Shit. He’s the only one in the whole situation, who came out a winner.
What a bastard.
“Thanks for the warning!” she called, before turning her attention back to Captain.
“I can’t stand it. You’re in this mess because of me,” Captain said. “This is a fuck up of monumental proportions.”
“No, this isn’t just you. The whole thing is messed up. Lots of people had a part in it. Nothin’ any of us could have done about it.” She offered him a smile. “But if it helps at all, I think they’re voting in there to save your life.”
He sank to the bench and his shoulders drooped.
Eddie hit her knees in front of him, pressed her forehead against his. “And whatever the cost? To me, or to the club? It’s worth it. I’d do it again, in a heartbeat.”
“How can you say that? After what I did?”
“Because you’re a good man and you spent the years at my side, makin’ this club a better place.”
Just then, Axel opened the door and motioned them in.
They did, taking seats at the end of the table. Eddie wondered what that was like for Captain. He’d spent so many years at the head of the table. As president. And now, he was here trying to stay alive.
Axel now sat at the head. “I was just voted in as president.”
“Congratulations,” Captain whispered.
“Congratulations,” she said. Eddie couldn’t help but be proud of her son.
And while Captain had wanted to step down, she knew he hadn’t wanted it like this. She squeezed his hand under the table. “And Captain?” she asked, holding her breath for the answer.
“Is still a member.” Axel stared at Captain, hard. “We decided busting your rank was enough of a punishment for your actions. We still feel you should have tried everything else before approaching the feds. But, we ultimately can’t be sorry for how the club changed. We’re better, stronger than we were, thanks to you. For that, we owe you a debt.”
Captain leaned back in his chair, and the tension left his shoulders and back. He nearly looked boneless.
“I call this meeting to an end,” Axel said, smacking the gavel against it with a finality that didn’t escape her. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Duke rounded the table and removed the ties, then clapped Captain on the shoulder. “Glad I didn’t have to corpsify you, brother.”
Captain grabbed his wrists, rubbing at the pink lines on them. “Yeah, me, too.”
“Don’t betray us again. Ain’t gonna be no more chances.” Duke’s eyes were flat and black, bereft of any kindness.
Eddie tensed, a chill running down her spine.
“I won’t,” Captain said, bowing his head. “I promise.”
Duke shuffled off and then Steele stopped at his chair, as well.
“You wanna play some pool? Ain’t our boss no more, no need to be standoffish.”
“Yeah, I’m just one of the brothers, now.” A pleased smile curled Captain’s lips. “I can’t today, Steele, but we’ll play soon. I promise.”
Seemingly satisfied, Steele filed out with the rest of the brothers. Eddie wrapped an arm around Captain and they ambled out together.
Dear God, what a tumultuous day.
In the parking lot, he grasped her by the waist and pulled her into a bear hug, as he peppered kisses on her cheeks and then her mouth. “You saved my life, woman.”
“My pleasure.” She grinned. “Since you’ll be around for the next couple of decades, what are you gonna do with yourself? Because you aren’t president, you might actually get to have a life of your own.”
He thought about it a moment. “Well, first things first. I need to see Lex and let her know I’m okay.”
“Good idea. She was worried about you.”
“And then, I’m taking some time off. I have a need to get the hell out of Hell for a few days.”
“God, that sounds good.” After the warehouse and the bombshell he dropped, the FBI agent, and a near death scare for Captain, she needed a vacation.
“I was hopin’ you’d say that. Because I promised to take you on a date. So, pack your bags, we’re going to Corpus Christi together.”
Hmm. Just the sand and the sea and uninterrupted time with Captain. It sounded like heaven. “Let’s go.”
Epilogue
Three days later…
Corpus Christi was every bit as gorgeous as Captain said it was, especially the bay. In the distance, you couldn’t tell where the sky met the ocean. To Eddie, it looked more like Florida than Texas–sandy beaches, harbors, and an almost carnival atmosphere.
And that suited her just fine.
Things were still dicey with the Raptors and Byron Beauregard in the mix didn’t exactly help matters, but all that could wait until they got back home. Right now, she wanted to concentrate on herself and Captain for a change.
As promised, he chartered a sailboat and they were moored off Padre Island, nothing around them but sparkling blue water. They’d spent two days fishing, swimming, and making love.
And it had been glorious.
“You’re spoiling me,” she said. She was seated on a lounge chair and he stood at the railing, surveying the water.
He waggled his brows at her. “Are you gonna ask me to stop?”
Eddie shook her head. “Hell, no. I was going to say, keep it up.”
“I will. Although, I didn’t finance this trip all by myself,” Captain admitted.
“No?”
“Nope, I had Shep place a bet for me on the club pool. I wagered that you and I would go off into the sunset together. And here we are, sunset and all.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Weren’t the odds in our favor?”
“At first, but the tide turned when I confessed to the brothers. Basically, I was the only one left with a winning bet, so the pot was mine.”
“Well, aren’t you lucky?”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it. I won about three jackpots this week. I’m alive, alone with the woman of my dreams, and I got a bit of money in my pocket. It’s a good fuckin’ week.” Captain peered into the water below. “Well now, we’re at the right coordinates for the shipwreck.” He held out a scuba mask to her.. “Ready for a deep sea adventure?”
