Momma and Dad: Thank you for being my parents. I love you and strive to be half as strong as you all are. You all are an inspiration and good grief you are loving. I love you all! Thank you for having me and keeping me.
3: I always wonder how we found each other through all of the crap in the world. I know, it was social media, but it had to have been something more. Look at us, what has it been? Seven, eight years? I really don’t remember and I’m too tired to investigate it right now. Sorry, but I know you get it. I love your face and all of your glorious words. Write more books, so I can read all of them, and then be greedy telling you to write more again.
Letha Gene: I love you, Seester! I know at times I can come across as pushy, but I don’t mean for it to sound that way. I want to help you in any way I can, and I know you feel the same. Sometimes that means one of us giving the other a swift kick in the ass. Thank you for being my older sister and hiding me under the magic blanket when I needed reminding there was still a little magic to help hide fear.
To the participating authors of Twisted Steel: Thank you for letting me be a part of this phenomenal anthology! I can’t wait to get a copy in my hands so I can devour everyone’s stories!
Visit her website, www.ChelleCCraze.com, or find them on social media.
For more information:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleCCraze
Facebook for Paranormal and Paranormal Romance:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAcaciaMal one
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https://www.amazon.com/author/chelleccraze
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Other Books by Chelle C. Craze:
Just Breathe Book One of The Blue Series
Waiting to Breathe Book Two of The Blue Series
Chaos Book One of The Blackwell Bayou Series
Proof Book Two of The Blackwell Bayou Series
Kamikaze Heart Book One of Cupid’s Aim & Book 2.5 of The Blackwell Bayou Series
Dahlia Book Five of The ScentSations Empire
Hard Rime A Forever Safe Christmas Book 3 & Dogs of Chaos MC Book One
Plush Book One of the Life and Death Saga by Acacia Malone
Scars of My Brother CRMC Book One by Chelle C. Craze & Eli Abbott
Bad Like Me Royal Bastards MC Ohio, Chapter by Chelle C. Craze & Eli Abbott
Torn Between
A Fallen Saints MC Prequel
Dani René
1
Shadow
I grin down at the motherfucker who’s bearing down on the metal between his yellowed teeth. His beard is graying; both eyes are swelling with purple bruises, which will soon turn blue. He’s trying to speak, but there’s nothing he can say that will change the fact that he was leaking information about our shipments to the rival club.
Fallen Saints MC is my father’s, and I’ll never allow a piece of shit like him to fuck with my legacy. The metal knuckle grips I wrap my fingers around glint in the sunlight streaming through the window.
“The last time you decide to fuck with the Fallen Saints will be today. I don’t take kindly to narcs, and when you run off and tell your friends about our shipments, I need to send a message,” I tell him, keeping my voice controlled, yet dripping pure venom.
“Mmh uh mm,” he bites out through the metal, and I smile.
Rearing back, I bring my fist down on his jaw, listening to the crack that follows, and I can’t help but feel satisfied. I won’t kill him, not this time. I want him to go back to them and show them just how fucking ruthless I am.
“They don’t call me Shadow for nothin’,” I tell him. “Because if they come lookin’ for me, they won’t find me.” Stepping back, I motion for the two prospects to get the asshole’s shirt off.
“Hey,” Talon calls from behind me as he enters the woodshed. This place is a shithole, but Dad wants to turn it into a warehouse. I don’t know why, it’s falling apart, but I didn’t say anything because I’ve learned that Jackal Hawke doesn’t take advice from anyone.
“What’s up?”
“We need to head down to Miami to see Trigger,” he tells me. Talon’s my best friend has been for almost fifteen years. When he first walked onto the compound with a backpack and not much else, my dad took him in. Now at twenty-seven, he’s patched in along with me.
I glance at the man we caught, Joshua Kade, and I shake my head before I release the metal from my knuckles and lean in to look directly into his eyes. The fear that flits in them makes me happy.
I love watching someone cower in fear. It makes my dick hard. Tonight, I’ll have to find a willing bitch to ride me until I see stars. But right now, I grip the asshole’s throat and squeeze.
“You tell all your friends that they will pay a hefty price if they attempt to trade in our territory. You’ll also inform them that every fucking piece of information you spewed to them is false. Make them believe it. Do you understand me?”
He nods quickly, his head moving so fast, it’s a blur for a second or two. Tears fill his eyes as he watches me. My fingers tighten, a warning, and then I release him.
“Get this asshole out of here,” I order.
The two prospects shove the black bag over his head and drag him from the chair. Once they’re out of earshot, I turn to Talon.
“What’s up?”
“Trigger heard about what happened. He wants to see us.”
“Where’s Jackal?” I question, wondering where my father has disappeared to. When he’s not at the compound, he’s off riding into the sunset with my mom on the back of his Harley as they head out of town.
“Your father wants us to go,” Talon shrugs and I can’t help but narrow my gaze in confusion. My dad is the President, I’m only a VP. Even though I’ll one day run the club, he should be the one meeting with Trigger.
