Table of Contents
Title Page
Publisher’s Note:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
ABOUT K. J. DAHLEN
ABOUT JACKSON KANE
RAINING HELL
Steel Veins MC Romance
Jackson Kane
&
K.J. Dahlen
©Copyright 2018
Publisher’s Note:
This is a graphic Novel. Raw, edgy and violent in parts. With gritty, hot sex as well. There are also sensitive situations depicted. Any reader, who feels they should not venture into a story told with a real edge on reality in the violent world of an MC, should consider this before reading…. RAINING HELL
Chapter One
His footsteps echoed as he walked down the lonely hallway. There was no one around except for the man walking in front of him. His hand tightened on the handles of the duffle bag he carried. His entire life for the last few years was in that bag. It contained photos and letters from his brother and his MC, plus a few books he’d read over the years. It also held his online diploma from the business school he passed the time with. Studying a couple hours a day had helped pass the time and kept him out of trouble which would have extended his stay in the Hotel Pen. It was probably a worthless degree but he had it and he planned to use it when he got settled.
The light inside was mostly from the artificial lights that lined the halls. Very little natural light penetrated the walls of this place and that was the real punishment here. In fact, the only sunlight the prisoners got was when they were let out into the yard for R&R. The dreary walls of dull green painted walls made of cement and metal gave off a faint odor of sweat and dust and of all things, dirty socks. There were too many bodies living in a confined area to please him.
It was a smell I won’t miss. That’s for sure.” Luca faintly smiled. He frowned as he thought about the six years he’d spent in here. Six very long years, 2184 plus days he’d been locked behind these walls, a little bit over half way through his sentence. He’d gotten ten years for manslaughter the day he was sentenced and it only took three parole hearings for him to get his freedom. Freedom he would never take for granted again. “Nor will I ever lose it again.” He vowed to himself.
Luca could see the end of the hallway coming up and he wanted nothing more than to be out of here. He almost held his breath the closer he got to barred door at the end of the hall.
Then he heard the loud buzz and the door opened and he was through the portal. The door swung shut with a loud bang behind him and Luca jumped a bit. His heart pounded in his chest as he took those last few steps toward freedom.
He was stopped about fifteen feet to the outside door. He had to collect his personal items and sign off and then he was taking those last steps. Each step took him closer to the door and freedom.
He was finally there and then the door was open and for a moment, he was blind as the sun light flooded the entrance. Stepping outside Luca closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air outside was fresh and clean. He could actually smell the heat and asphalt and to him it smelled sweeter than cherry pie.
He heard the door close behind him and he had a fleeting rush of panic, then he opened his eyes and smiled.
His brothers were standing there with huge smiles on their faces.
He saw his brother Aiden standing there, along with his President, Bowie and fifteen of his MC Brothers behind him. Each brother proudly wore his colors and each was standing there waiting for him.
When Luca reached the group, he was grabbed and hugged by his brother Aiden first.
Luca closed his eyes and relished at the contact with someone familiar for the first time in what seemed like forever. His arms encircled his brother’s skinny frame and he hugged the hell out of him.
When they broke the man embrace, Bowie grabbed him and hugged him just as hard. “It’s great to see you Blade, so damn glad.” Bowie pounded him on the back and laughed. “Welcome back boy.”
Luca shook his head. “Not Blade anymore, Bowie. Haven’t been for six years now.”
“Bullshit.” Bowie growled. “You’ll always be Blade to us. You did time for something you didn’t do to keep my boy, Doc, out of that hellhole and for that, you’re golden. That’s something I’ll never forget. You proved your loyalty to the club but you’re back now and we’ll pick up where we left off six years ago. You’ll take your place as Enforcer back and life will go on as it was always meant too.”
Luca didn’t bother to deny his claim, he didn’t want to disrupt his release with stirring up trouble. Doc was next in the lineup and he looked at Luca with a brightness in his eyes Luca didn’t want to know about. As he came together in a man hug Doc whispered a shaky, “Thank you, brother.”
Luca slapped his back and went on down the line. Finally, he greeted everyone and then Aiden handed him his colors.
A well-worn leather vest embossed with the name Steel Veins MC on the back, beneath that said New Mexico. All that looked like how he remembered, it was everything else that had changed. Turning the vest over, Luca saw all the new patches. The most glaring one was the name of the region their chapter had taken over. What once just read White Rock now proudly declared SANTA FE.
This was a huge fucking deal.
For as long as Luca could remember, Santa Fe had always belonged to their vicious rivals, Los Lobos. Luca’s chapter of the Steel Veins was literally the next town over in White Rock and the bloody border skirmishes they had constantly left bodies for the evening news. But now, just like that, Los Lobos were gone and the Steel Veins had taken over.
Luca slipped the vest on and at once felt whole again. That’s when Aiden moved to one side and Luca caught his breath at what was waiting for him.
