Scorned (A Ruthless Rebels MC #2)

by Ryan Michele

  “You’re one crazy bitch!”

  She ignores the comment, seemingly in her own world of memories. “David was a good boy. He died trying to get us our babies back. Andrea lived, and she shouldn’t have. None of them should have!”

  Rage fills me, and I reach out wrapping my hand around her throat. “If you loved your precious boys so much, why kill them in the fire with their mother?”

  She flops around trying to relieve the pressure around her neck and get air in her lungs. I release her because I want answers. She heaves in breaths. “With David gone and the boys out of the country, there wasn’t a way to get them to the United States without Yelena and her family retaining rights to them. Elise and I decided they had to go. With David’s money we could adopt or foster, but first they all had to pay for taking our David from us. If Yelena would have gotten with the program from the beginning, she would still be here with her boys and David. All she had to do was back off and let us be. David would have provided for her. She just couldn’t understand her place. The lesson she failed to learn cost us all dearly.”

  “Shamus, get up here,” Skinny calls out.

  I leave the gag off the woman who seems damn right proud of herself for ruining so many lives. It makes me sick.

  Sliding into the passenger seat, I buckle up while he hits the gas hard.

  “Leave her be,” Skinny says to me in a cold tone I’ve never heard from him.

  “You okay, brother?”

  “Some people do some seriously fucked up shit in the name of love for a child. Triple Threat and I know first fuckin’ hand. You can’t do shit with that brand of crazy but put her in the ground.”

  “Never heard you or Triple Threat talk about your mom before,” I reply honestly, wondering what kind of hell the twins grew up in.

  “She’s a cunt who convinced herself she had birthed Cain and Abel. Yes, like the Bible, Cain and Abel. I was the first born so I was Cain. She wouldn’t let her precious Abel die by my hands so she made sure to weaken me.” He turns his face showing the side that is severely scarred as a sign.

  “How’s Triple Threat feel about that?”

  “Story for another time, brother. But that brand of crazy we got in this van ain’t the kind you can talk any sense into.”

  I can only be thankful I had my grandparents and not some mom who did whacked shit like this to me. No matter how hard it was, my mom leaving me and never looking back was the best thing for both of us.

  The others park their bikes two blocks from the newspaper office and everyone piles into the van with the crazed bitch, Skinny, and me.

  “You Rebels are gonna get that man killed. Elise is the strong one, she’ll slice him,” crazy bitch two says snidely from the floor.

  “And you’re what, Elise’s lacky?” Lurch snaps right back. “I’ve seen a strong woman fall at the hands of a weaker sister, you’d be surprised.”

  “Mom,” Skinny says strangely to Triple Threat, whose already dark and dangerous eyes turn even more so in a way that electrifies the small confines of the van.

  “Need her?” Triple Threat asks me head on.

  “Fuck no,” I reply, and Triple Threats looks to Lurch who lifts his chin. Triple Threat wastes not a second. He pulls out his gun and shoots Eleanor right between the eyes, the blast loud in the enclosed space.

  “That’s one way to do it,” I reply. “Let’s get this shit done with. Crazy two down for the count, crazy sister one up next.”

  We use the van to pull up in front of the Granville Journal Star. At the front door we file out, having intel from the security cameras confirming Elise Holloway is alone inside with Mr. Collins in his office which is the stupidest move the bitch could make. There are no exits there, except for a window, which could be a possibility.

  Triple Threat, Skinny, and Gilly go in and head right. DJ, Lurch and I go in left, coming at each side. Thumper stations outside at the window just in case.

  “Bitch, are you here?” Elise says from the office. We have two goals. One, eliminate Elise. Two, bring out Mr. Collins alive. DJ lifts his phone to my face giving me a clear view of the room via the video camera. Elise has Mr. Collins sitting in his chair behind his desk, with her behind him. Pretty much the same exact way I saw on the video call earlier. Only difference is, there’s more blood, which isn’t a good thing.

