Dead Souls MC: Prospects Series Books 1-5

by Savannah Rylan

  “Apple juice for me, though,” Monroe said.

  “I’ll get the snacks!” Piper said.

  “I’ll go check on all the kids,” Makenna said.

  “And you, come sit by me. Come on. Get away from the window. You’re going to worry yourself sick,” Brynn said.

  I let her guide me to the couch as the girls rushed off into various areas of the clubhouse. I heard televisions going with movies and kids kindly asking for sippies and juice boxes. I looked over at Monroe and saw her mindlessly stroking her stomach. The softly-protruding belly that housed yet another life she’d bring into this world. Into this lifestyle.

  How did they do it?

  “They’re going to be okay,” Brynn said.

  A glass of wine was placed in my hand as the girls came and sat back down. They stared at me, and I wondered how long they’d been there. How long they’d been watching me stare mindlessly at Monroe.

  “It’s okay. You can ask whatever you want,” she said.

  I sighed. “I don’t get it. If things can get this dangerous, why have kids? Why subject them to that?”

  Monroe nodded. “Like Brynn said, it’s not always like this. This is a rare occurrence. And when it happens, there are protocols in place that keep our families safe.”

  “So, they’re all coming back? You have faith in that?”

  Piper nodded. “Yes, they’re coming back. Ryker, too. All of them are. I promise.”

  “We promise,” Monroe said.

  “Sip your wine. It’ll help relax you,” Brynn said.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to have wine again,” Monroe groaned.

  I took a sip of my drink. “So, how did you guys get tangled up in all this… shit?”

  Makenna giggled. “That story starts with Diesel not knowing he had a brother out there.”

  “That’s your husband, Brynn. Right?” I asked.

  “Yep. He’s the president of this crazy club. You know Cage, right?” she asked.

  I paused. “I’m not sure.”

  “The one with the dark, brooding girlfriend at his side?” Monroe asked.

  “Oh! Oh, oh, oh. Yes. That one. Okay. Wait, him and Diesel are—”

  “Uh huh. Half-brothers. Same father, different mother. When Cage and Sutton stumbled up to our doorstep, Cage had literally been shot at. Sutton was hungry. Dirty. Dehydrated. They were really beat up. The guy who heads up this group that’s coming after us? He wiped out Cage’s father’s crew,” Brynn said.

  “You’re going too quickly for her. Look at the poor girl’s face,” Piper said.

  “I think I’ve got it. So, Diesel and Cage have the same dad. Cage was in a crew with their father that got wiped out by the mafia?” I asked.

  “You’ve got it. He came to find us after his father’s dying words were to find Diesel. And we’ve been entrenched ever since,” Makenna said.

  I shook my head. “But—but why?”

  “I mean, other than Cage being the only surviving member and a witness to what this man did to his father’s crew? That girl? The dark one?” Piper asked.

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “Sutton is Lars’ daughter,” Brynn said.

  “Oh, shit,” I said.

  “Yep. He wants his daughter back. So, he’s coming at us hard. But he isn’t getting her back. Not by a longshot,” Monroe said.

  “Forgive me for playing this side of the fence, but why not? It’s putting all of your children at risk. It’s putting you guys at risk. Why not just hand them both over and be done with it?” I asked.

  Brynn shrugged. “Because we’re family.”

  “And family doesn’t sell one another out,” Monroe said.

  Suddenly, it all made sense. How the crew had gotten involved in all this. Why my brother’s boss was coming at them so hard. Why they refused to back down. They saw themselves as one gigantic family. With respect and trust running abound between all of them. The idea robbed me of my breath. In all my life, I’d never once trusted my mother. Or my father, for that matter. So, trusting people that weren’t related to me by blood? It was unthinkable. And yet, here they were. Doing it as if it seemed natural to them.

  It brought tears to my eyes.

  “You okay?” Brynn asked.

  I nodded, taking a long pull of my wine. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good.”

  “Now, why don’t I believe that?” Piper asked.

