by Silver James
The two-way radio on my belt clicked. Repo. “Kids are still asleep.”
“She’s headed toward the gate. I’ll radio down for them to let her go.”
Yeah, the sooner she was gone, the sooner Easy would come back to the club and life could get back to normal. Well, as normal as possible with two little kids living in the Barracks, the Hell Dogs bent on killing every last Nightrider, and a Blood Moon on the horizon.
SAM
I DIDN’T GET FAR. I couldn’t. I made it as far as Lawrence, Kansas a little over an hour later in the predawn traffic. I stopped to get coffee, and when I got back on I-70, I was headed eastbound. I couldn’t abandon the kids. The Nightriders wouldn’t let me back into the compound, but I’d stay close enough I could watch Jojo and Noni through binoculars or something. And what would happen if Easy didn’t come back?
Was that even possible? Didn’t he owe some sort of allegiance to the Nightriders? Could he just pick up and leave and not look back? I shook so hard at that thought I had to pull over to the side of the highway. I breathed through the panic attack.
God, I missed him. Missed him all the way deep in my bones. Thinking about him hurt. Not thinking about him hurt even worse. But he was a freaking werewolf. Only he said he wasn’t. He was something else. Something…other.
Whatever that “other” was didn’t bother Sunny. She married Repo. And Repo was the same…thing as Easy. Goosebumps popped up on my arms, and I kicked the heater up a couple of notches. Some of the Nightriders gave off an energy that people picked up on, even if they didn’t know why. Easy. Repo. Radar. Hardy. I shivered like a whole coven of witches danced on my grave. That meant Digger and the Russian were Wolves too. I flashed on a picture of Noni riding the Russian piggyback, of Jonah in the garage with Easy and Repo as they rebuilt Easy’s Harley. Noni patting Easy’s cheeks and making kissy faces at him.
And I remembered what the Russian had said to me when he issued his decree concerning the kids.
“The man who would claim Noni is my enemy. She is under my personal protection. I will kill anyone—anyone—who tries to take her. Do you understand, Samantha Prescott?”
He hadn’t been talking about just Noni. And it wasn’t just because the Bastard was a Hell Dog and, therefore, an enemy of the Nightriders. Most of the members could care less about the kids, a few probably despised them. But the inner circle? The cadre of officers? They all doted on the children and not in a creepy, weird uncle way. They truly cared about Jonah and Noni. Like a wolf pack cared for their young. And their mated females.
They treated the club whores like what they were—women who would do anything to be noticed by club members. Women who thought they could fuck their way to a property patch. But the women who wore those patches? They were treated with respect. Protected. Even the real assholes in the club acted differently toward them.
Easy. He’d lured me up to that place to…well, hell. Basically to propose to me. Marriage wasn’t something MCs did as a rule, though both Sunny and Ginger wore rings.
Wolves mate for life.
Easy’s words. And Sunny’s. They were branded in my memory. I rested my forehead against the steering wheel. Would Easy come after me? I doubted it, considering he’d disappeared after that fiasco on Sweetheart Hill, and despite his declarations. Did I even want him to track me down?
A hard rap on the window made me scream. Heart beating so fast I thought I might pass out, I stared. Uniform. Slate blue. Smokey Bear hat. I swallowed. A state trooper. I managed to roll down the window.
“Are you all right, miss?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. My fingers closed on my cell phone, and I held it up. “I’m sorry. I…a phone call. I pulled off to take it. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
His expression remained skeptical. “Are you sick?” His gaze narrowed on my eyes. Hell. He thought I was high.
“I’m fine, sir. Do you need my driver’s license?”
“Utah plates on the vehicle. You’re a long way from home.”
Damn, did he think my Jeep was stolen or something? “I live in Brighton, Utah. I’m headed to Mission Springs to see my niece and nephew.” How much could I reveal and not have everything fall apart?
“Driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance please, ma’am.”
My paperwork was all in order, thankfully. He let me go with the admonition that I had thirty days to get a Missouri ID if I stuck around, but he’d let the Missouri authorities worry about my legality. I thanked him, got control of my emotions, started the Jeep, put it in gear, and got the hell out of there.
