by K E Osborn
K E Osborn
FUGITIVE
The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 3
K E Osborn
Copyright 2021 K E Osborn
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations, or places is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. All songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
Disclaimer: The material in this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is intended for mature audiences, ages 18 and older.
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ISBN: 978-0648718482
Book design by Swish Design & Editing
Editing by Swish Design & Editing
Proofreading by Swish Design & Editing
Cover model by Justin Michaels
Photography by Reggie Deanching RplusMphoto
Cover design by Designs By Dana
Cover Image Copyright 2021
All Rights Reserved
The club took me in.
Even though I was a cop.
The moment I handed in my badge, I knew becoming an outlaw would change my life forever.
As an ex-cop turned biker, my job is to stay loyal. To the club and my brothers. That is my sole purpose. Even though the reason I joined is no longer with us.
Losing love is hard, but life must go on.
Especially for my kids.
Even if they're just out of reach.
Now I'm a fugitive, an outlaw, a ghost.
But I've run into someone I didn't see coming.
A ray of pure sunshine.
Just when I'd given up on family, now I'm ready to stand and fight.
But perhaps the battle is not where I think it lies.
Maybe my ray of sunshine will warm my life.
Or maybe the darkness surrounding her will freeze me to my very soul.
From International Bestselling Author K E Osborn comes the highly anticipated third book in the Houston Defiance MC Series.
To Kim Briesemeister.
Thank you for everything you do to help me shape my books into the best possible form they can be. I am so grateful to have you on my team, and honestly, without you, I don’t think my books would come to life like they do.
So, thank you from the bottom of my twisted little heart. I’d be lost without your help, guidance, and support.
You are amazing!
For your convenience, below is a list of terms used in this book.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the author.
1% — When a 1% patch is worn, it represents the one percent of bikers who are outlaw clubs.
Cage — Automobile, truck, van - not a motorcycle.
Cut — A vest with club colors.
Duck-walk — Navigating into parking space using your feet.
Hammer Down — Accelerate quickly.
Road Name — A road name is earned, given, and bestowed upon a biker. They usually have a story behind them.
Six — Watch your back.
The Heat — Police.
Blurb
Dedication
A Note to the Reader
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Connect With Me Online
About the Author — K E Osborn
KEVLAR
It’s funny the way life works out.
You meet the woman of your dreams, and you fall madly, deeply, irrevocably in love—despite the odds.
She was the lone daughter of a biker. His princess. Me, I was the young cop working on patrol when I came across the club.
She was untouchable.
I was untrustworthy in their eyes.
For us to be together was frowned upon not only by the force but by the club.
Though, somehow, we made it work. Dating for a couple of years before her father finally declared I couldn’t be a cop and be involved with a member of the club.
I had to choose—the force or Emma.
There was no choice.
We were married a year later.
One year after that, Sadie was born.
Soon after, I was officially patched in.
It was inevitable.
The moment I laid eyes on Emma, I was done for. Even though in the eyes of my captain father and my lieutenant brother, I was a failure to the long line of Rudd family policemen. I was an outcast. I’d brought shame to the name, but I didn’t care. I had my own family, and that was all that mattered.
We were happy.
Fuck, we were happy.
I had no clue someone like me, a man who always obeyed the rules and was brought up in a strict family environment, could learn to be an outlaw and love the life. Fox and Bub showed me even though converting from a cop to a 1%er was seen as rebellious, it didn’t mean I’m not still a decent human being, a great husband, and a fucking amazing father to our kids.
Yeah, it’s funny the way life works out because I never saw it coming.
My life in the club was set.
Emma and I would grow old together, raising Sadie and Lucas.
Emma’s parents, Fox and Bub, were along for the ride, and the entire club backed us and our decision to be together as a family.
Until the news broke.
I thought I had more time.
Hell, I thought I had a fucking lifetime.
My fingers gripped tighter onto Emma’s boney hand as she laid in the hospital bed. Her usual gorgeous chocolate-colored eyes were closed as she rested her weary, weathered body.
When I met Emma, she was this stunning, vivacious woman. So full of life. Such a gentle soul. Now I couldn’t even be sure her soul was still inside her.
Bub softly wept as she clung to Fox on the other side of the bed.
Our kids weren’t there.
My brother, Ethan, had them.
