Phantom: An Alpha Male MC Biker Romance (Steel Knights Motorcycle Club Romance Book 1)

by Ivy Black

  “You can’t get mad at her because you don’t understand her,” Caid growled.

  “She called me a bitch or something. I know that much,” I spat back.

  Caid handed the woman some euros, and her scowl turned into a smile. He said a series of things to her in German, and his accent sounded almost natural. She reached behind her, grabbed a bag of some of the store’s specialty potatoes, and handed them over to Caid, and he nodded with a “Danke”, and then turned to walk out.

  “Bitte,” the woman sang back, then her scowl returned as she looked me up and down.

  She hissed out another series of words, so I hoped that a middle finger would translate and stuck it up at her while following Caid out.

  “You’re a brat,” Caid said simply.

  “You’ve only been here two months longer than me. How did you learn so much faster than I did?” I asked.

  “I’d already been learning it before I came here, then once I got here, it was all I did every single day for two months. Besides, you’re not really trying.”

  We turned out onto a road with the sun shining above us and people happily chattering as they walked by. “I’m trying.”

  “Tess is better than you,” Caid replied. “Lockjaw’s better than you.”

  “Hey!” I barked. “Lockjaw is as good as me.” Lockjaw wasn’t learning German, per se, but Caid had been teaching him German commands over the past year, and he’d gotten pretty good. “Whatever. You can just do all the talking forever.”

  Caid brandished his copy of the key to our high-rise complex and opened the door. I walked through with the other groceries I was carrying. We took the elevator up to the top floor, and I used my keys to let us into the apartment. Lockjaw jumped up from his dog bed in the corner near the wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor windows that overlooked Munich and ran over.

  “Hey, bud.” I crouched so I could give him proper head pats. “Where’s Mama?”

  “In here!” Tess’ voice called back. “Come in here, both of you. Tell me how this looks.”

  Caid and I dropped the groceries off on the dining room table and walked through the huge open living room to the left, which was Tess’ and my wing of the apartment. We passed the bathroom on the left but didn’t go as far down as the bedroom. Instead, we turned into the guest bedroom, which was in the process of being converted.

  I walked in and saw that Tess was balancing a huge box against her waist. “What are you—” I snatched the box away from her. “That’s dangerous.”

  “I’m fine, Colin,” Tess said. She turned, leading with her eight-months pregnant belly, and leaned in for a kiss. “Brat.”

  “I just called him a brat five minutes ago,” Caid said, almost as if he was proud.

  Tess poked his cheek sweetly and then turned around and motioned to the room. “What do we think?”

  Under the windows was a white crib that Caid had built from scratch and painted, and the room was decorated with all of the white bunny stuff that we’d been collecting since we found out that Tess was pregnant.

  “I like it,” I said.

  “And.” Tess turned and motioned toward the small dresser that was also something Caid built. She lifted a picture of her and her dad from back in Hoppa. “So that she gets to know her grandpa.”

  Her face immediately saddened, and I felt bad. It felt like we’d been living in Germany so much longer than a year. Tess had, not surprisingly, built herself a successful dog training business with Lockjaw as her right-hand-pooch, and Caid and I co-owned a furniture business. It turned out that the meticulous way I liked to work on bikes translated, and after years of watching me, Caid had developed a love for it, too.

  Wrapping an arm around Tess’ back, I pulled her close to me. “That’s wonderful.”

  A few tears always came to Tess’ eyes as of late every time she thought about how her dad wasn’t going to be involved in our baby’s life. It was something I couldn’t relate to. I didn’t know, nor care about, where my mom was. Caid was my family, and he had gotten to be here every step of the way.

  All of a sudden, I felt selfish. I wanted a happy life so much, one I thought I deserved, but I didn’t realize how much Tess was giving up just so that I could have it.