First things first. I needed to find a place close to the compound, but far enough away I wouldn’t be seen by the Nightriders and wouldn’t be caught by the Hell Dogs.
EASY
I WATCHED THE STRIPPER work the pole and didn’t give a fuck. I was on my tenth straight whiskey and even without watered-down booze I’d still have been stone-cold sober. Wolf metabolism sucked. So did my life. I hadn’t slept in five nights now, but I wasn’t so far gone I didn’t recognize the Wolf energy crashing through the room.
Gravedigger appeared on one side, Hardass on the other.
“Damn, Easy. That’s one ugly bitch.”
“Yeah, Digger. She’s just your type.”
The sonavabitch laughed and tossed the dancer a twenty when she scowled at his comment. Hardy grabbed my glass and sniffed.
“Fuck, man. This shit will burn out your stomach lining.”
“How many titty bars did it take you to find me?
“Too many.” Hardy winked at Digger when he added, “That last nudie joint offers breakfast. Gives eggs sunny-side up and hash browns a whole new meaning.”
“I guess the Russian is pissed.”
Digger snorted. “Or something. It’s time to come home, Easy.”
“I can’t.”
“Fuck, Easy. It’s not like we’d take you back and hog tie you. Hell, your wolf ’d just have fun chewing through the ropes anyway.”
“Not funny, Hardy.”
“She’s gone, man. Come back with us. There’s nothing to keep you away now.”
Gone. Sam really left me. How could she take away everything I am? She took my heart. My soul. And left only the beast within me. The one that howled in the dark because she’d walked away from us—left us alone—on Sweetheart Hill. And wasn’t that a crock of shit. Sweet-fucking-heart Hill. I bared all my secrets to her up there under the stars. All the bitch did was squeeze me into dust, wipe any traces of me off her hands, and walk away like I was dog shit on the bottom of her boot.
One of the floor dancers waltzed up to offer us lap dances. She was a redhead with big boobs, just Hardy’s type. He ignored her. That meant he was serious about dragging my ass out of here. I didn’t want to go. I couldn’t deal with Sam’s scent lingering everywhere.
Hardy slugged me in the arm. “Dammit, Easy. You need to come back to the compound. Noni’s having nightmares again. She cries out, calling for you.”
“Sam can deal with it. As she fucking reminded me in no uncertain terms, Jojo and Noni are her kids now.” Wait. Maybe I was drunker than I thought. Something didn’t add up. Hardy said Sam left. How did he know Noni wanted me? Click. Pieces fell into place. “Fuckin’ hell. Are you telling me Sam ran off and left the kids behind?”
I squeezed the glass so hard it shattered in my hand. I was so fucking pissed off that if I ever saw that gawddamned bitch again I would slit her throat. Bad enough she cut me off at the balls, but to leave the kids? They loved her. So did I. And yeah, she’d fucking left me, hadn’t she? Why would she stick around for Jonah and Noni?
The bouncer was a little slow on the uptake, but he finally figured out things were tense in our little party and there was blood involved. I was ready to fight the fucker and every other sumbitch in the place. I’d been itching for a bar fight since the day Sam walked away. The one I managed to start didn’t count for shit, seeing as it took place hal
f-past dawn and most of the drunks left in the joint could barely stand.
Digger and Hardy marched me outside before I killed somebody. We mounted our Harleys, but just sat there a minute. I was staring at the rest of my life, and it was a fucking black hole without Sam in it.
Hardy stared at me until I focused on him. “Time to start over, Easy.”
Oh yeah. Let me get right on that. The only woman who’d ever meant jack shit to me—my fucking mate—thought I was a monster. Starting over would be a piece of cake. I just wanted to drink so damn much whiskey, I could finally pass out. Only problem with that solution was a little blonde girl with haunted blue eyes who needed a Wolf to keep the real monsters away.
