Chapter Nine

"Woo wee! I've got some serious primal kink vibes going on right now."

I look to Grinder and shake my head.

"What the fuck is that?" I'm confused but also more than a little curious.

"Oh, brother. The chase, the hunt, the catch, and the ultimate fuck." He nods over and over again like his mental image is getting the stamp of approval from his brain. And his cock, apparently, since his palm cups his groin, making him moan.

"Dude, do not fucking come in your pants. I will throat punch you." I chuckle at Bear's threat, then reality gives me a shot of adrenaline straight to my heart knowing it's time for some serious truth.

"Did you buy this place?" Bash crouches down and takes some of the damp dirt into his hand and lets it fall between his fingers like he's assessing its worth. It's early September so dawn comes later than the summer, but at six in the morning, there's enough light to see our surroundings.

"Nah, it's not mine. It belongs to Mackenzie's EMT partner, Spencer." I let my gaze bounce from one end of the cabin to the other. Standing here at the first light of day with the dew settling over the window panes and the trees swaying in the slight breeze, it feels like we've been parachuted into some kind of fairy tale with a Stephen King-ish twist.

"It's like Little Red Riding Hood meets Pet Sematary." They all grunt their agreement with Bear's assessment.

"It's about to get a lot weirder. But first, I need you all to not freak out." As I speak, I take a couple of steps forward and turn to face them.

"Well, that's just fucking stupid, brother. You saying that is automatically gonna get us freaked out. It's like when they're screaming ‘NO!' or ‘STOP!' and it just makes you wanna pound ‘em harder and harder."

I look to the sky, begging for some much needed patience. Grinder's stupid comment makes Bear lose his shit.

"That's called rape, you fucking asshole!"

"Relax, brother. It's actually called role-play. You should try it. It's a cumfest every fucking time." Somebody save me.

"Christ, forget it. Why are we here, Psycho?" I nod at Bear, taking a deep breath, my hands on my hips and my head down as I search for the right words.

Except I don't get the chance to say a damn thing because my favorite sound in the world calls out behind me.

Enter Mackenzie, back from the dead.

"You're here cause I need help moving a body."

Raising my eyes and looking at my brothers through my lashes, I almost laugh at their cartoonish expressions.

Bash is wide-eyed, like a cat facing a bull with no way to run. Bear is blinking like maybe he's hallucinating or half-asleep as his mouth opens then closes, but the right words seem to escape him.

Grinder? Well, he's true to form.

"I knew that fucking ambulance was too close." We all look at him with shock in our eyes. "What? No fucking way an ambulance gets there two minutes after a call. We were out in the middle of no-fucking-where." Then he grins at my little Cherry Pie and I want to punch him in the eye for looking at her like she's his next meal. "Hey, Mac, death looks mighty fucking delicious on you." At his words, I do punch him. In the shoulder cause I'm not a complete fucking nutjob.

"Watch your fucking mouth, Grinder, or next time I'll rip your fucking nuts off."

Grinder rubs at his shoulder and, to his credit, manages to look a little sheepish.

"My bad, didn't mean no disrespect, Mac. I'm just sayin', it's good to see you breathing and shit." Fucking Grinder.

"Can we just go back to the fact that… she's alive?" Bear is still staring at Mackenzie as she trots down the wooden steps of the house and stands at my side.

"Yeah, it's a long story and I'll be glad to tell you as we move my brother's body." My arm automatically wraps around her shoulders, my protective stance unmistakable.

"Fuck, Mac. We really missed you." Bear doesn't even ask for permission—don't fucking judge me, she's my girl, no other man gets to touch her—as he steps forward, wraps his huge arms around her waist and hauls up like she weighs a total of nothing. I'd laugh at the sound of her giggling if I weren't put out by the fact that another man is getting this reaction out of her.

"That's enough." Everyone freezes, then four pairs of eyes are staring at me. "What? We get it. You're all happy she's alive. Now, put her down."

"Geez, grumpy is back."

I shoot Bash a death glare and, to my satisfaction, he looks away. Kid's getting a little too ballsy.

"Alright, so where are the shovels?" Bear claps his hands like we're about to play a round of Monopoly.

"Aww man, it's been so long since we've had to bury bodies. I've missed it."

Mackenzie pats Grinder on the cheek and grins. "You're welcome."

Fucking hell. This woman.

With the five of us working, Bash and I get Jake wrapped in plastic and tied off nice and tight while Bear and Grinder dig a hole away from the property and far enough from the river so it doesn't show up on a day of heavy rains.

