Prologue
As he sat in Devil’s office, Pussy didn’t know why he’d been called to the president of Chaos Bleeds. Most of the time he was in this office for a meeting with the other men in the club, not one on one. Within a month of dealing with him, Frederick Gonzalez had changed the game, and now they were all in turmoil. The Skulls were no longer out of the danger zone. Tiny had had to make a deal with Gonzalez to get back Butch’s woman back. Pussy felt for the club. They all did. Gonzalez was proving to be a bigger problem than even he anticipated. So much had happened in the last few months, and Pussy was struggling to keep up. Their last visit to The Skulls had been around the revelation of Alex being a father. He joked about the trouble The Skulls were attracted to, but Pussy really wished for a break. Chaos Bleeds were starting to get problems at their door as well. This time it seemed the two MCs had the same problem to deal with.
Their deliveries and rides were more dangerous than ever before, all because of their deal with Gonzalez on transporting drugs. Pussy hated going on the runs with his brothers. Being on his bike was the fun part, but the danger, the risk, wasn’t fun. The chance of them getting caught was stronger than ever. There was no way they could transport over thirty girls without someone finding out the truth. The deal with no girls had soon changed. Devil couldn’t refuse as their hands were tied. They all knew who the real boss was at the moment, and it wasn’t the president of their club.
The fun of settling down was now turning into a nightmare. Moving around, never sticking to the same patch of land, had kept them away from greedy bastards. They were in danger of going to prison or worse, ending six feet f**king under. Pussy liked living, as did the other members in the club.
“What can I do for you, boss?” Pussy asked, sitting into the chair. Staring at a picture on the far wall of Lexie and Devil had him thinking about Sasha Carmichael. Ever since their encounter over a month ago he couldn’t get her out of his mind. When he went to the diner he saw her sitting on her own looking petrified. He made a point of talking to her even though her stepfather hated him. Pussy didn’t give a f**k what others thought of him. The club mattered to him more than his own personal feelings.
Running a hand through his hair, he forced himself to look away from the photograph. His president, Devil, was one lucky man, and all of the brothers were happy for him and Lexie.
“The Skulls are now part of the shit. They received a head yesterday with one of Butch’s old friends. Her head was inside a box sent to Butch’s woman. Gonzalez has stepped up the game.” Devil was frowning as he spoke.
“Okay, boss, you’re starting to scare me, and I don’t scare easily.” Pussy sat up and then leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees. He knew that Gonzalez was threatening their lives at every turn. A simple business deal to keep Curse alive had suddenly turned into a f**king nightmare. Pussy, for one, was tired of being the lapdog of someone he hated. Gonzalez wasn’t a good man, not even a decent man, and yet Ashley was still alive, which surprised him. “Was the woman a friend?”
“No, the woman helped Butch escape Daddy Gonzalez when the kid was thirteen.” Devil ran a hand over his face. “Before I show you what I’m about to show you. I want you to know that I never intended for this to happen.”
Standing up, Pussy waited for Devil to peel away the box. The moment he saw the severed head and recognized the hair, Pussy gripped his stomach. Fuck. He’d never been in love with Ashley. They were never going to get married, have a load of kids, and be happy. She was one of his best friends, the only female best friend that he ever had.
“Is that Ashley?” he asked, turning away from the mess. Devil covered the head up.
Pussy had dealt with a lot of shit in his time, but a severed head from the body of a friend was not one of them. When he was around, the enemy died, not one of his friends or the men he trusted with his life. This was why he went on the road. Once he was there, no one could get to him to make him care.
“Yes.” Devil stood as well, moving away from the desk.
“He killed her when he offered her protection.” Pussy paced the length of the office. He was pissed. No, he was beyond pissed. He would like to kill the bastard with his own bare hands.
“Yes. We were meeting up with The Skulls for help, and now Tiny and his boys are in as much shit as we are. He’s been assigned the run with us to collect the girls.”
Pussy shook his head. “A man this powerful, commanding this many men has to be seen on the Feds’ radar. There’s no way they wouldn’t be watching him.”
“Then we’ve got more reason to watch our backs. Any Feds or undercover agents on this job are risking their lives to bring down as many people as possible. If not, then Gonzalez is just a criminal who’s been able to stay under the alert. It takes time for people to catch on when girls go missing. Take one or two from a state, no one sees what is truly happening. Either way, I’m not going down for this f**ker. We keep our head above water. No more undercover deals. The boys using drugs, get them into rehab. I don’t want any of this crap to fall back on us. I’ve got enough to deal with without drawing more attention our way.”
Pussy stared at the box thinking about Ashley. “Shit, who’s going to tell Mia?”
Curse’s woman had been best friends with Ashley. Their friendship had been strange. They were like chalk and cheese, yet they stuck by each other through everything. Even Pussy admired Mia for what she had done to protect Ashley when they were younger. Mia had killed Ashley’s father when she’d stumbled onto him raping her.
“She’s already been told. Curse is consoling her right now.” Devil looked down at the floor. “We’ve got work to do.”
After he followed his president out of the office, they called everyone around them. There was nothing Pussy or Devil could do or say to make this any easier. Ashley was dead, Gonzalez had done it, and there was f**k all he could do about it.
Separating the drug users from the group, Pussy started to make arrangements to have them booked into a rehab center. Nothing made any sense to him. Fuck, he needed to get his dick in a tight cunt before he went insane.
****
Sasha leaned against the wall of the library. She listened to the hustle and bustle of everyone going past. None of them paid her any attention. She didn’t mean anything to anyone. There was a time when people would stop and say hello. Then her mother had married her stepfather, and now no one wanted to say anything to her.