Chapter 16
EASY
CHURCH WAS RUTHLESS, but I took the heat. I’d abandoned my brothers when I disappeared. Russki let me and everyone else know the brutal consequences of my actions. I took the beating from Digger and Hardy and then did a turn under the not-so-tender mercies of the Russian’s flogger as the main attraction at Nightshades. I’d heal faster than a human, but getting skin flayed off hurts like hell. Plus, I was on garbage detail for the foreseeable future. I got all the shit assignments, including gate duty just like a fucking prospect.
Thing is, Russki wasn’t that pissed about me going MIA. Moonstruck Wolves are pretty much brain dead and he would’ve cut me some slack. Yeah, I’d still get the beating, but that would have ended the punishment. It was the situation with the Hell Dog that sent him over the edge. With good reason. I didn’t report in about being followed, or about killing the motherfucker. I’d screwed up big time by putting my brothers in danger, and I was damn fucking lucky I was still breathing.
I sucked it up. Did my penance. When I wasn’t working for the MC, I did my best to get drunk. We hadn’t seen Hell Dogs around for more than a week so Sunny and Repo took the kids to their house to stay. The clubhouse and all the shit that went down there was not a place for kids to be living. Besides, Repo and Sunny had a real yard, and there was discussion about Jonah going to school.
Radar was a master forger. He could make documents showing Jonah and Noni belonged to Repo and Sunny. Only problem with that plan was Noni. She called me daddy. In front of everyone. And my fucking heart broke every time I heard the word on her lips.
That’d been my plan. I’d patch Sam. Claim her as my mate. And we’d adopt the kids. All legal and shit. No forgery. Nothing fake. Do it for real. Gawddamn but I loved those kids. I really did. But Sam? Sam fucked up my head. Both of them.
I spent most of my free time in wolf form patrolling Repo’s neighborhood. Nobody would get close to my kids. The rest of the time I worked hauling in penny-ante crooks for the bond company or bouncing at Chasin’ Tail, the Nightrider-owned strip club. When I wasn’t working or sleeping for a couple of hours, I drank to get stupid, not that it helped.
Days and nights rolled together until the ache in my gut that was the memory of Sam turned to ice. I couldn’t keep the anger burning any longer. She was gone.
I hated working the fucking door at Tail’s. I had nothing to do but look intimidating and think. I damn sure didn’t need to do that shit because my thoughts always circled around to Sam, to how wrong I’d been about her.
Digger leaned up against the wall beside me. A bass beat throbbed, and my nose was stuffed with the stench of raw sex.
“How long are you gonna keep playing the waiting game, man?”
“I’m done playin’, Digger.”
“Yeah? You still look like a pussy-whipped dickwad to me. Ya gotta get out, Easy. Find a willing bitch to spread her legs. If that doesn’t appeal, at least find one who’ll go on her knees and suck you off. Ain’t healthy for a Wolf to go without.”
“How long did it take you?”
His eyes narrowed, and I caught a hint of fang in his smile. “To do what? Fuck every whore in the clubhouse?”
Digger didn’t talk much, but we all knew there was something in his past haunting him. He was merciless to the club whores, taking sex from them and tossing them away when he was done. He never fucked the same girl twice.
“I got the door. Go get fucked.”
He shoved at my shoulder, pushing me off the barstool I’d hitched my hip on. If he was going to take my shift, I had a better idea. There was a bottle behind the bar with my name on it. I snagged it and headed to an empty party room in the back. One of the dancers slinked in a few minutes later.
“Digger sent me.” She pouted her lips like that made her look sexy or something. “I’m Lola. And you know what the song says, right?”
What the fuck was she talking about? I caught a whiff of her—cheap perfume and cheaper sex.
She dropped down on the couch beside me and rubbed my zipper. My dick didn’t respond. Instead of getting the message, she licked her lips. “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets, and right now I want you. In my mouth.”
I didn’t fight her. She got my jeans open and palmed my limp dick. There was only one bitch it wanted to play with and this bimbo wasn’t her. Undeterred, she stretched out on the couch, her head in my lap.