  She hadn’t complained once in the year since we had moved to Germany. She met Caid, and the two became peas in a pod almost instantly. Though Tess and I connected in almost every possible way, she and Caid leaned toward being a little dorky and bonded over things that I didn’t understand. Caid taught us German, and he was probably right when he said that Tess was doing better than I was. After years of needed laser focus, when I was finally able to relax in Germany, my attention span got incredibly short.

  “Like a chair?” Caid asked.

  “Yeah.” Tess and Caid’s conversation, the beginning of which I missed, brought me back from my thoughts. “A chair would be good, or maybe even a chest. Like a little toy chest?”

  “I can do that,” Caid responded and then gasped. “I can make a little bunny chest! The belly can open and close and be the door for the toys, and it can be a giant white rabbit!”

  “That sounds amazing!” Tess yelped. She looked up at me. “Doesn’t it?”

  “It really does,” I said. “Uh, you guys talk about that. I’ll be right back.”

  I kissed Tess on the cheek and walked out of the room. I grabbed my phone off the dining room table and walked over to the small table with a drawer in it that sat by the front door. I opened the drawer and pulled out my old cell phone and wasn’t shocked that it didn’t turn on when I pressed the power button. I dug out a charger to plug it into, then walked to the opposite end of the apartment, where Caid’s room was. I plugged my old phone in, and when it was charged enough, I powered it on. I left it on long enough to get a phone number from my contacts, then I powered it off again, even unplugging it for good measure.

  After picking up my new phone and navigating to where I could make an outgoing call, I dialed the number I just got from my old phone and pressed the green call button. I patiently waited while it rang, and when a voice answered on the other line, I couldn’t keep from smiling.

  “Hello? Tess?”

  “Almost,” I replied with a chuckle.

  “CJ!” Nick said. “How the hell are ya, man?”

  “I’m good, Nicky. Started up a company with my brother. Got a nice apartment out here in Stuttgart. It’s going well.” We were, of course, in Munich, but old habits die hard. “How are things there? You guys recovering okay?”

  “Recovering?” Nick said. “Oh! After the attack, you mean? Hell yeah, we’re recovering! Thanks to your advice, they didn’t know what hit them. I missed the chance to take Luther out, but once he saw that we’d stiffed everyone else he brought, he wised up and ran. I imagine he’ll retaliate at some point.”

  “He will,” I warned. “Luther is viciously vengeful. Keep your eyes open.”

  “That’s the only way I live,” Nick replied. “We’ve got allies, too. We’re good.”

  “How are things now that Taylor’s gone?” I asked.

  Nick let out a long sigh. “I know he had a few issues, a few big issues, but it’s never easy for a parent to bury their kid.”

  “I’m sorry, Squared.”

  “Nah. Thinking back, I made more than one mistake. All of a sudden, I saw this future for Tess and the club, and I think I went a little crazy.”

  “A little?”

  He chuckled. “Hey, pipe down. You went there with me, boy.”

  “You’re not wrong.”

  “How’s my baby girl?”

  “She’s good! She’s…” I took a deep breath, knowing the weight of what I was about to tell him. “She’s pregnant.”

  There was no response for a really long time. I might have thought Nick hung up if it weren’t for the breathing on the other end—catching in spurts, almost like he may have been fighting to hold back tears.

  “Nick?”

  “She’s p
regnant?” he said. “How far along?”

  “Eight months.”

  He whistled. “Wow. Poppin’ any day. Now, tell me you’re gonna to do right by her, CJ. I really don’t want to have to hunt you down.”

  “She was engaged before it happened,” I responded. “Uh, sorry. We’re not married yet, though.”

  “Hey. I’m not some prude. I know how these things go. As long as you’re gonna be there for them both, I’m happy.”

  “I’d be dumb to give up someone like Tess.” Her sad face when she looked at the picture of Nick flashed across my brain. “Hey, listen. Nick. If I turn myself in, would you pardon Tess?”

  “What?” Nick said. “Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

  “She misses you, and I know that she hates that you can’t be in your granddaughter’s life.”

  “Granddaughter?” Nick repeated, and I could hear the smile. “A little girl?”

