“I don’t give a fuck what your little nickname is. I told you I’m here for two things. The VP patch dissipates and Sadie.”
“You won’t touch my fucking sister, you piece of shit!” 2 Piece explodes, and I could throat punch him for admitting it’s his sister. “You the fuckin’ Ghost she mentioned a while back? You the one who disappeared on her?” he peppers the Iron Fist, heatedly.
The mean looking fucker chuckles, “Yep, I’m Ghost. Now go get my bitch before I slaughter this fucking club.”
I can’t hold myself back any longer, as I launch my body at his, wrapping my hands around his throat ready to choke the life out of him. His large hands grip my shoulders tightly, bringing me closer as he propels his head off mine, effectively head butting and dazing me. Fuck! That hasn’t happened in…I don’t know how long.
Chaos ensues around me, as the brothers hold off any other Iron Fist members from jumping in on mine and Ghost’s fight.
After receiving a swift blow to my ribs, I’m able to get my baring’s back, launching a hard uppercut into his stomach. The force of my hit makes him stumble back a few paces, “Get the fuck out of my club!” I bellow, about ready to foam at the mouth I’m so goddamn angry.
This guy is strong and he ain’t fuckin’ around when it comes to hitting. He definitely has experience wearing that patch, and I don’t want to see anyone experience what I’m sure would be straight fuckin’ horror that he would do to them. He better get the fuck out of here or this will turn into a pile of dead bodies ‘cause I’ll be fucked if I let him get past me and harm the girls. At the same time, I don’t want to kill them because I know a shit storm will rain down, especially killing the Enforcer of such a hard ass club. I can only imagine what that would stir up.
“He starts laughing loudly, a pure sinister sound and backs up a few more steps towards the door. I take a step towards him and he raises his hands up on each side of his body, wearing a large taunting smile. “Okay Butcher, you get your way today. I see you have me out numbered here. But make no mistake, I’ll be back for what’s owed, and you better hope to fuck that you have a motherfucking army to help your ass. That stupid bitch will be mine; hell this whole fucking club,” he spreads his arm wide, indicating the clubhouse, “will be mine.” He finishes, laughing loudly while stepping out of the door.
I spit in his direction, attempting it to land on him but he’s able to escape it by a few inches.
Panting, I can’t help the burn radiating over my face and neck. I’m so fucking pissed that I scream at the brothers, “For fuck’s sake! Somebody better take care of that goddamn gate or so help me, I will put someone in the fucking ground myself!”
Brently and Smiles take off outside, as the Iron Fists bikes loudly rumble out of the parking lot. Our prospect thrown to the ground, bleeding from a few hits the dick wads left him with.
I’m thankful for our friends sending us a mass text that they had seen the Iron Fists headed out our way. Luckily there were only three guys with that dick, Ghost. Him being from California tells me that they must have already been on their way for days now.
Twist is definitely going to ask for a fuckin’ NOMAD vote now, wanting to chase after them and I’m going to have to do everything in my power to keep him here. Hopefully, Sadie will be able to sway him not to go at it alone. We’ll back him up; shit, I want justice myself for the grief these ass clowns are putting my club through. But for Twist and 2 Piece, this just became personal.
I don’t know how long we have until they decide to return, but in the meantime, we’ll be planning and preparing for them. Twist will want to lead a run to California to chase after Ghost. We just have to wait and see if and when the Prez lets him go, and if he’s able to finish this shit away from home.
I’ll be damned if I let my club not be ready for whatever’s to come. The Prez will be back soon, thankfully, and I can finally fill my role as the Vice President, rather than keep playing President. In the meantime, I’m going to love 2 Piece and Avery fiercely, giving them both every single piece of me there is; well, minus the demon inside, of course.
16 Years later
“Dad! Come on!” My son’s deep baritone carries through the yard as he holds the football, ready to propel it toward me. The kid can throw, who would have ever guessed this would be my life now?