  Because I feel empty inside. “Just need a bit to process things.”

  “Take your time,” Brynn said.

  “So, you guys have just been fighting to keep family alive,” I said.

  “Hit the nail on the head,” Makenna said.

  “And we wouldn't have it any other way,” Brynn said.

  I saw them all in a new light now. Not a selfish light, but a giving light. A loving light. I fell in love with this place. With these people. With their hearts and their minds and their souls. Which only exacerbated the loneliness I felt on the inside. Because I’d never experience something like that.

  And I never would.

  “You’re closer than you think, you know,” Monroe said.

  Her voice pulled my eyes toward her. “What was that?”

  “I know that look. I had that look on my face several times in the mornings before I met my husband. You’re closer than you think to all this.”

  She rubbed my back with her hand softly as her free hand fell against her stomach. I processed her words. Digested them as best as I could. What did she mean by that? Closer than I thought to… what? Being family? Being one of them? Being loved? Being accepted?

  I had so many questions. So many other things I wanted to ask them. About Ryker. About this crew. About their time in this place. About their children and their lives and how they came to meet their significant others.

  But before I could, rumbling filled our ears. Brynn shot off the couch, and I followed quickly in suit. I reached down and pulled Monroe to her feet, listening as her groans were swallowed whole by the sounds of bikes.

  Motorcycles.

  Revving just outside the clubhouse.

  “They’re back,” Brynn said breathlessly.

  I watched her stride for the front door, a voice raising above the ruckus. I stood there, figuring I couldn't have possibly heard what I thought I was hearing. The voice sounded familiar. Recognizable. Like a ghost from a different past. The voice was desperate. Concerned. Searching, as it grew louder and louder.

  A voice I thought I’d never hear again, given our last conversation.

  “Kaylynn! Are you here!?”

  “Who’s that?” Piper asked.

  Tears dripped down my cheeks. “That’s my brother.”

  Holy shit, my brother was at the clubhouse. Alive. Breathing.

  And calling out for me as the sounds of the bikes died down.

  25

  Ryker

  “I knew you had something up your sleeve.”

  I put my earpiece back in long enough to hear Lars growl. Gunshots rang out as I grabbed Alex, yanking him across the street. He fought me before bullets whizzed by us. Knox sat on the roof, popping off shots while Grave held the door open for us.

  “What the fuck are we supposed to do now!?” Alex roared.

  “I’ve lost him,” Brewer said.

  “Keep an eye out, boys! We’ve lost Diesel on the video!” Rock exclaimed.

  I positioned Alex at a window down on his knees. Then, I motioned for him to start firing. The prospects ran around the building, their guns drawn as cars rushed by. People stopped to gawk. Women and children cried out as they clung to their husbands. Their fathers. Their protectors. Grave rushed out onto the sidewalk and started ushering people away from the firefight. Away from the stray bullets that pierced windows and went flying into other, unassuming buildings.

  Shit had officially hit the fan.

  “Diesel! Can you hear me?” I asked.

  But only static came through my earpiece.

  “Saint, you got eyes
on him?” Brewer asked.

  “Nope,” he said.

  “Bear?”

  “Not here, either.”

  “Toxin, tell me you’ve got something.”

  “Neither him nor me have anything. I’ve got no clue where they’ve gone,” Cage said.

  I looked sharply at Alex. “Tell me about this building.”

  He popped off shots at men coming out of the building. Men dressed in tailored suits like the one I’d once seen him in. I stuck my gun out the window and pulled the trigger, not even bothering to look as I landed shots left and right.

  And after Alex was done gawking at me, he sighed.

  “There’s a basement to that building. There might be an exit down that way,” he said.

  “Fuck,” I growled.

  “What is it now?” Toxin spat.

  “There’s a basement. We have to assume Lars is taking Diesel there,” I said.

  “On it,” Bear said.

