Savage Kings MC Box Set 1

by Lane Hart

  “Not if it means giving up Audrey,” I say without hesitation.

  “She’s not a kid anymore, so War doesn’t get a say in who she dates,” Torin tells me. “It’s been months, so I think he’s willing to admit that now and move on.”

  “That’s not what he said at Thanksgiving,” I mutter.

  “Your legacy was the slap in the face War needed to get his head out of his ass and remember what this club is about,” Chase says. “So now it’s your turn to decide if you’re a Savage fucking King or not.”

  “I’m a King,” I tell them with a grin.

  “Good,” Torin responds. Sweeping his hand inside the garage, he walks in further and says, “Your chariot awaits.”

  “I can’t accept that bike from War,” I say as I follow him, Chase right behind me.

  “Understood,” Chase agrees. “But you will take these bikes because they’re classics, and Torin and I have enough Harleys to start another dealership.”

  “Wow,” I say as my gaze lands on the restored beauties.

  “These were Deacon’s, so we couldn’t get rid of them,” Torin tells me with a slap on the back. “And it’s a good thing too, because if he had known that he had a son, he would’ve wanted you to have them.”

  “Seriously?” I ask. “They were—”

  “Your father’s,” Torin answers. “And you’re probably going to get tired of us talking about him now…”

  “Never,” I assure him. “I want to know everything.”

  “We’ll go all the way back to the beginning and my journey down the King’s Road, when I first started prospecting,” Chase says. “Deacon gave me my cut right after my eighteenth birthday, when Torin was still in the Army.”

  “So, you patched in before Torin?” I ask in surprise. “Why didn’t you become president? No offense to you, Torin.”

  Chuckling, he says, “None taken. Chase was offered the gavel and he turned it down.”

  “Hell, I’m not president material and everyone has always known it,” Chase responds. “But who knows, maybe you are.”

  “Me?” I repeat.

  “Someone has to fill Torin’s shoes one of these days,” Chase points out.

  “And you think that could be me?”

  “You’re smart, and you keep your anger in check, even though I’m guessing you probably inherited the Fury temper,” Torin says.

  “I’ve let it out a few times,” I admit.

  “Did they deserve it?” Chase asks with an arched eyebrow.

  “Hell yes,” I answer without hesitation.

  “Then that’s all that matters,” he replies with a grin. “A leader has to keep a cool head when it counts. Not many of our brothers have that ability. Deacon always seemed so calm and in control. But one look at him and you knew that if he wanted, he could flip a switch and take on a giant if he needed to.”

  “He was a big guy?” I ask.

  “And tough as nails,” Torin responds. “He smoked a pack a day but could deadlift a truck.”

  “That’s what killed him, right? He died from lung cancer?”

  “Yep, right after I got out of prison,” Chase says grimly. “He promised me he would hold on until I got out and he did, barely.”

  “That was one of the best things about him,” Torin says. “Deacon was a man of his word. And too generous. If he told you he was going to do something, he did it. When I took over for him, the club’s books were in the negative. He had overextended himself, and had to use his own money to pay all the charities and veterans he helped year after year.”

  “Sorry, but there’s no inheritance, except for these bikes,” Chase tells me.

  “I don’t care about that. I never came here for money,” I explain. “I just wanted to know more about the man who was a missing piece of my life.”

  “We’ll share as many pictures and stories as you can handle,” Torin offers. “How about we head over to the bar and raise a beer to your old man?”

  “Sounds good,” I agree with a smile, anxious to try out one of my new bikes. These classics, I will graciously accept because they were my father’s. I hope Deacon would’ve been proud of me, the man I’ve become, and the King I’m going to be.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Audrey

  “Can I have everyone’s attention?” my brother shouts over the noise of the crowd and the thumping music. “I want you to all meet…my sister, Audrey.”

