Brand_A Steel Paragons MC Novel

by Eve R. Hart

  My mind wandered back to the conversation I’d had with Chris. Had Ky been distant? He didn’t seem any different to me right now, but I had noticed he’d been spending more and more time alone—or at least not hanging out with me. Or Chris. Which was a red flag, because he had been right there practically every time Chris and I would hang out. Which I didn’t mind at all. I loved that we all got along so well.

  I shrugged it off. Maybe he was going through something and wasn’t ready to talk about it. Or then again, like I’d thought before, maybe he had someone he was seeing and trying to keep it out of sight. Who the fuck knew? When he was ready, I was sure he’d tell me.

  It was moments like this that let me know it didn’t have anything to do with me. He talked to me like normal and didn’t act any differently than he had before.

  “I was hanging out with Chris. That was the night Savage took Allison. I heard the gunshots and the crash because Chris’ house in Moon Hill was across the street. Like an idiot, I took off on my bike after the SUV that had Allison in it.”

  I went on to tell him how I’d been going way too fast to be considered safe. I saw it before it even happened—the driver had this look in his eyes that was all too telling. So telling that I read it in a flash in the rearview. If it hadn’t been for my dad and all that he’d taught me, I was sure I would have ended up dead, or at least fucked up to the point I wished I was dead.

  I was able to break a half of a second before he slammed on breaks. Not a lot of time, you would think, but for me, it was enough. I turned just enough to not run my tire up the back of the SUV. I managed to slow down enough that when I dove off my bike I had time to tuck before I hit the ground. It didn’t save me one hundred percent. I mean, I was messed up. I couldn’t walk without wincing. And I was pretty sure I’d passed out for a minute or two. I’d come around to Chris over me calling my name.

  “Oh, I still remember the look on his face as he helped Patch dig gravel and shit out of my skin. I’d never seen someone so green. But that’s how I knew he’d always be a true friend and he’d always be in my life. Because he sat there through the whole thing and helped in any way that he could.”

  “Hm,” Ky said as I remembered that night with a smile on my face.

  Don’t get me wrong. That night sucked. In the top five for worst nights ever. But Chris being there helped make it bearable as well as made me tuck my embarrassment down enough to stand up and walk out of that room. Okay, more like limp. But I did it.

  “There is definitely a deep friendship there,” he said, his arms moving quickly as he tightened something in the engine.

  “Yeah,” I said turning my attention back to my bike. “I don’t know that I could live a life without him.”

  And that was the truth. Best fucking friend I’d ever had.

  “So your dad, huh? You two were close?” he asked.

  “Hell, yeah. My dad was my idol, man. He raised me all on his own. He was a stunt driver for movies mostly and he taught me everything he knew, within reason. I mean I wasn’t going super fast when he taught me how to handle a bike in unlikely circumstances. But those rules still apply when you’re going an insane speed. Just glad I didn’t freeze up when the time came to use them.”

  Talking about my dad was bittersweet. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t miss him. But part of me also knew that this was how life was supposed to be. I was lucky enough to have found a place to call home after he was gone.

  “What about you? You close with your family?” I asked, genuinely wanting to know. I didn’t know much about Ky other than what he wanted people to know. I hoped to change that, but the ball was in his court.

  “Nah,” he replied almost sounding detached about it. “We don’t talk anymore.”

  “Any siblings?” I asked pushing.

  This he did pause at. Brief as it was, I caught it.

  “A sister.”

  That was all I was going to get, and I knew it. He was done talking about him. So I changed the focus to something else.

  “Blade came to me and demanded a cut,” I said with a laugh because that was just Blade. He wasn’t one to ask for things.

  Ky barked out a laugh.

  “Yeah, seems like that’s how he’d go about it. He wants in, huh? He doesn’t even have a bike, does he?”

  “That’s what I said! But then he took me out back and showed me his newly purchased Harley Fat Bob. Like I’m pretty sure he bought it that morning. It’s used, but in great condition.” I shook my head. I shouldn’t have been shocked, but I had to admit that I was a little.

