Lust, love, and second chances.
Growing up in the fast-paced and
rough life of a motorcycle club wasn’t easy. Cleaning up the mess his father
had made of Vipers Creed meant sacrifice. Cade ‘Spook’ Baker had given up
everything to bring the club life back to what it was supposed to be: a family.
The choices he made were not what he
wanted, but they were necessary for the club as a whole.
Second chances rarely came to Spook,
so when his Trixie walked boldly into his clubhouse, the decision was made.
Trixie would once again be his, this time for good.
Trix Lamasters was raised by a
master—a master con. All grown up, she made her life solid by making it about
her club, Sirens. But one bad business decision brought her to her knees,
forcing her to call on the one person she had sworn she would never trust
again.
Pasts have a way of not staying
there. Things that were buried deep have a way of finding themselves in the
light of a new day. Could something that had once crashed and burned for Spook
and Trixie find a way out of the wreckage? With the odds against them, can they
find a way to overcome the challenges, or will it all blow up in their faces?
**Due to content,
mature audiences only.**
Challenged (Vipers Creed MC#1) ©Ryan
Michele 2016
Prologue
My
head filled with a cloudy, dense fog that I couldn’t shake. Even with my eyes
open, a filmy haze covered them, making everything blurry. Voices were muffled,
as if I were under water, sinking. I thought I recognized one, but couldn’t
tell for sure.
Too hard to think.
I
attempted to pull my arms up, but they were immediately halted by something.
The hard, cold, heavy attachments clinked like metal. Even straining to move
them, my muscles were so weak, so lethargic I couldn’t. I tried my legs, and
the same thing happened.
A
hard surface pressed against my back as the cool air of the room cascaded over
my skin, my nipples, my stomach… Oh God, was I naked?
I
opened my mouth, wanting to scream as deep panic set in. Unfortunately, nothing
came out except air. Even that took more effort than I had in me.
Placing
the pieces of the puzzle together, I couldn’t make heads or tails out of
anything.
Heat
at my side had me turning in that direction, only to see a fuzzy, black figure.
I squinted then blinked, trying to get the focus to come back, but nothing. Not
a damn thing.
“Hello,
darlin’. Welcome to hell.”
Chapter
One
Trix
A
lump gathered in my throat settling like a rock, hard and brutal, sucking the
wind out of me. My hand slightly twitched as I dialed the number I never in a
million years thought I would call. I switched the phone to my other hand in an
effort to shake out the trembling, because nervousness wasn’t an option. Trix
Lamasters would not turn into some twit who couldn’t think straight over one
phone call. Being a shrewd businesswoman, I’d learned from the best not to let
shit get to me, how to compartmentalize things and deal.
I
swallowed hard, moving the lump from my throat to settle into my gut like a
boulder. As I focused, my breathing evened out. The thick steel in my spine
could handle anything life threw at me, including this call. Including the man
who would be on the other end of the line.
The
green button stared back at me, my finger hovering over it. Then I pressed it
and pulled the phone to my ear just as it started ringing.
One
ring … two … three …
“What?”
was barked through the phone line with a male’s voice tainted by harsh
impatience.
“Can
I talk to Cade? Shit.” I stopped myself. He wasn’t Cade anymore. I needed to
remember that a lot had changed. “I mean, Spook. Is Spook around?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear, looking at the bright screen, making sure
the call hadn’t dropped. Nope, the little numbers in the corner were still
counting away. I pressed it back to my ear, waiting a few beats.
“Who
wants to fucking know?” His tone turned gruffer, almost as if he were a
protective watch dog of Cade’s, and nothing or no one got past him.
Watch
dog or not, I wasn’t about to get eaten.
“This
is Trix Lamasters. I need to speak to him.”
More
silence, not even a breath or noise in the background.
“Hello?”
His
voice came over the line right as I intended to speak again. “Stop fucking
saying hello. I’m here.”
