Poseidon’s Lady
Poseidon’s Warriors Book 1
Darlene Tallman
Contents
Acknowledgments
POSEIDON’S WARRIORS MC
Blurb
Prologue
1. Lillianna
2. Lillianna
3. Lillianna
4. Lillianna
5. Poseidon
6. Poseidon
7. Lilli
8. Lilli
9. Lilli
10. Lilli
11. Lilli
12. Lilli
13. Lilli
14. Lilli
15. Poseidon
16. Poseidon
17. Lilli
18. Lilli
19. Poseidon
20. Poseidon
Epilogue
★★Darlene Tallman★★
Books by Darlene
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved.
Poseidon’s Lady
A Poseidon’s Warriors MC novel - Book One
Copyright 2020 ©Darlene Tallman
Excerpt first published in An Alpha With A Heart Anthology, Copyright 2020
Published by: Darlene Tallman
Format by: Liberty Parker
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from Darlene Tallman, the author / publisher.
Editors: Mary Kern, Melanie Gray, Shannon McFadden, Beth DiLoreto, Nicole McVey, Jeni Clancy
Formatter: Liberty Parker
Photo by: Golden Czermak of Furious Fotog
Model: Kevin R. Davis
Cover by: Tracie Douglas of Dark Water Covers
Acknowledgments
I typically write my acknowledgements at the beginning, before I start writing the actual book and this time is no different. This time, I have to acknowledge Golden Czermak. He’s a multi-faceted, multi-talented individual within this crazy industry; author, model, fantastic photographer; and he gave me the perfect image for Poseidon in Kevin! His commitment to this industry, to his followers, and to the models he shoots is beyond commendable in my opinion and I’m glad I’ve gotten to meet him and work with him on this and several other projects!
Dedication
To everyone who keeps on trying even when they’ve fallen down.
POSEIDON’S WARRIORS MC
Members
Jesse “Poseidon” Malone - President
Callum “Loki” O’Rourke - Vice President
Brock “Trident” Storm - Enforcer
Gannon Brooks - Sergeant-at-Arms
Ky “Orion” Stanford - Treasurer
Beck “Atlas” Crandall - Secretary
Tyson “Specks” Leone - IT
Leif “Reef” Collins - Road Captain
Prospects
Asa
Nate
Dutch
Blurb
Poseidon Malone is on his annual retreat at his grandfather’s one-room cabin. Since separating from the U.S. Navy as a SEAL, he and his unit have established a legit motorcycle club in coastal Georgia. Life is good but he’s lonely and the easy women that come around when they have a party just aren’t cutting it any more.
He never expects his ‘one’ to pass out at his feet.
Lillianna Rose is on the run from her best friend, as well as her fiancé. Finding out that they’ve been cheating on her isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back, however; no, it was their nefarious plot that sent her on the run.
When her car breaks down in the North Georgia mountains, she sets out on foot in one of the worst snowstorms recorded.
When she wakes up, she finds her future.
**Suitable for ages 18+ due to strong language and adult content**
Prologue
Poseidon / Jesse
Twenty years ago, Age fifteen
I wake up when I feel a cold hand touch my cheek. “Winnie?” I mumble, almost incoherently. “That you?” My best friend and neighbor, Winnie, has been crawling into my window and sleeping curled up next to me for years now, ever since her step-father started beating on her mom. When shit hit the fan, she would lock her bedroom door and climb out her window then into mine. The first time she did it, she was eight and I was ten, so by now, my mom was used to coming in and finding her asleep next to me.
“C-c-c-old, Jesse,” she says. I realize her hand is colder than normal and reach out to turn on the light next to my bed before I roll over.
I freeze. She’s covered in blood. Head, face, chest, arms. Everywhere I look, I see blood.
“Winnie? What the fuck happened?”
“B-b-b-art,” she stammers out, her teeth chattering. I’ve got to get my mom. She can help. I know she can.
Climbing out of the bottom of the bed, I grab the blanket and gently cover Winnie up. “I’m getting Mom, Winnie. Hang on,” I whisper. I won’t think about the fact that her normally golden-tone skin is grayish looking. Or that her lips that are generally red enough she doesn’t need to think about lipstick are blue.
Hurrying down the hall, I run into my mom’s bedroom and shake her shoulder. “Mom, Mom. Wake up! Winnie’s hurt, Mom. You’ve gotta help her!” Once I see she’s awake, I rush back down to my room and turn on the overhead light. Winnie hasn’t moved and her eyes are closed and my heart clenches in my chest.
“Winnie? Mom’s coming, hold on,” I chant, crouching on the floor next to her. I don’t know where to touch because she’s hurt everywhere, and I won’t bring my best friend more pain. My mom runs into the room and I see the horror on her face for a few seconds before she wipes it away and starts issuing orders.
