by L. Wilder
Claiming Menace
Ruthless Sinners MC
L. Wilder
Claiming Menace
Ruthless Sinners MC Series- Book 5
Copyright 2021
L. Wilder- All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication or any part of this series may be reproduced without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Some of the places named in the book are actual places found in Nashville, Tennessee. The names, characters, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of various products and locations referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. All Rights Reserved.
Book Cover Details:
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Image: Wander Aguiar Photography
Model: Thane Wadams
Editor: Lisa Cullinan
Proofreader: Rose Holub @ReadbyRose
Proofreader: Jenn Allen
Personal Assistant: Natalie Weston
Catch up with the entire Satan’s Fury MC Series today!
All books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Ties That Bind (Ruthless Sinners #1)
Holding On (Ruthless Sinners #2)
Secrets We Keep (Ruthless Sinners #3)
Widow’s Undoing (Ruthless Sinners #4)
Summer Storm (Satan’s Fury MC Novella)
Maverick (Satan’s Fury MC #1)
Stitch (Satan’s Fury MC #2)
Cotton (Satan’s Fury MC #3)
Clutch (Satan’s Fury MC #4)
Smokey (Satan’s Fury MC #5)
Big (Satan’s Fury #6)
Two Bit (Satan’s Fury #7)
Diesel (Satan’s Fury #8)
Falling for the President’s Daughter (Satan’s Fury #9)
Blaze (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 1)
Shadow (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 2)
Riggs (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 3)
Murphy (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 4)
Gunner (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 5)
Gus (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 6)
Rider (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 7)
Prospect (Satan’s Fury MC- Memphis Book 8)
T-Bone (Satan’s Fury MC-Memphis Book 9)
Day Three (What Bad Boys Do Book 1)
Damaged Goods- (The Redemption Series Book 1- Nitro)
Max’s Redemption (The Redemption Series Book 2- Max)
Inferno (Devil Chasers #1)
Smolder (Devil Chaser #2)
Ignite (Devil Chasers #3)
Consumed (Devil Chasers #4)
Combust (Devil Chasers #5)
The Long Road Home (Devil Chasers #6)
Naughty or Nice (Mistletoe, Montana Collaboration)
My Temptation (The Happy Endings Collection #1)
Bring the Heat (The Happy Endings Collection #2)
His Promise (The Happy Endings Collection #3)
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Contents
Prologue
1. Menace
2. Parker
3. Menace
4. Parker
5. Menace
6. Parker
7. Menace
8. Parker
9. Menace
10. Parker
11. Menace
12. Parker
13. Menace
14. Parker
15. Menace
16. Aubrey
17. Menace
18. Aubrey
19. Menace
20. Aubrey
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from Widow’s Undoing
Prologue
1. Widow
2. Frankie
Prologue
I didn’t set out to be a hacker. I was just a kid messing around with shit that I had no business messing around with. I never really had to work at it; the whole thing simply came naturally to me. I could sit down at that computer and do just about anything, but for the most part, my endeavors were harmless. It was just some basic stuff really: a few upgrades to my computer system, changes to grades and absences at school, and the occasional peek into other people’s personal accounts. For years, my shenanigans had gone unnoticed by the outside world, but that all changed when I found myself backed into a corner with no way out—and all because of some chick.
I was at a party with a group of kids who were up to no good, and I was right there in the thick of it. The house was filled with loud music, a couple of kegs and liquor galore. There were hot chicks all over the place, and that suited me just fine. I was nineteen with only one thing on my mind—getting laid. I had my eyes set on Katie the second she walked through the door. I knew her from high school, but we’d never really talked. She was younger, and we ran in different circles, but that wasn’t going to stop me from making a play for her, not when she looked like my next wet dream. Katie was wearing a short baby-blue summer dress that barely covered her large, voluptuous breasts and didn’t seem to give a fuck. She was sporting that fucking thing like it was made for her, and when she looked over at me with those smoking-hot green eyes, I knew I had to have her.
I played it cool, hanging back and drinking my beer as I watched and listened to Katie carry on with her little crew of friends. I was waiting for my in—that perfect opportunity to start up a conversation with her—and finally got it the second I heard her mention a speeding ticket she’d gotten earlier in the week. There was no missing the worry in her voice as she told her friend, Candace, “Mom is gonna freak! She’s always complaining about how high my car insurance is, and now, it’s gonna be even higher.”
