King's Trophy, page 11
Daemon had made up his mind. Whoever she was supposed to marry, that would happen. There was no getting away from that, she only hoped whoever it was didn’t want her and would gladly leave her the fuck alone.
****
“This is a fucking joke, right?” Colt asked, looking at his dad and president of the Satan’s Death Riders MC. Warden was not laughing. There was no twinkle in his eyes. This shit was serious.
He should have known it was no joke, seeing his mom, Kim, sitting on the office sofa. It was rare for his mother to be invited to club meetings. The whole club wasn’t present but Ox, Crow, and Pirate stood, arms folded, not looking the least bit happy.
“It’s not a joke, son,” Warden said.
“You want me to marry that piece of shit’s daughter, assuming he even has one.”
“There’s a rumor he has one,” Kim said. “I’ve never seen her myself, but I don’t know, the details are kind of murky.” She gave a shrug. “From what I know, she has nothing to do with her father.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Colt said. “There’s no way that anyone attached to the Evil Fuckers MC wouldn’t use that connection.” It was a trick, it had to be.
“I’ve spoken to Daemon, they’re on their way over here.”
“What?” Colt didn’t like this. Inviting that shithead to their clubhouse was a big mistake. “Prez, you can’t do this.”
“Right now, Colt, I’m your father, and I’m telling you, this is good for both clubs. We’ve had a lot of bloodshed lately, on both sides. Something has to give.”
“They’re responsible for what happened to Nancy. Have you forgotten that?” he asked.
Warden glared at him.
“Enough, Colt,” Kim said.
“You agree with him?” Colt asked.
“Yes, I do. How many more people are we going to bury because of this petty dispute?” Kim stood. “I know it’s not the best idea, you marrying someone you don’t love or care about, but we all have to make sacrifices for this family. I have, every single day.”
One look toward his father and he saw Warden drop his head.
Out of everyone in the room, Kim had to give up the most. One night at a party, many years ago, Kim had been hanging out with friends. She’d been the good girl, but for one night, she wanted to experience the wild side. That night, she met Warden, unbeknownst to Kim at the time, he’d arranged for them to meet. Warden had been passing through and spotted Kim running some errands or something. Either way, he took one look at her and wanted her. The rest, well, it ended up in him having to spend a whole year wooing her in secret, and then knocking her up. What happened after that was a wedding without any of her friends or family. They all turned their backs on her, and since then, Warden had kept his promise to love and honor her for the rest of his life. Not once had he swayed.
Colt knew it still upset him to know Kim missed her family. She never said anything, but it always bugged her that she couldn’t take him nor Nancy—when she was alive—to Grandma’s or Grandpa’s.
“You’re asking me to be with the enemy, Dad.”
“This woman, whoever she is, is not the one who killed Nancy,” Kim said. “Have you ever considered that she might not want this either?”
“Please, the chance to have a Satan’s Death Rider between her thighs, I’m pretty sure she’s fucking thrilled.”
He got a slap around the back of the head.
“Don’t you speak so much disrespect in my presence,” Kim said. “You do not know who this woman is. I raised you better than this, and if it means we no longer have to bury our people, then it’s what we must do.” Kim licked her lips and lifted her head high. “I’m going to get a drink.”
She walked to Warden, touched his cheek, making the bangles on her wrist clink as she did so. Next, she came to him and kissed his cheek before leaving the office.
“Prez, come on, what’s the deal here?” Colt asked.
While his mother was in Warden’s presence, he was Dad. When they were alone with other members of the club, he was back to being the boss.
His dad nodded at Ox, Crow, and Pirate, clicked his fingers, and without a word, they left. Warden stepped back, resting against the front of his desk. For the longest time, he didn’t speak. Colt waited, wondering what he wasn’t saying.
“I know this is not an ideal situation, Colt, but you are my only son. I’ve met with Daemon and we both have felt loss.”
“We didn’t kill his daughter,” Colt said.
“I know and I know Nancy’s death on you is hard to bear.”
Hard to bear? Colt had been there. They’d been in the park, he’d been the one watching her, and then, out of nowhere, bullets flew at them. He’d acted too late. Nancy had been shot. He’d held her as she died, as she begged and pleaded with him to make her stay.
That would stay with him forever. There was no way he’d ever forgive any Evil Fuckers MC.
“But, I need us to come to an arrangement with them this time, Colt. We need them on our side.”
He stared at his father and hearing him say that, he knew something else was going on. “What is it?”
Warden shook his head. “I don’t expect you to like her, but you will need to marry her, and you will … need to have children.”
“I’ve got to fuck her as well?” Colt gritted his teeth.
“Yes. This is not a joke marriage, Colt. I expect you to act accordingly. Your mother would expect nothing less from you.”
Colt ran a hand down his face. At nearly thirty years old, he hated that his father was still making him jump through all the hoops, not that he wanted any leeway. Being his father’s son, guys at the club had assumed life would be easy for him, but it hadn’t. He’d had to fight and claw his way to where he was right now, a fully patched member of the club.
No one would take his patch and if his dad needed a dick to marry this woman, then that was exactly what Colt would be.
“Fine,” Colt said.
“You may go. Daemon will arrive in ten minutes. Tell the club to be on alert.”
Colt nodded, left his father’s office, and headed out. Several of the club looked toward him and he lifted his finger in the air, spinning it around, a signal they all knew, and would pass along the message better than any text.
