Grave (Dead Souls MC Book 2) Read online

  I dropped out of high school and took a full-time cashier’s position when I was fifteen. Had my parents sign off on some bullshit when they were drunk off their asses so I could start providing the money our family needed. We were halfway to eviction and rarely had food in the fridge to eat. And the only way I knew how to provide was to drop school, work full-time, and bide my time until I was eighteen and could enroll in some fucking statewide services for help.

  That was how I became such a good cook.

  I was forced to use whatever I could buy on twelve dollars a week for years.

  Our parents were eventually arrested and the house defaulted to us. And thank fuck the place didn’t cost much. It was small, but it was ours. I went back to school when I was eighteen and promoted to get my GED, but Rex didn’t even make it out of high school. Dropped out and started doing stupid shit around town. Running with the wrong crowd. Getting himself into trouble. I got more calls from the police department on him than I did my own fucking boss asking me to cover hours.

  Which I always did.

  More hours meant overtime, which meant more money in our damn bank account.

  I didn’t know where my parents were and I didn’t give a shit. I had my own job with my own health benefits and my own fucking life. Even if I was stuck living with my brother.

  But now, every time Rex walked into the house, I was reminded of what I’d done a few days ago. Who I’d gone and talked to and what I had witnessed that night and how petrified I was that Rex would find out.

  I pulled out my phone to order the pizza before a loud crash was heard.

  “What the fuck!?”

  I whipped my head around at Rex’s voice. There was panic in it. Loud, unadulterated panic. I stood from the porch swing and began to walk inside, the sliding glass door swinging open. I watched the scene unfold in front of my eyes and I began to panic. Police officers pouring through the front door with their guns trained on my brother. People were shouting and things were falling off the walls. The door was hanging haphazardly on its hinges as my jaw dropped to the floor.

  I could see two officers wrestling my brother to the ground.

  “Who are you?”

  I looked up and saw a gun trained at my face as I rose my hands.

  “Get that damn barrel out of my sister’s face!” Rex said.

  “You’re his sister?” the police officer asked.

  I rose my hands in the air, but I was too terrified to say anything.

  “What the fuck am I being arrested for?” Rex asked.

  “Reginald Ferguson, you’re under arrest,” the police officer said.

  “My name’s Rex,” my brother said with a growl.

  “What is my brother being arrested for?” I asked.

  I knew why they were here. Monroe told me that this would likely happen when they submitted my testimony in court. I knew exactly why they were hauling him off. But if I asked the question and made it look like I was concerned and out of the loop, then he wouldn’t suspect me.

  Right?

  “Rex,” the officer said as he yanked him off the floor, “you’re under arrest for the murder of Andrew Shepard. Also known as Blaze.”

  My eyes drifted back to Rex as his eyes widened. I watched him turn his head to me as his eyes began to narrow to slits. Oh, shit. This wasn’t good. I knew that look, and it was never fucking good.

  “You did this,” he said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You did this!”

  “Get him out of there,” the officer said.

  “Rex, I don’t-”

  “You fucking did this! Who the hell did you tell, Everly? Who the fuck did you tell!?”

  I felt my legs trembling as the police officers hauled him out of our home. He was screaming all the way down the driveway. Holy shit, was I that easy to read? What was going to happen to me now? Rex wouldn’t come after me-- his own sister. I raised him. Took care of him. Fed him when he needed to be fed. The police officers drained out of my home as I walked to the front door, kicking the mangled piece of wood with my foot.

  I’d have to replace it. I wouldn’t be able to repair it.

  “Did you tell them about Paco?” Rex asked. “Huh? Did you know about that, too!?”

  Paco? Who the hell was Paco?

  “I’m coming for you!” Rex exclaimed. “Watch your back, sis!”

  Tears rose to my eyes as I watched them haul my brother off.

  My heart was slamming against my chest. I looked down at the mangled piece of wood that used to be my front door. I couldn’t stay here for the night. Hell, I probably couldn’t stay here at all. Every single person in Rex’s club knew where we lived, which meant I couldn’t stay here. I should have gone into witness protection like they suggested.

  I had to get in contact with Knox.

  I rushed down the hallway and pulled my duffel bag out of the closet. I began cramming it full of everything I needed. Shorts. Pants. Shirts. Blouses. Work shirts and socks and underwear and shoes. I jammed my toiletries into a bag and shoved it all in, then grabbed a few things from my room. A bit of makeup, some jewelry, and a picture.

  Of the only time our family was together, sober, and smiling.

  I looked around my childhood room, taking it all in one last time. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I knew I couldn’t stick around. I grabbed my purse and my phone and fumbled with my keys, then ripped my charger cord out of the wall so I could take it with me.

  Then I rushed to my car and popped the trunk.

  I stuffed everything into the back of my compact car. It wasn’t much, but it was good on gas and had been a reliable source of transportation. I shoved myself behind the wheel of the car and cranked it up, then began riding off into the sunset.

  Only it wasn’t the happy ending I was expecting.