“Fine. Get ready we ride in the morning,” I tell him as I make my way out to my bike. Talon follows, and I know he wants to say something. But what he wants to tell me is about her. It’s the elephant in the room between us. Since we were sixteen, we’ve both had eyes for the same woman.
The problem is, she lives on the other side of the fucking country, and . . . well, she’s too young for us. At least, that’s what I tell myself every time I’ve crossed paths with her.
What comes next is her eighteenth birthday, which is in three days. That means the moment I step foot on the property of the Fallen Saints Miami Chapter, I’ll see her as an adult.
I’m not ready for that.
“Apparently, they’re having a party for Syren.” And there it is. Her name on his lips does things to me. Things I can’t fathom doing to my best friend, like punching him right in the gut.
Jealousy is a fickle emotion.
And it’s racing through my veins like poison.
“Yeah? What are you going to do?” I finally ask, not wanting to look at him, but I can’t help bringing my gaze to his. “Fuck her for her birthday?” I never once allowed myself to get angry with him like this. Perhaps, it’s knowing she’s legal that’s causing my blood to turn hot, and my mind to go places I’ve forced myself not to go for so long.
“Hey, if she’s willing and able, I’m not going to deny her the good lovin’ of a biker,” he chuckles. But the thing about Talon is that he doesn’t want a relationship. That’s something she deserves. First love and all the bullshit that comes with it.
My best friend is not the man you take home to momma. Come to think of it, neither am I. Shaking my head, I swing a leg over my Kawasaki and grab my helmet. Dad wanted to buy me a Harley for my twenty-first, but then I saw this beauty and I knew she was mea
nt to be mine. Just like Syren. Fuck.
“Don’t hurt her,” I tell Talon before I shove my helmet over my head and flick the visor. “She’s young, impressionable, but most of all, Trigger will gut you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves his hand in the air as if that means nothing, but he knows it does. Trigger is not a man you want to fuck with. President of the Fallen Saints Miami Chapter, he’s one of the founders of the club along with my dad. They go way back, and I know him better than I know myself. I’ve heard the stories. I’ve seen what he can do. And he’s not someone I’d like to anger.
Turning my key, I rev the engine, giving Talon a hint that I want a race. When I got my Kawasaki, he got one too. Mine’s black with dark red slashes, whereas his is a blue that mimics his eyes.
The moment I pull away, he’s hot on my back tire. We’ve been playing this game for years. Since I knew how to ride — which was just before I could walk according to my mother — I’ve never turned back. The freedom of being on a machine so powerful makes me feel like the king of the fucking world.
The only thing I don’t have is a queen.
It doesn’t take us long to reach home. The clubhouse, which is something out of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, sits on four hundred acres of land. It has smaller outbuildings where some of the men stay as well. We also have a kindergarten run by a few of the old ladies, and a garage where we can fix our bikes if needed. The place is like a mini-city on its own. All we’re missing is a goddamned Starbucks and Target.
I pull into my parking spot, not waiting for Talon to follow, and head into the house where I make my way through the long hallway toward my father’s office.
“Ah, son,” he smiles when he glances at me, striding into the room. “I take it Talon informed you of my decision.”
“Why aren’t you going?” I don’t bother with niceties. My dad knows who I am, what I am, and he’s never tried to change me. Giving me the support that I needed, he allowed me to take on more at the club each year, and now that I’m VP, I can make some of the decisions, but something isn’t right here.
“I want you to be the man who heads this up,” he tells me. “Soon, you’ll be President and I honestly don’t want to get in the middle of dealings you can handle.”
“Is there somethin’ you’re not tellin’ me?” I question, wondering if I’m missing something integral to the shit that’s going down.
“No, there’s nothing I’m not telling you.” He looks so serious, as if he’s challenging me to question him. Which I can do, and at times, have done with consequences.
“Fine,” I shrug. If he’s going to treat me like one of the prospects and keep me in the dark, then I’ll act as if nothing is wrong. “Talon and I ride out tonight.”
“Tonight? Can’t you wait till morning?”
“If I want to make good time, I should leave tonight,” I tell him, but what I don’t tell him is that I want to be there for Syren’s birthday. It’s stupid of me to think she’ll even notice I’m there, but I feel as if I want to be near her again.
Eighteen and exquisite. At least, that’s what I have envisioned in my mind time and again. Even though I’m far too old for her, at least I can celebrate her becoming an adult.
“Okay,” Dad says, breaking me out of the thoughts of the pretty little girl. Only, she’s not little anymore. Shut up, Draven. “I’ll be on call so once you’ve met with Trigger, I want to know what his thoughts are on the Devil’s Rejects moving in on the guns we were meant to be bringing in. That’s all.” He waves me off, but he doesn’t meet my eyes when he says, “ride safe.”
I turn to leave, pondering my father’s strange actions. Yes, he’s always been slightly aloof, but this is not what I was expecting when I walked into his office. The man is all business, and there’s not a hint of the dad I came to know while growing up.
He taught me everything I know. About bikes, violence, and women. They all three go hand in hand in our world. But his final words ride safe are what we always say to a brother who’s heading out on the road.
