Inking Eagle (Charon MC Trilogy Book 1)

by Khloe Wren

  “How fucking dare you!”

  He’d been facing away from me in his office, working on something. But he rose and spun at my voice.

  “What are you doing up?”

  I stormed over to stand before him, wrapping an arm around my injured ribs as the pain got too much to ignore completely.

  “What do you think? No one would tell me a thing, so I went to investigate myself.”

  His face dropped. “You went looking for Eagle. I told you to stay out of it.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Club business isn’t my business. Well, fuck that. If this is how the man I chose is going to be treated, I’m leaving the damn club. Because he cares about me, he gets beaten to within an inch of his life? How is that fair? It’s not. It’s fucked up beyond belief!”

  I reached out and took my uncle’s right hand, examining his busted knuckles. “By the looks of it, you were the main one behind it all.” I shook my head as I dropped his hand. “My father left me more than enough cash to clear my debt to the club for Silky Ink. I’ll go get it for you, then I’m out of here. I’m done with this fucking club and its fucked-up politics.”

  I turned to leave, limping now the adrenaline from my anger had worn off.

  “Silk! Wait! You can’t just walk out of here like this. We’re your family. We did this for you.”

  I turned to face him again. “For me? You think I’d want the man I love beaten up because he fucking cares about me? Because, even though you didn’t tell him shit, he still saved me? Twice.”

  “You can’t love a man you don’t know, Silk. He needed to prove himself to the club, that he was worthy of you.”

  “What? Because I can’t decide that for myself?” I shook my head again, suddenly feeling drained and tired. “I’ll take Mac with me, but he’s not wearing his fucking cut though. I’m serious. I’m done with this club. You’d better make sure he’s been told anything you know about what you’ve heard from the mob, because that’s why I was hurt. I might not know exactly what went on behind the scenes, but I’m fairly certain the club’s fucked-up need to keep club business from prospects meant Eagle was fighting fucking blind, trying to keep me safe.”

  Uncle Clint opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “I’m done with this shit.”

  I left the room before he could say another word. I made it to the bar before I collapsed against the wall. Once more, Taz was there.

  “Whoa, you really gotta stop pushing yourself so hard.”

  “Take me up to my room?”

  He eyed me, then glanced over my shoulder down the hall before he replied. “Sure, hon.”

  He lifted me easily and carried me up the stairs.

  “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Silk. Sabella is still gunning for you.”

  Taz set me on the edge of my bed.

  “I’m leaving here and the club. I told my uncle I’d take Mac with me, but he’s not to wear his colors. You need to stay here to take care of Eagle. This is total bullshit and I’m not going to fucking sit here and take it.”

  Taz gave me a small smile. “You really do love him, huh?”

  I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, wincing as my ribs let me know they didn’t like the idea.

  “You already know the answer to that. Can you grab my bag for me? The one I had at the cabin.”

  He snatched it up and placed it next to me on the bed. I reached in and pulled out four rolls of cash, forty grand. I owed the club thirty-six thousand on Silky Ink, so this would more than cover it.

  “Want to help a girl pack?”

  “Sure, sweetheart.”

  With Taz helping me, I had all my personal stuff packed, and was ready to go before long. I held my cut and the cash, and Taz took my two bags, now heavy with all my things.

  “Lead the way.”

  We’d been up here probably twenty minutes, so I knew my uncle would have called Scout in on me by now. But I wasn’t going to back down. I was out of this shit for good. Hopefully, Eagle would join me once he was well enough to.

  Mac

  What a complete clusterfuck. It had been a predictable one, but one nonetheless frustrating. How did Bulldog think Silk was going to handle having her man fucking beaten bloody for basically no other reason than caring about her?

  At least she’d agreed to take me with her. The mob was still after her ass, so if she just walked out the door she’d be dead in under a day. So, that left me standing at the bar with Scout and Bulldog, finally being told everything they knew about the fuckers after her.

  “You telling me it’s not only the mob after her but the Iron Hammers are on her case too? How did they know about the box?”