  “That’s what we were told.”

  Again, Nick went silent. Nick was a man who liked to talk, so when he went quiet, I knew he was thinking deeply about something. “A pardon’s probably not in the cards, I’m afraid. She killed one of our own and chose you over us. That kind of thing just doesn’t go over well.”

  “Nick—”

  “But you know,” he continued. “I’ve got some work to do over in Germany. Maybe it’s time I made a trip soon. Maybe in a month or so. In Stuttgart, as a matter of fact.”

  “Munich,” I replied.

  Nick scoffed. “You never change, do ya, kid?”

  “I could say the same about you.”

  “Well, if I were to come to try to find two of the Knights’ at-large criminals, surely the club would understand,” he said. “Is there a particular date I should be sure to be around?”

  “August seventh.”

  “I’m gonna be a Pop-pop,” he said. “Or do I go with Papa?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you, Tess, and Annelise.”

  “Annelise!” He laughed. “Hold on, baby! Grandpa’s coming!” The phone line went dead, and all I could do was grin. He had my new number, so the specifics could be decided later. Making contact with Nick might have been a mistake, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be.

  “There you are,” Tess said, walking into the room. “What are you smiling at?”

  “I took calculated risk,” I responded to her. “Sounds like we’ll have a visitor around the seventh.”

  Tess walked into the room and sat down next to me on Caid’s bed. “The seventh?” she growled. “Why would you invite a visitor on my due date?” I unlocked my phone and handed it to her, showing her my most recent contact. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “My dad? Are you sure it’s okay?”

  “His biggest concern was whether or not he would be Pop-pop or Papa.”

  Tess started to laugh, and tears rose to her eyes. “My dad’s gonna be here when Annelise is born?”

  “As long as you don’t go early,” I said before directing my attention to her stomach. “That’s not a challenge, by the way,” I added because I had a funny feeling that this little girl was going to be a lot like her mother.

  Lockjaw padded into the room and set his head on Tess’ stomach. “I can’t wait to see him handle being a big brother,” Tess said, and then she put her hand on my face, “but I’m even more excited to see you handle being a father.”

  I kissed her. “With you by my side, it could only be perfect.”

  “I love you,” she said. “Well, should we go start the rest of our lives?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Let’s.”

  * * *

  Enjoy the following preview of

  Bullet (Steel Knights MC Series Book 2)

  Bullet Preview

  Chapter One

  Harry

  The sound of bullets piercing their targets was my favorite sound in the world. Something about the hollow hiss, just before the dull pinpoint of the heated metal sinking in was like music to my ears.

  “Bullet! Fucking fire!”

  My finger flexed against the trigger and the gun vibrated in my hand as the bullet fled from it with a mission in sight. I recoiled back but smiled as the bullet found purchase. I sighed with satisfaction as the remains of my quarry splattered out and hit the floor below.

  “That’ll teach you to challenge me,” I growled.

  I rubbed the barrel of my gun free of any stippling with a rag and grumbled at some of the evident soot on my shirt. A change of clothes would be necessary, no matter how much I tried to avoid it.

  “That’s why they call ya ‘Bullet’,” Avery said, pointing his gun out in front of him, peering over it like a hunter cornered on its prey, “but you know what they call me?” I smirked as he pulled the trigger and his bullet released, but it faded down to a frown as I watched his bullet shoot straight through the center point on the target in front of him, skirting mine which was one ring outside the center. He looked over at me and winked. “Bullseye.”

  “Fuck.” I stared down the row of ten targets, each with one bullet hole near the target and all with one straight through it. Not one of the direct hits was mine. “Load up another ten. I’m gonna beat you.”

  “Dude,” Avery groaned. “We’ve gone five rounds already. Give it up. You are not going to beat me.”

  “I’ll pay for it, just go tell them to load up another ten.”

  “Stop. What’s wrong with you?” Avery lifted his goggles, letting his blue eyes catch in the overhead halogen lights of the shooting range. “I know you like a good shoot-off, but this is weird, even for you.”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to get some shooting in before the meeting,” I replied. “Are you scared?”