Licks. Sucks. Strokes. Playing with my balls. She tried everything. Turned out my dick did have a mind of its own, getting half-way hard, which in a human would be a major woody. She flashed me a look of triumph and really went to work. Maybe Digger was right. What was that saying about getting back on the horse? Only in this case, it was getting back on the whores.
SAM
I’D LEARNED ENOUGH living in the mountains to stay downwind of anything resembling a wild animal. The logical part of my brain still had trouble assimilating the idea that Easy and the rest of them turned into wolves, but I watched him from the safety of an abandoned apartment house. Once I figured out they’d moved the kids to Sunny and Repo’s, I discovered the boarded up slum. A pile of junk in the back provided a hiding spot for my Jeep, especially after I threw some tarps over it. I found a second floor apartment where I could see Sunny and Repo’s house and had a good view of the whole street. Using a crowbar from the Jeep, I pried just enough boards off the door so I could get in, but the place would still look abandoned. A couple of trips and I had my sleeping bag, camp stove, and ice chest installed. As long as it didn’t get too cold, I could camp out here until I got the kids back.
Only I didn’t know when that would be. They were happy. And safe. There was always at least one Nightrider around when they were at the house. Sunny acted like their mom. She baked cookies and took them to the nearby park. And when they played there, a silver-black and white wolf with blue eyes always watched them. Just like I did.
The first time I’d seen what I thought was an extraordinarily large Siberian husky, I panicked when Noni ran to the animal and threw her arms around its neck. The wind blew into my face that day, and I clearly heard the little girl.
“Dada. Da! Pay wif me.”
Noni patted the dog’s cheeks and kissed its nose before darting off in a crazy game of tag. Just like she did with Easy. And this game was a thing every time I followed them to the park. Today was the same.
That time I saw Easy shift from wolf to man, it was after sunset and he’d been in shadows. I didn’t get a close look at the wolf, only that there was an animal one minute and the next, a naked Easy stood there with something dark smeared across his chest and face. This is what he looked like in his wolf form. He was beautiful. I could see his blue eyes even from this distance, appreciated how gentle he was, how he tugged the back of Noni’s jacket when she got too close to the street and herded her back to Jonah and Sunny. Jojo threw a ball for him to chase and Easy did, over and over, patiently returning to my nephew.
When it came time to say goodbye, he let the kids hug him, and he licked their faces making both of them giggle. Then he trotted off, wild and so beautiful I had to breathe around the constriction in my chest. Breathing at that moment felt like when I’d been skiing hard and furious at high altitudes, sucking in air that stabbed my lungs with cold knive
s.
I hid behind a dumpster, watching until Sunny and the kids loaded up and drove away. The roar of two motorcycles echoed, following Sunny’s Charger. Prospects assigned to guard duty—which they took very seriously. The two men had stood close enough to me I overheard their conversation. Something happened to Easy after I left. Something horrible enough to make an indelible impression on them. I’d just seen Easy’s wolf so whatever it was, he’d survived, but at what cost? And was I the cause of his punishment?
Not sure if Easy would hang around in his wolf form, I delayed sneaking back to my temporary place. I trudged to the nearby McDonald’s and ordered from the dollar menu, got a giant drink, and settled in to eat and wait. After an hour, I headed out.
Three blocks from the apartment building, the hair on my neck prickled. I tried to check my back trail as surreptitiously as possible. I didn’t see anyone. The cars driving by didn’t look suspicious so I kept walking, though I stuck to the middle of the sidewalk and avoided the gathering shadows. Dark still came early this time of year.
I burrowed my chin into my jacket and tried to look unassuming and anonymous. In the back of my mind, I worried that one of the Wolves would recognize me. That would be a very bad thing. Unsure how I knew, I was positive that I’d crossed some sort of line. Persona non grata didn’t even come close to describing what I was to the Nightriders.
Sticking to the shadows now, I crept toward the staircase leading up to my squat. I’d climbed three steps when someone grabbed me from behind, and I knew I was in desperate trouble. Two men. They blindfolded and gagged me, tied my wrists and ankles, and one tossed me over his shoulder. I was dead. It didn’t matter if these guys were Hell Dogs or Nightriders. Either would kill me.
