Fallen Lords MC: Books 7-9

by Winter Travers

  This was the most I had hung out with the Girl Gang, and I was worried it was killing some of my brain cells. Cora had told me how crazy and funny everyone was, but this was a whole new level of insanity. I just hated being in my room by myself. The girls seemed to always be camped out in the common room which meant I seemed to always be hanging out with them now.

  Carnie jumped up from her chair. “I have an idea!”

  “Oh, Lord,” Karmen laughed. “What are you going to do on your blog now?”

  Carnie smiled wide. “I’m going to meal prep Alice’s meals for the next seven days. Everything healthy but also delicious.” She pulled out the phone from her pocket. “And of course, I’m going to blog it all,” she muttered.

  “Uh, do I have to agree with this?” Alice asked.

  “I don’t think it will hurt you,” Nikki laughed. “And maybe this way, you won’t be in misery all the time from your horrible food choices.”

  “Oh,” Karmen hooted. “Can you make Wrecker do this with you? I’d love to see you set a salad in front of him and nothing else.”

  “I’m going to the grocery store,” Carnie announced.

  “Girl, it’s New Year’s Eve,” Wren pointed out. “That can’t wait until tomorrow?”

  Carnie shrugged. “It’s not like we’re having some raging party or anything. Besides,” she shoved her phone back in her pocket. “I can get snacks and goodies for tonight.”

  “It’s eight o’clock,” I pointed out. “It is nighttime.”

  Carnie scoffed. “That’s early for New Years. I’ll run now and be back within an hour. I know exactly what I’m getting.” She reached for her keys on the bar. “Who is coming with me?”

  No one raised their hand.

  Carnie’s smile fell. “Well, fine. I guess I’ll just go myself.”

  Cole squirmed in my arms, and he let out a loud wail. Karmen just watched him cry with a serene look on her face.

  “I’ll go with you,” I called. Surely, going to the store with Carnie was safer than staying in the clubhouse with a crying baby in my lap.

  Right?

  *

  Cora

  I was spending my New Year’s Eve with my psycho brother who was lying on the couch making out with Susie.

  If this was an indication of how my year was going to be, it was going to be pretty shitty.

  Happy New Year to me.

  *

  Brinks

  “We just need breadcrumbs and string cheese.”

  I pushed the cart down the aisle to what I hoped was the breadcrumbs. “Tell me again why we can’t buy the mozzarella sticks that are already made?”

  Carnie spotted the breadcrumbs and tossed them on the cart. “Because homemade is always better than whatever crap comes in a box.”

  The grocery store was dead except for two clerks at the checkout. Apparently, going to the grocery store on New Year’s Eve wasn’t the happening thing to do. At least we were making good time seeing as we had a half full cart and had only been in the store for fifteen minutes.

  “So, you and Cora, huh?” Carnie’s eyes were glued to her phone, and she shuffled her feet.

  “Was that a question?”

  She shrugged. “I guess. I know I’m one of the newer girls, but even I was surprised by the fact that you two were hooking up.”

  “I don’t get why it’s so surprising,” I mumbled.

  We turned at the end of the aisle, toward the dairy.

  “Cora just didn’t seem like someone who needed a guy or anything.”

  “Who said she needs me?”

  Carnie glanced up at me. “I, uh, well, no one. It’s just…” She sighed and shook her head. “That came out wrong. I just mean that she’s such a tough chick, and you’re one of the most badass dudes that I…” She scrubbed her hand down her face. “I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I think I have it but then I know it’s going to sound ridiculous when it comes out of my mouth.”

  “Try me, Carnie.” I had no idea what Cora and I were other than I knew I wanted to be with her. Maybe whatever Carnie had to say would help me better understand what the hell I was trying to do and be with Cora. Well, as soon I got Cora back.

  “She’s tough. You’re tough. It just seems like neither of you needed anyone, but in the end, the toughest and most stoic of the group ended up together.” She grabbed two packs of string cheese, glanced in the cart, and then grabbed one more.

  “You can’t always be the toughest one in the room, Carnie. I guess Cora and I are the more standoffish ones, but maybe that’s why we got together. We understand each other, and we can let our guards down without being judged.” I wheeled the cart toward the checkout with Carnie silently pondering what I said.

  After we made it through the checkout and were back in the truck, she finally talked.

  “Most people think opposites attract, and for some, that’s true, but for you and Cora, it’s more like your similarities attract because you both know what’s beneath everything.”

  I glanced over at Carnie. “I guess. It’s just easier to be myself around her.”

  “And I’m sure the same goes for her,” Carnie added softly.

  We drove back in peaceful silence—Carnie with her thoughts and my own swirling around in my head.

  Carnie had hit my feelings right on the head. Now, I was wondering whether Cora felt the same way.

  Did she feel she could be her true self around me without thinking I would judge her? Was I actually seeing the real Cora, or was she still putting on a front with me?

  As soon as we rescued her from Jenkins, I was going to find out all of the answers to the questions, and if the answers were right, I was going to ask her one more question.

  *

  Chapter Eight

  Cora

  “You wanna try?”

  I looked up from the table. “Huh?”