I hold my hands up, ready to catch his shotgun-like throw. He damn near bruises my chest with each catch I make. I don’t mind it though, if anything, I wear the bruises as badges of honor. I’m so fuckin’ proud of my kid and the kind of person he is becoming. I back up about ten more feet in our large yard, set off of the compound.
He throws it just as Lily comes leisurely walking over. The old girl isn’t able to chase after him like she used to. Her face is sprinkled with white, her once shiny black coat now more salt and pepper. It reminds me that we’re all getting older and changing. She probably doesn’t have much time left in her, being sixteen years old and all. The vet told us to expect her to live to fourteen and we’re lucky enough to get an extra two years from her so far.
Tossing the football back to Kane, I lean over, scratching behind Lily’s soft ear. “Hey, pretty girl,” I mumble to her, and she leans into my hand.
“Guys! We have to go; Kane should already be at the field. If he doesn’t get to play for being late, I’m blaming you, Ares!” Avery shouts, throwing her bag into the truck and running back into the house for something she probably forgot. She’s all dressed up in her football mom jersey shirt, painted on jeans, and leather boots. She looks fucking delectable, even after all this time. I swear she just keeps getting better with age. She no longer looks like the young lady learning the ropes, but now a woman who’s full of confidence and I fuckin’ love it.
“Alright, angel, geez we’re comin’.” I grumble, helping Kane grab his gear as we walk toward the truck. We each throw a bag into the back.
I run into the garage quickly and grab a small blanket, ‘cause I know my ol’ lady will be bitchin’ about being too cold in an hour. At least this way I won’t have to say anything until she complains and she’ll think it was just magically left in here and that I’m not used to her habits of forgetting her damn jacket.
“Dad, you should let me take your old bike tonight since it’s my game.” His dark eyes meet my own and I shake my head as I climb into the truck. Fuck if I don’t want to let him though. I remember being young and wanting to just take off on a ride.
“Nah, your momma said one more year before you can ride outside of pop’s land; you know that, boy. Load up in the cage, before she freaks out and leaves without us.” I shut my door and he gets into the back.
Kane didn’t have much when it came to grandparents being in his life, so he’s grown to call the old Prez ‘pops.’ It’s all good; that man has been everything to our kids, and you’d never know that they weren’t his real grandkids. Avery’s parents couldn’t come to terms with our relationship. Her mom had a stick too far up her fuckin’ ass, even when Avery told her that she was having a baby. It broke my girl’s heart for a while, but she knows who her real family is and that the club loves her dearly.
Avery and 2 Piece pile in and we drive to the high school. Kane takes off as soon as we park to hunt down his teammates, grabbing his gear and waving as he runs off. I love the fact he has such a good life, especially compared to what I had. I made it my mission for him to grow up knowing that he’s loved and that we are proud of him.
The three of us get some dinner at a diner close by the school and walk back to the game once we finish, as its closer to starting time now. I can’t miss seein’ my boy play, especially with all the practice and hard work he puts in.
Once we get settled into our usual spot on the bleachers, I watch the pretty, young cheerleaders going through their routines. They’re all dolled up in their pressed skirts, high ponytails, and rosy cheeks. It’s a cool, mid-November Texas evening. The nights are finally getting chilly and it shows as the girls rub
their arms to keep warm. I watch one girl in particular, jumping around, carrying on about who knows what, to her friend.
Avery leans into me, getting cold herself and I grumble, “Christ angel, go make our girl put some fuckin’ clothes on.”
“She’s fifteen, Air. She’s going to be wearing cheerleader uniforms to the games. Y’all have had nearly two months to get used to her making the squad.”
2 Piece leans in, irritated, “Shorty, you see our daughter’s wearin’ makeup, too? The fuck she have her face painted up for?”
“Oh my God, you guys need to just relax!”