Hell,
maybe someone pissed in his Wheaties this morning, his attitude having nothing
to do with me. Or maybe it was just him.
I
slapped my hand to my forehead as the word dumbass
rang in my mind.
“Sorry,
I thought the call dropped.” Now I apologized to the rude man? Get a grip, Trix.
“What
do you need with Spook?” The guard dog didn’t give me an inch. Nevertheless, he
didn’t need to know my business.
I
needed a diversion.
“Can
you just get a message to him to call me?”
“Babe,
either tell me what you need, or nothing fuckin’ gets to him.” His tone turned
flat and resolute.
“Fuck,”
I muttered then heard him chuckle. The damn man needed a bone before he played.
Asshole. “An employee of mine has been seen at your clubhouse. I need to talk
to her.”
“Call
her,” he quipped.
“She
doesn’t have a phone,” I retorted, feeling the fire burn in my veins.
“Not
my problem,” the man sneered. From his attitude, I knew he would have no
problem hanging up on me right now, never telling Cade I needed to talk to him.
Good thing I dealt with assholes on a regular basis.
“Look,
the bitch owes me money.” Anger raced through my body. I let it be heard
through each clipped word.
He
let out a deep laugh that was almost intriguing if he weren’t a jerk. “You may
as well kiss that cash good-bye.”
My
pride had other ideas.
“Fuck
no. I want what’s owed to me.” I sighed, needing a different tactic. “Look, can
you just give Spook my name?” He would either call or he wouldn’t, but maybe
that would get the dog to want to nose around. Maybe curiosity would get him to
spread my name at least.
“This
is gonna be fun. Hang on.” The man must have covered the mouthpiece with his
hand, because everything he said was muffled except for him calling Spook’s
name. That, I could hear clearly. My adrenaline spiked at the thought of Cade
coming on the line.
“Yeah?”
a voice I recognized from my dreams said into the phone. The deep, raspy tenor
had grown over time and slithered down my spine all the way to my knees, giving
them a slight tremble. It took only one word to make my stomach flip.
Fuck,
I knew this was a bad idea, but I wasn’t
that girl anymore. He would not have power over me. I wouldn’t allow it.
I
paced my small living room, needing the movement to get my knees back in line.
“Cade?
It’s Trix Lamasters.”
“First,
the name’s Spook. Second, who?”
That
one kind of stung. All right, more than stung. It tore another hole in my
already battered heart was more like it. The asshole didn’t even remember me,
but what did I expect, being one in a sea of many? There was absolutely no
reason I would have stood out to him.
“We
went to school together,” I tried.
Silence.
I
rolled my eyes to the ceiling, hoping divine intervention would give me the
gift of patience or a gun. Neither came.
“Whatever.
I get you don’t remember me, but you have one of my employees there. I need to
talk to her. She owes me money, and I need it back.”
“Trixie
Lamasters.” I could hear the devilish grin as his words snaked over the phone.
Not going to lie, my pussy quivered.
No
one called me Trixie anymore, because once upon a time, he did and I had loved
it. After he abruptly left my life, taking the one thing I could never get
back, I refused to let anyone call me by that name. Never again would I allow
the hollow feeling that name represented to seep through me. Now, hearing him
after fifteen years, the vault of memories opened wide, something I did not
want to happen. I didn’t want to feel, yet each recollection of the past
bombarded my mind.
“Long
time.”
I
paused mid-step as a flash of younger Cade hit me. Shaking my head clear, I
continued to pace through my living room.
“Yeah,
very long. Anyway, you have a woman there by the name of Nanette King. Can you
hand her over to me?”
I
wouldn’t let the smoothness of his voice draw me in like it had all those years
ago, reducing me to a pile of teenaged mush. Strictly business, I told myself, because business I could handle.
“How
do you know she’s here?”
“I
had her followed, and it led to you.”
I
guessed he didn’t like the fact that I had found her that way, judging from the
muttered curses that followed. Each word made me smile. I had a payroll of
people who worked for me now, and some little twit-fart would not run off with
my money. That wasn’t how I operated my business.