They shouldn’t have to witness their mom like this. I wanted their memories filled with their mother smiling at them, telling them how much she loved them.
Not this—not this shell.
Emma’s still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but she had faded away so much she was hard
to recognize. My stomach churned with every slow gasp her throat inhaled, and I knew it was only a matter of time.
I leaned closer, pressing my lips against her arm. Her pale skin already chilly. It made me fucking sick to my stomach. “It’s okay, Em… we’re here with you. We’re not going anywhere.”
Fox sat forward, placing his hand on the blanket over her shin. “That’s right, baby girl, we’ll be here the entire time, all three of us. In fact, the whole club is here, out in the waiting room…”
“We all love you, Em,” Bub added, sniffling while wiping her face again.
I shifted my chair a little closer. “If you’re holding on for us, don’t! As much as I never want to let you go…” My throat clogged up, so I cleared it, my eyes welling with tears as my body began to shudder. “I need you to be free, to be dancing again, like the first time I saw you… remember that?”
Emma’s pinky twitched against my hand ever so slightly. I exhaled, taking it as a sign. It might just be one of her muscle twitches, but I was going to take it as her hearing me. “You were so carefree and happy that night. The club was being rowdy at a bar making a scene, and you were there dancing away while the brothers were brawling.”
Fox’s graying beard lifted with a sign of happiness. “Best damn day of our lives, Kevlar. You walking in that day on the beat was the greatest thing to happen to our Emma.”
I leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “She’s the best thing to ever happen to me. She and our kids.”
Emma gasped, her breathing coming a little faster than normal. The monitor showed her heart rate slowing. My adrenaline surged as I brought Emma’s hand to my lips, kissing it. “We’re right here, Em. I love you. I will always love you.”
Fox and Bub shifted forward, placing their hands on her too. Emma’s face didn’t change, but her breathing slowed. My stomach churned in anxiety as I watched the love of my life fade away before my very eyes.
“Em,” I whimpered as her mouth opened, and she let out one last breath.
The machine gave a lone beep, then the green line went flat on the screen. My eyes overflowed with tears as the nurse quietly turned off the machine, then walked out of the room.
Just. Like. That.
My head fell to Emma’s stomach as I cried. I’m not ashamed to say I’d never felt more lost in my life. I have no fucking clue what my life looked like without Emma. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t want a life without her.
I let out a sob as a hand splayed out on my back. “We’ll get through this, son. You’re a part of a wide family. No matter what,” Fox stated.
But I couldn’t find the strength to care at that moment.
My wife was gone.
She fought like hell for the last year, but nothing prepared me for this moment. The agony I would feel. The idea my two kids would have to live their lives without a mother.
Nothing could prepare you for that.
With my heart feeling like it had lodged in my throat, I glanced up at Em. My eyes foggy from the saltwater spilling over.
Fuck! I didn’t know what the hell to do.
How the fuck to feel.
I leaned down, pressing my lips to Emma’s.
There was nothing.
No spark.
No life.
Nothing but fucking bitterness hit me square in the chest.
So, I pulled back, wiped my face, then stood to storm for the door.
“Kevlar, where are you going?” Fox questioned.
I didn’t reply.
“Liam, we need to mourn together. What about the kids?” Bub called out as I rushed out the door.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t fucking do anything right then.
With my head fuzzing in and out, I made my way down the hall.
I couldn’t even tell what was real.
Upon entering the waiting area, all my brothers stood, and their eyes fell.
Neon was the first to reach me, his hand coming out to grip my shoulder, but I shoved out of his grasp. “Don’t fucking touch me!”
Frenzy stepped up, his calming demeanor didn’t seem to be all that effective. “Kevlar, what can we do?”
“Pres, I’m taking off. Will you make sure Fox and Bub are okay and get someone to check in on my kids… I just… I can’t. Right now, I just—”
“Go! Go wherever you need to, Kevlar. Clear your head. We’ll be here when you come back. We’re your family, don’t you forget that.”
“Emma loved New Orleans. I was meant to take her there again after Lucas was born. We never got around to it…” I trailed off.
“Then go. We have a chapter there if you need anything from them. I’ll let them know you’re in town.”
“Thanks, pres.”
Quickly, I spun and started walking out of the hospital, where I had spent the last few months. I hoped I never had to fucking come back again.
I should be stronger than this.