“I don’t remember seein’ her face lookin’ like that when she left the house and her ass just barely turned fifteen last month.” He argues and I completely agree with him. Our girl does not need to be leaving the house looking like that; she looks just like a young version of her momma, but with 2 Piece’s sapphire-colored eyes. I’ll end up feeding some fuckin’ teenage boy to a pig at this rate.
“There he is!” Avery claps excitedly and points at number 12 as the team runs onto the field, Kane leading the pack. “I can’t believe he’s playing with all those big guys, these games make me so excited, but nervous at the same time.” The crowd around us goes crazy, screaming and cheering on our team.
“Angel, our boy is as big as the fuckin’ seniors. You don’t have shit to worry about.” Kane’s built just like I am, even looks just like me, but with short, dark hair. He works out so much for football, plus with the guys when he’s around the clubhouse, the kid is a damn beast. You’d never guess he’s turning sixteen in two weeks.
“I know that, I just wasn’t expecting them to let him really play, being a sophomore this year. He’s still so young.”
“You’ve seen him throw, baby, that kid is the best player in this fuckin’ school. Of course he’s gonna play. He out throws that pussy ass senior quarterback, every damn time.” Hell, he played damn near the whole year last year, once a kid got hurt and they threw my boy in there to fill the spot. I thought the coach was gonna cream his pants when they saw Kane make a catch and then launch it down the field to another teammate. The other school damn near stroked out, trying everything they could to say it was an illegal play.
A few parents glance at me, probably appalled by my language or that I actually have the fuckin’ balls to admit what everyone’s thinking out loud. I could care less though, they’ve always stared and whispered ever since I showed up to the school one day to hunt down some little fuck’s dad who was tellin’ him that my kid was a faggot ‘cause he had friends that were girls. Never mind that those girls were his little sister and London’s daughter.
Then there’s the fact that I’m with 2 Piece, and that little inbred piece of shit had no clue what the fuck he was talkin’ about. It took one simple visit on my bike wearin’ my cut to get him to piss his pants in front of his own damn kid. Kane hasn’t had an issue with another punk since, after that shit went down.
I glare towards some mousy bitch staring at me, and she turns away, freaked out that she was caught.
“You see that play?” 2 Piece leans forward, and I shoot my head back toward the field. I may have missed the play, but I damn sure notice the dickwads leaning over the fence talkin’ to our baby girl.
“Fuck. Nope, I missed it, but you see those asses down there talkin’ to our girl?” I chin lift towards the cheerleaders’ area, and 2 Piece stands so swiftly, he damn near throws popcorn all over a bunch of people in his haste.
Before I can blink, he’s charging down the bleachers full speed toward the boys leaning over the railing talking to our daughter. Those little fucks are in for a rude awakening, and I’m probably gonna be bailin’ 2 Piece out of jail tonight for assault. The club will think this is fuckin’ hilarious when they hear all about it. Lord knows Avery will be chatting it up to London. They always find this shit amusin’ when it comes to us with our kids.
2 Piece stops suddenly. He’s about halfway down, watching as Kane and a few other teammates head over to the girls, shouting at the guys and scaring them off.. After a minute, 2 Piece turns around meeting my gaze, and we both chuckle; our boy already has it covered.
Avery kisses my cheek, and I turn back toward her “You two are such good daddies.”
“Yeah, you been sayin’ that shit for fifteen years, angel.”
“Maybe it’s time you actually believed it.”
“I ain’t a good dad, beautiful. I was just lucky enough to have two perfect partners and some really great fuckin’ kids.” She kisses me soundly and afterward I’m met with 2 Piece’s loving smile and once again, I’m reminded that my life couldn’t be any more perfect.
It wasn’t always perfect, though. We’ve had our struggles over the years with many things, a big one being Twist and 2 Piece’s sister, Sadie. Thankfully we gritted our way through it, together.
“Sup, Prez!” Cain greets and smacks my back, as he and London scoot into the seats behind us. They’re here to watch their daughters cheer, too. Their older boy, Jamison, just hit seventeen and is giving them hell, wanting to drop out of school to become a full-patched member as soon as possible.
