by K E Osborn
K E Osborn
Balance
The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 6
K E Osborn
Copyright 2019 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.
There is content within this book that may set off triggers click here for help.
Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen the latest Marvel movie Endgame, please be aware in chapter three there is a spoiler. Skip over this portion if you do not want to know the outcome of the movie.
ISBN: 978-0648491736
Book design by Swish Design & Editing
Editing by Swish Design & Editing
Proofreading by Swish Design & Editing
Cover design by Kellie Dennis at Book Cover By Design
Cover Image Copyright 2019
All rights reserved
Opposites attract.
That’s how movies tell the tale.
My lifestyle—not for the faint of heart.
My oath—to protect the brothers I’ve come to call family.
This life isn’t for everyone.
Especially those in the spotlight.
Meeting a Hollywood A-lister isn’t on my bucket list, and falling for one does not suit my plans.
But a biker who hides in the shadows and an actress bathed in neon lights, calls for disaster.
This story isn’t only about finding stability—it’s friendship, conflict, deception, and slaughter.
Death—it’s coming.
Will we find the right balance?
“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.”
― Edmund Lee
To the dreamers and the doers, believers, and thinkers.
This quote reminds me of Ace and Neve, and I think it rings true in life.
Surround yourself with those who see the best in you, not those who pull you apart.
You are worthy.
No matter where you are from, your background, or the ‘family’ you belong to,
You. Are. Worthy.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother, Kaylene Osborn, for her work as my editor. You have worked with me to make Balance the best it can be. Thank you for working with me not only as my editor but as my mother. I couldn’t do this without you.
To Cindy/Thia – thank you for everything! I’m so glad I have you on my team, not only as my BETA but also now as a dear friend. I really appreciate you. I want to thank you for everything, not only for helping me with my books but for helping me with my future projects (in Houston) and for just being the most amazing person that you are. I love you!
To Diana and Kim B – thank you so much for being my alpha readers. You ladies pick up so much great stuff that I always miss. You helped shape and develop this story, so for that, I thank you.
To Carol – thank you for everything that you do. I could never be on this journey without you.
To all of my awesome beta readers – thank you for once again putting your thoughts into this book. I appreciate all of your energy and ideas, and together we make a great team. Without you beautiful ladies, this book wouldn’t be at its best potential. So, thank you, every single one of you.
To Nicki – thank you so much for always being there without fail when my books come rushing to you last minute. You are a heaven-sent angel, I swear. Thank you for all the work you do on my Defiance boys. I’m so lucky to have you on my team.
To Jane – I love your crazy ass. You’re the yin to my yang. Don’t ever change.
To Kellie – thank you, this his cover is one of my favorites. Ace’s cover is just him all over. The bright colors, the flask with his hacking logo on it. You nailed it, as always. I love how you just get me and my boys. This series of covers has been my best yet, and that’s all because of you. Thank you!
To my beautiful, playful, and utterly adorable pup, Bella. I made an amazing journey to America this year, it was the best time of my life. There was only one downside, you weren’t there, and I missed you like crazy. I love you probably a little too much, but you’re so damn cute, how could I not?
Last of all, I want to thank YOU, the reader. Your continued support of my writing career is both humbling and heartwarming. I adore my readers so much, and honestly, couldn’t keep going without the love and support you all show me each day. Thank you for believing in me, and I hope I can keep you entertained for many, many years to come.
Much love,
K E Osborn
For your convenience, below is a list of terms used in this book.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the author.
Back Door—The last rider in a group ride. Customarily, the most experienced motorcycle rider.
Capo Di Tuttu Capi— Boss of all bosses.
Chapel—The room where the Defiance club members congregate to have their ‘church’ meetings.
Church—The name of important club business meetings where only patched members can attend.
Cut—Vest with club colors
Front Door—First rider in a group ride.
Hammer Down—Accelerate quickly.
Ikigai Syndicate—A Japanese syndicate specializing in martial arts linked with Hiro Maki, Sensei’s father.
Mio Bellissimo—My beautiful one.
Principessa—Princess.
Road Captain – The name for a rider who coordinates a multiple bike ride. Also refers to the leader who makes sure the riders are safe.
Stook—Irish slang for an idiot or fool.
Supporting Role—A role in a play or film below that of the leading actor.
The Heat—Police.
Underboss – Also known as capo bastone or sotto capo is a position within the leadership structure of the Mafia. The underboss is the second in command.