  Susie held up the little pen type thing in her hand. “I have five other ones if you want to do one.”

  She had spent the past two and a half days putting tiny little circle things on a sticky piece of paper. She was only half done, but it was finally starting to take shape.

  I held up my hand that was chained. “Kind of hard to do. I’d probably drag the chain through the tiny pieces and lose half of them.”

  Susie looked around. “Jenkins just left. He won’t be back for a couple of hours.”

  Looked like nice Susie was hanging out with me today. Well, at least for a little bit.

  “More errands?”

  Susie nodded. “Yup. He said things are going to start happening after the weekend.” Susie placed a few more pieces on the paper and looked up at me. “So, did you want to do one?”

  “Uh, I don’t really know how to do it.” It looked easy enough, but I didn’t really feel like having arts and crafts time with Susie. Although, I could maybe use this to my advantage and get to know Susie better and figure out what was going on inside her head. “But if you’re willing to show me, I wouldn’t mind trying,” I added sweetly.

  Susie nodded excitedly. “Let me go grab you one, and then, I’ll unchain you.”

  How messed up was it that she was excited to hang out with me but first she had to unchain me?

  She rummaged through a box under the bed then walked back over to the table. “This one is so pretty..” She dropped the paper and bead things in front of me and then pulled the key out of her bra. “Remember the house is locked from the outside. There’s no way out.”

  I nodded. How could I forget? I had tried to think of any way possible that would work to get me out of here, but I was still coming up empty.

  She unlocked the chain and dropped it at my feet.

  I was free, but I still couldn’t get away.

  We walked over to the table, and I sat down in the chair opposite where she had been working.

  Susie smoothed the paper out in front of me and poured some of the beads into a tray. “You just take your pen thing, get som
e of this sticky stuff on it, and then stab one of the beads.”

  “How do I know what color bead to stab?” If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. That was something I always stuck by. If you were going to do something, don’t half ass it, use your full ass.

  “Your color code is on the side here.”

  I looked at the chart on the side of the sheet. “Susie!” I exclaimed. “There are at least twenty-five different colors.” Holy hell. It was going to take me forever to get this damn thing done. Though it seemed like I was going to be in this damn shack for forever.

  “I know, right?” she marveled.

  Only good ol’ crazy Susie would think the prospect of working on this thing for hours on end would be exciting.

  For the time being, I was going to join in on her mind-numbing arts and crafts. At least it would give me something to do other than worry and think about how I was going to get out of here.

  I grabbed the pen thing and stabbed it into the sticky goo.

  After a few minutes, I figured out a strategy to get this thing done and got to work.

  “So, do you think you and Jenkins will get married?” I asked. I was working on getting all of the F1 color on the sheet, and my hand was starting to cramp. Diamond art was obviously not for the weak.

  “You think your brother is the marrying kind?”

  No, I thought my brother was the psycho kind. “I think so. Don’t you know?”

  She shrugged.

  “You guys have been together for a while. You would think since he’s stuck around that long that he’s in it.” I searched for a little dot that was the right color but couldn’t find it. I don’t know who the hell thought this shit was soothing, but they were wrong. I shook the tray and dumped half of the beads on the table. “I could use a beer.” I huffed and sank back in my chair.

  “They’re in the fridge,” Susie muttered.

  I looked around wondering if I had started hearing things. Did Susie just tell me there was beer in the fridge? Basically inviting me to have one?

  “Uh, okay.”

  She glanced up from her paper. “You can have one. Jenkins won’t notice one missing.”

  Well.

  Now I had to decide if this was a trap.

  I hadn’t walked freely in seven days. Or was it six? I still didn’t have a handle on what day it was. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  Susie looked back down at her paper. “I’ll just tell Jenkins I drank it. He lets me have one every now and then.”

  Seemed legit, but I was still a bit weary. Freedom from the chain, and now, I could have a beer?

  I looked around the shack, wondering if Jenkins was watching from a camera somewhere. “When did you say Jenkins would be back?” I guess this could be a way to see if maybe I could trust Susie.

  “A couple of hours.” Susie stood and walked over to the fridge. She grabbed a beer and two bottles of water. “My job is to make sure you stay put. He didn’t say anything else.” She set the beer and a bottle of water in front of me.

  “Well, since you’re in charge.”

  She nodded smugly. “Exactly.” She sat back down and twisted the cap off her water. “Besides, it’s not like one beer is going to get you drunk or anything.”

  It was just going to give me a slight buzz. Maybe help me relax a little bit before Jenkins came back. I popped the top and took a swig. It wasn’t the brand of beer I normally drank, but right now, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  I grabbed the pen thingy and stared at the paper in front of me. “What exactly is it that I’m making?” I asked Susie.

  She looked up, a huge grin on her face. “A kitten.”

  A freaking kitten? Lord, have mercy.

  So, for the next three hours I made a diamond art kitten, drank beer, and for a brief second, it didn’t feel like I was being captive in some shack in the middle of nowhere.

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Brinks

  “Wondered where you were.”

  I gripped the handlebars on my bike. “You actually have something to tell me?”

