Part One
Prologue.
Shotgun – February 2025
Adark cloud followed as Chance walked through the clubhouse. Shotgun’s president seemed in a mood, not unusual for Chance, but there was a darkness about him now. Chance grabbed a seat at the bar and scowled at Jinx, who was serving.
“What’s up?” Shotgun asked.
“Found a fucker selling drugs, right out in the open near the school. Asshole took offence when I confronted him,” Chance replied.
“Is he working for someone?”
“Yeah. I flushed his shit and warned him. The little prick told me I’d pay for that. His boss was bigger than me, and then he ran. I’m getting old, Shotgun. I’d have more chance of winning the lottery than catching that fucker,” Chance complained.
He wasn’t far wrong. They were all getting older. Shotgun looked around the clubhouse; it was a far different scene than it had been ten years ago. Even five years ago, it wasn’t like this. For one, they’d been in their old clubhouse, which a cult hadblown the hell up. Club whores and hang-arounds were rife back then; now it was rare to see an unattached female.
His brothers had begun settling down, and it showed. Over time, skanks, sluts, and hang-arounds had been banned. Too much drama. Hellfire had more than enough of that.
Shotgun acknowledged his brothers wanted—and had earned—a quiet life, but he sometimes missed the partying and everything that came with it.
Take them to your bunk, fuck them, and kick them out. That had been his motto. Now, it wasn’t so simple. His love life was a mess and confusing as shit. Shotgun had kept a secret from his brothers, and it was coming back to bite him in the ass. He regarded Chance and wondered what his Prez would say if he blurted it out. Told Chance everything he’d bottled up for years. Would his club vote to kick him out? Would Shotgun be rejected?
“What the fuck’s wrong?” Chance demanded.
Shotgun held Chance’s gaze. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Nope, he couldn’t trust Chance with this.
“Nothing.”
“Liar. Think I don’t know something’s bothering you?” Chance retorted.
Jinx placed fresh beers in front of them, and Chance kept staring.
“Ain’t got an issue, Prez,” Shotgun denied. Yes, he did. A huge fuckin’ problem.
“When you find your balls, come and talk.” Chance lifted his beer, drained it, and banged it on the bar. He got up and strode off. His steps were angry and loud.
Shotgun shook his head. Yeah, there ain’t no way he was confiding in Chance, not when it concerned Chance’s family.
Chapter One.
Shotgun - 2019
This was crazy. Possibly a really awful movie script or a weak book plot. He wasn’t sure which. But it was happening. Clio, Chance’s woman, had siblings. Not just one, either. Seems she was one of quints, and she had three sisters and a brother. When Thalia appeared, she’d judged us and fucked up. Nobody wanted a Karen around, so Thalia could get back in her posh car with her expensive shit and piss off.
Chance felt the same, but Bear, unfortunately, didn’t. Nope, his VP kept alternating between yelling and wanting to screw her. It was pretty damn obvious to everyone except Bear. Shotgun shook his head. Ever since Thalia had shown up on the scene, there’d been nothing but drama. And now we were chasing her sorry ass.
She and Bear had a total misunderstanding, and to give Bear time, Thalia has taken off to approach her newly found brother. Who seemed to be in some dodgy shit because he’d arrived here claiming Thalia had saved him, but had been kidnapped. She’d screamed at him to come here for help. While everyone believedThalia was sulking, and Kelly, Thalia’s best friend, insisted she was in trouble, Thalia actually had been in shit.
And now eight hours had passed.
Shotgun stared at the prick who’d abandoned a defenceless woman. Yup, total nerd. His reasoning showed him to be weak. Who the fuck left an innocent, clueless female to be captured by hardened criminals? He did. Rain, as he preferred to be called, paced back and forth as he explained. Shotgun didn’t give a shit; there was no reason, no explanation for leaving a woman in danger. He glowered as Chance questioned Rain.
“Who is this Dean?” Chance asked.
“Calvin Dean, he’s a loan shark, a racketeer, and many other things. Murderer is at the top of the list. Police who’ve tried to take him down have ended up dead, and common knowledge is Dean has at least five cops in his pocket.”
“And you borrowed money from him?” Chatter grunted in disbelief.
