Chapter 1
Bear
Red.
That was all I couldsee.
The blaze of rage burning in myeyes.
The stinging of sadistic desire forrevenge.
The sight of coursingblood.
Abel’sblood.
I was riding south on Interstate 85 in the middle of the night, just past Greenville. I hadn’t even noticed when we crossed over the North and South Carolina boarder. Jaxon was close on my flank. We road well together. There was a stinging emptiness though. Going up to Vilas, we had been three. Riding home with one missing was something I never thought would happen in my wildestdreams.
“Fuck you, Rigger!” I cursed my fallen traitor of a brother, screaming into the damp, still night air. My words were swallowed by the wind that whipped through my beard. I was the one who had brought Rigger into the club. I was responsible for trusting him on this mission. It was all my fault that Abel wasdead.
The weight of that responsibility would haunt me for the rest of mydays.
I was the reason why Abel was dead.I knew it to be true, but I could barely believeit.
Abel Hellock was not just a friend, another president, another Unacceptable—he was the backbone of the entire organization. He was the binding force that kept our men honest, loyal, and brave. What the hell were we going to do withouthim?
There was no method to the madness that I could pinpoint. For the first time since the president patch was put on my chest, I was unsure of the future of the club and unsure of the skull and bones that graced my back. As we neared an exit in White Plains, I signaled to Jaxon that we were pullingoff.
It was for a call I had been dreading to make for days, but I knew it was far toooverdue.
Pulling into a 7-Eleven parking lot, Jaxon and I parked atpumps.
“Everything all right, Pres?” he called over to me, pulling his skull bucketoff.
I grabbed my cell out of the right saddlebag of my hog. “Yeah, fill ’em up. I have to hit thehead.”
Even though Jaxon would find out I was calling Buck, I didn’t want him to hear me. I knew my voice would be shaky and hesitant. I knew I would fumble for words. It was not the time or place for a leader to show any sign of weakness, especially in front of a soldier who was losing his faith as well. Jaxon would never admit it to me, but my number two was wavering—I could feel it deep in mybones.
The store clerk’s eyes got wide as her gaze wandered over to me when the bell chimed overhead, announcing my entrance into the tinyshop.
I nodded over her way. “Hello,darlin’.”
She feigned a smile. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen, and I knew she was scared shitless. Her hand slowly disappeared under the counter; I knew she was reaching for some sort of weapon hidden under there. It wasn’t the first time I had gotten a reaction like that from a female. I was pretty used to it, and I couldn’t blame her. It was three in the morning, and Jaxon and I had ridden up on screaming hogs wearing cuts, looking meaner than sin. If she were my daughter, I would have taught her to do the same damnthing.
I pointed to the back, where a bigBathroomsign hung over the hallway. “Just hittin’ the john,dear.”
I walked into the tiny white washroom that smelled like mildew and piss. The lock clicked. The phone was gripped in my grasp, and I knew I had to dial. I knew it was time. To say that I was nervous was a damn understatement. It was the hardest thing in the fucking world for me to admit, but I was scared shitless to tell Buck about Abel. The other charters needed to know, deserved to hear it from me, but out of all the other presidents, Kane Buckley was going to be the hardest to tell. He needed to be first. I couldn’t bear the thought of him hearing the news from Blaz orMaccon.
It was two in the morning in Killeen, Texas. Thankfully, Buck was usually still awake at that hour. The phone only rang once before his gruff voice answered, “Yeah? Who the heck is this calling at thishour?”
“It’s Bear.” I sucked in a deep breath, waiting for hisresponse.
“Hold on.” I could hear him shuffling a little and Barley mumbling in the background. Buck whispered, “It’s all right, sweetheart. Just a call I have to take.” The sound of him kissing his wife on the cheek came through the line before he shut a door behind him. “Bear? You allright?”
I chomped down, churned my jaw for a few seconds. No words would comeout.
“Bear? What in the fuck is going on?” Buck’s voice was low as he growled into thephone.
“It’s Abel,” I finally spit out. Flashes of Abel’s skull ripping open as the bullet pierced the back of his head haunted me while I fought to find the words to explain the horror of that entiresituation.