  When we stay silent, Elise yells, “I’ll fucking gut him, Andrea! Get your ass in here now!”

  I glance over to the screen one last time, noting the knife cutting deeper with her pressure and nod to the other side of the doorway. I also notice off to the side a slight movement.

  I mouth to DJ, someone’s in there. It was only a flash on the camera, but it was there, I swear it.

  Not thinking another moment, I swing around, gun aimed and shoot Elis Holloway in the cheek causing part of her head to explode from her body. Mr. Collins screams deep, jumping from his chair and reaching up to his head, no doubt feeling blood and brain matter.

  Just as another gunshot comes off from the left, DJ takes point and shoots the man straight in the chest. He lands with a hard thud, but DJ is on him.

  “You alright?” I ask Mr. Collins, not taking my eye off of Elise. She’s a crazy bitch, and who the fuck knows if she’s a damn cat and has nine lives or some shit.

  “Bleeding, but I think I’m fine,” he mutters while his face pales, and I worry the man may pass out.

  “Brother, that bitch is dead.” Triple Threat comes up, lifts his gun and shoots her five times in the heart. “One for each of the lives she fucked up.” He shrugs and walks off. I think about adding a few more, but what’s the point.

  “What about him?” I ask DJ, who fires off a few more rounds as well.

  “Meet Charlie Flint. Dead,” DJ spits down at the man who bleeds all over the floor.

  “Need to get shit cleaned up and Mr. Collins here to the doc,” Lurch orders, and only then do I feel the relief. The bitches are dead. Every threat to my girl is gone. She’s safe, and I need to have her in my arms just to make sure.

  “Triple Threat handle the body removals. Grinder and Oscar clean the office and any traces inside the building. Skinny you’re with TT on getting the bodies out and do what you do.” Thumper orders. “Shamus, you get back to your woman and let her know this is all over, she’s safe, and she’s yours.” He winks at me. “DJ go make sure your woman isn’t giving birth today. There’s been quite a bit of excitement.”

  I nod feeling the first bit of relief I’ve had since this all began. DJ smiles proudly. We’re all in trouble when that baby gets here, he couldn’t be more happy.

  “Let’s light ‘em up!” Skinny calls out, a gleam in his eye. Damn man loves a blaze.

  Chapter 20

  Life is life … I’m focusing on the good

  “What else can I do?” I ask the doctor as I sit on the stupid little paper they have covering their table. Is it too much to ask to have some kind of sheet or something to make us feel human and not some dispensable thing. I get it’s for quicker and less costly equipment, but still, as much as I pay this specialist, they could have a damn sheet!

  Listen to me, I’m a big ball of nerves thinking about a damn sheet when I should be concentrating on what the doctor is saying.

  “Andrea, you’re lucky to be alive. We’ve discussed this before. That being said, the brain matter floating in your head won’t ever go away. As long as you take your medications, see me regularly, and keep a pulse on your vision, hearing and memory, that’s about all we can do.”

  I look to Austin, then back to the doctor, suddenly feeling dumb asking this question. It shouldn’t be on my radar. Austin and I aren’t at that place yet, but I need to know. I crave to know.

  “What about kids? Will I be able to have kids?” Austin’s head darts to me, eyes wide, and I can read perfectly on his face what he’s thinking. “No, I’m not pregnant. I just need to know if that’s an option for us later down the road.”

  “Kitten
, even if it’s not, I don’t give a fuck. Would you havin’ my babies be great, sure, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. You can’t have babies and want one, there are other ways.”

  My heart warms at his sentiment and then thoughts drift to what David’s mother and aunt did to get their kids. A shiver goes down my spine.

  Austin’s hand comes on top of mine. “Stop it.”

  I look deep into his eyes and know he can read my thoughts. I only nod once then turn to the doctor.

