Deceived (10 page)

Bonus Book

The Wretched

By

Camilla Isles

Chapter One

The gazebo located in the outdoor garden area of The Copper Door restaurant was decorated with pink, red, and white carnations. Green vines wrapped around the railings and small twinkling lights hung from the gazebo’s roof. Inside the gazebo were the bride and groom flanked by their wedding party.

It had been six months since Lexi and Eli, President of the Keepers of Bedlam Motorcycle Club moved in together. They fell deeper in love and decided a wedding was in order, especially since she was five months pregnant. Raul, the cook at The Copper Door and Lexi’s friend and co-worker walked her down the aisle. Blaze, Eli’s VP in the KOBMC was his best man, while Alice, Blaze’s old lady, stood up with Lexi as her matron of honor.

The rest of the club attended along with friends in the community that felt the KOBMC was an asset to the small town of Carmel. Not everyone felt this way however. The KOBMC dealt in stolen goods, yet the small town police department took a blind eye. They didn’t have the manpower to police the club. Besides, the club contributed to children’s charities and so it rather evened it out. At least that’s what the police and townspeople told themselves.

Lexi remained the manager at The Copper Door, not willing to sever all ties to her past life, at least not yet. She loved Raul and his family, and feared her company might send someone with an iron fist to take over. So she kept working, although once the baby came she’d have to make a tough decision on whether to keep working or not.

Eli had never been happier. The last six months were a dream come true. He had the woman he loved, she was pregnant, and he was getting married. Before he met Lexi, Eli drifted; he had no center, no purpose. But the moment she came into his life everything changed. When he met Lexi, he and the club were going through a tumultuous time. The club lost several members due to secrets and lies. Their deaths and the deaths in a rival gang almost brought the club to its knees. Yet, they were able to rebuild and continue, becoming stronger than before.

Rose and Dog sat in the second row watching the wedding proceedings. They held hands and had become a couple in the last six months. Rose, wounded by a rival gang, who carved their signature on her face, had undergone skin grafting to help cover the scars. Four surgeries had almost erased the deep cuts, but not entirely. However, Rose was an expert at applying makeup, and she could bury any lingering effects under foundation and powder.

Rose had killed the man responsible for her wounds along with three others in his gang, the Hell Hounds. Zane, the President of the HH was a ruthless bastard, but he had no idea a petite girl like Rose would be his downfall. He messed with the wrong bitch. Since then the HH had disbanded, the remaining members scattered without a trace. Now the KOBMC could operate without the worry of the HH attempting to invade their territory.

Today was a celebration, for Lexi and Eli. They had survived and came out the other side with a new love and appreciation for one another. They weren’t sure what the future held, but whatever it was, they planned to face it together. What they didn’t know that day was there were more tragedies and heartache to come. So the question was, would their love be strong enough to handle the uncertainties life was about to hurl at them?

****

The reception was held in The Copper Door restaurant. The event was closed to the public and Lexi hired another chef to come in and cook so Raul and his family could partake in the festivities. Since it was a steak restaurant, everyone was served steak or fish if they preferred. It was a more upscale event than the MC was use to, and they didn’t dress up. Cuts, jeans and leather jackets was the normal dress code and it wasn’t about to change for a wedding, even for the President of the club.

The alcohol flowed and the club and regulars from Chancey’s Tavern, which the club owned, took to the dance floor and showed a few special moves of their own. The ones looking on laughed and everyone was having a good time.

Since Lexi was pregnant, Alice brought her a bottle of sparkling cider to drink.

“So, how does it feel to be married?” Alice asked Lexi.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Lexi laughed. “I’m still not convinced I’m pregnant. Maybe I’ve just gained a lot of weight!”

“No hon, you’re pregnant alright. It will be nice to have a little one at the club. Maybe the guys will tone it down a bit with a youngun around.”

“I don’t see that happening,” Lexi replied with a smile.

While Lexi loved the club members and the old ladies, it still felt foreign to her. She told herself she’d get use to it eventually and maybe now she was married to Eli, it would become easier. She hoped so. She didn’t want this odd feeling to linger. Fortunately, since the Hell Hounds disbanded and things had gotten quiet over the last six months, she was sure that she could get accustomed to club life.

She and the other old ladies, especially Alice who was 20 years older than her, had become close. Even she and Rose were on friendly terms after a rocky start.

Rose and Dog danced to a slow dance and Lexi watched them. She leaned over to Alice and asked, “So do you think there’s another wedding for the club in the near future?”

Alice looked in the direction of Rose and Dog and said, “Could be, but Dog doesn’t move very fast, much to Rose’s dismay. They seem to be on the right track though. As far as I know Rose has kept herself exclusive to Dog, so that’s something.”

Rose had been the club’s go to pussy girl for a year, but when she was wounded by the Hell Hounds, things changed. Dog became the person who was at her side during the surgeries and Rose was grateful. Things were looking up for the couple and they held each other close as they slow danced.

It was the quiet before the storm. Lexi, Eli and the club members would look back on this day and remember how happy they were before the chaos took over.

Chapter Two

Eli and Lexi decided to postpone their honeymoon until after the baby was born. Besides, Eli was working with a new supplier and didn’t want to be gone too long while breaking them in. Lexi’s job at The Copper Door was going smoothly and Eli was grateful for that, being she was pregnant and didn’t want to quit. He had come to terms with his father’s death and secret that almost tore the club apart. He could look forward to the future with his new wife and the birth of his child. Then the call came. It was Lexi.