When I head out to the garage, I find Talon to tell him we’re leaving tonight. I have an hour to pack and then we’re hitting tar to get to Miami in time. It’s going to be a long trip, but on two wheels, it’s going to be a taste of freedom.
Syren
Grounded.
Almost eighteen years old and my father treats me like I’m a fragile doll that will shatter. I’m stronger than he thinks. I’ve seen what he’s capable of, and even so, he won’t let me out of his sight for longer than a few hours.
“Dad, I need to be able to go to the parties that are being held for the graduates. I can’t be—”
“There’s a birthday party for you here, on the compound. You’re not leaving with your friends again. Am I understood?”
“But—”
“Syren,” he mutters my name in warning, and I know this is no longer up for debate. My father may love me, but when he puts on that face, the one he uses with the prospects who have angered him, I know I’m done for. “The party will be here, you have Kalista to talk to, and the guys will all be here to celebrate. Am I understood?”
His deep blue eyes pierce me. I look just like my father, dark hair and bright blue eyes. At times, when he’s angry, I’m certain there’s a flame dancing in them. Don’t they say the purest fire burns blue?
“Yes, Daddy,” I tell him before rising from the chair and heading out of his office. Living in a home filled with muscled, tattooed men wasn’t ideal, but I feel safe when I’m here, and I know each of these men will kill for me.
Tomorrow is my last day of school, and I’ll never have to go back to that shitty place again. Because I’m the MC Princess of Fallen Saints, I didn’t have many friends at school, but that only made me focus on my schoolwork more than the other girls who went out partying every weekend.
“Syren,” Kalista calls to me. She’s my one and only friend. Her father and mine work together, at least that’s what I like to call it. Dad is the President of the Fallen Saints, and her dad is his second in command. They’ve known each other for longer than Kali and I have been alive.
I glance over my shoulder at her coming through the entrance hallway of the main house. Our property is so big, we have smaller one-bedroom houses built on the land for the men who want to live onsite. More than four hundred acres of beautiful gardens make up my childhood home. “What’s up?”
“I overheard a few of the prospects talking,” she hisses, tugging me into the clubhouse and up the steps. It doesn’t take us long to reach my bedroom, and as soon as we’re inside, she’s shutting the door with a loud thud.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh,” she whispers, racing to the window and seconds later, I hear the rumble of motorbikes. It’s not a foreign sound by any means. I’ve been around bikes since I was a baby, even though Dad only allowed me on his twice before. He really does treat me with kid gloves.
I make my way to the window to see what Kali’s staring at, and then I see it. Two bikes, both epically beautiful Kawasakis rumble up the driveway toward the house. One has deep blue slashes of paint across either side, and the other has bright red.
I’d know those machines anywhere. The deep roar vibrates through the house, and it feels as if it’s tickling through me like the touch of Talon’s fingers. He’s my crush. I’ve liked him since I was fifteen and first laid eyes on him when he sauntered into Dad’s meeting room with a cocky grin and those baby blues.
“Why are they here?” I whisper at my best friend. The other bike belongs to Talon’s best friend, Shadow. At least, that’s what they call him. The man is almost six feet of pure muscle. His eyes are dark, filled with mischief, just like his best friend.
“I’m not sure,” she responds.
I don’t know why we’re whispering, but there’s something about both men that does things to me. I know Dad would never let me date them, not that they’d be interested in me. I’d be like
a little sister to them both. They’re both in their mid-twenties, and I’m just turning eighteen.
I haven’t seen them in a few years. They’re from the Arizona chapter, and I’m not sure what they’re doing all the way down here in Miami, but I intend on finding out.
Racing to my closet, I pull out my old cheerleading skirt that I know is probably two sizes too small, but this time, I’m going to show Talon I’m not a little girl anymore.
“Oh my God,” Kali laughs, and I have to turn to face her. “That is epic,” she tells me when I fasten the zipper and stuff my feet into my ballet flats. The skirt hits me mid-thigh and my tight tank top shows off my assets.
I look down at my body, I have an hourglass figure which I always hated. Kali said men prefer something to hold onto, but I don’t believe her. She’s skinny, whereas I filled out when I hit sixteen. “Do I look okay?”
“Loosen your hair,” she tells me, swishing her golden curls side to side, and I tug the tie from my long raven-colored hair. The long strands cascade down my back, ending at my tailbone. “Better. You need lip gloss.”
At my vanity, I grab the shimmery pink tube and apply it generously to my lips. With a quick glance in the mirror, I straighten and turn to my best friend.
“I hope Blade is here,” she mumbles. I know that’s Shadow’s brother. She’s had a thing for the mountain man for as long as I’ve crushed on Talon. His low growl reminds me of a bear, and his full beard makes him look like a lumberjack. His bike and tattoos add to the danger that surrounds him.
“Let’s go,” I tug her with me as we head down the steps and into the living room. It’s empty, but I know the guys are with my Dad in his office. I’m not sure how long they’ll be in there, but I have the perfect place for us to mill around until they exit.
Kali and I make our way out toward the garages where all the bikes are parked, and I find two of the old ladies sitting on the bench having a smoke.
Twisted Steel: An MC Romance Anthology Page 26