  “No children. Your brain can’t handle the strain. A woman’s body goes through so many changes during pregnancy that yours won’t be able to keep up. I want to advise you to get a tubal, but I don’t think you going under anesthesia for any reason that isn’t absolutely necessary is a good idea.” The doctor turns to Austin. “I do, however, recommend you get snipped.”

  My heart hurts. Thoughts of my time being cut short and Austin possibly finding another woman who he could have babies with cuts me deep. But it is an option. A hurtful one, but it’s reality. I have no guarantee of ten years or thirty.

  “No, we’ll use protection,” I say, feeling the need to protect Austin’s future no matter how much it kills me.

  “No, it’s done,” Austin says with all the authority that is Austin. Tears hit my eyes, and I can’t stop them as they overflow and run down my cheeks.

  Turning to him, he rises from the chair and stands in my space. “Not having anything between us, Kitten, never again.”

  “What if I die and you find someone else.” He shakes his head and tries to speak, but I cover his lips with a finger. “I want you to have that opportunity…”

  Austin rips his lips from my finger. “No. Never. You or no one. That’s final. I’ll make the damn appointment and get it done. I’m not risking your health on something that I can solve.”

  “It’s a really quick procedure.” The doctor starts and then stops as Austin turns and glares at him.

  Back to me, he kisses my lips. “You’re my home, Kitten. Thick or thin. Ride or die. Sickness or health.”

  Water pours from my eyes as Austin wraps me in his warm body, and I let it all out. The emotion of never being able to carry a child. The thoughts of how great my man is. The thoughts of my time being cut short with his man. Everything. I let it all out.

  Standing in the kitchen of our new home, I’m in awe. Complete and totally awe. Open pizza boxes litter the kitchen island and countertop. By the sink are two liters of several different kinds of pop and plastic cups. On the other counter are open bags of chips and other snacks. That’s not what’s giving me the awe feelings. No. It’s the people.

  Brothers and sisters of the Rebels cover every corner of space in the kitchen and living room that it opens into. Laughter is everywhere, and friendship is in spades. All of it together. This is my life now. Having others to rely on and knowing without a doubt they have my back and will protect me and mine because they showed me, each one of them, and there’s nothing I can ever do to repay that except give the same in return. I plan on giving them that as many days as I have on this planet.

  Seeing DJ with his arm protectively around Kenderly and catching him glance at her growing belly fills me with so much joy for them. She’s so damn happy that I swear one day, she’s going to explode from it. Or maybe pop—probably pop the kid out.

  Mr. Collins has taken the past three weeks off work at the paper, and Kenderly and I have been running the show. I enjoy it, but I don’t like the reason he’s not back in his office. Even though the Rebels took care of things, Mr. Collins hasn’t come back from what occurred in his office that day.

  Austin and the Rebels came in last week and tore out Mr. Collins’ office. As in, took everything out and tore down the walls. They rebuilt his office on the other side of the large open space, putting in a new desk, cabinets, chairs and the like. The only thing that’s the same are the files and pictures he had on his walls. I couldn’t believe how fast they moved. The guys know their stuff.

  Kenderly and I are hoping that Mr. Collins will be back with the remodel, but the verdict is still out on that one.

  Hoots and hollers come from the hallway, and my focus goes to it. Austin walks out carrying a leather vest exactly like the one he wears. Exactly like Kenderly, Daisy, and Gloria wear. Emotions hit me from all angles but mainly in my heart. I love this man more and more with each passing day. The fact we almost lost this. We did lose this and got it back, is everything to me. He’s everything to me.

  He steps up close and holds it open for me.

  “What? Am I supposed to put this on or something?” I smart off at him with a smile.

  “Kitten,” he warns, and my smile widens full-fledged.

  “Thank you. I’d love to.” I turn and put the cool leather on my body. It’s heavy at first and the smell is divine. On the front it states: ‘Property of Shamus.’ While I love it, that name still bothers me, and I need to get over it. He is who he is. Like he said before, scars make us who we are, and I need to get over his. He’s mine, and that’s what matters.

