by K. J. Dahlen
In line with where I had fired, a bullet had splintered the glass framed picture on the wall behind where Antonio’s head had been.
Max, one of my brothers, ran over to Antonio’s body, doubled over on the floor, and thrust him back against the wall. Blood seeped from his stomach. He wasn’t dead yet, but slipping in and out of consciousness, and unable to move.
Max raised a blood-soaked hand from Antonio’s belly and stared back at me.
In less than a minute, Antonio would be finished. His head was turned to his left.
I followed his gaze to find Bruno staring him in the eyes and watching him bleed out on the clubhouse floor.
Clunk.
The sound of Bruno’s gun hitting the floor drew my attention to what had happened, just before Bruno dropped his injured body to the ground.
Antonio had seen his father send the bullet into his body that would kill him. I was sure that Bruno had fired his shot to Antonio’s stomach and not his head for that reason. Bruno never missed his target. He’d wanted Antonio to know he had shot him.
“Get him out of here!” Bruno groaned with pain and betrayal. He sat on the floor as Marco put a tourniquet over Bruno’s wound to contain the bleeding.
The single officer that was still conscious looked over at Bruno. Something told me that he and Bruno knew each other and this had figured into the arrest being made in the first place. “Shall I take him to the county hospital?” the officer asked Bruno.
“No!” Bruno ordered as he stood up clutching the bullet wound in his right shoulder as Marco tried to finish patching him up.
I knew Bruno had great political power ‒ he had saved me from the cops back when I was taken on as a prospect‒ but I never knew it could be to this extent.
“Get that out my sight,” Bruno ordered in disgust.
Max and another brother, Spider, hauled Antonio’s body out of the clubhouse while he was semi-conscious and bleeding to death. Blood left a thick trail mark across the clubhouse floor.
Bruno looked at his son’s body with no grief. Instead, he watched Antonio’s body being dragged out like he was something disgusting Bruno has just trodden in. “Self-defense. You hear me, Murray. I was shot. There was nothing else I could do.” Bruno narrowed his eyes at the officer as he assessed him.
I was right; Bruno knew exactly who this officer was.
The officer nodded, obediently. Not only did Bruno know this officer, but he also owned this officer. The cop was one of his many faceless allies in the state police department.
Bruno threw on his jacket, covering his shoulder. He grimaced in pain. “Sunday evening, I would like to file a missing person’s report. My son will have been missing for 48 hours. He will never be found alive, and a body will never be recovered. Case closed.” Bruno reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a wad of money and threw it on the table in front of the officer. “We’ve got a deal here. Right?”
The officer picked up the cash and nodded his head again. “Right.”
Max and Spider entered the clubhouse from outside.
Bruno looked enraged now. “Lose the body. And lose his bike. That traitor threw dirt in the face of my family’s honor. Nobody will ever know of this embarrassment of a betrayal. All they will know is that he disappeared. He is nothing to me. And I don’t want my family to hear anything about this. I don’t want to know where, or what you do with it. All I want to know is that the body is gone. Am I clear?”
“Yes,” both men responded.
Bruno let out a heavy sigh, “All those in favor of Jaxson Coltrane as club president, say I.”
My brothers responded instantly.
“I…”
It was a unanimous vote. The Black Devils MC was now my club.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get myself patched up.” Bruno walked toward the door, and we gave each other a bow of our heads in respect.
A deadly silence echoed in the room.
The last time I saw Antonio’s body, it was shoved into a black body bag outside the clubhouse. As I rode out of the parking lot, I watched in my wing mirror as Spider and Max lifted the body into the back of one of our whiskey trucks then the doors slammed closed. What became of his body immediately after that would remain unknown.
Chapter Twenty-Three
(Chloe)
“What happened?” I had spoken before Jax had barely gotten through the front door. Relief flooded my eyes. Whatever had occurred, at least, Jax was alive.
“You’re looking at the new President of the Black Devils’ MC,” Jax said, without a smile.