His old Indian Chief bike. Someone had re-chromed the bumpers and shined it up. They had also replaced the ripped seat and worn saddle bags with something more fitting. The whole bike looked brand new and he couldn’t wait to hear the engine. He had it running like a top six years ago. It might not have been the prettiest bike back then but it ran really good.
Luca grinned and Aiden handed him the keys. Luca walked over to the bike and swung his leg over the seat. Putting the key in the ignition, he turned it and let the roar of the engine flood over him. He felt the purr of the engine and felt the power between his thighs again.
Then the yearning for the open road hit him and it hit him hard. He looked over at Bowie and saw his matching grin. Bowie lifted his arm and made a fist. “Steel Veins, let’s ride,” he shouted over the noise of Luca’s bike. The other hurried over to their own bikes and then the noise of the engines blocked out everything else.
Bowie took off first, then one by one, the others followed. Luca and Doc followed their President and the others came up behind them. It was a much shorter ride to their new clubhouse in Santa Fe than it would’ve been had they rode back to White Rock. That was going to take some getting used, Luca decided. When he pulled into the parking lot of the Steel Veins new home and saw where it was he realized there was a lot he’d have to get used to now.
The yellow and red brick building of Los Lobos headquarters had been painted black, grey and red of the Steel Veins. When
he heard that the new national President Poet Remy Daniels had bought the Lobos clubhouse and made it into one of theirs, he thought someone was bullshitting him. But seeing it with his own eyes as he put his kickstand down…
Now it all felt real.
They used to call it the Beaner Hotel, but nothing about this place looked relaxing. Back in the day, before there were MCs in the area this building used to be a military training center. Then several years after the Lobos set up shop here, they beefed the defenses up even more. The whole compound had been fenced off, but now thanks to Lobos paranoia there were cameras, razor wire and even a serious metal gate. It would take nothing short of the National Guard to bust into this place.
More of his brothers pilled out of the club and embraced their returning warrior.
They dragged him off his bike and into the clubhouse. Laughing and joking with him, everyone was in a great mood. Inside the club waited all the women. Old ladies of the members and kids. The only people missing were the club girls. It was a rule at the house, when the families are present, the girls are not. As he stepped back inside they all cheered. The first to greet him was Sunshine, Bowie’s woman and the mother of his three sons, Doc, Blue Boy, and Butch.
One by one the other wives and girlfriends came to welcome him home again. One of the club prospects brought him a drink and as he sipped his beer, the taste was almost too bitter for him. He hadn’t had a beer or any alcohol for the last six years and he found he didn’t really miss it all that much.
He looked around the clubhouse, taking in all the familiar furniture and decorations he’d remembered from their old place all set against such the alien background of the new building. Still for some weird reason he felt he was home again finally. Only he was also worried. He’d gotten parole only because he promised the parole board he would abide by their rules for the next two years.
He couldn’t associate with any convict or dangerous people for the next two years, he couldn’t get caught in any illegal activities either, and he had to report to his probation officer every week with no exceptions until he was finally free, two years from today.
What the hell would his parole officer think if he caught him in place like this?
He had to find and maintain a job too. Luca didn’t think that would be so hard. He’d always worked, from the time he was fifteen and his dad had kicked both him and Aiden out of his house, he’d worked to provide for himself and his younger brother.
Luca stepped outside and bummed a smoke from another brother. It would be his first smoke in six years and as he lit it up the smoke scorched his lungs. He coughed to clear his lungs and when he was done, he wasn’t sure smoking would be a habit he would pick up again.
Before he went to prison, he’d always enjoyed smoking. Each time he inhaled the smoke it seemed to calm something inside him but now he’d been free of the beast nicotine and he was almost sure he liked it that way.
Bowie and Aiden joined him outside.
“Gotta say, guys...” Luca ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. “I never thought I’d be walking into and out of this place freely. Getting dragged, maybe.”
“It’s a fucking trip, right? Never gets old.” Aiden was all wide smiles looking back at the building and the attached garage bays where the members worked on their bikes. Already half in the bag, Aiden screamed out a curse at the now dead Lobos president “Fuck you, Bones!”
“That was a hell of a day…” Bowie reminisced, remembering. “Lost a few good guys.”
Before he was named national President unanimously by the club, Remy had somehow lured the Lobos leadership into a trap at his own clubhouse in Leslie, Oklahoma, then hundreds of Steel Veins poured in and massacred every last one of them. It was all over the news, and took several years of high profile court cases but Remy was able to prove that killing the Lobos was self-defense.
“Sorry I wasn’t there to help.” Luca mournfully placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder squeezing. He’d been in prison during that whole time and had to watch it all unfold on TV.
“Don’t sweat it. Nothing you could’ve done,” Bowie offered warmly. “We took care of it.”
“How’s the new Pres?” Luca asked. He’d never actually met Poet, but from all the stories, he’d heard about the guy he sounded like a mix between Jesus Christ and the Devil himself. He hoped to meet him some day and see how much of all that was bullshit.