“Jesse, hon, I need you to call an ambulance and the police while I see what I can do, okay?” she asks, moving toward Winnie, her bag in hand. She’s a traveling nurse practitioner and has gotten used to patching us up.
I nod and leave my room again, grabbing the phone and making the call my mom asked me to make. I turn the outside lights on and unlock the front door and go back to my room, only to hear my mom quietly crying as she works on my best friend.
“I can help, Mom,” I say. “Please, let me help.”
She nods and hands me some gloves that I slip on before I grab a gauze pad and try to stop the bleeding. Winnie’s eyes are closed and her breathing is shallow, so shallow I have to look closely to make sure she’s still alive.
“Is she… is she going to be okay, Mom?” I ask. I can hear the tremble in my voice, but this is Winnie. My Winnie.
“I don’t know, Jesse. She’s in pretty bad shape.”
I don’t feel my tears as they slide down my face while I help my mom try to stop the bleeding and clean her up. When I feel cold fingers touch me again, I glance down and see Winnie looking at me. Well, as best as she can, seeing as one eye is swollen shut. “Jesse,” she says.
“Shhhh, Winnie, rest. The ambulance is on the way,” I reply.
“I love you.”
“Love you too, my Winnie,” I tell her. And I do. Maybe it’s that innocent, kid kind of love, but we’ve been thicker than thieves for years and I don’t know where I end and she begins. As far as I�
�m concerned, she’s my girl. Always will be.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” I ask. If she’s talking she’s gonna be okay, right?
“My… my fault. All of it,” she replies.
“No it’s not. Nothing you could have done deserves this at all!” I angrily state. “Now, rest, the ambulance should be here in a few minutes. You’ll be just fine.”
She closes her eyes and smiles and I see her take a breath. Then nothing.
Lillianna/ Lilli
Sixteen years ago, age 13
It’s my first day of middle school in a new town and I’m nervous. What if I don’t make any friends? I hate that my dad’s job caused us to transfer, but according to him and my mom, it’s a great opportunity for us all. Sighing, I walk out of the office with my schedule and head toward my locker with another girl by my side. “I’m Kassidy,” she says.
“Lillianna,” I reply.
She takes my schedule and looks it over. “Oh, awesome, we’ve got several classes together, as well as lunch! You can sit by me and I’ll introduce you to everyone, okay?”
“That sounds good to me.” I’m grateful for her offering of friendship. Well, companionship, but it all feels the same to me right now.
“I like your hair, did you do it yourself?” she asks. I think about my French braid and finally, I nod.
“Yeah, one of my mom’s friends is a hairdresser and she taught me how to do it since my mom has fumble fingers.” She giggles at what I’ve said and I find myself smiling back at her.
“I think we’re going to be the best of friends,” Kassidy states as we find my locker. “Mine is right here,” she continues, pointing to a locker two spaces down from mine. Once I’ve managed to get it unlocked, I stow my backpack inside after pulling out my Trapper Keeper and a few pens and pencils.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I say.
“You sound like you’re about to face a firing squad. I promise, we’re not that bad!”
I keep my thoughts to myself; this move was huge and leaving friends behind that I’ve known since kindergarten along with both sets of my grandparents, has me reeling a bit. On to a new adventure as my mom proclaimed as she dropped me off. Maybe this won’t be so bad afterall.
Lillianna
I’m holding my breath so hard right now, I see stars dancing behind my closed eyelids. I can’t believe what I’ve just heard and learned. I would puke, but that would draw unwanted attention to me, and that’s something I don’t need nor can afford to have happen right now. My knees begin to quiver as I tune back into their conversation.
“You’re sure she doesn’t suspect anything?” Kassidy asks.
“Not a fucking thing,” Anson replies. “We’ve got two weeks to go, then we’ll be on easy street, baby doll.”
These are the two people I’ve trusted most in this world, and they’ve betrayed me. My best friend and my fiancé, how could they? As quietly as I can, I force my feet to move and slip out, heading outside to my car. Once I make it back to my apartment unseen, I quickly begin throwing the belongings I can’t live without into my backpack, grab my electronics and chargers, then head out. I stop by the bank, which is thankfully open, and close down my savings and checking accounts. It’s only a couple of grand; but it should see me through until I can find someplace to lay down some roots.
Fuck you, asshole. I’m outta here.
Poseidon
I think I picked the worst week to come up to my granddad’s cabin. The forecast is now calling for blizzard-like conditions. As I carry in more wood, I’m grateful that I had the foresight to bring plenty of food because it looks like I might be here longer than I initially expected to be. Once I’m as prepared as I can be, I take out my phone and call my vice president, Loki.
“Yo,” he says, picking up on the first ring.
“Did you see the weather?” I inquire.
“You’re so fucked, man. So fucked.” He laughs and if I could, I’d punch him in the throat.
“Whatever. I’ve got what I need. Everything good there?”