  “Wow,” Ky said, neatly placing his wrench on his workbench. “What did you say to that?”

  “I told him to talk to Iron. Said I’d back him.”

  “Yeah, I think he’d do good. As long as he took that ‘I’m in charge’ attitude back like a million notches.” Ky chuckled and shook his head.

  “Yep! I think he knows it too. If anything, it will be amusing to watch him prospect. I’d bet he wouldn’t last over two weeks.”

  “Ha! Yeah, I’d bet three days and he gets the boot,” Ky said with a huge smile like he could see the whole thing playing out in his head.

  “Guess we’ll find out soon enough. He said he’s going to stop by tonight and talk to Iron about it.”

  “Hey guys,” Chris’ voice rang out from just on the other side of the opened bay door.

  “Hey, man. Just get off shift?” I asked, wiping my hands on a shop rag.

  “Yeah,” he said looking glad that he was free. “I’m hungry, I forgot to eat today. You guys want to grab a burger?” His eyes danced between me and Ky.

  “I’m in. And what have I told you about that shit? How the hell do you forget to eat?” I shook my head at him and received a shrug in response. “Ky, you in?”

  “Nah,” he said picking up a socket wrench and ducking back under the hood. “I want to get this thing finished tonight.”

  I glanced over at Chris. For a split second, I saw the crestfallen look that filled his face. But he quickly shook it off and shifted his eyes to me. With a simple brow lift, he said so much. It was as if was saying ‘see, I told you something is up’ and I couldn’t help but shake my head at him. I gave him a pointed look like I was telling him that he was reading too much into it.

  “Ready?” I asked, cutting off anything more about Ky.

  “Hell yeah.”

  The next night we held church and there was a lot to discuss. New runs. New routes, which were my doing. New contacts. And more importantly, new patches. It was a long and important meeting.

  “Sketch has put in more than enough time,” Iron started as he covered the prospects. “While I think he’s a bit young and wild, I think he’s solid. He’s shown dedication and loyalty not only to the club but to the tattoo shop as well. Any concerns?”

  He waited a long moment to see if any of us had anything to say. I didn’t. I pretty much agreed with everything that Iron had said. Yes, Sketch was young and didn’t hold back on his wild streak, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be serious when needed. He was good, not only at the shop but around the brothers as well.

  “Alright, vote then,” Iron said and nodded to Knight.

  It didn’t surprise me that there were no objections and I couldn’t wait to see what Sketch would do when he found out the good news.

  We patched in two other prospects as well. Tripp and Dade. I hadn’t been around that much in all honesty, but from what I’d seen they were good guys. Tripp was more on the quiet and intense side. He was a watcher. And you could tell that when he spoke, his words were carefully thought out and calculated. Which was good, because he wasn’t the type of guy to go off at the slightest thing. He reminded me a lot of Diesel from back at Moon Hill. Dade was in his late twenties. I got the sense that life liked to punch him in the face every time he turned around. I would have bet that was what made him interested in the club. He had that lonely feel about him. But at heart, he was a g
ood guy.

  “Next,” Iron said and I could see he was holding back a laugh behind the smirk that curved his lips. “Blade came to me yesterday. He wants in. I said I’d bring it to the table. Brand, he said you’d back him?” The look on his face was one hundred percent amused.

  Everyone knew Blade, so I wasn’t surprised at the chorus of low chuckles that filled the room. If I really thought about it, it was only a matter of time before he demanded his way in. He might have been a little more standoffish than most of us, but I could see that look in his eyes when he hung around. I saw the curiosity and almost wanting when he was around. Who knew, maybe the guy really needed a place to belong. Some people to call his brothers. It wasn’t my place to question his reasons, it was only my word that I thought he’d be good for the club that was needed right then. And so I didn’t hesitate to give it.