Unit Base—This is where the makeup, costume, and cast trailers are located as well as crew parking and catering. It’s the largest base and first point of call when arriving for work.
Wise One— The Wise One, also known as ‘Chaplain’ in clubs who often looks after the spiritual needs of club members, helps out when someone goes to jail, conducts marriages, funerals, and helps with general counseling for the members.
Blurb
Dedication
Acknowledgments
A Note to the Reader
Table of Contents
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
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Epilogue
More Books To Check Out
About the Author – K E Osborn
ACE
My feet crunch against the burnt orange leaves, crackling, breaking beneath my boots as I run between the trees with my rifle in hand, panting for breath. I duck behind an old oak, it’s girth is wide and big enough to protect me from the onslaught. A piece of bark flies off right next to my face from the impact of a bullet.
Ducking slightly not wanting to get hit, I glance over to see Noah, our prospect who’s taking on heavy fire as he conceals himself behind a stack of old truck tires. They’re not much defense, and if he’s not careful, he will be hit if this keeps going. I grit my teeth wanting more than anything to win this fucking war we’re trapped in right now. I can’t let these fuckers get one over on us. They’re new to this turf, and we can’t have some wannabes come in and attempt to take over something we think of as our own.
I peek over at Lift and watch him lean out from his position of safety and fire off a wave of rounds, his ammo blasting carelessly as he runs across the forest trying to hit anything and everything. I tense as three men dressed in camo gear all step out in synchronization taking aim. Their expensive looking gold chains hanging from their neck spark a familiarity in me unsettling my nerves. It’s like watching in slow motion, my stomach tightens as I raise my gun to try and shoot them before they get to Lift, but there’s three of them and only one of me.
Their guns fire.
My heart leaps into my throat as I watch Lift clutch at his chest. He falls to the ground so fucking fast as Noah, his blood brother, moves closer, but the mission is what is important. We need to keep our heads, we need to show these assholes that Defiance is in charge around here. They may have taken one of our men down, and I’m mad as hell about that fact right now, but I will have my vengeance on them.
I signal to Noah to stand firm, he does as the three who took out Lift circle around searching for us. The flaw in their plan is we can see them, but they don’t know where Noah and I are located. So I duck around the other side of the tree noticing one of the men to my left. He’s trying to run for the tiny cabin, so I take aim. I know it will give my position away, but I figure once I take him out, I can make a run for the fallen log a few feet away.
As I go to pull the trigger, the sound of gunfire alerts me. I turn to see Noah firing his weapon. My muscles tense as I glance around the tree to see a man running toward him firing, but Noah’s on him shooting the fucker first in the leg then right in the middle of his chest. The man falls to his knees, gripping his chest as he drops to the forest floor. Turning around, my guy makes a run for it, so I don’t hesitate as I unload my clip hitting him in the back. He flies forward into the door of the cabin, the redness oozing down his body as he reaches around like he can’t believe he’s been shot. I shoot him one more time for good measure. His pain-filled moans echo through the forest as he slides down the door leaving a red stain behind him.
Suddenly, massive pain smacks me in my ribs. I’m winded as I stumble backward. Another pain slams into my arm. The pain is overwhelming, it’s like a heat mixed with intense throbbing. I gasp as I peer down to see the blood staining my skin. My eyes widen as I glance over at Noah. His eyes glaze over like he’s unsure what to do next.
“I’m hit,” I call out breathlessly as I stumble back, my feet catching on the fallen log causing me trip over and slam hard on my back.
I stare up at the blue sky, white fluffy clouds line the gorgeous day, a vast contradiction to the fact that this is the day I’ve screwed up everything. I was supposed to win this war. I came here in charge, determined to ensure we defend our territory in this exchange, and now what?
Lift is out, I’m lying here on my back trying to catch my breath while our prospect is out there protecting us by himself.
I hear more gunshots. My body tenses, clenching my eyes wondering how bad this will look—three Defiance brothers going down to three no names.
Fuck, this is bullshit.
I have no idea if those shots are Noah going out too, but I need to kick my fucking ass into gear and help the kid out. So I groan, picking up my gun as I swing myself over the log, glancing over it to see Noah taking aim at the last guy, and pulling the trigger without hesitation.
The blast echoes through the forest as I grunt out my approval. Two patched members and a prospect go into a drug deal, and the prospect comes out on top.
Go figure.