  I watched Bear and Saint run into the building. They kept chattering in our ear as gunshots rang out. I dipped down, nestled beside Alex as he breathed slowly and tried to control the shaking of his body. I felt bad for the boy. But he needed to step up. He needed to help us.

  It was too late, though.

  “They’ve got Diesel! Lars has Diesel!” Bear exclaimed.

  “Well, can you get him away from Lars?” Brewer asked.

  “Not without hurting our president,” Saint said.

  “Where are they now?” Grave asked.

  “I don’t see them from the rooftop,” Knox said.

  Then, we all heard sirens in the distance.

  “Shit,” Brewer hissed.

  “We have to get out of here,” Alex said.

  “Not without Diesel. We have to get him out, too,” I said.

  “Fall back,” Bear said.

  “Excuse me?” Rock asked.

  “He said, fall back,” Saint said.

  Brewer paused. “He gave you the signal, didn’t he?”

  Everything came to a dead standstill before Bear’s voice filled our ears.

  “He did. Fall back, everyone.”

  “What’s happening?” Alex asked.

  I yanked him off the floor. “Diesel’s sacrificing himself.”

  It all happened so fast I wasn’t sure how to process it. We all packed up and rushed to our bikes. And as we sped away with Alex on the back of mine, a black SUV pulled up. I looked in my rearview mirror long enough to see Lars shove Diesel into the blacked-out car. And part of me wanted to turn around. Follow that damn thing until they ran out of gas.

  But I kept onward. Hoping and praying Diesel had a plan that didn’t end in his death.

  We all rode in a daze back to the clubhouse. Thankfully, no one had been hurt. But we’d never left a scene while leaving someone behind. And none of us knew how to feel about it. Our engines roared as we raced into the parking lot. We parked our bikes, with the roar of the engines filling the space around us.

  Then, Alex threw himself off the back of my bike.

  “Kaylynn!”

  He yelled for his sister as he stumbled toward the porch steps.

  “Kaylynn! Are you here!?”

  I turned off my bike as the front door was thrown open. And soon, Kaylynn appeared. She cried out with happiness and threw herself into her brother’s arms. Sobbing into him as he held her close. The guys came up and patted me on the back, tossing me some disgusting looks in the process. But, nonetheless, they silently congratulated me for the reunion.

  I knew it wouldn’t last long, though.

  We all trudged up to the lodge and Kaylynn pulled away from her brother. She wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing my cheek and my jawline. I fisted her hair softly. I captured her lips before all hell broke loose again.

  “Are you okay?” Kaylynn whispered.

  And just as I went to respond, a blood-curdling scream filled the air.

  “Nooooo!”

  My eyes closed and my heart shattered in my chest. Brynn’s sobs encapsulated the room, obliterating any hope of a reunion we had with our families. I turned my head, watching her collapse into Grave’s arms as his own eyes welled with tears.

  I kissed the top of Kaylynn’s head as her brother rubbed her back. It was the oddest of reunions, but I cherished it.

  Mostly, because any of us could’ve left our women in the state Brynn was currently in.

  “What happened?” Kaylynn whispered.

  I swallowed hard. “Diesel couldn't get out of the meeting we had planned with Lars. He sacrificed himself to get us all out of there.”

  She paused. “He’s…?”

  “No. But he’ll be close to it if we don’t come up with a plan,” Alex said.

  “Will you guys get him back?” Kaylynn asked.

  I kissed her head again. “You bet your ass we will.”

  She sniffled. “Is it bad I’m glad it wasn’t you?”

  I crooked my finger underneath her chin and tilted her eyes up to mine.

  “No. It’s not bad. Because I love you too, Kaylynn.”

  She drew in a shuddered breath. “I love you so much, Ryker. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but—”

  I captured her lips, but not before shooting her brother a look. I didn’t want him ruining any shred of this moment for his sister. But he didn’t look as angry or disgusted as I figured he would. The kiss was soft. Tender. Fraught with gratefulness and filled with need. I slid my fingers through her hair, then pulled away softly. And as our forehead fell together, I felt all eyes on us.