“Holy shit! Where’s Dino?” I asked.
Jax didn’t respond.
As the front door to Dinos’ apartment closed behind Jax, my gaze moved restlessly over his body. “Jax, you’ve got blood all over your shirt! Whose is it? Is it yours? Or, is it somebody else’s?” I asked, hurriedly.
Jax shook his head. “I’m ok. Dino’s ok.” he said, unbuttoning his blood stained shirt.
“So you got Antonio? Tell me Antonio is dead.” My eyes studied his face but he kept his expression blank. Like he was desperate not to feel. Not to feel the terror and worry I felt inside.
Jax nodded. “Yep, he got what he deserved. He’s dead and can’t do shit now.”
“So, we’re safe now?”
“The thing is, a sniper shot Bruno through the widow during the vote. He’s ok. But my guess is somebody just declared war on me and my MC. I have an idea who it was but I never saw his face.” Jax shrugged, his voice grave.
“It was Jumper. It had to be, Jax. Jumper wants us dead. And my mom’s life is in jeopardy too, I just know it,” I reminded him.
“I don’t want you to worry, I’ve got Dino tracking the shooter, and Ill fix protection for your mom.”
“Jax—”
“Don’t worry, Chloe. You’ve got me and I’ve got my brothers to protect you two. No man will hurt you or your mother, ok?”
I stared into his emerald green eyes, searching for any hint of worry. Any hint that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself, me, or my mother safe. But right now, Jax was impossible to read. “Jumper is deadly, Jax. He is bound to come after us. When he does, he’ll shoot us in a heartbeat.” I pointed out, knowing that I had already cheated death once by getting out of that hellhole alive.
“We’re done talking about that for now.” He shook his head and gazed at the floor. He looked tired. Exhausted.
“Well, I need to see my mother first thing in the morning. Threat or no threat, her fiancé has just been killed. She needs me right now,” I insisted.
“No!” Jax snapped. He swung around to face me. “Jumper will be looking for you. Here, you are safe. In my world, we plan for this shit. This apartment isn’t even rented in Dino’s name for that very reason. But the moment you set foot out there, you’re asking for it.”
If his words weren’t enough, the severity of his gaze told me that my life depended on it. I swallowed hard and told him, “We can’t hide forever.” Still looking into his eyes, I asked him the question I had been asking myself since I’d been rescued, “What are we going to do when Jumper catches up with us?”
Jax offered me no answer.
The pitch of my voice dropped an octave. “Tell me why you were at the docks so long. What were you doing? Why didn’t you shoot Antonio the moment you saw him and come right back here? Tell me what really happened, Jax,” I said, all business.
He stepped toward me but didn’t respond.
“I need to know that you will be able to keep us safe. Answer me,” I hissed, in fury.
Jaxs’ eyes steadied on mine with a look I’d seen before. He knew what he wanted. “No more questions,” he declared, making my heart jump as he moved toward me.
His large body was close to mine as he stared down into my eyes that were about to well into tears. I knew it would be a mistake to let him put his hands on me. I put two
hands on his chest and shoved him. His body didn’t move. Jax placed his hands around my shoulders. The sensation of his palms on my clothes seemed to seer through to my skin. Whatever it was that his touch did to me; it was like a powerful aphrodisiac.
I breathed in deeply. His scent filled my lungs and I got light headed for a moment. My mouth watered and I closed my eyes.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded. “I want to see your eyes.”
I opened them and showed him the desire I felt. His eyes softened and I could read the same desire in them.
So much had happened over the past few days I didn’t know if I could trust anybody or anything around me but when I looked into his eyes I knew I could trust this. I knew I could trust what we had, Jax and me. “I want you, Jax,” I bluntly told him.