“It won’t be as bad as you think,” Candace said while offering her another drink. “Don’t worry about that right now. We’re here to have a good time.”
“How can I not worry? She’s gonna take my car away and probably ground me until the end of time.”
“Your mom is a hardass, I’ll give you that, but there’s nothing you can do about it right now.” Candace took a big gulp from her red plastic cup and glanced around the room. “Besides, there are some really hot guys here who’ll be glad to help you forget all about that stupid ticket.”
“But—”
“Come on, Katie. Give it a rest! I’ve been listening to you gripe about this damn ticket for days. I don’t want to hear it anymore.” She took another hefty drink, then announced, “I’m here to party, and that’s what I plan to do. You can either join me or just sit here and pout.”
I saw my opening, so I took it. Before Katie had a chance to respond to her irritated friend, I eased over to them and announced, “You know, I could help you out with that ticket of yours.”
“What?” Katie asked, sounding intrigued. “How?”
“I can make the entire thing disappear.”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely.” I motioned my head towards the house. “Why don’t you come back to the bedroom, and I’ll show you.”
“You don’t really expect me to fall for that, do you?”
“Not trying to get in your pants, Katie,” I lied. “Landon’s computer is in his bedroom. I’ll need it to take care of the ticket.”
Landon was one of our mutual friends, and the host of our little gathering. I could tell I was getting through to her when she smiled and muttered, “Oh.”
“Why don’t you refill that drink of yours and come watch the magic?”
“Okay.” She nodded her pretty little head, then stepped over to the keg and started filling her cup. Once she’d topped it off, she smiled and said, “All set.”
“Great.”
I led her through the crowd and down the hall to Landon’s bedroom. He and I had been friends for years. Landon used the same damn password for everything, so I knew I wouldn’t have any problem getting into his laptop. We stepped into his room, and I closed the door then made my way over to his desk. With Katie hovering behind me, I turned on his laptop and entered the password. Just as I’d hoped, it worked, and I was minutes away from impressing my latest conquest. I hadn’t been at it long when Katie placed her hand on my shoulder and asked, “Do you really think you can make my ticket disappear?”
“I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if I didn’t. I just need you to answer a couple of questions.”
“Okay, like what?”
“Simple stuff.” I never took my eyes off the screen as I asked her, “Was it a city cop or a state trooper who pulled you over?”
“City, I think.”
“Was it a black and white car, or black and tan?”
“I’m pretty sure it was black and white.”
“Okay, good.” I pulled up the city clerk’s database and started making my way past their firewall. “What day did you get the ticket?”
“It was one day last week. Monday or Tuesday, I think.”
“I need to know the exact date, Katie.”
“Tuesday?” She thought for a moment, then continued, “I was on my way home from cheer practice, so yeah, it was definitely on Tuesday.”
“So, that would be on the twenty-third. What about your driver’s license number?”
Katie opened her small purse and pulled out her wallet, then rattled off the numbers. After a little searching and fancy footwork, I managed to find where the ticket had been entered into the database. “Here it is.”
“You actually found it?”
“You sound surprised.”
“You can’t blame me there. I mean, come on… Who would’ve thought that Jared Freemont, the biggest party guy around, would know how to hack into the City Court Clerk’s Office?”
“Party guy?”
“Yes, Jared.” She placed her hand on her hip. “Everyone knows you’re just looking for a good time, but I’m okay with that. I’m looking for a good time too.”
I quickly removed Katie’s ticket from the clerk’s database and then deleted all records of the citation from the police department, making it appear that she’d never been pulled over for speeding. Katie was both grateful and astounded, so much so, she spent the next couple of hours showing me just how impressed she really was. By the time we walked out of that bedroom, we’d both gotten what we were after and some. I left the party feeling like I could conquer the world, but that didn’t last long. I’d barely made it home when Landon called to warn me that Katie was blabbing about what I’d done with her ticket. I should’ve been concerned. I should’ve gone to her and shut her down, but I didn’t. I was a stupid teenager who thought he was invincible. I didn’t think anyone could get to me, but I was wrong. Dead wrong.
It was a week later when my life took a dramatic turn.
I was sitting in my living room with Eugene, one of my father’s many no-good friends. He and my pops had just finished off a case of beer, and my dad had gone out to the shed to grab another. We were both waiting on him to make it back when I heard the low rumble of motorcycles off in the distance. It was a sound that had me jumping up from the sofa and rushing over to the window. When I saw the group of motorcycles heading in our direction, I motioned Eugene over. “Hey, come check it out.”