  The guys stared with knowing looks on their faces.

  “Hate to break up the party, but we need to start talking. Now,” Knox said.

  I kissed the tip of Kaylynn’s nose. “Time to go to work.”

  “What do you guys want me to do?” Alex asked.

  But before we could answer, Grave’s phone rang.

  We all looked at him with wary glances as he pulled away from Brynn. I watched the girls come up and pull her off to the side, brushing her tears away and tucking her hair behind her ear. Kaylynn kissed my cheek before she walked off, at the ready to help in any way she needed with them. It was the sweetest thing, watching her bond with them. Watching her help console Brynn through this trying time.

  She’d fit in just fine with this growing family of ours.

  “It’s him,” Grave said.

  We all snapped to attention and I grabbed Alex. I pulled him over, placing him beside Rock so we all knew he wouldn't go anywhere. He put the phone on speaker as we gathered around it, hoping our bodies and muscles buffered the sound of the phone call. Because the last thing Brynn needed to hear was whatever threat was about to come our way.

  “We want to hear his voice,” Grave finally said.

  “You’ll get nothing of the sort because you don’t get to make demands. I held up my end of the bargain. But your president didn’t hold up his,” Lars growled.

  “Did you really expect him to come unaccompanied when you didn’t come unaccompanied?”

  “Not my problem your president doesn’t understand how to negotiate terms like that. So, here are the new terms. I found the mic. I know you guys were listening. Which means you’re familiar with my terms.”

  Grave nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good. Saves me some time. I get what I want, or I start sending Diesel back in pieces. Got it?”

  “Now hold on just a second. We can figure out a way to—”

  “I get what I’ve asked for, or you get nothing. Except a piece of your fucking president every week for the next year. Understood?”

  And before Grave could say anything, Lars hung up the phone call. Leaving us all standing around with our dicks between our legs and Brynn’s sobs flooding our ears from the hallway.

  Toxin

  1

  Toxin

  I sat on the couch, watching everyone as they passed me by. Monroe, with her steadily growing baby bump. The kids, rushing around and y
elling at one another before eventually kicking a ball that resulted in something broken. Something Diesel would have me fix. How the fuck did I end up with that role? The fixer-upper? The man that put in new fucking windows, picked up glasses they broke, and swept whenever ceramic shattered everywhere?

  I wasn’t a fucking housewife to these assholes.

  The guys had been bent out of shape all damn day. I mean, I got it. Our damn president was nowhere to be found. But, seriously? Bear walked around in a fucking trance, Cage couldn't stop tearing up like a little bitch, Grave grumbled at everyone as he barked orders because he was apparently the next one in succession to boss us around some more, and Ryker kept going on about how he felt responsible. How he felt this was his fault.

  Yes, you asshole. This is your fault.

  “Toxin.”

  “What?”

  I looked over at Grave as he eyed me hotly.

  “Why don’t you tuck in that attitude and go get the rest of the guys. We need a meeting,” he said.

  I shrugged. “You get ‘em. It’s your meeting.”

  “You go get them, or you can hand me your cut.”

  “I wonder how Diesel would feel about that.”

  “He won’t feel any sort of way if Lars kills him before we can get there. Now go. Get. The guys.”

  I rolled my eyes and shoved myself off the couch. Whatever. I guess I’d be their errand boy, too. Not like I needed this group of ding dongs anyway. Grave and Brewer felt like they were practically my saviors. Men who pulled me out of some mire and tossed me into some group they thought might be good for me. I didn’t need a savior, though. I didn’t need anyone to pull me out of shit.

  Not my fault Brewer found me rummaging around in the trash and felt sorry for my ass.

  “Hey! Guys! Church!” I exclaimed.

  “Can you not yell and bother the kids?” Grave asked.

  “Can you stop having kids long enough for us to dig ourselves out of shit?” I asked.

  “One more word—”

  “Or what?”

  “All right. You two calm down. I swear to fuck, you’re always on each other’s cases,” Brewer said.