“Eli, meet me at the hospital.”

“What’s wrong?” Eli’s first thought was the baby and his chest tightened.

“It’s Raul. Please hurry!”

Lexi sounded upset and Eli was concerned for her first. “I’ll be right there.”

Lexi met Eli in the hospital lobby.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Raul interrupted intruders in his home last night. Thankfully Maria was away visiting their two daughters in college, but Raul was beaten pretty badly.”

“Has he said who did this--did he recognize them?”

“He told the police no, he didn’t know them, but he told me something different. He asked Maria and his daughters to go get him some coffee from one of his favorite downtown businesses so we could be alone. Once they were gone, he told me that he had seen one of the men before. There were three of them. Two he’d never seen, but the other looked just like Zane.”

“That’s impossible, Zane is dead,” Eli replied shaking his head.

“He knows that Eli, but he said the man had the same appearance and talked like Zane. Raul said the man was bigger though, huskier and taller than Zane. He also wore dog tags. Did Zane have a brother?” Lexi asked.

“Yeah he did. Last I heard he had done a few tours in Iraq.” Eli was beginning to think Raul hadn’t seen a ghost. “I hadn’t heard he was back, but then I don’t keep up on their comings and goings.”

“Well, this guy told Raul that if he didn’t get out of town, his wife and daughters would be raped and slaughtered. It’s like some kind of racist garbage.”

Eli had heard of home break-ins in Marshall the next town over and home to the old Hell Hounds Motorcycle Club, but as long as it didn’t venture into Carmel he hadn’t given it too much thought. But now it had hit one of their dear friends. Lexi was close with Raul and his family, and this was devastating news to her.

“Raul has talked about having his wife go with his daughters back to college. They rent an apartment together and Maria can stay with them for awhile until this gets worked out.”

“Sounds like a good idea. I don’t want you stressing about this okay, you’ve got to think about the baby. I’ll get some feelers out and we’ll find out who’s behind this.”

Eli always made Lexi feel better, even in the midst of turmoil. She kissed him gently and pulled him close. The baby bump had grown and Eli loved how the baby felt next to him when he hugged Lexi.

“Now, I want you and Junior to go to the Tavern. I’ll meet you there later after I talk to Raul,” Eli said as he patted her belly.

After Eli walked Lexi to her car, he headed up to Raul’s room. Raul was sitting upright in the hospital bed, his head bandaged and right arm in a cast. He also wore bandages around his waist from the broken ribs he received.

“Raul, how ya doing buddy,” Eli asked as he entered the hospital room.

“I’ve been better. Eli, did Lexi tell you what I told her about the men in my home?”

“Yes she did. So you believe the main guy looked like Zane huh?”

“Very much so. Only bigger, more muscular. I saw dog tags around his neck so I think he must have just gotten out of the service.”

“Yeah, sounds like it.”

“Eli, I’m frightened for my family. They made threats.”

“Yes, Lexi told me. I think it’s a good idea to send Maria away for a bit until we can figure this out. Once you get out of the hospital I want you to come stay at the club in the Tavern where you’ll be safe.”

“Thanks Eli, I appreciate that.”

“You’re like family Raul--I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You know, that Zane look-alike wanted to make it seem racially motivated, calling me and my family names, but I think there’s more to it.”

“Oh, I’m positive there’s more to it,” Eli said. If this was Zane’s brother come back from the service, he was sure the guy was after revenge. But why start with break-ins? Time for a church meeting.

****

Eli assembled the club members for a church meeting. Their meeting area was a room within the Chancey’s Tavern that the club owned. Blaze, Eli’s VP sat at his right. Laser, Journey, Dog and 7 others sat at the table. Eli filled them in on Raul and what appeared to be Zane’s brother.

“Fuck, I thought we’d read the last chapter on the Hell Hounds,” Blaze said.

“Yeah, well apparently not,” Laser replied.

“Do you think he’s trying to build the old Hell Hounds club up again?” Dog asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Eli said. “Committing break-ins is strange though. I mean if you’re trying to build a club reputation, why start out as common thieves?”

“It sounds more like a gang than an MC, “Blaze said. “You say Zane’s brother is a war vet?”

“Raul saw the dog tags, and I made some calls before the meeting and sure enough his brother just got discharged two months ago.”

“Does anyone know the bastard’s name?” Blaze asked.

“It’s Zach,” Eli answered. “If he’s building a gang, pretty soon we’ll be a fucking target. Once he’s got the manpower he’ll come gunning for us for retaliation for his brother’s death.”

“Do you think Rose needs extra protection?” Dog asked.

“We can put a prospect with her at all times, but I doubt the Hounds would ever believe Rose was behind the shooting. Even if they did believe it, I doubt they’d want it out there that a little girl took down the President and VP of their club,” Eli said.

“True,” Dog said. “I just want to keep her safe.”

“I don’t blame you Dog. Like I said, we can have one of the prospects with her when she’s not at the club.”

“Okay,” Dog answered. “She may not like it but I’ll have a talk with her.”

“So, back to the regrouping of the Hounds. What are we going to do?” Blaze asked.

“We’re going to pay Zach a little visit,” Eli answered.