair as she nuzzled him. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. She watched as the men slowly got to their feet and walked down the hall. Looking around, she found herself alone in the clubhouse with just the club whores and two prospects. One was behind the bar while the other one was standing watch at the front door.

  Cat, Leia and Beth walked over to her. Fiona watched carefully as all three women sat down at the table with her and Bret. Fiona felt uncomfortable. She had a feeling these women were looking for trouble and she didn’t want it in front of Bret.

  “So you and Talon?” Cat began the discussion.

  “Is none of your business,” Fiona told her.

  Cat sneered at her then looked to her friends and nodded. “Maybe we don’t see it that way.”

  Fiona shrugged. “Still none of your business.”

  Beth snorted. “Did you know Bret has the same birthmark as Talon?” she asked eyeing up the kid.

  Fiona stilled and her eyes went wide. “What birthmark?” She knew about the birthmark but was surprised Beth knew. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised but she was.

  “Talon has a mark on his left wrist and I noticed Bret has the same mark.” Beth shrugged.

  “Everyone has some sort of birthmark somewhere on their bodies.” Fiona shook her head.

  Beth snorted. “Yeah, right. Why are you keeping him in the dark?”

  “Like I said, none of your business,” Fiona stated yet again.

  Leia nodded. “I heard about you. When I came here about four years ago, one of the old ladies was talking about you and how you broke Talon’s heart by running away. She said he went a little nuts after you left him.” She grinned crookedly. “Maybe you should have stayed away, sweet cheeks.”

  Fiona glared at the women. If she were going to take her place here, she’d better start now. “I’m only gonna say this once, what goes on between Talon and me is between Talon and me. It’s none of anyone else’s business and I don’t have to tell you anything. In fact, I don’t have to tell you anything at all. I’d rather get along with everyone while I’m here but I won’t take your shit either, against me or my son.” Getting to her feet she glared at them all, “I hope you will excuse me I need some fresh air.” With that, she carried her son outside and set him down on the ground.

  Leia chuckled. “Well, I guess we got told, didn’t we?”

  Cat gritted her teeth. “She’s little more than a whore and she’s telling us to mind our own business?”

  Beth and Leia turned to look at Cat.

  “She’s right and you know it. The only reason you’re so pissed is Talon turned you down for her,” Beth chided her.

  “You know if he hears about this he’s gonna be pissed don’t you?” Leia stated.

  Cat glared at the other two women. “Then
he better not hear about it. If he does, all three of us could lose our place here. You know the rules as well as I do.”

  Leia glanced outside and watched Fiona for a moment. Then looked back at the other girls. “We do and I’m betting she does too. If she was with Talon before, she knows how the club works.”

  As the brothers settled down, Eagle got to his feet and looked at them all, one at a time. Then he began to speak, “Brothers, you all know we buried a brother this week, what you may not be aware of is the fact that Hammer might have betrayed his club a long time ago. Both Hammer and Digger. We have evidence that Hammer is in debt to the Bratva, and when I say in debt, I mean to the tune of three million dollars with 150k payments due every quarter. And that’s just the interest. That doesn’t even touch the principal.”

  The men of the club grumbled in discontent with the news Eagle had shared. They settled down again when Eagle held up his hand.

  “Not only that but we found evidence at Hammer’s place that suggested he might have been involved in the ambush that took four brothers from us, one of them being Talon’s old man. To top that off, Digger came back to tell us who one of the shooters were. His name is Jethro Williams and he happens to be serving life in prison. Talon wants to find out why his dad had to die.” Eagle shook his head. “Not that I blame him. I want to find out why four of our own had to die as well.”

  “How are you gonna do that?” one of the brothers asked.

  “Talon wants to go inside, so he can talk face to face with Jethro,” Eagle dropped the bomb.

  There was a moment of silence then all hell broke loose as the brothers erupted into chaos.

  Eagle waited for the melee to calm down and when it didn’t seem like it would, he whistled harshly. “We need to get this done so settle the fuck down!” He shouted over the voices still there.

  “Why does Talon have to go inside?” Rogue asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if one of us went in for him?”

  “Yeah, there might be a shiv waiting for him if he goes in.” Falcon nodded

  Talon stood up and addressed the men, “I would never ask any of you to take my place. This is something I have to do. Bullseye was my dad and this is something I need to do for him and for all of us. If there was a traitor in the club, and we need to know what kind of deal he made to save his own hide. And with who.”

  “Damn VP, I can’t believe old Hammer and Digger did this.” Cobra shook his head. “They were founders of the club along with your dad. Why would they betray us? Don’t make any sense to me.”

  Talon glanced over at Eagle and at his nod, Talon addressed the group as a whole, “I can tell you this, Hammer was into gambling and he made promises he couldn’t keep. His debt carried over to the club and now the Bratva thinks they own us. Well, they don’t. We found out Digger has a drug problem, not only is he using but he’s running for someone. He won’t say who but I think I know who it might be. You might also want to know that Fiona is back with her kid. Her old boss is a man named Devin and he runs a titty bar in Santa Rosa. He’s also connected to the mob up there. She took a hundred bucks to get her kid medicine and somehow, his next payment went missing. We think we know who took it but we can’t prove it. Devin doesn’t want to listen to anything she has to say but he made the mistake of coming here after her. He’s threatened to kill her and take her kid and that won’t happen. Not on my watch. So when I go inside the joint, I would appreciate it if you guys could watch over both of them.”

  “Fuckin hell VP,” Rogue grumbled.

  Grumbling also came from the crowd.