  Avery snickered. “Do you honestly think I’m that childish, I’d fall for that? You’ve known me since college, and I’ve known you, too, and I know something’s wrong.” He pointed his gun at me, knowing full well the one bullet in it had already been discharged at the target. “You fucking tell me or I’m calling Cameron.”

  “Do what you say or you’re gonna tell my dad? How old are you?”

  “Take it or leave it, Bullet. I ain’t shooting another ten targets just because you have a bug up your ass about something.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Is it that date you had?”

  The question knocked me sideways just a bit. Avery’s nickname was Bullseye for two reasons as far as I was concerned. One, because he could hit a dead shot at midnight with one eye closed, and the other because he could take one look at me and know exactly what was going on in my brain.

  “That date was weeks ago,” I barked. “Why would it be that?”

  “Exactly, it was weeks ago. You were asking people for advice and you wouldn’t shut up about her for a few days there, then all of a sudden you just stopped talking about it.”

  Grabbing the cloth again, I cleaned my gun off one more time, engaged the safety, and shoved it into the back of my waistband. “I stopped talking then, and I’m done talking now. Let’s go, we have a meeting.”

  Avery let out a low whistle and then a gruff chuckle. “Aw, man. Doesn’t go out on a date in how long, six months? Seven?”

  It had been closer to a year, but who was counting. “Shut your mouth.”

  “Fine. Party Pooper.”

  “It’s not like you have women falling outta your house,” I snapped back.

  “Don’t you worry about me, bud. I do just fine.”

  He could say that, but I knew Avery was a romantic. He hadn’t had a woman on his arm in any permanent capacity in at least as long as it had been since my last date; it had to be getting to him. “Anyway, Celia is hardly a concern of mine.”

  “Celia,” Avery repeated. “That’s her. That tall, hot chick right?”

  I didn’t respond. “Tall” and “hot” were descriptors that objectively described Celia, but she was much more than that. In the one meal we’d shared, we went tit for tat like a tennis match. She took everything about me in her s
tride, and we shared one amazing night together.

  Then I never heard from her again.

  “Isn’t that the one Nicky set you up with?” Avery asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “He didn’t set me up with her so much as he forced my hand.”

  “Yeah, but you went.”

  We checked out of the gun range, I paid for the targets we’d shot, and then we walked out into the fresh fall morning and over to where our bikes were parked. “You took her home, too,” he laughed, “because you walked into the club the next day like you had springs in your shoes.”

  With lightning speed, I reached over and smacked him across the back of the head. “Shut the fuck up.”

  “Fine!” Avery yelped, rubbing his head. “Fuck, you try and joke with your best friend a little and look what it gets me.”

  We each climbed on our bikes and a moment later, the rumble of them starting up pierced the quiet air. Birds and squirrels scattered from nearby as I twisted my handle to rev a couple of times, then with a screech, I spun my wheel to kick a little dust up at Avery, and then fired off, out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

  Nothing in Hoppa was too far from the next thing over. Anyone who lived here long enough could draw the entire town map from memory, and it made it easy to get from A to B. Of course, this was bittersweet for motorcycle riders. By the time we really got going, we were already arriving at our destination. Back in the day, I might have spent a little time taking the long way around, maybe even ditching Avery and taking a ride down the highway and back before the meeting, but history had taught me that keeping a trusted ally by your side was a good idea and that, sometimes, long rides lead to trouble.

  I was first into the parking lot at Hoppa’s Taphouse, the meeting grounds of the Steel Knights Motorcycle club. Apart from being Hoppa’s premiere drinking spot, it was no mystery that we ran our operations there. A large Steel Knights banner hung from the roof down the side of the building, overlooking the parking spots that were painted with the same sigil to symbolize that they were designated for club members only. Only two of the spots were occupied when Avery and I pulled in, so I parked in the next one over and then Avery next to me.