“Yo, brother.” I nod and then grin at London.
Never in a million fuckin’ years would I have ever expected to be here at a football game, with my loves, watching my kids, surrounded by my closest friends and be the President of my club.
Dedicated to:
My readers
You’ve asked for more, letting me live my dream.
I can never thank you enough for believing in me.
You mean so much!
Prologue
“It’s been an ugly day,” she said.
“Tell me something beautiful?”
And he said her name.
-Unknown
Twist
Blood. I see dark, fucking red liquid everywhere. Am I losing my mind? Who could do something so horrific to these angelic creatures? Maybe I should cry for help?
Ha! What fucking help? It’s done. It’s fucking over—I’m too late. Just like I was too late for her birth, I’m too fucking late for her death.
What have I done to deserve such madness? Maybe I should kill myself? I should rip the fucking heart right out of my goddamn chest, because whatever’s in there beats no more.
They were my everything: my life, my soul, my death. Now I’m faced with a pain so deep no knife could ever touch.
Bending down, I gently hold my sweet baby girls limp, cold hand. Her heart beats no more, so why should mine? I swallow down my puke and gently cut the masking tape securing the plastic bag and pillow over her head. My face is wet—maybe tears. I have to get this bag off; God deserves to have to look at the innocent face that was stolen from me. He needs to see what’s been done. How is there a God, when there’s blood coming from between her legs? How is there a great power when she breathes no more?
The plastic falls away and her honey blonde curls stained with blood remind me of her momma. I’ll never again see her eyes—blue as a beautiful sky—again. I’ll never hear the soft pitter-patter of her feet running.
Carefully placing her hand beside her, I climb to my feet, and my eyes find Marissa’s body a few feet away.
A cord’s securely wrapped around her neck—over and fucking over. Her once flawless, sun-kissed skin is ruined. Her clothes were torn to shreds, blood everywhere. She fought whoever did this. She fucking fought them until her fingers bled.
Dropping to my knees, I bring her into my arms and I scream. My fucking life is right in front of me—gone. No fucking more. I was robbed. Everything I love taken in a blink of an eye, and I wasn’t here to save them.
I’m never fucking here.
Fuck the Army, keeping me from my family. I missed fucking everything. More tears fall, and all I can do is scream until my voice is taken too.
It’s done. I can’t possibly live without my heart and soul. Tenderly, my shaky lips meet Marissa’s cold skin, and I carefully place
her back on the floor.
My feet carry me back to my Camaro. I’m in a daze as I slam the car door and rev the engine over and over. I can’t live. What’s done is done, and I will be with them no matter what.
Letting loose the clutch, the pretty girl roars to life, taking me away from what once was my home, away from the blood. Higher and higher the speedometer climbs as I accelerate faster. I start to round the bend and like it was meant to be, a tree waiting straight ahead.
Pounding the gas pedal to the floor, the car flies over the asphalt, and as the car slams into the massive trunk, all I can think is, I will see you soon.
***
Time.
You’re either wasting it or chasing it, but when it comes right down to it, you never have enough of it. I wish I could turn it back; I’d go to the day before my life went to fucking shit.
I’d go to the last time I kissed my wife and told her how fucking sexy she was, to when I spun my baby girl around and heard her giggle. Those were the good old days.
You stressed out? Got shit you think is bad? Your wife and kid wasn’t viciously raped and murdered. You didn’t come home to find your entire world brutalized and over. Fuck your problems; you don’t know shit about stress!
My story isn’t for the weak.
Chapter 1
One small crack does not mean that you are broken,
it means that you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.
-Linda Poindexter
Sadie
Then...
My old Cutlass flies down the highway, windows down with ‘Blue Da Ba Dee’ by Eiffel 65 blaring loudly on the blown speakers. I swear, every time I hit a bump the car bounces so much I feel like this kid could pop out early.
Oath Keepers MC: The Collection Page 51