  “Is she your ole lady then?” Rogue asked.

  Talon didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  “How are you gonna get into prison?” Falcon asked. “Then again, how are you gonna get out, once you have your answers?”

  “Werley can assist with the legal paperwork, but it will have to be for something major, something pretty bad because once I’m inside, we’re gonna set up Devin for the fall. We’re gonna make it look like he’s the real bad guy and he set me up to take the fall. That’s gonna be my ticket out.”

  “What ya gonna do to get sent upriver VP?” Condor chuckled. “It has to be bad enough the cops aren’t gonna fool around and stop looking for the real bad guy.”

  Talon grinned. “Well now, let’s see, anybody got any ideas?”

  “Well murder is always a good rap,” someone shouted out.

  Talon shook his head. “If I were going to shoot anyone, it would be Devin himself, cause he fucking deserved it. No, I want him to go down for the crime, not be the victim.”

  “What evidence do you have that would convince a cop that he did the crime?”

  “We got his phone and his gun,” Eagle informed them. “Mike is running down his contacts to see just who he’s connected to.”

  “How about a robbery?” Crow suggested. “You could hit up old man Steven’s place on the edge of town. Fire some shots even. Stevens would raise enough hell about it so they would throw the book at you just on principal. Then you plant the evidence where Werley can find it and bring it to everyone’s attention and that would take the heat off you and put it on this Devin guy. There’s enough people in this city that owe us, so getting you out should be fairly simple.”

  Eagle looked at Talon and nodded. “That might work. But we need to move quickly. Enough people noticed Devin in town today. If we did this tonight, we just might get away with it. But you won’t have much time inside to get your answers. We need you back here to help with Dimitri. He’s gonna want his payment soon enough.”

  “True.” Talon nodded. “I don’t want to leave Fiona alone too long either. I don’t want her to run again. I might not be able to find her a second time.”

  The men all stared at him. If they had doubts as to his claiming Fiona, they just disappeared.

  Eagle snorted. “She ain’t going nowhere. We’ll watch over her and the boy.”

  Talon narrowed his eyes when he looked at Eagle. “I’m counting on that President. I’m counting on that.”

  “Okay then, let’s get this party started,” Crow called out happily. “Damn, but this is gonna be fun.”

  Talon shook his head. “This isn’t supposed to be fun old man.”

  Crow smiled. “Well, look at it from my point of view. I haven’t done anything this crazy in so long, I’ve almost forgotten how to do it.”

  Talon burst into laughter and slapped Crow on the back. “Ok old man I get ya.”

  Eagle sided up to Talon and told him, “You’d better talk to your woman. She’s not gonna be happy if you don’t explain to her what’s going on. Besides, I think she has something she might want to tell you.”

  Talon looked deep into his President’s eyes for answers but Eagle’s eyes were blank at the moment.

  Silence filled the room.

  “Well, are we fucking voting or what?” Toll Man asked.

  “He’s got some hot kitties out there waiting for him,” Condor said as he grinned at Toll Man.

  “Good man,” Cobra said. “Prez? What’s the call?”

  “Start the vote,” Eagle said.

  Talon watched with a keen eye as everyone sat in silence. Nobody wanted to take the charge and vote their VP into prison. Which meant a lot to Talon because it meant they all respected him and knew the MC needed him around.

  “Look, we’re taking this vote,” Talon said. “We invited Crow to sit in Hammer’s seat to give it a sense of purpose.”

  “Thank you for that, brother,” Crow said. “But sending the VP into the slammer...”

  “You’re our VP,” Cobra spoke up. “We are supposed to protect you and the Prez, so this ain’t fucking easy.”

  Many brothers nodded their agreement.

  “It’s the only way to fix this.” Talon looked around at them all. “I need to stand face to face with the man who killed my old man. We have the money to take care of Dmitri right now.”

  “You gone make
s us look weak,” Crow argued.

  “And you know damn well what we have on the inside will help this club,” Talon countered. “It’s a controlled setting, brothers. I can get to Jethro and rip his fucking heart out for honor of my father.” Talon reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace he got from his father. “And when I’m inside, I’ll push for information on the Bratva.”

  “I’ll vote yay,” Rogue said, raising his hand but looking troubled as he did so.

  “The club has a monster of a war ahead of us,” Condor said. “Losing the VP makes us look bad. Especially, after Hammer going down. I vote nah.”

  Talon swallowed hard and nodded at Condor. “Let me tell you all something else. I go inside and things shake up everywhere. You’re damn right, the outside will think we’re weak. Bratva included. Just imagine them easing up for a second. And imagine when I get out and we’re stronger than ever. I kill the man who killed my father and send a clear message that nothing stays secret forever.”

  “I’ll vote yay,” Toll Man spoke up.

  The table came alive.

  The vote came to Talon, who said the obviously yay.

  All eyes went to Eagle to finish off the vote with a hit of the gavel.

  “Votes are in,” he said. “You’re going to prison, Talon.” Eagle slammed down the gavel. “Now let’s get this prick a drink before we send him off.”

  The table erupted into cheers.

  Talon wasn’t in the mood for cheers.

  Going to prison was no joke and leaving Fiona and Bret behind didn’t settle well with him. But things had to get fixed. Once and for all around the club.

  Talon went outside to get some fresh air.

  He lit up a smoke as Rogue stepped outside to do the same.

  “You okay with this?” Rogue asked.

  “Fuck no,” Talon said.

  “Someone else can go.”

  “I have to see to it. I want to see his fucking eyes as he dies, brother.”