“You got me babe,” he whispered as he nibbled my neck. His hands pushed my shirt up so he could fondle by breasts. I moaned as my blood began to heat. When his lips hovered over the pulse in my neck, I knew he could feel my heart pounding in my chest. “No, you don’t understand… I need you, I need you right now, deep inside me scratching an itch I can’t reach. I need you to fuck me hard and deep.”
Jax groaned and at my words and ground his hard cock into my belly. “You want this? You want my cock in your pussy?”
I couldn’t help it—it was true and his dirty talk made me even more breathless. “Oh god, yesss…”
Jax picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. Slamming the door shut with his foot, he threw me on the bed then came down over me. Grabbing the hem of my shirt, he ripped it apart, buttons flying all over the room.
My bare breasts were exposed and Jax didn’t wait for an invitation. His hands and his lips clamped down on my warm skin. His teeth dragged over my nipples and when he bit down on my hard bud, I moaned in pleasure. He growled and rubbed his rock hard cock against my thigh. “I hope you’re ready because I can’t wait to fuck you,” he whispered against my neck while his hands pulled my jeans and underwear from my body. “It was all I thought about on the ride back here. Being in you.” Pushing my clothing away, his fingers pressed my mound and he groaned when he felt how wet I was.
He rubbed his cock between the lips of my pussy, caressing his silky tip across my button, up and back, again and again, allowing my wetness to coat his cock head.
It was driving me crazy as I panted to his lips.
Smothering my mouth and ramming his tongue in at the same time, he slammed his cock inside me. My walls closed around him and my legs wrapped around his waist as I screamed out. But not in pain, in extreme, intense pleasure. Each stroke went deep in me, invading places I never knew existed before. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I hung on for the ride.
He unwrapped my legs and opened them wide. His powerful body slid back then forward, plunging his cock deeply into me as he commanded, “Look at me. I want to see your eyes when I fuck you.”
I opened my eyes and saw my reflexion in his orbs. I saw raging desire and possession on his face. I’d never seen him so fierce, so focused on me. Each thrust was raw and almost brutal but I didn’t mind. My body didn’t mind either, in fact my body reveled in the feelings he churned up inside me.
“You belong to me Chloe,” he told me as he thrust inside my pussy, filling me. “I think you’ve belonged to me since I first saw you as a child.”
“You’re not my dad,” I reminded him in a breathless whisper.
“No I’m not your dad,” Jax agreed. “But you belong to me all the same now. You gave me your body and I’m going to keep it. I’m going to keep you.”
I groaned and could feel myself getting close. “I think I’m going to come,” I whispered breathlessly.
“Good, I’m gonna make you come so hard the whole world will know who you belong too.” Jax ramped up his rhythm. His hips thrusted harder his cock possessing my pussy that was clamped down on him. Tingles zinged along my nerve endings and I knew it wouldn’t be long before Jax exploded inside me.
His finger drifted down my belly and reached for my button. Just one touch was all it took. My body shattered in that instant. My face tightened as if I was in great pain but he knew better. My mouth opened, yet no sound came out of my throat.
Leaning over, he covered my mouth with his own. Again, his tongue was matching the thrusts of his cock. My core clamped down on him even tighter and then he flew over the edge. “Chloe,” he called out my name against my trembling lips.
“Jax…” I called out hoarsely as he finished bringing me off. A bead of sweat rolled down my body to pool and mix with the sweat of his body. It was hard to tell where he stopped and I began. His weight pushed me down into the mattress and for a moment, I loved it, then he moved off me.
He didn’t go far though; he slid into place right beside me. He reached up and his fingers brushed a strand of sweaty hair away from my forehead. Cupping my chin, he pulled my face toward his.
Jax leaned closer and kissed me gently as his expression softened. “I’ve got you.”
GHOSTS FROM THE PAST
PREQUEL TO
SPAWN & SPITFIRE
K.J. DAHLEN
Deke Tory watched the sun come up from the back porch of the clubhouse. The air was cool as his eyes sought out echoes of the past. Things around him had changed so much in the last few years, yet some things remained the same. The clubhouse itself had mostly remained the same, although some improvements had been made. The grounds had expanded and they beefed up security around it. Yet, his mind tripped back and he was remembering that day a dozen years ago when he first came here.