Noah turns and looks toward Lift, anguish clear in his face for his fallen blood brother. “Lift, you asshole, you better be alive,” he calls out as I stand with leaves falling away from my body.
Noah rushes over toward us, not a scratch on him as he dips his head at me. “You good?” he asks as I glance at my bleeding arm.
“Don’t think it’s too bad, just a graze, same with my ribs, sideswiped me, thank Christ.” I glance down to see the slight tear in my cut. I curl up my lip while shaking my head.
“Where’s my dickhead of a brother? He went down hard,” Noah asks as we start walking over to where I saw him fall.
“I don’t know, looks like he got hit hard,” I warn him.
Noah walks faster as we search the forest floor for our fallen brother. Then I see it, a body hidden in amongst the leaves down the small incline. “There!”
We rush down the embankment to see Lift at the bottom out cold, but no sign of blood on his chest. I kick his side to wake him, his eyes shooting open with a groan. “Shit, my head,” he grumbles slowly sitting up grabbing at his skull. He pulls his hand back to reveal splatters of blood on his shaved head, and I grimace.
“You’ve probably got a concussion. What the hell happened?”
He blinks a few times. “Heard the gun, thought I was a goner, so I stumbled and fell back down the ditch. Must’ve hit my damn head and knocked myself out. Woke up to your ugly face.”
Noah chuckles. “Better than a bullet to the torso.”
Lift glances at the blood dripping down my arm. “Looks like you copped one.”
I curl up my lip. “It’s nothing, honestly. Hardly hurts. But this… this shit isn’t good. We need a cleanup crew and figure out why this went fucking south so badly. These guys are new to us, so we need to know if they have people who are gonna come looking for them.”
Noah shakes his head. “I don’t think so. From what I know about these guys, they were kicked out of the Army just recently for lude behavior. They’re scumbags, and whatever they were trying to start with us, it’s probably a good thing they’ve been taken out before they became something that turned into a bigger problem.”
I think back to the chains around their necks, and it clicks into place where I know them from. I gotta speak to Torque. “All right, we need to get all this shit sorted. Lift call for cleanup. Noah, find out who sent them to us and whatever other info you can about them. I have to deal with Torque and tell him this deal went south. He’s not going to like it. We haven’t had a roid transaction turn sour in ages. I guess it’s why we stopped doing small distributions.”
Lift stifles a laugh. “I guess we’ll be heading in that direction again.”
I nod. “Probably, who fucking knows? Right, let’s get to work.”
Lift and Noah walk off to make their phone calls while I drag out my cell to make mine. Letting out a long, drawn-out sigh, I hit speed dial one. It rings a
couple of times, and then he answers.
“Yes.”
“Pres, it’s me.”
He clears his throat, and I hear a door closing. “How’d it go, trade good?”
I tense. “Not exactly. We have three men 86’d. Lift with a concussion, and I’m gonna need Chills or Foxy to have a look at me when I get back.”
He exhales sounding like he’s trying to keep his cool. “Any witnesses?”
“None. Lift and Noah are taking care of the cleanup and overflow effect now.”
“Jesus Christ, Ace, it was meant to be a simple small-time trade. What the fuck happened?”
I glance at the blood oozing from my arm. “They were trigger happy, wanted the product without handing over the cash. Of course, that wasn’t an option.”
Torque stifles a laugh. “Idiots… who pulled the trigger first?”
“They did.”
“Good.”
I grimace wondering how to broach this. “Pres, there’s something else.”
“Yeah?”
“They had gold chains around their necks, they look pretty damn similar to the Andretti shit they wear. I’m not making any accusations, but when it comes to roids… us and Enzo—”
“We’re on good terms now, Ace. We have a working relationship… he wouldn’t pull a farce on us. It’s not his men,” Torque defends abruptly.
I grit my teeth. “Got it. Just giving you all the info, so you can do with it as you see fit.”
He grunts out something unintelligible. “I’ll talk with him. Handle it, and make sure there’s no loose ends. You get back here. Clean your prints off everything. You know the drill.”
I smile. As if he needed to remind me, but that’s his job to protect us, so he will always state it anyway. “Will do.”
Strolling back into the clubhouse, Chills is awaiting our arrival as soon as I walk through the door. She stands there with her hands on her hips with that unimpressed look on her face she’s mastered so well over the years. “Lift, sit down and take it easy. I’m coming to look at you next. Ace, take a seat at the bar, I need to have a look at you first.”