  When Monroe told me that by testifying that Rex killed Blaze, it would help keep the feds out of Redding. I figured the police would take him quietly and everything would be okay. I would testify, be kept safe, and Rex wouldn’t know what hit him until I took the stand. I could be rid of his bullshit and everyone else’s bullshit forever. I could live my life and live in my little house and be proud of what I had.

  Now, all I had was my car and what I could shove into my bag earlier.

  I followed my memory as best as I could. I drove out into the woods before taking one of the dirt offshoots. I got turned around three or four fucking times before I saw the lodge in the distance.

  It was the only place I could think of to go.

  Dust was kicking up behind my car as I parked. I tucked my keys in my pants and started running for the front door. It didn’t look like anyone was here except for one lone bike out front. I didn’t know whose it was and I didn’t even know if they were here, but I had to try.

  And if no one was here, then I would sit on their damn porch until someone showed up.

  I knocked steadily on the door, but I didn’t hear anyone answer. I leaned my forehead against the door, sighing to try and calm my nerves. My hands were shaking and my eyes were watering.

  They had to know.

  All of them did.

  “Hello? Knox? Are you there?” I asked.

  But still, I was met with silence.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket to try and call Monroe, but I couldn’t get a signal. Not one that would be strong enough to get a call out to anyone. I cursed to myself and shoved the phone back into my pocket as the sun slowly began to set beyond the horizon. It was getting chilly outside and I was beginning to shiver.

  I knew someone was here. Maybe they didn’t hear me knock.

  I fluttered my knuckles against the door, quicker and at a more rapid pace. I crossed my arms and rocked on my feet, trying to warm myself up. What the fuck? I knew someone was there. I could see the bike in the parking lot and if I wasn’t going completely insane, I could smell food.

  Really good food, actually.

  “Knox? Anyone? There
’s a bike out here. Please. I need to talk.”

  I leaned my head against the door again and drew in a shaky breath. Shit. I was going to have to wait in my car for someone to come by. I turned my back towards the door and started down the steps, my entire body shivering as the temperature in the woods began to plummet.

  Then, I heard it.

  I heard the front door open.

  I whipped around expecting to find Knox, but that wasn’t who I found. Instead, I found the massive slab of a man who had been flirting with me when I’d showed up a few days ago. Grave. Or something like that.

  And I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  He was standing in the doorway. So big he almost had to duck to keep from hitting his head on the top of it. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to every ripple of his body. The swell of his chest. The chiseled divots of his abs. His arms were threatening to rip the fucking sleeves of the shirt into tattered shreds. His biceps were throbbing and his piercing gray stare was hooked onto mine.

  I felt overwhelmed by his presence.

  “Everly? What are you doing here?”

  His voice. I could never forget that voice. Like hot caramel dripping off a frozen slab of vanilla ice cream.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  He stepped onto the porch, his eyes looking me up and down as I stood on the steps.

  “Rex has been arrested,” I said breathlessly. “And I think he knows I was the one that talked.”

  Chapter 3

  Grave

  The veins in my cock throbbed when I saw her standing outside. The backdrop of the sunset drenched her milky skin in a hue I’d never seen. The yellows streaking across the blue sky matched the sparkling colors of her eyes. Her long legs were bare except for the shorts she had on. If she bent over, I knew I’d get the perfect shot of the swell of her ass. Her blonde hair was whipping around her body, cascading down her arms and landing just beyond her tits. Those fabulous handfuls that would fill my palms and spill over through the crevices in my fingers.

  Fuck, she was a beautiful woman.

  But her words had me bristling.

  “Come inside,” I said.

  “Is Knox here?” she asked.

  “No. But I’m here, and you’re safe.”

  I stepped off to the side as she rushed up the steps. She brushed past me, and just that small feeling of heat as our bodies connected was enough to get me to clench my jaw. I watched her eye the kitchen table as I shut the door. I could practically see her salivating down her throat.

  “Who cooked?” she asked.

  “I did.”

  “You cook?”

  “I do.”

  Her eyes whipped up to mine and her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “What? Can’t a guy cook?” I asked.

  “Just didn’t expect a man like you to cook. Sorry.”

  “You hungry?”

  And as if someone gave her body a cue, her stomach began to gurgle.

  Everly began to giggle as I suppressed a grin on my cheeks. Fuck. Her entire face lit up when she smiled. Her teeth were bright and her full lower lip accented the beauty of her reddened cheeks. I bit down onto my lower lip to try and control the electrical surges throughout my body. I had to contain my urges. This was not the time nor the place to think about ripping her clothes off with my bare hands and pinning her to a wall.

  “Sit. I’ll get you something to eat,” I said.

  She went to sit at the table and I pulled another plate from the cabinet. I reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer, then made sure to pick her up a fork. I stabbed one of my halves of chicken breast and put it on a plate for her, then handed her the serving spoons for the rest of the food.

  “This smells wonderful,” Everly said.

  “Thanks. Just something quick I whipped up,” I said.

  “Something quick? This doesn’t look quick.”

  “It is if you’ve been doing it for a while.”