Nanette
had fallen off radar. Cade’s club happened to be the last place she was seen;
therefore, I had to call him. I may as well have strapped zip-ties around my
wrists, locking them in place.
“First,
if she’s at the club, there’s a reason. Second, bitches here don’t go by their
real names, so I don’t know if she’s around, because I don’t know a Nanette.
Third, you come to the clubhouse, and we’ll talk.”
Business
was business, but my heart spiked at the thought of seeing him again.
Cade’s
club, Vipers Creed MC, had been in Dyersburg for years. Even before I came into
this world, their presence had been well known. This town had tales, but these
days, the Vipers were mostly known for Creed’s Automotive where they made
custom bikes and cars in their own little world located on the outskirts of
town.
I’d
hoped to avoid a meeting since I couldn’t see any point to it. I wasn’t in the
mood for a high school reunion. The past needed to stay there, locked up tight.
“I’ll
describe her to you. Tell me if she’s there, and I’ll send someone over to get
her,” I declared, trying to veer him from this path.
Negotiations
were something I excelled at. There had to be an arrangement that suited us
both, one we could manage over the phone. It would be the best course of
action. The less contact I had with him, the better. I could have Ike, one of
the bouncers at Sirens, pick her up. Win-win all around.
He
chuckled, and my body went on alert because of the slyness in it.
“Babe,
you don’t get how this works. You want something from me that I have, bring
your ass here, and we’ll discuss it. Tomorrow night, seven.” Silence.
This
time when I looked at the screen, the number fifty-seven blinked rapidly. He’d
hung up on me.
“That
arrogant piece of shit!” I growled, tossing my phone to the couch where it
bounced on the cushion.
I
should have known he’d still be a dick. Some things never changed. Guess I was
going to meet up with Cade after all.
I
completely ignored the slight tremor that thought caused.
***
During
the entire drive, I berated myself for giving the money to Nanette in the first
place. One stupid decision started this path, one I could have avoided if I’d
stuck to my rules.
Nanette’s eyes were anxiously cast
to the floor of my office as she rung her hands together absently.
When she didn’t talk, I prompted,
“Speak.” It sounded like a command I would give a dog, but at times like these,
when people wouldn’t get on with their shit, it was deserved. I had shit to do,
and she obviously needed something.
“I need to borrow five thousand
dollars,” she said in a surge.
I leaned back in the leather chair
behind my desk, my brow raised as her eyes looked everywhere but at mine.
Nervous? No, she was damn near petrified.
I waited out the quiet for her eyes
to meet mine, the fear coming across loud and clear.
When they did, I asked, “For what?”
I wanted to hear her out, because if
she had problems, I needed to know whether those problems would blow back onto
Sirens. It was always about the business.
“The bank’s gonna foreclose on my
house if I don’t come up with the money by Friday.” Her eyes filled with
moisture.
While I wasn’t a cruel and heartless
bitch, this wasn’t my problem. She was a grown adult and needed to handle her
own problems, including money to pay her bills.
“No,” I answered firmly. “You can go
now.”
Nanette’s face turned to dismay as
my answer rolled around in that head of hers. Her skin paled, her nose
twitched, and she swallowed hard, as if not to puke. She began to say words;
only, they came out as sounds of mumbled breath as she lost her composure.
I held up my hand in an effort to
stop her choking rambles. “Stop trying to talk. Listen. I’m not a bank; I’m not
an ATM machine; I do not run cash advances. You need money, you work for it.
That’s how the world goes round.”
“Please,” she started in a rush.
“I’m taking care of my dad. He’s sick, and if I lose the house, I’ll have
nowhere to make sure he’s okay.”
“Not my problem.” This was one of
the reasons I closed myself off from the people around me, only letting a small
few into my tight-knit circle. I had heard so many sob stories over the past
five years running Sirens that not much penetrated the thick wall around me.