I should stick around for Fox and Bub. They lost Emma too, but my wife meant everything to me. It was like I died that day as well. I just didn’t know how to fucking move on without her. So, I needed to figure that out before I could be the son-in-law and father they all needed me to be. Because I didn’t want to fuck shit up. My kids were all I had left of Emma, so I had to make sure I was the right type of man they deserved to have around them, and right then, I didn’t know who the hell I was.
How could I be the right type of man for them?
Hopefully, I’d find myself in NOLA, and a piece of Emma there too.
Because I didn’t want to let her go.
Not yet.
Not for anything.
KEVLAR
Three Years Later
The night air is shining a deep onyx and silver as the full moon glistens over the Mississippi River. It’s particularly murky tonight, but hell, it’s been three years since I was here last, so it might have always looked like this. My stomach churns at the memory of why I was last in New Orleans. It’s been a struggle to let Em go, not to mention the shitshow with my brother, Ethan over those last three years, especially when it comes to my kids, Lucas and Sadie.
I dropped the ball when Em died.
I left.
I came here to NOLA to clear my fucked-up head, leaving the kids to mourn for their mother without me.
That’s not what a good father does.
I regret that decision every damn day.
Ethan stood in, was the doting uncle and cared for them when I couldn’t. Now, he’s taken it one step too far and won’t let the kids stay with me. Says if they come to the club, they’re in danger. If I try to take them back, he’ll send in child services. What fucking comeback do I have to that?
Not much I can do but visit them as often as possible. Most of the time, it’s daily, and I spend as much time as I can with them to make up for being a fucking asshole when their mother died. They don’t tend to remember too much about their mother, they were so fucking young when she passed—Sadie was three, Lucas just past his first birthday—so I show them pictures and tell them stories. I want to try to keep her memory alive for them.
The good ones, at least.
Nothing from the final year of her life.
The year from hell.
Riding along Canal Street, the Marriott’s to my left. Pulling in, the electric neon New Orleans’ vibe hits me right away. The ceiling of the entrance is lit up in waves of pink. Not my color, but it was Emma’s. I know how much she loved this place. Parking my ride, the valet comes over, and I hand him my details. I unhook my duffle bag, making my way inside, even though the thought of leaving my ride with a valet eats at my insides.
As I enter the hotel, I marvel at how fucking big this place is. I’ve been here before, but it still shocks me. Walking over to the front desk, I check-in. Neon did his tech shit and got me a room, seeing as they are full for Pardi-Gras, which is some kind of trop-rock festival in the French Quarter.
I have to admit, tro
p-rock isn’t my thing, but I’m glad there’s a festival on right now. It will keep me occupied and stop my mind from overthinking. After grabbing my room key, I walk past the lobby and the bar to the giant walk-in pantry. This place is bigger than my bedroom back at the clubhouse. I head straight for the fridge, grab myself a beer and a packet of potato chips, charge it to my room, then head on up. It’s been a long fucking day, and I’m wiped. I desperately want to talk to my fucking kids, but I know I can’t.
I have no goddamn clue what the hell is happening back at the clubhouse.
I hope Zero and Neon can deal with the fallout.
Opening the door to my executive king room, I stroll in, closing the door behind me with my foot. I take in the stylish room, nodding in appreciation.
Neon did good.
Throwing my duffle bag on the massive bed, I walk over to the window, the lights of the French Quarter glow from below as the giant width of the mighty Mississippi flows gently to the right. It’s an awesome town, no wonder Emma loved it here so much.
I just wish I got to experience it more than once with her.
We came here with the club one time to see the boys at NOLA Defiance. They needed some backup, and Houston was only too happy to help. I’ve had a close bond with the brothers here ever since then. They took Em’s death hard. We all did. Everyone fucking loved her.
Exhaling, I walk over to the oversized chair, slumping down onto it. Twisting open the beer bottle, I throw the cap onto the television cabinet and take a long sip.
This is my life.
I have no fucking clue for how long, either.
All I know is the Baron set me up—Tilman fucking Squires, oil tycoon, and Houston’s wealthiest sonofabitch, and all-around pain in our damn asses.
We had the fucker arrested. The club thought we’d gotten the better of him, then he had one last final ditch effort at bringing the club down from inside his damn prison cell. The guy just won’t roll over. I guess that’s what happens when you try to take down the richest man in all of fucking Texas.