  “I’ve been cooking for a while and I still can’t whip something up quick.”

  “So, you cook, too?”

  “When I need to, yeah. But I’d be lying if I said the pizza place down the road from my house didn’t know my order by heart,” she said with a grin.

  My cock throbbed when our eyes connected.

  “Eat as much as you want,” I said. “I can always cook more.”

  “This is plenty. And unexpected. Thank you. I’m not-?”

  My eyes connected with hers as she bit down onto her lower lip.

  Oh, we were going to have issues if that was a habit of hers.

  “You’re not what?” I asked.

  “You’re not still going to be hungry after if I eat, are you?” Everly asked.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because you’re massive and obviously need the food more than I do.”

  I allowed a grin to slide across my cheeks before I took my first bite of the night.

  “I’ll live,” I said.

  The two of us sat in silence as Everly picked at her food. She ate the toppings off the chicken and took a few bites of the mashed potatoes, but she was mostly pushing it around the plate. She hadn’t even opened her beer, much less taken a sip of it, and her eyes looked unfocused. Dazed. Far off in another world.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  I watched her jerk. Like she had forgotten I was there.

  “I’m sorry. What was that?” Everly asked.

  “What happened tonight? With your brother.”

  “Shit. Yeah. Um… Grave. Right?”

  “Mhm.”

  “The police arrested him for Blaze’s murder tonight. Came through my front door and left the piece of wood lying on the floor in tatters.”

  “Why do you think Rex knows it was you who talked?”

  “Because he looked at me and said so. He said he knew that I was the one that must’ve talked and that he was coming for me,” she said. “Grave, the entire club knows where Rex and I live. The moment he tells them his theory, they’re going to come looking for me. I can’t stay there. I can’t go back there.”

  She was shaking. Trembling in her seat as she set down her fork. She put her head in her hands and I studied her, trying to use a few of the tactics Diesel had taught us over the years. He was excellent at reading people. At deducing whether or not they were telling the truth. I watched goosebumps form on Everly’s arms and looked for other involuntary signs of fear.

  And I found almost all of them somewhere on her form.

  “Everly.”

  “Yes?”

  “Look at me.”

  She lifted her beautiful eyes to my gaze as I held my hand out. She looked down at the offering and furrowed her brow, but she slid her hand into mine. It was tiny. Delicate. Her skin was warm and her touch was soft. Her hand just barely fit into the palm of mine, and I curled my fingers around the top of her hand. I stroked my thumb along her skin, taking in the way it reddened underneath my touch.

  “You can’t go back there,” I said. “But you can stay with me.”

  “What?”

  “My role with this club is protector. I go on all the missions and I ride through town to check up on people this club cares about. You’re the safest with me. If you talk to Monroe, she’s going to tell you the same. She’s going to tell you that you can’t go back to your home until the trial. So, I’m bypassing all of that conversation and telling you that you can stay with me.”

  “I can’t intrude on you like that,” she said.

  “You can, and you will. You don’t have any other choice. You’re safe with me and I know you know that.”

  I watched her face soften as she pulled her hand away from mine.

  “I have a job.”

  “You’ll still go to work,” I said.

  “They know where I work.”

  “Then I’ll follow you to work. Stick to the shadows and make sure no one rolls up on you,” I said.

  “I do have paid
vacation I could cash in.”

  “That would be better if you do.”

  “Six weeks of it.”

  “Then now might be the time to take it.”

  “My phone doesn’t have service out here.”

  “You can use the lodge phone,” I said.

  I pointed to it behind my head and she stood up to walk past me. Her hips swayed deeply and her curves were a distraction to my eyes. My hands were burning to touch her. To caress her and to kiss her fears away. I needed her to come with me. Something deep in the pit of my gut wasn’t allowing me to offer anything else. And there were other things. Her staying at the lodge. Her staying with Monroe. Her going into Witness Protection.

  But none of that shit was happening.

  She was coming with me.

  I took another bite of my food as Everly talked on the phone to her boss. At least, I thought it was her boss. I really couldn’t be sure. If she was talking to her boss, she was being very bossy.

  Commanding. Like she was really the one in charge.

  “Okay. Thanks. Yep, all six weeks. Uh huh. Family emergency. That’s the reason. Thanks. I’ll see you then. Take care.”

  She hung up the phone and brushed past me, her hips sliding against my upper arm. I suppressed a shiver as fire shot down to my toes.

  It was going to take a lot to keep myself under control with her at my place.

  “Everything good?” I asked.

  “It is. Six weeks of paid vacation.”

  “Sounds like a nice deal. What do you do for work?” I asked.

  “I’m the General Manager for Tally’s Tavern.”

  “The grocery store?” I asked.

  “That’s the one.”

  “Sounds like a decent gig.”

  “Sure.”

  I felt like there was more to the story, so I didn’t push it. I watched tears rise to Everly’s eyes before she shook her head and turned away. She brought another piece of asparagus to her mouth and chewed delicately. Like she was counting out how many bites she was taking.

  I knew that trait.

  Someone had beat that trait into her.