“Trix, I’ll pay you back every penny
with interest. Please. You’re my last hope. My dad has lung cancer, and it’s
progressing quickly. All my money goes to his treatments, and because of that,
I got behind on the mortgage. I just need an advance on my checks. I’ll work
extra shifts, and come in whenever you want.” Her words strung together like a
melody, and fuck me, I felt her panic.
She continued, “He has no insurance,
so I’m paying for everything out-of-pocket. It’s bleeding me dry. I don’t know
what else to do.” Tears rolled down her face. Judging from her body language,
which I had learned from the best how to hone in on, the bitch was telling the
truth.
Fucking hell. I didn’t want to feel
it. I tried to push it back. The businesswoman inside of me screamed, ‘No fucking way!’ while the woman inside of me was proud of how Nanette took care of her
father. Was I really going to do this? Shit.
“Twenty-five percent interest to be
paid in full six months from now.”
Nanette’s eyes lit up in shock.
“Really?”
“That’s six thousand two hundred
fifty dollars in my hand six months from this date. A fucking day late, I’ll
make your life a living hell.” I would, too, finding every way possible.
“Okay,” she said, swiping away the
remnants of her tears, a flash of relief snaking into her eyes.
I folded my hands, placing them in
front of me. “I’m not fucking around, Nanette. These are the terms.” I pulled
out the gun from the holster attached under my desk, setting it on the hard
wood. Her eyes widened. “Every last penny in six months,” I reminded her. “You
sure you wanna do that?” It was the only out she would get if she agreed.
She nodded her head then spoke, “I
understand. Six months, sixty-two fifty in your hand.”
I put the gun back in its holster,
my warning as clear as I could make it.
“Out. I’ll have the money for you by
the end of your shift.”
My
damn pride would not let this go. The bitch owed me a lot of money. I wanted it
back. I wanted her. If that meant I had to go into unfamiliar territory with a
guy I did not like, so be it.
***
“Oh, my God, he’s coming this way,”
my friend Beth practically screeched.
I hit her arm, trying to get her to
stop embarrassing the hell out of me, as the hottest guy in school walked our
way. Most considered him on the bad boy list, and damn if that didn’t send my
heart a flutter.
His eyes locked on mine. I couldn’t
stop staring; he had some sort of trance over me. Those blue eyes held mischief
and intrigue.
“Hey. How you doin’?” His voice was
deeper than most of the other boys in school, making him seem older and more
mature.
“Fine,” I responded, my nervousness
coming through on that one word.
“Wanna go out?” he asked as my heart
squeezed. The hottest guy in school had just asked me to go out with him. Holy
fucking shit.
“Sure,” I replied as calmly as I
could.
“Cool. Meet me at six at Regan’s.”
Regan’s was a local diner hangout
that we all went to regularly.
“Okay.”
He winked then turned, striding off.
Beth’s wide smile mimicked mine as
we closed our eyes and did a silent, little, open-mouth scream. I had a date
with the Cade Baker.
As
I pulled myself out of my thoughts, my breath hitched at the monstrosity in
front of me: huge cinderblocks stacked one on top of the other, higher than my
two-story house. The ends looked like princess parapets with sharp points in
the roof. Windows all around them provided a view of every direction. At closer
look, I noticed men standing inside them, their eyes trained on me. I felt like
I was going into a war zone instead of a motorcycle club.
I
rolled up, stopping the SUV at the closed gate to the entrance.
Unease
whispered around me due to the heavy security. Who in the hell were they
protecting in there, the fucking president?
A
large man built like a stubby Mac truck with a goatee and light brown hair came
up to my window, his eyes covered by black glasses. I hit the automatic button
to lower my window, waiting for it to clear all the way down.
“What
can I do for ya?” he asked, bending into the window with a smirk on his face.
He made no qualms about looking down the front of my shirt at my ample cleavage.
I hadn’t worn the shirt for that purpose, but I had very few shirts that didn’t
show off the girls.