“Fucking guy’s got some unorthodox orders,” Bowie shook his head. “He knocked all our guys under two years as members back down to Prospects to be revetted...”
“Fucking seriously? Club-wide?” Luca scoffed, his mouth hung incredulously. He looked around and only then realized that yeah they were missing a few guys.
“Yup.” Bowie nodded, then chuckled more at himself than to either Luca or Aiden. “They were pissed. Lost a lot of guys that day too. Just up and quit. But I have to say, the ones that stuck through the additional vetting were top notch. The quality of our members is better than it’s ever been.”
“Wow. I’m surprised—” Luca started but cut himself off when he noticed a blue SUV pull into the parking lot.
When a young woman emerged Bowie muttered, “What the fuck? Who the hell is that?”
Luca eye’s drifted over to his president and then back to the woman getting something out of the back seat of the SUV. When she came around the edge of the vehicle, she had a little girl with her. A little girl with long dark hair. The kid couldn’t have been more than six.
Luca frowned and glanced quickly at his President. Bowie shook his head and growled at the woman coming toward them. “Can I help you?”
The woman paused then announced, “I’m looking for a Luca Thomas. Is he here?”
Luca was stunned. “I’m Luca, what do you want with me?” He kept his eyes on the woman, rather than the kid. She was a small woman if he’d hazard to guess maybe 5 foot tall at the most. She had a slight figure but it was well defined. He admired her curves and his heart beat a little faster as he wondered about fucking her.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of her neck. He couldn’t see how long it was but he could tell it was thick and full around her face. Her green eyes snapped with doubt and she looked at him for a long moment before she moved closer and held out her hand to him. “My name is Grace Ricco and I’ve brought your daughter to meet you.”
“My what?” he was stunned by her admission. “I don’t have any kids.”
Grace smiled hesitantly, then rocked his world with her announcement, “Apparently you do. The mother, Frannie Callus proved you’re the father by a blood test done at her expense. She tested it with a blood sample you gave the prison when you were sent there.”
Luca dropped his eyes to the young girl standing there. She had dark hair and dark eyes like he did but she looked more like what he remembered her mother to look like than she looked like him or Aiden.
The little girl studied him with the same intensity as he studied her. Then she did something he never would have expected. She smiled at him and her smile was the same one his mother had given him before she ran off when he was seven years old. It changed her whole face. Her dark eyes lit up and her smiled showed off a mouthful of nice white teeth. Her cheeks on either side showed deep dimples and she giggled softly.
“What’s her name?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off the little girl.
“Her mother named her Bella Donna Callus,” Grace informed him.
Luca’s eyes snapped up to hers. “And where is her mother?” he demanded.
“Can we speak privately for a moment?” Grace asked.
Bowie knelt down to Bella level. He smiled and asked, “Hey there, Bella. Would you like to get something to eat? My wife would like to meet you.”
At first Bella hung back like she didn’t trust him or something. She half hid behind Grace.
Grace pulled her around and knelt in front of the little girl. “Bella, do you see this man?” She p
ointed up at Luca. When Bella nodded, Grace told her, “This man is your daddy. I know your mom didn’t tell you about him but I checked him out. You’re going to live with him now ok?”
Bella looked up at Grace reluctantly nodded.
“Its ok sweetheart, no one here will hurt you. Your daddy won’t let them ok? If you get scared, you find your daddy and he won’t let them hurt you.” Grace turned to Luca and growled. “Isn’t that right Mr. Thomas? You wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt your daughter would you?”
Luca was shocked she even had to ask that question. “Of course, not. Bowie isn’t going to hurt her.” Luca bent down to Bella’s level. “I promise you honey, there no one here that would dream of hurting you.” He looked over at Bowie. “He’s got three boys, he’s a daddy too, and he’s never hurt a kid.”
Bella just stared at her dad and slowly nodded. Then she turned and gave Bowie a smile. She held out her hand and he took it. “Are you hungry sweetheart?”
When she nodded, he chuckled and said, “Well let’s take care of that.” He led her inside the club.
Grace looked uncomfortable about the situation but there was nothing she could do about it. The law said if Social Services were able to locate the father in situations such as this one they had to pass the child over to him, unless it was an unhealthy situation.
Grace had done her homework carefully. She couldn’t find anything that might suggest the club was doing anything illegal or immoral. She would be watching this club very carefully and at the first thing she could prove they did wrong, she’d snatch this child back immediately. Until that time, however she had to follow the law.
Luca glanced at Aiden and then turned back to Grace. “Where is Frannie and why didn’t she ever tell me I had a kid?”
Grace stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m not sure why she never told you about your daughter and nobody knows where she is either. She brought your daughter to my office and then simply left. She gave Bella a couple of letters for whoever she talked to but Frannie never talked to anyone herself.”
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