  Scout gave me a fierce stare. “When was the last time you saw Runt?”

  My body stiffened. “You shitting me? He went to them?”

  “Turns out he was always one of theirs. Well, he wanted to be. Spying on us was his way of earning his colors down there. We locked those ledgers and other shit up fast, so he didn’t get copies of anything, but he’d heard what we found in that box and reported it back to them.”

  I focused on what he wasn’t telling me. “And where is Runt now?”

  “Roughing up Eagle was just the entree.”

  Fuck. They’d beaten him, probably to death. It wasn’t a huge surprise. The Charons certainly weren’t one of the roughest MCs around, but they wouldn’t stand for being fucked over like that either.

  “Speaking of Eagle. Where does he stand with you now?”

  I didn’t include Taz and me in that question, but Scout knew we were a package deal.

  “He handled his punishment as a Charon should. We’re good. As soon as he’s back on his feet, he’ll get his top rocker. Maybe after that he can get Silk to quit fucking around and come back home too.”

  Okay, maybe he didn’t get that we would stick together.

  “Taz and me? Where are we left in all this?”

  “You keep Silk protected, you’ll get your patch soon enough. Same with Taz. Once Eagle’s back on his feet, we’ll cycle you and Taz on her, since I’m guessing Taz won’t leave the clubhouse while Eagle’s still out of it.”

  “Of course.”

  I was getting a little sick of having our top rockers held over our heads all the damn time, but considering we were still months off being here a full year, we couldn’t complain too much. In any case, Silk coming down the stairs looking pale, but determined, ended our conversation.

  She went directly to Scout, ignoring her uncle, and shoved her cut and four rolls of cash against his chest, forcing him to take the load before it hit the floor.

  “That more than clears the debt on Silky Ink. I’m out.”

  “Don’t do this, Silk. We’re your family.”

  “Family does not beat the shit out of each other.”

  “This one does. Always has. You know that. Eagle made it through. As soon as he can stand for more than thirty fucking seconds, he’ll get his top rocker. You don’t need to leave.”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, I do. I’m not going over it all again. Bulldog can fill you in. I’m leaving.”

  She turned and walked toward the front door, leaving shocked silence in her wake. I’d never heard her call her uncle Bulldog before, at least not when the entire club wasn’t hanging around, and by the look of stunned pain on the man’s face, he hadn’t either.

  “Fuck me. Mac, go with her. And put her ass in a cage. She can’t ride her fucking bike with busted ribs.”

  I spun and strode after her, Taz on my heels with her bags.

  “This is one fucked-up situation, mate.”

  “Sure is. Sadly, it was one I saw coming. No way Silk was going to handle having Eagle worked over like that.”

  “I’m with her on this one. It was more the club’s fault than Eagle’s. They withheld vital information from him. What the fuck did they expect to happen?”

&n
bsp; “No fucking clue, brother. But I need to catch her before she finds her fucking bike.”

  I could just see her riding off into the sunset like some fucking warrior princess. Then wrecking her bike because she’d jerk when her ribs jolted her with pain.

  “Silk! We need to take a cage. You can’t ride your bike with busted ribs!”

  Thankfully, she stopped and when I got to her I took her face in my palms. “Slow down a moment and think. You know Eagle is going to come for you the second he’s able to. Getting yourself killed won’t help anything. Let me drive you home, and when your ribs heal enough for you to ride, I’ll bring your bike to you. Okay?”

  Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let a single one fall.

  “My entire family betrayed me. The first time I’ve cared about a man, and they have him beaten.”

  “I don’t suppose you got a good look at your uncle and the others? Eagle got more than a few shots in. Hell, three of the ones who went after him are in worse condition than he is and he did that after they pinned his arms down. Your man’s a Marine, darlin’. He can hold his own. And he thought you were worth it. Don’t make it all for nothing.”

  Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t speak, just turned and got in the nearest vehicle. Taz dumped her bags in the trunk before saying a quick goodbye to her.

  “Good luck, mate.”