I
snapped my fingers three times in quick succession, and his eyes met mine. “My
eyes are up here.”
“But
down there is just as fucking good.” He licked his lips as lust blazed off him.
Men,
they were all the same Booze, bitches, and boobs.
“I’m
here to see Cade.” Dammit, I needed to stop that. Cade wasn’t his damn
name any more, but separating the two came as a challenge. “I mean Spook. He’s
expecting me.”
“Fuck,
boss man always gets the prime pussy.” He groaned in a way that suggested this
type of occurrence was routine, an idea which I pushed out of my head as soon
as it entered.
I
arched my brow. “No one gets my pussy but me,” I combated, tilting my head just
a touch.
I
told things like they were and didn’t back down from a fight or a challenge.
That being said, I had also learned how to cut my losses and get the hell out
of a bad situation. Burly man here would not intimidate me.
“Doubt
that one.” He nodded to one of the guys in the tall tower, and the steel gate
slowly started to open with a loud creak in front of me. “Have a good time, and
when you’re done, come find me.”
“No,
thanks,” I murmured, driving away from him with no intention of searching him
out ever.
The
wide area felt vast, almost like a whole city block. I had lived in Tennessee
all my life, so of course, I’d known of the Vipers Creed. Everyone did.
However, to actually see their compound, to be in their space, unnerved me.
There was an aura of power that I felt down to my bones, causing me to fight
back a shiver.
Vipers
Creed MC had bought an old army compound many years ago. The structure on the
outside reminded me of the classic war movies I passed by on television. Inside
the gates, though, looked nothing like the starkness of the outside.
Several
buildings outlined the space. An enormous structure looked like it had two,
maybe three, levels to it. I assumed that was the main building, because
several smaller concrete structures surrounded a large courtyard with bright
green grass and a fire pit off to the side. Some actually looked as if they
were homes with plants and flowers around them. It seemed homey, comfortable in
a way, like a family lived here and took care of it.
Off
to the far left sat Creed’s Automotive, with several hot rods and a few bikes
lining its parking lot.
A
spot near the larger building came into view. I parked my car, turned off the
ignition, and then sat back in my seat, giving myself a moment. I did this
before every business meeting just to make sure I got my head on straight. Too
bad this meeting had to be with Cade. If rumors over the years served me right,
he was the president of Vipers Creed. The two guys I had talked to confirmed it
with the boss man bullshit.
People
changed a lot over time, going different paths, some good and some not so good.
I wasn’t a judge, jury, or executioner in this scenario, but I had to wonder,
with all the security, exactly how much Cade changed from the boy I’d known all
those years ago. Did his life happen to be so dangerous that he had to be
behind cement walls with guys guarding them? And if it were that dangerous, why
would he choose this life?
I
wanted to bang my head on the steering wheel. It didn’t matter. I was here for
one reason and one reason only. I should have found comfort in the knowledge
that the meet was business, but it didn’t come.
With
a heavy sigh, I opened the SUV door then hopped down to the blacktop. I pulled
my shirt down, readjusting myself and making sure the girls were covered. I’d
gone simple, wearing a pair of ripped jeans, a blue V-neck top, and flats. I
loaded myself up with silver on my wrists and a couple of chains around my
neck. I didn’t do much with my hair besides run the brush through it. I liked
having my chestnut tresses fall in thick waves down my back.
“Hey,
mouse,” a man with a bald head and a tailored beard said from my left. Black
sunglasses covered his eyes, and his lips were lifted into a sexy smirk. He
wore a leather vest, which had a Secretary
patch on it, over a dark blue T-shirt. He was attractive in his own unique
way.
Mouse
was a strange greeting, but I went with it.
“Hi,
I’m here to see Ca—Spook,” I told him, lifting my hand to block the penetrating
sun that my sunglasses had no chance of hindering.
“I
bet you are.” He chuckled, running his hand over his beard as he appraised me.