  Someone whistles and Warren glares in their direction. “She’s with Maddox, so all of you need to keep your hands off of her!” he yells. “Oh, and girls, you better leave Maddox alone too. Messing with him is messing with my sister.”

  “Yes, Daddy!” one of the guys calls out in a falsetto, and I get to see one of the rare times my brother flips someone the finger in front of me. Maybe he really is ready to admit I’ve grown up.

  “Thank you for inviting me,” I tell Warren.

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he huffs before slipping an arm around Nova’s shoulders. “You’re not a child. Blah, blah, blah. I get it, okay?”

  “I pity you, woman,” I say to Nova. “How do you put up with my brother’s constant need for control?”

  Her cheeks turn rosy red before she says, “Oh, we’ve found a few…creative ways to help him let out his dominating side.”

  Nose wrinkling with disgust, I grumble, “Eww, now I wish I hadn’t asked,” right before the door to the bar opens. I turn around just in time to see two tall, tough-looking bearded men walk in…followed by Maddox.

  Instead of yelling “Surprise!” there’s a chorus of deep masculine whoops in celebration as my man stares in shock at the large gathering of people. Most are Savage Kings interspersed with scantily-clad women.

  Elbowing my brother in his side, I hiss, “Go! Take him his cut.”

  “Fine,” Warren grumbles before he removes his arm from Nova. He then reaches for the leather cut that’s draped on one of the empty barstools. I follow him through the crowd that’s gathered around to greet Maddox, most of the men offering him handshakes and backslapping hugs.

  “Here,” I hear Warren say when he holds out the leather to Maddox. “Don’t step into this clubhouse again without it.”

  “Yes, sir.” Maddox starts to take the cut with a grin before his gaze drifts over Warren’s shoulder and he spots me.

  “Hey,” I say, with a little wave of my fingers.

  “Audrey!” Maddox looks from Warren to me several times with his jaw gaping. “What are you doing here?”

  “I made my brother give me a ride on his Harley.” I shoulder through to throw my arms around his neck. “Congratulations!” I tell him, placing a kiss to his cheek.

  “You knew about all this?” he asks.

  “I did,” I agree with a broad smile.

  I take the cut from my brother’s hands, holding it up for Maddox to slip on.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” he says as he puts one arm in and then the other.

  When the leather is finally where it belongs, I run both of my palms over his chest that’s now decorated with additional patches proclaiming him as a member. Seeing him wearing the cut again also reminds me of the first day we met. “This is a good look on you. I’ve missed it the last few months.”

  “Me too,” Maddox agrees, covering my hands with his. “Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?”

  “She is,” Warren speaks up before I can. “Trust me, I’ve tried my best to talk her out of it.”

  “You won’t regret it,” Maddox says with a kiss to my lips, even though I’m pretty sure he was talking to my brother as much as he was to me.

  “I know I won’t,” I reply before I kiss him back, harder this time, and with enough tongue that I hear Warren mutter a curse.

  He calls out, “Hurt her, and I’ll kill you,” then leaves us alone.

  “You must be Audrey,” a rumbly, authoritative voice says from beside us, followed by a chuckle. When I glance over at him, the bearded guy s
ays, “And you may want that key back for a little longer.”

  He holds up a keychain dangling from his finger that Maddox snatches from him with a word of thanks.

  “Congrats, brother,” another younger guy, one covered in tattoos, says when he strolls up to us with a beer in his hand. “Let me know when you’re ready to get your new ink.”

  “New ink?” I ask.

  “The Savage Kings patches,” Maddox responds. “And I can’t wait,” he tells the guy who I’m assuming must do the club’s tattoos. “Any chance we could do it later tonight?”

  “Absolutely,” the man agrees. “We can get started, but it may take a few days to do your entire back.”

  “Actually, Gabe, man, if it’s okay, I was thinking about putting mine here,” Maddox says, flattening his palm on the left side of his chest. “Will that work?”