They never knew who was reading their messages, so only necessary texts were sent, nothing that would point the finger at any wrongdoing. Heading toward the bar, he slapped his hand on the counter. Rooster was serving tonight. Normally they had a couple of prospects but they’d been sent away for the day and now he knew why.
Their prospects were viewed as weak and it was up to the club to make them strong. Until they got inside their heads and tested their very fucking being, they were not to be trusted. They had to prove themselves time and time again. It wasn’t easy.
Colt had been there, sometimes close to shitting himself, but he’d never backed down. He’d always done what needed to be done.
“You look fucking cheery,” Rooster said.
He picked up the shot of whiskey and downed it in one gulp. It was the only thing that would keep him sane for the next few hours.
“Another.”
“What the man asked for.” Rooster was about to pour another shot when Kim’s hand came over the glass.
“Enough.”
“Mom, come on.”
“You’re not going to meet this woman drunk and be an embarrassment to me or the club. You can drown your sorrows after they leave, not before.”
Rooster left him alone and he turned to his mother.
Kim was a force to be reckoned with. Life at the club hadn’t always been easy. He knew that. She fought hard for where she was right now and she was finally happy. His parents were both happy. Their life hadn’t been easy. Colt knew this.
“I’m surprised you’re happy with this.”
“Colt, I mean it. Enough.”
There was a sudden whistle, alerting them to the approaching Evil Fuckers MC.
“I guess it’s showtime.”
Kim looked at him and shook her head.
Colt watched as his father came out of his office and for a split second, he was pretty sure he saw rage in his eyes. There was no time to ask questions. Following behind his father and mother, he and several of the men walked out. A show of force.
They waited.
It was dark out and they had put on the lights to illuminate the parking lot.
He spotted Daemon up front, but there was no one with him. Colt adjusted to the darkness and then he heard the feminine grunt and saw as a mass of brown hair seemed to land on the floor, to which she gave a wince.
“Get up,” Daemon said.
The woman, whoever she was, flicked her hair back and glared up at him, but then stood.
Okay, this was a surprise.
The woman wore … dungarees. She looked like she had stepped right out of the nineties. Dungarees as well as shirt underneath that went all the way around her neck. Not what he was expecting. She also wore a pair of glasses, which she pushed up her nose.
No one offered to help her up, nor did she ask for help. She got up and then winced as Daemon grabbed her arm. As he brought her closer, Colt saw her lip had swollen, and there was a little blood in the corner.
“Daemon,” Warden said.
“Warden, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Gabrielle Barlowe.”
The woman in front of them shook her head. “My name’s Rosalie,” she said. “Gabrielle is my mother.”
Interesting.
Did she even realize in correcting Daemon, she had made him look like a fool? Colt saw the slight tilt of her lips, and he imagined she did realize what she was doing and enjoyed it. There was no love between father and daughter, unless it was a trick.
“Are we conducting business outside, or do you want to continue insulting us, Warden?” Daemon asked.
“By all means, come through to my office.”
Colt watched as Daemon grabbed Rosalie’s arm. She let out a gasp but he saw her hand clench and her teeth grit.
“If this doesn’t go well, he’ll kill her,” one of the Evil Fuckers MC said.
Colt didn’t know who it was, but he waited for people to keep moving. Seeing as he was the groom in this scenario, he should be the first one at the office, but he wanted to hear what people had to say.
“She didn’t wear what he sent. She was supposed to be in a miniskirt and a top that showed her tits off.”
How interesting. He’d heard enough and made his way toward his father’s office, which was now crowded. He noticed his mother had gone to Rosalie’s side and wrapped an arm around her, almost protecting her. Why?
One look at the room and they were surrounded by men. On closer inspection, Colt also saw that she was shaking a little. Was she nervous? Angry? Or was it just an act? He didn’t trust her, so he wasn’t going to believe anything he saw. It was probably all lies anyway.
Warden cleared his throat.
“As we’re all clear, I take it we can confirm this as an agreement. My son and your daughter will marry and align our clubs.”
“Yes. We will become allies. Your enemies become mine and mine become yours,” Daemon said.
Colt didn’t like this. This wasn’t going to end well. He wondered if he could just kill his forced bride and then everything would go smoothly.
“The finer details need to be dealt with,” Warden said. “The wedding needs to take place as soon as possible.”
“We can have the wedding tomorrow if you’re ready,” Daemon said.
“It needs to be in a church,” Rosalie said, speaking up.
Daemon spun around and glared at her.
Rosalie glared right back. Colt had a feeling he’d have hit her again if it wasn’t for his mother standing by her side.
“A church?” Kim asked.
“My mother has always wanted to see me get married in a church. Seeing as all her other wishes are being squashed, the least I can do is give her the church.”
“Then a church is where it will be,” Kim said. “We can make that arrangement. I would love the opportunity to speak with your mother. We can work together to have this wedding in, say, a few months.”
“No,” Warden and Daemon said at the same time.
“A couple of weeks,” Daemon said. “That’s the longest it can be.”
Rosalie averted her gaze from her father.
“A couple of weeks,” Warden said.
“Perfect. I’m sure Rosalie’s mother and I can handle it.” Kim stood and smiled. “Now, don’t you think we should let the happy couple have a few moments with each other?”
End of sample chapter
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Sam Crescent, King's Trophy