She shook her head. “Here’s the part where I remind you I’m a landlubber,” she said. “Why don’t we go to the museum and look at the artifacts? It’ll be just like we saw them in the sea, only we can breathe without a tank.”
He just shook his head. “You might love the land, but you’re with an old sea captain. Remember when I said the ocean is persistent? It always gets what it wants.” He sat down on the end of her lounge chair and placed a hand on her thigh.
“Let me guess, you’re saying it wants me to go for a dip?”
He smirked, as his hand slowly slid up her inner thigh. “Funny, how the sea’s and my wants line up on that particular subject.”
She playfully slapped his hand away. “Well, in case you weren’t paying attention, you got me. I’m your girlfriend,” she teased. “And I’m on the water, even if I’m not in it, so mission accomplished.”
“I’d say you’re more than my girlfriend since you’re wearin’ my ring and all.”
She glanced at her hand, and the ring captured the light, twinkling. She hadn’t taken it off since he gave it to her. “Nope. You were about to go off to your untimely death and I don’t remember getting a proposal.”
“True, and you’re wearing another man’s name on your wrist.”
She rubbed the Joker tat and she swore the thing burned now. “As soon as we get back to Hell, I’m making a doctor’s appointment and having this thing lasered off.”
“Good, then we can go to a tattoo parlor afterwards and you can have Captain placed on your calf.”
“Oh, you like the legs, huh?” she said, lifting one for him to admire. “Too bad I’m not officially your old lady. You ain’t got no claim on me.”
; “You aren’t gonna let me off easy, huh?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
He started again. “So, about that engagement…”
“What engagement are you referring to?” she said, batting her eyelashes.
He gave a long suffering sigh, but his eyes were full of mischief. “The night we made love for the first time, I basically proposed. How long are you gonna torture me, woman?”
“As long as it takes for you to get it right.”
“Then, by all means, let’s do this the right way.” He pulled out his cell phone and selected a song he’d downloaded. Wild Horses, only this was a cover done by The Sundays. It had a bittersweet romantic quality.
Captain got down on one knee. “I’ve been in love with you for decades. So you need to put me out of my misery, make an honest man out of me. We can take that scenic route, and have a long engagement. But, Eddie, I need to know right now if you’ll do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?”
He made her feel so beautiful, so alive. Part of her had died with Joker, but Captain had made her whole again. He’d brought her back to life.
“I love you, too.” She wanted to spend the rest of her days in Captain’s arms. “Yes! Of course I will.” She kissed him fiercely and he hoisted her up in his arms, then set her bottom down on the railing of the ship. Through his jeans, she could feel him, hard and hungry for her.
“What, here?” she asked. “Right out in the open?” So far, they’d only made love in the cabin.
He captured her mouth in a long, deep kiss. Then pulled back to kiss the tip of her nose. “Why not, Killer Queen? Let’s live a little, starting tonight.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
Hellbent
Think on your sins. Shepherd does it every damn day. He pays his penance in service to his MC—keeping their secrets, guarding their gates, shouldering their burdens. But his own secrets threaten to bury him. Secrets bigger than forbidden temptations. Secrets older than his loyalty to the club. Secrets deeper than the grave he'll take them to. And there's only one thing—one person—that he'd sacrifice it all for.
Pretty Boy spent a lot of his life wandering in the darkness and the rest of it following Shepherd to the Promised Land of the Four Horsemen MC. Once upon a time, Shepherd sacrificed everything to keep Pretty Boy safe and he's hellbent on proving to Shepherd that it wasn't for nothing. That he isn't nothing.
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Hell on Wheels
Growing up, Axel dreamed of living a normal life as a law-abiding citizen with a good woman at his side. But now he’s become the Four Horsemen’s President and all hell is about to bust loose. A war is brewing with the Raptors. And the Horsemen have a forced alliance with the blood-sucking Beauregards and the Dixie Mafia. To make matters worse, Beauregard has incriminating evidence on Axel’s mother, Eddie Rollins. Evidence Axel wants to steal, but he needs an expert to breech Beauregard’s vault.
Charlie Sullivan has been getting a five-fingered discount ever since she was a little girl. Her father, a master thief, trained her to be the best and she always gets the job done clean and quick. But she doesn’t count on falling for a biker when the Four Horsemen hire her to steal from Beauregard. Can she make time for love when she’s got a score to settle?
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Copyright
© Cynthia Rayne 2015
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review or book discussion, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part is forbidden without the written permission of the author.
Cover Model
Can Stock Photo
Cover Art
© Sarah Laney 2015
Sweet Southern Creations
Editing
Blue Moon Creative Author Services
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s wicked imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
About the Author
Cynthia Rayne is the Amazon best-selling author of the Four Horsemen MC series. Her first erotic book was written when she was thirteen. Of course, the most risqué scene involved kissing, but it was the talk of her middle school! She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in education and writes whenever she can. In her spare time, she enjoys dating, shopping, reading way too many romance novels, and drinking a truly obscene amount of coffee.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Devil May Care (Four Horsemen MC Book 4) Page 22