  He pulls me into his arms and I wrap mine around his waist, all to the cheers from our friends around us.

  “Love you, Kitten.”

  I breathe in deep and know what I have to do. “Love you, Shamus.”

  He says nothing but plants his lips on mine. Leaving me breathless, he pulls away. “Check the pocket.”

  I step back and begin feeling around. There are a few of them, and I didn’t feel anything when I put it on.

  He points to the top right one, and I reach in feeling cool metal. Eyes wide and round, I pull out the most beautiful round diamond ring I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t breathe, and I swear my heart totally stops as I look at my man who is now on one knee.

  “Loved you since I knew what it was. Gonna love you till I die. You’re my home. You’re my everything. Be my wife.”

  The demand has me chuckling through my sobs. “Nothing I’d love better.”

  He reaches over, slips the ring on my finger then gathers me up in a bear hug, picking me up off the ground, my legs wrapping around his waist.

  His lips attack mine and only pull away to order, “Out,” to everyone as he walks us to our bedroom. I love the oak wood we picked out for the furniture, and I went with blues and grays, trying to go more manly. It’s one of my most favorite rooms of the house. Who am I kidding, every room is my favorite.

  “Need to christen this room,” he says, tossing me to the bed while pulling off his leather, shirt, and tearing his pants from his body. “Get ready, Kitten, I’m fucking you in every room of the house, and we’re not coming out until the poker run tomorrow.”

  “I haven’t heard of anything better.” He kisses me and everything is right in our world.

  I fell in love with Austin Fletcher when we were young, I am in love with Shamus the Ruthless Rebel for the man he is today. Love left us scorned, and love brought us home.

  Epilogue

  Thank you

  I kneel next to Luke’s grave as Drea cleans the leaves off of the new tombstone. The grass hasn’t fully grown back yet, and I may get some sod put down for him. Drea’s tears, when talking to Luke, broke my heart, but there’s something I need to say to him.

  “So damn sorry, man. I wish shit wasn’t fucked up, but I owe you. Fuckin’ owe you my life for taking care of Drea. For shielding her and takin’ care of her over there. Thank you isn’t a damn ‘nuff. You’re a damn good man.”

  I look at Drea, who has now knelt beside me and grabbed my hand. I give it a squeeze. “I set up an account for his wife and kids. I put money in it every month. It has your name on it, Drea.” She sucks in breaths hard and fast. “No reason they should have to struggle so much. It’s not a lot, but enough to help with the mortgage and bills.”

  “You’re a damn good man, Shamus. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Catch up with all the members of Ruthless Rebels MC with Skinny and Roe coming next i
n Scarred!

  Sneak Peak at Scarred releasing May 5th, 2017

  Whitton ‘Skinny’ Thorne – scarred skin only covers a beautiful soul.

  Bitter with a capital B.

  Life has been hell from the beginning when Whitton was burned as an infant, yet as much as he pushes me away I’m always coming back for more.

  When I finally let go, he wants to let me in, how do I survive when we’ve both been scarred?

  Want to be notified when Scarred is live? Sign up for out newsletters:

  Chelsea Camaron

  Ryan Michele

  Excerpt of One Ride (Hellions Ride Book 1) by Chelsea Camaron

  © Chelsea Camaron

  Blurb:

  Content with living in the bubble of safety the Haywood’s Hellions Motorcycle Club has always provided, Delilah ‘Doll’ Reklinger never gave a second thought to any danger surrounding her.

  She’s never imagined her life without the club. She also never thought the day would come a man would come along and prove himself worthy enough to her father, Roundman, Hellions Club President. Life was easy going and carefree.

  Roundman has kept the chaos surrounding the Hellions contained for the last thirty years. When the dangerous side to their business comes knocking on his only child’s doorstep, he realizes his precious Doll isn’t safe anymore.