"We should plant a tree here or something." All eyes land on Grinder.

"Why?" I ask as Bear slashes a hand in the air with a definite answer of his own.

"No."

"Why not? It'll be the only good thing he'll do… feed a tree," Bash pipes in, agreeing with Grinder.

"Because the roots will eventually dig him out at some point." We all nod, thankful Bear loves falling down rabbit holes of information.

"Makes sense," Bash whispers as we all look at the freshly moved earth for a second. It's nearing lunch time and we're all sweaty and dirty, but it doesn't stop me from pulling Mackenzie flush against my side, needing to feel her warmth.

"I think he's had enough of our time. Who's hungry?" I chuckle at Mackenzie's words but stop when Bear's words of wisdom act as a cold shower.

"We need to call church. The club needs to know." He looks to Mackenzie, and even though I know Bear would never harm a single hair on her head, my grip tightens around her waist. "Mac, you need to come with us."

We don't bother showering, so putting on our leathers after manual work with a corpse feels like Hell on Earth. The water heater in the cabin is just big enough for one shower and some change a day so it didn't make sense to waste time. That's why we have suites at the compound.

Which is where we're headed, ready to face the firing squad.

"All right, all right, calm your asses down. You sound like a bunch of toddlers jacked up on sugar." Everyone at church quiets down at Prez's fatherly order.

With Ninja running across the huge table, I tap the wood three times with a freshly cut carrot stick and chuckle when he runs to me like a well-oiled speed bike. He knows what's up. Prez's wife Vanessa prepares little baggies for me every day with different fruits and vegetables for Ninja. Apparently, while I was trying to survive in jail, they were scouring the online world and learning how to get organized when sharing their home with a pet rat. Okay, so jail ain't as bad as prison, but still.

"Sorry, Prez, we're just a little excited about getting our Enforcer back," Hoops calls out, and everyone goes back to slapping the table in unison while making obscene noises.

"How's your arse feeling, Psycho? Get a work-out in there?" I don't need to look up to know it's Sledge talking shit. The accent and the crude jab do the job perfectly.

"No more than you, brother. Heard Grinder's been practicing on you." I wink at Sledge as he throws a lighter at me hard enough that I have to duck out of the way, laughing.

"Touché, motherfucker."

The raucous being more than Ninja can handle, he rummages through the baggie, grabs an extra piece of raw cauliflower, and looks up at me with begging eyes.

"Come on, buddy." Picking him—and his goodies—up, I put him on my shoulder and let him run to the safety of my hoodie before depositing the veggies in there. I swear to fuck, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a garden growing in there one day. I unwrap a treat of my own once he's settled and pop it into my cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. Now shut the fuck up and listen." Prez's words are like a blanket over the room, the silence immediate as we all look to him for the order of the day.

The cramped room, I realize, has every one of our members here, save for Diablo and Axel. They've been up north trying to rebuild the SOK charter in New York after Marco Mancini destroyed it eight years ago. The few remaining members have tried their best to make something of it but they were barely patched in back then and knew nothing about running a club. According to Bear's regular updates, a couple of months ago, their charter president called ours and asked for help or else risk a permanent dissolution. Prez responded by sending two of our most trusted members who are apparently running that fucking ship as tight as a virgin's pussy. Diablo's words, not mine.

Mackenzie had to see Spencer, but she said she'd be here soon and my mind is solely on her when Prez brings me up to speed with what's been going on for the last few months while I was locked up.

Sure, Bear visited every two weeks and gave me whatever updates he could get away with in mixed company, but there's something to be said about being back in the midst of the group, the unity… the family. Nothing beats this dynamic.

"Most of the Rebels are in jail, maybe all of them. Who the fuck knows? Some disappeared when they didn't get picked up since they weren't at the trailer park when the stint went down." Prez is leaning back in his chair, a snarl on his lips like it always is when talking about our rival club.

"Maybe we get lucky and they all die a slow death," Shade mumbles from beside me and everyone calls out a "hear hear".

"From what our dear Deputy Sheriff tells me, their trials won't be happening for months still since the state needs time to gather all the evidence against them. With Jake being dead, she's guessing their Prez will be getting the heat for most of their illegal activities."

I grind my teeth at the mention of that piece of shit. Nobody knows this yet, but they will all die. Mackenzie got her revenge on Jake but they're all guilty of her trauma. Time to collect the debts, and the only currency I'm interested in is their heartbeats.