  “Yep, I back him.”

  “Then he’s your responsibility. I sure as shit don’t want that. Don’t doubt he’s a good guy, but he has an attitude and ego that is too big for me. Possibly even this clubhouse.” He let out a short chuckle and I knew he was making light of it all.

  It was true, Blade was gruff and in your face when he wanted something. I had an idea that he knew that. I also got the feeling that it was just how he learned to move through life without getting shoved under the bus.

  “No problem,” I replied with a knowing nod.

  “Okay, now for the big news,” Iron said. “So Cal has officially stepped down. Axe is officially the new president of the mother chapter. I knew you knew this was coming and well, now it’s here. Axe has been handed the reins and though I’ve known the plan for a while, he’s sent someone down here.”

  While this was big news, it wasn’t anything shocking. Cal had been grooming Axe to take over forever, so it seemed. The change I’d seen in Axe over the last year and a half only left me thinking he could handle it no problem. He’d let go of the shadow that had been following him since long before I found the club. Or if not shaken it completely, he’d found his ways to deal with it. I had a good idea that it had to do with his Old Lady and her kid. They somehow found a soft spot in Axe and he wasn’t afraid to let them in.

  Iron got up and walked to the door. He opened it, revealing a tall man standing a few feet away from the entrance.

  I looked over to Knight with a raised brow. It was clear he didn’t know what was going on either. As I took in each of us at the table, it seemed all of us were in the dark. It wasn’t like we let people in this room just for the hell of it, so, whoever this guy was, it was something big.

  The guy walked in with strong, heavy steps. His face showed the hardness of his life. I would have put him mid to late thirties, but it was almost hard to tell. His hazel eyes looked at each one of us, pinning each of us for a long beat before moving on to the next.

  Iron took his seat again, but the guy remained standing, his arms clasped in front of him in a non-threatening stance.

  “This is Mason Thorne. He used to be the Vice Prez of The Black Water County MC before they disbanded. Known this fucker a long time. I suggested him for the open seat here and he’s been at Moon Hill the last few months. Cal vetted him. As well as Axe and the rest of the mother chapter. He got their okay and now he’s here to prove whatever the fuck he needs to in order to rightfully take that seat right there.” Iron pointed to the seat that had yet to be filled.

  I looked over Mason with cautious eyes. I knew it only took one wrong move, one bad man, to fuck the whole thing up. I knew nothing about this guy and I imagined it was the same for him. He didn’t know us. He didn’t know how we liked to do things. And I knew zilch on the club that he’d come from. Though, it seemed that Iron was familiar with both. I needed to trust my president, if I didn’t, then we had bigger problems than just bringing someone unknown into the fold.

  “Now, I don’t expect you to accept this,” Iron said. “Do what you need to do. Drag him through the mud. Test him. Make him clean your fucking bikes, for all I care. This isn’t something we are going to vote on anytime soon. I want each and every single one of you to make sure you trust him enough to put him in that seat. Mase here knows the deal, and he’s got no problem proving himself to you.”

  All eyes turned to Mason. I was intrigued by this. I wanted to know more about him, that was for sure. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to have a negative attitude about the whole thing. I’d welcome him. I’d be nice. I’d even make friends. Because when I did give my vote, I wanted to be sure I was making the right move for the club. I suspected everyone around me was thinking the same thing.

  “Still got your club ink?” B-ry spoke up, eyeing him like he was trying to figure Mason out.

  “Nope,” Mason said, speaking for the first time. His tone was oddly softer than I’d envisioned it would be. He was hard on the outside, badass vibe to the max, but once he opened his mouth, there was an intriguing humanness to him. “Got it removed two years ago, the first chance that I had. The club crumbled about three years go. I was loyal to them, but turned out they weren’t so much to me.”

  Good answer.

  “Prison?” Fitz asked a sort of understanding in his voice.