  “That will look awesome, brother. I’ve used photos of the ink on all the original members to design the new ones. That’s exactly where Deacon had his.”

  “No shit?” Maddox asks.

  “Yeah, it was Chase who got the Kings’ back tat trend started,” Gabe responds. “But I’m all for something new.”

  “Thanks, Gabe,” Maddox says, offering him a fist bump.

  “Come over to the shop whenever you’re ready,” he tells him.

  “We’re probably gonna celebrate for a few hours first,” Maddox says, pulling me closer.

  “Understood,” Gabe replies with a chuckle, then disappears back into the crowd.

  “So how do you plan for us to celebrate for the next few hours?” I look up at Maddox’s face.

  “I think you can guess,” he answers with a grin.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Maddox

  “Come on,” I tell Audrey as I pull her by her hand over to the door that leads to the basement, once we get a chance to slip away.

  “Where are we going?” she asks as I punch in the code and start down the steps.

  “I want to show you where I’ve lived the last few years,” I reply, looking over my shoulder at her when we get to the bottom. “And I can’t wait another second to strip you naked and lick you from—”

  “Just the man I was coming to see!” Reece’s loud voice interrupts before I can finish my sentence. “Good to see you back here, brother! I saw you come in with Torin and Chase.”

  Turning to face him, I ask with a smirk, “You don’t have cameras hidden in the apartments, do you?”

  Scoffing, he says, “No, and it’s not my fault if people decide to fuck in public places where my security cameras just so happen to be located. Speaking of which, hello, Audrey. Nice to finally meet you in person.” Reece holds out his hand to Audrey, who takes it with her eyebrows raised in confusion.

  “Reece handles the club’s IT shit and he monitors the club’s, um, perimeter,” I explain to her.

  “Oh, it’s nice to meet you too,” Audrey replies, then adds, “Ohhh,” when it dawns on her he saw us when we got busy in the alley. I hadn’t told her because I didn’t want her to be embarrassed.

  “Go find your own woman to do dirty things with instead of watching other people, old man,” I tease Reece before I pull Audrey away and into my old apartment.

  “He watched us?” is the first thing she asks when I shut and lock the door.

  “Ah, yeah. I knew cameras were around outside, but I didn’t think they would be right up on us. Sorry,” I tell her.

  “It’s okay,” she replies. “Guess the chance of getting caught or being watched by someone else is why sex in public is so fun.”

  “Yeah,” I agree with a smile, glad that she’s not upset. “You up for having a little fun in private?”

  “God, yes,” Audrey agrees as she moves in front of me and grips the opening of my leather cut in both of her hands. “But this time, I want you to keep this on.”

  “Done, baby,” I easily agree since I wasn’t ready to take it off just yet. Today seems almost too good to be true.

  I’ve been given everything I’ve ever wanted, and more.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Maddox

  Later that night, when Audrey and I are back upstairs, War and Nova come over to our table in the corner and sit down with us. I’ve got a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a two-liter of Coke sitting in front of me. Once I pour Audrey and myself a fresh round, War picks up the bottle and takes a long pull.

  “I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you enough earlier,” War says as he wipes at his lips.

  “About what?” Audrey asks.

  “Not you, him,” War snorts. “Even with the birth certificate on Thanksgiving, I was still, I don’t know, skeptical of everything…”

  “You were being stubborn, and a bit of a d-i-c-k,” Nova interrupts.

  “Yeah, that too,” War agrees. “Anyhow, I made Reece run your records again, you know, so I could see things for myself, and…” he trails off to take another pull from the bottle. “I saw a police report with your name on it, from when you two were down in Wilmington during the storm. Report says there were some looters in her building, and you fought them off and then turned them over to the Guard out there.”

  “Yeah, it was a crazy few days,” I admit to him. “We should have told you about that too, but I just didn’t know how to tell you about Audrey and I after…I don’t know, man, after all you have been to me, you understand? You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a real father, and I didn’t want to disappoint you…”

  “Disappoint me?” War scoffs. “When I read that shit, I was so damn proud of you. You took care of her, maybe not like I asked you too, but the best way that you could. She’s just as stubborn as I am in her own way.”