  Yeah, I’m going to need it with the way Silk was acting. Who knew what shit she’d try to pull with this little rebellion of hers. I was fairly certain she’d want to come back to the club once she calmed down. But would she be able to push past her pride to do it?

  Chapter 22

  Eagle

  It was a full week after my punishment before Scout finally gave me permission to leave the clubhouse. I was getting ready to head out when he’d come into my room fifteen minutes ago.

  “You come to church before you leave. Be down there in half hour.”

  I didn’t argue. I was going to see my girl today. Nothing was going to stop me. Mac was with her today–Taz and he had been taking it turns. I grinned as I thought about how she’d thrown down for me. Silk had walked away from the only family she had, because she couldn’t stand the thought they’d hurt me. Guess that was as public a declaration as she could make about her feelings toward me. No way could Bulldog not understand that one.

  Pulling on my cut, I made my way out of the room. My ribs still ached a little and my left knee didn’t always bend quite right. But I was certain nothing was broken beyond repair, and I’d be all healed up in no time. I met up with Taz at the bottom of the stairs and headed down to the meeting room. We’d only been in church once before, twice if you counted the time we came here with those boxes. Prospects didn’t normally get included, so yeah, I was a little nervous about what the fuck this was all about. Especially when I saw Mac sitting in the room.

  “Who the fuck is watching Silk?”

  The room went silent and all eyes turned to me. I didn’t give a shit if I’d just broken a bunch of rules. If Silk was out there alone, I was out of here.

  “Settle down. Nitro and Tiny are watching her.”

  Scout spoke as he walked past me, to the front of the room where he calmly sat at the center of the table. I followed Taz to sit beside Mac.

  “Either of you know what this is about?”

  Taz shrugged and Mac had a gleam in his eye, like he knew but wasn’t going to share.

  “Bastard. You fit right in here don’t you? Knowing shit and not sharing it.”

  He laughed. “Aren’t you in a peachy mood today? Thought you’d be all happy and shit that you’re going to be seeing Silk soon.”

  “Once I see her, I’ll be fucking ecstatic. Until then, I’m going to be pissed at everything that makes it so I’m not already with her.”

  “Wow. So this is how you’re going be from now on. Kind of glad I’ve been hanging out with her for most of the week, rather than you. At least she tried to pretend to be normal around me.”

  The bang of the hammer on the table thankfully ended that conversation.

  “Short meeting this morning, as I know some of us have places we’d rather be.” Bastard smirked at me. “Eagle, Mac and Taz, get your asses up here, boys.”

  I got to my feet first, and strolled up there. Could this really be about our patches? Finally.

  “Everyone here knows what’s been going on lately, so there’s no need to recap it all. But we all agree, you’ve all more than earned your top rockers. Welcome to the Charon MC, boys. You’re all officially one of us now.”

  I watched a little in shock, as Scout, Bulldog and Keys all squirted a ton of super glue on the back of a patch each. Bulldog came for me, spun me around and slapped the rocker across the top of my cut. Then he spun me back.

  “You did good. And you’ve more than proven you’re good enough for my girl. Your next job is to bring the stubborn woman back here, where she belongs.”

  He turned to grab a cut off the table, but before he could speak again, Scout broke in. “Yeah, Rose has him in the doghouse for running her off. I’m sure he’d like you to be quick about bringing her back. And you three need to go see her about getting your ink done too. Show anyone at her shop your top rocker and they’ll look after you.”

  Bulldog handed a cut to me. “Here’s her cut. We’ve added a patch to it. Bring her back. I miss my girl, and not just because Rose is pissed at me over it.”

  I held out the cut and grinned. “‘Property of Eagle’, I like it.”

  The patch was on the back, above the club insignia. A top rocker with ‘Property Of’ on one line and ‘Eagle’ underneath on the bottom rocker. Fuck, I hope she’d accept it. What if she really didn’t want to come back into the club? The place had grown on me and I wanted to be a part of it.

  A hard slap on my back brought my attention back to the room.