“Yep. Shop’s doing well and Brooks just got a fucking ace contract for another club’s bikes. They saw his work down in Destin and reached out to see if he could paint their bikes with their logo.”
“What’s the club name?” I question. I’m okay with our custom shop working with other clubs because their money is green, but I wanna make sure it’s someone who isn’t gonna try and fuck us over.
“Some club here in Georgia, believe it or not. Heaven’s Sinners MC.”
I don’t say anything for a minute as I think over the clubs I know of, at least in our neck of the woods. “Christian MC that has two charters? One in North Georgia, one in South Georgia?”
“Fuck, we shoulda called you Steel. Your brain is like a steel trap.”
“What-the-fuck-ever. Well, I get a decent signal out here, so if y’all need me, call.”
“We got it, Poseidon. See ya when we see ya.” He disconnects the call, leaving me staring at the blazing fire. Seeing the stonework sends me down memory lane to a time that was a lot slower and still had my granddad on this side of the grass.
Lillianna
“Fuck, the snow’s coming down harder,” I yell out as I see the snow dancing on the windshield. Right now, it’s coming down so hard, I’m barely moving along on some back road in the mountains. Maybe I should’ve headed south, but the mountains have always been where I’ve felt at home, so I went north instead. “This wasn’t your brightest idea, Lillianna Rose,” I tell myself. The radio stations are getting shitty reception, so I’m now talking to myself out loud.
Isn’t that the first sign of insanity?
“You’re not going crazy, you’re pissed off. Big difference. Huge difference.”
When I see several lights flash on my dashboard panel, I groan. Looks like I’m gonna be hoofing it from here. I pull over as far as I dare, then turn the car off. Reaching over to the passenger seat, I grab my backpack and open it. When I feel my hoodie, I pull it out and slip it on. Hopefully, I can find help pretty quick, because I’m not dressed for a long trek through Mother Nature’s temper tantrum, that’s for damn sure.
“I’m lost,” I admit an hour later. I’m also soaked to the skin and beginning to realize that I might not survive this getaway. Of course, if I had stayed put, I wouldn’t survive what Kassidy and Anson were planning either. I hope that what they’ve given me so far has done no damage. Guess I need to find a doctor and get that sorted out, but right now, I’ve got more pressing issues. I keep putting one wet foot in front of the other, praying that I’ll come across a house or a cabin. Something. Anything.
Another thirty minutes go by before I spot smoke coming from a chimney and see lights in a window. “Thank the Maker!” I shout, my teeth chattering so hard I’m pretty sure I’ve cracked a few at this point. I’m cold, so fucking cold, and I really want to just curl up under a tree, but I know that means certain death for me.
Not today, Satan. Not today.
It takes longer than I expect to get down to where the cabin is and by the time I step onto the porch, I can no longer feel any of my body parts. My tears have frozen on my face and I’m pretty sure that the devil himself could be behind the door and I’d welcome him with open arms. I knock but it sounds weak, even to my own frozen ears.
Taking my backpack, I swing it at the door and wait.
Poseidon
I hear something strike the door. Standing, I make sure I’ve got my gun in the back of my waistband, then head to the window. The snow is blowing hard, I can barely make out a small, shadowed shape standing in front of the door.
Opening up the door, I catch a glimpse of chocolate brown eyes staring right up at me, then hear, “H-h-help me,” before the petite woman drops at my feet. My body instantly reacts to the collapsing woman.
This isn’t the way I envisioned a woman falling at my feet.
Quickly picking up her limp form, I clo
se the door after glancing around to make sure she’s alone. The cabin isn’t exactly on a main road, so the fact that someone found it, let alone on foot, is a bit troubling. I’m so far off the beaten path, that someone needs to know the area well in order to find me. Shaking my head, I carry her over to the couch. “Shit, you’re half frozen,” I murmur to the passed-out woman in my arms, getting my first true glimpse of her. She’s petite, with dark hair, and based on her outfit, she wasn’t planning on a trek through the woods in the deep snow. “Let’s get this off of you.” I keep up a running commentary since she’s still out, more to have something to do than anything. The hoodie is the first item to go, then her boots. Her feet are so cold through her socks that I grimace.
“I need to get you warmed up, pretty girl,” I say. As much as I don’t want to let her go, I lay her on the couch for the time being and cover her with the blanket before stepping over to the fireplace. I toss on a few more logs until the flames have the wood crackling. Heading back over to where I laid her, I notice that everything she’s wearing is soaked through. The fact that she hasn’t woken up yet also concerns me. I search my memory banks and recall when we went through training, how Orion became hypothermic during our ocean swim. Trident, who had been an emergency room trauma nurse before enlisting, knew what to do, and we were able to get him back to shore safely and get him turned around without our superiors knowing and booting him from the program.
Poseidon's Lady (Poseidon's Warriors MC) Page 1