He was seventeen when he left Bangor, Maine and he’d hoped to leave his bad memories far behind. He would never forget the look of rage in his father’s eyes as he rode away. The way his fists were clenched at his sides and the glare on his face told everyone around him Sam Tory was not happy. But for Deke, it’d been the only thing he could do. He had to get away from his father and the club he hated and even now, he hadn’t regretted that decision.
Deke didn’t need to turn when he heard footsteps behind him. He knew who it was without looking. In fact, he’d been expecting the other man for some time now. Both men knew exactly what day it was. This was the day of independence and death. It also marked the day Deke took over the Satan’s Spawn MC.
The day Deke left Maine, Gator and his wife Reva left with him. Although it had been fifteen years since they left Maine they had only been here in Troy, New York for the last dozen years. After three years on the road, they all decided to settle here and rebuild their shattered lives.
Although he had been young, he still had ideals and his own code he lived by. His earlier life had been hard but he watched everyone around him then he’d taken little pieces of what he could believe in and made it his own code. As he grew up, he realized something Gator told him a long time ago, had been true. He’d met his father Sam for the first time when he was twelve years old. Half-grown already he’d been well on his way to coming a man. He had his own thoughts about the way he wanted to live his life. Sam never understood that and Deke had fought to keep his own ideals.
His mother never told him or Sam the truth until the day Sam came back to the town they lived in. Sam had been stunned to find out about having a son he never knew about and when he left a few days later, Deke went with him, whether he really wanted to or not. He hadn’t but that didn’t make any difference to Sam.
Unfortunately, Deke proved just as stubborn as his old man and for the next five years, it was one battle after another until Deke had finally had enough and just left. Gator told him they were too much alike to live together but Deke never believed it. He always thought Sam tried to make him a mini Sam and Deke wasn’t having any of that. He often carried bruises to show the world he was his own man.
Twelve years ago, they rolled into Troy and stayed. They found the Satan’s Spawn MC and watched carefully to see if they wanted to join. It only took a few days to see the pat
tern and the more time they spent with the club, the more they discovered what they didn’t like about it. There was too much discontent among the men. Only a few of them seemed to agree with their leader and that attitude was never a good thing in an MC like this. Bear, the leader of this group, either didn’t see it or didn’t care but most of his men weren’t happy with his leadership. They just seemed to lack the will to end their discontent.
Bear was a big man. Older than Gator, the man held tight to the leadership over his men. He claimed his word was law and he often used his position for his own gain. He beat down his men, verbally and by using his fists until they had no thoughts of standing up to him. Not only that but he allowed booze and drugs to steal more of his men’s will away from them. He gave them very little and expected a lot more back. To Deke this wasn’t the way to run an MC.
Deke didn’t agree with this philosophy and began pulling away until a girl named Gillian came under Bear’s questionable protection. Bear had pulled Gillian out of a parking lot of a 7-11 after a nasty fight with an old boyfriend. The boyfriend just left her there and Gillian looked lost as she watched him drive away. He’d been there when Bear rolled over to her and offered her a ride. Gillian thought he would take her home, instead he took her back to the clubhouse and kept her there. Gillian didn’t want to be at the club but once she was there, Bear wouldn’t let her go. He wanted her and she wasn’t going to deny him. He’d made that very clear, not only to her but to everyone in the club.
It all came to a head the few nights later when Gillian tried to leave the compound. The club was partying which wasn’t uncommon but Bear’s demands on Gillian were getting worse. He’d had enough to drink that night when he grabbed her and began dragging her to his bedroom. Gillian refused and tried to break his hold but couldn’t get away from him. No one was paying any attention to her. Deke tried to stand up to assist her but Breaker, Bear’s second in command held him down and shook his head.