  “Don’t worry so much. She’ll accept you, and the club. At this point, it’s her pride stopping her from coming back. She knows how we work, beat downs are nothing new to her. She’s just got her panties in a twist because it was you.” Scout turned from me to address the room. “Let the party begin! Taz, you might even find that we’ve had a couple new girls join us. Try to let the others have some pussy too. You don’t need it all for yourself, brother.”

  With a chorus of laughter, the meeting broke up and everyone made their way out. Mac was tight on my heels.

  “You staying to party?”

  “Not yet. I’m going to have your back until you and Silk get back here. Then, we’ll party. I’m sure Taz will do enough fucking damage for all of us in the meantime.”

  I grinned. “I’m sure he will. Well, come on then, let’s go get my girl.”

  I loaded Silk’s cut into my saddle bag and slid onto the seat of my Harley.

  “Damn, I missed this.”

  I ran my hands over the bike for a second before I started her up. The rumble beneath me had me feeling instantly alive.

  I was on my way to get my girl, and I might even let her do that piercing she wanted to. I groaned as my cock sprung to life. Just fucking great. Now I had to ride with a fucking hard-on. Gunning the engine, I took off toward her shop. I pulled up out front, and Mac slid his bike in beside mine. Tiny was on the front door and grinned when he saw us.

  “Congratulations, boys. Finally got your top rockers. Pres told me you were on your way, so I had Gabs make sure she’s free for you.”

  Mac stayed with Tiny as I pushed through the front door into the shop, Silk’s cut in my fist. Gabs was leaning against the front counter, working on a sketch. When she looked up and caught sight of me she had a gleam in her eye.

  “She’s back in the piercing room, getting prepped.”

  Heat raced over my cheeks. “How the fuck do you know about that?”

  The woman shrugged. “We’re roommates, and the woman talks in her sleep. A lot, lately. Have fun!”

  Refusing to rise to the bait, I didn’t say a word as I mov
ed toward the back, where the closed-off piercing room was located. I didn’t knock, but entered and closed the door behind me in silence. Silk was hunched over the tray of implements when I flipped the lock, the quiet sound alerting her to my presence. With a gasp, she jerked around, and the fear in her gaze hit me like a blow.

  “Hey, baby. It’s just me. Fuck. Don’t be scared.”

  Fuck, I was a bastard. Of course, she’d be afraid if someone snuck up on her here where she’d been snatched before. I dropped her cut on the chair on my way over to her. She stood still with a hand over her heart.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I pulled her against me. “Don’t you dare try to act like you don’t know. Scout had me on lockdown until this morning, I got my top rocker twenty minutes ago and now I’m here to claim my woman. I promise, I came as soon as I could.”

  She scared the shit out of me when, for about a minute and a half, she held herself stiff and away from me. Then she softened against me and my heart started beating again. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she lifted her face to me. I didn’t wait. I lowered my mouth to cover hers and drank her in. Fuck, I’d missed her so much.

  Silk

  Eagle was really here. This was real, and not a dream. I ran my fingers through his hair and fisted it tightly to hold him to me as he devoured my mouth. A deep moan made its way up my throat, and I loosened my hold when he pulled away a fraction.

  “I thought I’d lost you and the club. It’s been a week.”

  He cupped a palm around my face.

  “Never. You’ll never lose me, Silk. And the club has instructed me to bring you home. You’ve lost nothing. Well, except maybe a little of your pride.”

  Heat crept over my cheeks. “I kinda lost my temper when I saw you all beat to shit.”

  He gave me a lop-sided grin. “I got that impression. I wished you hadn’t seen me like that, though. You weren’t supposed to.”

  “What? So you get to see me all beaten to shit, but I can’t see you when it’s you all bruised up?”

  I chuckled when he shook his head. “Two completely different situations, baby. And you know it.” He sighed and stroked my face with his fingertips. “The club brothers are like any brothers–they solve their issues with their fists. Not that I was raised with blood brothers, but from what I’ve seen and experienced in the Marines and now with the Charons, beating the shit out of each other seems to be the way it goes. And it got me permission to have you, so it was totally worth it.”