"Hey, Psycho, how'd it feel to get a drop on that piece of shit, Goblin?"

As the Mary Jane gets passed around, I crunch down on my sucker, pull the stick out of my mouth and chuck it into the trash can. With a freshly rolled joint in my mouth I light it up with Sledge's Zippo as I consider the best way to answer Grinder's question. Taking my time, I inhale deep, lean my head back and exhale.

"Better than a fucking orgasm." The room erupts in catcalls and banging fists until Prez does some banging of his own with his gavel.

"All right, calm the fuck down. We still have a problem out there. These fuckers are in jail and yet those dangerous drugs are still out there, circulating. Now, I promised Python's mother we'd find the fuckers responsible for the lethal batch and I never walk away from a promise. The cops are working on their end but we're not getting tunnel vision. Clearly, the Rebels were just a middle man. I want the motherfucking head of the snake." More banging on the table, then a few seconds of silence as we all remember our beloved prospect. Fuck, I miss him. Being here without him breaks my heart a little.

"I never told y'all, but Python came to me as a last ditch effort to get clean. His momma was Vanessa's nurse when…" He clears his throat and rubs a hand over his beard. I recognize the look in his eyes. It's pain and loss but none of us push him for more information. "She took care of my old lady real good. So I wanted to take care of her son."

The room falls quiet as we all look inside ourselves, knowing we've all suffered in some way either before, during, or after we patched in. When it comes to our brothers, our empathy is sky high.

"Anyway, we need to keep our ears to the ground and start some dialogue with our friends out there. Someone knows something and I want that information. Now, on a more positive note, we've got new prospects that need to be voted in to join Bash." As Prez nods to Hoops, his VP gets up and opens the door. Two people I've never seen before walk in, one of them being a woman.

Well, damn. Ballsy.

"Kellan Jones, aka Jonesy, is being sponsored by Sledge." The latter slaps the former on the back, nearly sending him flying across the table. Dude needs some meat on his bones. My eyes travel the length of him from top to bottom, taking in the tats and piercings, and liking what I see. From what Bear said, the kid's from a rich family up north and decided to break ranks for a life of freedom and danger. We'll see if he can keep up.

"Kincaid Ford is being sponsored by Hoops." All eyes turn on the tall chick decked out in leather and sporting chin-length blue hair. Blue. Not grandma-gray went wrong, actual Yamaha blue. Guess she's a fan.

"Dibs!" Our fascination with our first female prospect is interrupted by Grinder's outburst, and without a second thought, every single one of us throws the nearest object at him, making him duck for cover.

"Sorry." His mumbled apology earns him a chuckle around the room. Well, except from Hoops, who leans down and whispers in his ear. I can't hear him but the way Grinder's face blanches, I'm guessing it's nothing fun.

"All for?" Prez calls out as Sledge takes the minutes with the number of votes for and against.

We all raise our hands for multiple reasons. First, we need new blood. Second, having a female prospect will only be an advantage for our club. A change in perspective can only benefit us.

"Good. Welcome… for now. You fuck up, you're out. You disrespect, you're out. You betray… you're out," Prez lays down the law like he always does to fresh meat.

"Permanently." We all chuckle at whoever spoke in the back but Prez doesn't pause.

"You'll get used and abused in all the normal ways, but if anyone steps out of line, you come to me or Hoops. Got it?" They both nod and the pause that follows is my cue to speak.

"Prez? I gotta say something." Here goes nothing. "That last week in jail, I found out—" My phone buzzes in my hand and without looking, I know it's Mackenzie so I answer. "Yeah?" Prez looks at me with fire in his eyes since phones aren't allowed in church. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all that.

"The fuck, Psycho?" I hate that glare in Prez's eyes, but it's truth time.

"We need to go outside so I can show you." I stand, making sure Ninja isn't jostled too much, and walk to the door.

"Fucking drama queen." Bear says as he passes me out the door with the rest of the club following close behind.

"Holy fucking shit!"

"How the fuck?"

"Fucking knew it!"

"Oh my God!" I turn at the sound of Vanessa's voice and grin when I see the tears running down her cheeks. Those are happy tears and happiness is always welcome.

"Surprise?" Mackenzie mumbles, her arms out wide and her cheeks pink with either embarrassment or fear.

Prez looks at me and the glare is gone, but the questions are definitely there.

"I'm gonna need you to fill me in, son."