I hit the open road. It was a lazy afternoon, so there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the highway.
I kept my eyes peeled for motorcycles from the other clubs. I did not want to be followed or worse, surrounded and lead off my path. I was careful— I painted over my big butterfly, so they couldn’t recognize the bike might belong to me. It was my signature thing and it fucking hurt to be rid of it, but it was necessary.
My bike was now black and chrome, and I wore black jeans, a black jacket, and a black helmet. Wasn’t the safest choice when night riding, but the last thing I wanted to do was get spotted by my father and his goons. I reached the Midnight Saints’ territory without being spotted and headed into the mountains toward the clubhouse. Ready or not, Tony, here I come.
I turned onto the well-worn dirt road. It was mostly hidden by overgrown trees I had to push aside. I took a deep breath, and I got an instant whiff of skunk and gagged. After the turn, it was all private property, so I picked up my speed. The various evergreen trees that grew there whizzed by in a blur of green. If anyone was following me, they were currently eating my dust. I could go as fast as I wanted, and I was eager to get away from the skunk smell, though that could carry for miles.
I arrived at the clubhouse and parked my bike. I nodded to several members.
“Hey, look, it’s Kara.”
“Hey Kara!”
Some of them were still friendly.
“Mom around?” I asked as I took off my helmet and shook out my hair. I stripped off my jacket, showing off my tatted-up arms. I didn’t even fuckin’ think of the fact she might not still be around. It had been years, after all, and my stomach clenched at the thought.
“Yeah, she’s around.” Thank fuck for that.
I headed off to find the caretaker who we all called ‘Mom’.
“Mom? You here?”
“Who's asking?” Mom stepped out from behind a curtain. “Kara! Well, what the fuck are you doing here? I’d figure this was the last place I’d see you. Get over here and give me a hug, bitch!” She opened her arms to me and I hugged her. I knew she would be the first to welcome me back.
“Well, believe it or not, I’m here to stay. You heard my old man broke into my house?”
“Yeah, I heard. You alright?”
“I wasn’t home.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Yeah. So, I can’t go home, so I figure this is the only place I can go.”
“I’ll find you a room, but you better go see Tony.”
“I plan to. I plan to challenge him for leadership.”
Mom laughed.
“I’m serious,” I protested. “This club is my birthright, and I’m here to claim it. I want to know, do I have your support?”
“Yeah, kiddo, you have my support.”
“Then all I have to do is go find Tony.”
“He and Austin are in the war room.”
“Which room would that be?”
“Downstairs. Back end of the house.”
“Right.”
“Good luck. He’s in a real nasty mood. Better put your game face on because he’s not going to like this challenge one bit.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. Find me a room near Reagen, will ya? And as far from Tony’s room as I can get,” I added.
“That’s a tough order— Reagen’s room is right near Tony’s.”
“Well, give me Tony’s room and move him to the other end of the hall.”
“I can’t just give you Tony’s room. You’ll get what room I give you, and you’ll be grateful for it.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Fucking bitches think you own this place.”
“I do,” I said as I headed down the stairs. It wasn’t a lie— the place was in my father’s name, so as his heir, it belonged to me. Unless he cut me out of the will and left everything to my bitch wannabe sister he dares call his daughter.
The thought of Sophie taking everything from me put me in a foul mood and I stomped down the stairs a little louder than I meant to.
Chapter 4
Tony
“We have some big matters to attend to. First, Maxum and his war, and second, well, now that Seth has gotten Reagen knocked up and she killed Jacob, I suppose that means dealing with the fucking Blue Diablos.”
“We don’t have time to deal with that fucking shit,” Austin protested. “Seth chose to keep the bitch, let him deal with that fucking shit. If those blue devils come knocking, we’ll deal with them, but until then, our focus has to be this goddamn war.”
“The Blue Diablos are in the fucking war. That’s where all our castoffs ended up, and we know Maxum has some kind of control over them now. I don’t know if he’s their Prez yet, but he has fucking control over them and over the Shadow Order. Which means it’s two fucking clubs against us. Now, the Crypt Keepers, they want Maxum taken out, so if it comes to that, they’re on our side, but they don’t want to fight the fucking war with us. So, we better find a way to fucking stop this shit from getting any further. Now, how the fuck are we going to do that? I need solutions, Austin. And where the fuck did Seth run off to?”
“He had to go see his bitch.”
“We’re at war, there is no time for bitches.”
“Fucking bitches is what keeps us goddamn lunatics sane. You can’t expect us to fight a war if we’re blue balled.”
“I’m blue balled, do you hear me complaining?” I smacked him across the back of his head. “Get your head in the game, Austin.”
“There’s always time for bitches,” Austin argued even as much as he