  “Hey!” Audrey protests, kicking at War under the table.

  “Keep your pointy-ass toes to yourself, woman,” War snarls playfully before taking another drink. “I talked to Nova about it, and she convinced me to say…” War trails off, looking at Nova, almost helplessly.

  “It’s all right, you can do it. Spit it out, Warren,” Nova reassures him.

  With a heavy sigh, War says, “Reading that report made me realize that you belong here. Both of you. Audrey, you deserve the truth, from me, from Maddox, hell, from everyone in your life. And Maddox, boy…you deserve your place in the Kings and with my sister. You could ride a lot further and a lot harder, and I don’t think you two would ever find a better match for each other. I’m glad you’re together, even though I don’t always like looking right at it.”

  As soon as he finishes talking, War gives a firm nod to Nova, then stands up from the table, the bottle of Jack Daniel’s still clutched in his massive grip. “I’ll bring another bottle,” he mutters before he stomps away.

  “Give him a minute.” Nova smiles. “He needs to compose himself after getting all that off his chest.”

  “War!” I call out to him before he can get further away. When he turns around, scowling, I hold up Audrey’s hand, our fingers intertwined. “Thank you, brother. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

  Warren gives me another of his nods then turns away, but not before the overhead lights catch the shine of wetness in his eyes. He raises a hand to swipe at his face as he stomps off to the bar.

  “Don’t mention that when he comes back,” Audrey cautions me.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I snort.

  I keep half my attention on the big man as he stands by the bar, noticing that Reece walks over to him and leans in close to speak with him. When War turns to come back to the table, he jerks his head for Reece to follow him over. Reece pulls up a nearby empty chair, then sets his beer on the table as he sits down with us.

  “Well, this is unusual.” I grin at Reece. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company this evening? What brings you up out of the dungeon?”

  Reece sits up and cranes his neck to look around the crowded bar, then turns back to us with a slight frown. “I was just asking around to see if anyone had seen Cy
nthia. I’ve been kind of busy dealing with some things with Dalton, and just realized I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

  “You are looking for Cynthia?” I ask in surprise.

  Thinking that I don’t know exactly who she is, he starts describing her. “Tall, wavy red hair, kind of…” Reece trails off and flushes slightly as he looks between Audrey and Nova, then mumbles, “Kind of stacked, I guess is a polite way to say it?”

  “Is this Cynthia your girlfriend?” Audrey asks, causing War to snort as he takes another shot of Jack, then starts coughing violently.

  Reece reaches over and pounds War on the back a few times, until his spluttering cough turns into laughter. “Cynthia is everybody’s…friend, and nobody’s girl,” War finally manages to choke out.

  “War! That’s terrible,” Nova protests, even though she grins slightly as she looks around at some of the club’s other ladies. “I take it she’s one of the, uh, regulars?”

  Reece nods, and says, “Yeah, she’s been hanging around for a while now, looking for an old man, I guess.”

  “You thinking about filling that position?” I ask him pointedly.

  “No,” Reece protests, a bit too quickly and loudly in my ear. “I’m just…I’m supposed to look out for threats to the club, and if something has happened to her, it’s important I find out what, that’s all.”

  “Well, you were going to run that plate number for Mike’s old lady the other day. You’re bound to have this girl Cynthia’s, if she ever drove over here. Could you try to track her down?” I ask him.

  “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.” Reece sighs. “It feels…I don’t know, like I’m being a stalker or something. I guess I don’t have much choice, though, if she doesn’t show up tonight.”

  “When has feeling like a stalker or a Peeping Tom ever bothered you?” Audrey asks, this time, making me snort and choke on my drink. If War ever heard about that incident in the alleyway, god help us all!