  Now, I knew for sure Fitz hadn’t so much as had a speeding ticket. For an outlaw, the dude was pretty much as clean as they come. He walked the straight and narrow as much as possible. I couldn’t figure out if it was because he was smart or scared shitless about getting caught all the time. So, knowing that, I could only think that he had some idea what it was like to have someone go away for something that maybe they necessarily shouldn’t have.

  But I was just speculating.

  I really didn’t know that much about Fitz. He was one of those stick to himself kind of people. Wallflower, if you will. How the hell he got his spot in the club, let alone made it to the table, was a bit lost on me. I liked the guy enough from what little time I’d been around him. So, I was in no way questioning anything.

  “Yep. Three years. Got out two years ago.”

  “Tell us three things we need to know about you that have nothing to do with your old club or this one,” Knight said looking him dead in the eyes.

  “I just found out I have a seven-year-old son. I wipe down my bike twice a day even if for some ungodly reason I don’t ride her. And I listen to classical music when I go to sleep.” He gave a quick, stiff smile.

  The man was interesting, that was for sure. Only time would tell if he would work out.

  Iron ended the meeting telling us to not hold back but to be respectful. As if he really had to give that warning. Some of us might be assholes but we weren’t animals.

  To say I walked out of that room and had a lot to process was true to the fullest extent. I almost felt like I should have been taking notes.

  As my head hit my pillow, I felt an odd calm wash over me and I knew that things would all work out the way they were supposed to.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Cami

  “Boring as fuck today,” Sketch commented as he flopped down on the couch in the front.

  I couldn’t argue with him and I honestly had no idea why all four of us were here. Blade was currently tucked away in his room and when I peeked in his window a bit ago, I found him napping in his chair. And Brand was in his room cleaning his station, not that it really needed it. I’d come to find out that he was not only very clean and organized, but he took pride in this place and the work he did.

  “So it’s that time,” Brand said coming out of his room, holding a bag of M&Ms in the air.

  I looked at Sketch wide-eyed because I had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Already?” Sketch said with a little hint of a whine in his tone. “Blade, get your ass out here!”

  “I don’t know why you’re even bitchin’,” Blade said, a hing of amusement in his tone. “It’s not like you ever actually get stuck doing it. It’s like the candy gods are watching over you every time, I swear.”

&n
bsp; “True that,” Sketch said with a triumphant smile as he sent a wink my way.

  “Okay…what’s going on?” I asked, my eyes darting around to each one of them.

  “So, Brand had this dumb-as-fuck idea of how to pick who does the shop scrub down every month. We each pick out one of these bad boys, then he shakes the bag—like it fucking matters—and digs out another one. Whoever holds the match to that one, is the winner, or loser, I guess. They get to stay behind and clean this place top to bottom.” Sketch explained all of this as he reached for the bag and did some sort of weird massage over the thing.

  “Kinda like in that movie?” I asked, then couldn’t place what movie that seemed familiar from.

  “Empire fucking Records, hell yeah!” Sketch lit up like I’d just said the coolest thing ever.

  Yes, that was it. Another one of those movies that had come out when I was little and I wondered if Sketch had even been born yet at the time it was popular.

  “Alright, let’s get this over with,” Blade said, unfazed by the whole Sketch thing, unlike me.

  Brand tore open the top of the bag and passed it around. I tipped it sideways and shook it until I had one in my hand.

  “We should do two since there are four of us here now. Hey, if anything, it will make the cleaning go faster.” Brand was looking at Sketch as he spoke. “Blue,” Brand said as he pulled out the first M&M after we all had ours.

  “Nope!” Sketch said with a smug smile.

  “Shit,” Brand said as he looked at his hand, then tossed both of the offending colored candies into his mouth.

  “What do you do when two people have the same color? I mean, now it would make sense, but say on the next one if Blade and I had the same color?” I asked.

  “Then you rock, paper, scissors it.” Brand flashed me a smile then shook the bag again, dumping out the candy that would choose one of our fate for the evening. “Red.”