I
should have felt heat from his intense stare, but I didn’t. Okay, maybe a
flicker if I was being honest with myself. I knew how I looked, considering I
saw myself in the mirror every morning.
My
body drove some guys crazy because I had an abundance of tits and ass. I
understood that. It was even flattering that men found me attractive. At the
moment, though, I didn’t his need his appraisal or anyone else’s. I just wanted
to get this shit over with. In and out. Wipe my hands clean of Cade again.
“Can
you tell me where he is?”
The
bald man walked closer, holding out his arm with a crooked elbow like an usher
would do at a wedding. I smiled. It was cute, especially from a burly man like
him. I placed my hand in the bend of his firm arm.
“Let
me show you to him,” he said.
We
began to walk, and all the while, the heads of the guys sitting in the
courtyard area turned and whistles erupted. I ignored the noise, falling into
step with the man.
“Thanks,”
I told him with a pat on the arm.
“Anything
for the boss man.”
While
I didn’t know Cade’s life, I had some assumptions. I watched the television
shows about men in motorcycle clubs and all the havoc they raised. I didn’t
know if they were actually true, but at least I wasn’t going in completely
blind. I did know they had a hierarchy of power, and the men had to ride
Harley’s. Other than that, I only knew what the TV shows told me.
Who am I kidding? I was pretty much clueless.
The
man chuckled deeply. “So, what’s a hot piece like you coming here for?”
When
he asked the question, I looked up at him. Lines sprinkled around his eyes and
lips like he’d ridden his bike in the sun for hours. His face matched the
tanned color of his head. It wasn’t a look, though; it was him.
A
small grin played on his lips, catching my attention. I didn’t know if he
already knew the answer to his question and was playing me or if he actually
was being inquisitive. Once again, I rolled with it.
“I
have word one of my girls is here with you. She owes me money, and I want it.”
He
opened a solid, steel door, and we walked into darkness. I ripped my sunglasses
from my face as the low hum of the newly turned on lights illuminated the room.
The scents of stale booze, cigarettes, and sex permeated the air like a thick
haze. I knew those three smells by heart because I smelled them every day. They
were my livelihood, the reason I had stepped foot in Cade’s world.
“This
way,” he said, pulling my arm.
I
followed him into a wide open space. Tables were scattered throughout with
chairs at each of them. A long bar sat on the other side of the room with loads
of liquor, looking like it could give me a run for my money in comparison to
the one I had at Sirens.
I
felt kind of strange holding this guy’s arm without knowing his name, so I
asked.
He
lifted his shades to the top of his head and stared down at me with eyes the
color of the ocean. They weren’t blue, and they weren’t green. They were both,
and they were breathtaking. I got sucked into them momentarily.
“Stiff.”
“Stiff?”
I questioned as he walked me through the space and down a long hallway. What in
the hell kind of name was Stiff?
Pictures
hung on the wooden planked walls, but at the pace we were going, I had no time
to look at them without stumbling over my own feet.
He
chuckled. “Yeah, mouse. You stick around, and I’m sure you’ll find out why.” He
winked then stopped us in front of a wooden door. With his fist, he banged
loudly three times, shaking the pictures on the wall next to the door.
“What?”
barked a voice from the opposite side. Even with the wood between us, with that
one word, I felt my body instantly awaken, wanting to pull toward the sound.
“Someone
here to see ya,” Stiff yelled back.
“Nice
intercom you have here,” I murmured.
Stiff
chuckled.
Little did I know that opening that door would
change my life forever.
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Ryan
Michele has a huge obsession with reading, which only came to life after her
best friend said she had to read Twilight. After reading that series, her
entire world changed in the blink of an eye. Not only was she sucked into new
worlds and all of the wonderful words authors put down on paper, she felt the
urge to begin to write down the characters that played inside of her head. In
doing so, Safe was born. Then Wanting You and the Ravage MC series.
When
she's not reading or writing, she spends time taking care of her two children
and her husband, enjoying the outdoors and laying in the sun.
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