He didn’t move. He was too fucking wasted to care what was going on, but I couldn’t have been more intrigued. My pops and I lived out in Nolensville, not in the city, but on the outskirts of town, where rundown mobile homes go to die. An old pickup truck might’ve driven by from time to time, but I couldn’t ever recall seeing a motorcycle out in these parts—much less four of them. I watched in awe and horror as these men, decked out in leather, pulled into my driveway and parked their Harleys inches from my front steps. I’d never been so terrified. Hell, I couldn’t even move as I watched my father come out of the shed with the case of beer in his arm. He looked a bit rattled as the men got off their bikes and made their way over to him. They spoke for a moment, and then my father pointed at the window where I was standing. My blood ran cold when they all turned to look at me. Fuck. They’d come for me.
I had no idea what they wanted, and I didn’t care. My fight-or-flight instincts had already kicked in, and I was itching to get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, there was no way out—at least none where they wouldn’t see me leave. I was fucking stuck and in such a haze of shock and panic that I missed Dad calling out to me. I didn’t actually hear him until he threw open the front door and shouted, “Jared!”
“Yeah?”
“You got company.”
Seeming unfazed by the fact that the fierce strangers were summoning me, he walked over to the kitchen, took a couple of beers out, then shoved the rest of the case in the fridge. Without saying another word, he walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Eugene, acting like he couldn’t care less that my life might be in danger. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
My father had never been much of a father, especially after my mother had died. She’d had some heart issue none of us knew about, and it ended her life much earlier than anyone could ever have expected. My dad and I took it hard. My sister, Mallory, even harder. Just months after my mother’s funeral, Mallory packed her bags and went to live with my grandmother. I didn’t necessarily blame her. After our mother’s death, Dad turned to the bottle as a means of coping. It was all well and good as I’d managed fine without him being “father of the year,” and I would continue to do so. I inhaled a deep breath and forced myself to walk out the door.
I’d just started down the front steps when one of them asked, “You Jared?”
“I am.”
“Hmm.” The bigger of the four gave me the once-over as he grumbled, “Thought you’d be.. smaller.”
I didn’t want to look like a complete pussy, so I straightened my stance as I held his glare. “Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Not important.” A look of skepticism marked his face. “You the kid who helped out Katie with that ticket?”
“Not sure what you mean.”
The older of the men stepped forward as he pushed, “Oh, I think you know exactly what he means.”
“Yeah.” This guy was no fucking joke. At six-three, I was no small-fry, but this guy was towering over me like a fucking brick wall. Doing my best to put on a brave front, I muttered, “I might’ve helped her out a little.”
“From what I’ve heard, you helped her out quite a bit. It took some real masterminding to hack into the county clerk’s office. And the police department too. Hell, there’s no trace of that ticket to be found.”
“It wouldn’t have been much help if they could find it.”
“Mm-hmm.” The guy to my left cocked his eyebrow. “So, my niece was right. You really are good at this computer shit.”
“Wait... Katie’s your niece?”
The guy nodded. “That she is. She was pretty fucking impress
ed with how you took care of that ticket.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. Pretty easy, in fact.” When they all just stood there staring back at me, I finally asked, “So, is that why you’re here? You got a ticket you want me to make disappear?”
“No, kid. We don’t have a ticket,” the older guy answered. “Are you familiar with the Ruthless Sinners?”
“Yes, sir.” Everyone knew about the Sinners. The stories about them ran through our small southern town like a two-lane highway, and they didn’t even live here. I had no doubt there were some tall tales mixed in with the truth, but I’d heard enough to be intimidated by their presence. Hell, I was barely able to keep my footing as they all stood there glaring at me. I tried not to sound like I was scared shitless when I said, “I’ve heard of them.”
“Us, son. You’ve heard of us.” He motioned his head over to the men behind him. “We’re the Ruthless Sinners. Well, at least a few of them. I’m Viper, the president. This is my VP, Axel, my enforcer, Shotgun, and Widow. The rest of the brothers are back at the clubhouse waiting for you.”
“For me?” I gasped. “What for?”
“To see if you have what it takes to be one of us.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not following.”
“I’m offering you an opportunity, son. One to get out of this fucking trailer and use that talent of yours to make a life for yourself.” Viper’s face was void of expression, his voice low and calm as he continued, “I’m giving you a chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself. A chance to know what it means to be a brother and have a brother stand by you.”