  Wrecker strolled over to the bike next to me and sat down. “Haven’t heard anything yet.”

  “Then I don’t know why you were wondering where I was.” I was sick of being in the clubhouse. Everything felt normal in there. No one acted like Cora was missing.

  Everyone was fine, and it was pissing me the fuck off.

  “Working on her before spring?”

  I turned my head. “Can you just get to whatever bullshit you’re gonna say? I’m not in the mood for some lameass small talk.”

  Wrecker pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He tapped one out and stuck it between his lips. “Don’t tell Alice. She thinks I quit months ago.”

  “You really think she doesn’t know?” I drawled. Someone smoking a cigarette was pretty obvious.

  Wrecker shrugged and lit the end. He inhaled deeply and stuck the lighter in his pocket. “Until she calls me on it, I’m gonna think she doesn’t know.” He blew out a plume of smoke and smirked.

  “Seems like a great idea. Lie to your girl.”

  Wrecker looked me up and down. “You really wanna go around?”

  “I don’t know what the hell you think we have to go around about. The only thing I want to think or talk about is Cora, but that’s just me.”

  “You think you’re the only one thinking about Cora? You’re the only one who cares?”

  I closed my eyes. “That’s what it fucking feels like.”

  Wrecker casually smoked his cigarette. He didn’t respond, just watched me.

  I gripped the handlebars and counted backward from fifty. There was so much I wanted to say, but I knew most of it was me being pissed off and I wouldn’t mean most of it.

  Did I think everyone was acting normal? Yes.

  Did I think we weren’t doing enough to get Cora back? Maybe.

  “You know,” Wrecker said quietly. “I don’t expect you guys to tell me who you’re hooking up with or who you’re spending your nights with. Never been my way. You guys can handle your own shit and if you need me, I’ll be there.” He took one last drag and tossed the butt on the ground. He stomped it out with the heel of his boot. “What I don’t like is when I step in to help and all I’m met with is a shitty attitude and you telling me I’m not doing anything.”

  “We are sitting in the fucking garage while Cora is God knows where, and I don’t even want to think about what he’s doing to her.” My voice bounced off the walls of the garage, and my chest heaved. “How is any of this bringing back Cora?”

  I was so fucking helpless, and the people who said they would help me weren’t doing anything.

  “Our hands are tied until we hear from Del and Tray. They’ve been in contact with Jenkins, but they don’t know where he is. This week, they are meeting up to plan their next move. Hopefully, at that time, they’ll find out where Jenkins has been staying.”

  I had heard all of this. I was there when Leo and Oakley had sat at the table.

  “So we wait on two idiots.” I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair. “Fucking amazing plan. I’m sure if this was Alice, you would be fine with that plan.”

  Wrecker stood and bent over to grab the cigarette butt. “Well, I wouldn't be, but I guess I gotta ask if Alice and Cora are the same.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” I spat.

  “It means none of us knew that you and Cora were together, and now, I’m supposed to just automatically know that she means as much to you as Alice does to me?”

  I shot up, swung my leg over the bike, and stood toe to toe with Wrecker. “Because I wasn’t walking around like a whipped dog, following her around? Panting after her? I was with Cora because I wanted to be with her. I didn’t need to be telling everyone I talked to that we were together.”

  “I’m not everyone,” Wrecker seethed. “We’re brothers.”

  “So that mea
ns I need to tell you everything about my life?”

  Wrecker poked a finger in my chest. “The fucking important shit. The shit that you swear you’ll die for. I don’t wanna know about some random pussy or what you ate for fucking breakfast, but the fact that you are willing to die for this chick and the first time I hear about you being down for her was two weeks ago rubs me the wrong fucking way.”

  “So that means you’re not gonna move Heaven and Hell to find her?” The timing of when he found out about Cora and me had nothing to do with anything. Telling him sooner about us wouldn’t have changed anything.

  “I have asked one of the biggest drug lords and one of the most powerful mob bosses in the country to help. I turned over every possible rock to find you, and I’m doing the same damn thing for Cora.” Wrecker leaned closer. “And you wanna know what? I would have done the same thing to find Cora even if you weren't hooking up. Don’t tell me I’m not doing enough. I have never turned my back on any of you guys.”

  “She’s out there, and I can’t help her,” I growled. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Prepare. Prepare yourself for what you might find. I know it’s killing you not knowing what they’re doing to her, but you need to realize that when we do find her, she may not be the woman you knew. Prepare yourself to love no matter who it is we find, because while you’re trying to turn over every rock to find her, she’s going through the shit, brother.”

  “I’m not fucking stupid,” I growled. “I get it. That’s why we need to find her.”

  “The second I hear anything about her, you’ll know. When I find out, it’s going to go fast. So, prepare yourself for what you’re gonna find and just fucking be prepared to move when we need to.” Wrecker stepped around me and headed to the door.

  “I know you’re doing everything you can, Wrecker. It’s just…” I trailed off.

  “And I know you love her, brother. Loving someone is hard because you’re giving them your heart with the hopes they won’t break it.”

  “If anything happens to Cora…” my voice cracked, and I couldn’t finish the thought.